ABSTRACT Motivation crowding theory (MCT) argues that performance-related pay (PRP) can crowd out intrinsic motivation, with detrimental consequences for employees' willingness to exert effort, but this mechanism is only expected when PRP is perceived to be controlling. However, the issue of whether the mechanism is motivational, as expected, has not been tested. This article finds support for such expectations using a vignette survey experimental setup of 1,150 responses (from 384 respondents). The results indicate that PRP positively affects organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), but that the effect is reduced significantly when PRP is perceived as a control factor, because the importance of intrinsic motivation for effort is weakened. Thus, PRP can cause a cognitive shift from intrinsic to extrinsic orientation, but only if PRP is perceived as controlling. When PRP is perceived as noncontrolling, the importance of intrinsic motivation can actually increase. The findings imply that PRP is not necessarily harmful, and that managers should pay close attention to how their employees perceive performance-based pay systems.


Legal Education in the United States has been under significant pressure since the Great Recession of 2008. The recession created new and significant pressures on law firms, which previously had absorbed many law school graduates but no longer could at the same rates. Complaints of graduates being insufficiently prepared for practice preceded the post-2008 shift, but reached a fever pitch afterwards. Particularly in the years 2010-13, graduates of law schools had a significantly harder time getting jobs than they had in the past. At many schools, nearly 50% of graduates were unable to obtain employment in a "J.D. Required" job. All of this led to the legal academy being criticized broadly in blogs and in the press for offering a law degree at considerable cost without providing what many considered to be appropriate employment outcomes. Further, law practice changed significantly in the last decade, with (in particular) corporate clients - themselves subject to digital transformations and the pressures of global competition - demanding a level of efficacy and efficiency that had not previously been required of their outside law firms. In sum, digital transformations in the outside world are finally putting pressure on the legal academy, which until the recent financial crisis had been mostly immune.
At the same time, the cost of law school has dramatically increased and calls for reducing law school curricula from three years to two have increased. One of the reasons the idea to reduce law school to two years is so attractive to many pundits is that it would - emphatically and in one stroke - reduce the cost. But it would also reduce preparedness for practice, and no one wants poorly prepared lawyers.
A possible answer to this conundrum is to reduce law school to two years, but do it by removing the first year. Or rather, significantly reengineering it, by putting most of it online, in a partially hybrid model. The day when well-designed online learning environments achieved outcomes equivalent to or better than "ground" classes has long since passed. The first year classes mostly involve information transfer, and thus are ideally suited to online pedagogy, so there is every reason to think there are acceptable ways to teach much of the first year material primarily online. This book chapter, which originally appeared in the Handbook of Digital Transformations (Edward Elgar, 2016) proposes that we move toward that goal, describes several potential benefits of doing so, and suggests that the ABA relax the online learning limitations it currently has on law schools so that they may experiment more freely with online learning.


Purpose In the management of uveal melanoma, eye plaque brachytherapy (EPBT) has replaced enucleation as the standard of care for small size tumors that require treatment, and for medium size tumors. In the modern era, EPBT is being utilized more frequently for certain large tumors as well. While there is prospective randomized evidence to support utilization of EPBT for tumors of appropriate dimensions, it is unclear what the actual practice patterns are across the United States. The purpose of this publication was to look at contemporary trends in the management of uveal melanoma across the United States to determine whether practices are appropriately adopting EPBT, and to investigate demographic and socio-economic factors that might be associated with deviations from this standard of care. Material and methods The National Cancer Database was queried (2004-2015) for patients with uveal melanoma. Data regarding tumor characteristics and treatment were collected. Two-sided Pearson χ2 test was used to compare categorical frequencies between patients who received globe preserving treatments vs. those who received enucleation. Multivariable logistic regression modeling was used to determine characteristics predictive for receiving enucleation. Results The enucleation rate for small/medium tumors (≤ 10 mm apical height and ≤ 16 mm basal diameter) decreased from 20% in 2004 to 10% in 2015. The EPBT rate for large tumors increased from 30% in 2004 to 45% in 2015. Numerous demographic and socio-economic factors were found to be associated with higher rates of enucleation. Conclusions The overall trend across the nation is a decreased enucleation rate for small/medium tumors, and an increased EPBT rate for large tumors. A fraction of patients who should be candidates for EPBT are instead receiving enucleation, and in this study, we have shown that certain adverse demographic factors are associated with this.


ABSTRACT MafG and p45 possess basic region-leucine zipper (bZip) domains and form a heterodimer called NF-E2, a key regulator of megakaryopoiesis. NF-E2 binds to the Maf recognition element (MARE) and activates transcription of many platelet genes. Since the bZip domain, which mediates DNA binding and heterodimerization, is the only functional domain established for MafG, it has been assumed that MafG is required only for p45 binding to MARE and to facilitate p45-mediated transcriptional activation. Analysis of the C-terminal region of MafG, which is distinct from the bZip domain, revealed that this region contains a nuclear matrix-targeting signal. We used a transgenic complementation rescue assay to delineate the function of the MafG C terminus in vivo. Transgenic mice expressing a mutant MafG protein lacking the C terminus (MafGΔC) were crossed into a MafG-null background. The compound mutant mice displayed severe thrombocytopenia and splenomegaly, which phenocopied p45-null mice. The MafG C terminus is essential for proplatelet formation and platelet gene activation but not for p45 binding to MARE. These results demonstrate that the MafG C terminus is required for NF-E2 function and suggest that efficient targeting of NF-E2 to a specific nuclear scaffold is important to achieve high-level activity.


State observability of dynamic systems is a notion which determines how well the states can be inferred from input-output data. For small-scale systems, observability analysis can be done manually, while for large-scale systems an automated systematic approach is advantageous. Here we present an approach based on the concept of structural observability analysis, using graph theory. This approach can be automated and applied to large-scale, complex dynamic systems modeled using Modelica. Modelica models are imported into Python via the JModelica.org-CasADi interface, and the Python packages NetworkX (for graph-theoretic analysis) and PyGraphviz (for graph layout and visualization) are used to analyze the structural observability of the systems. The method is demonstrated with a Modelica model created for the Copper production plant at Glencore Nikkelverk, Kristiansand, Norway. The Copper plant model has 39 states, 11 disturbances and 5 uncertain parameters. The possibility of estimating disturbances and parameters in addition to estimating the states are also discussed from the graph-theory point of view. All the software tools used on the analysis are freely available.


