Abstract : The overarching goal of the grant is to develop valid and reliable computerized tools to measure and modify anger-related cognitive biases and ultimately to examine their efficiency in reducing anger and adjustment difficulties among soldiers. The first aim of the research, addressed in Study 1, was to measure the associations between state and trait anger and biases in anger-related attention and interpretation. This aim was addressed in study 1 (reported in the previous annual report). During the past year analysis of data from study 1 has been expanded by applying a theoretically-driven indirect analysis, which revealed evidence for a sequential indirect effect of attention bias on anger-related measures, via anger-related interpretation and response biases. A scientific paper based on these findings has been submitted for publication and is currently under review. In the past year study 6 of the grant has been performed - 80 participants with high trait anger scores have participated in the study at TAU. A mirror study via collaboration with Bristol University is running the same protocol as the one we ran at TAU, thus could fortify, enhance, and increase generalization of the findings. The Bristol study is not related to the current funding. During the next academic year we plan to conduct study 5 of the grant focusing on attention bias modification trial designed to reduce attention bias toward threat/angry faces.


We present a general geometrical approach to the problem of escape from a metastable state in the presence of noise. The accompanying analysis leads to a simple condition, based on the norm of the drift field, for determining whether caustic singularities alter the escape trajectories when detailed balance is absent. We apply our methods to systems lacking detailed balance, including a nanomagnet with a biaxial magnetic anisotropy and subject to a spin-transfer torque. The approach described within allows determination of the regions of experimental parameter space that admit caustics.


OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this study was to investigate the expression of Filamin b in the placental placenta of patients with early or late onset pre-eclampsia (PE) and its potential effects on the pathophysiology of the disease.

METHODS AND METHODS
Immunohistochemistry staining, western blot assays and real time PCR were used to detect the expression level of FLN-b. The expression levels of MMP-2, MMP-9 and ERK1/2 proteins from control and FLN-b-silenced JEG-3 cells were also detected by western blot and JEG-3 cell invasion.

RESULTS
Compared with normal term pregnancies placentas, the FLN-b expression was significantly lower than that of women with PE, its level in late-onset PE is lower than in early-onset PE. In FLN-b-silenced JEG-3 cells, the protein levels of MMP-2, MMP-9 and phosphorylated ERK1/2 decreased markedly and the number of cells penetrating through the transwell chamber membrane is also greatly reduced.

CONCLUSIONS
Down-regulation of FLN-b inhibits the ERK/MMP-2 and MMP-9 pathways, leading to trophoblastic invasion disorders in the PE placenta.


The x-ray incoherent scattering factor S(q), which is also called the static structure factor, is very sensitive to electron correlation. In this study a method for calculating S(q) based on coupled cluster singles and doubles (CCSD) approach is developed and the computed S(q) of H2O, CH3OH, CH3CN, C6H6, and C6H12 are compared with experimental results. It is shown that the CCSD method improves theoretical S(q) of large molecules significantly compared with those by configuration interaction singles and doubles (CISD) previously employed.The x-ray incoherent scattering factor S(q), which is also called the static structure factor, is very sensitive to electron correlation. In this study a method for calculating S(q) based on coupled cluster singles and doubles (CCSD) approach is developed and the computed S(q) of H2O, CH3OH, CH3CN, C6H6, and C6H12 are compared with experimental results. It is shown that the CCSD method improves theoretical S(q) of large molecules significantly compared with those by configuration interaction singles and doubles (CISD) previously employed.


Recent controversy about the role of populated intermediates in protein folding emphasizes the need to better characterize other events on the folding pathway. A complication is that these involve high-energy states which are difficult to target experimentally since they do not accumulate kinetically. Here, we explore the energetics of high-energy states and map out the shape of the free-energy profile for folding of the two-state protein U1A. The analysis is based on nonlinearities in the GdnHCl dependence of the activation energy for unfolding, which we interpret in terms of structural changes of the protein-folding transition state. The result suggests that U1A folds by high-energy channeling where most of the conformational search takes place isoenergetically at transition-state level. This is manifested in a very broad and flat activation barrier, the top of which covers more than 60% of the reaction coordinate. The interpretation favors a folding mechanism where the pathway leading to the native protein is determined by the sequence's ability to stabilize productive transition states.


This book is the English translation of Gerald D. Feldman's contributions to the multi-author, two-volume study A–sterreichische Banken und Sparkassen im Nationalsozialismus und in der Nachkeriegszeit, which was originally published in German by C. H. Beck in 2006. Austrian Banks in the Period of National Socialism focuses on the activities of two major financial institutions, the Creditanstalt-Wiener Bankverein and the LA¤nderbank Wien. It details the ways the two banks served the Nazi regime and how they used the opportunities presented by Nazi rule to expand their business activities. Particular attention is given to the role that the Creditanstalt and LA¤nderbank played in the 'Aryanization' of Jewish-owned businesses. The book also examines the two banks' relations with their industrial clients and considers the question of whether bank officials had any knowledge of their client firms' use of concentration camp prisoners and other forced laborers during World War II.


The present study was aimed at the identification and characterization of the bee honey (Apis mellifera) derived from cashew flowers (Anacardium occidentale L.). The study was carried out through the analysis of 24 samples of honey collected from apiaries distributed in a cashew plantation of about 1000 hectares, located in the area around the town of Cascavel, in the state of Ceara, Brazil. The samples were submitted to melissopalinological and physicochemical analysis (humidity, total acidity, ashes, total sugars, Lund, pH, electrical conductivity, HMF, water activity, and density). On the basis of the melissopalinological analysis, the honey was considered unifloral, with its origin traced to the cashew flowering. The variation intervals of the physicochemical parameters under analysis were: 16.5-19.2% (humidity), 22-40meq kg-1 (total acidity), 0.18-0.30% (ashes), 80.8-83.5% (total sugars), 1.0-2.0mL (Lund), 3.48-3.83 (pH), 179-198µS cm-1 (electrical conductivity), 9.6-30.91mg kg-1 (HMF), 0.62-0.76 (water activity), and 1.337-1.437g mL-1 (density). The analyses show that the honey originating from the cashew flowering presents unique physicochemical characteristics which are within the standards established by the current legislation.


The present state of the problem of the steric structuring of polyolefins by chemical cross-linking agents (organic peroxides, azo-compounds, and organo-silanes) is examined. The structure formation mechanisms, the process conditions, the requirements which must be met by cross-linking agents, the factors determining the properties of cross-linked polymers, as well as the prospects for the development of the method are discussed. The bibliography includes 28 references.


We describe the translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the PARmed-X for Pregnancy for use in Brazilian Portuguese. The original instrument was developed in English for health screening prior to and guidelines for prenatal exercise. We followed the ten steps according to the Translation and Cultural Adaptation International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research guidelines. Our template can be used by other health professionals for translation and verification of the original tool into their native language.


At the beginning of computer science memory management was a big issue with applications requiring to fit in the small amount of available memory (close to a few kilobytes). Hardware evolution has made this resource cheap for the past few years. Available memory is now close to a few hundred gigabytes. But the current evolution in the multi/many-core era tends to make some issues come back. The memory available tends not to follow the increasing number of cores making the memory resource per thread rare again. We also encounter new issues with the requirement to manage a bigger space with many more allocated objects. This new aspect increases the probability of memory leaks. It also increases the probability of memory management performance issues. Hence, with MALT we provide a tool to track the memory allocated by an application. We then map the extracted metrics onto the source code, just like kcachegrind does with valgrind for the CPU performance. Compared to most available tools, MALT can also be used to track potential performance losses due to bad allocation patterns (too many allocations, small allocations, recycling large allocations, short-lived allocations...) thanks to the various metrics it exposes to the user. This paper will detail the metrics extracted by MALT and how we present them to the user thanks to a nice web based graphical interface which is missing with most of the available Linux tools.


This research was conducted to investigate the relationship between two variables:  critical thinking skills and argumentative writing skills in Moroccan Preparatory Classes of Higher Engineering Schools (Classes Préparatoires aux Grandes Ecoles) ( CPGE), Omar Ibn Khattab Meknes . The participants were the 2nd year Maths and Physics (MP) students in CPGE, Omar Ibn Al Khattab Meknes. 60 students participated in the study from a total number of 120 students. The research adopted the correlation design to measure the degree of association between two variables using the statistical procedure of correlation analysis. In this regard, a critical thinking test (AssessmentDay Practice Test Experts, 2018) was administered to test  students' critical thinking skills. Then, the students were asked to write an argumentative essay about social networking and creativity. To analyse the collected data, the study resorted to SPSS software (Statistical Package for the Social Science, version 23). Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to investigate the significant relationship between critical thinking skills and argumentative writing. The result of the research displayed that the correlation coefficient is 0. 941, which means that the two tests are positively correlated and the correlation is very significant. The result of such correlation displayed clearly that critical thinking and argumentative writing have a positive relation.


