Aim To describe trends in modifiable and non-modifiable unfavorable factors affecting pregnancy outcomes, over time (years 2004–2017), in women with diabetes of childbearing age from an English primary care perspective. Methods We identified women with diabetes aged 16–45 years from the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) Research and Surveillance Centre (RSC) network, an English primary care sentinel database. Repeated annual cross-sectional analyses (2004–2017) assessed the prevalence of unfavorable factors for pregnancy, such as obesity, poor glycaemic control, microalbuminuria, hypertension, use of medications for treating diabetes, and associated comorbidities not recommended for pregnancy. Results We identified 3,218 women (61.5% with Type 2 diabetes) in 2004 and 6,657 (65.0% with Type 2 diabetes) in 2017. The proportion of women with ideal glycaemic control for conception (HbA1c<6.5%) increased over time, in patients with Type 1 diabetes from 9.0% (7.1%–11.0%) to 19.1% (17.2%–21.1%), and in those with Type 2 diabetes from 27.2% (24.6%–29.9%) to 35.4% (33.6%–37.1%). The proportion of women with Type 2 diabetes prescribed medications different from insulin and metformin rose from 22.3% (20.5%–24.2%) to 27.3% (26.0%–28.6%). In 2017, 14.0% (12.6%–15.4%) of women with Type 1 and 30.7% (29.3%–32.0%) with Type 2 diabetes were prescribed angiotensin-modulating antihypertensives or statins. We captured at least one unfavorable factor for pregnancy in 50.9% (48.8%–52.9%) of women with Type 1 diabetes and 70.7% (69.3%–72.0%) of women with Type 2 diabetes. Only one third of women with Type 1 diabetes (32.2%, 30.3%–34.0%) and a quarter of those with Type 2 diabetes (23.1%, 21.9%–24.4%) were prescribed hormonal contraception. Contraception was prescribed more frequently to women with unfavorable factors for pregnancy compared to those without, however, the difference was significant only for women with Type 1 diabetes. Conclusions Despite significant improvements in general diabetes care, the majority of women with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes have unfavorable, although mostly modifiable, factors for the start of pregnancy. Good diabetes care for women of childbearing age should include taking into consideration a possible pregnancy.


A subset of innate lymphoid cells promotes the conversion of fat-storing white adipocytes into fat-burning beige adipocytes. Systemic inflammation is linked to obesity and metabolic diseases, and various immune cells affect the metabolic activity of adipose tissue. Group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s), which are induced by interleukin-33 (IL-33) and distinguished from other ILCs by the subset of cytokines they produce, may limit obesity in mice. Brestoff et al. found that ILC2s were present in the abdominal subcutaneous white adipose tissue (WAT) of both obese and non-obese human donors and in the epididymal WAT of obese and non-obese mice, but were more abundant in the samples from non-obese individuals of both species. Compared to wild-type controls, mice lacking IL-33 had fewer ILC2s in the epididymal and inguinal WAT depots. Mice lacking IL-33 also had more epididymal and inguinal WAT, greater overall body size and whole-body adiposity, and impaired glucose sensitivity compared to controls. Conversely, treating wild-type mice reared on a normal diet with IL-33 increased the abundance of ILC2s in epididymal and inguinal WAT and reduced overall adiposity. In wild-type mice that were fed a high-fat diet, IL-33 treatment also increased the abundance of ILC2s in the epididymal WAT, reduced obesity, and improved glucose sensitivity. Based on cellular morphology and expression of the brown and beige fat–specific marker Ucp1 in IL33-/- mice and in mice that received ILC2 transplants, ILC2s, through an IL-33–dependent process, promoted the conversion of white adipocytes into beige adipocytes, which are more metabolically active than white adipocytes. Transcriptomic analysis indicated that expression of a gene encoding an endopeptidase involved in processing prohormones and the gene encoding its target proenkephalin A (Penk) were enriched in ILC2s compared to another ILC subtype. Penk is proteolytically processed to generate opioid-like peptides such as methionine-enkephalin (MetEnk). Treating mice with MetEnk promoted the formation of beige fat and reduced the mass of inguinal WAT in wild-type mice. Application of MetEnk also stimulated expression of Ucp1 in cultured white adipocytes. Thus, ILC2s may limit obesity by producing MetEnk that promote the conversion of fat-storing white adipocytes into metabolically active, fat-burning beige adipocytes. J. R. Brestoff, B. S. Kim, S. A. Saenz, R. R. Stine, L. A. Monticelli, G. F. Sonnenberg, J. J. Thome, D. L. Farber, K. Lutfy, P. Seale, D. Artis, Group 2 innate lymphoid cells promote beiging of white adipose tissue and limit obesity. Nature 519, 242–246 (2015). [PubMed]


The question of how to parallelize the stochastic gradient descent (SGD) method has received much attention in the literature. In this paper, we focus instead on batch methods that use a sizeable fraction of the training set at each iteration to facilitate parallelism, and that employ second-order information. In order to improve the learning process, we follow a multi-batch approach in which the batch changes at each iteration. This can cause difficulties because L-BFGS employs gradient differences to update the Hessian approximations, and when these gradients are computed using different data points the process can be unstable. This paper shows how to perform stable quasi-Newton updating in the multi-batch setting, illustrates the behavior of the algorithm in a distributed computing platform, and studies its convergence properties for both the convex and nonconvex cases.


Advancing age is associated with a progressive loss of skeletal muscle (SkM) mass and function. Given the worldwide aging demographics, this is a major contributor to morbidity, escalating socio‐economic costs and ultimately mortality. Previously, it has been established that a decrease in regenerative capacity in addition to SkM loss with age coincides with suppression of insulin/insulin‐like growth factor signalling pathways. However, genetic or pharmacological modulations of these highly conserved pathways have been observed to significantly enhance life and healthspan in various species, including mammals. This therefore provides a controversial paradigm in which reduced regenerative capacity of skeletal muscle tissue with age potentially promotes longevity of the organism. This paradox will be assessed and considered in the light of the following: (i) the genetic knockout, overexpression and pharmacological models that induce lifespan extension (e.g. IRS‐1/s6K KO, mTOR inhibition) versus the important role of these signalling pathways in SkM growth and adaptation; (ii) the role of the sirtuins (SIRTs) in longevity versus their emerging role in SkM regeneration and survival under catabolic stress; (iii) the role of dietary restriction and its impact on longevity versus skeletal muscle mass regulation; (iv) the crosstalk between cellular energy metabolism (AMPK/TSC2/SIRT1) and survival (FOXO) versus growth and repair of SkM (e.g. AMPK vs. mTOR); and (v) the impact of protein feeding in combination with dietary restriction will be discussed as a potential intervention to maintain SkM mass while increasing longevity and enabling healthy aging.


Purpose of reviewChronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) is a troublesome hematologic malignancy characterized by peripheral blood monocytosis, marrow dysplasia, cytopenias, frequent extramedullary involvement by clonal cells, and a propensity for progression to acute myeloid leukemia. Although previously considered a subtype of the myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), CMML is now recognized as a distinct entity with unique biologic and clinical features. This change has created a scientific and clinical research landscape that makes it difficult to discern CMML-specific validated conclusions versus speculative extrapolation from more general MDS data. Recent findingsHere, we review recent biologic observations that support the current CMML WHO classification, such as the high frequency of SRSF2 and ASXL1 mutations compared with MDS and critical dependence of CMML cells on granulocyte–macrophage colony-stimulating factor signaling. In addition, we discuss CMML-specific prognostic tools and therapeutic results of agents developed for MDS in patients with CMML. SummaryThe present review focuses on evidence supporting CMML ontology and identifies key clinical differences in the management of CMML and that of MDS subtypes.


THIS ARTICLE PRESENTS A NOVEL METHODOLOGY TO analyze the dynamics of emotional responses to music. It consists of a computational investigation based on spatiotemporal neural networks, which "mimic" human affective responses to music and predict the responses to novel music sequences. The results provide evidence suggesting that spatiotemporal patterns of sound resonate with affective features underlying judgments of subjective feelings (arousal and valence). A significant part of the listener9s affective response is predicted from a set of six psychoacoustic features of sound——loudness, tempo, texture, mean pitch, pitch variation, and sharpness. A detailed analysis of the network parameters and dynamics also allows us to identify the role of specific psychoacoustic variables (e.g., tempo and loudness) in music emotional appraisal. This work contributes new evidence and insights to the study of musical emotions, with particular relevance to the music perception and cognition research community.


The determination of the energy band alignment between the 2.6-nm-diameter Si nanocrystals and the SiO2 host is achieved by means of photo-ionization/-neutralization and capacitance spectroscopy. The measured conduction and valence band offsets are 2.6 eV and 4.4 eV. The band gap is evaluated to be 1.7 eV by photoluminescence. These results indicate that the valence band offset at the Si nanocrystals/SiO2 interface is quite close to the one observed at bulk Si/SiO2 interface. On the contrary, we observe a clear upward shift (0.5 eV) of the conduction band in the Si nanocrystals/SiO2 system with respect to the bulk Si/SiO2 hetero-structure.