Recent years have seen significant advances in machine perception, which have enabled AI systems to become grounded in the world. While AI systems can now "read" and "see", they still cannot read between the lines and see through the lens, unlike humans. We propose the novel task of hidden message and intention identification: given some perceptual input (i.e., a text, an image), the goal is to produce a short description of the message the input transmits and the hidden intention of its author, if any. Not only will a solution to this task enable machine perception technologies to reach the next level of complexity, but it will be an important step towards addressing a task that has recently received a lot of public attention, political manipulation in social media.


To the Editor. —In the February 1968 issue of theArchives( 79: 159-160 [Feb] 1968), the atypical contact dermatitis to a proparacaine ophthalmic solution was discussed. This dermatitis provokes a drying and fissuring of the fingertips of the ophthalmologist so sensitized. It was stated that this dermatitis ceased when other anesthetic agents were substituted. This atypical dermatitis has been observed by many ophthalmologists and considered a minor annoying occupational hazard. In contrast to the findings of Drs. March and Greenwood, it has been noted that switching to other ophthalmic anesthetic solutions gives only temporary relief of the scaling, peeling, fissuring dermatitis, most irritating when occurring under the fingernails. Localizing sensitivity to the other topically applied anesthetic develops over a period of time. This condition can be treated by using a nongreasy cream (Kerodex No. 71). This cream was allegedly compounded during World War II to combat the high absenteeism due


Abstract An analysis of risk attitudes for a sample of grain sorghum producers in the Texas Coastal Bend is reported. Four alternative functional forms were estimated on data elicited by the direct elicitation of utility approach. The exponential functional form described most producers' utility preferences better than other utility forms. Relationships between exponential risk measures and both producer attributes and farm characteristics, including interactions among them, were identified as significant. Risk aversion was found to diminish with more experience in farming and to increase with more leasing of farm land. Risk aversion was also found to decline with larger farm size and to increase with higher dependency of farm operators on farm income.


The competition of the DNA-binding proteins I and II of Escherichia coli and of the phage fd DNA-binding protein for single-stranded DNA was investigated. Their roles in cells might be judged from their binding affinities to DNA and their mutual exchange in the DNA . protein complexes. Strongest binding on single strands was found for the phage protein. DNA-binding protein II displaced half of the protein I in the complex with single-stranded DNA when no double-stranded DNA was present. Protein-complexed single strands were protected against degradation. The protection is less pronounced for protein II which can increase the stability of the fd DNA complex with DNA-binding protein I against nucleolytic cleavage.


Increasing pressure on our urban environment has resulted in the development of infrastructure and buildings above and below the surface of the earth. Jurisdictions in
Australia and internationally have responded accordingly through the implementation of 3D cadastres. Most jurisdictions have what has been termed a "2D cadastre", however, "3D cadastre" situations have now created some significant challenges for the existing land administration infrastructure. The Australian implementation of the 3D cadastre is considered one of the best examples amongst
other cadastral jurisdictions, however, because of the varying jurisdictional implementation arrangements within Australia, a clear understanding of complex 3D cadastral issues has been difficult to formulate.
The aim of this research is to investigate the institutional and technical issues and characteristics of 3D cadastre developments across Australia and Queensland in
particular, to improve the ongoing implementation and developments across jurisdictions. A better understanding of these issues will assist in the identification of
areas where future efforts should be focussed. Further, this will assist in highlighting the institutional and technical 3D cadastral implementation issues to be considered by cadastral jurisdictions.
A survey of the eight cadastral jurisdictions of Australia was carried out and the results were analysed to understand the current status of 3D cadastre implementation in Australia. A detailed case study of five cases in the jurisdiction of Queensland was then undertaken to identify specific issues and characteristics of the 3D cadastral
implementation. The results were integrated using a mixed methods approach to identify the institutional and technical issues in 3D cadastre and to frame possible
strategies to support ongoing implementation of 3D cadastre in Australia.
From the integration of results, eleven issues were identified and grouped into six component classes. The legislative framework of all cadastral jurisdictions was
found to be adequate, supportive and encouraging of the implementation of 3D cadastre. Policies, standards and procedures were also found to be supportive but variable. The operational arrangements to support survey plan transactions in Queensland were also found to be adequate and could be extended to a full 3D cadastral implementation in the future. Queensland registered 3D rights in a similar
way to 2D rights; however, it was found that 3D data could not be stored in the existing cadastral database as a 3D object. Specific geometrical representations are yet to be finalised, however, the current practice of creating 3D objects through surface triangles has enabled the representation of 3D objects on paper plans. The development of a 3D specific database and the corresponding validation rules in the future will assist in the full implementation of 3D cadastre in Queensland and other
jurisdictions.
This dissertation has provided a comprehensive study of national, as well as a jurisdiction level implementation of 3D cadastre, and has identified a range of institutional and technical issues and characteristics for the improvement of 3D cadastral implementation. It has also assisted in creating a more comprehensive understanding of the issues in 3D cadastre in an Australian jurisdictional context.


The Z-source inverter (ZSI) is a recently proposed single stage converter topology with buck-boost capabilities. The quasi-Z-source inverter (qZSI) has been developed which features several improvements when compared to the traditional ZSI. Control strategies of the ZSI and qZSI are important issue and several feedback control strategies have been investigated so far. This paper presents a model predictive control (MPC) of a grid connected qZSI, where the grid current is properly controlled during transient and steady state operation by including inductor current, capacitor voltage as well as switching frequency as additional control constrains. Both steady-state and transient results show high performance response of the proposed control technique.


The convergence of stochastic interacting particle systems in the mean-field limit to solutions to conservative stochastic partial differential equations is shown, with optimal rate of convergence. As a second main result, a quantitative central limit theorem for such SPDEs is derived, again with optimal rate of convergence. The results apply in particular to the convergence in the mean-field scaling of stochastic gradient descent dynamics in overparametrized, shallow neural networks to solutions to SPDEs. It is shown that the inclusion of fluctuations in the limiting SPDE improves the rate of convergence, and retains information about the fluctuations of stochastic gradient descent in the continuum limit.