In the past 50 years it was believed that during cell secretion, membrane-bound secretory vesicles completely merge at the cell plasma membrane resulting in the diffusion of intra-vesicular contents to the cell exterior and the compensatory retrieval of the excess membrane by endocytosis. This explanation made no sense or logic, since following cell secretion partially empty vesicles accumulate as demonstrated in electron micrographs. Furthermore, with the 'all or none' mechanism of cell secretion by complete merger of secretory vesicle membrane at the cell plasma membrane, the cell is left with little regulation and control of the amount of content release. Moreover, it makes no sense for mammalian cells to possess such 'all or none' mechanism of cell secretion, when even single-cell organisms have developed specialized and sophisticated secretory machinery, such as the secretion apparatus of Toxoplasma gondii, the contractile vacuoles in paramecium, or the various types of secretory structures in bacteria. Therefore, in the 1960's, experimental data concerning neurotransmitter release mechanisms by B. Katz and B. Folkow brilliantly hypothesized that limitation of the quantal packet may be set by the nerve membrane, in which case the size of the packet may actually correspond to just a fraction of the vesicle content. This conundrum in the molecular mechanism of cell secretion was finally resolved in 1997 following discovery of the porosome, the universal secretory machinery in the cell. Porosomes are supramolecular lipoprotein structures at the cell plasma membrane, where membrane-bound secretory vesicles transiently dock and fuse to release inravesicular contents to the outside during cell secretion. In the past decade, the composition of the porosome, its structure and dynamics at nanometer (nm) resolution and in real time, and its functional reconstitution into artificial lipid membrane, have all been elucidated. Since porosomes in exocrine and neuroendocrine cells measure 100-180 nm, and only 20-45% increase in porosome diameter is demonstrated following the docking and fusion of secretory vesicles (0.2-1.2 μm in diameter), it is concluded that secretory vesicles "transiently" dock and fuse, rather than completely merge at the base of the porosome complex to release their contents to the outside. In agreement, it has been demonstrated that "secretory granules are recaptured largely intact after stimulated exocytosis in cultured endocrine cells"; that "single synaptic vesicles fuse transiently and successively without loss of identity"; and that "zymogen granule (the secretory vesicle in exocrine pancreas) exocytosis is characterized by long fusion pore openings and preservation of vesicle lipid identity". In this review, the discovery of the porosome, resulting in a paradigm shift in our understanding of cell secretion, is briefly presented. Biomedical Reviews 2010; 21: 1-15.


Frequency-domain solvers are used extensively for modeling arbitrary metal-based terahertz structures. Four well-known commercially available electromagnetic (EM) modeling software packages include HFSS™, CST Microwave Studio®, EMPro, and RSoft. However, there are a number of operational issues that relate to how they can be used to obtain more meaningful and accurate results. Even experienced users of these and similar software packages may not fully appreciate some of the subtle ambiguities in defining boundaries and material parameters for use in THz applications. To this end, a detailed comparative study has been undertaken, in consultation with all four vendors. First, in order to avoid introducing ambiguities, frequency dispersion in materials has to be clearly defined from first principles; in both intrinsic and effective forms. Different frequency dispersion models are then introduced for `metal-like' materials. To act as benchmark structures, conventional air-filled metal-pipe rectangular waveguides, associated cavity resonators and a spoof surface plasmon waveguide have been simulated, using a raft of different approaches; with a view to illustrating quantifiable weaknesses in commercial software packages for simulating arbitrary metal-based THz structures. This paper highlights intuitive and logical approaches that give incorrect results and, where possible, makes recommendations for the most appropriate solutions that have hitherto not been given in Technical Notes.


ABSTRACTDrawing from ethnographic fieldwork and interviews, this article explores the role of alternative income streams in the political economy of the US adult film industry. For many porn workers, film scenes function more as marketing tools – advertisements for workers' other paid pursuits – than primary sources of income. They represent one way for performers to creatively manipulate the conditions of porn work in order to maximize earning potential, resist burnout by varying job tasks, and otherwise exert control over their work life. At the same time, alternative income streams help to maintain the current structuring of porn performance by sustaining a reserve army of labour motivated to perform even if pay and working conditions are poor. Finally, alternative income streams place workers in shifting positions as entrepreneurs, independent contractors, employees, contracted and freelance managers, and producers. This article considers what such relations tell us about the workings of class in the ...


The objective of this paper is to investigate the dynamic relationship between China′s trade balance (T) and macroeconomic variables: domestic and foreign output (Y and Y\+* ), real exchange rate (E), domestic and foreign money supply (M and M\+*). The ADF Unit Root results show that the variables are all integrated of order I (1). The trade balance in China is not cointegrated with a number of variables, including the exchange rate. Absorption, elasticity, and monetary models are compared, and the elastic model performs better. There has been J\| curve in China, and the devaluations have had significant effect on the trade balance.


longitudinal entry of well-known Patient Reported Outcome instruments (e.g. QOLIE-31-P, HADS), treatments, symptoms, and seizure frequency and severity. RESULTS: By September 2010, 2613 patients had registered; 1838 (70.3%) patients with a reported diagnosis of epilepsy were analyzed. The PatientsLikeMe® Epilepsy Community tends to over-represent females compared with PharMetrics® (71.7% vs. 53.6%) and 20–50 year old patients, reflecting online user demographics. The proportions of treated patients receiving polytherapy or newer AEDs were also greater in PatientsLikeMe® versus PharMetrics® (53.4% vs. 29.2%; 82.4% vs. 66.4%, respectively). Regional coverage of PatientsLikeMe® members appeared closer to US census than PharMetrics®. Patient-reported data from PatientsLikeMe® reflected the significant burden of epilepsy on patients' lives. Patients experiencing 1 seizure during the last 4 weeks reported significantly lower quality of life (QoL) and higher levels of depression and anxiety than those not reporting seizures (all p-values 0.005). This was even more pronounced in patients reporting 1 generalized tonic-clonic seizure (all p-values 0.001). Driving status was clearly impacted by epilepsy; 50.6% in the PatientsLikeMe® sample did not drive (86.2% of these because of epilepsy) and 37.4% of drivers limited their driving because of epilepsy. Patients with driving limitations reported lower health-related QoL and higher levels of anxiety and depression (all p-values 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: By sharing their records online, members of the PatientsLikeMe® Epilepsy Community provide researchers with a unique source of information. Exploring these data provides insight into the disease burden, treatment patterns and associated outcomes. UCB-sponsored.


This article addresses features of spontaneity, the power of life scripts, and surplus reality. A psychodrama unfolds wherein Jean, a 22-year-old woman, confronts the issue of being pulled across the generational boundary by her mother, who has used Jean to solve her struggles in her marriage as well as stresses in her life. Jean resolves the issue by disengaging from her mother in a dramatic scene in which the entire group assists by empowering Jean.


The recent ego-psychological approach to form in art is utilized to understand the significance of form creation to artistic creativity in general. Two kinds of form in art are discussed--"good form" and "perfect form". The first is explained as the means used by the artist's ego to facilitate the expression and communication of latent meanings; the second, as the means used by the artist's ego to order disparate mental elements and to reconcile those opposite wishes, ideas, and emotions, whose opposite valences may endanger the integrity and cohesion of the self. In line with the assumptions presented in the paper, creativity and neurosis are described as two different methods used by the ego to solve the same underlying problems.


This chapter presents an introduction to nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the context of the applications of these techniques to cartilage. The introduction (Section 3.1) contains a brief overview of the relationship between the two techniques, and the following sections discuss their physical basis. Section 3.2 presents the vector model of NMR, which provides a conceptually simple picture of magnetic resonance intended to be accessible to all readers. Section 3.3 introduces the quantum-mechanical apparatus of magnetic resonance. The emphasis is placed on the density-matrix description of NMR; this section should be accessible to researchers and students with a working knowledge of linear algebra and basic quantum mechanics. The physical basis of MRI is discussed in Section 3.4.


An analytical model is presented for the direct initiation of gaseous detonations by a blast wave. For stable or weakly unstable mixtures, numerical simulations of the spherical direct initiation event and local analysis of the one-dimensional unsteady reaction zone structure identify a competition between heat release, wave front curvature and unsteadiness. The primary failure mechanism is found to be unsteadiness in the induction zone arising from the deceleration of the wave front. The quasi-steady assumption is thus shown to be incorrect for direct initiation. The numerical simulations also suggest a non-uniqueness of critical energy in some cases, and the model developed here is an attempt to explain the lower critical energy only. A critical shock decay rate is determined in terms of the other fundamental dynamic parameters of the detonation wave, and hence this model is referred to as the critical decay rate (CDR) model. The local analysis is validated by integration of reaction-zone structure equations with real gas kinetics and prescribed unsteadiness. The CDR model is then applied to the global initiation problem to produce an analytical equation for the critical energy. Unlike previous phenomenological models of the critical energy, this equation is not dependent on other experimentally determined parameters and for evaluation requires only an appropriate reaction mechanism for the given gas mixture. For different fuel–oxidizer mixtures, it is found to give agreement with experimental data to within an order of magnitude.


ABSTRACT RESEARCH was carried out to evaluate the variation in specific fuel consumption which resulted from changes in static load, inflation pressure, and engine operating point on a tractor during a field operation. Results show that there is considerable potential for using automatic controls to improve specific fuel consumption..


The difficulty of collecting information at conventional field studies and relatively coarse spatial and spectral resolution of Landsat images forced the use of environmental variables as ancillary data in vegetation mapping. The aim of this study is to increase the accuracy of species level vegetation classification incorporating environmental variables in the Amanos Mountains region of southern central Turkey. In the first part of the study, ordinary vegetation classification is attained by using a maximum likelihood method to Landsat images with the help of forest management maps. Discriminant analysis is used in the second part of the study in two different stages. First, Fisher's linear equations for each of the pre‐defined nine vegetation groups are calculated and values of the pixels are assigned by the greatest probability value. Second, distance raster value of maximum likelihood classification is used as a threshold. The distance raster pixels having values less than one is accepted as misclassi...


What are statistics? describing the sample describing the population testing and estimation - one sample testing and estimation - two samples testing and estimation - qualitative data testing and estimation - assumptions statistical process control detecting process changes investigating the process - an experiment why was the experiment not successful? some simple but effective experiments adapting the simple experiments improving a bad experiment analysis of variance an introduction to Taguchi technique. Appendices: The sigma notation notation and formulae sampling distributions copy of computer print-out from a multiple regression programme partial correlation significance tests on effect estimates from a p-2-n factorial experiment.


