Hybrid scaffolds composed of synthetic polymers and naturally occurring components have become more relevant in the field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Synthetic polymers are responsible for scaffold durability, strength and structural integrity; however, often do not provide biological signals. Introducing a biological component leads to more advanced and biocompatible scaffolds. In order to use these scaffolds as implants, a deeper knowledge of material characteristics and the impact of the biological component on the scaffold mechanical properties are required. Furthermore, it is necessary to implement fast, easy and non-invasive methods to determine material characteristics. In this work, we aimed to generate gelatin-poly-l-lactide (PLA) hybrids via electrospinning with defined, controllable and tunable scaffold characteristics. Using Raman microspectroscopy, we demonstrated the effectiveness of the cross-linking reaction and evaluated the increasing PLA content in the hybrid scaffolds with a non-invasive approach. Using multiphoton microscopy, we showed that gelatin fibers electrospun from a fluorinated solvent exhibit a second harmonic generation (SHG) signal typical for collagen-like structures. Compared to pure gelatin, where the SHG signal vanishes after cross-linking, the signal could be preserved in the hybrid scaffolds even after cross-linking. Furthermore, we non-invasively imaged cellular growth of human dermal fibroblasts on the hybrid electrospun scaffolds and performed fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy on the cell-seeded hybrids, where we were able to discriminate between cells and scaffolds. Here, we successfully employed non-invasive methods to evaluate scaffold characteristics and investigate cell-material interactions.


We conduct an empirical investigation of how a supplier's operational competence, as reflected by outcomes in the areas of quality, cost, delivery, flexibility, and new product development, translates into financial gains from a key customer. In contrast to previous research directed at the firm level, this study focuses on the supplier–customer relationship level. Using survey data from 158 suppliers in the manufacturing industry, we perform structural equation modeling to map out the paths from operational competence to financial performance—via dependencies and cooperative behaviors between suppliers and their customers. This study is the first scholarly attempt to examine the link between suppliers' operational competencies and financial performance in interorganizational relationships. It is also an early investigation into operational competence as a source of bi-lateral dependence. Our findings show that the supplier's operational competences increase its customer's dependence by enhancing the value of its products/services. However, the resulting increase in the supplier's power is not leveraged to shape relationship behaviors or capture value from its customer. In contrast, the customer's existing power as a major buyer plays an important role in shaping cooperative behaviors and affecting the supplier's financial performance from the customer relationship.


An 80-year-old woman presented with fever and a generalized, erythematous pruritic eruption of 3 days duration. Four days prior to the eruption, she was treated with terbinafine 250 mg po daily for onychomycosis. She denied any recent viral illness. There was no personal or family history of skin disease. On examination, her temperature was 38.50C. Dermatological examination revealed generalized, symmetrical erythematous macules/patches and multiple, scattered small nonfollicular pustules with surrounding erythema on the trunk and upper extremities. Mucosal surfaces were spared. Nikolsky sign was negative. Her white blood cell count was 17.6 x 109/L. Gram staining and bacterial culture of the pustule were negative. A punch biopsy taken from one of the lesions revealed subcorneal and intraepidermal pustules, widespread spongiosis, and neutrophilic perivascular infiltration. Acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis (AGEP) is a rare and potentially severe cutaneous adverse reaction most commonly in response to drug therapy. The main culprit drugs are antibiotics (macrolides, beta-lactam antibiotics, sulphonamides), calcium-channel blockers (diltiazem), antifungal agents (terbinafine, ketoconazole), antipyretics (paracetamol), and antimalarials (hydroxychloroquine, chloroquine). AGEP usually occurs within 5 days of starting the offending medication. AGEP is a type IV hypersensitivity reaction. Drug specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cells play a crucial role. Viral and bacterial infections and hypersensitivity reaction to mercury have also been incriminated. Clinically, AGEP manifests with an acute onset of widespread bilateral symmetrical edematous erythematous macules/patches studded with numerous small scattered non-follicular sterile pustules. The eruption is often pruritic or burning and accompanied by fever and leukocytosis. AGEP can occur at any age. The sex ratio is approximately equal. The disease is generally self-limited and resolves within 15 days once the offending agent is withdrawn. Treatment is mainly symptomatic. Mortality occurs mainly in elderly patients with significant comorbidities.


Buildings are typically equipped with smart meters to measure electricity demand at regular intervals. Smart meter data for a single building have many uses, such as forecasting and assessing overall building performance. However, when data are available from multiple buildings, there are additional applications that are rarely explored. For instance, we can explore how different building characteristics influence energy demand. If each building is treated as a random effect and building characteristics are handled as fixed effects, a mixed effects model can be used to estimate how characteristics affect energy usage. In this paper we demonstrate that producing one day ahead demand predictions for 123 commercial office buildings using mixed models can improve forecasting accuracy. We experiment with random intercept, random intercept and slope, and nonlinear mixed models. The predictive performance of the mixed effects models are tested against naive, linear and nonlinear benchmark models fitted to each building separately. This research justifies using mixed models to improve forecasting accuracy and to quantify changes in energy consumption under different building configuration scenarios.


This paper exposes a comparative analysis of three weed classification strategies based on area and texture features over images of vegetable crops, focus on provide a technological tool to support farmers in their maintenance tasks. The classification alternatives embrace a basic approach which defines an umbral according to scene features, indeed, a detection with a certain degree of uncertainty on the decision region is purposed and a rigid boundary decision arrangement are exposed. A first mode carries out an unsupervised learning, it uses area and color features with a practical thresholding classifier to differentiate between weed and vegetable classes, the following two, extracts statistical measures of autocorrelation, contrast, correlation and others, from grey level cooccurrence matrices to calculate texture features, next, a principal component analysis is made for dimensionality reduction. These patterns serve as basis for training K-Nearest Neighbor and Support Vector Machine classifiers. The algorithms performance is measured calculating sensitivity (SN), specificity (SP), positive and negative predicted values (PPV and NPV), also, the execution time is stored and tabulated in order to evaluate the proposed methods. Finally, the results show a similar performance of correct classification over 90 and 80% on SN and SP indices respectively, however, approaches present a clear difference in execution time respect of train an evaluation stages.


Despite repeated regulatory interventions, accounting failures continue to persist in companies around the world. In this Article, I explain why current law, private enforcement, and firm-level reputational sanctions are unlikely to induce accountants to take optimal levels of care when auditing corporate financials. Instead, our best chance for improving audit quality lies in establishing a market for individual audit partners' brands — a market that can hold individual auditors responsible for their mistakes.

The Article begins by identifying four key benefits to this approach. First, forcing auditors to be publicly associated with any audit failures occurring on their watch will induce them to increase their effort in order to avoid the stigma of failure. Second, now that a significant portion — frequently more than half—of audit hours are performed overseas, holding a single individual publicly accountable for any audit failures will improve monitoring of auditors in other jurisdictions. Third, in light of significant evidence of variation in the quality of audit partners — even partners within the same firm — exposing that heterogeneity will empower members of audit committees and investors to choose auditors more carefully. Finally, commoditizing individual auditors could increase industry competition without the need for aggressive regulatory action.

The Article then argues that, in order to spur the development of a market in auditor reputation, lawmakers should encourage the development of Auditor Scorecards. To do so, regulators should require the disclosure of additional auditor-level information, and should ensure useful information is provided through enforcement actions. Although there are costs to these changes, those costs are likely to be outweighed by giving investors the information they need to develop a common Scorecard for auditor quality. Such Scorecards will help boards and investors make better use of the legal tools already at their disposal to hold auditors accountable when they fail in their gatekeeping function.


The spider crab Pyromaia tuberculata (Lockington, 1877) (Decapoda, Majidae) has been recorded from eastern Pacific coasts (Mexico to Colombia), the western Pacific (Japan and New Zealand) and the western Atlantic (southern Brazil, near Rio de la Plata estuary and Argentine). Larvae of P. tuberculata from one female collected on beds of oysters and mussels at 50 m depth on the Argentine continental shelf (38°21´S; 57°38´W) hatched in the laboratory and were successfully reared until the first crab stage. This paper redescribes the zoea and megalopa phases and describes the juvenil crab morphology.


Proposals promoting the use of massive amounts of crop residues and other lignocellulosic biomass for biofuel production have increased the need for evaluation of the sustainability of cropping practices and their effect on environment quality. Our objective was to evaluate the effects of crop rotation and N fertilizer management and their stover production characteristics on soil organic carbon (SOC) levels in a long-term high-yielding irrigated study in the western Corn Belt. An irrigated monoculture corn (Zea mays L.), monoculture soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.], and soybean-corn cropping systems study was initiated in 1991 on a uniform site in the Platte Valley near Shelton, NE. Soil samples were collected in 1991 before initiation of the study and in the spring of 2005 and analyzed for SOC. Significant differences in total SOC values were obtained between rotations and N rates at the 0- to 7.5- and 0- to 15-cm depths in 2005 and all total SOC values were equal to or greater than SOC values obtained in 1991. Residue production was greater than 6 Mg ha -1 , a level that appears to be sufficient to maintain SOC levels, in all systems. Can residue amounts above this level be harvested sustainably for biofuel production in cropping systems similar to these? Though these results suggest that a portion of corn stover could be harvested without reducing SOC under the conditions of this investigation, the direct impact of stover removal remains to be evaluated.


