This paper reveals the ways in which media autocracy operates on political, judicial, economic and discursive levels in post-2007 Turkish media. Newsmakers in Turkey currently experience five different systemic kinds of neoliberal government pressures to keep their voice down: conglomerate pressure, judicial suppression, online banishment, surveillance defamation and accreditation discrimination. The progression of restrictions on media freedom has increased in volume annually since 2007; this includes pressure on the Dogan Media Group, the YouTube ban, arrests of journalists in the Ergenekon trials, phone tapping/taping of political figures and the exclusion of all unfriendly reporters from political circles. The levels and tools of this autocracy eventually lead to certain conclusions about the qualities of this media environment: it is a historically conservative, redistributive, panoptic and discriminatory media autocracy.


A study of Quinqueloculina tuberculata Cushman and Todd from the Moodys Branch Formation (Jackson, Eocene) at Jackson, Mississippi, eventually evolved into this report on the wall structure of the foraminiferal superfamily Miliolacea and its genera and species from the Gulf Coastal Plain. From the Moodys Branch Formation Massilina jacksonensis Cushman and its variety punctatocostata Cushman have been assigned to the new genus Tappanella; Quinqueloculina tuberculata Cushman and Todd is considered to be the quinqueloculine stage of Massilina jacksonensis Cushman; Miliola saxorum Lamarck and Miliola jacksonensis Cushman remain as originally described. From the Weches Formation (Claiborne, Eocene) at Smithville, Texas, Spiroloculina smithvillensis Feray (nomen nudum) is redescribed as Texinaferayi, n. sp., which in turn is selected as the type species for the new genus Texina. The Cane River Formation (Claiborne, Eocene), a Louisiana lithologic unit equivalent to the Weches of Texas, contains Spiroloculina lamposa Hussey, which has been assigned to the genus Neaguites, new genus. Species related to Miliola present in the Byram Formation (Oligocene) include: Triloculina mississippiensis Cushman, which has been selected as the type of a new genus Picouina; Spiroloculina byramensis Cushman and Spiroloculina imprimata Cushman, which have been assigned to the new genus Neaguites; and Quinqueloculina byramensis Cushman, which has been assigned to the genus Miliola. Tappanella, Picouina, Neaguites and Texina, the foraminiferal genera described as new, are calcareous perforate; have pitted chamber walls; and most aper tures have a trematophore (are cribrate). They are assigned to the family Miliolidae, because the type genus Miliola has the same structural features. These features in turn, necessitate an emended diagnosis of the superfamily Miliolacea to accommodate genera with calcareous perforate chamber walls.


In the globalization era, competition pace among the industry has been becoming faster. This leads in changes on business process of many companies, including companies in Indonesia. High competition in the business world force company to always give the best to the consumer. Implementing international standards for management system becomes a critical step and decision for the companies in order to survive in the competition. This research will find the impact of requirements in the integrated management systems on the company operational performance. The object will be 5 manufacturing companies in Indonesia which have implemented the integrated management system. Literature study is conducted to show requirements shared in the integrated management system and operational performance criteria. Structural Equation Modeling will be used in order to analyze the relationship between requirements stated in three standards of ISO 9001, the ISO 14001, and ISO 45001 with operational performance criteria. The result of this research shall find the best strategies in implementing these systems specifically for Indonesian automotive industries in order to optimize the operational performances.


Previous studies have indicated that Guaroa virus (GV), an arbovirus, enhanced the replication of Friend leukemia virus (FLV) in mice. To study further the interaction of GV and FLV, different levels of FLV activity were inoculated into mice. At a level of activity capable of producing limited splenic response, coinfection with GV resulted in a marked increase in spleen-foci activity, mean spleen weight, and amount of infectious virus recoverable from plasma and spleen of dually infected mice. Various oncogenic and nononcogenic viruses were also tested for their ability to enhance FLV infection.


The free induction signals of dense Rb atoms are observed with an injection-seeded power laser diode. The decay rate of signals is found to depend on the number density of Rb atoms, the static magnetic field, the electronspin polarization, and the pulse area of the oscillating magnetic field. We note that the observed broadening of the magnetic resonance line, appearing at high polarization and large pulse area, is the key to understanding the spin dynamics of the precessing atoms which interact with each other. The feature of broadening is quantitatively interpreted by numerically calculating, in a wide range of parameters, the nonlinear Liouville equation that includes the spin-exchange interaction between Rb atoms.


The current financial crisis is a painful reminder that the developed world is not yet immune to these devastating shocks. But while we haven't learned to prevent them, we have learned some lessons about what is necessary to contain them once they begin and to limit the damage that follows. As policymakers worldwide focus on resolving the current financial crisis, they might look to Sweden as a useful model for effective strategies.


A South Korean investment group has agreed to purchase the U.S. silicones maker Momentive Performance Materials in a deal valued at $3.1 billion, including debt and other liabilities. The buyers include the chemical and silicones producer KCC Corp., the quartz and ceramics supplier Wonik QnC, and the private equity firm SJL Partners. According to the credit rating agency Moody's, KCC and Wonik, will own 45% and 5% of Momentive, respectively. SJL will hold the balance. Momentive had before-tax earnings of $293 million on $2.3 billion in sales last year. About half of its sales came from silicones. Another 40% were from its additives business, which supplies urethane additives, silicone fluids, and silanes. The company also has a small quartz business. Momentive was General Electric's silicones business until the private equity firm Apollo Global Management bought it in 2006 for $3.2 billion. Over the years Momentive spent time in bankruptcy and


Tumor motion due to patient's respiratory is a significant problem in radiotherapy treatment of lung cancer. The purpose of this project is to study the interplay effect through dosimetry verification between the calculated and delivered dose, as well as the dosimetric impact of leaf interplay with breathing-induced tumor motion in IMRT and VMAT treatment. In this study, a dynamic thorax phantom was designed and constructed for dosimetry measurement. The phantom had a linear sinusoidal tumor motion toward superior-inferior direction with variation of amplitudes and periods. TLD-100 LiF:Mg,Ti and Gafchromic EBT2 film were used to measure dose in the midpoint target and the spinal cord. The IMRT and VMAT treatment had prescription dose of 200 cGy per fraction. The dosimetric impact due to interplay effect during IMRT and VMAT treatment were resulted in the range of 0.5% to -6.6% and 0.9% to -5.3% of target dose reduction, respectively. Meanwhile, mean dose deviation of spinal cord in IMRT and VMAT treatment were around 1.0% to -6.9% and 0.9% to -6.3%, respectively. The results showed that if respiratory management technique were not implemented, the presence of lung tumor motion during dose delivery in IMRT and VMAT treatment causes dose discrepancies inside tumor volume.


MINILAB is a small photometer designed for use in small labs and physicians' offices. The instrument is preprogrammed for the determination of several analytes either in whole blood, plasma or serum. Each method is provided as a kit containing disposable cuvettes and capillaries for sample or reagent addition. We examined the precision of the MINILAB using the cholesterol and bilirubin methods for serum, following the recommendations provided for each method, and found that the precisions were not acceptable (CV up to 16% for cholesterol and 43% for bilirubin). Suspecting that these variations were due to sample and reagent pipetting, we tried a simple modification using a Microcap for pipetting and were able to improve the precisions, resulting in CVs of 1.4% for cholesterol and 3.5% for bilirubin.


Background: Inpatient medical consultations have become an essential service in the specialty of Internal Medicine. Research in this new subspecialty will help improve the quality as well as the costeffectiveness of this vital service. Method: Data for all patients who were referred to the service were entered in a pre-designed form. Results: One hundred and seventy-six adult patients with an average age of 53.3 years were seen by the service over a 4 months period. Consultations to the service were primarily from the departments of Surgery (110, 62.50%), Obstetrics and Gynecology (57, 32.39%). Co-morbidities were common specially diabetes mellitus (59.1%) and hypertension (41.5%). Most of the consultations were for emergency patients (99, 56.3%) rather than for electively (77, 43.7%) admitted cases. For operative patients, there was an equal share between pre- and post-operative cases (58.8% and 58.0% respectively). Prior referral to outpatient pre-operative clinics was unsatisfactory with the service requesting postponements of surgery for 22.1 percent of pre-operative cases. The major reasons for referral to the service were diabetes mellitus (49.4%), hypertension (30.7%) and respiratory problems (22.7%). Thirty-three percent of cases had more than one reason for referral. Active intervention by the service was frequent. The average length of care under the service was 5.2 days with a range of 1 to 90 days. Conclusions: The service needs to be structured with regards to staff education and training; emphasizing on diabetes mellitus, hypertension and respiratory problems care. A joint interdepartmental effort along the above lines and better use of the pre-operative outpatient clinics are recommended.


Abstract Flows in unsaturated medium are frequent in the field of civil engineering and more particularly in geotechnics. The study undertaken here tries to solve the unsaturated transient flow equation in porous media using the finite element method. Numerical solution of a finite element discretization is used along with an implicit integration scheme of the time stepping. A functional one that makes it possible to find the distribution of the hydraulic load has been proposed and a calculation program has been developed. The results obtained by this program called TFAP (Transient Flow Analysis Program) are compared to other previous work in the subject. The authors show the importance of this study through two real examples. Liakopoulos conducted several experiments on the water drainage through a vertical column filled with Del Monte sand. One of these experiments was chosen to perform a simulation by the model. The results of the calculation are compared with the experimental data as well.


Our aim in this study was to test two programmes designed to lead preschool children to use conventional letters to spell the initial consonants of words. These programmes differed in terms of the characteristics of the vowels that followed those consonants. The participants were 45 five-year-old Portuguese children whose spelling was pre-syllabic they used strings of random letters in their spelling, making no attempt to match the oral to the written language. They were divided into two experimental and a control group. Their age, level of intelligence, and phonological awareness were controlled. Their spelling was assessed in a preand a post-test. Inbetween, children from the experimental groups participated in two programmes where they had to think about the relationships between the initial consonant and the corresponding phoneme in different words: In Experimental Group 1, the initial consonants were followed by an open vowel, and in Experimental Group 2, these same consonants were followed by a closed vowel. The control group classified geometric shapes. Experimental Group 1 achieved better results than Experimental Group 2 following open vowels, being more able to generalize the phonological procedures to sounds that were not taught during the programmes. Both experimental groups used conventional letters to represent several phonemes in the post-test whereas the control group continued to produce pre-syllabic spellings.