Identifying correlations among behaviors is important for understanding how selection shapes the phenotype. Correlated behaviors can indicate constraints on the evolution of behavioral plasticity or may reflect selection for functional integration among behaviors. Obligate cavity-nesting birds provide an opportunity to examine these correlations because males must defend limited nest cavities while also competing for mating opportunities and providing parental care. Here, I investigated the role of behavioral correlations in producing a counterintuitive relationship between nest defense and reproductive success in western bluebirds (Sialia mexicana) such that males that defended their nests most intensely had the lowest reproductive success, measured as the number of within and extrapair offspring that fledged. By experimentally measuring aggression across contexts, I show that this cost of nest defense was due to the correlated expression of aggression across the contexts of nest defense and male--male competition coupled with a trade-off between male--male aggression and parental care. In particular, more aggressive males provisioned their females less during incubation and this led to disrupted incubation patterns and fewer fledged offspring. However, aggressive males did not benefit from avoiding parental investment by gaining extrapair fertilizations, and thus, it is unclear how high levels of aggression are maintained in this population despite apparent costs. These results suggest that there are constraints to the evolution of plasticity in aggression and emphasize the importance of considering the integrated behavioral phenotype to understand how variation in behavior is linked to fitness. Copyright 2006.


The current study examined the provision of corrective feedback and learner repair following feedback in the interactional context of child-to-child conversations, particularly computer mediated, in an elementary Spanish immersion class. The relationship among error types, feedback types, and immediate learner repair were also examined. A total of 46, fifth-grade children participated in the study. Using Blackboard, the instructor randomly paired students and created a "virtual group" for each pair. Each pair was asked to interact and complete a jigsaw task in the "virtual classroom." Blackboard recorded the pairs' interactions, which were later printed and coded for types of error (syntactic/lexical), types of negative feedback (explicit/recasts/negotiation) and immediate learner repairs. Findings indicate that learners did not provide explicit negative feedback. Learners provided implicit negative feedback (recasts and negotiation) while completing the jigsaw task in the virtual classroom. The majority of lexical errors and syntactic errors were corrected using negotiation. Over half of feedback moves led to immediate repair. Negotiation moves proved more effective at leading to immediate repair of errors than did recasts.


Aim: The American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) cancer staging system is the strongest prognostic parameter for colorectal cancer. However, additional markers are needed to improve clinical decision making. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of lenfovascular invasion (LVI), perineural invasion (PNI) and peritumoral lymphocytic reaction (PLR) on lymph node involvement in surgically treated colon cancer patients. Materials and Methods: The historical records of patients having undergone colon cancer surgery in the Department of General Surgery were evaluated. In addition to demographic data and pathological TNM staging, parameters including tumor location, type, differentiation, LVI, PNI, PLR and tumor growth pattern were recorded and analyzed. p<0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: The study group of 71 patients consisted of 39 (54.9%) men and 32 (45.1%) women with a mean age of 65.1±12.3 (range: 3989) years. Tumors were located in the ascending colon in 18 (25.4%) patients, in the transverse colon in 3 (4.2%), in the descending colon in 8 (11.2%) and in the sigmoid colon in 42 (59.2%) patients. According to the postoperative histopathological examinations LVI was detected in 65 (91.6%) cases whereas PNI was found in 14 (19.7%) cases. PLR was detected in 69 (97.2%) cases that was mild in 53 (74.6%) and moderate in 16 (22.6%) cases. The incidence of PNI was significantly higher in stage N2 cases (p=0.001). On the other hand, no significant differences were found among N stage groups regarding LVI or PLR (p=0.409 and p=0.441, respectively). Although it was detected that LVI and PLR were present concomitantly in 63 (88.7%) cases, no significant differences were detected between mild, moderate or negative PLR with respect to LVI positivity (p=0.748). Conclusion: PNI was associated with increased lymph node involvement. Larger prospective randomized controlled studies are needed to be conducted in order to establish additional prognostic parameters in colon cancer surgery.


Acylated amino acid ligands enabled ruthenium(II)-catalyzed C-H functionalizations with excellent levels of meta-selectivity. The outstanding catalytic activity of the ruthenium(II) complexes derived from monoprotected amino acids (MPAA) set the stage for the first ruthenium-catalyzed meta-functionalizations with removable directing groups. Thereby, meta-alkylated anilines could be accessed, which are difficult to prepare by other means of direct aniline functionalizations. The robust nature of the versatile ruthenium(II)-MPAA was reflected by challenging remote C-H transformations with tertiary alkyl halides on aniline derivatives as well as on pyridyl-, pyrimidyl-, and pyrazolyl-substituted arenes. Detailed mechanistic studies provided strong support for an initial reversible C-H ruthenation, followed by a SET-type C-Hal activation through homolytic bond cleavage. Kinetic analyses confirmed this hypothesis through an unusual second-order dependence of the reaction rate on the ruthenium catalyst concentration. Overall, this report highlights the exceptional catalytic activity of ruthenium complexes derived from acylated amino acids, which should prove instrumental for C-H activation chemistry beyond remote functionalization.


The night shark, Carcharhinus signatus, is a mesopelagic, semi‐oceanic shark species found only in the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the most frequently caught sharks in pelagic longline fisheries and is classified as Vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Despite their prevalence in commercial fisheries, the population genetic structure of the night shark has not been assessed. The present study investigated the genetic diversity, genetic connectivity, and phylogeography of the species throughout the western Atlantic Ocean, based on complete mitochondrial control region (mtCR) sequence data (n = 152) and genotypic data from nine nuclear microsatellites (n = 119). The mtCR sequence revealed 19 haplotypes, with overall haplotype and nucleotide diversities of 0.74 (±0.027) and 0.0034 (±0.0019), respectively, whereas the nuclear microsatellite observed and expected heterozygosities were 0.408 and 0.421, respectively. There was significant population structure (ФST = 0.429; P < 0.01) and isolation by distance (r = 0.65, P = 0.03) based on mtCR sequence data, but no genetic differentiation based on nuclear microsatellite analyses. The phylogenetic analyses support the existence of two matrilineal lineages, which diverged during the Pleistocene. Mitochondrial demographic analyses indicated a historical bottleneck effect followed by population expansion during the Pleistocene, whereas nuclear microsatellites did not detect a recent or a strong bottleneck. For conservation purposes, we advocate that the species should be considered to comprise at least two management units (MUs) in the western Atlantic Ocean. MU‐specific catch quotas should be implemented throughout the range of the species given its low genetic diversity and vulnerability to overexploitation.


The European FF POIROT project (IST-2001-38248) aims at developing applications for tackling financial fraud, using formal ontological repositories as well as multilingual terminological resources. In this article, we want to focus on the development cycle towards an application recognizing several types of e-mail fraud, such as phishing, Nigerian advance fee fraud and lottery scam. The development cycle covers four tracks of development - language engineering, terminology engineering, knowledge engineering and system engineering. These development tracks are preceded by a problem determination phase and followed by a deployment phase. Each development track is supported by a methodology. All methodologies and phases in the development cycle will be discussed in detail


To establish an animal model for AIDS, 6 juvenile rhesus monkeys were infected intravenously with cell-free SIVagmTYO-1, 5, or 7. One animal was infected with SIV of known pathogenicity isolated from a sooty mangabey (SIVsmm). The 2 animals infected with TYO-1, 1 of 2 infected with TYO-7 and the 1 infected with SIVsmm seroconverted within 4-8 weeks after infection and infectious virus could be recovered 8-10 or 44 weeks after infection. Three of the 4 seroconverted monkeys developed a persistent lymphadenopathy 12 weeks after infection. Rhesus monkeys infected with SIVagm could serve as a model to study HIV infection and for vaccine trials.


Hepatic steatosis is a common pathological change of liver that manifests as abnormal lipid accumulation. Epidemiological findings support that diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia are mostly accompanied by the development of hepatic steatosis. By screening the disease targets of several traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) with lipid-reducing effects (hawthorn, semen cassiae, etc.) through the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP), we found that peroxisome-activated receptor gamma (PPAR-γ) is involved in regulating several lipid metabolism-related signaling pathways. Further experiments confirmed that PPAR-γ was correlated with aggravated endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in overnutrition-induced hepatic steatosis. The stimulation of hepatocytes by abnormal lipid metabolism signals causes an imbalance in ER homeostasis, which subsequently exacerbates hepatocyte lipid abnormalities. The inhibition of glucose regulatory protein 78 (GRP78, a master regulator of ER homeostasis) was effective in reducing hepatocyte PPAR-γ and lipid synthesis levels. In fact, the hawthorn/semen cassiae treatment effectively downregulated hepatocyte ER stress in high-fat-diet fed rats and reduced the PPAR-γ expression as well as related lipid synthesis. Herein, we confirmed that TCMs characterized by natural lipid-lowering effectively target hepatic PPAR-γ and GRP78, improve ER stress, and have a protective effect against obesity-related hepatic steatosis.