Pretraining a language model (LM) on text has been shown to help various downstream NLP tasks. Recent works show that a knowledge graph (KG) can complement text data, offering structured background knowledge that provides a useful scaffold for reasoning. However, these works are not pretrained to learn a deep fusion of the two modalities at scale, limiting the potential to acquire fully joint representations of text and KG. Here we propose DRAGON (Deep Bidirectional Language-Knowledge Graph Pretraining), a self-supervised approach to pretraining a deeply joint language-knowledge foundation model from text and KG at scale. Specifically, our model takes pairs of text segments and relevant KG subgraphs as input and bidirectionally fuses information from both modalities. We pretrain this model by unifying two self-supervised reasoning tasks, masked language modeling and KG link prediction. DRAGON outperforms existing LM and LM+KG models on diverse downstream tasks including question answering across general and biomedical domains, with +5% absolute gain on average. In particular, DRAGON achieves notable performance on complex reasoning about language and knowledge (+10% on questions involving long contexts or multi-step reasoning) and low-resource QA (+8% on OBQA and RiddleSense), and new state-of-the-art results on various BioNLP tasks. Our code and trained models are available at https://github.com/michiyasunaga/dragon.


Legal education is slowly beginning to include not only education in critical thinking and legal knowledge, but also education in complementary qualities of personal conduct and early professional formation. Positive psychology, with its emphasis on the evidence-based study of how people can thrive, not just be treated for mental illness or emotional difficulty, can aid these additional educational objectives. This Article examines some of the ongoing pedagogical choices involved in creating a law school course on positive psychology oriented around experiential student learning. Highlighted are a few key insights from the field, including resilience, character strengths, positive values, and enhanced relationships with other people. While only an introduction, this course is designed to help law students become sufficiently grounded in these insights and others from positive psychology to continue their education after law school. Because the course is experimental, the hope is that it will lay the foundation for initiatives by other law professors to make the application of positive psychology more broadly available to law students in general.


This paper presents a software toolkit designed to enable the rapid development of multimedia-rich, multi-touch enabled, and interactive projection-based displays. For instance: door displays, floor displays, wall displays, and interactive tables. Despite recent technological advances and the commercialization of hardware required to achieve this at a relatively low cost, creating and deploying such displays remains a difficult task, even for those with the essential technical skills and experience. We assert that greater accessibility of toolkits like the one presented in this paper will reduce these barriers and allow people (not necessarily from the ubiquitous computing domain) to apply the technology to their own fields. To assess this toolkit's suitability for this role, we present a system and usability evaluation. We observed that participants were able to quickly create their own novel display deployments. Our findings offer insights for potential toolkit users and those considering how to write programs for future ubiquitous projected display environments.


In the western part of Sicily, only a few outcrops in the sector of Gibellina, southeast of the city of Salemi, allow the observation of Messinian bearing-diatom sediments, just under the massive gypsum formation. Here we observe diatomitic laminites within a marly-carbonate series containing gypsum levels. Among these laminites, towards the visible base of the series, are levels rich in very big diatom frustules and, higher in the succession, bitumineous laminites. The majority of the analyzed samples consists essentially of planktonic diatoms, except one level where benthic pennate diatoms dominate. The diatom assemblages characterize a marine opened environment, but are subject to littoral influences and sometimes even to freshwater contributions The succession of the dominant diatom assemblages suggests an alternation between stratified water periods and blooms periods linked to possible upwellings.


The multigroup criticality safety code KENO-IV has been vectorized and tested on the FACOM VP-100 vector processor. At first, the vectorized KENO-IV on a scalar processor was slower than the original one by a factor of 1.4 because of the overhead introduced by vectorization. Making modifications of algorithms and techniques for vectorization, the vectorized version has become faster than the original one by a factor of 1.4 on the vector processor. For further speedup of the code, some improvements on compiler and hardware, especially on addition of Monte Carlo pipelines to the vector processor, are discussed.


Localization is one of the key challenges that needs to be considered beforehand to design truly autonomous MAV teams. In this paper, we present a cooperative method to address the localization problem for a team of MAVs, where individuals obtain their position through perceiving a sound-emitting beacon MAV that is flying relative to a reference point in the environment. For this purpose, an on-board audio-based localization system is proposed that allows individuals to measure the relative bearing to the beacon robot and furthermore to localize themselves and the beacon robot simultaneously, without the need for a communication network. Our method is based on coherence testing among signals of a small on-board microphone array, to obtain the relative bearing measurements, and an estimator, to fuse these measurements with sensory information about the motion of the robot throughout time, to estimate robustly the MAV positions. The proposed method is evaluated both in simulation and in real world experiments.


Abstract We studied the short- and long-term effects of classroom separation in twins on behavior problems and academic performance. Short-term effects were studied at age 7 in twins separated at age 5 and long-term effects at age 12 in twins who had been separated or together most of the time at school. Behavior problems were rated by mothers (Child Behavior Checklist at ages 3, 7 and 12) and teachers (Teacher Report Form at ages 7 and 12). Academic achievement was measured at age 12 using a national academic achievement test (CITO). At age 7, twins from separated pairs had more internalizing and externalizing problems than non- separated twins, as rated by both mothers and teachers. Only for the maternal ratings of internalizing problems, however, could these effects be attributed to the separation itself and not to preexisting problems (at age 3) between separated and nonseparated twins. Long-term effects of separation were significant for maternal and teacher ratings of internalizing and externalizing problems, but these effects could be explained by preexisting differences between separated and nonseparated groups. There were no differences in academic achievement between the separated and nonsepa- rated group. These results suggest that the decision to separate twins when they go to school is based in part on the existing behavioral problems of the twins and that, in the long run, separation does not affect problem behavior or academic achievement. The findings were the same for monozygotic and dizygotic twins.


Research on the role of institutions in influencing students' readiness for college has so far focused primarily on the school level and the state policy context, with only little attention to the district. This case study, based on interview data and documents collected over the course of a year, analyzes an urban district's attempt to create a systematic approach to improving the college readiness of its students, many of whom have been traditionally underserved by the educational system. It identifies factors contributing to progress as well as challenges encountered in several critical areas: (a) leadership commitment, (b) data infrastructure, (c) building adult capacity around data use and college readiness, (d) connecting indicators with supports to promote college readiness, and (e) partnerships with community and higher education institutions.


The Adirondack Mountains in northern New York State form an elongate, domal exposure of mainly high-grade metamorphic tectonites in a mountainous setting with topographic relief of ~1 km. The origin of the Adirondack Mountains and this relief has long been enigmatic, since the Adirondacks presently lie within an intracratonic setting, inboard of the North American passive margin and far from any active plate boundaries. Through the application of apatite fi ssiontrack (AFT) thermochronology and apatite (U-Th)/He (AHe) dating within the eastern Adirondack Mountains, this study provides constraints on both the thermal and erosional effects of Mesozoic passage near a hotspot and the timing of relief development. AFT thermochronology and AHe dating record relatively stable thermal conditions within the eastern Adirondacks from the Middle Jurassic into the Early Cretaceous. During the Early Cretaceous (ca. 130– 120 Ma), the region underwent heating associated with progressive movement near the Great Meteor hotspot, resulting in the temporary establishment of an elevated geothermal gradient. Following regional heating, cooling rates increased considerably (ca. 105–95 Ma), likely due to both thermal doming, producing an increase in erosion rate, and the relaxation of isotherms after passage near the hotspot. The regional distribution of AFT ages across the eastern Adirondacks reveals no systematic age gradient from core to periphery, which would be expected under conditions of persistent high relief during the decay of a crustal root over many tens to hundreds of millions of years. Instead, thermochronological data suggest that the present relief developed during the Late Cretaceous– Cenozoic through plateau dissection during periodic base-level changes.


A noted conflict expert shows how accelerating globalization is causing dangerous global insecurity that must be met by new security models and policies.
 The New Global Insecurity: How Terrorism, Environmental Collapse, Economic Inequalities, and Resource Shortages Are Changing Our World explores insecurity arising out of accelerating globalization. In this unique and forward-thinking work, psychologist Fathali M. Moghaddam, director of the Conflict Studies Program at Georgetown University, explains how and why worldwide insecurity is rising and what steps we must take to quell or reverse that insecurity to make the future of the world more peaceful.
 The book first analyzes the elements and roots of global insecurity, discussing it in relation to terrorism, torture, economic instability, threatened identity, and religious fundamentalism. It then puts forward a new model for understanding security, wherein "soft security capital" serves as the enabling condition for "hard security capital." Finally, the current policies for managing diversity, "multiculturalism" and "assimilation" are both rejected in favor of an exciting new policy—"omniculturalism". Drawing on his years of study and expertise, Moghaddam likewise proposes a new policy for better managing intergroup relations in an insecure age.


The purpose of this study was to ascertain if prophylactic ingestion of a diet rich in vitamin E would prevent or impede the development of ulcerative dermatitis in mice on a C57BL/6 background. Mice were fed either a standard mouse diet, vitamin E (99 IU/kg), or a mouse diet fortified with vitamin E (3000 IU/kg) after weaning. Cases of ulcerative dermatitis were recorded by individuals unmasked to the diet assignment. The incidence of ulcerative dermatitis in a retrospective cohort of mice on standard diet was compared with the group on the diet fortified with vitamin E. Age was associated with ulcerative dermatitis in standard diet and vitamin E fortified diet groups, r = 0.43, p-value < 0.0001 and r = 0.18, p-value < 0.02, respectively. The average age of incidence for ulcerative dermatitis in the mice fed the standard diet was 89 weeks and for the mice fed the vitamin E diet it was 41 weeks. The unadjusted odds ratio comparing the incidence of ulcerative dermatitis between the two diet groups was 4.6 with a 95% confidence interval of (2.44, 8.58), χ(2) p-value < 0.0001. Therefore, there was an association between the diets and ulcerative dermatitis, with the mice on the vitamin E fortified diet having almost five times the odds of having ulcerative dermatitis compared with mice on the standard diet. Incidence of ulcerative dermatitis was not influenced by sex or genotype. Our study results show that a diet fortified in vitamin E initiated at weaning does not prevent or impede the development of ulcerative dermatitis in mice on a C57BL/6 background and may accelerate development when administered to young mice.