New Advances in machine learning have made Automated Speech Recognition (ASR) systems practical and more scalable. These systems, however, pose serious privacy threats as speech is a rich source of sensitive acoustic and textual information. Although offline and open-source ASR eliminates the privacy risks, its transcription performance is inferior to that of cloud-based ASR systems, especially for real-world use cases. In this paper, we propose Pr$\epsilon\epsilon$ch, an end-to-end speech transcription system which lies at an intermediate point in the privacy-utility spectrum. It protects the acoustic features of the speakers' voices and protects the privacy of the textual content at an improved performance relative to offline ASR. Additionally, Pr$\epsilon\epsilon$ch provides several control knobs to allow customizable utility-usability-privacy trade-off. It relies on cloud-based services to transcribe a speech file after applying a series of privacy-preserving operations on the user's side. We perform a comprehensive evaluation of Pr$\epsilon\epsilon$ch, using diverse real-world datasets, that demonstrates its effectiveness. Pr$\epsilon\epsilon$ch provides transcriptions at a 2% to 32.25% (mean 17.34%) relative improvement in word error rate over Deep Speech, while fully obfuscating the speakers' voice biometrics and allowing only a differentially private view of the textual content.


Attainment data on England's school pupils are more extensive in coverage, detail, quantity, accessibility and of higher quality than monitoring statistics routinely available in other European countries. These data facilitate investigation of low attainment in England's schools and its relationship to ethnicity, gender and poverty. This article reviews longitudinal sample studies and extends this with simpler presentations of England's national attainment statistics for education over 5 years up to 2014. The analyses show recurrent correlations of low attainment with specific ethnic minority groups, with gender and most strongly with low-income sections of society. There is a strong case, from these data and other research, that these inequalities are rooted in social and economic factors outside the school, created and sustained by neoliberal economic practices and elitist structures. It is argued that reducing the proportion of children growing up in poverty will have a bigger impact on raising average attainment levels than focusing on in-school factors.


The paper aims at investigating some issues related to the theoretical and numerical modelization of subsidence phenomena induced by hydrocarbon withdrawal. First a brief review of the implications of facing the problem as coupled / uncoupled is provided accordingly to the theory of mechanics of porous media as formulated by Biot. On the basis of these considerations, the classical nucleus of strain solution given by Geertsma is coupled to the hydrodinamic problem of a single phase fluid draining towards a well. The approach implemented has the advantage of providing a series of subsidence profiles evolving with time, together with the well production. The problem is handled both introducing or not the possibility of hydromechanical nonlinearities in the behaviour of the reservoir rock. When accounted, the mechanical nonlinearity is accomplished by assuming that the rock deforms accordingly to classical logarithmic relationships for oedometric stress paths, as foreseen by critical state models such as Cam Clay. On its turn the hydraulic nonlinearity is accounted for by implementing a literature relationship valid for Mexico Gulf sands, postulating that an exponential relationship exists between porosity and permeability.


Excessive secrecy has always compromised the integrity of Mozambique's elections. The National Elections Commission secretly changes results with no records kept nor any public notice that changes have been made. The official final results of the 2019 elections were changed three times by the Constitutional Council with no comment and identical document numbers. The political parties want a politicised electoral machine with party nominees to all electoral bodies, and integrity has steadily declined. By 2018-9 elections had become dominated by the ruling party, Frelimo, which was able to openly change the outcome of municipal elections and create 329 430 ghost voters in the national elections. Civil society observers had become an important check on elections; but in 2019, independent observation was blocked in several provinces and the head of civil society observation in one province was assassinated by a police hit squad. The judiciary, which ordered a rerun in one town in the 2013 municipal elections, has become politicised and will no longer intervene. This paper is an empirical account of those events.


While purchasing the primary home is mainly motivated by essential consumption needs, a second house has generally been considered a good investment. However, second homes may result in disparate final uses, including unprofitable ones. We contribute to the scant literature on second houses by empirically investigating the cases of unrented second homes, which represent the most notable unprofitable use. We use the 2002-2012 Bank of Italy Survey on Household Income and Wealth which also provides information on real estates actual use. Our results highlight: a gender gap, whereby the unprofitable use is more frequent among male; no association with household's economic characteristics; and, a strong association with the real estate features, with inherited dwellings more likely to be unprofitably used. Besides casting some doubts on the goodness of second homes as an investment, our results have important policy implications on the housing and rental markets, calling for policy or regulatory interventions.


Study Design: Retrospective study. Objective: To evaluate how each type of sagittal cervical alignment affects the motion of the upper and subaxial cervical spine using kinematic magnetic resonance imaging. Summary of Background Data: The sagittal malalignment of the cervical spine from degeneration in the subaxial cervical spine reflects a disruption in the kinematic properties of the cervical spine and affects the motion of adjacent segments. Changes in the sagittal parameters and kinematics of the upper cervical spine and upper thoracic spine due to the kyphosis are unknown. Methods: Kinematic magnetic resonance imaging of the cervical spine in neutral position from 311 patients, including 90 lordotic, 90 straight, 90 global kyphotic, and 41 segmental kyphotic were analyzed. The lordotic angle at the upper and lower cervical spine, and T1 slope were measured in the neutral position and again in flexion and extension for dynamic analysis. Results: The number of levels with significant disk degeneration was higher in the global kyphosis group. In the global kyphosis group, neutral sagittal parameters showed some characteristics of compensation to the malalignment. Compared with the lordotic group, patients with global kyphosis demonstrated significantly higher lordotic angle of the upper cervical spine and more horizontal T1 slope. The dynamic evaluation showed greater range of motion of the entire cervical spine and subaxial cervical spine in younger patients. However, we still found greater range of motion of the occipito-atlanto-axial complex in global kyphosis, even when controlling for age and number of levels with significant disk degeneration. Conclusion: Sagittal malalignment of the cervical spine affects all parts of the cervical motion complex. The global kyphotic alignment of subaxial cervical spine affects the kinematic properties of the occipito-atlanto-axial complex and upper thoracic spine to compensate for the alteration of cervical alignment. These differences are not seen in straight and segmental kyphosis. Level of Evidence: Level 3.


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Lack of enhancement of a nasal turbinate on MR imaging, known as the black turbinate, has been reported as a finding highly suggestive of invasive fungal rhinosinusitis in immunocompromised patients. Our purpose was to investigate the normal enhancement pattern of nasal turbinates and to determine whether a black turbinate occurs in patients without invasive fungal rhinosinusitis and, if so, to distinguish differentiating features from pathologic enhancement. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We examined patient medical records and available MR imaging, which included most nasal turbinates in more than 1 sequence. Imaging was performed with contrast, either with or without fat saturation, in patients without invasive fungal rhinosinusitis. All MR images were evaluated for a turbinate enhancement pattern and the presence of nonenhancing areas. RESULTS: After we applied the exclusion criteria, 75 MR images from each group, with and without fat saturation, were included. Overall, the frequency of observed nonenhancing portions of turbinates, ie, black turbinates, was 30%. Most observed black turbinates were located in the posterior portion of inferior turbinates. Tiny areas of nonenhancement within turbinates were also a common finding. CONCLUSIONS: A black turbinate is not uncommon on MR images in immunocompetent patients who have no chance of having invasive fungal rhinosinusitis. Benign turbinate nonenhancement improves over subsequent series, has preserved thin peripheral enhancement, and often has thin internal septa. Knowledge of this normal pattern of nasal turbinate enhancement can aid in the differentiation of the benign black turbinate in immunocompetent patients from the pathologic black turbinate seen in patients with invasive fungal rhinosinusitis.