Technological operations of steel ladles lining drying and heating are accompanied by formation and emission of compounds, referred to the first and second category of danger. This is attributed mainly to the presence in the refractory's composition phenol-formaldehyde tars and coal pitch as binders. Results of simulation of steel ladle lining heating operation presented. The filtration speed distribution of decomposition products in the lining material established. The main part of harmful substances from the lining is emitted in the process of its drying into internal working space of the ladle. Less than 10% of the total amount of pollution substances goes out through the external evaporating openings in the ladle armor. It was shown, that within near 90% of drying and heating time, the temperature in the ladle does not exceed level of 800 °С, which is not enough for harmful substances afterburning. Reasonability of afterburning of the formed harmful emissions justified as a separate technological element of the facility of ladles drying. For the afterburning, not expensive materials should be used, having catalyst properties and developed surface. Application of catalyst enables to decrease the minimum necessary temperature for oxidation of decomposition products down to 600-650 °С. Description of the facility, developed by Concern "Jet Technologies", for ladles drying and heating with neutralization exhausted technological gases presented. The facility has an airtight shelter, in which a ladle with new lining is placed. The shelter has a lifting cover, in which a gas-air burner is installed. The burner can operate with a high excess of air to provide minimal temperature of drying agent at early stages of drying. Inside the shelter a negative pressure is kept for active removal technological gases and prevention of penetrating them into the working zone of the shop. The power of the burner is controlled by the temperature, measured by a thermo-converter in the cover. Out of the shelter the technological gases are directed to a thermocatalyst reactor (TCR). The TCR has another burner for additional heating of gases leaving the ladle, to the afterburning temperature. Power control is made also based on the measured temperature. After completion of emitting binder decomposition products, the TCR is switched off. After neutralization in the TCR, the technological gases are emitted into atmosphere through a smoke stack. The facility operation control is made by a local control system, based on an industrial logic controller. At the EAF-based plant "NLMK-Kaluga", the ladles with phenol-based binder lining are successfully dried for many years already at a facility described in the paper, providing an ecological safety of the emissions.


Comparative ultrastructural findings of meninges, ventricular ependyma and choroid plexus of mammals including man were summarized with the aim of a better understanding as to which cells can play a role as macrophages in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cytology. Differences between phagocytic capacity of pial cells and arachnoid cells were emphasized. Comparative investigations showed that most of the cells in the CSF originate from the blood. Scanning electron microscopy of the subarachnoid space and cytological investigation of the CSF gave the result that haematogenous cells belong to the normal cell population of the subarachnoid space of normal individuals. These cells in the CSF react as their equivalents in the blood, that is, after confrontation with antigens the monocytes transform into macrophages, sometimes into multinucleated giant cells, the T and B lymphocytes transform into blast cells. On the basis of immunological and ultrastructural results, the classification of CSF cells in normal and pathological conditions has been proposed.


OBJECTIVE
Growing evidence in recent years have demonstrated that the dysregulation of microRNAs (miRNAs) strongly affected the biological development and progression of human tumors, including glioma. There have been few studies on the clinical significance of miRNAs in glioma. The aim of our study is to explore the expression pattern and the value of miR-3653 in the prognosis of glioma patients.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
qRT-PCR assays were performed to the miR-3653 expression level in 168 cases of glioma tissues and matched normal tissues. The correlations of miR-3653 expression level with the clinicopathological factors in glioma patients were analyzed. The associations between miR-3653 expression and survival of glioma patients were investigated by the Kaplan-Meier analysis and the log-rank test. The prognostic value of miR-3653 was estimated via univariate and multivariate analysis.

RESULTS
We presented that miR-3653 level in glioma tissues is notably reduced compared to matched non-cancerous brain tissues (p<0.01). Clinical research revealed that the lower miR-3653 expression was associated with larger tumor size and lymph node metastasis, lower KPS (p=0.028), and advanced WHO grade (p=0.019). Moreover, the clinical data further suggested that the low expression of miR-3653 predicted a worse 5-year overall survival in glioma patients. Finally, the multivariate analysis confirmed that low miR-3653 expression (HR=2.682, 95% CI: 1.148-4.281, p=0.021) was a significant independent predictor of poor survival in glioma.

CONCLUSIONS
Our findings suggested that miR-3653 could serve as a valuable prognostic indicator in glioma. Further researches are required to explore the potential function and mechanism of miR-3653 in glioma.


The aim of the current study was to investigate the possible correlation             between the C677T methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) polymorphism and             venous thromboembolism (VTE) in a population-based case-control study. Homocysteine             (Hcy) was quantified by Abbott IMx immunoassay; screening for C677T MTHFR substitution             was performed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction analysis. The             results from the two groups (440 patients and 440 controls) revealed that the             frequency of T alleles and TT carriers was significantly higher in patients compared             with that of the healthy controls. The plasma levels of Hcy in the VTE group (13.05±2.37 µmol/l)             were significantly higher compared with those in the control group (11.94±2.03 µmol/l,             P<0.001). The C677T MTHFR polymorphism is suggested to be associated with the             risk for VTE. Plasma levels of Hcy were raised in individuals with the homozygous             MTHFR 677TT genotype. In conclusion, the results of the current study suggest             that hyperhomocysteinemia and the homozygous 677TT MTHFR genotype are risk factors             for VTE.


In this paper, we present a foreground analysis of the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) 5-year data using the fastica algorithm, improving on the treatment of the WMAP 3-year data in Bottino et al.

We determine coupling coefficients between the WMAP data and templates commonly used to trace the dominant foreground emissions, and use them to study the spectral properties of the diffuse emissions and subsequently to clean the data. We confirm the dependence of the values of these scaling factors on the extension of the mask used in the analysis and we again demonstrate some anomalies when the Kp0 mask is adopted that remain unexplained.

We also revisit the nature of the free–free spectrum with the emphasis on attempting to confirm or otherwise the spectral feature claimed in Dobler et al. and explained in terms of spinning dust emission in the warm ionized medium. With the application of different Galactic cuts, the index is always flatter than the canonical value of 2.14 except for the Kp0 mask which is steeper. Irrespective of this, we cannot confirm the presence of any feature in the free–free spectrum.

We experiment with a more extensive approach to the cleaning of the data, introduced in connection with the iterative application of fastica. We confirm the presence of a residual foreground whose spatial distribution is concentrated along the Galactic plane, with pronounced emission near the Galactic Centre. This is consistent with the WMAP haze detected in Finkbeiner et al.

Finally, we attempted to perform the same analysis on full-sky (FS) maps. The code returns good results even for those regions where the cross-talk among the components is high. However, slightly better results in terms of the possibility of reconstructing an FS CMB map are achieved with a simultaneous analysis of both the five WMAP maps and foreground templates. None the less, some residuals are still present and detected in terms of an excess in the cosmic microwave background power spectrum, on small angular scales. Therefore, a minimal mask for the brightest regions of the plane is necessary, and has been defined.


The process of a country's economic growth and development is a very complex phenomenon, influenced by numerous factors, which has attracted the attention of researchers and policymakers over time. Several studies highlight the important role of entrepreneurship on economic growth, by introducing innovative technologies, creating new products, promoting new jobs and employment opportunities, but also improving competition and competitiveness. Although the impact of entrepreneurship on economic growth has been broadly analysed in the economic literature over the recent years, few studies have examined the impact of entrepreneurship on economic development. The aim of this paper is to fill this gap, using the Human Development Index (HDI) as a suitable proxy for measuring economic development, taken from the United Nations statistics. HDI is a composite measure of average achievement in key dimensions of human development, such as, life expectancy, education level and standards of living. On the other hand, Entrepreneurship is measured by Total Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA) taken from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, which expresses the percentage of population with age between 18 and 64, who are either a nascent entrepreneur or owner-manager of a new business. The empirical model is drawn from the endogenous growth theory, assuming that entrepreneurship and human capital skills are the key drivers of economic development, along with capital stock. The empirical analysis is based on unbalanced panel data regressions for a sample of 37 OECD countries using annual data for the period 2000-2018. Estimating a dynamic panel data model by using the GMM two-step system approach, we obtain evidence indicating the positive association between the development level and entrepreneurship, as well as the positive impact of human capital and capital stock on development. Our empirical results are in line with the endogenous growth theory approach, showing that entrepreneurship can be considered as an additional factor input in the countries' economic development pathway.


The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) defines pain as an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with potential or tissue damage or described in terms of such damage. Pain in patients with decreased consciousness is individual and needs to consider many aspects. Following the expansion pain definition according to the IASP in 2020, the inability to communicate does not exclude the possibility that humans experience pain. Therefore, a good pain assessment in patients with decreased consciousness can increase the value of disease management and improve the patient's quality of life both during the treatment period and after hospitalization. Because of the inability of patients with decreased consciousness to verbally convey their pain, this poses a challenge for the clinician. This literature review was aimed to describe how to understand the pain in decreased consciousness patients.


The observation of fluctuations of parity-odd angular observables at RHIC has been interpreted as a signal of a local parity violation. We show how the observed signal can be explained by local charge conservation at freeze-out combined with elliptic flow. Calculations from a blast wave model, which overlays thermal emission onto a collective flow profile, are shown to account for the experimentally observed signal.