The purpose of this study was to investigate the linguistic realizations of the advice speech act in Persian as a first language and English as a second language. More specifically, the study aimed at exploring the linguistic and pragmatic strategies used by Persian speakers when offering unsolicited advice in both their first and second language. Furthermore, the research project investigated the social and cultural norms and values that can affect the formulation of advice. The study based its argument on a corpus of data elicited by means of a Persian and an English version of a Discourse Completion Test and three Focus Group Discussions. In an effort to learn more about culture-specific patterns of advice in Persian language and culture, the Persian and English data were compared to data produced by a group of native speakers of Australian English, who mainly served as a reference group.
The data were analyzed focusing on six major components of the advice speech act: (1) the use of advice speech act; (2) level of directness and advice strategies; (3) supportive move strategies; (4) internal modification strategies; (5) alerters and gambits and (6) level of formality. Moreover, the major themes and trends which emerged from the Focus Group Discussions were explored and analyzed qualitatively. The results of the study showed that the Persian speaking participants preferred a direct style and adhered closely to the social and cultural norms and assumptions of their native language and culture when offering advice in both their first and second language. The analysis of the data from the Australian English speakers revealed that these participants preferred to avoid advice giving or mitigated the force of their advice by means of a wide range of strategies.
The findings of this study indicate that the formulation of advice is linked to the underpinning sociocultural views of the speakers, and cross-cultural differences in the use and interpretation of advice speech act are likely to result in miscommunication and misperception when people engage in communication in English as an international language. The results of the study contribute to a better understanding of the role of the culture-specific values which dominate advice giving behavior among Persian speakers. The study also presents a discussion of the theoretical and practical implications of the findings for the teaching and learning English in its global context.


Abstract Background Gut microbiota were recently shown to impact malaria disease progression and outcome, and prior studies have shown that Plasmodium infections increase the likelihood of enteric bacteria causing systemic infections. Currently, it is not known whether Plasmodium infection impacts human gut microbiota as a prelude to bacteremia or whether antimalarials affect gut microbiota. Our goal was to determine to what degree Plasmodium infections and antimalarial treatment affect human gut microbiota. Methods One hundred Kenyan infants underwent active surveillance for malaria from birth to 10 months of age. Each malaria episode was treated with artemether-lumefantrine (AL). Any other treatments, including antibiotics, were recorded. Stool samples were collected on an approximately biweekly basis. Ten children were selected on the basis of stool samples having been collected before (n = 27) or after (n = 17) a malaria episode and without antibiotics having been administered between collections. These samples were subjected to 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid gene (V3–V4 region) sequencing. Results Bacterial community network analysis revealed no obvious differences in the before and after malaria/AL samples, which was consistent with no difference in alpha and beta diversity and taxonomic analysis at the family and genus level with one exception. At the sequence variant (SV) level, akin to bacterial species, only 1 of the top 100 SVs was significantly different. In addition, predicted metagenome analysis revealed no significant difference in metagenomic capacity between before and after malaria/AL samples. The number of malaria episodes, 1 versus 2, explained significant variation in gut microbiota composition of the infants. Conclusions In-depth bioinformatics analysis of stool bacteria has revealed for the first time that human malaria episode/AL treatment have minimal effects on gut microbiota in Kenyan infants.


In the recent decades, the digital convergence brings together the telecommunications operators and entertainment media to provide new business opportunities. However, research on the emerging business models is limited. Especially, we lack knowledge about the environmental and technological mechanisms for the adoption of new business models. This paper proposes a framework for analyzing business model, which takes the dimensions of information technology and business environment into account. To justify this new framework, we further employ it to investigate two cases in the entertainment industry - MyShow and Super Girl – appeared in 2004 in China.


Background Safety-net hospitals provide care for racially/ethnically diverse and disadvantaged urban populations. Their hospitalized patients with cirrhosis are relatively understudied and may be vulnerable to poor outcomes and racial/ethnic disparities. Aims To examine the outcomes of patients with cirrhosis hospitalized at regionally diverse safety-net hospitals and the impact of race/ethnicity. Methods A study of patients with cirrhosis hospitalized at 4 safety-net hospitals in 2012 was conducted. Demographic, clinical factors, and outcomes were compared between centers and racial/ethnic groups. Study endpoints included mortality and 30-day readmission. Results In 2012, 733 of 1,212 patients with cirrhosis were hospitalized for liver-related indications (median age 55 years, 65% male). The cohort was racially diverse (43% White, 25% black, 22% Hispanic, 3% Asian) with cirrhosis related to alcohol and viral hepatitis in 635 (87%) patients. Patients were hospitalized mainly for ascites (35%), hepatic encephalopathy (20%) and gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) (17%). Fifty-four (7%) patients died during hospitalization and 145 (21%) survivors were readmitted within 30 days. Mortality rates ranged from 4 to 15% by center (p = .007) and from 3 to 10% by race/ethnicity (p = .03), but 30-day readmission rates were similar. Mortality was associated with Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD), acute-on-chronic liver failure, hepatocellular carcinoma, sodium and white blood cell count. Thirty-day readmission was associated with MELD and Charlson Comorbidity Index >4, with lower risk for GIB. We did not observe geographic or racial/ethnic differences in hospital outcomes in the risk-adjusted analysis. Conclusions Hospital mortality and 30-day readmission in patients with cirrhosis at safety-net hospitals are associated with disease severity and comorbidities, with lower readmissions in patients admitted for GIB. Despite geographic and racial/ethnic differences in hospital mortality, these factors were not independently associated with mortality.


Background Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is a clinicopathological disease characterised by oesophageal eosinophilia and gastrointestinal symptoms. It is caused by immunologic reactions to ingested and inhaled allergens. The diagnosis is considered if at least 15 eosinophils are detected per high-powered field in mucosal biopsies. Purpose To describe and evaluate the efficacy of oral viscous budesonide for EoE in paediatric patients. Materials and methods Patient, 11 years old, diagnosed with EoE, persistent atopic asthma and pollen rhinoconjunctivitis, with multiple food allergies. He initiated a restricted-foods diet and drug treatment with Montelukast 10 mcg/24 h, Fluticasone 50 mcg twice daily and on-demand salbutamol inhalation, which failed, although there was some clinical improvement. Therefore, treatment with budesonide suspension was initiated 0.5 mcg twice daily, 1 h after meals. Budesonide suspension is a viscous liquid consisting of budesonide nebulizer suspension (Pulmicort respules 0.50mg/ml) mixed with sodium benzoate sodium, saccharin, and glycerine with constant stirring until blended. Finally add the strawberry essence and incorporate xanthan gum on top without mixing and add water to 240 ml. The final concentration is 0.25 mg/ml. Results In our present medical case, the patient presented eosinophilic enteritis and esophagitis, despite having been treated with omeprazole, antihistamines, and dietary advice. Between April 2013 and May 2013, he had been receiving, budesonide 500 mcg/12 hourly and dietary treatment. He had a significant improvement. After the treatment the endoscopy was completely normalised. Unfortunately, 3 months later after stopping the oral steroids the patient reported recurrence of symptoms. Conclusions As with most eosinophilic diseases, oral steroids improve oesophageal eosinophilic and symptoms in patients with EoE. Treatment with budesonide induced full remission in the patient. Unfortunately, the therapeutic effect of oral steroids on the disease is abolished following cessation of treatment. Therefore, patients may have to continue on therapeutic treatment levels for an indefinite amount of time No conflict of interest.


This thesis examines the discursive construction of lifelong learning in Swedish, Australian and American policy. Lifelong learning has an aura of apparent self-evidence which this study wishes to challenge by deconstructing the normalised truths in contemporary lifelong learning policies. The thesis rests on a collection of four articles, written by the author within the framework of the PhD programme. Using foucauldian concepts of power/knowledge and governmentality, this study identifies a number of discursive stories about the present in terms of how the ideal society and its ideal citizens are envisioned. It shows that there are national differences in the usage of lifelong learning in terms of the meanings given to life, long and learning. Yet three stories also extend across the nations examined. First, learning is construed as work-related rather than a life-related. Secondly, the positive rhetoric of lifelong learning – the creation of ideal citizens – is accompanied by a parallel story of deviance, incompetence and failure. This leads to a third pervasive story of 'medicalization' where the deviant is pathologised as an undesirable other in need of treatment and correction by professionals who operate as the doctors and nurses of lifelong learning. Overall, the analysis suggests that as discourse, lifelong learning links the government of others and the government of the self.


At a time when there are many specialist reviews, monographs and reports available, there is still an important place for a book such as ``Rodd'' which gives a broader coverage of organic chemistry. One aspect of the value of this work is that it allows an expert in one field to find out quickly what is happening in other fields of chemistry. On the other hand, a chemist looking for the way into a field of study will find within Rodd an outline of the important aspects of that area of chemistry, together with leading references to other works to provide more detailed information.


The winter of 2014 took its toll on many aspects of life in the United States. From individual level costs such as increased heating expenses and disrupted work schedules to broad economic effects including strained public works budgets and slower than expected growth in gross domestic product, the generally cold and snowy winter left a substantial impact on the lives of many Americans. Along with the numerous economic and fiscal effects the last winter left behind has been an erosion in public acceptance of the existence of global warming. In the wake of winter 2014 Americans are less likely to say that there is solid evidence of global warming than at any point measured since the spring of 2011. These are among the key findings of the latest round of the National Surveys on Energy and Environment (NSEE) from the University of Michigan and Muhlenberg College.


Zygomycosis is an invasive disease that affects both immunocompetent and immunocompromised, depending on the type of strain. This disease diagnosis is clinical and histopathological, and its treatment is based on antifungal therapy and surgical cleaning. This paper reports a case of a boy with invasive zygomycosis rinofacial who final treatment was successful after underwent antifungal and surgical therapies.