The study explores the role of information Communication technologyin developing academic intimacy among secondary school students.The objective of the study was; 1) to explore the role of information communication technology in developing academic intimacy among secondary school students. The study was descriptive in nature. The population of the study comprised all the secondary school students in district Pakpattan. The sample of the study selected 150 students from secondary school students through simple random sampling. Questionnaire used for data collection from the sample of study. Data was analyzed with the help of SPSS version 22. The study found that ICT makes students (25.3 + 54.7 = 80%)efficient communicator whereas ICT provide a facility to the students (20 + 53.3 = 73.3%) to develop social relations with their fellows. The study concluded that students feel interest in ICT and use different devices like computer, mobile phones and multimedia. ICT is a tool that enhances students' communication efficiency and students'academic intimacy rapidly. The study recommends that social media may enhance and develop relations among students but they may use it in a definite span of time. They may discuss and share their ideas to friends with the help of social media.


We evaluate, based on terrestrial analogs, the potential flux, origin and isotopic signature of methane (CH4) from serpentinized or serpentinizing rocks on Mars. The Tekirova ophiolites, in Turkey, have been shown to release, either via focused vents or through diffuse microseepage, substantial amounts of CH4 which could be produced via catalyzed abiotic methanation (Sabatier reaction) at low temperatures (<50 !C). Serpentinized ultramafic rocks on Mars are likely to have necessary chemical constituents for methane production and fractures for release of gas to the atmosphere, similar to those on Earth. A simple, first-order estimation gas-advection model suggests that methane fluxes on the order of several mg m!2 d!1, similar to microseepage observed in terrestrial ophiolites, could occur in martian rocks. High temperature, hydrothermal conditions may not be necessary for abiotic CH4 synthesis on Mars: low temperature (<50 !C) methanation is possible in the presence of catalysts like ruthenium, rhodium or, more commonly, chromium minerals, which occur in terrestrial ophiolites as in martian mantle meteorites. The terrestrial analog environment of abiotic microseepage may thus explain production of methane on Mars in the ancient past or at present. The wide range of martian C/C and D/H ratios and the potential secondary alteration of CH4 by abiotic oxidation, as observed on Earth, could result in large isotope variations of methane on Mars. CH4 isotopic composition alone may not allow definitive determination of biotic vs. abiotic gas origin. Using our terrestrial vs. martian analysis as guide to future Mars exploration we propose that direct methane and ethane gas detection and isotopic measurements on the ground over serpentinized/serpentinizing rocks should be considered in developing future strategies for unraveling the source and origin of methane on Mars. " 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


This study is based on the hypothesis that in Turkey, at the beginning of 2000's, the most important investment to be made for the future is to increase the functionality of the information network system and thereby, its subsystem, the public library system. This matter bears utmost importance and urgency for Turkey that has a young and dynamic population. The objective of the study is to outline a new public library system model integrated with information technology and to set out main conditions for its realisation. In the study, documentary analysis and systems design methods are employed. In Turkey, an insufficiency on a crisis level in all processes and levels of the public library system is observed, a fact which is caused by various factors. The three elements of the crisis are the "access" to public library system facilities, its "cost" and "quality". The new public library system model presupposes a decrease in the state's responsibility for public libraries by sharing this responsibility with the library users. Information society technology is suggested as the medium of the model because it will provide equal opportunities for and democratization of the public library system.


When one is faced with the problem of essential hypertension it is prudent to pay attention to lifestyle factors, especially alcohol, smoking and obesity. Modification of salt intake in the diet is a simple measure. Drug therapy will need to be long-term therapy and ease of treatment is important, which means that drugs given once a day or at most twice a day should be used. Diuretics and beta-blockers are inexpensive and well proven but have many side-effects. Newer agents may have fewer side-effects but are more expensive. The choice will be an individual one.


Rodents, like mice and rats, use tactile hairs in the snout region (mystacial vibrissae) to acquire information about their environment, e.g. the shape or contour of obstacles. For this, the vibrissa is used for the perception of stimuli due to an object contact. Mechanoreceptors are processing units of this stimuli measured in the compliant support (follicle sinus complex). We use this behavior from biology as an inspiration to set up a mechanical model for object contour scanning. An elastic bending rod interacts with a rigid obstacle in the plane. Analyzing only one quasi-static sweep of the rod along the obstacle (in contrast to literature), we determine a) the support reactions (the only observables of the problem), and then b) the (discrete) obstacle contour in form of a set of contact points. In doing this, we first assume a stiff support (clamping) of the vibrissa, but in a next step we increase the elasticity of the support in focussing on a bearing with a rotational spring (also to control or delimitate the bending moment at the support). Thereby, we present a fully analytical treatment of the non-linear differential equations emerging from Bernoulli's rod theory and a representation by Standard Elliptic Integrals.


The initial deduction of input VAT shall be adjusted where it is higher or lower than that to which the taxable person was entitled. In SEB bankas, the CJEU stated that the obligation to adjust undue VAT deductions set down in Article 184 of the VAT Directive also applies to cases where the initial deduction could not be made lawfully because the transaction giving rise to that deduction was exempt from VAT. In contrast, the adjustment system for capital goods does not apply to undue VAT. It is up to the Member States to determine the date on which the obligation to adjust the undue VAT deduction arises and the time period within which that adjustment must be made, in accordance with the EU law principles, in particular the principles of legal certainty and legitimate expectations.


Abstract A recognized shortcoming of the present system of national accounting (the United Nations System of National Accounts) is the omission of nonmarket production from national accounts. Arguably, some of the most important nonmarket production carried out within the home relates to the care of children. This study estimates the monetary value of the childcare provided by parents to children ages 0–13 years in the United Kingdom, exploiting a unique data source that contains information on the amount of time spent on childcare from the perspectives of both parents and children. Using these data, the time input into childcare by parents and the time output of care are both measured and valued. Results at the micro level focus on variation of the imputed value of inputs and outputs of childcare by gender, household structure, and household composition. At the macro level, estimates of the imputed value of childcare are compared to the UK's gross domestic product (GDP).