Introduction: Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has the potential to alter the HIV epidemic in South Africa. Between 2016 and 2018 PrEP was rolled-out for 18-24 year-old female-sex workers (FSW) in a rural KwaZulu-Natal subdistrict with very high HIV incidence among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW). Using a 'framework of access' model, we describe PrEP access, awareness and uptake for AGYW, including community members' attitudes towards PrEP for young people.Methods: We enrolled a cohort of 2184 AGYW aged 13-22 living within the subdistrict and quantitatively measured their eligibility, awareness and uptake of PrEP and other HIV prevention interventions in 2017 and 2018. We supplemented this insight with in depth exploration by conducting 19 group discussions with young people and community members, nine stakeholder key informant interviews, 58 in-depth interviews with 15-24 year-olds and 33 with implementing partners, and participatory observations. All interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis.Results: PrEP awareness increased from 2% to 9% from 2017 to 2018. Among 965 AGYW sexually-active by 2018, 13.4% (95%CI: 11.4-15.7%) reported transactional sex and 10.6% (95%CI: 8.8-12.7%) sex for money. Of these latter 194 PrEP-eligible AGYW, 21 were aware of PrEP, but none had ever used it. Wider community members were generally unaware of PrEP but imagined it would benefit young people, HIV-serodiscordant couples and those in long-distance relationships. Youth saw PrEP as a positive alternative to condoms since it "will be in their system" and not get in the way of sex. Teachers and healthcare providers were more apprehensive: worrying that PrEP would lower personal responsibility for sexual health.Conclusions: Although PrEP awareness increased and it was generally acceptable, uptake was low even among eligible AGYW, i.e., who reported FSW activity. Condom use remained undesirable suggesting a need to include PrEP in offers of alternative HIV prevention technologies to comdoms. The targeted nature of public-sector PrEP for FSW may have limited the reach, and the future broader roll-out, of PrEP in this setting. Inclusive approaches to PrEP provision integrated with wider sexual healthmay help improve demand and access to PrEP.


Purpose
This paper aims to clarify the relationship between multiple intelligence (MI) and entrepreneurial opportunity recognition. It discusses to what extent each dimension of MI is considered as an activation driver of entrepreneurial opportunities recognition. This paper also aims to expand the domain of entrepreneurial opportunities recognition via MI by considering the mediating role of neuromarketing perception, adopting a combined perspective of intelligence, entrepreneurship and also neuromarketing to provide a future direction for the creation of interdisciplinary insights in the area of entrepreneurship.

Design/methodology/approach
This paper opted for literature synthesis to define key concepts surrounding MI and entrepreneurial opportunities recognition. Besides, it also attempted to identify an influential mediator in explaining the entrepreneurial opportunities recognition phenomenon. Consequently, this paper identified the gaps in current research to draw upon a more holistic conceptual framework. The rationale for the research was justified within the body of research.

Findings
This paper suggested research propositions based on the literature synthesis in view of MI and entrepreneurial opportunities recognition. More specifically, it has proposed a conceptual framework, explaining the relationship between a multi-dimensional view of both MI and entrepreneurial opportunities recognition. It is envisaged that the mediating role of neuromarketing perception incorporated in this conceptual work will improve the predictive value of the proposed framework and offer additional insights about factors that advance entrepreneurial opportunities recognition.

Research limitations/implications
This paper suffers from the obvious limitation of lacking empirical investigation. However, it does provide a theoretical rationale for the argument that entrepreneurial opportunities recognition can be advanced if MI are identified and associated with neuromarketing dimensions. Perhaps the most important direction for future research is further extension and validation of this framework by performing an empirical investigation to produce newer insights into this phenomenon.

Originality/value
This conceptual work is different from previous studies on the grounds it has considered unexplored issues in explaining entrepreneurial opportunities recognition. To bridge the critical knowledge gap of the entrepreneurial opportunities recognition phenomenon, a mediating effect of neuromarketing perception is also integrated within the model. The proposed model was neither formulated nor tested empirically in previous studies locally or perhaps globally, therefore it stands out as an original contribution incorporating MI and entrepreneurial opportunities recognition phenomenon while considering the brain activity through neuromarketing perception.


We have identified a novel homeobox gene, designated K-2, using a reverse transcription PCR cloning strategy. Sequence analysis reveals that the homeobox of K-2 is 77.6% homologous at the nucleotide level and 97% identical at the amino acid sequence level to another murine gene, S8. Homeodomain sequence comparisons indicate that K-2 and S8 represent a distinct subclass of paired type homeobox genes. Northern blot analysis of RNA from murine embryos and adult tissues identified multiple transcripts that are expressed in a developmentally specific and tissue restricted manner. Alternate splicing of K-2 at the 3-coding region leads to the inclusion of a chain terminating sequence. In addition, the developmental expression pattern of this gene at day 12 of gestation was determined by in situ hybridization. Expression was observed in diverse mesenchymal cells in craniofacial, pericardial, primitive dermal, prevertebral, and genital structures.


The purpose of this study was to suggest new assessment indicators of G-SEED for sustainability improvement. To do so, current G-SEED was analyzed in sustainable perspective, and compared with the major international certification systems. Preliminary assessment indicators were selected to improve sustainability, and 43 new assessment indicators in three phases were suggested through the specialist survey and the result analysis. The indicators are 25 in phase I, 10 in phase II and 8 in Phase III. Achieved indicators need a further review before acceptance to the current system, and especially, the indicators in phase I were marked highly important by the specialist survey for improving sustainability of the G-SEED. Therefore, additional research and further studies on the acceptance are required in the near future.


ERP (Enterprise Resources Planning) users often refuse to pay off the balance of payment because they think the software vendors fail to complete the targets, for which the true reason is that the boundaries or standards on the effectiveness and economic benefits of ERP is not clear. So it is necessary and important to effectively measure the benefits brought by ERP to the users, which is favorable for both users and software vendors. This paper adopts an empirical research method and analyzes on the information of ERP users of a Chinese well-known software company from Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchange. The study finds that the corporations who introduce the ERP system are generally better in performance than non-ERP users. The study also finds that the total assets of the ERP users in tested group are increased and the asset-liability ration is stable after introducing ERP and, meanwhile, the total assets of the non-ERP users in controlled group are not increased and the assetliability ration is decreased. It might show that ERP can help users maintain and strengthen their business strength. However, the study finds that both of inventory turnover and account payable turnover of the ERP users have been slowed down instead of speeding up in the first two years after introducing ERP. The decrease of inventory turnover represents that ERP system might need a long time for running-in. The reasons for account payable turnover decreasing might be two. One is that ERP is in the stage of running-in. The other probably is that ERP helps the users become stronger so that they can defer the payments to vendors in order to making use of more non-cost funds.


Shearing single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) coated with sodium dodecyl sulfate in microfluidic channels significantly increases the photoluminescence (PL) intensity and dispersion stability of SWNTs. The PL quantum yield (QY) of SWNTs improves by a factor of 3 for initially bright suspensions; on the other hand, SWNT QYs in a "poor" suspension improve by 2 orders of magnitude. In both cases, the QYs of the sheared suspensions are approximately 1%. The increases in PL intensity persist for months and are most prominent in larger diameter SWNTs. These improvements are attributed to surfactant reorganization rather than disaggregation of SWNTs bundles or shear-induced alignment. The results also highlight potential opportunities to eliminate discrepancies in the PL intensity of different suspensions and further improve the PL of SWNTs by tailoring the surfactant structure around SWNTs.


Peripheral nerve injuries are becoming more common, but without effective treatment, the outcome is often very poor. Recent research shows that p75NTR plays an important role in nerve regeneration, but its mechanisms of action during behavioral recovery and axon regrowth remain unclear. To investigate these mechanisms, we examined recovery from sciatic nerve crush injury in wild-type and p75NTR knockout mice. We found that sciatic nerve crush injury upregulates mRNA and protein expressions of p75NTR and p75NTR deficiency alters gene and protein expression of molecules associated with distal portion atrophy. However, p75NTR deletion did not alter gene and protein expression in the spinal cord of molecules related to neuronal intrinsic growth capacity. Behavioral testing showed that functional recovery was delayed in mice lacking p75NTR. These results suggest that p75NTR regulates gene and protein expression that limits the distal atrophy after sciatic nerve injury, thereby regulating axonal growth and functional recovery.


INTRODUCTION
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused an outbreak around the world. Early detection of severe illness is crucial for patients' survival. We analysed initial clinical characteristics of 146 patients with COVID-19 reported in Guizhou province, China to explore risk factors for transforming mild illness to severe.

METHODOLOGY
Data of 146 laboratory-confirmed cases were collected and evaluated by the survival analysis of univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards model.

RESULTS
On initial presentation, patients had fever (51.05%), dry cough (45.45%), headache (16.08%), shortness of breath (7.75%) and gastrointestinal symptoms (13.99%). Among 146 laboratory-confirmed cases, 30 patients (20.55%) had severe illness and needed Intensive Care Unit care for supportive treatment. The remaining patients (116, 79.45%) were non-severe cases. Nineteen (19/146, 13.01%) of 30 patients in the Intensive Care Unit had comorbidities, including hypertension (12, 40.00%), diabetes (5, 16.67%), cardiovascular disease (5, 16.67%) and pulmonary disease (4, 13.33%). For survival analysis, patients who had fever (HR = 3.30, 95% CI = 1.31, 8.29) and comorbidities (HR = 9.76, 95% CI = 4.28, 22.23) at baseline were more likely to be admitted into the Intensive Care Unit. Few variables were not related to the survival time of discharge from baseline to discharge and from Intensive Care Unit care to discharge.

CONCLUSIONS
Severe patients with COVID-19 should be paid more attention. On initial symptoms, many patients did not have fever, but those with fever were more likely to be admitted to the Intensive Care Unit. Comorbidities were likewise a risk factor of severe COVID-19.


We present, to our knowledge, the first successful integration of two independent gates on a p-type FinFET. These results also represent a significant performance improvement over previously reported Independent-Gate FinFET results. The devices have gate lengths ranging from 0.5 to 5 /spl mu/m, and designed fin thicknesses ranging from 25 to 75 nm. Electrical results show near-ideal subthreshold slopes in double-gate mode (both gates modulated simultaneously). Independent-Gate operation is also examined by modulating saturated drain current with both front and back-gate voltages independently. The results are compiled to analyze performance trends versus fin thickness and gate length.