An investigation into the influence of texture on the magneto elastic properties of cold-rolled polycrystalline terbium-dysprosium alloys has been performed. Significant influence of grain orientations on the thermal expansion, magnetostrictive and magnetomechanical
damping properties of TbDy were observed.
Drop cast ingots of TbDy alloys were deformed by cold-rolling and annealing with the aim of reorienting grains for large magnetostrictive strains and damping capacities. Thermal expansion coefficients of single crystal and polycrystalline samples of TbDy were measured from 77 - 570 K. These measurements confirmed the expected strong reorientation of the c-axes of grains toward the direction of applied force during deformation. The anisotropy of thermal expansion between the rolling and applied stress directions provided a measure of the effectiveness of various sample preparations for maximizing magnetocrystalline anisotropy. Furthermore, the effects of magnetic phase transitions on thermal expansion through the Curie and N eel points of TbDy revealed thermal expansion anisotropy between grain orientations in the rolling and transverse directions of deformation.
Magnetostrictive strains along the rolling direction of polycrystalline TbDy alloys were measured at 77 K. Saturation magnetostriction of up to 55% of previous single crystal results were observed. Minimal applied stress was required to obtain near maximum magnetostrictions for all of the samples tested. This suggests a preloading mechanism within the grain structure of polycrystalline TbDy not present in single crystals. Also in contrast with single crystal measurements, the performance of more economical commercial purity (99.7%) samples was seen to be somewhat higher than similarly prepared high purity (99.94%) samples. Resistance to deterioration of performance over multiple cycles
was observed, as changes in magnetostriction over 150 cycles at 0.1 Hz were within measurement errors. By comparing thermal expansion anisotropy of TbDy samples with peak magnetostrictive strain, a clear proportionality between texture and magnetostrictive performance was established. Deviations from this pattern by samples with more deformation and annealing suggest microstructural mechanisms beyond average grain orientation impacting magnetostriction.
Magnetomechanical damping effects were observed for polycrystalline TbDy samples through compression stress-strain curves. Elastic moduli at 77 K was measured to be up to 80% less than at 300 K, with a large hysteresis present in the stress-strain curves of all samples tested below the Curie point. Damping capacity was measured as the stress-strain hysteresis loop divided by the total area under the stress-strain curve. Damping capacities up to 23% were measured for polycrystalline TbDy alloys. Larger magnetomechanical damping was observed at lower strains, with higher strains corresponded to saturation of magnetic domain realignment, smaller damping capacities and larger elastic moduli. Samples with larger magnetostrictions displayed larger damping capacities over a wide range of applied stresses, and also had consistently lower elastic moduli at 77K.
Mechanisms of damping were investigated by fitting magnetostriction, elastic modulus and estimated strain of damping saturation of TbDy alloys to a model of magnetomechanical energy dissipation. This model relates magnetomechanical damping to magnetic hysteresis, neglecting microstructural influences not present in magnetostriction data. The damping capacities predicted by this model were approximately an order of magnitude higher than experimental results. This result suggests a prominent role of microstructural interactions in the domain realignments responsible for magnetoelastic damping.


Background: Neural stem cells (NSCs) improve functional recovery after stroke, but the optimal method and conditions for delivery remain elusive. Tissue engineered scaffolds offer a unique method to manipulate and improve NSC function. We have developed a novel NSC delivery system utilizing an electrically conductive polymer scaffold to improve recovery and further elucidate repair mechanisms.
Methods: Human NSCs were seeded onto an electrically conductive polymer scaffold. Electrical fields were applied to the NSCs to electrically "precondition" the cells prior to transplantation. One day after in vitro stimulation, the polymer scaffold was implanted into a distal MCA occlusion rat model 1 week post stroke, and functional recovery was assessed weekly for 4 weeks post-transplantation using the vibrissae-paw test. Control groups included unstimulated NSCs on the polymer and polymer without cells. To assess how electrical stimulation altered the cells we did qPCR analysis of genes of interest in stimulated and unstimulated cells on the polymer, and on NSCs on a plastic petri dish.
Results: AC preconditioned NSCs improved the rate of neurologic functional recovery compared to unstimulated NSCs on the polymer (p<0.05) and significantly improved recovery compared to DC preconditioned cells and polymer alone (p<0.01). Preliminary results demonstrate that VEGF-A, -B and thrombospondin (TSP) -3 gene expression were upregulated in AC preconditioned cells comparted to other groups.
Conclusions: Our results show that electrically preconditioned NSCs enhance stroke recovery. Gene expression of the thrombospondins (a family of matricellular proteins thought to be involved with angiogenesis and inflammation) and VEGF (proteins critical to angiogenesis) were found to be modified by electrically stimulating NSCs, suggesting possible mechanisms for functional recovery. Disclosure: Dr. George has nothing to disclose. Dr. Bliss has nothing to disclose. Dr. Mehta has nothing to disclose. Dr. Hua has nothing to disclose. Dr. Sun has nothing to disclose. Dr. Steinberg has received personal compensation for activities with Medtronic, Inc. as a neuroscience strategic advisory board participant.


PURPOSE
Four-dimensional computed tomography (4DCT) has been widely used in cancer radiotherapy for accurate target delineation and motion measurement for tumors in the thorax and upper abdomen areas. However, its prolonged scanning duration causes a considerable increase of radiation dose compared to conventional CT, which is a major concern in its clinical application. This work is to develop a new algorithm to reconstruct 4DCT images from undersampled projections acquired at low mA s levels in order to reduce the imaging dose.

METHODS
Conventionally, each phase of 4DCT is reconstructed independently using the filtered backprojection (FBP) algorithm. The basic idea of the authors' new algorithm is that by utilizing the common information among different phases, the input information required to reconstruct the image of high quality, and thus the imaging dose, can be reduced. The authors proposed a temporal nonlocal means (TNLM) method to explore the interphase similarity. All phases of the 4DCT images are reconstructed simultaneously by minimizing a cost function consisting of a data fidelity term and a TNLM regularization term. The authors utilized a modified forward-backward splitting algorithm and a Gauss-Jacobi iteration method to efficiently solve the minimization problem. The algorithm was also implemented on a graphics processing unit (GPU) to improve the computational speed. The authors' reconstruction algorithm has been tested on a digital NCAT thorax phantom in three low dose scenarios: All projections with low mA s level, undersampled projections with high mA s level, and undersampled projections with low mA s level.

RESULTS
In all three low dose scenarios, the new algorithm generates visually much better CT images containing less image noise and streaking artifacts compared to the standard FBP algorithm. Quantitative analysis shows that by comparing the authors' TNLM algorithm to the standard FBP algorithm, the contrast-to-noise ratio has been improved by a factor of 3.9-10.2 and the signal-to-noise ratio has been improved by a factor of 2.1-5.9, depending on the cases. In the situation of undersampled projection data, the majority of the streaks in the images reconstructed by FBP can be suppressed using the authors' algorithm. The total reconstruction time for all ten phases of a slice ranges from 40 to 90 s on an NVIDIA Tesla C1060 GPU card.

CONCLUSIONS
The experimental results indicate that the authors' new algorithm outperforms the conventional FBP algorithm in effectively reducing the image artifacts due to undersampling and suppressing the image noise due to the low mA s level.


Dr Kazuaki Nakamura said that the description of several thin pyroclastic flows (author's base surge) being intercalated near the source within air-fall deposits of Plinian type was very interesting. He said he had the impression that an apparent correlation existed between the non-wind circumstances and the occurrence of the pyroclastic flows in the air-fall deposits. Was this a correct impression? If such a correlation were established, it offered a very interesting view regarding both the mechanism of formation of pyroclastic flows, and the possible control of volcanic eruption by external factors. The expected mechanism under such circumstances would be that the simple overloading of ejecta in the eruptive column could form the pyroclastic flow. This mechanism further suggested that the author's base surge might be somewhat different from the original base surge as defined by J. Moore (1967). The Authors replied that they did not have enough data to know if the suggested correlation was true or not, but they agreed that it was a very interesting possibility that must be borne in mind as further work is done. They agreed that the simple overloading of ejecta in the eruptive column was the most likely mechanism for production of the pyroclastic flows, and not the base surge as defined by J Moore Dr R. A. Old asked Dr Walker how individual ash bands had been identified in the field as they showed considerable variation in composition and thickness. Dr Walker replied that provided that sampling stations were closely spaced (it


It is a challenge to detect complicated data relationships thoroughly. Here, we propose a new statistical measure, named the absolute neighbour difference based neighbour correlation coefficient, to detect the associations between variables through examining the heteroscedasticity of the unpredictable variation of dependent variables. Different from previous studies, the new method concentrates on measuring nonfunctional relationships rather than functional or mixed associations. Either used alone or in combination with other measures, it enables not only a convenient test of heteroscedasticity, but also measuring functional and nonfunctional relationships separately that obviously leads to a deeper insight into the data associations. The method is concise and easy to implement that does not rely on explicitly estimating the regression residuals or the dependencies between variables so that it is not restrict to any kind of model assumption. The mechanisms of the correlation test are proved in theory and demonstrated with numerical analyses.