Seventy patients with acute acromio-clavicular separation were examined retrospectively after treatment with a minimum of immobilization. the mean interval between injury and follow-up was 6 years. in 37 patients with partial separation, the results were excellent in 24 and good in 13. in 30 patients with complete separation, the results were excellent in 7, good in 23 and unsatisfactory in 3. the radiographic findings are discussed. At follow-up, complete separation had often caused remodeling with stability of the joint.


Purpose: This paper describes the development and test of physical and virtual integrated augmentative manipulation and communication assistive technologies (IAMCATs) that enable children with motor and speech impairments to manipulate educational items by controlling a robot with a gripper, while communicating through a speech generating device. Method: Nine children with disabilities, nine regular and nine special education teachers participated in the study. Teachers adapted academic activities so they could also be performed by the children with disabilities using the IAMCAT. An inductive content analysis of the teachers' interviews before and after the intervention was performed. Results: Teachers considered the IAMCAT to be a useful resource that can be integrated into the regular class dynamics respecting their curricular planning. It had a positive impact on children with disabilities and on the educational community. However, teachers pointed out the difficulties in managing the class, even with another adult present, due to the extra time required by children with disabilities to complete the activities. Conclusions: The developed assistive technologies enable children with disabilities to participate in academic activities but full inclusion would require another adult in class and strategies to deal with the additional time required by children to complete the activities. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION - Integrated augmentative manipulation and communication assistive technologies are useful resources to promote the participation of children with motor and speech impairments in classroom activities. - Virtual tools, running on a computer screen, may be easier to use but further research is needed in order to evaluate its effectiveness when compared to physical tools. - Full participation of children with motor and speech impairments in academic activities using these technologies requires another adult in class and adequate strategies to manage the extra time the child with disabilities may require to complete the activities.


Although micrometastatic cancer cells in lymph nodes can be detected by monoclonal antibodies against epithelial or tumor-associated antigens, it remains unclear whether these cells are precursors of overt metastases or shedded tumor cells with a limited life span. Here we used esophageal cancer as a model to evaluate the prognostic significance and biological characteristics of such micrometastases. In lymph nodes classified as tumor free by conventional histopathological staging, tumor cells were identified with monoclonal antibody Ber-EP4 in 89 of 126 patients (71%) with completely resected (R0) esophageal carcinomas. Multivariate survival analysis underlined the strong and independent prognostic significance of Ber-EP4-positive cells in "node-negative" (pN0) patients. To assess the biology of Ber-EP4-positive cells, we established tumor cell lines from an immunohistochemically positive lymph node and the autologous primary tumor. p53 mutational analysis and multiplex-fluorescence in situ hybridization revealed common aberrations shared between both cell lines, whereas an insertion of chromosome 13 material in the short arm of chromosome 1 was only observed in micrometastatic cells. The tumorigenicity and metastatic potential of both cell lines were demonstrated in severe combined immunodeficient mice. In conclusion, our data provide first direct evidence for the malignant potential of micrometastatic cancer cells.


OBJECTIVE To assess the prevalence of diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) in the urban and rural elderly population in south India. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Urban and rural populations ≥60 years of age and representative of the areas (873 urban and 588 rural subjects) were screened for diabetes and IGT using fasting and 2-h postglucose capillary blood glucose measurements. RESULTS In the urban area, 211 (23.7%) had diabetes, and 101 (12.4%) had IGT. In the rural area, 56 (9.9%) had diabetes, and 82 (14.9%) had IGT. The ratio of newly diagnosed to known diabetes was 1:3 in the urban and 1:1 in the rural areas. Positive family history of diabetes, body mass index (BMI), subscapular-to-triceps ratio, and waist-to-hip ratio were significantly associated with diabetes in the urban population. Only age and BMI showed significant association with diabetes in the elderly rural population. None of the tested parameters, except age in the urban subjects, showed association with IGT. CONCLUSIONS This study highlights the high prevalence of glucose intolerance in elderly south Indians having low mean BMI (mean ± SD; urban 21.7 ± 4.6, rural 17.9 ±3.3 kg/m2). Although there was a twofold higher prevalence of diabetes in the urban area, the occurrence of IGT was similar in urban and rural populations.


Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) might be able to improve the cryotolerance of in vitro- produced (IVP) embryos. The effect of two CLA isomers on the cryotolerance of bovine IVP embryos, as well as that of the stage of embryonic development and the method used for cryopreservation was evaluated by three experiments. In Experiment 1, oocytes (n = 3,917) were fertilized in vitro and cultured with 0, 50, 100, or 200 ?M trans- 10 , cis- 12 (t10, c12 CLA). In Experiment 2, fertilized oocytes (n = 2,131) were cultured with 100 ?M t10, c12 or cis- 9 , trans- 11 (c9 , t11 CLA), or a combination of both isomers. The embryos were vitrified at the blastocyst (BL) or the expanded blastocyst (EB) stage. In Experiment 3, oocytes (n = 1,720) were fertilized and cultured with or without 100 ?M t10, c12 CLA, and the blastocysts were vitrified or frozen. Blastocyst development rate as well as the rates of re-expansion and hatching after thawing was recorded. Moreover, the mean cell number and mRNA expression of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC1) and stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD1) as well as fatty acid synthase (FASN) multienzyme complex were determined. In Experiment 1, the highest concentration of t10, c12 CLA that did not reduce blastocyst development rate was 100 ?M. In Experiment 2, the rates of re-expansion and hatching among the EBs obtained through IVP after supplementation with t10, c12 CLA (73.1% and 57.7%), with c9, t11 CLA (80.0% and 68.6%), with the combination (78.3% and 52.2%), and with the control group (85.4% and 58.3%) were similar. At the BL stage, the rates of re-expansion and hatching were lower than those at the EB stage, and CLA combination allowed a hatching rate (8.0%) lower than that observed in the control group (40.0%). In Experiment 3, the hatching rates for vitrified EBs (vitrified control; 67.4%) and vitrified CLA EBs (65.8%) were higher than those obtained for frozen EBs, exposed (13.3%) or not exposed (28.6%) to CLA. In addition, in Experiment 3, the hatching rate was higher at the EB stage in vitrified groups, while the rates of BL and EB were similar in frozen groups, thus proving that vitrification was more efficient than freezing for IVP bovine embryos. In Experiment 3, CLA isomer t10, C12 did not influence the embryonic cell number or mRNA expression of ACC1 and SCD1 enzymes, but decreased the mRNA expression of FASN. In conclusion, 100 ?M CLA did not affect subsequent embryonic development. However, neither CLA isomer improved the cryotolerance of IVP bovine embryos.