With this work we have assessed the minimum thickness and grain size realizable for a polysilicon (poly-Si) layer deposited with a low-pressure chemical vapour deposition technique. Three different approaches using pure silane in a standard horizontal reactor have been evaluated: (i) a direct poly-Si deposition, (ii) a hemispherical silicon grain deposition and (iii) an amorphous silicon (a-Si) deposition followed by crystallization thermal annealing. It has been demonstrated that the a-Si/crystallization process seems to be the best candidate for the deposition of ultra-thin poly-Si films. However, it involves process innovation in both the nucleation and annealing phases. With this method we have succeeded in the deposition of uniform 6 nm poly-Si layers with grain sizes around 10-20 nm.


The present review demonstrates, purely, the mechanism of laccase action on the different types of substrates as phenolic or non-phenolic substrates. Role of mediators in the oxidation of non-phenolic substrates by laccases are also described in this review. Since a large number of reviews and literatures on laccases are available to describe its different properties and biotechnological applications so its biotechnological applications are described only in brief.


This research aimedto investigate the toxic action of Vitexgardneriana on microcrustacean Artemiasalina by using hydroalcoholic extract fromleaves (EHF) and acute toxicity test (CL50)concentrations of 100, 500, 1.000, 10.000,20.000, and 50.000/mL. Sodium hypochlorite(NaClO) at 1% was used as positive control,and saline and 1% DMSO were used asnegative control. Vitex gardneriana showedlow toxic potential, with 50% mortality inthe microcrustacean metanauplii population(concentration: 34.600 mg/mL). A. salina isa seawater microcrustacean widely used inbioassays for determining the toxic dose ofbioactive substances because of its low costsand its related simple, aseptic procedures. Todetermine the toxic action of the hydroalcoholicextract of V. Gardneriana on eggs and larvaeof Haemonchus contortus, 2,5mL of EHF witha concentration of 34,600 mg/mL were addedinto single-species nematode fecal culturescontaining approximately 12.000 eggs. Only26,6% of the eggs hatched, correspondingto an EHF efÀ ciency of 73,3%, whereas thehatchability was 50% in control, with 6.000larvae recovered. The À ndings show thepotential of this plant as an alternative inparasite control.


Introduction
Intermittent claudication (IC) is a condition which affects people with peripheral arterial
disease in the lower limbs and causes calf muscle pain and limping due to the lack of blood
supply to the gastrocnemius muscle in particular. This limits the distance people with IC
(known as claudicants) can walk before having to stop because of the pain. The accepted best
treatment currently is enrolment onto supervised exercise regimes, but these provide limited
improvement and do not alter their antalgic gait. This study aims to investigate the effect of
specific footwear designs on gait and lower limb muscle function with the intention of
identifying which features would be recommended for inclusion in footwear designed to
relieve their painful symptoms by offloading the calf muscles.
Method
Fifteen volunteer healthy subjects, age range 20-29 years (mean 25.3 ± 2.73) undertook a
series of gait laboratory trials with shoes adapted with specifically-chosen outsole features.
High street shoes were adapted with the test conditions which included shoes with five
different heel heights (varying from a 1.5cm to 5.5cm heels), two heel profile conditions
(curved and semi curved heels), three traditional (angled) rocker soles with varying apex
positions (55%, 62.5% and 70% of shoe length) and three with varying apex angles (10, 15, and
20 deg.), plus three with different forepart sole stiffness (solid, semi-flexible and flexible). The
baseline shoe was taken as being one with no heel curve, a heel height of 3.5mm, an apex
position of 62.5% of shoe length, and apex angle of 15 deg. and a stiff forepart to the shoe.
Measurement and comparisons were taken of lower limb kinetics and kinematics (Qualysis,
Sweden) plus electromyographical (EMG) activity (Noraxon USA) of medial gastrocnemius,
soleus, tibialis anterior, rectus femoris and biceps femoris during walking trials where the
walking speed was controlled using timing gaits. Data were analysed using Visual3D and
OpenSim software to enable interpretation of EMG activity to enable calculation of lower limb
muscle function during gait.
Results
Changes from the baseline shoe were taken as being at a level of significance of p<0.05. The
most effective footwear test condition in regards to offloading of the calf muscles compared to
the control shoe was that with a 4.5cm heel, a 55% of shoe length apex position, and a 20°
rocker apex angle; which demonstrated significant offloading to the calf muscles. The 55%
apex position had a significant offloading influence on the calf muscles whilst at the same time
not significantly altering knee and hip kinematics.
Conclusion
This study demonstrates that a potentially useful shoe design was identified for treatment of
claudicant calf pain which did not adversely affect more proximal joint kinetics and kinematics.


Extended Jacobian inverse kinematics algorithms for redundant robotic manipulators are defined by combining the manipulator's kinematics with an augmenting kinematics map in such a way that the combination becomes a local diffeomorphism of the augmented taskspace. A specific choice of the augmentation relies on the optimal approximation by the extended Jacobian of the Jacobian pseudoinverse (the Moore-Penrose inverse of the Jacobian). In this paper, we propose a novel formulation of the approximation problem, rooted conceptually in the Riemannian geometry. The resulting optimality conditions assume the form of a Poisson equation involving the Laplace-Beltrami operator. Two computational examples illustrate the theory.


Binary phase shift keying is a common modulation method for transmitting binary data because of its superior noise performance. A proposed alternative to the common BPSK receiver is use of three parallel post-detection circuits and majority decision logic to reduce errors, improving the overall performance of the BPSK system. The noise performance of each of two parallel circuits was measured and compared. The first circuit is a conventional BPSK receiver using an integrate and dump circuit. The second circuit incorporates a limiter * after the demodulator and prior to the integrate and dump circuit. The conventional circuit is found to provide the same error probability at a 0.2 dB smaller signal to noise ratio. The probability density function of the voltage at various nodes in the post-detection circuits are measured and included in the report along with curves of probability of * error versus SNR for the two post-detection circuits.


Tumor dependency on specific metabolic signals has guided numerous therapeutic approaches. Here we identify melanoma addiction to the mitochondrial protein Glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase (GCDH), a component in lysine metabolism which controls protein glutarylation. GCDH knockdown promoted apoptotic Unfolded Protein Response signaling and cell death in melanoma cells, an activity blocked by knockdown of the upstream lysine catabolism enzyme DHTKD1. Correspondingly, reduced GCDH expression correlated with improved survival of melanoma patients. A key mediator of GCDH-dependent melanoma cell death programs is the transcription factor NRF2, which induces ATF3, CHOP, and CHAC1 transcription linking lysine catabolism with the UPR signaling. NRF2 glutarylation upon GCDH KD increased its stability and DNA binding activity, which coincided with increased transcriptional activity, promoting apoptotic UPR signaling and tumor suppression. In vivo, genetic GCDH inhibition effectively inhibited melanoma tumor growth. Overall, these findings demonstrate an addiction of melanoma cells to GCDH, which by controlling NRF2 glutarylation limits apoptotic UPR signaling. Inhibiting the GCDH pathway could represent a novel therapeutic modality to treat melanoma.


The research program described touches five areas of nuclear physics: nuclear structure studies at high spin (hyperdeformation in the mass A {approx_equal} 182 region, structure of {sup 182}Hg and {sup 182}Au at high spin, a highly deformed band in {sup 136}Pm and the anomalous h{sub 11/2} proton crossing in the A{approximately}135 superdeformed region), studies at the interface between structure and reactions (population of entry states in heavy-ion fusion reactions, nuclear structure effects in proton evaporation spectra, nuclear structure- dependent entry state population by total spectroscopy, entrance channel effects in fusion near the barrier, lifetimes of subbarrier {alpha} particles by the atomic clock method), production and study of hot nuclei (the statistical model evaporation code EVAP, statistical emission of deuterons and tritons from highly excited compound nuclei, heavy-fragment emission as a probe of the thermal properties of highly excited compound nuclei, use of incoming-wave boundary condition transmission coefficients in the statistical model: implications in the particle evaporation spectra, study of transparency in the optical model), reaction mechanism studies (binary character of highly dissipative {sup 209}Bi + {sup 136}Xe collisions at E/A=28.2 MeV), and development and use of novel techniques and instrumentation in these areas of research (including a 4{pi} channel selectionmore » device, a novel x-ray detector, and a simple channel-selecting detector).« less


A perturbed nonlinear system of relative degree two controlled by discontinuous-impulsive feedbacks is studied. The hybrid-impulsive terms serve to drive instantaneously the system trajectories to the origin or to its small vicinity. In particular, impulsive-twisting control exhibits an uniform exact finite time convergence to the second order sliding mode (2-SMC) with zero convergence time. The stability of the considered hybrid-impulsive system is studied using Lyapunov approach. © 2013 IFAC.


The purpose of this investigation is to examine four special nonuniform sampling processes in detail, and to deduce some interesting properties of bandwidth-limited signals. The main results are contained in four generalized sampling theorems. These theorems not only contain the nature of determination (unique-specification, over-specification, and underspecification) of signals but also include explicit reconstruction formulas. From the reconstruction formulas, the complexity and accuracy of the nonuniform sampling processes discussed can be estimated. In addition, these theorems lead to observations regarding the allowable shapes, the "prediction," and the "energy" of bandwidth-limited signals in general. A "minimum-energy" signal is introduced which has certain advantages as compared to the ordinary "time-limited" signals when a finite number of sample values are given. Finally, a statement due to Cauchy on the sampling of bandwidth-limited signals is generalized to include a wider class of nonuniform sample point distributions and modified to give more exact information regarding the nature of determination of signals.