The subject of transplant immunosuppression has generated significant interest in recent years. Excellent immunosuppression, advances in surgical technique, post-transplantation care, and infection control have resulted in excellent outcomes. There is widespread support for the notion that the fundamental objective in transplant immunology should be the achievement of specific graft tolerance. However, until this objective evolves into reality, investigators are in search of the "ideal immunosuppressant", which should target predominantly the immune system with minimal consequences for other tissues and minimal metabolic, cardiovascular and renal complications. While immunosuppressants have been associated with a tremendous trade-off in terms of morbidity, new agents have provided the investigators with the opportunity to formulate strategies that employ combination therapies with the goal of decreasing doses of individual agents and minimizing their toxicities. Multiple small studies have addressed the issue of minimizing immunosuppressants, but there is a need for well-designed clinical trials which should evaluate protocols that will reduce acute rejection, as well as chronic allograft nephropathy. They should address methods to identify subsets of patients who would maximally benefit from avoidance or withdrawal of steroids or calcineurin inhibitors. Other promising areas of research include tolerance studies among the sensitized recipients, and development of optimal immunosuppression based on genotype. In general, future trials must include a more diverse population of recipients, particularly the immunologically high risk groups.


Cosmopolitan Patriots: Americans in Paris in the Age of Revolution. By Philipp Ziesche. (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2010. Pp. 239. Cloth, $39.50.)Lessons from America: Liberal French Nobles in Exile, 1793-1798. By Doina Pasca Harsanyi. (University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2010. Pp. 204. Cloth, $80.00.)Reviewed by Ashli WhiteWhen the Bastille fell in 1789, many observers concluded that France had joined the United States in the attempt to become an enlightened republic. Ever since, eyewitnesses - and then historians - have sought to explain the complex connections between these revolutions. Scholarship fells into two general camps: authors who compare the revolutions' trajectories and achievements; and those who are interested in impact, how each country influenced the other. Both approaches are central to narratives of the early United States, affecting interpretations of nationalism, political life, and the economy, among other issues.For all that we know about these "sister republics," Philipp Ziesche's Cosmopolitan Patriots and Doina Pasca Harsanyi's Lessons from America remind us how much remains underexplored. These works shed new light on the relationship between France and the United States in the 1790s, and they do so through the purview of migrants. Ziesche focuses on elite Americans who were drawn to Paris for ideological and economic reasons, while Harsanyi considers French nobles who found themselves on the wrong side of revolution and ended up in temporary exile in Philadelphia. For both historians, these emigrants offer an advantageous perspective because of their dislocation. Although the motivation for each group's move differed (one was voluntary, the other not), marginality in their host nations led them to reflect, with keen insight, on what the United States could learn from France and vice versa. Their experiences, the authors argue, show us how some influential men made sense of the reverberations of revolutions.Philipp Ziesche's Americans in Paris are familiar faces, including Thomas Jefferson, Gouverneur Morris, Thomas Paine, Joel Barlow, and James Monroe. For Ziesche's purposes, what's most important about these "patriots" is their cosmopolitanism - their belief that all men were "fellow citizens of the world," united by a common set of values that elided national, religious, linguistic, and other differences (6). This notion encouraged them to travel to Paris in the 1790s, thinking that they, armed with republican know-how, could be useful to their French counterparts in the translation of universal ideals into practice. But the project of creating republican nations was, to a certain extent, at odds with cosmopolitanism, since nations, it was believed, reflected the mores and manners unique to a population and place. Ziesche points out, however, that individual national projects always looked elsewhere for instruction, and they derived legitimacy, in part, from official recognition by other nations. Universalism was an inescapable component of nationalism.The "cosmopolitan patriots" were well aware of the tension between the particular and the universal in the making of republican nations, and their wrestling with this dynamic in the French context influenced their vision for the United States. Each chapter explores an aspect of this problem through one or more individuals, all the while progressing chronologically through the decade. Ziesche begins with Thomas Jefferson and Gouverneur Morris and their impressions of the new French constitution of 1789, and he then considers the divergent stances of William Short and Jefferson on the Jacobins and revolutionary violence. The third chapter centers on Joel Barlow, his hopes for "regenerating" the French populace through sensibility, and his subsequent inability to understand the Terror, while in the fourth chapter, Ziesche uses James Monroe to evaluate changing ideas of popular sovereignty in Thermidorian Paris and Federalist America. …


Negative health effects because of poor work environment is more common among young workers compared to older. One explanation might be that younger ones have a low awareness of risk, a lack of safety training, and inadequate introductions to the work. A study has been made focusing on the pupils in vocational schools knowledge and experiences about potential work environment risks in their future work. Questionnaires were distributed to 239 pupils in ten Swedish upper secondary schools' graduating classes in four vocational programs focusing on basic knowledge about health risks at work as well as the work environment legislation. The programs were the Industrial Technology Program, the Restaurant Management and Food Program, the Transport Program, and the Handicraft Program (in which students specialize in wood). The results from the questionnaires were followed up with focus group discussions. The results showed that the pupils in general had limited knowledge that employers must, by law, conduct risk analyses and prevent risks. It was common that they mentioned themselves as the main responsible to work safe and was not clear about the employers' duty to arrange for safe work. Pupils in all programs mentioned acute risk as the biggest risk at work. It was concluded that a systematic approach to pupils' training in work environment is lacking. The results indicates a clear gap between what knowledge the pupils are offered and what's intended by laws as well as state-of-the-art in occupational health risk research.


Glioblastoma (GBM), a malignant brain tumor, is one of the most aggressive human neoplasms due to its molecular heterogeneity, diffusive growth and multiple mechanisms of resistance to chemotherapeutics. Frequent dysfunctions of tumor suppressors and oncogenes, which lead to overactivation of prosurvival and antiapoptotic signals, are driven by genetics as well as epigenetic abnormalities. The epigenetic mechanisms are de-regulated in gliomas as a result of an aberrant activation or inactivation of enzymes maintaining and modifying the epigenome, such as histone deacetyltranferases (HDAC). Herein, we demonstrate the effects of new compounds from three structurally and functionally unrelated groups on two human glioblastoma cell lines, which are highly resistant to radiation and a majority of anticancer drugs. The first group was comprised of several potential HDAC inhibitors bearing a 4-vinylbiphenyl skeleton incorporating both hydroxyamic and non-hydroxyamic head groups, and the other two groups of compounds contain a 3-arylidene-oxindole scaffold and an isothiazolonaphthoquinone core, respectively. The results demonstrate the promising antitumor efficacy of some of the compounds and provides insight into molecular mechanisms of their cytotoxic action. The compounds containing an isothiazolonaphthoquinone core and HDAC inhibitors with an indolyl-substituted biphenyl-4-yl-acrylohydroxamic acid showed the highest efficacy against tumor cells. The observed proapoptotic effect of certain potential HDAC inhibitors on glioma cells provides a new therapeutic strategy based on the direct modulation of glioma growth using a specific HDAC inhibitor. These new and effective scaffolds can be considered as promising candidates for further investigation.


A two-year old male warty chameleon (Furcifer verrucosus) weighing 160 g was presented for veterinary examination following 4 weeks of decreased ability to catch insects with the tongue and difficulty in swallowing the prey. Non-invasive endoscopy did not reveal any macroscopic changes of the oral cavity mucosa or the cranial part of the esophagus. Dorsoventral and laterolateral plain and contrast radiographs revealed enlargement of the medial part of the liver without any visible abnormalities in the regions of the esophagus, stomach or small intestine. Abnormalities in the plasma chemistry profile included transient hyperglycaemia (52.68–57.18 mmol/l) and hyperuricaemia (452.70–622.20 μmol/l). The chameleon was examined at 7, 20 and 22 weeks after initial examination. Its body weight decreased to 120 g. A blood profile revealed normoglycaemia (16.37–10.22 mmol/l) and hyperphosphataemia (2.92–3.06 mmol/l) at the last three examinations. The chameleon died suddenly 33 days after the final examination. Necropsy revealed the presence of a large liver cyst, filled with fluid. The liver had lost all of its normal structure. The kidneys showed a large area with fibrosis and multiple uric acid tophi. The post mortem findings were defined as liver with fatty degeneration and moderate fibrotic changes with large cyst, subchronic nephritis with uric acid tophi, and mineralization in the myocardium. This paper describes the first documented case of transient hyperglycaemia in a warty chameleon (Furcifer verrucosus) associated with chronic liver disease and subchronic nephritis. Reptiles, kidneys, hepatic failure, glucose, plasma chemistry


Civil rights is a category of human rights that include individual personal freedom, privacy, personal security, a right to life, dignity, freedom from torture, freedom of movement and residence, and freedom of conscience. Such rights differ from the political, economic, social, and cultural rights guaranteed by the International Bill of Rights. The challenge of enforcing these rights has been acute throughout the world, but Russia in particular has experienced unique and significant difficulties. Until now, the theoretical literature dealing with the legal characteristics of civil rights, how to realize them, and how to protect people from their infringement, has been wanting. This timely and comprehensive volume rectifies this lapse, especially as civil rights enforcement relates to Russia. It draws on a wealth of materials, including reports and statistical data from the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the Ombudsman of the Russian Federation, and several Russian offices of state. The contributors, comprised of researchers, judges, lawyers, and legal authorities, are all experts in human and civil rights and bring a fresh perspective to these issues. They analyze international law, Russian legislation, and decisions of the European Court and the Constitutional Court of Russia each from a humanistic stance. While the authors represent different age groups, occupations, and approaches, they are in agreement on the necessity of protecting civil rights; expanding and developing their guaranty both in Russia and all over the world. Civil Human Rights in Russia dispels many of the myths about Russia and its attitude toward civil rights, especially as regards to the stereotype that the Russian people do not know about such rights, nor care about human dignity. The authors of this volume make clear that Russia has been instrumental in the formation and recognition of universal human rights. The Russian contribution builds on those established by the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution's Bill of Rights, and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. This volume is a fundamental contribution to the literature, one that will help the reader to understand the essence of civil human rights and how they may be implemented and enforced in the twenty-first century.