Summary Mercury (Hg) is a toxic chemical element, commonly known as quicksilver and hydrargyrum. Found in all hydrocarbon mixtures, mercury has been recorded in natural gas and oil fields all over the world. Generally significantly high levels of mercury concentration are found in the natural gas with light hydrogen isotopes of methane and at lacustrine dispositional environment. Mercury can cause significant problems to the processes of the gas industry such as aluminum heat exchanger failures, poisoned catalysts, contaminated product streams and gas leaks. Given the problems that Hg can cause to the industry and the human health, an investigation on the matter is required. The scope of this thesis is the development of a thermodynamic model that is able to predict the elemental Hg distribution throughout a natural gas processing plant. This way the most efficient way of dealing with this component and the problems caused by it can be detected and solved. To this purpose, the Peng-Robinson (PR) and the Soave-Redlich-Kwong (SRK) cubic equations of state (EOS) were examined by employing different expressions for the alpha parameter of the EOS. For this parameter, Mathias-Copeman and Twu-Coon pure components parameters were developed for Hg for PR and SRK EOS respectively by fitting them to vapor pressure data of elemental Hg. Except for those parameters, binary interaction parameters for Hg and hydracarbons (HC) were developed as well by fitting them to solubility data of Hg in binary mixtures with various HC. Three different types for those parameters have been developed, constant ones, temperature dependent ones, and also a predictive correlation to estimate them for binary mixtures of Hg with HC for which no data are available in the literature. The models have been also tested in a case study -a part of the Karsto plant-. In total three different models have been developed and tested in this master thesis. One of them is based on Peng-Robinson and the other two on Soave-Redlich-Kwong cubic equation of state. The tests have three objectives. The first one is to see the effect while using different thermodynamic models on the prediction of the distribution and mole fractions of Hg throughout the process without the binary interaction parameters. The second one refers to the effect of the binary interaction parameters, once taken into consideration on the distribution and mole fractions of Hg throughout the process. The last one is to find the optimum type of binary interaction parameters that should be used for process simulations. It is mentioned and strongly underlined the fact that there is no possibility of verifying the results of the case study due to the lack of any field data. The results of the simulations can be summarized as follows: 1. All models with no binary interaction parameters provide different results in terms of quantity regarding both the distribution and the mole fractions of Hg throughout the process. At the demethanizer the PR-MC model predicts that the top product of the column has two times the amount of Hg that the two SRK-Twu models suggest. The main difference however is that the PR-MC model predicts that there is more Hg in the top product of the depropanizer compared to the other two models, and also that after that distillation column almost the whole amount of Hg goes to the top products of the debutanizer and the Splitter. The two SRK-Twu models predict the exact opposite fate for Hg for the last two distillation columns and are in agreement with each other. Given the differences in the percentage distribution throughout the process, the same differences concerning the mole fractions of Hg appear as well at the same parts of the process. 2. All models with binary interaction parameters -regardless of their type- provide similar results regarding both the percentage distribution and the mole fractions of Hg throughout the process. Therefore the constant kij parameters are proposed because of their advantage to assist in the stability of the algorithms that solve the simulations. 3. All models agree that almost the whole initial amount of Hg that entered the process is removed by the time the debutanizer is reached by the flow. This is an important difference compared to what the results of the case with the kij parameters set as zero suggests. In addition all models suggest that whatever Hg reaches the debutanizer and the Splitter columns ends up in the top product streams of the columns. 4. The mole fractions of Hg predicted by the models with the binary interaction parameters are much lower than what the models without these parameters predict. This however is to be anticipated up to a point because of the fact that there are important differences in the distribution of Hg throughout the process. 5. It turned out that there was no real difference between each type of kij parameters. Therefore the constant ones are proposed, because they assist in the stability of the algorithms solving the simulations.


[1] Airborne measurements made on initial smoke from 10 savanna fires in southern Africa provide quantitative data on emissions of 50 gaseous and particulate species, including carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, methane, ammonia, dimethyl sulfide, nonmethane organic compounds, halocarbons, gaseous organic acids, aerosol ionic components, carbonaceous aerosols, and condensation nuclei (CN). Measurements of several of the gaseous species by gas chromatography and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy are compared. Emission ratios and emission factors are given for eight species that have not been reported previously for biomass burning of savanna in southern Africa (namely, dimethyl sulfide, methyl nitrate, five hydrocarbons, and particles with diameters from 0.1 to 3 μm). The emission factor that we measured for ammonia is lower by a factor of 4, and the emission factors for formaldehyde, hydrogen cyanide, and CN are greater by factors of about 3, 20, and 3–15, respectively, than previously reported values. The new emission factors are used to estimate annual emissions of these species from savanna fires in Africa and worldwide.


Abstract. We identify solar cycle signals in 155 years of global sea level pressure (SLP) and sea surface temperature (SST) data using a multiple linear regression approach. In SLP we find in the North Pacific a statistically significant weakening of the Aleutian Low and a northward shift of the Hawaiian High in response to higher solar activity, confirming the results of previous authors using different techniques. We also find a weak but broad reduction in pressure across the equatorial Pacific. In SST we identify a weak El Nino-like pattern in the tropics for the 155 year period, unlike the strong La Nina-like signal found recently by some other authors. We show that the latter have been influenced by the technique of compositing data from peak years of the sunspot cycle because these years have often coincided with the negative phase of the ENSO cycle. Furthermore, the date of peak annual sunspot number (SSN) generally falls a year or more in advance of the broader maximum of the 11-year solar cycle so that analyses which incorporate data from all years represent more coherently the difference between periods of high and low solar activity on these timescales. We also find that studies of the solar signal in SST over the second half of the 20th century may alias as ENSO signal if this is not properly taken into account.


This paper systematically extends John Rawls' original position to nonideal theory, showing how parties to a "nonideal original position" ought to prioritize four "nonideal primary goods" over Rawls' principles and priority relations, and then agree to five lexically ordered principles of nonideal theory for distributing those goods. Finally, these five principles are shown to fare very well in reflective equilibrium, cohering with a number of pretheoretic moral intuitions.


Neural conversation systems generate responses based on the sequence-to-sequence (SEQ2SEQ) paradigm. Typically, the model is equipped with a single set of learned parameters to generate responses for given input contexts. When confronting diverse conversations, its adaptability is rather limited and the model is hence prone to generate generic responses. In this work, we propose an Adaptive Neural Dialogue generation model, AdaND, which manages various conversations with conversation-specific parameterization. For each conversation, the model generates parameters of the encoder-decoder by referring to the input context. In particular, we propose two adaptive parameterization mechanisms: a context-aware and a topic-aware parameterization mechanism. The context-aware parameterization directly generates the parameters by capturing local semantics of the given context. The topic-aware parameterization enables parameter sharing among conversations with similar topics by first inferring the latent topics of the given context and then generating the parameters with respect to the distributional topics. Extensive experiments conducted on a large-scale real-world conversational dataset show that our model achieves superior performance in terms of both quantitative metrics and human evaluations.


DAMAGE DETECTION AND MITIGATION IN OPEN COLLABORATION APPLICATIONS Andrew G. West • Insup Lee • Oleg Sokolsky Collaborative functionality is changing the way information is amassed, refined, and disseminated in online environments. A subclass of these systems characterized by "open collaboration" uniquely allow participants to modify content with low barriersto-entry. A prominent example and our case study, English Wikipedia, exemplifies the vulnerabilities: 7%+ of its edits are blatantly unconstructive. Our measurement studies show this damage manifests in novel socio-technical forms, limiting the effectiveness of computational detection strategies from related domains. In turn this has made much mitigation the responsibility of a poorly organized and ill-routed human workforce. We aim to improve all facets of this incident response workflow. Complementing language based solutions we first develop content agnostic predictors of damage. We implicitly glean reputations for system entities and overcome sparse behavioral histories with a spatial reputation model combining evidence from multiple granularity. We also identify simple yet indicative metadata features that capture participatory dynamics and content maturation. When brought to bear over damage corpora our contributions: (1) advance benchmarks over a broad set of security issues ("vandalism"), (2) perform well in the first anti-spam specific approach, and (3) demonstrate their portability over diverse open collaboration use cases. Probabilities generated by our classifiers can also intelligently route human assets using prioritization schemes optimized for capture rate or impact minimization. Organizational primitives are introduced that improve workforce efficiency. The whole of these strategies are implemented into a tool ("STiki") that has been used to revert 350,000+ damaging instances from Wikipedia. These uses are analyzed to learn about human aspects of the edit review process; properties including scalability, motivation, and latency. Finally, we conclude by measuring practical impacts of our work, discussing how to better integrate our solutions, and revealing outstanding vulnerabilities that speak to research challenges for open collaboration security.


This short essay is my contribution to a conference on "opportunities for law's intellectual history," which took place at SUNY Buffalo Law School in the fall of 2014. The essay offers a friendly criticism of what I perceive to be a trend in legal history. In particular, it criticizes legal historians' seemingly increasing reluctance to offer causal explanations of past events or current practices. While recognizing the empirical and conceptual difficulties that beset any effort to identify "causes" of historical events, I argue that legal history cannot effectively serve the critical function many historians hope for it without making controversial judgments about historical causation in particular cases. The bulk of the essay is devoted to identifying and analyzing four potentially critical types of history: Impeaching Accounts, Genealogies, Stories, and Restorative Projects. My aim in discussing each type is to show that critical histories that purport to remain agnostic as to the driving causal factors at work in the historical phenomena under examination are either insufficiently critical, insufficiently historical, or both.