This paper explores Pān. inian Grammar (PG) as an information processing device in terms of 'how', 'how much' and 'where' languages encode information. PG is based on a morphologically rich language, Sanskrit. We apply PG on English and see how the Pān. inian perspective would deal with it from the information theoretical point of view and its effectiveness in machine translation. We analyze English phrases defining sup (nominal inflections) and tiṅ (finite verb inflections) and compare them with the notion of pada (an inflected word form) and samasta-pada (compound) in Sanskrit. Sanskrit encodes relations between nouns and adjectives and nouns in apposition through agreement between gender, number and case markers, whereas English encodes them through positions. As a result, constituents are formed. It appears that an English phrase contains more than one pada, hence, cannot be similar to a pada. However, we show the linguistic similarities between a pada, samasta-pada and 'phrase'.


Biotechnology is an essential tool for the sustainable exploitation of marine resources, although the full development of their potential is complicated by a series of cognitive and technological limitations. Thanks to an innovative systematic approach that combines the meta-analysis of 620 articles produced worldwide with 29 high TRL (Technology Readiness Level) European funded projects, the study provides an assessment of the growth prospects of blue biotechnologies, with a focus on pharmaceutical and food applications, and the most promising technologies to overcome the main challenges in the commercialization of marine products. The results show a positive development trend, with publications more than doubled from 2010 (36) to 2019 (70). Biochemical and molecular characterization, with 150 studies, is the most widely used technology. However, the emerging technologies in basic research are omics technologies, pharmacological analysis and bioinformatics, which have doubled the number of publications in the last five years. On the other hand, technologies for optimizing the conditions of cultivation, harvesting and extraction are central to most business models with immediate commercial exploitation (65% of high-TRL selected projects), especially in food and nutraceutical applications. This research offers a starting point for future research to overcome all those obstacles that restrict the marketing of products derived from organisms.


Simple Summary Contact dermatitis is an overarching term for inflamed or necrotic lesions after contact with an allergen or irritant. Broiler chickens commonly experience these lesions due to prolonged contact with moisture, feces, and ammonia within litter. This study aimed to find methods to prevent and remedy lesions on broilers' feet, hocks, and breast. Furthermore, the impact of treatments on plumage cleanliness, gait, and body weight was investigated. We applied novel flooring treatments consisting of plastic slats and disinfectant mats containing povidone-iodine, which we compared to the industry control (used litter) and a positive control (clean litter). Weekly measurements on a sample of birds in each pen showed us the impact of both flooring treatments and age (weeks) on animal welfare outcomes. Contrary to expectations, the novel flooring treatments did not prevent or remedy contact dermatitis. In fact, the positive control, consisting of replacing litter every four days, resulted in the best welfare condition, with limited to no contact dermatitis at week seven of age. Abstract Contact dermatitis (footpad dermatitis (FPD), hock burns, and breast dermatitis) is a welfare issue for broiler chickens, causing pain and behavioral restrictions. Once lesions develop, often nothing is done to remedy the issue for the affected flock. Our objective was to evaluate novel flooring treatments at the flock level by providing preventative and remedial treatments against contact dermatitis, plumage soiling, and gait impairment. Broilers (n = 546) were housed in 42 pens, with 13 birds/pen. The flooring treatments (four) included used litter (NEG), new pine shavings replaced regularly (POS), a mat filled with 1% povidone-iodine solution (MAT), and the iodine mat placed on a slatted floor (SLAT). Flooring treatments were provided from day one of age (preventative approach; PREV) or day 29 (remedial approach; REM). Contact dermatitis, soiling, gait, and weight were recorded weekly (seven birds/pen). Results showed a treatment effect for all measures, dependent on bird age. Overall, the POS treatment resulted in the best welfare outcomes (FPD, hock burns, and gait). The worst contact dermatitis was found in the MAT and SLAT groups. NEG birds showed little contact dermatitis, opposite to expectations. Weights were lower for PREV-POS in week seven only. The treatments with povidone-iodine were deemed ineffective against contact dermatitis. Access to clean litter prevented and remedied contact dermatitis, and a comparable approach may be commercially feasible.


This paper analyzes the role of motivation in language learning, especially foreign language acquisition. It compares two different subjects who are learning English yet they have various background of family, language learning experience, and interests. They were provided pre-, post-tests to testify their knowledge; moreover, they were interviewed to know how they are encouraged to learn a language. The paper indicates the importance of intrinsic motivation for second language learners.


This study investigates the effect of ions released from S-PRG fillers on host-derived enzymatic degradation of dentin collagen matrices. Dentin beams (n=80) were demineralized and distributed to eight groups following baseline dry mass and total MMP activity assessments. Each group treated with boron, fluoride, sodium, silicone, strontium, aluminium, or S-PRG eluate solutions for 5 min. Untreated beams served as control. After pre-treatment, MMP activity was reassessed, beams were incubated in complete medium for 1 week, dry mass was reassessed. Incubation media were analyzed for MMP and cathepsin-K-mediated degradation fragments. Data were analyzed with ANOVA and Tukey's test. All pretreatment groups showed significant reduction in total MMP activity (p<0.05) that was sustainable after incubation in all groups except for boron and silicone groups (p<0.05). Cathepsin-K activity did not differ between control or treatment groups. The results indicated that ions released from S-PRG fillers have the potential to partly inhibit MMP-mediated endogenous enzymatic activity.


This paper deals with adaptive tracking for discrete-time nonlinear systems in presence of disturbances. A high order neural network structure is used to identify the plant model and based on this model, a discrete-time high order sliding mode, control law is derived. The paper also includes the respective stability analysis, for the whole system with a strategy. In order to show the applicability of the proposed scheme, simula-tion results are included for a Van der Pol oscilla-tor.


With the collapse of the traditional revenue models for journalism platforms, the pressure to cater to the needs of advertisers, companies or other external parties increased. Yet, journalism within a democratic society is widely considered as a public service that should inform the public and hold institutions in positions of power accountable for their actions. This should be done according to certain principles, like independence, objectivity and accuracy. On the other hand, money is necessary for journalism to fulfil this social responsibility. One of the responses to the collapse of these traditional revenue models, has been the rise of journalism start-ups. However, several ethical issues occur in regards of entrepreneurial journalism and its' compatibility with the earlier named 'traditional' principles. There is argued that conflicts between the editorial mission and focussing on generating revenue are the biggest source of ethical concern for these journalistic start-ups. It is important to get a deeper insight into this issue. Therefore, this research focusses on how Dutch journalism start-ups approach these journalistic principles, while striving for a financially sustainable business. In order to answer this question, semi-structured in-depth interviews have been conducted with experts from the field of journalism start-ups, among these experts are the founders or editors-in-chief from these start-ups. The data collected from these interviews is analysed through a thematic analysis. The results show that the line that used to separate commerce and editorial practices, has been blurred by the rise of entrepreneurial journalism. This challenges journalism start-ups to find a sustainable revenue model, while fulfilling their social responsibility according to the earlier named principles. The consequences of this vary from platforms sacrificing their independence to not generating enough revenue to run a sustainable business or limiting them in their editorial work. Because of this tension between commerce and editorial practices, it seems like the traditional code of ethics does not function well in the age of digital media. This has led to a call for a renewed code of ethics, which should be more fitting for entrepreneurial journalism in the current digital age.


Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI), which includes elements like green roofs, bioretentions, pervious pavement and cisterns, has proven to be a cost effective alternative that can achieve a wider range of benefits in stormwater management compared to the single-purpose grey/traditional infrastructure (Combined Sewer System or Municipal Separate Storm and Sewer System). However, the implementation of GSI as a replacement or support system for grey infrastructure faces some barriers preventing its adoption by planners/designers and decision makers, in the private as well as in the public sector. While understanding and quantifying the full costs and the benefits of GSI plans are critical for sound decision making and to facilitate its adoption, planners/designers face challenges pertaining to hydrologic calculations (including sizing of Green Stormwater Infrastructure Elements (GSIEs), cost estimation (life cycle costs) and benefit assessment).This thesis presents a proof of concept tool (prototype) that is developed to help planners/designers and different stakeholders involved in conducting a comprehensive GSI planning process. The tool generates GSI alternative solutions (combination and size of GSIEs) that meet the user's financial and hydrologic objectives. These alternatives are generated to maximize benefits, reduce costs and account for design specifications and multi-functionality of GSI. The prototype has three modules:· An Interface Module (including Input and Output Interfaces)· A Process Module for hydrology, cost and benefit calculation and an optimization model for strategy generation.· A Database Module for storing collected data that are used for different process module calculations. The prototype, which is developed in Ms. Excel, was successfully tested for functionality and usability on a residential development site in Pittsburgh, PA. The prototype required minimal input from the user (site specific data) and generated strategies that double the net annual benefits compared to the plan proposed by the developer. The tool also allowed generation of strategy scenarios that responded to multiple user objectives.


Traditional provider profiling systems have difficulty accounting for the wide-ranging differences between patients, their conditions, and the physicians' practices. However, new technologies and methodologies that can extract the needed information from existing data sources offer a means of accurately and efficiently comparing the performance of providers, specialties, networks, and other elements of managed care organizations. Profiling can strengthen the bonds of trust between the providers and the managed care organization, making them partners in delivering quality care.