This chapter addresses two points of a research agenda set by Levinson and Wilkins (2006) for the analysis of spatial information processing in natural languages. First, a pragmatic model is proposed that relies mostly on general pragmatic principles to inferentially disambiguate semantically underdetermined spatial expressions. Second, this model is claimed to be cross-linguistically applicable and leads to a universal generalisation about the pragmatics of spatial frames of reference. In the second part, a report is provided of an experimental design in support of the theoretical points raised before. Finally, cross-linguistic evidence from Tzeltal is proposed to back the generalisation argued for. To conclude, the evidence presented is taken to strongly support the predictions made by a pragmatic model of spatial language. Such a model offers a fresh take on the central question of universality vs. linguistic diversity in spatial language as it uses semantic and pragmatic universals to explain linguistic variation.


Throughout his presidency, George W. Bush actively drew connections between the war on terror and World War II and/or the Cold War (see Chernus 2006; Ivie 2005; Noon 2004; Smith 2007). At the same time, Bush also drew parallels between his presidency and that of his predecessors. For example, in a speech before the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Bush made comparisons between his administration and that of Harry Truman. He stated, As we advance the cause of freedom in Iraq, our Nation can proceed with confidence that we have done this kind of work before. After World War II, President Harry Truman believed that the way to help bring peace and prosperity to Asia was to plant the seeds of freedom and democracy in Japan. Like today, there were many skeptics and pessimists who said that the Japanese were not ready for democracy. Fortunately, Harry Truman stuck to his guns. He believed, as I do, in freedom's power to transform an adversary into an ally. And because he stayed true to his convictions, today Japan is one of the world's freest and most prosperous nations, and one of America's closest allies in keeping the peace. The spread of freedom to Iraq and the Middle East requires the same confidence and persistence, and it will lead to the same results. (Bush 2005) Here, Bush analogized the circumstances in postwar Japan to that of Iraq in the midst of the war on terror. For President Bush, the parallels between Truman's presidency and his own were undeniable and served as tacit evidence to justify his activities in Iraq. You could read Bush's message to the nation as this: Harry Truman was right about Japan, and my ability to lead the United States in Iraq is the same as his. Thus, my efforts will be conducted with the "same confidence and persistence" and will "lead to the same results." Certainly, President Bush's use of the past is not an isolated example. Historical events and persons are often called upon in all aspects of society to celebrate some political purpose or appropriated in some way to meet the needs of the present day. For example, in American popular culture, the 1990s saw a resurgence of World War II nostalgia. Texts such as Saving Private Ryan and Tom Brokaw's best-selling book The Greatest Generation celebrated the contributions of the World War II generation, but more importantly, they offered up a "civics lesson" to the American people on the virtues of sacrifice and its own exceptionalist nature (Biesecker 2002). In the realm of politics, our discourse, particularly presidential rhetoric, is rife with references to past events and the great presidents of the past, such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. When presidents invoke their predecessors, they are calling upon what Philip Abbott (1990) termed the "exemplar presidents." Donald Rice (1992) referred to this kind of invocation as the rhetoric of the "authorizing figure." Whatever terminology is used, appropriating the memory of historical heroes for present-day purposes is a form of collective memory that performs important political and symbolic work in American politics, in particular presidential foreign policy rhetoric, and is the subject of this inquiry. Specifically, I focus on the presidential foreign policy rhetoric of three contemporary presidents--Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush--and consider how they invoked the memory of Harry Truman. I chose these three presidents because enough time had passed between their presidencies and Truman's to allow for reflection on a number of events that occurred during the Cold War, which may have influenced their foreign policy worldviews. Moreover, these three presidents are the only contemporary ones who served two full terms that were not interrupted by death (JFK) or scandal (Nixon). That is not to say that one-term presidents such as Presidents Jimmy Carter and George H. W. Bush did not call upon the Truman legacy. …


Linked Data (LD) are emerging as the potential "killer application" of the third Web era. If they actually become mainstream in the next years depends on how useful will be for the average User. In economic terms, the creation of successful business models to place LD in the market and the resulting revenue streams will support further developments. In this article, the major sources of value and a business model taxonomy for LD are identified. Network effects exist in LD by enabling Web users to build bidirectional and massively processable interconnections among online data and second, these data are critical enablers for existing infrastructure in the government and business spheres. The proposed eleven distinct business model categories are: Public service, Community service, Intelligence, Subscriptions, Sponsorships, Advertising, Marketplace, Affiliate program, Multi-sided platforms, Traffic generation and Data branding. Section I briefly introduces the advent of LD in the Web ecosystem. The next section is about the main question, which is addressed in the present paper. Related literature is reviewed in Section III. The encompassing value source of the Web is specified for LD in Section IV. Section V describes a proposed framework for LD business models and Section VI concludes.


We carry out a comprehensive study of the resource costs of distributed averaging consensus in wireless sensor networks. In particular, we consider two metrics appropriate to the wireless medium: total transmit energy and time-bandwidth product. Most previous approaches, such as gossip algorithms, suppose a graphical network, which abstracts away crucial features of the wireless medium, and measure resource consumption only in terms of the total number of transmissions required to achieve consensus. Under a path-loss dominated protocol interference model, we study the performance of several popular gossip algorithms, showing that they are nearly order-optimal with respect to transmit energy but strictly sub-optimal with respect to time-bandwidth product. We also propose a new scheme, termed hierarchical averaging, which is tailored to the wireless medium, and show that in general this approach is nearly order-optimal with respect to time-bandwidth product but strictly sub-optimal with respect to transmit energy. For the special case of free-space propagation, however, the proposed hierarchical scheme is approximately order-optimal with respect to both metrics.


The scale, heterogeneity, and pace of evolution of the storage components in big data systems makes it impractical to manually insert monitoring code for observability metric collection and aggregation. In this paper we present an architecture that automates these metric collection processes, using a model-driven approach to configure a distributed runtime observability framework. We describe and evaluate an implementation of the architecture that collects and aggregates metrics for a big data system using heterogeneous NoSQL data stores. Our scalability tests demonstrate that the implementation can monitor 20 different metrics from 10,000 database nodes with a sampling interval of 20 seconds. Below this interval, we lose metrics due to the sustained write load required in the metrics database. This indicates that observability at scale must be able to support very high write loads in a metrics collection database.


Background: Hydralazine hydrochloride (HZH) is a drug candidate used to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension. Extreme variability in oral dosing, bioavailability of 31%, variable half-life of 3 to 7 h and molecular weight of 196.6 Daltons, made the drug molecule suitable for transdermal system. Objective: The objective of the present investigation is to study the effect of penetration enhancers on release kinetics of hydralazine hydrochloride both in vitro and in vivo through reservoir based transdermal systems. Materials and Methods: Rate controlling membranes were formulated by using HPMC, Eudragit RLPO and Eudragit RSPO. Reservoir was formulated by using 16% poloxamer 407 gel by cold method as it is having sol-gel temperature at 37°C. Results and Discussion: The drug release followed zero order non-fickian super case-II diffusion transport mechanism. Enhancement ratio was more with IPM as penetration enhancer. Formulation F7 [ERLPO: HPMC 5:5 and IPM 15%] had maximum in vitro release of 95.68 ± 1.16% with flux value of 64.168±0.071 μg/h/cm2, no significant difference in ex vivo permeation study was observed. The fabricated reservoir system was found to be safe for skin. In vivo kinetic studies projected a controlled release pattern with extended AUC of 25.760 ± 9.124 μg/mL/h with MRT 17.7 ± 0.37 h in transdermal route compared to oral route where AUC and MRT are 4.409 ± 2.015 μg/mL/h and 2.98 ± 1.24 h respectively. Conclusion: The drug reservoir transdermal system of HZH had varied in vitro release profile with varying the concentrations of penetration enhancer. The optimized transdermal system had extended AUC and MRT values compared to oral route and can enhance the bioavailability. Key words: Hydralazine hydrochloride, Isopropyl myristate, In vitro kinetics, In vivo kinetics, Poloxamer 407.


Abstract The extreme toxicity of botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) relies on their specific cleavage of SNARE proteins, which eventually leads to muscle paralysis. One newly identified mosaic toxin, BoNT/HA (aka H or FA), cleaves VAMP‐2 at a unique position between residues L54 and E55, but the molecular basis underlying VAMP‐2 recognition of BoNT/HA remains poorly characterized. Here, we report a ˜2.09 Å resolution crystal structure of the light chain protease domain of BoNT/HA (LC/HA). Structural comparison between LC/HA and LC of BoNT/F1 (LC/F1) reveals distinctive hydrophobic and electrostatic features near the active sites, which may explain their different VAMP‐2 cleavage sites. When compared to BoNT/F5 that cleaves VAMP‐2 at the same site as BoNT/HA, LC/HA displays higher affinity for VAMP‐2, which could be caused by their different surface charge properties surrounding a VAMP‐2 exosite‐binding cleft. Furthermore, systematic mutagenesis studies on VAMP‐2 and structural modeling demonstrate that residues R47 to K59 spanning the cleavage site in VAMP‐2 may adopt a novel extended conformation when interacting with LC/HA and LC/F5. Taken together, our structure provides new insights into substrate recognition of BoNT/HA and paves the way for rational design of small molecule or peptide inhibitors against LC/HA.


Both the EU and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are major political and economic actors, and the development of strategic partnerships in selected areas between the regions is among the priorities on their respective agendas. The existence of complex visa policies and practices between the two regions, however, constitutes a fundamental barrier preventing the promotion of exchanges between these regions when encouraging people-to-people contacts, developing commercial relations or exchanging knowledge. This paper aims at evaluating the possibilities for the visa rules of both regions being modified in order to reflect the privileged partnership that the EU and the GCC are willing to further develop. It concludes by putting forward policy recommendations and three scenarios on the possible ways to overcome current issues and implement new strategies for visa policy in the context of public diplomacy and outreach in EU–GCC relations.