Background: In 2010, more than 51.4 million procedures were performed in hospitals in the United States. Almost half of all patients had a surgical procedure prior to their hospital discharge and over 80% of patients experienced acute pain after surgery. When acute pain persists for two or more months after surgery, chronic pain develops, costing the United States up to $635 billion annually. Hispanics, in particular, disproportionately experience disparities in pain treatment as they are less likely to receive analgesics. Routine pain assessments conducted using instruments may be inaccurately capturing the pain experience of Hispanic adults. No research has revealed the essence of the experience after surgery among hospitalized, Hispanic adults. Purpose: To describe the lived experience after surgery among Hispanics adults. Methods: This qualitative study followed a descriptive phenomenological approach. Hispanic adults, who experienced and communicated pain after surgery, were interviewed while hospitalized at an academic medical center in Southern California. Purposive, criterion sampling continued until data saturation was reached. In-person, semi-structured interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed. Then, a descriptive identification of the lived experience was formulated following Colaizzi's procedural steps for analyzing phenomenological data. The 10 participants, of whom five were female, were aged 23 to 83 years. Six participants were interviewed in Spanish and all interviews occurred 1 to 15 days from the most recent inpatient surgery. Findings: Five clusters of themes emerged and represented the fundamental structure of the phenomenon: (a) uniquely distressing and individually defined, (b) conflicting emotional, psychological, and spiritual needs, (c) extreme vulnerability and reliance on others, (d) underlying inequality in knowing and being, and (e) awareness of mortality. A descriptive identification of the phenomenon was formulated from the themes and revealed the meaning and essence of the lived experience after surgery among Hispanic adults. Conclusion: The lived experience after surgery among Hispanic adults exposes a dichotomy between recipients and providers of care within hospitals that must be addressed to promote compassion and alleviate suffering. Within the narrow context of acute pain after surgery, further research is needed to modify existing or develop new instruments used for routine pain assessments in order to improve subsequent treatment.


The study investigates the predictors of food insecurity among households in Eswatini given the 2015/16 El Nino induced drought. To identify the geographic and socioeconomic factors that predict food insecurity during a drought in Eswatini, the study uses a logistic regression. The logistic regression results show that households that have a deteriorated health and disability status are three times more likely to be food insecure during a drought than households that have no health or disability impacts. In contrast, high quality vegetables, meat, and fish can be considered luxury food items that significantly predict food security among households in the country. The study also finds that the prices of maize and rice are good predictors of food insecurity among households given that maize is a staple food in Eswatini. A major finding on the predictors of food insecurity is that all incomes above E1,000 significantly reduce the chances of food insecurity among households compared to those households that have no form of income. The regression reveals that E3,500 is the optimal level of monthly income to cushion households from severe food insecurity. Therefore, the study recommends that Government (Ministry of Labour and Social Security) should investigate the suitability and sustainability of a E3,500 monthly minimum income (wage) in Eswatini. Furthermore, in the event of drought, the Government of Eswatini should prioritise intervention programmes such as food distribution on households living with disabilities and those with deteriorated health status. In terms of building drought preparedness and mitigation for future droughts, implementation of the 2005 Food Security Policy should deliberately target the following constituencies; Lomahasha, Mthongwaneni, Matsanjeni North, Ngudzeni, Sigwe, Hlane, Mandlangempisi, Sandleni, Mkhiweni, Sithobela, Ntontozi, Lubuli, Dvokodvweni, Mayiwane, Siphofaneni, Mafutseni, Ndzingeni, Mahlangatane, Matsanjeni South, Mahlangatja, and Nkwene. Keywords : Drought; Food Insecurity; Predictors; Food Insecurity Vulnerability


There is no doubt about it, structured programming (SP) is making waves. Wherever one goes within the computing community people are asking what it is and how they can use it. And the answers they are receiving are sometimes very different. This inability to pin down a precise definition has caused the original concept of SP to become widely distorted. For example, a recent advertisement described SP as "a means of improving the quality of the code, improving project control, reducing the debugging phase of the project, forcing good software documentation as an integral part of the system design, and making programs less sensitive to turnover of project personnel."<R>1</R> Thus portrayed as a panacea for the entire programming process, it is not surprising that in a recent week-long seminar given by Dr. Dijkstra, he refused to use the term at all.


The current expansion has delivered the lowest unemployment rates in decades, yet nominal wage growth has remained relatively contained. This suggests to some a shift in the historical relationship between unemployment and wage growth. We look across the states for more timely evidence of a change in this relationship. We find some evidence that the elasticity of real wage growth with respect to unemployment has fallen recently, a result that is not due to a compositional shift toward college-educated workers. However, evidence of a weakened relationship is itself weak, depending on inherently arbitrary decisions about when a shift may have occurred. In addition, we find that levels of real wage growth associated with high, medium, and low unemployment have remained relatively constant.


Abstract. The last glacial period is characterized by a number of millennial climate
events that have been identified in both Greenland and Antarctic ice cores
and that are abrupt in Greenland climate records. The mechanisms governing
this climate variability remain a puzzle that requires a precise
synchronization of ice cores from the two hemispheres to be resolved.
Previously, Greenland and Antarctic ice cores have been synchronized
primarily via their common records of gas concentrations or isotopes from
the trapped air and via cosmogenic isotopes measured on the ice. In this
work, we apply ice core volcanic proxies and annual layer counting to
identify large volcanic eruptions that have left a signature in both
Greenland and Antarctica. Generally, no tephra is associated with those
eruptions in the ice cores, so the source of the eruptions cannot be
identified. Instead, we identify and match sequences of volcanic eruptions
with bipolar distribution of sulfate, i.e. unique patterns of volcanic
events separated by the same number of years at the two poles. Using this
approach, we pinpoint 82 large bipolar volcanic eruptions throughout the
second half of the last glacial period (12–60 ka). This
improved ice core synchronization is applied to determine the bipolar
phasing of abrupt climate change events at decadal-scale precision. In
response to Greenland abrupt climatic transitions, we find a response in the
Antarctic water isotope signals (δ18O and deuterium excess)
that is both more immediate and more abrupt than that found with previous
gas-based interpolar synchronizations, providing additional support for our
volcanic framework. On average, the Antarctic bipolar seesaw climate
response lags the midpoint of Greenland abrupt δ18O transitions
by 122±24 years. The time difference between Antarctic signals in
deuterium excess and δ18O, which likewise informs the time
needed to propagate the signal as described by the theory of the bipolar
seesaw but is less sensitive to synchronization errors, suggests an
Antarctic δ18O lag behind Greenland of 152±37 years.
These estimates are shorter than the 200 years suggested by earlier
gas-based synchronizations. As before, we find variations in the timing and
duration between the response at different sites and for different events
suggesting an interaction of oceanic and atmospheric teleconnection patterns
as well as internal climate variability.


The "Removal Jurisdiction Clarification Act" is a narrowly tailored legislative proposal designed to resolve a widespread conflict in the federal district courts over the proper interpretation of the statutory "forum-defendant" rule.The forum-defendant rule prohibits removal of a diversity case "if any of the parties in interest properly joined and served as defendants is a citizen of the [forum state]." 28 U.S.C. § 1441(b)(2) (emphasis added). Some courts, following the "plain language" of the statute, hold that defendants can avoid the constraints of the rule by removing diversity cases to federal court when a citizen of the forum state has been joined as a defendant but has not yet been served. This stratagem has been referred to as "snap removal." Other courts reject the stratagem. They take a "purposive" approach, typically reasoning that following the plain language "produces a result that is at clear odds with congressional intent."Resolution of the conflict can come only from Congress. The preferable resolution is to neutralize the stratagem of snap removal by requiring district courts to remand cases to the appropriate state court if, after removal, the plaintiff timely serves one or more forum defendants and a timely motion to remand follows. That is the approach taken by the proposed legislation. The legislation also would confirm that the forum-defendant rule is not jurisdictional, endorsing the position taken by all but one of the circuits that have considered the question.


Background and ObjectivesCareers guidance for young people is regarded as important for supporting positive labour market outcomes. In particular, by helping young people to develop their career management competencies and their roles as learners and workers, careers guidance can help reduce the number of young people who fall outside of the education, training or employment system and from becoming 'NEETS'. While the practice of career guidance implicitly reflects a commitment to social equality, there are concerns that the provision of career services may not be taken up by those with the greatest need. Previous research suggests that higher achieving pupils are more likely to receive careers guidance interventions (Anderson et al. 2004), while learners from under-privileged and ethnic minority backgrounds may have relatively limited access to educational, vocational and employment information (Liu and Middleton; 1995; Brown et al. 1991; Watson and Stead, 1990). This paper examines these issues in the context of the provision of careers advice to school pupils in Wales.
MethodsData from the Welsh National Pupil Database is combined with client information held by Careers Wales to examine the incidence and nature of careers guidance received by children and how their characteristics effect the likelihood of receivingcareers-related services. Logistic regression is used to identify factors associated with the likelihood of receiving careers advice within schools.
FindingsThe findings reveal that students receive more careers information, advice and guidance when they are in Year 10. Generally, careers interventions within schools are more likely to be accessed by those students with the greatest need.
ConclusionsSteps take to enhance educational and career opportunities of pupils in Welsh schools are effective, as students who have the most need for such interventions are receiving the services.