Mitochondria possess an endogenous system of translation, in which all constituent components are unique. An electrophoretic analysis of mitochondrial translation products revealed that the content of polypeptides in mitochondria is two times as high as that of mitochondrial DNA genes. The electrophoretically determined molecular mass of proteins synthesized in mitochondria is much less than that calculated from gene sequencing data. The average amino acid composition of the proteins synthesized in mitochondria differs significantly from that encoded by the nucleotide sequence of corresponding mitochondrial genes. These enigmas of mitochondrial protein synthesis await further solution.


Magnetic gears (MGs) are devices which operate through the interaction of magnetic fields produced by multipole magnets to transmit torque with high efficiency. Compared with mechanical gears, it requires no moving contact for the force transmission, hence there are no mechanical fatigue and no mechanical loss and less acoustic noise. There is no need for lubrication and hence MG requires minimal maintenance. However, the heavy use of permanent magnetic (PM) materials leads to a high production cost. In this paper, a novel mesh adjustable finite-element algorithm is proposed to optimize the magnetic gear dimensions in order to maximize the torque output for a given amount of PMs. With the proposed mesh adjustable finite-element algorithm, the coordinates of mesh nodes are moved according to dimensional changes, without compromising the mesh quality. The merit is that no re-mesh is required during the process of optimization, which can significantly reduce the computing time while retaining the robustness of the algorithm. By combining the proposed approach with particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm, a reliable convergence to the finding of global optimum is achieved. This proposed method is applied to optimize the dimensions of a coaxial magnetic gear with surface mounted PMs. Optimal results confirm the validity and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.


Abstract Commercial softwood kraft pulp with kappa number 30.5 (KP30.5) was delignified with polyoxometalates (POM, Na5(+2)[SiV1(-0.1)MoW10(+0.1)O40]), and POM-treated kraft pulp of kappa number 23.6 was obtained (KPPOM,23.6). Residual lignin from pulps was isolated by mild acid hydrolysis and characterized by analytical and spectral methods to gain insight into lignin reactions taking place during the initial delignification phase. Lignin from POM-delignified pulp was isolated in lower yield. Comparative analysis of residual lignins (RL-KP30.5, RL-KPPOM,23.6) showed that POM leads to products enriched in carbonyl/carboxyl groups and carbohydrates. POM lignins have a lower molecular mass and a lower content of phenolic hydroxyl and methoxyl groups. Based on these results and FTIR spectra, we suggest that aromatic ring cleavage and quinone formation occur during POM delignification. The degree of lignin-cellulose association increases after POM delignification. Lignin-cellulose association was found to be partially unstable under mild alkaline conditions, as residual lignin isolated after alkaline extraction of KPPOM,23.6 pulp (RL-KPPOM/NaOH) exhibited lower glucose content, higher Klason lignin content, and less extraneous material.


The Bongara area, northern Peru, contains Zn-Pb mineralization with characteristics typical of Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) systems. The northwest–southeast-trending late Triassic–Jurassic carbonate host rocks of the Pucara Group were locally replaced by early (D1) and late (D2) dolomite. Fluid inclusion microthermometric data from dolomite and sphalerite are typical of MVT ore fluids (78° to 187°C; ~15–23 wt.% CaCl 2 equivalent), and do not show apparent covariation between temperature and salinity. Homogenization temperature data from D1 and D2 dolomite show a decrease from northern (mean Th = 138°C) to central (mean Th = 126°C) to southern areas (mean Th = 102°C), suggesting fluid flow from north to south. Assuming a geothermal gradient of ~30°C/km and an average surface temperature of ~20°C, the lower temperature limits might approximate the ambient host-rock temperatures, whereas the upper temperature limits may represent minimum temperatures of a deeper aquifer, probably at a maximum depth of ~6000 m. The lower temperature limits are also similar to the estimated temperatures if dolomitization and mineralization took place in the Late Cretaceous at ~2000–3000 m depth, probably during the formation of the Peruvian fold and thrust belt near the present day Peru–Ecuador border. Fluid inclusion data show that the fluids in each studied location had relatively uniform temperatures and salinities during dolomitization and mineralization. A significant salinity drop and a slight temperature decrease are observed during late calcite precipitation, suggesting mixing of brines with dilute, cooler fluids.


Introduction: Numerous reports highlight variations in pain clinic provision between services, particularly in the provision of multidisciplinary services and length of waiting times. A National Audit aims to identify and quantify these variations, to facilitate raising standards of care in identified areas of need. This article describes a Quality Improvement Programme cycle covering England and Wales that used such an approach to remedy the paucity of data on the current state of UK pain clinics. Methods: Clinics were audited over a 4-year period using standards developed by the Faculty of Pain Medicine of The Royal College of Anaesthetists. Reporting was according to guidance from a recent systematic review of national surveys of pain clinics. A range of quality improvement measures was introduced via a series of roadshows led by the British Pain Society. Results: 94% of clinics responded to the first audit and 83% responded to the second. Per annum, 0.4% of the total national population was estimated to attend a specialist pain service. A significant improvement in multidisciplinary staffing was found (35–56%, p < 0.001) over the 4-year audit programme, although this still requires improvement. Very few clinics achieved recommended evidence-based waiting times, although only 2.5% fell outside government targets; this did not improve. Safety standards were generally met. Clinicians often failed to code diagnoses. Conclusion: A National Audit found that while generally safe many specialist pain services in England and Wales fell below recommended standards of care. Waiting times and staffing require improvement if patients are to get effective and timely care. Diagnostic coding also requires improvement.


DIAGNOSIS Malaria infections, either acute or chronic, may be suspected in persons who (a) give a history of having had an attack within the previous two or three years, (b) who have been residents or transients in an area where these diseases are endemic, (c) who exhibit an anemia or splenomegaly otherwise unexplainable, (d) who present an acute febrile illness characterized either by a remittent fever or by intermittent febrile paroxysms with or without rigors and unaccompanied by a leukocytosis and (e) who present any illness with a comatose onset. Furthermore, unsuspected chronic latent infections may become clinically activated by (a) a change in residence involving a material change in climate, (b) traumatic injury including surgical treatment and (c) confinement. The possibility of a malaria infection must not be overlooked in the recipient of a transfusion who develops fever. By the terms of our definition a definitive diagnosis must be


This paper presents a new hypercomplex valued Radial Basis Network. This network constitutes a generalization of the standard real valued RBF. This geometric RBF can be used in real time to estimate changes in linear transformations in 3D space between sets of geometric entities. Experiments using stereo image sequences validate this proposal. We show the tracking of changes in the orientation between sets of lines and planes. This is a promising approach for neural computing applications in visual guided robotics.