Let $Y$ be a (partial) minimal model of a scheme $V$ with a cluster structure. Under natural assumptions, for every choice of seed we associate a Newton--Okounkov body to every divisor on $Y$ supported on $Y \setminus V$ and show that these Newton--Okounkov bodies are positive sets in the sense of Gross, Hacking, Keel and Kontsevich \cite{GHKK}. This construction essentially reverses the procedure in loc. cit. that generalizes the polytope construction of a toric variety to the framework of cluster varieties. In a closely related setting, we consider cases where $Y$ is a projective variety whose universal torsor $\text{UT}_Y$ is a partial minimal model of a scheme with a cluster structure of type $\mathcal A$. If the theta functions parametrized by the integral points of the associated superpotential cone form a basis of the ring of algebraic functions on $\text{UT}_Y$ and the action of the torus $T_{\text{Pic}(Y)^*}$ on $\text{UT}_Y$ is compatible with the cluster structure, then for every choice of seed we associate a Newton--Okounkov body to every line bundle on $Y$. We prove that any such Newton--Okounkov body is a positive set and that $Y$ is a minimal model of a quotient of a cluster $\mathcal A$-variety by the action of a torus. Our constructions lead to the notion of the intrinsic Newton--Okounkov body associated to a boundary divisor in a partial minimal model of a scheme with a cluster structure. This provides a wide class of examples of Newton-Okoukov bodies exhibiting a wall-crossing phenomenon in the sense of Escobar--Harada \cite{EH20}. This approach includes the partial flag varieties that arise as minimal models of cluster varieties. For the case of Grassmannians, our approach recovers, up to interesting unimodular equivalences, the Newton--Okounkov bodies constructed by Rietsch--Williams in \cite{RW}.


PURPOSE
To describe a combined endovascular and surgical approach for an embolizing subclavian artery aneurysm as an alternative to conventional reconstructive surgery.

METHODS AND RESULTS
A 39-year-old woman presented with a post-traumatic aneurysm of the left subclavian artery and occlusion of the brachial artery due to embolization. Exclusion of the aneurysm was achieved by intraoperative implantation of a covered stent during simultaneous reconstruction of the brachial artery by a venous bypass graft. The patient is well and free of symptoms 24 months after the operation.

CONCLUSIONS
Repeat operative trauma to the supraclavicular region was avoided by transluminal implantation of a covered stent-graft in combination with an axilloulnar bypass procedure for chronic embolic occlusion of the brachial artery.


When the question is history and historical sources, states and the official archival materials come to mind at first. In that case, it is possible to hear the voice of the society to the degree of their contact with the state. Today, however, historians seek answers to such more specific questions as to what thesocieties and individuals think and what kind of lives they lead. At this juncture, we discover a new source that would contribute to a new historicism and it has been analyzed under the light of newapproaches. This source is The Visitor Guest Book of the Tomb of Hazrat Haji Bektashi Veli that is registered with the number 2216 in the General Directorate of Foundations and that covers the datesbetween 13rd December 1921 and 29st August 1925. This source is a work in which the guests who came, as a group or individually, to the convent of Hazrat Pīr, who is a cause of a deep meaning and existence for Alawi Bektashi society, freely and sincerely wrote down their feelings and ideas in thisholy place.
According to the data, the visitors can be categorized as civil servants and military personnel from various official ranks, ordinary citizens and laymen and even citizens of foreign countries. This varietyis what makes this guest book so important. In this book, it is possible to hear the voices of the representatives of the state and the ordinary citizens together. Furthermore, this source provides us with a rich range of information on the religious, political, military and social life of the period.Especially, this book written in a period that was the end of an era and beginning of another deserves special attention, because it reflects the sentiments, opinions, spiritual, material and social lives of the people and it witnesses the pain of the death of the Ottomans and the pangs of birth of the Republic.In this study, the data from the guest book, with the support of the literature on Alawi-Bektashism, is evaluated with qualitative and quantitative analysis methods.


Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of death. The aorta is the major artery that carries blood from the heart to the body. Among these CVD narrowing of aorta is very serious condition. Bypass vascular surgery is done to restore blood flow through narrowed aorta to the vital organs and tissues. The success of operation for patients with CVD relies on vascular surgeons training, past experience etc. So it is very difficult to predict the surgical outcome of the patient. A Computed Tomography (CT) image of an Indian male patient, aged 64 year was obtained and three-dimensional model of aorta was obtained using Materialise's interactive medical image control system (MIMICS) software. Using the measured morphometry of the aorta from the three-dimensional model, the computer aided design (CAD) models of the following were created using an AutoDesk Inventor Professional software: i) normal aorta; ii) aorta with plaque at descending side; and iii) aorta with bypass graft. CFD analysis of the aorta was carried out using ANSYS software. The various parameters such as velocity (ms-1), pressure (Pa) and wall shear stress (Pa) that affects the blood flow on all the three CAD models were measured. In the aorta with bypass graft model, the percentage difference in the mean blood velocity was −3.8% only when comparing with normal one, and the percentage difference in the mean pressure was found to be +66.6%. The WSS was found to be same in both graft model and in the normal aorta model. Thus the measured CFD parameters were found to be same in both graft model and normal one, except the blood pressure and it was found to be 3-fold times higher in graft model than in normal. It may be due to the diameter and angle of the graft attached at the aorta, and hence it was greater at the graft side. Further studies may be required to identify the optimum designing of the graft in order to restore the normal functions of the aorta.


Recent studies of correlations in Chinese stock market have mainly focused on the static correlations in financial time series, and then we pay great attention to investigate their dynamic evolution of correlations. Our paper reports on topology of 41 AH-shares companies traded on Shanghai and Hong Kong Stock Exchange in Chinese stock market. We apply the concept of minimum spanning tree (MST) and hierarchical tree (HT) to analyze and reveal the dynamic evolution of correlations between different market sectors for the period 2008–2014. From these trees, we can detect that significantly industry clustering effects are in the stock network. We measure the linkage of different companies geared to different industrial sectors. We observe the evolution of AH-shares companies in the stock network based on the moving window technique and investigate the correlations by calculating the correlation coefficient distribution, mean correlation coefficient and mean distance of these companies with time. Therefore, through our analysis, we find that companies working in the same branch of production tend to make up cluster. The results present the difference and similarity between different industry sectors in different time periods.


A 29-year-old woman with known history of endometriosis was referred to colorectal outpatient clinic from gynaecology with a history of intermittent rectal bleeding and no associated bowel symptoms. Flexible sigmoidoscopy in concordance with pelvic MRI revealed a 3×2×2 cm sessile lesion in the anterior rectal wall. The lesion was also palpable as a firm mass on digital rectal examination. From the gynaecological point of view no intra-abdominal exploration was required; the sole rectal wall lesion was removed with the minimally invasive surgical technique of transanal endoscopic microsurgery. Full thickness rectal wall excision sample was reported to be histologically complete and confirmed endometriosis. No recurrence was detected at endoscopic follow-up at 6 months. The patient remained symptom free. Therefore, we demonstrated a case of minimally invasive removal of a rectal wall large endometriosis nodule in a fertile woman with a complete, symptomatic, uneventful recovery.


A diverse, cross-sectorial group of partners, stakeholders and researchers, collaborated to develop an evidence-informed Position Statement on active outdoor play for children aged 3–12 years. The Position Statement was created in response to practitioner, academic, legal, insurance and public debate, dialogue and disagreement on the relative benefits and harms of active (including risky) outdoor play. The Position Statement development process was informed by two systematic reviews, a critical appraisal of the current literature and existing position statements, engagement of research experts (N = 9) and cross-sectorial individuals/organizations (N = 17), and an extensive stakeholder consultation process (N = 1908). More than 95% of the stakeholders consulted strongly agreed or somewhat agreed with the Position Statement; 14/17 participating individuals/organizations endorsed it; and over 1000 additional individuals and organizations requested their name be listed as a supporter. The final Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play states: "Access to active play in nature and outdoors—with its risks— is essential for healthy child development. We recommend increasing children's opportunities for self-directed play outdoors in all settings—at home, at school, in child care, the community and nature." The full Position Statement provides context for the statement, evidence supporting it, and a series of recommendations to increase active outdoor play opportunities to promote healthy child development.


A series of reflection resonances formed by the hyperfine components of the D2-lines in the spectrum of the natural mixture of rubidium isotopes is studied. Passages from resonantly frustrated total internal reflection to resonance Brewster reflection caused by the frequency tuning of the incident light are demonstrated experimentally. The contrast of the strongest refection resonances exceeds 500% at the moderate heating of reflecting cells. The intensity of the reflected light changes in this case by more than 20 times. A theory is developed which is based on a two-level model for resonance atoms and Fresnel formulas for reflection coefficients. Numerical calculations based on the proposed theory confirm main experimental results.


The Web has become a repository for a wide range of easily accessed information-from lecture notes to articles to recipes-all on hand for a large, varied audience. However, the ease of publishing (or posting) your information should match the ease of retrieval (download times notwithstanding). The author discusses software that converts documents created with Tex or LaTex into HTML files with minimal effort, and a plug-in that lets Web browsers view Tex and LaTex files.