Recently several cell lines have been identified with mutations in a major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-linked protein that lead to defects in class II-restricted antigen presentation and a defect in the formation of class II SDS-stable dimers. The defect in these cells has recently been shown to result from the inability to express the MHC- encoded nonclassical class II molecule called DM. To further examine the role of DM in class II-restricted antigen presentation, we asked if this defect would equally affect different allelic and species variants of class II molecules. To investigate this, we transfected the parent cell lines T1 and 8.1.6 and their respective antigen presentation mutants T2 and 9.5.3 with the genes encoding I-Ad and examined the derived transfectants for their ability to present antigen, the conformation of I-Ad at the cell surface, association of I-Ad with invariant chain (Ii), and the ability to form I-Ad SDS-stable dimers. The lack of functional DM expression did not affect any of the anti-I- Ad monoclonal antibody (mAb) epitopes tested or the ability of I-Ad to associate and dissociate with Ii. Surprisingly, these studies also revealed that the antigen presentation defect observed for DR in the 9.5.3 cells did not compromise I-Ad-restricted antigen presentation. In addition, we found that the level of SDS-stable dimer formation did not correlate with antigen presentation capacity for I-Ad and that the amount of SDS-stable I-Ad dimer depends on the cellular context in which the class II molecule is expressed. Our results suggest that the ability to form SDS-stable dimer is not strictly correlated with class II-restricted antigen presentation. Finally, when two allelic forms of murine class II molecules were compared in the defective T2 cell line, it was found that I-Ak but not I-Ad forms SDS-stable dimers equivalent to that seen in the parental cell lines. Overall, our results suggest that DM may modulate rather than play a requisite role in I-Ad- restricted antigen presentation and SDS-stable dimer formation and that dependency on DM may be allele or species specific.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
The aim of this study was to investigate potential gender differences in situations associated with heavy alcohol drinking.

METHODS
Data from 395 alcohol dependent patients participating in the Mayo Clinic Intensive Addiction Program were evaluated. Each participant completed the inventory of drug taking situations (IDTS), Penn alcohol craving scale (PACS), patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9), and/or Beck depression inventory (BDI). Gender differences in IDTS scores representing three domains (negative, positive, and temptation) of situations associated with heavy alcohol use were examined.

RESULTS
Women with alcohol dependence report a higher frequency of heavy drinking in unpleasant emotional (IDTS negative scores mean ± SD women vs. men: 52.3 ± 22.1 vs. 43.8 ± 21.8; p = .0006), and as a result of temptation (IDTS temptation scores mean ± SD women vs. men: 40.4 ± 23.0 vs. 35.3 ± 20.8; p = .035). Upon admission, women also scored significantly higher on depressive symptoms as measured by the BDI (23.4 ± 11.4 vs. 18.2 ± 9.8, p < .001). After controlling for depressive symptom severity as a covariate, the IDTS gender differences were no longer significant.

CONCLUSION AND SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE
Our results suggest that unpleasant or temptation based emotional situations are a vulnerability risk factor for heavy drinking particularly in females. This risk appears to be at least partially driven by depressive symptom burden. Future research is needed to further investigate this finding.


In this paper, a theory for constructing quasi-neutral density variables γ directly in thermodynamic space is formulated, which is based on minimising the absolute value of a purely thermodynamic quantity J n . Physically, J n has a dual dynamic/thermodynamic interpretation as the quantity controlling the energy cost of adiabatic and isohaline parcel exchanges on material surfaces, as well as the dependence of in-situ density on spiciness, in a description of water masses based on γ, spiciness and pressure. Mathematically, minimising | J n | in thermodynamic space is showed to be equivalent to maximising neutrality in physical space. The physics of epineutral dispersion is also reviewed and discussed. It is argued, in particular, that epineutral dispersion is best understood as the aggregate effect of many individual non-neutral stirring events (being understood here as adiabatic and isohaline events with non-zero buoyancy), so that it is only the net displacement aggregated over many events that is approximately neutral. This new view resolves an apparent paradox between the focus in neutral density theory on zero-buoyancy motions and the overwhelming evidence that lateral dispersion in the ocean is primarily caused by non-zero buoyancy processes such as tides, residual currents and sheared internal waves. The efficiency by which a physical process contributes to lateral dispersion can be characterised by its energy signature, with those processes releasing available potential energy (negative energy cost) being more efficient than purely neutral processes with zero energy cost. The latter mechanism occurs in the wedge of instability, and its source of energy is the coupling between baroclinicity, thermobaricity, and density compensated temperature/salinity anomalies. Such a mechanism, which can only exist in a salty ocean, is speculated to be important for dissipating spiciness anomalies and neutral helicity. The paper also discusses potential conceptual difficulties with the use of neutral rotated diffusion tensors in numerical ocean models, as well as with the construction of neutral density variables in physical space. It also emphasises the irreducible character of thermobaric forces in the ocean. These are argued to be the cause for adiabatic thermobaric dianeutral dispersion, and to forbid the existence of density surfaces along which fluid parcels can be exchanged without experiencing buoyancy forces, in contrast to what is assumed in the theory of neutral surfaces.


The vast majority of dams in the US, and thus the majority of those removed, are small structures that are governed primarily by state and local institutions. Important differences between large and small dams suggest that the existing work on the governance of large dam removals should not be expected to explain decisions about small dam removals. It is, for example, unclear which policies and organisations drive dam removals when there is no direct federal nexus. It is also unclear how the relevant policies and organisations shape the local decision-making process and how the design of the decision-making process influences stakeholder opinions on the decision to remove the dam. The objective of this study is thus to characterise and evaluate the governance that has driven recent decisions to remove small dams. A modified version of Ostrom's Institutional Analysis and Development framework was applied to two dam removal case studies, that of the Beeson-Robison Dam in Oregon and the Nelson Dam in Washington state. In each case, an online survey was distributed to stakeholders involved in the dam removals in order to characterise the design and costs of the governance process and to investigate how those variables were associated with stakeholder opinions on the decision to remove the dam. Results found little difference in governance processes between the two case studies, suggesting that the organisation that led the removal – a local government and an NGO, respectively – was not an important determinant in the governance process. Instead, the case studies suggest that a governance mechanism characterised by passive threat, active support led to the decision to remove both dams. It is hypothesised that a similar governance mechanism is at play in other environmental management and restoration activities. Other key findings include the high levels of satisfaction and optimism among stakeholders of both projects, likely a result of the time and energy invested in a collaborative decision-making process at both sites. Further work should be conducted to more fully characterise the governance mechanisms behind small dam removals, which may help reduce the conflicts and costs of future projects.


Most of the research work hitherto carried out in the induction motors fault diagnosis area has been focused on squirrel-cage motors in spite of the fact that wound-rotor motors are typically less robust, having a more delicate maintenance. Over recent years, wound-rotor machines have drawn an increasing attention in the fault diagnosis community due to the advent of wind power technologies for electricity generation and the widely spread use of its generator variant, the Doubly-Fed Induction Generators (DFIGs) in that specific context. Nonetheless, there is still a lack of reliable techniques suited and properly validated in wound-rotor industrial induction motors. This paper proposes an integral methodology to diagnose rotor asymmetries in wound-rotor motors with high reliability. It is based on a twofold approach; the Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) method is employed to track the low-frequency fault-related components, while the Wigner-Ville Distribution (WVD) is used for detecting the high-frequency failure harmonics during a startup. Experimental results with real wound-rotor motors demonstrate that the combination of both perspectives enables to correctly diagnose the failure with higher reliability than alternative techniques relying on a unique informational source.


Dale Coke grew up on an apricot orchard in California's Santa Clara Valley. In 1976 he bought ten acres of farmland near Watsonville in Santa Cruz County but continued to work repairing fuel injection systems rather than farming at his new home. In 1981, a struggle with cancer inspired him to rethink his life and become an organic farmer. His neighbor, who had grown strawberries using pesticides and chemical fertilizers, asserted that strawberries could not be grown organically. Coke set out to prove him wrong. He sold his first organic strawberries at Community Foods, a local natural foods store, and began marketing berries, baby zucchini and "exotic" lettuces to Alice Waters' Chez Panisse Restaurant in Berkeley, and later other high-end restaurants across the country. Coke can be credited with the invention of the spring salad mix, an assortment of baby lettuce greens, now one of the most lucrative products sold by the organic industry. He originally rinsed his greens in an old washing machine cleverly set up to run only on the spin cycle. Coke Farms grew as salad mix caught on and began to be distributed beyond upscale restaurants and into supermarkets across the country. Today the company grows over fifty crops, including braising mix, Meyer lemons, shallots, and watermelon radishes. They also run a cold storage/shipping facility and contract with several other certified organic growers to sell and ship their produce across the country. The Organic Farming Research Foundation sent Coke to Washington, D.C. to testify at a hearing on the Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement on July 29, 2009. Dale Coke was a pioneering member of California Certified Organic Farmers and received a Stewards of Sustainable Agriculture (Sustie) Award in 2009, along with his wife, Christine Coke. Coke shares his recollections of that organization's early history, as well as the development of his farm. Ellen Farmer interviewed Dale Coke on March 21, 2007, at Coke Farm in Watsonville, California.


Public institutions are increasingly reliant on data from social media sites to measure public attitude and provide timely public engagement. Such reliance includes the exploration of public views on important social issues such as gender-based violence (GBV). In this study, we examine big (social) data consisting of nearly 14 million tweets collected from Twitter over a period of 10 months to analyze public opinion regarding GBV, highlighting the nature of tweeting practices by geographical location and gender. We demonstrate the utility of computational social science to mine insight from the corpus while accounting for the influence of both transient events and sociocultural factors. We reveal public awareness regarding GBV tolerance and suggest opportunities for intervention and the measurement of intervention effectiveness assisting both governmental and non-governmental organizations in policy development.