This study examines the acquisition of split-ergative case marking in Kurmanji Kurdish, a language undergoing a shift in its case marking system, resulting in variable and inconsistent input to children. Data include naturalistic speech samples from a 12-month period from children (n = 12) from three age groups, 1;6, 2;6, and 3;6, and their caregivers (n = 41) and results from an Agent-Patient test. Descriptive and statistical analyses focus on adult patterns and children's production at different ages. Results suggest that there are variable patterns in how adults use case. The children first use ergative case as early as 2;0 and show evidence of use of case and verbal agreement features productively repeated by 2;6. At these early ages, children use similar patterns to caregivers.


The article analyzed the organization of work: work organization and its constituent elements studied in theoretical aspect. It is also presented organization, the division of labor, organizational structures, hierarchy, the concept of coordination and their values in organization activity. The discussed measures, in organizations of public and private sector, should help organize the staff work. Purified the importance of the coordination in the organization of work and discussed the principal regulations, elements and features of the practical application. With the development of technology and science, work organization problems remain continuously relevant because the organization of tools and methods should change and improve parallel. Summarizing the theoretical data, at the end of the article the authors compare them with the results of an empirical study performed in Vilnius district municipality in 2013 and presents the conclusions.


Science is a body of knowledge about the natural world (the environment) that is testable, verifiable or falsifiable by using organized scientific methods and skills. It has been generally asserted that the rate of development of any nation depends on the level of her citizens' scientific literacy and competence in science process skills. The methods of teaching/learning science in Nigeria have hardly provided for the acquisition of these literacy and skills. There is also a reported dwindling in performance and enrollment in science. For Nigeria to be able to move forward and achieve sustainable development, more needs to be done in terms of scientific literacy and process skills of individual Nigerians. This paper posits that the dwindling performance and enrollment in science is as a result of the disconnection between classroom science and everyday life which makes the science learning uninteresting and irrelevant to the student. There are common phenomena in the student's environment that can be connected to classroom science by several planned and organized activities by the teacher. To promote meaningful learning, and thus empower the individual for national growth, this paper recommends a bridge of the disconnect (gap) between classroom science teaching and everyday life.

 Key words: Everyday life, classroom, science, connecting.


orch., pno, Grade 1+). Words Joe Beal and Jim Boothe, arr. Bob Cerulli. Warner Brothers, 2001, $35. his is a very playable arrangement of a tune that students often ask to play. In the key of D major, the chromatic alterations, including low first fingers, are approached logically, and fingerings are well marked in both score and parts. All instruments need to learn half position for a few notes, making this a good opportunity to teach this skill to the entire group. An optional second violin part doubles the viola part. After a four measure introduction, all instruments except bass play the melody in unison before Cerulli divides the instruments into parts. Violins have the melody throughout, and the harmony parts are interesting for all instruments. The arrangement is written in straight eighth notes with no indication to swing them, but it would be easy to play the swing rhythm from this version. IM.s·l·


This paper aims to provide a proper characterization of finite and non-finite clauses in Pima Bajo, a Uto-Aztecan language from the Tepiman branch. Our main research questions are, firstly, how to address the topic of finiteness in a language without morphological tense marking? And secondly, what are the relevant features or properties that distinguish finite and non-finite constructions in a language with no obligatory agreement markers? Finiteness and non-finiteness have long been discussed and analyzed in either formal or functional terms, mostly from a Eurocentric perspective. The most traditional notion takes finiteness to be associated with tense-aspect and agreement only, whereas functional approaches, consider finiteness to be a scalar, or gradient, phenomenon not reducible to tense-aspect marking and agreement. This paper analyzes finite and non-finite constructions in Pima Bajo, taking into consideration different morphosyntactic features, among them those that express illocutionary force and those that anchor the event. These features include aspect suffixes, personal pronouns, modals, and scope particles, among others. The analysis of finite and non-finite constructions in Pima Bajo shows that finiteness is a construction and language-particular phenomenon that cannot be reduced to morphological properties of the verb such as person and number agreement or tense marking.


The Phox2b genesis necessary for the development of the autonomic nervous system, and especially, of respiratory neuronal circuits. In the present study, we examined the role of Phox2b in ventilatory and thermoregulatory responses to hypoxic stress, which are closely related in the postnatal period. Hypoxic stress was generated by strong thermal stimulus, combined or not with reduced inspired O2. To this end, we exposed 6-day-old Phox2b+/− pups and their wild-type littermates (Phox2b+/+) to hypoxia (10% O2) or hypercapnia (8% CO2) under thermoneutral (33°C) or cold (26°C) conditions. We found that Phox2b+/− pups showed less normoxic ventilation (VE) in the cold than Phox2b+/+ pups. Phox2b+/− pups also showed lower oxygen consumption (VO2) in the cold, reflecting reduced thermogenesis and a lower body temperature. Furthermore, while the cold depressed ventilatory responses to hypoxia and hypercapnia in both genotype groups, this effect was less pronounced in Phox2b+/− pups. Finally, because serotonin (5-HT) neurons are pivotal to respiratory and thermoregulatory circuits and depend on Phox2b for their differentiation, we studied 5-HT metabolism using high pressure liquid chromatography, and found that it was altered in Phox2b+/− pups. We conclude that Phox2b haploinsufficiency alters the ability of newborns to cope with metabolic challenges, possibly due to 5-HT signaling impairments.


In this paper we use a newly constructed dataset following 30,000 Italian individuals from high school to labor market and we analyze whether the gender composition of peers in high school affected their choice of college major, their academic performance and their labor market income. We leverage the fact that the composition of high school classmates (peers), within school-cohort and teacher-group, was not chosen by the students and it was as good as random. We find that male students graduating from classes with at least 80% of male peers were more likely to choose "prevalently male" (PM) college majors (Economics, Business and Engineering). However, this higher propensity to enroll in PM majors faded away during college (through transfers and attrition) so that men from classes with at least 80% of male peers in high school did not have higher probability of graduating in PM majors. They had instead worse college performance and did not exhibit any difference in income or labor market outcomes after college. We do not find significant effects on women.


In this paper, we take a multilevel perspective to investigate the role of child care in the transition to motherhood in Germany. We argue that in the European institutional context the availability of public day care and informal child care arrangements should be a central element of the local opportunity structure regarding the compatibility of childrearing and women's employment. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, we apply a multilevel discrete time logit model to estimate first birth risks of western German women. While we find that access to informal care arrangements increases the probability of entering parenthood, we do not find any statistically significant effect of the public day care provision. This result probably points to shortcomings in the specific institutional set-up of the German day- care regime, and to the existence of potentially relevant unobserved dimensions of child care.


In this paper, we propose Segugio, a novel defense system that allows for efficiently tracking the occurrence of new malware-control domain names in very large ISP networks. Segugio passively monitors the DNS traffic to build a machine-domain bipartite graph representing who is querying what. After labelling nodes in this query behavior graph that are known to be either benign or malware-related, we propose a novel approach to accurately detect previously unknown malware-control domains. We implemented a proof-of-concept version of Segugio and deployed it in large ISP networks that serve millions of users. Our experimental results show that Segugio can track the occurrence of new malware-control domains with up to 94% true positives (TPs) at less than 0.1% false positives (FPs). In addition, we provide the following results: (1) we show that Segugio can also detect control domains related to new, previously unseen malware families, with 85% TPs at 0.1% FPs, (2) Segugio's detection models learned on traffic from a given ISP network can be deployed into a different ISP network and still achieve very high detection accuracy, (3) new malware-control domains can be detected days or even weeks before they appear in a large commercial domain name blacklist, and (4) we show that Segugio clearly outperforms Notos, a previously proposed domain name reputation system.


A continuously rotating half-wave plate (CRHWP) is a promising tool to improve the sensitivity to large angular scales in cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization measurements. With a CRHWP, single detectors can measure three of the Stokes parameters, I, Q and U, thereby avoiding the set of systematic errors that can be introduced by mismatches in the properties of orthogonal detector pairs. We focus on the implementation of CRHWPs in large aperture telescopes (i.e. the primary mirror is larger than the current maximum half-wave plate diameter of ∼0.5 m), where the CRHWP can be placed between the primary mirror and focal plane. In this configuration, one needs to address the intensity to polarization (I→P) leakage of the optics, which becomes a source of 1/f noise and also causes differential gain systematics that arise from CMB temperature fluctuations. In this paper, we present the performance of a CRHWP installed in the {\scshape Polarbear} experiment, which employs a Gregorian telescope with a 2.5 m primary illumination pattern. The CRHWP is placed near the prime focus between the primary and secondary mirrors. We find that the I→P leakage is larger than the expectation from the physical properties of our primary mirror, resulting in a 1/f knee of 100 mHz. The excess leakage could be due to imperfections in the detector system, i.e. detector non-linearity in the responsivity and time-constant. We demonstrate, however, that by subtracting the leakage correlated with the intensity signal, the 1/f noise knee frequency is reduced to 32 mHz (ℓ ∼ 39 for our scan strategy), which is very promising to probe the primordial B-mode signal. We also discuss methods for further noise subtraction in future projects where the precise temperature control of instrumental components and the leakage reduction will play a key role.