ABSTRACT In 2004, we revisited a Michigan stream invaded by rusty crayfish (Orconectes rusticus) to determine if this species continued to expand its downstream range and negatively impact the stream food web. Compared to a 1992 study, we predicted that rusty crayfish would increase in density and downstream distribution from a small lake, resulting in further reduction of in-stream resources such as organic matter, benthic invertebrates, and periphyton. To determine current crayfish distributions and impacts, we conducted a longitudinal survey of crayfish abundance, ran a 28-d leaf breakdown experiment, and sampled benthic substrates. Leaf packs of sugar maple (Acer saccharum) leaves were placed at three sites with differing crayfish densities (high, intermediate, and none). Breakdown rates were compared across the three sites and for two treatments (closed leaf bags excluding crayfish and open bags allowing crayfish access). Benthic invertebrates were sampled from leaf bags and invertebrates and periphyton were sampled from cobbles. In contrast to 1992, we found that the maximum downstream distance of rusty crayfish declined from 4 km to less than 3 km downstream from the lake. Leaves in open bags decayed significantly faster (k = 0.143) than did leaves in closed bags at all sites (k = 0.079) (p = 0.0005). The site lacking crayfish had significantly higher densities of invertebrates compared to both high and intermediate crayfish density sites (p = 0.005). Although we found that rusty crayfish reduced standing stocks of leaves and invertebrates, we did not detect measurable changes in periphyton biomass. Therefore, rusty crayfish have not dispersed further downstream since 1992, but where present, these omnivores significantly reduce resource availability via the consumption of leaf material and benthic invertebrates.


Research on emotional disclosure should test the effects of different disclosure methods and whether symptoms are affected differently than post-traumatic growth. We randomized 214 participants with unresolved stressful experiences to four disclosure conditions (written, private spoken, talking to a passive listener, talking to an active facilitator) or two control conditions. All groups had one 30-minute session. After 6 weeks, disclosure groups reported more post-traumatic growth than controls, and disclosure conditions were similar in this effect. All groups decreased in stress symptoms (intrusions, avoidance, psychological and physical symptoms), but disclosure did not differ from control. We conclude that 30 minutes of disclosure leads to post-traumatic growth but not necessarily symptom reduction, and various disclosure methods have similar effects. Research on the effects of disclosure should focus on the benefits of growth as well as symptom reduction.


We consider a discrete time, partially observed risk sensitive optimal control problem in which observations of the state are available from a finite number of different measurement sources. At each time step, one sensor can be chosen. We study the problem of finding the sensor schedule and the system input so that a risk-sensitive cost is minimized. For the general nonlinear case, the problem is generally infinite dimensional. In the case of linear systems however, the information state is finite dimensional, and a finite dimensional suboptimal strategy is presented when the cost is quadratic.


We explore the role of reciprocity in wage determination by combining experimental and survey data. The experiment is similar to Berg, Dickhaut and McCabe's (1995) and is conducted with Ghanaian manufacturing workers. The survey relates to the same sample workers and the firms within which they are mployed. We find a strong positive association between individual reciprocity and individual wages. However, the direction of causality is unclear. Various aspects of the distribution of the tendency to reciprocate within an employee's workforce are also associated with that employee's wage and, in this case, there are strong arguments for a causal link is from former to latter. In particular, the mean, median, and minimum levels of reciprocity have a positive effect on wages, while the spread in the distribution (standard deviation) has a strong significant negative effect. This suggests that homogenous behaviour, or convergence to a norm, is rewarded. The results underline theimportance of behavioural characteristics and firm culture for the operation of the labour market.


The tidal gravitational field of galaxy clusters causes a coherent distortion of the images of background sources.
Since the distribution of image distortions, namely the shear field, traces the local gravitational potential of a deflector, it can be used to reconstruct the two-dimensional mass distribution of clusters of galaxies.
Moreover, the shear field can provide unique information on the redshift distribution of high-redshift galaxies.
In this review we summarize recently-developed parameter-free methods of cluster-mass reconstruction based on the shear field, and we apply a mass-reconstruction method to the cluster Abell 370 at redshift 0.375.


Square wave voltammetry at a hanging-drop mercury electrode was used as the analytical technique to determine Fenitrothion content in three different commercial formulations. Initially, Fenitrothion determinations were performed in BR buffer (pH 10.5) prepared with pure water. In such solutions, determination and quantification limits of 5.20x10-3 µmol L-1 (1.44 ppb) and 18.80x10-3 µmol L-1 (4.8 ppb), respectively, were obtained. In the next step, samples of Periphos CE, Sumithion UBV and Sumithion 500 CE were appropriately diluted and the contents evaluated by the standard addition method. Recovery factors, based on the nominal composition given by the manufacturer, were 108.9, 106.5 and 97.6% respectively. A good agreement between the voltammetric and the UV-Vis results was observed. The main advantage of such electroanalytical methodology is related to the low sensibility to other formulation components. As a consequence, this technique is faster and less expensive than traditional ones, such as high performance liquid chromatography or colorimetric determinations, which require extraction, clean-up and pre-concentration steps.


A flux qubit biased at its symmetry point shows a minimum in the energy splitting (the gap), providing protection against flux noise. We have fabricated a qubit of which the gap can be tuned fast and have coupled this qubit strongly to an LC oscillator. We show full spectroscopy of the qubit-oscillator system and generate vacuum Rabi oscillations. When the gap is made equal to the oscillator frequency ν(osc) we find the largest vacuum Rabi splitting of ∼0.1 ν(osc). Here being at resonance coincides with the optimal coherence of the symmetry point.


Automatic structures are structures whose universe and relations can be represented as regular languages. It follows from the standard closure properties of regular languages that the first-order theory of an automatic structure is decidable. While existential quantifiers can be eliminated in linear time by application of a homomorphism, universal quantifiers are commonly eliminated via the identity $\forall\,x\,.\,\Phi \equiv \neg (\exists\,x\,.\,\neg \Phi)$. If $\Phi$ is represented in the standard way as an NFA, a priori this approach results in a doubly exponential blow-up. However, the recent literature has shown that there are classes of automatic structures for which universal quantifiers can be eliminated by different means without this blow-up by treating them as first-class citizens and not resorting to double complementation. While existing lower bounds for some classes of automatic structures show that a singly exponential blow-up is unavoidable when eliminating a universal quantifier, it is not known whether there may be better approaches that avoid the na\"ive doubly exponential blow-up, perhaps at least in restricted settings. In this paper, we answer this question negatively and show that there is a family of NFA representing automatic relations for which the minimal NFA recognising the language after eliminating a single universal quantifier is doubly exponential, and deciding whether this language is empty is ExpSpace-complete.


Test-Driven Development (TDD) is an agile practice that is widely accepted and advocated by most agile methods and methodologists. In this paper, we report on a longitudinal case study of an IBM team who has sustained use of TDD for five years and over ten releases of a Java-implemented product. The team worked from a design and wrote tests incrementally before or while they wrote code and, in the process, developed a significant asset of automated tests. The IBM team realized sustained quality improvement relative to a pre-TDD project and consistently had defect density below industry standards. As a result, our data indicate that the TDD practice can aid in the production of high quality products. This quality improvement would compensate for the moderate perceived productivity losses. Additionally, the use of TDD may decrease the degree to which code complexity increases as software ages.


We investigate the potential of attention-based neural machine translation in simultaneous translation. We introduce a novel decoding algorithm, called simultaneous greedy decoding, that allows an existing neural machine translation model to begin translating before a full source sentence is received. This approach is unique from previous works on simultaneous translation in that segmentation and translation are done jointly to maximize the translation quality and that translating each segment is strongly conditioned on all the previous segments. This paper presents a first step toward building a full simultaneous translation system based on neural machine translation.


Abstract Home is not a familiar concept in international law. This paper looks at land grabbing and international law from the perspective of home. Through a case-study of a land grab in the context of a World Bank development project at Boeung Kak Lake in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, it argues that international law is involved in profound transformations of home. By making visible how experiences of loss, suffering, and struggle, as well as radical engagement, emerge from international law's "homemaking" work, it also argues that the concept of home opens up a terrain of experience that cannot be captured or expressed in international law. The perspective from home in the land-grabbing debate is particularly important where not only is land at risk of capture for economic gain, but so too are the personal lifeworlds that homes represent.


After years of emphasis on pre-migration trauma as the major determinant of refugee mental health, researchers have begun to explore the effects of post-migration stressors on refugees' distress. However, few studies have brought together refugees' emic understandings of the effects of economic stressors on their mental health with quantitative data sets to further explore the salience of stress processes as an explanatory mechanism. In qualitative interviews, 41 percent of 290 recently resettled adult refugees noted that economic stressors were a major source of distress and described pathways through which these stressors negatively influenced their mental health by limiting their ability to learn English, obtain meaningful employment, access health care, maintain contact with their families, and integrate into their communities. In structural equation modeling of quantitative data, we tested several possible hypotheses that emerged from the qualitative findings. We find that post-migration economic stressors mediated the relationship between migration-related trauma and post-migration emotional distress and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. These findings provide empirical support for stress proliferation as a mechanism through which trauma exposure contributes to distress.


We investigated whether potassium (K(+)) disturbances during and following intense exercise may be pronounced when utilizing a large contracting muscle mass, examining maximal 2,000-m rowing exercise effects on radial arterial plasma K(+) concentration ([K(+)]a) in 11 healthy adults. Blood was sampled at baseline, preexercise, each 30 s during rowing, and for 30 min postexercise. Time to complete 2,000 m was 7.26 ± 0.59 min; power output at 30 s was 326 ± 81 W (mean ± SD). With exercise time expressed in deciles, power output fell 16.5% from the first to fourth decile (P < 0.05) and 19.9% at the ninth decile (P < 0.05); EMG median frequency declined 4.6% by the third decile and 5.5% by the eighth decile (P < 0.05). Plasma [K(+)]a increased from 3.89 ± 0.13 mM at rest to 6.13 ± 0.46 mM by 90 s rowing (P < 0.001) and was then sustained until end exercise (P < 0.001). In recovery, [K(+)]a decreased abruptly, reaching 3.33 ± 0.22 mM at 5 min postexercise (P < 0.001) and remaining below preexercise after 30 min (P < 0.005). At end exercise, blood [lactate]a (preexercise 0.64 ± 0.18 mM) reached 10.87 ± 1.33 mM, plasma volume decreased 9.7 ± 2.3% from preexercise, and pHa decreased to 7.10 ± 0.07 units (P < 0.001). In conclusion, arterial hyperkalemia was sustained during exhaustive rowing reflecting a balance between K(+) release and reuptake in contracting muscles and K(+) uptake by inactive muscles. While high, the [K(+)]a was lower than anticipated compared with maximal cycling or sprinting, possibly reflecting greater adrenergic response and Na(+),K(+)-ATPase activity in contracting muscles; fatigue was evidenced by reduced power output and EMG median frequency. A prolonged hypokalemia after rowing likely reflected continuing muscular Na(+),K(+)-ATPase activity.