Abstract The cores of the Earth and other differentiated bodies are believed to be comprised of iron and various amounts of light elements. Measuring the densities and sound velocities of iron and its alloys at high pressures and high temperatures is crucial for understanding the structure and composition of these cores. In this study, the sound velocities (vP and vS) and density measurements of body-centered cubic (bcc)-Fe were determined experimentally up to 6.3 GPa and 800 K using ultrasonic and X-ray diffraction methods. Based on the measured vP, vS, and density, we obtained the following parameters regarding the adiabatic bulk KS and shear G moduli of bcc-Fe: KS0 = 163.2(15) GPa, ∂KS/̸P = 6.75(33), ∂KS/∂T = –0.038(3) GPa/K, G0 = 81.4(6) GPa, ∂G/̸P = 1.66(14), and ∂G/∂T = –0.029(1) GPa/K. Moreover, we observed that the sound velocity–density relationship for bcc-Fe depended on temperature in the pressure and temperature ranges analyzed in this study and the effect of temperature on vS was stronger than that on vP at a constant density, e.g., 6.0% and 2.7% depression for vS and vP, respectively, from 300 to 800 K at 8000 kg/m3. Furthermore, the effects of temperature on both vP and vS at a constant density were much greater for bcc-Fe than for ε-FeSi (cubic B20 structure), according to previously obtained measurements, which may be attributable to differences in the degree of thermal pressure. These results suggest that the effects of temperature on the sound velocity–density relationship for Fe alloys strongly depend on their crystal structures and light element contents in the range of pressure and temperature studied.


Current mathematical models, developed on straight asphalt binders, are inadequate to characterize the frequency dependence of response of polymer-modified asphalt binders. In an earlier study at Virginia Tech, mathematical models were developed to predict the storage and loss shear moduli of polymer-modified binders. However the model developed for the loss shear moduli is limited at high frequency (G" ≤ 10 Pa). This thesis presents a statistical modeling of loss shear modulus of polymer (random copolymers and thermoplastic block copolymers) modified binder. Data from dynamic mechanical analysis on modified binders, at temperatures between 5 and 75°C and frequencies ranging from 0.06 to 0188.5 rad/s, were reduced to dynamic master curves of moduli, and used to develop the model. Twenty-one polymer-binder blends prepared and tested earlier at Virginia Tech where included in the study. Realistic characterization of loss shear moduli values was obtained using the Gompertz statistical model. The model was validated by using mean square error of prediction (MSEP) in which a second set of frequency data was input in the model to obtain the moduli values, which were compared to the measured data of the second set. Although this model was successfully tested for shear loss modulus prediction of polymer-modified binders, caution should be exercised when it is applied, as such a model should be able to predict the storage modulus for a known phase angle.


Abstract Global Positioning System (GPS) telemetry is used extensively to study animal distribution and resource selection patterns but is susceptible to biases resulting from data omission and spatial inaccuracies. These data errors may cause misinterpretation of wildlife habitat selection or spatial use patterns. We used both stationary test collars and collared free-ranging American black bears (Ursus americanus) to quantify systemic data loss and location error of GPS telemetry in mountainous, old-growth temperate forests of Olympic National Park, Washington, USA. We developed predictive models of environmental factors that influence the probability of obtaining GPS locations and evaluated the ability of weighting factors derived from these models to mitigate data omission biases from collared bears. We also examined the effects of microhabitat on collar fix success rate and examined collar accuracy as related to elevation changes between successive fixes. The probability of collars successfully obtaining location fixes was positively associated with elevation and unobstructed satellite view and was negatively affected by the interaction of overstory canopy and satellite view. Test collars were 33% more successful at acquiring fixes than those on bears. Fix success rates of collared bears varied seasonally and diurnally. Application of weighting factors to individual collared bear fixes recouped only 6% of lost data and failed to reduce seasonal or diurnal variation in fix success, suggesting that variables not included in our model contributed to data loss. Test collars placed to mimic bear bedding sites received 16% fewer fixes than randomly placed collars, indicating that microhabitat selection may contribute to data loss for wildlife equipped with GPS collars. Horizontal collar errors of >800 m occurred when elevation changes between successive fixes were >400 m. We conclude that significant limitations remain in accounting for data loss and error inherent in using GPS telemetry in coniferous forest ecosystems and that, at present, resource selection patterns of large mammals derived from GPS telemetry should be interpreted cautiously.


A global 3-dimensional chemistry/transport model able to describe O 3 , NO x , Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC), sulphur and NH 3 chemistry has been extended to simulate the temporal and spatial distribution of primary and secondary carbonaceous aerosols in the tropo-sphere focusing on Secondary Organic Aerosol (SOA) formation. A number of global simulations have been performed to determine a possible range of annual global SOA production and investigate uncertainties associated with the model results. The studied uncertainties in the SOA budget have been evaluated to be in decreasing importance: the potentially irreversible sticking of the semi-volatile compounds on aerosols, the enthalpy of vaporization of these compounds, the partitioning of SOA on non-carbonaceous aerosols, the conversion of aerosols from hydrophobic to hy-drophilic, the emissions of primary carbonaceous aerosols, the chemical fate of the first generation products and finally the activity coefficient of the condensable species. The large uncertainties associated with the emissions of VOC and the adopted simplification of chemistry have not been investigated in this study. Although not all sources of uncertainties have been investigated, according to our calculations, the above factors within the experimental range of variations could result to an overall uncertainty of about a factor of 20 in the global SOA budget. The global annual SOA production from biogenic VOC might range from 2.5 to 44.5 Tg of organic matter per year, whereas that from anthropogenic VOC ranges from 0.05 to 2.62 Tg of organic matter per year. These estimates can be considered as a lower limit, since partitioning on coarse particles like nitrate, dust or sea-salt, together with the partitioning and the dissociation of the semi-volatile products in aerosol water has been neglected. Comparison of model results to observations, where available, shows a better agreement for the upper budget estimates than for the lower ones.


[1] Observations of isoprene and its oxidation products methacrolein (MACR) and methyl vinyl ketone (MVK) are used to quantify the impact of isoprene oxidation on ozone production along the western slope of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Regular daytime up-slope wind flow patterns transport anthropogenic volatile organic compounds (VOC) and NOx emissions from the Central Valley toward the Sierra Nevada. A north– south band of oak forests stretching along the foothills and located approximately halfway between Sacramento and our measurement site (Blodgett Forest Research Station; elevation 1315 m) injects isoprene into this mixture. Subsequently, high ozone levels are encountered in these air masses. At Blodgett, daytime mixing ratios of isoprene's oxidation products and ozone were highly correlated. The observed daytime MVK/MACR ratio was used to estimate a mean [OH] of 9 (±4) � 10 6 molec. cm � 3 between the measurement site and the Sierra foothills. The slope of the correlation between ozone and MVK was analyzed and compared to theoretical yield ratios for the photooxidation of isoprene to estimate the fraction of total ozone production due to isoprene oxidation. On average, over 40% of the observed midday ozone formation in this region was attributable to isoprene oxidation. On ozone episode days (maximum [O3] > 90 ppb), the mean isoprene contribution was over 70%. The calculated isoprene contribution to ozone production was variable from day to day but tended to increase exponentially with both isoprene input and air temperature. NOx conditions in the up-slope air masses were very important in determining the ozone formation potential of isoprene, and the general dominance of isoprene as an ozone precursor suggests that summertime ozone abatement strategies for the region must focus on anthropogenic NOx rather than VOC reductions. INDEX TERMS: 0315 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Biosphere/atmosphere interactions; 0345 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Pollution—urban and regional (0305); 0365 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Troposphere—composition and chemistry


Extensive reforms of Indias indirect taxes at the central and the state levels has prepared the necessary ground for the implementation of a comprehensive goods and services tax (GST). The Empowered Committee of the State Finance Ministers in their First Discussion Paper and the Thirteenth Finance Commission in their recently submitted report have suggested GST models which are quite different in many respects. This paper identifies these differences and argues that within the regime of taxation of goods and services in India environmental tax reform should also be incorporated to make the tax regime play a significant role in managing environment. The environment tax reforms will yield both a fiscal double dividend and an economic double dividend making the Indian economy pursue a path of sustainable development.


Human embryonic aneuploidy can have a meiotic or a mitotic origin. The majority of meiotic chromosome errors arise during oogenesis. Two main aneuploidy-causing mechanisms have been defined: the first involves the nondisjunction of entire chromosomes and takes place during both meiotic divisions, whereas the second involves the premature division of a chromosome into its two sister chromatids during meiosis I, followed by their random segregation. Mitotic aneuploidy can arise as a consequence of problems such as nondisjunction, endoreduplication and anaphase lag and occurs most often during the first three divisions after fertilisation. The cleavage stage of development is characterised by the highest rates of aneuploidy, after which the incidence of cytogenetic abnormality decreases significantly. A large number of oocytes and embryos have been examined in order to define the spectrum of aneuploidies during the first few days of life and to shed light upon their origins. Various classical and molecular cytogenetic methods have been employed for this purpose, and valuable data of biological and clinical relevance have been obtained.

Key Concepts:

Aneuploidy is the most important genetic cause of human reproductive wastage (i.e. the principal reason for embryo implantation failure and miscarriage).

The outcome of assisted reproductive treatments (e.g. in vitro fertilisation (IVF)) and natural reproductive cycles is negatively affected by aneuploidy.

Most meiotically derived abnormalities arise during oogenesis.

There is a strong relationship between advancing female age and increasing aneuploidy rates in oocytes.

Two distinct mechanisms of oocyte chromosome malsegregation have been described, whole chromosome nondisjunction and unbalanced chromatid predivision.

Post-zygotic aneuploidy usually arises during the first few mitotic divisions and leads to mosaicism in the embryo.

There are three main mechanisms responsible for aneuploidy of mitotic origin: anaphase lag, endoreduplication and mitotic nondisjunction.