WHY NOT learn to teach reading from a script? What role does improvisation play in teaching reading with a lesson plan or even with a script? Does a teacher who knows more about phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and motivation teach more effectively from a script than one who knows less about these domains of reading? As an external evaluator for Georgia's "Reading First Initiative," funded under the No Child Left Behind Act, and as a university teacher educator, I find myself pondering these questions. Every school receiving Reading First funds in Georgia must use a core reading program. Some core programs require teachers to read from a script to deliver explicit, systematic reading instruction (e.g., Reading Mastery Plus and the Voyager Core K-3 Reading Program). The scripted reading instruction of today comes, in one way or another, from Siegfried Engelmann and Carl Bereiter, who in the 1960s developed the direct instruction method of teaching reading to raise the academic success of inner-city children. (1) The pedagogy of a fully scripted teacher's guide has an even longer history. In 1888 Samuel and Adeline Monroe published one of the earliest texts for teachers with complete scripts for teaching reading readiness, phonics, and oral reading. (2) My observations of scripted reading lessons have me thinking anew about prior assumptions. My history with the scripted teaching of reading consists of three experiences. The first experience was in 1990 while I was studying for a doctoral degree in literacy education. I was curious to see for myself what a direct instruction approach to teaching reading was, because of the critiques I was hearing. I visited a school where the program, Direct Instruction System for Teaching Arithmetic and Reading (DISTAR), was well established. (3) The teacher I observed was reading from a script in the teacher's manual. She was animated, and the children responded confidently, fulfilling their part as the audience. While I admired the lively interactions, I thought the text bizarre. It was about the adventures of a fly. The teacher asked questions about where the fly went and what misadventures he had. It seemed they were engaged in such low-level comprehension as identifying explicit question-answer relationships. (4) It seemed doubtful to me that reading an anthropomorphic story about a day in the life of a fly was edifying. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] My observation of the DISTAR reading lesson occurred at a time when I was researching teaching for critical thinking through dialogical discussions of text. (5) I was presenting schoolchildren labeled "learning disabled" with stories that had content that allowed us to discuss a central question in which there were at least two plausible conclusions. For example, we read Sheila Greenwald's simple and short book, The Hot Day. (6) We identified reasons to support two possibilities. Did the central character run away because he was scared or angry? Then we evaluated the truth and relevance of our reasons to arrive at a defensible conclusion. The scripted questions about the adventures of a fly seemed antithetical to teaching critical thinking. These were questions that could be answered directly from the text, and this was a far cry from my interest in teaching a philosophical conception of critical thinking to teachers so they could facilitate discussions of text that elicited "reasonable reflective thinking focused on deciding what to do or think." (7) I had read a study of a direct instruction approach to teaching critical reading (8) and found it unsatisfactory because dimensions of critical thinking were taught as separate skills, as opposed to the way they occur in concert in real discussions and arguments. My second experience with scripted teaching occurred much later. In 2003 I showed my university students a video that profiled teachers at Walton Elementary School in Central Texas using Reading Mastery (formerly called DISTAR) and teachers at Bearden Elementary in Alabama using Project Read, published by Language Circle Enterprises. …


OBJECTIVE
To determine whether our practice of requesting an autopsy for patients who die in the medical intensive care unit (MICU) continues to be a valid approach to obtain clinically and educationally relevant findings.

METHODS
In this retrospective study conducted in an adult MICU population of a university hospital, the clinical diagnoses and postmortem major diagnoses of 100 patients who died in 1996 (autopsy rate of 93%) were compared.

RESULTS
Eighty-one percent of the clinical diagnoses were confirmed at autopsy. In 16%, autopsy findings revealed a major diagnosis that, if known before death, might have led to a change in therapy and prolonged survival (class I missed major diagnoses). The most frequent class I missed major diagnoses were fungal infection, cardiac tamponade, abdominal hemorrhage, and myocardial infarction. Another 10% of autopsies revealed a diagnosis that, if known before death, would probably not have led to a change in therapy (class II error).

CONCLUSIONS
Autopsy remains an important tool for education and quality control. In contrast with historical series of 1 to 2 decades ago, there is a clear shift in the type of class I missed major diagnoses toward opportunistic infections. Bedside-applicable techniques such as electrocardiography with supplemental posterior leads, echocardiography, and meticulous abdominal ultrasonography might improve the outcome in selected MICU patients.


PREDICTIVE HABITAT MODEL FOR THE SNAPPING SHRIMP GENUS ALPHEUSIN THE COASTAL SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES by Laura Catherine Anderson August 2010 The present study focused on factors influencing Alpheus distribution in the Gulf of Mexico and the northwestern Atlantic Ocean. The objectives were to perform a biogeographical analysis of the currently known A lpheus species distribution, develop a spatially explicit predictive model, and experimentally verify the importance of substrate as a key modeling variable through a laboratory-based substrate choice study. Significant predictor variables included in the final model for the Gulf of Mexico were Shepard code, seabed class, the quadratic artificial reef term, the quadratic shore term, the distance to shore, the indirect predictors of longitude and latitude, and three interaction terms (longitude and latitude, quadratic reefterm and quadratic shore terms, and Shepard c.ode and distance to shore). The predicted probabilities of snapping shrimp absence were comparable to those found in the training data set for the Gulf of Mexico. The AUC indicated that the best model built on the Gulf of Mexico training data set was not able to predict snapping shrimp distribution in the northwestern Atlantic better than a random prediction. The laboratory study verified that the snapping shrimp Alpheus heterochaelis exhibit a significant preference for substrates in a manner consistent with the results of the biogeographical analysis. The present study elucidates relationships among environmental characteristics and genus level spatial distribution of snapping


The performance of computer networks relies on how bandwidth is shared among different flows. Fair resource allocation is a challenging problem particularly when the flows evolve over time. To address this issue, bandwidth sharing techniques that quickly react to the traffic fluctuations are of interest, especially in large-scale settings with hundreds of nodes and thousands of flows. In this context, we propose a distributed algorithm based on the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) that tackles the multi-path fair resource allocation problem in a distributed SDN control architecture. Our ADMM-based algorithm continuously generates a sequence of resource allocation solutions converging to the fair allocation while always remaining feasible, a property that standard primal–dual decomposition methods often lack. Thanks to the distribution of all computer intensive operations, we demonstrate that we can handle large instances at scale.


In a stunning memoir-cum-travelogue Peter Carey charts this journey, inspired by Charley's passion for Japanese Manga and anime, and explores his own resulting re-evaluation of Japan. Although graphically violent and disturbing, the two mediums are both inherently concerned with Japan's rich history and heritage, and hold a huge popular appeal that crosses the generations. Led by their adolescent guide Takashi, an uncanny mix of generosity and derision, father and son look for the hidden puzzles and meanings, searching, often with comic results, for a greater understanding of these art forms, and for what they come to refer to as their own 'real Japan'. From Manhattan to Tokyo, Commodore Perry to Godzilla, kabuki theatre to the post-war robot craze, Wrong about Japan is a fascinatingly personal, witty and moving exploration of two very different cultures.


This paper analyzes a randomized tax enforcement experiment in Denmark. In the base year, a stratified and representative sample of over 40,000 individual income tax filers was selected for the experiment. Half of the tax filers were randomly selected to be thoroughly audited, while the rest were deliberately not audited. The following year, "threat-of-audit" letters were randomly assigned and sent to tax filers in both groups. Using comprehensive administrative tax data, we present four main findings. First, we find that the tax evasion rate is very small (0.3%) for income subject to third-party reporting, but substantial (37%) for self-reported income. Since 95% of all income is third-party reported, the overall evasion rate is very modest. Second, using bunching evidence around large and salient kink points of the nonlinear income tax schedule, we find that marginal tax rates have a positive impact on tax evasion, but that this effect is small in comparison to avoidance responses. Third, we find that prior audits substantially increase self-reported income, implying that individuals update their beliefs about detection probability based on experiencing an audit. Fourth, threat-of-audit letters also have a significant effect on self-reported income, and the size of this effect depends positively on the audit probability expressed in the letter. All these empirical results can be explained by extending the standard model of (rational) tax evasion to allow for the key distinction between self-reported and third-party reported incomes.


This paper investigates the system performance of a cognitive relay network with underlay spectrum sharing wherein the relay is exploited to assist both the primary and secondary transmitters in forwarding their signals to the respective destinations. To exploit spatial diversity, beamforming transmission is implemented at the transceivers of the primary and secondary networks. Particularly, exact expressions for the outage probability and symbol error rate (SER) of the primary transmission and tight bounded expressions for the outage probability and SER of the secondary transmission are derived. Furthermore, an asymptotic analysis for the primary network, which is utilized to investigate the diversity and coding gain of the network, is developed. Finally, numerical results are presented to show the benefits of the proposed system.


When Harold Fried, et al. published The Measurement of Productive Efficiency: Techniques and Applications with OUP in 1993, the book received a great deal of professional interest for its accessible treatment of the rapidly growing field of efficiency and productivity analysis. The first several chapters, providing the background, motivation, and theoretical foundations for this topic, were the most widely recognized. In this tight, direct update, these same editors have compiled over ten years of the most recent research in this changing field, and expanded on those seminal chapters. The book will guide readers from the basic models to the latest, cutting-edge extensions, and will be reinforced by references to classic and current theoretical and applied research. It is intended for professors and graduate students in a variety of fields, ranging from economics to agricultural economics, business administration, management science, and public administration. It should also appeal to public servants and policy makers engaged in business performance analysis or regulation. Available in OSO:


An eightfold photonic quasi-crystal (PQC) sample is fabricated holographically using two-beam interference with multi-exposure based on polymer-dispersed liquid crystals. The transmission spectra from the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulation prove the photonic stop band of the rotational symmetry structure of the sample. The resonant mode of the circular microcavity formed in the PQC is calculated. Amplified spontaneous emission and multimode lasing action are demonstrated from the pumped laser-dye-doped PQC microcavity using a Q-switched neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) pulse laser.