Several aspects of physics have been adversely effected by the fact that vapor phase electrochemistry has proved impossible to quantify. By the end of the 19th century, physicists had encountered several strange observations that appeared to involve chemistry. Eventually, it was realized that, in a moist gas, no rate process involving ions is quantifiable since we possess no valid relationship between the concentrations of electrolytes and their thermodynamic activities. There are both technical and societal reasons for this problem. Until both problems have been addressed, no reliable quantitative conclusions can be drawn for any system where ionic electrostriction in a moist gas is important. The most obvious consequences of the missing science are misconceptions concerning naturally contained air plasmas such as ball lightning, tornadic lights, and unpredictable flying objects (UFOs). None of these phenomena violates any known law of physics, but this only becomes clear once the absence of applicable, strictly valid theories is accepted. Fortunately, partial solutions to the problem exist if use is made of qualitative arguments. Using this approach, it can be seen that all the apparently anomalous characteristics of atmospheric plasmas result from a balance between different physical and chemical driving forces. A better understanding of the chemical consequences of electrostriction should have two long-term benefits. One relates to understanding the corrosive properties of high-pressure steam. The other concerns the specific chemical processes that stabilize air plasmas. If stable air plasmas could be simulated, a plentiful supply of carbon-free energy would become available.


The contribution of de novo synthesis to the secretion of cholesterol and lecithin in bile was assessed in isolated rat livers, perfused with a lipid-free medium. Cholesterol and lecithin synthesis were measured by the incorporation of tritiated water and [14C]-choline, respectively. Taurocholate stimulated the secretion of biliary lipids to the same extent in perfused livers and in live rats. During the first hour of perfusion, and when hepatic synthesis was active, newly synthesized cholesterol accounted for about 10% of biliary cholesterol and newly synthesized lecithin for 3% of biliary lecithin. Fasting reduced the contribution of newly synthesized cholesterol in bile to less than 1% but did not change the rate of biliary cholesterol secretion. After 2 hours of perfusion, newly synthesized biliary cholesterol accounted for only 4% of total hepatic sterol synthesis. Biliary lecithin, synthesized hepatic lecithin. We conclude that new synthesis makes only a small contribution to biliary cholesterol and lecithin secretion, and that, in the absence of perfusate lipids, both biliary cholesterol and lecithin must be predominantly mobilized from a preformed hepatic pool.


The oxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids produces bioactive primary oxidation products known as oxylipins. In many biological matrices, the majority of oxylipins are bound (i.e. esterified), and a relatively small proportion (<10%) exists in the free form. The present study tested whether this extends to bovine milk following method evaluation of various extraction and base hydrolysis protocols for measuring bound oxylipins. Free (unbound) oxylipins were also measured. Folch extraction followed by sodium carbonate hydrolysis in the presence of methanol containing 0.1% of acetic acid and 0.1% of butylated hydroxytoluene resulted in greater oxylipin concentrations and better surrogate standard recoveries compared to other methods that did not involve Folch extraction or the addition of methanol with hydrolysis base. Sodium hydroxide was better than sodium carbonate in hydrolyzing bound oxylipins under the same conditions. Milk analysis of oxylipins with mass-spectrometry following Folch extraction and sodium hydroxide hydrolysis revealed that 95% of oxylipins in bovine milk were esterified. Most of the detected oxylipins were derived from linoleic acid, which accounted for 92 and 88% of oxylipins in the free and esterified pools, respectively. These results demonstrate that the majority of bovine milk oxylipins are bound, and that linoleic-acid derived metabolites are the most abundant oxylipin species in free and bound lipid pools. Additional studies are needed to understand the role of different oxylipin pools in both calf and human nutrition. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: A method involving Folch lipid extraction and sodium hydroxide hydrolysis was validated for esterified oxylipin measurements in bovine milk. Application of the method revealed that the majority (∼95%) of oxylipins in bovine milk were bound. Linoleic-acid derived oxylipins were the most abundant species in both bound and free milk fractions (88-92%). The results highlight the presence of a new pool of oxidized lipids in milk, potentially involved in modifying its sensory and nutritional properties.


A graph is $k$-linked if for every list of $2k$ vertices $\{s_1,{\ldots}\,s_k, t_1,{\ldots}\,t_k\}$, there exist internally disjoint paths $P_1,{\ldots}\, P_k$ such that each $P_i$ is an $s_i,t_i$-path. We consider degree conditions and connectivity conditions sufficient to force a graph to be $k$-linked. Let $D(n,k)$ be the minimum positive integer $d$ such that every $n$-vertex graph with minimum degree at least $d$ is $k$-linked and let $R(n,k)$ be the minimum positive integer $r$ such that every $n$-vertex graph in which the sum of degrees of each pair of non-adjacent vertices is at least $r$ is $k$-linked. The main result of the paper is finding the exact values of $D(n,k)$ and $R(n,k)$ for every $n$ and $k$. Thomas and Wollan [14] used the bound $D(n,k)\leq (n+3k)/2-2$ to give sufficient conditions for a graph to be $k$-linked in terms of connectivity. Our bound allows us to modify the Thomas–Wollan proof slightly to show that every $2k$-connected graph with average degree at least $12k$ is $k$-linked.


Riverine runoff often triggers microbial responses in coastal marine environments, including phytoplankton blooms and enhanced bacterial biomass production that drive the transformation of dissolved and particulate organic matter on its way from land to the deep ocean. We measured concentrations and characteristics of particulate organic matter (POM), concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and bacterial community abundance and activities in the water column at three sites near the Mississippi River Delta two weeks after Hurricane Isaac made landfall in late August 2012. River plumes had salinities of >30 PSU and high levels of DOC (210-380 µM), resulting from the storm surge that pushed large quantities of marine waters upstream. Relatively high concentrations of phytoplankton POM and low levels of microbial exopolymeric particles (TEP and CSP) suggested that storm-induced riverine discharge triggered the development of phytoplankton blooms that were in their initial stages at the time of sampling. Surface water POM had C/N ratios of 5-7 and strong protein-like fluorescence signals in the base-extracted POM (BEPOM) fraction at the two sites closer to the river mouth (Stns. TE and MSP). Freshly produced POM triggered a twofold increase in heterotrophic bacterial biomass production (3H-leucine incorporation) and a fourfold increase in bacterial peptide hydrolysis (activities of leucine-aminopeptidase). In contrast, elevated DOC concentrations coincided with only moderate bacterial community activity, suggesting that heterotrophic bacterial metabolism near the Mississippi River Delta in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaac was more closely linked with autochthonous primary production.


Over the years, the United States health care system has undergone a transformation from a market comprised mainly of self-employed physicians in solo or small group practices to one in which far fewer physicians engage in this type of independent practice. More than three quarters of the physicians in this country now practice medicine within some form of managed care organization ("MCO") or see some managed care patients. "Managed care" is a term used to describe a variety of organizations that control costs and utilization of health care services through techniques such as using physicians as "gatekeepers" for hospitalization and specialists and requiring prepayment by subscribers for services. The rate of patient enrollment in MCOs continues to increase rapidly, with approximately sixty million Americans currently enrolled in health maintenance organizations ("HMOs") and another ninety million in other types of managed care plans. Estimates suggest that if enrollment continues at the current rate, eight out often Americans will receive care from some sort of MCO by the year 2000. Not surprisingly, as growing numbers of patients receive health care services from MCOs, criticisms have proliferated about the quality of care provided by these organizations. In the past few years, HMOs in particular have faced escalating consumer and physician complaints about the effects of cost-cutting on patient care. The public increasingly perceives the care provided through MCOs as inferior to traditional fee-for-service care. Responding to constituent pressures, legislatures in more than twenty states recently have considered bills regulating managed care practices, and Congress has now taken up the issue. Even some employers who offer access to managed care plans as part of their benefits packages have begun to scrutinize HMOs more closely.


A new link in the chain: After a long period of inactivity, research into one-dimensional compounds based on linear arrays of transition metals is experiencing a renaissance. Recently, oligomeric and polymeric chains have been reported for a variety of transition metals. One such compound of a particularly exotic variety is depicted here, in which a {Pd 4 } 2+ unit is surrounded by a "π-electron sheath" of conjugated polyene ligands.