Introduction: Under the new conceptual model described by the International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health (ICF) for a biopsychosocial health analysis, it is necessary to consider that it is not arising only from biological conditions, but also environmental, social, cultural and politics involved in this process. Objective: To review the publications that had the Brazilians elderly functioning as outcome by analyzing the instruments used and to verify its consistency with the ICF model. Methods: A systematic review of the Brazilian literature on elderly was performed in SciELO, PubMed, Scopus, and Lilacs databases. Publications starting in 2001, in English, Portuguese or Spanish, studies with experimental design or intervention, having the Brazilian elderly as the only subject. For evaluating the quality of the papers, the Downs and Black checklist were used. Results: From 3070 items first found in the research, 29 articles remained for this study. Of these, 25 instruments were used to measure the eldery functioning. The frequency of the ICF domains were: health condition (0.28%), body structure and function (1.71%), activity (82.34%), participation (3.42%), environmental factors (12.25%) and personal factors (0%). Conclusion: Despite the ICF be much discussed today, it was possible to detect remaining gaps in the studies about the subject. The results of this study indicate that the conceptual model has not being fully and equitably used when it comes to the eldery functioning.


In this paper, we propose a novel approach to implementing collective communication operations across ATM-interconnected workstation clusters. Under this methodology, performance-critical components, and only these components, of the collective operation are moved "close-to-network", that is, they are performed by the ATM network interface. We argue that ATM network interfaces possess unique advantages for performing this task. Simulation results demonstrate that implementations resulting from this approach outperform conventional user-level implementations by a wide margin.


In recent years, a growing body of research has established that children who have poor peer relationships are particularly at risk for the development of later psychiatric and antisocial disorders — for instance, they are more likely to drop out of school, be later identified as juvenile delinquents, and have mental health problems in adult life (Asher et al., 1977). Children who are picked out by their peers as isolated or rejected are particularly vulnerable (Cowen et al., 1973; Roff et al., 1972). This finding has led researchers to evaluate "popularity" by sociometric tests which involve asking children who their friends are and who they dislike. Such sociometric scores have been shown to have moderate reliability (Roff et al., 1972), but much depends on the type of question asked (Oden & Asher, 1977). In particular, it is clear that sociometric acceptance has different correlates from sociometric rejection, the former being more an index of amount of social participation (Combs & Slaby, 1977), the latter of its quality.


Sensitive methods for measuring the analgesic, physiological and behavioural effects of opioids in the horse have recently been developed. Fentanyl, a prototypic μ‐opiate receptor agonist, has been previously shown to produce a syndrome characterized by marked analgesia and locomotor stimulation as well as tachycardia, tachypnoea and behavioural arousal. To determine whether other opiate receptors mediate some of the actions of the narcotic analgesics in the horse, an agent with activity at κ and to a lesser extent μ‐receptors was studied using a vigorous experimental protocol. Like fentanyl, ethylketazocine (EKC) (1.0025–1.012 mg kg−1 i.v.) produced marked dose‐related analgesia to noxious thermal stimuli. Modest dose‐related increases in locomotor activity, pupil diameter and rectal temperature were also observed. However, in contrast to fentanyl, EKC failed to produce any change in cardiac or respiratory rates and produced behavioural sedation rather than arousal. These data suggest that μ‐ and possibly κ‐receptors can mediate the actions of narcotics in the horse.


Abstract Background Urological injuries can occur in patients with pelvic fractures. Treatment recommendations lack solid evidence and is often pragmatical. There is a continuous need to describe short- and long-term morbidity following lower urinary tract trauma. Objective To describe incidence, diagnosis, treatment, and morbidity following lower urinary tract injuries in pelvic fractures. Patients and methods Retrospective study including patients with pelvic, including acetabular, fractures admitted to a Level I Trauma Centre covering 2.8 million citizens between 2009 and 2020. Outcome measurements comprised primary management, treatment trajectory, short- and long-term complications and outcomes. Results A total of 39 (5%) patients with pelvic fractures had concomitant urethral and/or bladder injuries, and one patient with an acetabular fracture had a bladder injury. The management of urethral injuries varied vastly, and complete urethral ruptures were associated with severe short- and long-term complications. Only one patient with bladder injury experienced severe long-term complications. Conclusions Management of lower urinary tract injuries in patients with major pelvic fractures remains a major challenge. Special attention should be focused on urethral injuries where we uncovered an unsystematic treatment and follow-up even in a highly experienced centre, although this is also attributed to complicated multidisciplinary patient trajectories. There is a continuous need to reduce long-term complications following urethral trauma which should be addressed in multicenter studies.


2-Acetylthiophene was synthesized by the acetylation of thiophene with acetic anhydride. Effects of solid-acid catalysts HZSM-5, NKC-9 and Hâ, reaction time and the molar ratio of acetic anhydride to thiophene were studied. Hâ showed excellent acetylation activity with almost 99% conversion of thiophene being obtained under conditions of normal pressure, reaction temperature 60i'°C and molar ratio of thiophene to acetic anhydride of 1:3. The yield of 2-acetyithiophene is 98.6%. The catalyst used can be recovered, regenerated and reused to give almost the same yield of 2-acetyithiophene as that given by the fresh Hâ zeolite.


Using a novel data set for 207 European regions from 22 different countries, we analyse the relevance of urbanisation for the short-term resilience to a major shock. We take the Great Recession, the economic and financial crisis that started in 2008, as our shock and analyse how the European NUTS 2 regions differ in their short-run resilience in the aftermath to the crisis in terms of unemployment and real GDP per capita. We find that the degree and nature of regional urbanisation is important for resilience. EU regions with a relatively large share of the population in commuting areas are relatively more resilient. In addition, regions with a large output share in medium-high tech industries were also less affected by the crisis.


Objective: This study aimed to examine the cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) images of impacted maxillary canines and mesiodentes. Methods: This retrospective radiographic study was performed on 177 patients with 200 impacted maxillary canines and 12 mesiodentes. Using CBCT images, the unilateral/bilateral occurrence, presence of root dilaceration, mesio-distal and buccopalatal location, impaction condition, contact region of adjacent teeth, presence and degree of root resorption of adjacent teeth, dental follicle width, closest distance to the nasal cavity, nasopalatinal canal, and maxillary sinus were assessed. For mesiodentes, the types, follicle width, direction, and relationship with anatomical structures were evaluated. Results: No statistical relationship was found between (buccopalatal and mesio-distal) position of canine and root resorption of adjacent teeth (p = 0.171). A negative correlation was observed between age and follicle width (r = −0.145, p = 0.048). No mesiodens with enlarged follicle and root resorption of adjacent teeth was found. Conclusion: Given the negative correlation between age and follicle width, older patients with impacted teeth can be followed up by two-dimensional radiographs unless periradicular radiolucencies are absent. Otherwise, CBCT evaluation is required for early detection of pathologies and prevention of possible surgical complications.


– Following the observation that vervet monkeys are capable of labelling different predator types with their vocalizations, comparative research in language evolution gained increasing interest. Over the last four decades, an impressive body of data has since accumulated demonstrating that many features of language can be found in the communication systems of nonhuman primates. One stumbling block to the phylogenetic reconstruction of language, however, has been language's syntactic layer. We specifically highlight that, whilst current studies provide promising evidence for syntactic-like structures in the communication systems of monkeys, reconstructing the evolutionary origins of syntax hinges on comparable data from our closest-living relatives, the great apes. We critically assess existing data on potential candidates for combinatorial structures in the great ape clade and conclude that further experimental investigation is crucial to validating preliminary observational findings


The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is evaluating the hydrogen peroxide-ozone (PEROXONE) advanced oxidation process (followed by secondary disinfection with chloramines) for removal of taste and odor compounds, control of disinfection byproducts (DBPs), and inactivation of microorganisms. This article reports the results of pilot-scale testing designed to optimize the H202:03 ratio and to compare ozone and PEROXONE at different contact times. The tests described represent one phase of a five-phase PEROXONE pilot-scale study for treating water from the California State Water Project and from the Colorado River. Results to date indicate that the PEROXONE process requires a significantly lower applied ozone dosage to oxidize 2-methylisoborneol and geosmin as compared with ozone alone. The levels of DBPs formed when ozone or PEROXONE is used (followed by chloramines) are low, and PEROXONE (at H202:03 ratios of <0.3) is comparable with ozone for the inactivation of microorganisms.


This thesis explores the relationship between domestic political processes and interindustry variations in unilateral and multilateral trade policies. The literature on endogenous protection is extended to account for the potential importance of information flows, to explore the consequences of adapting the analyses to political systems which differ from the American kind, and to build a framework suitable for empirical examination. The first essay is devoted to an analysis of special interest influence on trade policy through the provision of biased information to voters. The roles of freely available objective information and prior voter knowledge are highlighted. The provision of biased information and campaign contributions serve as complements in the pursuit of protection by special interests, which implies that restrictions on the use of campaign contributions can yield significant reductions in both protection and the use of resources to influence public opinion. The second essay introduces the possibility of intermediate uses of goods, and shows how the conflict of interest between upstream and downstream lobby groups influence equilibrium protection levels. The essay is also concerned with how trade policies and resources expended for political purposes are affected by the institutional setting in which special interest groups and the government interact. The allocation of bargaining power between the government and special interest groups affects the character and division of rents but not equilibrium protection levels. The third essay integrates models from recent work on endogenous policy choice to provide a constructive review of parts of this literature, and to derive a broad yet consistent theoretical framework suitable for an initial examination of its empirical relevance. We exploit the fact that, for a broad range of specifications of the details of the political process represented by the various models referred to above, a reelection-seeking government would end up making its policy choices as if it were maximizing a weighted sum of individual utilities. The simultaneous presence of intermediate goods, optimum tariff considerations and variable political costs are features novel to this range of models. The fourth essay is devoted to an empirical examination of the theoretical framework derived in the third essay. The results indicate that the variations in protection levels in a set of OECD countries are correlated with variations in ratios of special interest to general interest marginal utilities in the way predicted by the theoretical model. Furthermore, terms of trade concerns seem important to the larger countries in our sample as implied by the model. (Less)