The cleavage stage of preimplantation development is associated with the highest aneuploidy rates.

The frequency of chromosome abnormalities and mosaicism declines as embryos progress to the blastocyst stage, presumably due to loss of abnormal cells or demise of affected embryos.

Keywords:

oocyte;
preimplantation embryo;
chromosome;
aneuploidy;
mosaicism


The aim of this paper is to assess the empirical fit of a constraint on remnant movement that is derived as a consequence of a certain reformulation of the mechanisms underlying syntactic movement. The constraint arises from the similarity between remnant movement configurations, on the one hand, and configurations of the sort that produce "freezing effects" on the other; the reformulated system disallows the latter, and imposes a condition on the former that appears quite restrictive. I show here, however, that a large portion of the uses of remnant movement in the literature work within the bounds predicted by this unusual constraint, including analyses of data concerning VP-fronting, German "incomplete category fronting", verb-second, and SOV and VSO word orders.


Previously published under the title "Cause and Meaning in the Social Sciences", this collection of essays is now available in paperback for a student audience. Ranging widely in philosophy, sociology and social anthropology, and the relationships and interaction between the three, The book employs an analytical and occasionally combative approach to elucidate key questions of social scientific method. The 15 essays: consider the work of other eminent social anthropologists (Evans-Pritchard, Leach, Malinowski); discuss trends and developments in approach to the social sciences, including functionalism and structuralism; and subject to rigorous analysis key issues in anthropological enquiry, such as kinship, the relation between nature and society, and the role of language.


Aim. The objective of this study was to collect evidence of transfer-of-training to professional performance provided by two stand-alone PC-based flight games. Background. These realistic games, Falcon 4.0 (F-16 specific) and Microsoft Flight Simulator (civil aircraft), are designed for entertainment purposes, lacking any purposeful or explicit instructional support. Method. This quasi-experimental study used three pre-existing groups of gamers (n = 37; Falcon 4.0 gamers, Microsoft Flight Simulator gamers and control group: gamers without flight game experience) that performed three typical F-16 flight tasks in a high-fidelity fixed-base flight simulator. Results. The Falcon 4.0 gamers performed substantially better on almost all tasks compared to the control group, and to a lesser degree to Microsoft Flight Simulator gamers. The Falcon 4.0 group showed near- and far-transfer on almost all flight performance measures: the game had prepared them for the generic and specific military aspects of the test flight tasks. Performance of the Microsoft Flight Simulator gamers indicated only far-transfer, i.e., transfer of more generic flight skills from the game to the test flight tasks. Conclusion. Both near- and far-transfer of job related competences may occur by playing realistic entertainment games.


The importance of internal structure on the stress-strain behavior of granular materials has been widely recognized. How to define the fabric tensor and use it in constitutive modeling, however, remains an open question. The definition of fabric tensor requires (1) identifying the key aspects of structure information, and (2) quantifying their impact on material strength and deformation. This paper addresses these issues by applying the homogenization theory to interpret the multiscale data obtained from the discrete element simulations. Numerical experiments have been carried out to test granular materials with different particle friction coefficients. More frictional particles tend to form fewer but larger void cells, leading to a larger sample void ratio. Upon shearing, they form more significant structure anisotropy and support higher force anisotropy, resulting in higher friction angle. Material strength and deformation have been explored on the local scale with the particle packing described by the void cell system. Three groups of fabric tensor are discussed herein. The first group is based on the contact vectors, which are the geometrical links between contact forces and material stress. Their relationship with material strength has been quantified by the Stress-Force-Fabric relationship. The second group is based on the statistics of individual void cell characteristics. Material dilatancy has been interpreted by tracing the void cell statistics during shearing. The last group is based on the void vectors, for their direct presence in the microstructural strain definition, including those based on the void vector probability density and mean void vector. Correlations among various fabric quantifications have been explored. The mean void vector length and the mean void cell area are parameters quantifying the internal structure size and strongly correlated with each other. Anisotropy indices defined based on contact normal density, void vector density, void vector length, and void cell orientation are found to be effective in characterizing loading-induced anisotropy. They are also closely correlated. An in-depth investigation on structural topology may help establish the correlation among different fabric descriptors and unify the fabric-tensor definition. Deformation bands have been observed to continuously form, develop, and disappear over a length scale of several tens of particle diameters. Its relation to and impact on material deformation is an area of future investigation.


Reports of gelatinous zooplankton blooms around the world are increasing. Gaining a cause‐and‐effect understanding of mechanisms behind jellyfish blooms is important to predict possible impacts on the structure and functioning of marine ecosystems. Life cycle dynamics of bloom forming gelatinous zooplankton such as cnidaria and ctenophora are complex, including benthic and pelagic stages. This impedes conclusions for taxa based on information obtained from only one life stage. Each life stage needs to be investigated in order to gain a full picture of the dynamics behind jellyfish blooms. This thesis focuses on the impact of temperature on different life stages of scyphozoan jellyfish, as well as larvae of the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi. In addition, possible habitats of the benthic life stages are simulated using data based on abundances of scyphomedusae collected in 2012 in the southern North Sea. The ecophysiology of polyps was studied, measuring routine respiration rate (RR) of four scyphozoan species acclimated to six temperatures. With increasing test temperatures (e.g. 12 to 15°C) RR strongly increased (Q10~7 to 13). In some of the tested species the data suggested that sub-optimally warm temperatures were approached when RR at 20°C was lower than at 15 or 18°C. In Aurelia aurita RR was measured under hypoxic conditions. Below 11, 22 and 24% oxygen saturation at 8.0, 15.5 and 19.0°C respectively, polyps of A. aurita were not able to perpetuate RR. A literature review exhibited respiration rates of polyps, ephyrae and medusa of A. aurita at 15°C to be akin when considering differences in body size, irrespectively from differences in activity and habitat. The results on RR together with previously published data suggest thermal windows to be narrower in individuals collected from higher latitudes. Temperature dependent feeding and growth of larval ctenophore M. leidyi from the North Sea was investigated. Tentaculate larvae (1.5 mm) were tested at temperatures between 6 and 30°C. Linear increase of carbon specific clearance and ingestion rates between 6 and 25°C and rapid declines between 25 and 30°C were observed. With rising temperatures, both absolute- and carbon specific growth increased linearly (0.87d‐1 at 25°C). At low and high temperatures (6 and 30°C) extremely low or negative growth rates were observed, thus defining limits to population growth of M. leidyi. Settlement dynamics of two species of scyphozoan planula larvae from the North Sea were researched, examining broad temperature ranges in different experiments. Between 9 and 27°C more than 50% of the larvae of Cyanea capillata settled within the first five days. Warmer waters (>18°C) were associated with faster settlement as well as increased settlement success of larvae. In a second experiment settlement was prevented, maintaining larvae in the water column at different temperatures (11.3, 13.4 and 19.4°C). After being removed from the water column, they remained competent to settle for 21, 21 and 14 days, respectively. A simulation of a hydrodynamic model in the North Sea suggested that larvae released in May could be transported up to 100 km, retaining the ability to settle. In a substrate choice experiment with planulae of Chrysaora hysoscella covering three temperatures (10, 15, 20°C) and two different light regimes (12/12 light/dark and total darkness), larvae settled in similar numbers onto wood, concrete and PET. Highest settlement was found at regimes with light at 20°C and lower settlement at 10 and 15°C in total darkness. The results propose that warming of the North Sea will not hinder settlement of planulae in the two resident species observed. Differences in species and/or populations may exist, which need to be investigated in order to understand underlying mechanisms promoting the establishment of benthic populations. Scyphozoan medusa were collected in the German Bight in 2012 and 2013. Species composition, distribution and biomass were analyzed and compared to the existing literature. The abundances found in the German Bight were much lower than previously reported abundances from the North Sea. The water body sampled due to the large trawl may have provided a more realistic assessment of jellyfish abundances in the North Sea. For large-scale evaluations, comparable measures are needed when collecting jellyfish. A hydrodynamic drift model using the data from 2012 and previously published data approximated potential habitats for polyps and thus release areas of ephyrae. The work of this thesis demonstrates how different life stages of gelatinous zooplankton react differently to changing temperature regimes and consequently display different, presumably population-specific borders of thermal boundaries. As changing environmental conditions do not seem to impede the proliferation of these organisms, jellyfish are expected to benefit from warming waters and become even more dominant in the future.


The porphyrias are a group of rare metabolic disorders, inherited or acquired, along the heme biosynthetic pathway, which could manifest with neurovisceral and/or cutaneous symptoms, depending on the defective enzyme. Neurovisceral porphyrias are characterized by acute attacks, in which excessive heme production is induced following exposure to a trigger. An acute attack usually presents with severe abdominal pain, vomiting, and tachycardia. Other symptoms which could appear include hypertension, hyponatremia, peripheral neuropathy, and mild mental symptoms. In severe attacks there could be severe symptoms including seizures and psychosis. If untreated, the attack might become very severe, affecting the peripheral, central, and autonomic nervous system, leading to paralysis, respiratory failure, hyponatremia, coma, and even death. From the biochemical point of view, acute attacks are involved with increased levels of precursors in the heme biosynthetic pathway, up to the deficient step. Of these precursors, aminolevulinic acid (ALA) is considered to be neurotoxic. Treatment is directed to reduce ALA production by reducing the activity of the enzyme aminolevulinate synthase (ALAS)—most effectively by heme therapy. Cutaneous symptoms are a consequence of elevated porphyrins in the blood stream. These porphyrins react to light; therefore sun-exposed areas are affected, producing fragile erosive skin lesions in porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT) or non-scarring stinging and burning symptoms in erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP). Unlike the most common neurovisceral porphyria, acute intermittent porphyria (AIP), variegate porphyria (VP), and hereditary coproporphyria (HCP) can have cutaneous symptoms as well. Differentiating them from other cutaneous porphyrias is essential for accurate diagnosis, treatment, and patient recommendations.