Debate continues whether conflict of laws is a suitable subject for legislation. To codify conflict of laws in comprehensive legislation in the late 20th century may even be regarded as an anachronistic undertaking. David Cavers' preoccupation has been how the pursuit of justice in the individual case and ease and certainty can be combined in prefixed rules.' His careful investigation of old and new experiments with codification, focusing specifically on that point, convinced him that "the persistent reluctance of American conflicts scholars to advocate legislative solutions" was justified. 2 It therefore requires some explanation why the Swiss Government, following examples in neighboring States, entrusted to a commission the task of presenting to the Parliament draft legislation covering the whole field of conflict of laws. Although I never hid my skepticism whether for all fields of law a legislative solution is superior to a judicial approach,3 I had the honor of being nominated chairman of this Commission, consisting of all conflicts specialists in Switzerland. But since undertaking this task, and with the development of the draft which will be published early in 1978, I became more and more convinced of the merits of such a joint effort requiring concentration on each problem until a suitable solution was found. I became aware how much more difficult the task of the legislator is in comparison with that of the scholar reviewing the work afterwards. International issues have increased greatly in the last decades. Deciding conflict-of-laws questions has become an almost everyday task of the Swiss judge. The great number of migrating workers and their family problems, the wide dispersion of Swiss nationals living abroad, the increase in and complexity of foreign trade, international tourism with its risks for the individual,


Carbon Nano tubes (CNT) and Titanium di Boride particles (TiB2) with different weight percentages reinforced composite magnesium alloy (AZ91D) were fabricated and the impact of changes in the mechanical and metallurgical properties of composites was assessed. Different weight percentage strengths of CNT (1.5 percent) and TiB2 particles (5 %, 10%, 15 %) were applied to AZ91D grade magnesium alloy for various stir casting system process parameters in this study. For reinforcement-matrix interfacial reactions, SiC and Al2O3 were also added. The composites with 10% TiB2 and (1.5 % CNT+1 % SiC+1% Al2O3) reinforcement show high hardness, whereas other reinforcements show increased elongation. The presence of elements revealed by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy also characterizes the composites using optical and scanning electron microscopy.


Mammalian alveoli, complex architectural and cellular units with dimensions that are linked to the organism's O2 consumption (VO2), are thought to be destroyed only by disease and not to spontaneously regenerate. Calorie restriction of adult mammals lowers VO2, and ad libitum refeeding returns VO2 to pre-calorie-restriction values. We took advantage of these relationships and tested the hypothesis in adult mice that calorie restriction (two-thirds reduction for 2 wk) followed by ad libitum refeeding (3 wk) would cause alveolar destruction and regeneration, respectively. Calorie restriction diminished alveolar number 55% and alveolar surface area 25%. Refeeding fully reversed these changes. Neither manipulation altered lung volume. Within 72 h, calorie restriction increased alveolar wall cell apoptosis and diminished lung DNA (approximately 20%). By 72 h of refeeding, alveolar wall cell replication increased and lung DNA rose to amounts in mice that were never calorie restricted. We conclude that adult mice have endogenous programs to destroy and regenerate alveoli, thereby raising the danger of inappropriate activation but the possibility of therapeutic induction, if similar programs exist in humans.


ABSTRACT Purposes The goals of this work were to 1) determine the relationship between psychological readiness for return to sport and side-to-side symmetry during jump-landing in patients recovering from anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) and 2) determine whether psychological readiness for return to sport, graft type, meniscal pathology, sex, and time since surgery could predict landing symmetry in ACLR patients. Methods Thirty-eight patients recovering from primary unilateral ACLR (22 men/16 women; 19 patellar tendon autograft/19 hamstring autograft; age: 16.3 ± 1.9 yr; 25.7 ± 6.2 wk postoperative) completed the Anterior Cruciate Ligament Return to Sport after Injury (ACL-RSI) and 10 bilateral stop-jumps. Three-dimensional lower extremity kinematics and kinetics were collected at 240 and 1920 Hz, respectively. Peak knee extension moment limb symmetry index (LSI) was computed during the first landing of the stop-jump. The relationship between the ACL-RSI and peak knee extension moment LSI was determined using Pearson correlations. Multivariate regression was used to determine the ability of the ACL-RSI, graft type, meniscal pathology, sex, time since surgery, stop jump entry speed, and jump height to predict knee extension moment LSI. Results There was a significant relationship between the ACL-RSI and peak knee extension moment LSI (r = 0.325; P = 0.047). The backward regression model found that 36.9% of the variance in knee extension moment LSI could be explained by the ACL-RSI (P = 0.040), graft type (P = 0.006), and jump height (P = 0.027). Conclusions There is a significant moderate association between psychological readiness for return to sport and asymmetric landing kinetics in patients after ACLR. Future work should investigate whether improving movement confidence results in improved kinetic landing symmetry.


On October 14, 2020 the European Commission adopted the EU methane strategy[1]. Measurement-based reporting of methane emissions will be crucial and may become legally binding. A variety of different methods are in use to quantify methane emissions from natural gas distribution networks, some attempting to quantify the pipeline leak under the ground, others attempting to quantify the emissions to the atmosphere. Comparisons between these methods are essential, as each method has its own advantages and limitations. In August and September 2020, we conducted an extensive campaign to compare three different methods, the mobile survey method, the tracer release method, and the suction techniques, to quantify emission rates of leaks from the natural gas distribution network in Hamburg, Germany. The mobile measurement technique employed two different cavity ringdown analyzers to identify and quantify methane, ethane and carbon dioxide using a moving vehicle. The tracer release technique measured methane and the tracer gas acetylene also with fast laser methods during driving or stationary deployment in a vehicle at an identified leak location. The suction method deployed soil sondes around an identified leak and measured methane in a stream of air pumped out of the soil until an equilibrium was reached. In total, we targeted 20 locations that had been identified by mobile measurements or by the routine leak detection of the local gas utility, GasNetz Hamburg. For numerous locations we detected several emission outlets from e.g., cavities, cracks or drains and we used measurements of the ethane to methane ratio to identify possible mixture of fossil and microbial sources. We will compare the different quantification methods, including their suitability for routine application and precision and accuracy in emission quantification.


Acinetobacter baumannii employs a plethora of strategies during infection to compete with other pathogens and mitigate host-mediated oxidative stress. A. baumannii utilizes the type VI secretion system (T6SS) to induce contact-dependent killing off the competitor microbes. However, the role of T6SS during host-induced oxidative stress is not explored in A. baumannii. Here, we show that A. baumannii T6+ cells cannot cope with phagocytic cell-mediated oxidative stress due to inadequate uptake of Mn2+, which is crucial for bacterial physiology and reactive oxygen species (ROS) breakdown. Deleting the Mn2+-uptake system (MntH) causes a significant increase in the T6+ population, stipulating a deleterious effect on T6SS modulation in A. baumannii. Intriguingly, we identify a bonafide sRNA, AbsR28, that meditates the crosstalk between MntH and T6SS. This work elucidates a detailed mechanism of Mn2+-dependent AbsR28-mediated post-transcriptional repression of T6SS, exploited by A. baumannii to survive in the host and establish pathogenesis.


Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is essential for normal and pathological angiogenesis. However, the signaling pathways linked to gene regulation in VEGF-induced angiogenesis are not fully understood. Here we demonstrate a critical role of protein kinase D (PKD) and histone deacetylase 5 (HDAC5) in VEGF-induced gene expression and angiogenesis. We found that VEGF stimulated HDAC5 phosphorylation and nuclear export in endothelial cells through a VEGF receptor 2-phospholipase Cγ-protein kinase C-PKD-dependent pathway. We further showed that the PKD-HDAC5 pathway mediated myocyte enhancer factor-2 transcriptional activation and a specific subset of gene expression in response to VEGF, including NR4A1, an orphan nuclear receptor involved in angiogenesis. Specifically, inhibition of PKD by overexpression of the PKD kinase-negative mutant prevents VEGF-induced HDAC5 phosphorylation and nuclear export as well as NR4A1 induction. Moreover, a mutant of HDAC5 specifically deficient in PKD-dependent phosphorylation inhibited VEGF-mediated NR4A1 expression, endothelial cell migration, and in vitro angiogenesis. These findings suggest that the PKD-HDAC5 pathway plays an important role in VEGF regulation of gene transcription and angiogenesis.


We here develop a theory on optical absorption in a dilute Bose gas at low temperatures. This theory is motivated by the Bogoliubov theory of elementary excitations for this system, and takes into account explicitly the modification of the nature and dispersion of elementary excitations due to Bose-Einstein condensation. Our results show important differences from existing theories.


This volume is a sustained exercise in the genre of secondary literature which aims at explaining a literary work as much as possible in and through the author's own words. A passage in direct speech by different speakers from the "History of Herodotus", the earliest long Greek prose text, has been made the object of a systematic effort to distil and analyze the linguistic characteristics relevant to its interpretation, by confronting it with the rest of the work as well as with earlier and contemporary writings.


CSIM18 simulation models are often built as Microsoft Windows console-mode programs. A tool named REMOTE was developed to enable automatic, remote execution of CSIM18 models (and of other console mode programs) in a Windows environment. A master PC distributes the programs to remote PCs and collects the output files as the remote model executions complete. The status of remotely executing models can be viewed at the master. The REMOTE tool utilizes idle non-dedicated PC CPU cycles during nights and weekends to speed-up the model execution phase of a large modeling project. The REMOTE executable can be distributed via email attachment and does not need any special installation or configuration. REMOTE is currently being used in an ongoing investigation of new variable-length packet switch architectures. REMOTE is freely available from the author.


OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect of free cartilage fragment in repair of cricoid cartilage defect. METHOD One-third of cricoid cartilage was cut and repaired with free thyroid cartilage fragment and pedicled cartilage in rabbits. The pathological changes of the cartilages were observed. RESULT 1. The free thyroid cartilage fragments were absorbed in two months, and were replaced by scars. 2. The pedicled cartilage fragments were not absorbed and healed with the cricoid cartilage. 3. No evidence of growth impairment of surgery-induced cricoid cartilage was observed. CONCLUSION In rabbits, both free cartilage fragments and pedicled cartilage fragments could repair the defect of cricoid cartilage effectively.


NEWFIRM, the widefield infrared camera for the NOAO 4-m telescopes, saw first light in February 2007 and is now in service as a general user instrument. Previous papers have described it conceptually and presented design details. We discuss experience gained from assembly, laboratory testing, and on-sky commissioning. We present final system performance characteristics and summarize science use in its the first semester of general availability. NEWFIRM has met its requirement to provide a high efficiency observing system, optimized end-to-end for survey science.