Chromium carbide based metal matrix composite (MMC) coatings are ideally suited for high temperature erosive-corrosive applications. Laser cladding of such MMCs, with Inconel as the ductile matrix instead of the usual NiCr alloy, has been attempted in the present study. The relative hardness of the laser clad layers was observed to drop with increase in laser power. The reduction in hardness was attributed to retention of lower amounts of chromium carbides in the clad layer at higher laser powers. Use of chemically assisted scans with electron diffraction allowed extraction of effective micro-textural information on the coatings


Today the indication for thrombosis prophylaxis is a relevant and daily concern in orthopaedic surgery. Recently there are some changes concerning the German guidelines, which are approved by 27 German medical societies. For the first time the guidelines give distinct recommendations for the different indications, the kind of thrombosis prophylaxis and its duration. Some of the recommendations will lead to changes of both processes in outpatient and inpatient management. In parallel 2 new oral anticoagulants have been approved for the prevention of thromboembolic events after elective knee and hip replacement. Dabigatran is an oral thrombin inhibitor. Compared to enoxaparin it has a comparable profile of side effects and efficacy. Rivaroxaban is an oral Xa inhibitor which shows a significantly better efficacy compared to enoxaparin and no difference in side effects. The significant reduction of symptomatic thromboembolisms after elective knee and hip replacement was shown for rivaroxaban compared to enoxaparin in a pooled analysis of phase III data. This review discusses the main topics of the new German guideline and impact of the new oral anticoagulants on in- and outpatient treatment procedures.


Children with new-onset epilepsy and their parents have many psychosocial care needs, including concerns and fears and needs for information and support. No prospective studies address psychosocial care needs at 12 and 24 months after seizure onset. It is unknown if psychosocial care needs are associated with children's attitudes toward having epilepsy or with parental responses to their child's epilepsy. Our study addresses this knowledge gap. Members of 143 families took part in the study. Children were 8 to 14 years old and had at least two seizures. Parents and children completed Psychosocial Care Need Scales at 3, 6, 12, and 24 months after the first seizure. Children also completed the Child Attitude Toward Illness Scale, and parents completed the Parent Response to Child Illness scale. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and correlations. Although psychosocial care needs were highest at the 3-month data collection for both parents and children, some worries and concerns and needs for information and support persisted for 24 months. In children, more psychosocial care needs were associated with more negative attitudes toward having epilepsy. In parents, high psychosocial care needs were associated with a more negative impact on family life. A substantial number of parents and children have unmet psychosocial care needs that are associated with more negative child attitudes and a negative impact on family life, even 24 months after the onset of seizures. Nurses should assess both children and parents for these needs at every encounter with the healthcare system to address their needs.


: This study uses Halliday's transitivity approach to analyze D. H. Lawrence's The Rocking-Horse Winner. The purpose is to provide a linguistic analysis of the literary work by Lawrence to see how far the linguistic approaches to literary texts conform to the literary analyses of the same texts. The study uses a framework based on Halliday's Systemic Functional Grammar, in which process types are identified in the text and then used to arrive at an interpretation of the text based on the linguistic analysis. The linguistic outcomes correspond with the psychological interpretations of the story. In addition, the mother-son relationship is recurrent in D. H. Lawrence's fiction. This further supports the connection between the linguistic and the literary interpretation of the story and shows how a linguistic analysis may lead to one based on literary approaches.


Short selling has long been regarded as aggressive speculation that destabilizes financial markets, raising concerns about their moral foundations. This view gathered unstoppable force in September 2008 when short sales were seen as the principal cause of precipitous falls in the market price of financial sector stocks. As a result, most developed market regulators declared a ban on short sales in financial sector stocks. However, many empirical studies indicate that short sales are, in fact, a beneficial source of market efficiency. This view is confirmed by studies on the September 2008 ban in the US and the UK, which show that the prohibition did not yield any concrete welfare benefits, especially in terms of reduction of price volatility. On the contrary, it had an adverse impact on liquidity. The market abuse rationale, offered as the main justification for the September 2008 ban, is also unconvincing. Furthermore, US and European regulatory order banning short-sales revealed how disparate are the regimes governing cross-border securities trading. This article argues that the best way to regulate short sales is through a dual strategy of disclosure and short trading halts, rather than a prohibition or an uptick rule. The short trading halts should be based on a sophisticated circuit breaker system that is focused on market conditions and preserves the proper function of the price formation mechanism. Disclosure and short trading halts should be complemented by a strict settlement regime, as recommended by IOSCO. The FSA's and the SEC's proposals are incomplete. Also IOSCO's principles are so high level that they cannot close the gaps. Therefore, the endorsement of the suggested combination of disclosure and sophisticated circuit breaker system can serve three important objectives. First, it would preserve liquidity enhancing short sales and the valuable information that these trades carry. Second, it would check downward price pressures due to herding and market irrationality. Third, it would lead to rather compatible national regulatory regimes laying down the foundations of a new global framework for the regulation of short sales.


Lower operating voltages and faster clock frequencies in advanced fabrication processes increase the circuit delay sensitivity to voltage, temperature, and process variations and modeling approximations. Uncorrelated delay variations along data and clock paths cause timing violations. In this paper, we propose a method for correcting timing violations by in-circuit tuning of clock latencies after fabrication. We introduce adaptive delay sequential elements (ADSEs) that use charge storage on pMOS floating gates to tune the clock latencies of timing critical flip-flops. ADSEs facilitate in-circuit optimization of clock latencies under varying operating conditions. ADSE tuned clock latencies are nonvolatile and can be repeatedly adjusted after fabrication using only electrical signals. We present examples of implicit and explicit pulsed ADSEs and their tuning operations. Our experiments with fabricated prototypes show that ADSEs can tune their clock latencies with picosecond resolution over one-half of the clock period. Our experiments also show that ADSE sensitivities to supply voltage, temperature, noise, and transistor mismatch are comparable to nonadaptive sequential elements. We present experimental data that show ADSE tuned delays change only 15% after ten years at 125degC. We propose a method for selective tuning of embedded ADSEs and demonstrate its application in a fabricated prototype. ADSEs can selectively replace timing-critical flip-flops of a circuit with negligible area impact