From an early age, most children are seen to engage in complex social interactions with other children in their preschool settings and we recognize that through these connections essential skills of how to interact and relate to other people develop (Lillivist 2010). As such although these early friendships can be 'highly colourful, elusive and unpredictable phenomena' they are regarded as 'full of promise and potentially robust' (Deegan 1996 p.5). However for some disabled children or children labelled with special educational needs a more reductionist view of their social relationships may be assumed. There can be a tendency to focus on impairments or perceived differences as the barrier to forming early friendships (Guralnick et al. 2007, Engle et al. 2011) and to make the tenuous link between cognitive competencies and the quality of peer relationships (Dunn 1993).

Attempting to understand the nature of social connections that are made between disabled children and their peers in early- years settings in terms of an individual child's 'deficits' overlooks the context in which these relationships develop. Because 'every early years setting represents a culture which is created by children, practitioners, parents and others' (Nutbrown and Clough p.1 2006), the dynamics of this culture will impact on children's interactions with each other. In order to explore developing friendships within a setting it is therefore necessary to consider attitudinal, environmental and organizational factors that will effect how the children identify with each other. It is also important to see all the children as active interpreters of their social situations and not passive recipients of support. In exploring the social interactions in the early years a key concept is that 'children with learning disabilities are active in making meaning within social and relational networks to which they contribute differently, depending on the barriers to doing and being that each network presents.' (Nind et al 2010 p.653)

This study aims to examine how social connections and friendships between disabled children develop in an early- years nursery through the interplay of all the people and processes within the setting. Drawing on small scale qualitative research study of two children's experiences in a nursery setting, the study reports on the contexts and dynamics of the social interactions that take place between children and looks at the adult's role in facilitating these early friendships.


After a brief glance into history, this article introduces comments on the current state of Research into the Arts and Aesthetic Education. Besides the learning of specific art skills in creative work, the authors focus on how the integration of the different arts can reinforce aesthetic sensibility and creativity as a main goal in Art Education. Reflection on the experience of an Art Education Project for Teacher Training leads the authors to the definition of crucial creative attitudes for Art Education Programmes, either in schools or art institutions.


Alcohol is currently the most consumed substance among the Spanish adolescent population. Some of the variables that bear an influence on this consumption include ease of access, use of alcohol by friends and some personality factors. The aim of this study was to analyze and quantify the predictive value of these variables specifically on alcohol consumption in the adolescent population. The useful sample was made up of 6,145 adolescents (49.8% boys and 50.2% girls) with a mean age of 15.4 years (SE= 1.2). The data were analyzed using the statistical model for a count variable and Data Mining techniques. The results show the influence of ease of access, alcohol consumption by the group of friends, and certain personality factors on alcohol intake, allowing us to quantify the intensity of this influence according to age and gender. Knowing these factors is the starting point in elaborating specific preventive actions against alcohol consumption.


Create a flexible framework in PHP for a powerful ecommerce solution Build a flexible e-commerce framework using PHP, which can be extended and modified for the purposes of any e-commerce site Enable customer retention and more business by creating rich user experiences Develop a suitable structure for your framework and create a registry to store core objects Promote your e-commerce site using techniques with APIs such as Google Products or Amazon web services, SEO, marketing, and customer satisfaction In Detail The popularity of online shopping has increased dramatically over the past few years. There are plenty of options available if you not are planning to build your own e-commerce solution but sometimes it's better to use your own solutions. It may be easy to find an e-commerce system but when it comes to extending it or using it you might come across a lot of difficulties. This book will show you how to create your own PHP framework that can be extended and used with ease, particularly for e-commerce sites. Using this framework you will be able to display and manage products, customize products, create wish-lists, make recommendations to customers based on previous purchases, send email notifications when certain products are in stock, rate the products online, and much more. This book helps you build a Model-View-Controller style framework, which is then used to put together an e-commerce application. The framework contains template management, database management, and user authentication management. With core functionality in place, e-commerce-focused features are gradually added to the framework including products, categories, customizable products with different variations and customer input, wish-lists, recommendations, the shopping basket, and a complete order process. At the end of the book, you will have an e-commerce architecture that will take you from viewing or searching for products, and adding them to your basket, through the checkout process and making payment for your order, to your order being dispatched. Focus is placed on flexibility, so that the framework can be extended as the needs of a particular store change, as illustrated by one of the appendices, which goes through the process of modifying the store to sell downloadable products, as well as physical ones. Supplementary information, such as how to market and promote an online store, as well as take regular backups and perform maintenance is also covered, ensuring you have every chance of success with you own e-commerce framework backed store. What you will learn from this book Plan and develop a flexible, scalable PHP framework with emphasis on e-commerce Implement the Model-View-Controller architecture within the framework and learn how to use the registry design pattern to centralize core features Allow customers to customize their purchase by selecting product attributes, uploading files, and supplying custom text Offer attractive incentives to your customers in the form of discount codes Protect your e-commerce framework by keeping and maintaining regular backups Structure an extendable framework to build a custom e-commerce web site Add features such as product ratings and reviews from customers to enhance user experience Maintain your site using campaign monitor and CAPTCHA tools Create a shopping basket, manage its contents, structure the checkout and order process Filled with useful marketing, Search Engine Optimization, and customer retention tips Create a PHP framework to power your web site with a range of e-commerce features Approach This is a fast-paced tutorial focusing on creating a framework and using it to build an online store through an ongoing case study. Later chapters include examples to illustrate how easily the framework can be adapted for different situations. The framework and code are enhanced and built upon with each chapter, adding more and more functionality. Who this book is written for If you are a web developer, or anyone looking to increase your understanding of e-commerce site development, this book is for you. Primarily aimed at PHP developers, it is suitable for any web developer interested in enhancing their e-commerce knowledge, or developers looking to move towards PHP. Intermediate knowledge of PHP development and object-oriented programming is assumed, and basic knowledge of e-commerce principles will be of benefit too.


Angola has been brutalized by the civil war, which only ended in 1992. The war's adverse effect on every facet of Angola's post-independence life is clearly evident in the range of topics covered in this volume. The human cost of the war can be counted in the enormous loss of life and large-scale population displacement and in the continued postwar deaths and serious injuries inflicted by mines. The war also severely stunted economic growth and the development of necessary social services. However, since the end of the war Angola is slowly progressing. Many people have returned to their homes to continue their life. The task of rebuilding has been greatly assisted by humanitarian aid. Readers will learn about the nearly 100 ethnolinguistic groups and their various ways of life. Oyebade shows how religion defines the cultural character of the country. Christianity, the dominant religion, is portrayed as more urban-based, popular among the educated elite and middle class. Indigenous religious practices, still popular particularly in the rural areas, are covered as well. Oyebade celebrates the prolific Portuguese-language literary output and the skilled Angolan artists. Discussion of the traditional foods, ceremonies, music and dance, and more rounds out the coverage.


Elevated soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R) in sera is observed in patients with malignant lymphoma (ML). Therefore, sIL-2R is commonly used as a diagnostic and prognostic marker for ML, but the mechanisms responsible for the increase in sIL-2R levels in patients with B-cell lymphomas have not yet been elucidated. We first hypothesized that lymphoma cells expressing IL-2R and some proteinases such as matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in the tumor microenvironment can give rise to increased sIL-2R in sera. However, flow cytometric studies revealed that few lymphoma cells expressed IL-2R α chain (CD25) in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and follicular lymphoma (FL), and most CD25-expressing cells in the tumor were T-cells. Distinct correlations between CD25 expression on B-lymphoma cells and sIL-2R levels were not observed. We then confirmed that MMP-9 plays an important role in producing sIL-2R in functional studies. Immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis also revealed that MMP-9 is mainly derived from tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). We therefore evaluated the number of CD68 and CD163 positive macrophages in the tumor microenvironment using IHC analysis. A positive correlation between the levels of sIL-2R in sera and the numbers of CD68 positive macrophages in the tumor microenvironment was confirmed in FL and extranodal DLBCL. These results may be useful in understanding the pathophysiology of B-cell lymphomas.


The southwest of Australia is a global biodiversity hotspot with high levels of plant species richness and endemism. Kwongan vegetation makes up part of this high diversity area and is dominated by woody shrub species. The focus of previous research on kwongan is dominated by fire, examining the role of fire in species lifecycles and the effect of differing fire regimes. However, little has been done thus far to investigate the potential effects of a changing climate on kwongan. This study aims to examine the effects of changing climate on the northern sandplain kwongan of southwest Australia, specifically, the effects of changes in rainfall and temperature on the demography of key sandplain shrub species. To achieve this, rainout shelters have been established to create a drought treatment by reducing rainfall, and this intercepted rainfall is being used to then create an increased rainfall treatment using gravity fed irrigation. Open top temperature chambers are being used to create an increased temperature treatment. The treatments are being applied to contrasting topo-edaphic locations: dune tops and swales, in newly burnt and unburnt sites, allowing comparison of effect between mature phase and regeneration phase vegetation.


Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are central to the Information Systems (IS) strategy of most international companies. With globalization, general managers put pressure on IS departments to implement such applications at a global level, in order to control and manage all the company processes at the different branches. Rolling out a global template in each of the different countries is risky as it does not take the local environment into account. Each country has its own specificities organizational, cultural, political and economic and these can have a real and important influence on the success of any new IS. This research aims to identify, through in-depth case studies, the cultural factors that influence the success of global ERP projects in China.