When it comes to matters of technology, perhaps African countries should adopt the famous principle in disability law: 'Nothing about us without us.' This is because as science and technology advance at a breakneck pace, it can be used to impose globalisation, even by subordinating a country's sacred document such as a constitution. What is at stake in this debate is whether a parallel exists between the use of law as a tool of colonisation and hegemony of the western powers and the current triumph of technology to subvert African municipal law, culture, ethics and values. Kenya is a clear example of this because, unlike most African countries, it has experienced higher levels of western influence. This article evaluates the case of the Reproductive Health Care Bill, 2014 and the Assisted Reproductive Technology Bill, 2016 to illustrate how technology is sometimes used to substitute the constitutions of some African countries that are socially conservative so that they conform to liberal ideas on critical areas like marriage, family, abortion, culture and reproductive rights. The preamble of the Kenyan Constitution, just like the Banjul Charter (also known as the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights), sought to balance the place of an individual, family and society. This article will review the following relevant provisions of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010: Article 43(1)(a) on the right to reproductive healthcare, Article 26 on the right to life, Article 45 on the right to family, Article 31 on the right to privacy and dignity, Article 27 on the right to equality and freedom from discrimination, Article 44 on the right to culture and Article 53 on children's rights. Understanding in vitro fertilisation (IVF) or gestational surrogacy through the Kenyan Constitution can contribute to avoiding the danger of the collapse of African society and families. Understanding technology through the Kenyan Constitution will assist the society not to forget that their values and ethics must be used to regulate the use of technology.


This paper presents a new digital calibration methodology that allows CMOS Gilbert cell down-converters to meet their block specifications under large process, temperature and power supply variations. The calibration method consists of a novel built-in self test for direct conversion receivers that is able to measure the gain, and the second and third order intermodulation products of the mixer. A random optimizer algorithm based on a least square error function provides digital control of the biasing circuit and the loads of the mixer. The gain and IIP3 are calibrated by regulating the current of the input differential pair and by switching the loads. IIP2 calibration is achieved by using a novel technique that consists of offset voltages cancellation in the switching pairs. The technique is validated by calibrating a 0.18 um CMOS mixer in several corner conditions.


Language testing has seen unprecedented expansion during the first part of the 21st century. As a result there is an increasing need for the language testing profession to consider more precisely what it means by "assessment literacy" and to articulate its role in the creation of new pedagogic materials and programs in language testing and assessment to meet the changing needs of teachers and other stakeholders for a new age. This article describes a research project in which a survey instrument was developed, piloted, and delivered on the Internet to elicit the assessment training needs of language teachers. The results were used to inform the design of new teaching materials and the further development of online resources that could be used to support program delivery. The project makes two significant contributions. First, it provides new empirically derived content for the concept of assessment literacy within which to frame materials development and teaching. Second, it uncovered methodological problems with existing survey techniques that may have impacted upon earlier studies, and solutions to these problems are suggested.


Novel animal models of Alzheimer's disease (AD) are relentlessly being developed and existing ones are being fine-tuned; however, these models face multiple challenges associated with the complexity of the disease where most of these models do not reproduce the full phenotypical disease spectrum. Moreover, different AD models express different phenotypes that could affect their validity to recapitulate disease pathogenesis and/or response to a drug. One of the most important and understudied differences between AD models is differences in the phenotypic characteristics of the background species. Here, we used the brain clearance index (BCI) method to investigate the effect of strain differences on the clearance of amyloid β (Aβ) from the brains of four mouse strains. These mouse strains, namely C57BL/6, FVB/N, BALB/c and SJL/J, are widely used as a background for the development of AD mouse models. Findings showed that while Aβ clearance across the blood-brain barrier (BBB) was comparable between the 4 strains, levels of LRP1, an Aβ clearance protein, was significantly lower in SJL/J mice compared to other mouse strains. Furthermore, these mouse strains showed a significantly different response to rifampicin treatment with regard to Aβ clearance and effect on brain level of its clearance-related proteins. Our results provide for the first time an evidence for strain differences that could affect ability of AD mouse models to recapitulate response to a drug, and opens a new research avenue that requires further investigation to successfully develop mouse models that could simulate clinically important phenotypic characteristics of AD.


Oak (Quercus spp.) research and management often focus on northern red oak (Quercus rubra) and assume that associated upland oaks have similar growth patterns. To test this premise, we measured the survival and development of four species of acorn-origin oak seedlings growing in four different levels of understory sunlight for 8 years. Northern red oak had better survival than black (Quercus velutina), chestnut (Quercus montana), and white oak (Quercus alba) in 5% sunlight, but none of the species exhibited much growth. In 15 and 40% sunlight, survival was equal among species, but for growth the seedlings formed two groups with chestnut/ northern red oak growing more than black/white oak. In 75% sunlight, survival was equal among species, but northern red oak grew faster than the other three species. Assuming that other oaks have growth habits similar to those of northern red oak could lead to a reduction in or the inadvertent loss of an oak species.


A computational prediction of combustion is a challenging task due complexity involved in the flow parameters. The design of can-type combustor has been considered for a special purpose using producer gas as fuel to run the turbine blades of a turbocharger. Producer gas used for power generation has zero effect, even though it emits CO2 into the atmosphere. The application has its background in finding an optimal turbocharger for matching the requirements of an IC engine. Non-premixed combustor is taken into account because producer gas having high temperature around 300 K when entering into combustion chamber, thus it is unsafe to operate in the premixed mode to prevent explosion in the air-fuel inlet and also simplifies the design. By changing the inlet air injection angle will affect the combustion parameters like low pressure drop, NOx level, outlet temperature, and wall temperature not to exceed 700 K. A mild steel material has been selected for computational prediction of flow behaviors under typical engine condition in can-type combustor. Thus for the initial consideration, basic design of a can-type combustor without a liner has been modeled. The specifications were met and checked for different combination of primary and secondary air injection duct and a most feasible configuration is obtained. The main aim is to optimize the characteristics of a combustor for a turbocharger test rig, i.e. the combustor designed has to be meet optimum condition, which is prevailing in the producer gas engine (formerly diesel engine).


termed leucocidin because of its cytopathic effects onpolymorphonuclear leucocytes, and the production of elastase and an alkaline protease, which inhibit neutrophil chemotaxis in vitro.7 These characteristic factors of Pseudomonas along with the neutropenia may explain this unusual case. We did not use rG-CSF in this patient because of his prompt response to antibiotic therapy. However, we consider that the use of rG-CSF in combination with antibiotic therapy in severe neutropenic patients with life threatening infection is mandatory because it minimises the risk of infection and decreases the mortality rates. We therefore conclude that an early diagnosis is necessary, as well as aggressive treatment, because a Pseudomonas infection in a neutropenic patient manifests a truly fulminating progression. 1 Maguem E, Saltz JJ, Nesburn AB. Pseudomonas corneal ulcer associated with rigid, gas-permeable, daily-wear lenses in a patient infected with human immunodeficiency virus. AmJ Ophthalmol 1992; 113: 336-7. 2 Nanda M, Pflugfelder SC, Holland S. Fulminant pseudomonal keratitis and scleritis in human immunodeficiency virusinfected patients. Arch Ophthalmol 1991; 109: 503-5. 3 Benson WH, Linberg JV, Weinstein GW. Orbital pseudotumor in a patient with AIDS. AmJr Ophthalmol 1988; 105: 697-8. 4 Vitale AT, Spaide RF, Warren FA, Moussouris HF, D'Amico RA. Orbital aspergillosis in an immunocompromised host. AmJ Ophthalmol 1992; 113: 725-6. 5 Friedberg DN, Warren FA, Lee MH, Vallejo C. Pneumocystis carinii of the orbit. AmJ Ophthalmol 1992; 113: 595-6. 6 Yasuda H, Ajiki T, Shimozato T, Kasahara M, Kawada H, Iwater M, et al. Therapeutic efficacy of granulocyte colonystimulating factor alone and in combination with antibiotics against Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections in mice. Infec tion and Immunity 1990; 58: 2502-9. 7 Pollack M. Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In: Mandell GL, Douglas RG, Bennet JE, eds. Principles and practice of infectious diseases. 3rd ed. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone, 1990: 1673-91.


Granulomatous interstitial nephritis (GIN) is an uncommon cause of renal failure, which may be caused by drugs. Levetiracetam is an increasingly used anti-epileptic medication that is not known to cause renal toxicity in adults. To our knowledge, levetiracetam has not previously been reported as a cause of GIN. We report the case of a 69-year-old woman who developed haemodialysis-requiring acute renal failure after commencement of treatment with levetiracetam, which was shown to be GIN by renal biopsy. She made a complete recovery with cessation of levetiracetam and treatment with steroids.


Networks on chip platforms offer the opportunity to introduce a new abstraction level that defines a set of platform services with performance and power characteristics. By making the implementation of these services entirely irrelevant for system design, an effective separation of system design from component design can be achieved. We discuss the principles to formulate network-on-chip services to establish an abstract computational model that exposes all relevant properties of the platform's functionality, performance and power consumption while hiding all irrelevant implementation details. As in many other successful abstractions, these principles are based on separating functionality from time and power aspects to allow for reasoning about these properties at the system level. As a concrete example we formulate a MoC for the Nostrum NoC. It is based on guaranteed bandwidth (GB) and best effort (BE) traffic. The MoC characterizes both GB and BE traffic in terms of closed formulas and allows for efficient composition of traffic


In this paper we introduce a Transformer-based approach to video object segmentation (VOS). To address compounding error and scalability issues of prior work, we propose a scalable, end-to-end method for VOS called Sparse Spatiotemporal Transformers (SST). SST extracts per-pixel representations for each object in a video using sparse attention over spatiotemporal features. Our attention-based formulation for VOS allows a model to learn to attend over a history of multiple frames and provides suitable inductive bias for performing correspondence-like computations necessary for solving motion segmentation. We demonstrate the effectiveness of attention-based over recurrent networks in the spatiotemporal domain. Our method achieves competitive results on YouTube-VOS and DAVIS 2017 with improved scalability and robustness to occlusions compared with the state of the art. Code is available at https://github.com/dukebw/SSTVOS.