Both volumes present an in depth analysis of actual marine insurance relative to hull insurance, cargo insurance and P&I insurance. The impact of European law on marine insurance and, more specifically, European Competition Rules in relation to P&I insurance are covered. In addition, specific issues such as the future Belgian Marine Insurance statute and the Antwerp Marine Policy are dealt with. The subjects are covered in a broad comparative law perspective, combining practice and theory. Also topics such as the ISM code and its relation to marine insurance and the position of classification societies and quality insurance are considered.


Reflected light escape and mesoscopic penetration are two serious problems for optical characterization using microscopes. For specular samples with steep slopes, the detector does not receive enough light and the detection algorithm is not be able to detect the peak position, and would generate non-measured points. Moreover, the mesoscopic penetration phenomenon has been ignored when measuring and observing the shapes of samples with multi-layer structures. But this phenomenon, due to the transparency of materials to certain wavelengths of light, may result in serious errors in the measurements of the heights of samples, as well as errors in the descriptions of their shapes. Here we describe the use of fluorophore-aided scattering microscopy to significantly extend the magnitudes of slopes that can be detected, and to essentially eliminate errors in measurements of height caused by mesoscopic penetration.

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Background
Continuous transmission of HCV infection in Egypt still exists. Prevention of primary HCV infection is a public health issue of major importance particularly through targeted HCV awareness efforts. Understanding the characteristics of persons who have deficient knowledge or are unaware of their infection can help target appropriate education and early detection strategy. The aim of this study was to assess the mode of transmission knowledge level and its determinants and show the level of awareness by describing how infection is first detected in Egyptian patients.
Methods
A comparative descriptive study was performed in which 1024 HCV seropositive and 1046 HCV seronegative participants were asked an open-ended question regarding HCV mode of transmission. HCV seropositive patients were also interviewed about how they got aware of their infection.
Results
 Two thirds of HCV seropositives and HCV seronegatives had relevant knowledge and one third of them do not know how HCV is transmitted. Women and older uninfected participants were significantly more knowledgeable. The level of education was associated with relevant knowledge. Active diagnosis was barely looked for, while diagnosis after becoming symptomatic occurred in almost half of the cases. Participants who were accidentally aware of their HCV positive status were more likely to be males, older than 45 years, urban residents, engaged in high risk occupation, married, literate and lived abroad.
Conclusion
HCV knowledge needs to be improved across the whole community with a special focus on reaching population with lower educational levels. An integrated national HCV screening strategy needs to be adopted and directed to high risk groups to improve early detection.


A microcasting process is developed to produce microwires of pure or alloyed aluminium. These wires have a diameter ranging between five and twenty micrometers and have a high aspect ratio, on the order of 50. The wires furthermore are monocrystalline and have a surface roughness around 30 nm. Their monotonic plastic flow, in uniaxial tension, has features similar to those of larger single crystals; however, deformation progresses in these crystals by a series of sudden strain bursts of stochastically distributed intensity. We study the distribution of these strain bursts, and also present results from relaxation tests conducted on such wires, in which we probe the role of thermal activation on the initiation and cessation of dislocational plasticity within samples. Mechanical tests are supplemented with microscopic investigations of the metal substructure evolution that accompanies deformation of the wires.


The building energy consumption represent 60% of total primary energy consumption in the world. In order to control the demand response schemes for residential users, it is crucial to be able to predict the different components of the total power consumption of a household. This work provide a non intrusive identification model of devices with a sample frequency of one hertz. The identification results are the inputs of a model to predict the flexible energy. This corresponds at the different devices could be shift in a predetermined time. In a residential building, the heating and the hot water represent this flexible energy. The Support Vector Machine (SVM) enable an identification around 95% of heating, hot water, household electrical and a ensemble of decision tree provide the prediction for the next 15 minutes.


The timely detection of life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) is critical for saving a patient's life. General features that characterize ECG waveforms are extracted for VA detection. To take into account the subtle differences in the QRS complexes among different people, new personalized features are proposed in this paper based on the correlation coefficient between a patient-specific regular QRS-complex template and his/her real-time ECG data. Small sets of the most effective features are chosen with support vector machines from 11 newly extracted and 15 previously existing features, for efficient performance and real-time operation. Our proposed new features aveCC and medianCC are verified to be effective in enhancing the performance of existing features under both the record-based and database-based data divisions. Through 50-time random record-based data divisions, all combinations of two features and three features are tested. The top two-feature combination is VFleak and aveCC, which achieves an area under curve (AUC) value of 98.56%±0.89%, a specificity (SP) of 94.80%±2.15%, and an accuracy (ACC) of 94.66% ± 1.97%; the top three-feature combination is VFleak, MEA, and aveCC, which obtains an AUC of 98.98% ± 0.58%, an SP of 95.56% ± 1.45, and an ACC of 95.46%21.36; these results outperform the previous top-two and top-three feature combinations. Similar results are obtained on the database-based data division.


Neuropsychiatric disorders (including substance misuse) are associated with the greatest burden of functional disability in young people, and contributory factors remain poorly understood. Early-onset substance use is one candidate risk factor which may inform functional prognosis and facilitate direction of interventions aiming to curtail impairment. Accordingly, we modelled associations between early-onset use of alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and amphetamine-type stimulants (ATSs) and longitudinal socio-occupational functioning (indexed by the Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment Scale) in an observational cohort presenting to early intervention mental health services. A clinical proforma collated demographic, clinical, and socio-occupational information for up to 60-months from presentation to services in young people aged 17–30. Of the wider cohort (n = 2398), 446 participants were selected with complete alcohol and substance use data. Latent class analysis was used to derive an 'early-onset' (n = 243) and 'later-onset' class (n = 203) based on age of first use of alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and ATSs. Maximum-likelihood multilevel analyses modelled functioning over time in care and tested associations with substance use latent class, age, gender and diagnosis. Membership in the 'early-onset' class (B = -1.64, p = 0.05), male gender (B = -3.27, p<0.001) and psychotic disorder diagnosis (B = -7.62, p<0.001) were associated with poorer functioning at presentation and at least one other time-point. To our knowledge, this is the first study to explore associations of early-onset substance use and longitudinal functioning in a cohort of young people with mental disorders. The identified factors may be useful for directing specific social (e.g. Social Recovery Therapy) or occupational (e.g. Individual Placement and Support) interventions to at-risk individuals, early in illness course.


We exploit the recent declassification of CIA documents and examine whether there is evidence of US power being used to influence countries' decisions regarding international trade. We measure US influence using a newly constructed annual panel of CIA interventions aimed at installing and supporting leaders during the Cold War. Our presumption is that the US had greater influence over foreign leaders that were installed and backed by the CIA. We show that following CIA interventions there was an increase in foreign-country imports from the US, but there was no similar increase in foreign-country exports to the US. Further, the increase in US exports was concentrated in industries in which the US had a comparative disadvantage in producing, not a comparative advantage. This is consistent with US influence being used to create a larger foreign market for American products. Our analysis is able to rule out decreased bilateral trade costs, changing political ideology, and an increased supply of US loans and grants as explanations for the increase in US exports to the intervened country. We provide evidence that the increase in US exports arose through direct purchases of US products by foreign governments.


One of the most interesting effects of internationalisation is certainly the increase, in Italy, of museum educational programmes delivered through the means of a foreign language and based on the CLIL methodology. The aim of these programmes is for visitors to practise their foreign language skills in an authentic and stimulating context, while at same time developing their knowledge of science, art or other discipline related contents. Their target is mainly school-students, which is in line with current European policies that encourage member states to bridge the gap between inand out-of-school language learning. This article will first offer a broad overview of how internationalisation has affected museum educational programmes in Italy. Thus, it will give an overview of museum and CLIL-based pedagogies, discussing the challenges encountered to integrate them through summarising Fazzi's evaluation of a CLIL museum programme. It will then outline a research project carried out in collaboration with the Civic Museum of Venice, through discussing (i) the steps taken in developing a CLIL museum programme at the Natural History Museum of Venice, (ii) the programme structure and (iii) the challenges encountered. The project, which is currently in its second year, adopts a participatory approach and involves the museum educational staff, the museum educator/researcher, and secondary school teachers and students. Summary


Mobile code presents a number of threats to machines that execute it. We introduce an approach for protecting machines and the resources they hold from mobile code and describe a system based on our approach for protecting host machines from Java 1.1 applets. In our approach, each Java applet downloaded to the protected domain is rerouted to a dedicated machine (or set of machines), the playground, at which it is executed. Prior to execution, the applet is transformed to use the downloading user's Web browser as a graphics terminal for its input and output, and so the user has the illusion that the applet is running on his own machine. In reality, however, mobile code runs only in the sanitized environment of the playground, where user files cannot be mounted and from which only limited network connections are accepted by machines in the protected domain. Our playground thus provides a second level of defense against mobile code that circumvents language-based defenses. This paper presents the design and implementation of a playground for Java 1.1 applets and discusses extensions of it for other forms of mobile code, including Java 1.2.


The purpose of Drug Effectiveness Review Project reports is to make available information regarding the comparative clinical effectiveness and harms of different drugs. Reports are not usage guidelines, nor should they be read as an endorsement of or recommendation for any particular drug, use, or approach. Oregon Health & Science University does not recommend or endorse any guideline or recommendation developed by users of these reports.