The drawing figures are widely managed as an ideal instrument for self-expression. HFD test (Human Figure Drawing) is an abbreviated test which was developed with the aim to evaluate various psychological states, especially assessing the psychic status including psychiatric illness and personality state. Thus, the reliance on the drawings must be proven that it has no bias due to cognitive differences between subjects. In the present study it is demonstrated that drawing tests are influenced, to a certain extent, by the subject's cognitive style. Although the study was limited here, the results indicate the need for re-examination of the reliability limits of the Test.


This project concerns three novels written during the Maori Renaissance--a time of renewal and resurgence for the indigenous people of New Zealand. Keri Hulme's The Bone People (1983) Witi Ihimaera's The Whale Rider (1987) and Patricia Grace's Potiki (1986) involve a Maori community fighting to ascertain or maintain its identity and autonomy in the face of post-colonialism. Each also illustrates a resurfacing of ancient traditional customs and beliefs that the communities must merge with the contemporary Pakeha (European-descended New Zealand) worldview. In a very significant way these ancient worldviews remind the three fictional Maori communities of the necessity to recreate and maintain a reciprocal relationship with the Earth and all of its non-human inhabitants in order to ensure their own cultural survival. The study brings together postcolonial ecocritical and indigenous theoretical perspectives through these texts in order to demonstrate how the novels illustrate the possibilities of healing the chasm between Maori and Western cultures while also providing an example through their illustration of a reciprocal relationship between humans and the Earth of how fragmented Western identities can be healed. The Introduction outlines the constructs of ecocriticism and indigenous postcolonial criticism and situates the novels within these frameworks while also providing more detailed background for understanding the novels' contexts. Hulme's Ihimaera's and Grace's novels map a possible future of wholeness and connectivity for not only the indigenous communities of their books but also for those Western individuals who are floating without roots to ground them. Throughout The Bone People The Whale Rider and Potiki each author illuminates the fact that in order for any individual and community to have a solid identity and sense of belonging a connection to the Earth is essential. Without this connection a desire for immediate gratification and material possessions rules the heart and soul.


Tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) and its downstream transcription factor nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) suppress glucocorticoid action, contributing to tissue resistance to glucocorticoids in several pathologic inflammatory states. p160 nuclear receptor coactivators on the other hand, contribute to the transcriptional signal of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) through interaction with it via LXXLL motifs in their nuclear receptor-binding (NRB) domain. To discover TNFα-induced factors that regulate GR activity at the coactivator level, we performed yeast two-hybrid screening using the NRB domain of the glucocorticoid receptor-interacting protein 1 (GRIP1) as bait. We found that FLICE-associated huge protein (FLASH), which transduces TNFα and Fas ligand signals, bound the NRB domain of GRIP1 at a region between the second and third LXXLL motifs. FLASH suppressed both GR transactivation and GRIP1 enhancement of the glucocorticoid signal and inhibited the physical interaction between GR and the GRIP1 NRB domain. Transfected green fluorescent protein-fused FLASH was located in both the cytoplasm and nucleus, while endogenous FLASH shifted its subcellular localization from the cytoplasm into the nucleus in response to TNFα. FLASH antisense and super-repressor IκBα inhibited the action of TNFα independently of each other and additively. These findings indicate that FLASH participates in TNFα-induced blockade of GR transactivation at the nuclear receptor coactivator level, upstream and independently of NF-κB.


1. In cardiac strips of the monkey ventricle which included a section of coronary artery (cardiac preparation), a depolarizing response, which appeared to be an excitatory junction potential (EJP), and a hyperpolarizing response were observed from the coronary artery smooth muscles when an action potential was generated in cardiac muscle by the application of electrical stimulation to the cardiac muscle alone. 2. In an isolated preparation of the coronary artery dissected from the ventricle (arterial preparation), similar responses, an EJP and a hyperpolarizing response, could be evoked by electrical stimulation. 3. In the cardiac preparation, the threshold of electrical stimulation for generation of the cardiac action potential and for production of an electrical response in the vascular smooth muscle were the same. 4. The EJP and the hyperpolarizing responses of the smooth muscle of the coronary artery ceased or were weakened by elimination of the adventitial connective tissues and endothelium, respectively, in both the cardiac preparation and the coronary artery preparation. 5. These results indicate that the action potential of cardiac muscle generated by electrical stimulation activates the nerves and the vascular endothelium, which, in turn, produce an EJP and a hyperpolarizing response of the coronary artery smooth muscle, respectively.


Section 1: General Medical Words Anatomy Orientation - 16-page full-color insert General Medical Terms General Surgical Terms General Pharmaceutical Information Laboratory Terminology Section 2: Medical Words by Specialty Cardiovascular System Dentistry Dermatology & Allergy Gastroenterology Immunology Hematology Internal Medicine OB/GYN Oncology Ophthalmology Orthopedics Pediatrics Plastic Surgery Psychiatry, Neurology, and Neurosurgery Radiology & Nuclear Medicine Respiratory System Urology Section 3: Reference Guides to Medical Words Abbreviations and Symbols Table of Weights & Measures Combining Forms in Medical Terminology Rules for Forming Plurals Contents may vary upon publication.


Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) has been reported in acute leukemia and after stem cell transplantation, but ADEM as a presenting feature in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia is rare. We report an 8-year-old child with acute lymphoblastic leukemia who presented with features of ADEM. The diagnosis was confirmed by neuroimaging and the lesions disappeared with chemotherapy.


Formula SAE® is a university student design competition both created and managed by SAE® International. Teams are required to design, manufacture and race high performance vehicles according to the competition rules produced by SAE®, which are intended to maintain safety and fairness while demanding technical expertise and innovation from design teams. The aim of this project is to design an automotive muffler for the 2016 UNSW Canberra Formula SAE® vehicle that meets sound level requirements, enhances engine performance, and exemplifies the identified design characteristics. A muffler design that enhances engine performance, enables the vehicle to be compliant with relevant sound level restrictions, and is itself compliant with all relevant competition rules are all key outcomes for the success of the project. A high performance straight through absorptive muffler was nominated as the conceptual design, and three design variables were identified as being significant to the acoustic performance of the muffler. A series of tests comparatively assessed the transmission losses of the three design variables and ultimately demonstrated that a high density glass fibre packed absorptive muffler with a high porosity core achieves the greatest overall transmission losses over the frequency range. The use of lightweight, durable materials and vibration isolation minimises the weight of the system, contributes to the competitiveness of the design and exemplifies the identified design characteristics. Experimental analysis has shown considerable reductions in sound levels which strongly suggests its ability to meet the competition requirements.


Abstract Improving physical healthcare to reduce premature mortality in people with SMI (Serious Mental Illness) is a priority for ELFT (East London NHS Foundation Trust) and NHS England. It is well know that people with schizophrenia have a life expectancy which is approximately 20% shorter than that of the general population and a substantial mortality difference exists between people with schizophrenia and the general community.[1-2] Among other risk factors, such as poor diet, physical inactivity, and high rates of smoking, the iatrogenic effects of anti-psychotic medications have been found to increase the risk of metabolic syndrome. This can easily be detected through regular monitoring. Through this project, it was our aim to improve the physical health monitoring of City & Hackney Assertive Outreach Service (AOS) patients with a view to decrease mortality rate, increase life expectancy, increase the quality of life, and reduce harm from medication. This was done using quality improvement methods, including several change ideas, each of which started sequentially over the course of a nine month period from November 2014. Following QI methodology, this utilised cycles of iterative learning using PDSA methods and was supported by the Trust's extensive programme of quality improvement, including training provided by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. The project involved setting a specific aim which was improving the physical health monitoring of AOS patients to 80% by July 2015 and for our patients to have physical health checks (blood tests, weight, ECG, BP) as a minimum annually. From baseline measurements of between 50-75%, we reached our target of 80% for weight, BP and blood tests monitoring, with 89%, 91%, and 84% achieved respectively by July 2015. Further progress still needs to be made on ECGs, with 77% achieved by July 2015, although the monitoring of ECG nearly doubled from 39% in November 2014 to 77% in July 2015. This project demonstrated that effective leadership, collaborative team work, embedding the project in our daily practice, generating local solutions, and improved communication between primary and secondary care can increase the physical health monitoring of this complex and challenging patient group. The team continues to identify other areas for change that may lead to further improvement in the physical health monitoring of AOS patients while making sure that the improvement is sustained.


QCD predicts soft radiation patterns that are particularly simple for W + jet production. We demonstrate how these patterns can be used to distinguish between the parton-level subprocesses probabilistically on an event-by-event basis. As a test of our method we demonstrate correlations between the soft radiation and the radiation inside the outgoing jet.


Abstract The enhancement of cirrus cloudiness by orographic effects along the periphery of a large-scale thin cirrus cloud system is illustrated. From radiometric measurements and comparison with a nearby sounding, it was found that the cloud tops coincided with the tropopause. Their high emissivity suggests cloud condensation in liquid form, which quickly freezes to form long ice-crystal plumes. These crystals may have seeded a supercooled liquid-droplet low cloud to cause snow at the ground.


VIPA (virtually imaged phase array) spectrometers have enabled rapid Brillouin spectrum measurements and current designs of multi-stage VIPA spectrometers offer enough spectral extinction to probe transparent tissue, cells and biomaterials. However, in highly scattering media or in the presence of strong back-reflections, such as at interfaces between materials of different refractive indices, VIPA-based Brillouin spectral measurements are limited. While several approaches to address this issue have recently been pursued, important challenges remain. Here we have adapted the design of coronagraphs used for exosolar planet imaging to the spectral domain and integrated it in a double-stage VIPA spectrometer. We demonstrate that this yields an increase in extinction up to 20 dB, with nearly no added insertion loss. The power of this improvement is vividly demonstrated by Brillouin imaging close to reflecting interfaces without index matching or sample tilting.


Croatia is known in the world of population genetics for its many island isolates that have already been extensively studied. Although the Adriatic islands present most interesting Croatian subpopulations, northwestern population of Žumberak also offers an interesting genetic story based on a turbulent demographic history. This part of Croatia is populated by descendants of Uskoks, Croatian soldiers who fought a guerrilla war against the Ottomans in 16th century and were relocated together with their families several times during their past, settling at the end on Žumberak. We have analyzed mitochondrial DNA SNPs of 81 unrelated individuals of the Uskok population in Žumberak. Although all typical European haplogroups were represented in the sample, a significantly higher prevalence of certain subhaplogroups and some new haplotypes were detected. Namely, subhaplogroup J2 has an average frequency of 1-2% in the general Croatian, Slovenian, Bosnian and Herzegovinian population and on Žumberak it is represented with 11.3%. Similarly, subhaplogroup H14 with an HVSI-motif 16256-16362 is completely absent from all the mentioned surrounding populations and on Žumberak its frequency equals 5.6%. Altogether, subhaplogroups H12, H14, J2 and U2e, relatively rare (<2.5%) or completely absent from other neighboring populations, make 1/3 of the maternal genetic heritage of Žumberak. Also, Žumberak has the lowest gene diversity index when compared to other neighboring countries and it shows the closest connection to Slovenians, based on Fst values. We can conclude from our results that the Uskoks from Žumberak developed some unique haplotypes and elevated haplogroup frequencies during their genetic history probably due to population bottlenecks and the accompanying effect of genetic drift. However, it seems their recent genetic history (the last four centuries) has had more impact on their maternal genetic landscape than the earlier historical migrations, since they are most closely related to the neighboring Slovenians.


El Salvador is the smallest and most densely populated of the five Central American Republics. It has an area of 21,000km2, a population of 4.0 millions, resulting in a population density of almost 200/km2. Its economy is very much dependent on agriculture. Coffee is a very important product and is grown mostly on the fertile soils of the Volcanic Chain between 500 and 1,500m above sea level. Cotton and sugar cane are other important crops, found on the coastal plain, while sugar cane is also grown on good soils north of the Volcanic Chain. These crops are products of the big "Haciendas," "fincas" or farms and contrast sharply with the small holdings of the peasant population. The latter grows subsistence crops such as beans and maize and is often found inhabiting the poorer soils. The small holders contribute to the labour force of the three main crops whose requirements are seasonal in nature; peak needs cause periodic migrations of workers. Livestock play an important role in the economy and livestock holdings are spread over much of the country.


The essay is directed to the relation of city's public spaces and private spaces  in connection with the sense of a more human habitat in the urban space.
It is questioned the role of public spaces as a space for interdisciplinary crossing and a new form of sociability as well as the discussion of a virtual spaces overwhelming the use of public spaces and exphosing private space.


Gpi7 was isolated by screening for mutants defective in the surface expression of glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) proteins. Gpi7 mutants are deficient in YJL062w, herein named GPI7. GPI7 is not essential, but its deletion renders cells hypersensitive to Calcofluor White, indicating cell wall fragility. Several aspects of GPI biosynthesis are disturbed in Δgpi7. The extent of anchor remodeling, i.e. replacement of the primary lipid moiety of GPI anchors by ceramide, is significantly reduced, and the transport of GPI proteins to the Golgi is delayed. Gpi7p is a highly glycosylated integral membrane protein with 9–11 predicted transmembrane domains in the C-terminal part and a large, hydrophilic N-terminal ectodomain. The bulk of Gpi7p is located at the plasma membrane, but a small amount is found in the endoplasmic reticulum. GPI7 has homologues inSaccharomyces cerevisiae, Caenorhabditis elegans, and man, but the precise biochemical function of this protein family is unknown. Based on the analysis of M4, an abnormal GPI lipid accumulating in gpi7, we propose that Gpi7p adds a side chain onto the GPI core structure. Indeed, when compared with complete GPI lipids, M4 lacks a previously unrecognized phosphodiester-linked side chain, possibly an ethanolamine phosphate. Gpi7p contains significant homology with phosphodiesterases suggesting that Gpi7p itself is the transferase adding a side chain to the α1,6-linked mannose of the GPI core structure.


The increased accuracy of the experiments studying parity non-conserving effects in atoms calls for improvement also in the atomic calculations which are necessary to connect the experimental results to fundamental parameters. We show how the method of iterative solution of the two-dimensional "pair equation" can be used to treat the effect of pair correlation to all orders, also in the calculations of parity non-conserving transition elements.


Real-time correction of wave front distortions induced by atmospheric propagation or mechanical disturbance of an optical chain can be achieved with servo control of a laser beam by a continuous COAT. To reduce the number of free parameters and thus the complexity and cost of the control loops of the COAT, it is convenient to deform the membrane according to selected modes, matched to the type of perturbation to be corrected.


Abstract. Calcification in many invertebrate species is predicted to decline due to ocean acidification. The potential effects of elevated CO 2 and reduced carbonate saturation state on other species, such as fish, are less well understood. Fish otoliths (earbones) are composed of aragonite, and thus, might be susceptible to either the reduced availability of carbonate ions in seawater at low pH, or to changes in extracellular concentrations of bicarbonate and carbonate ions caused by acid-base regulation in fish exposed to high p CO 2 . We reared larvae of the clownfish Amphiprion percula from hatching to settlement at three pH NBS and p CO 2 levels (control: ~pH 8.15 and 404 μatm CO 2 ; intermediate: pH 7.8 and 1050 μatm CO 2 ; extreme: pH 7.6 and 1721 μatm CO 2 ) to test the possible effects of ocean acidification on otolith development. There was no effect of the intermediate treatment (pH 7.8 and 1050 μatm CO 2 ) on otolith size, shape, symmetry between left and right otoliths, or otolith elemental chemistry, compared with controls. However, in the more extreme treatment (pH 7.6 and 1721 μatm CO 2 ) otolith area and maximum length were larger than controls, although no other traits were significantly affected. Our results support the hypothesis that pH regulation in the otolith endolymph can lead to increased precipitation of CaCO 3 in otoliths of larval fish exposed to elevated CO 2 , as proposed by an earlier study, however, our results also show that sensitivity varies considerably among species. Importantly, our results suggest that otolith development in clownfishes is robust to even the more pessimistic changes in ocean chemistry predicted to occur by 2100.


This study examined if health-related quality of life is different based upon the type of physical activity performed by 1,266 community-dwelling adults in urban area of Korea. Physical activity was categorized into (a) work, (b) leisure (non-sport), and (c) sports activity. The results indicated that only leisure and sports activity were positively correlated with health-related quality of life. Therefore, it is recommended that leisure and sports activity must be encouraged, especially to people who do not think that they need any leisure or sports activity because they are very active physically at work.


This study summarizes the research directed at identifying maintenance solutions for bleeding and flushed pavements surfaced with a chip seal. Factors that contribute to bleeding and flushed chip seals pertain to aggregates, binders, traffic, environment, and construction. No better advice exists for dealing with bleeding and flushed chip seals than to avoid the problem from the outset by employing a preventive maintenance perspective. Bleeding is an immediate maintenance problem that must be addressed; corrective maintenance, or in some cases emergency maintenance, would be done. Basic approaches to treat bleeding include bridging over the live asphalt by applying aggregate of various types and gradations, cooling off the pavement surface by applying water with or without additives, and removing the bleeding asphalt and rebuilding the pavement seal. Flushing, in contrast to bleeding, is typically not a maintenance problem that must be addressed immediately. Basic approaches to treat flushed chip seals are to retexture the existing surface or to add a new textured surface over the flushed pavement. Three promising areas for further research and implementation relative to bleeding and flushing solutions include the uses of lime water, ultrahigh pressure water cutting, and the racked-in seal at intersections.


Summary The colour of anthocyanins can be enhanced by planar chemical complex formation, or stabilised by the formation of adducts. We investigated these properties using fruit extracts. Delphinidine and its glucoside, myrtilline, at 0.1 mM were mixed with 10 mM caffeoylquinic acid (CQA; chlorogenic acid) or 6 mM ferulic acid (FeA). In a second experiment CQA, ferulic acid, and a CQA-rich apple extract were added in variable concentrations to a blackcurrant pigment preparation and incubated at 37°C in 0.02 M citrate buffer at pH 1.5, pH 3.0, or pH 4.5. The colour change was followed by measuring the absorbance at 540 nm and the composition of the solutions was assayed by HPLC using diode array detection. Deglycosylation of anthocyanins leads to a loss of colour and chemical stability. It is therefore of major importance that the enzyme preparations used during juice extraction be devoid of glycosidases. Addition of phenolic acids to an anthocyanin solution increases and stabilises the colour, which is accompanied by an acceleration of the loss of the native anthocyanins and the formation of coloured adducts, presumably based on the pyranoanthocyanin structure. The glycosyl residue in anthocyanins is necessary for colour stabilisation, which appears to be due to the formation of new pigments. Caffeoylquinic acid appeared to be more efficient than ferulic acid, and a CQA-rich extract from apple also resulted in stabilisation of the colour of a blackcurrant extract.


Estimates of the burden of bacterial foodborne illness are used in applications ranging from determining economic losses due to a particular pathogenic organism to improving our understanding of the effects of antimicrobial resistance or changes in pathogen serotype. Estimates of the total number of illnesses can be derived by multiplying the number of observed illnesses, as reported by a specific active surveillance system, by an underdiagnosis factor that describes the relationship between observed and unobserved cases. The underdiagnosis factor can be a fixed value, but recent research efforts have focused on characterizing the inherent uncertainty in the surveillance system with a computer simulation. Although the inclusion of uncertainty is beneficial, re-creating the simulation results for every application can be burdensome. An alternative approach is to describe the underdiagnosis factor and its uncertainty with a parametric distribution. The use of such a distribution simplifies analyses by providing a closed-form definition of the underdiagnosis factor and allows this factor to be easily incorporated into Bayesian models. In this article, we propose and estimate parametric distributions for the underdiagnosis multipliers developed for the FoodNet surveillance systems in the United States. Distributions are provided for the five foodborne pathogens deemed most relevant to meat and poultry.