This article urges policymakers to cut down on ineffective and costly tax expenditures. Tax expenditures aim to incentivize beneficial economic outcomes;the tax jurisdiction surrenders the right to a portion of its tax base in anticipation of economic benefits. While tax expenditures are not inherently bad or good, many believe that most tax incentive programs would fail a cost-benefit analysis.Ideally, tax incentives target economic activity that would not occur in the absence of the incentive. And to be considered a success, the benefit of the activity must outweigh the cost of the incentive. For example, if the goal of a tax incentive is job creation, the costs, such as loss in revenue, must be weighed against the precise nature of the jobs gained. If those jobs are merely temporary, for example, they are less beneficial. The article draws attention to a critical failing of many tax incentive programs: their application is too broad. When incentives are poorly calibrated, they apply to unintentionally targeted taxpayers whose incentivized activity is not cost-beneficial. Broad incentives also benefit taxpayers that would have performed the beneficial activity regardless of the incentive, resulting in wasted money. Supporters of tax expenditures too often look only at the activity of the targeted group and not at the costs before determining that the policy was a success.The article looks to the film industry, which has historically been benefitted by substantial tax incentives, as an example. Studies show that nonresident workers are often brought in to perform work on the film, and the jobs obtained by resident workers are temporary and low-paying. The article concludes by urging an immediate moratorium on existing tax incentives. Tax incentives ought to survive a rigorous cost-benefit analysis from a commission composed of neutral politicians and impartial evaluators. Each analysis should proceed on a beneficiary-by-beneficiary basis to ensure that the benefits truly outweigh the costs.


The Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change is designed to put Canada on track to meet its Paris commitments. A key pillar of the plan is the introduction of a pan-Canadian carbon price by 2018. However, four Canadian provinces, nearly 85% of the Canadian economy and population, have already implemented carbon pricing systems. British Columbia (BC) has a carbon tax. Alberta has transitioned from an output-based allocation system for industrial emitters to a hybrid system combining a carbon levy and refined output-based system. Québec and Ontario have implemented cap-and-trade systems, linked to California. Recognizing these existing systems, rather than impose a single carbon pricing mechanism, the Pan-Canadian Approach to Carbon Pricing gives provinces and territories the flexibility to adopt a carbon tax, a hybrid system, or a cap-and-trade system. To address concerns relating to 'fairness' and equivalency of carbon price, a federal carbon pricing benchmark establishes criteria relating to minimum 'common scope' and 'increases in stringency' that provincial and territorial carbon pricing systems must meet. This paper explores the design features of the existing Alberta, BC, Ontario and Québec carbon pricing systems, and considers how the benchmark affects stringency and addresses equivalency of carbon price across these different systems. *Tables excluded.


The possibility of a Canada-China free trade agreement (CCFTA) has been in the air for some time. Various overtures have been made and studies have demonstrated that there would be significant economic value to both countries from taking that step. This note elaborates on the value-added of a CCFTA against the background of an already-rich set of bilateral commercial agreements between Canada and China. Since Canada has been the hesitant party, the note focuses on the case for Canada committing to negotiations, and also the obstacles that Canada would have to overcome to make that possible.


Using lead 4-benzylpiperidinedithiocarbamate complex (Pb(4-BPDC)2), a solid-phase extraction method was developed for pre-concentration and spectrophotometric determination of copper in water samples. In this method, copper in large volume liquid phase quantitatively replaces lead on colorless Pb(4-BPDC)2 complex and naphthalene solid phase mixture forming Cu-4-benzylpiperidinedithiocarbamate complex (Cu(4-BPDC)2). The solid phase containing colored Cu(4-BPDC)2 is dissolved in chloroform and its absorbance is measured at 437 nm against the reagent blank. The range of linearity is 0.4 -10 m gml-1 of copper in chloroform, the molar absorptivity of the complex determined from the linear portion of Beer's law plot is 8.197x103 lmol-1cm-1 and the sensitivity is 0.0013 m gcm-2 for an absorbance of 0.001.


Background and the purpose of the study The purpose of the present investigation was to characterize, optimize and evaluate microballoons of Propranolol hydrochloride and to increase its boioavailability by increasing the retention time of the drug in the gastrointestinal tract. Methods Propranolol hydrochloride-loaded microballoons were prepared by the non-aqueous O/O emulsion solvent diffusion evaporation method using Eudragit RSPO as polymer. It was found that preparation temperature determined the formation of cavity inside the microballoon and this in turn determined the buoyancy. Microballoons were subjected to particle size determination, micromeritic properties, buoyancy, entrapment efficiency, drug loading, in vitro drug release and IR study. The correlation between the buoyancy, bulk density and porosity of microballoons were elucidated. The release rate was determined in simulated gastric fluid (SGF) of pH 1.2 at 37±0.5°C. Results The microballoons presented spherical and smooth morphologies (SEM) and were porous due to presence of hollow cavity. Microballoons remained buoyant for >12 hrs for the optimized formulation. The formulation demonstrated favorable in vitro floating and release characteristics. The encapsulation efficiency was high. In vitro dissolution kinetics followed the Higuchi model. The drug release from microballoons was mainly controlled by diffusion and showed a biphasic pattern with an initial burst release, followed by sustained release for 12 hrs. The amount of the drug which released up to 12 hrs was 82.05±0.64%. Statistical analysis (ANOVA) showed significant difference (p<0.05) in the cumulative amount of drug released after 30 min, and up to 12 hrs from optimized formulations. Conclusion The designed system for propanolol would possibly be advantageous in terms of increased bioavailability and patient compliance.


The concept of open innovation has recently gained widespread attention. It is particularly relevant now because many firms are required to implement it. In order to investigate the incentives of open innovation, this article analyzed companies' choice to open innovation in an evolutionary game setting using replicator dynamics. It discussed how costs and revenue allocation schemes affect the final equilibrium. Evolutionary game analysis shows that participants' choices are related to schemes of cost sharing. The probability of choosing open innovation is positively related to excess benefits, and negatively related to total costs. There exists an optimal excess benefits allocation, so that firms tend to adopt open innovation strongest. The probability of both firms adopting open innovation is greater in punishment case. This article shed some light on how to promote companies to choose open innovation.


Sugarcane is a kind of important sugar crops, which has been planted in large area of southern China, but traditional manual operation still applied on sugarcane planting and management at present, leading to higher labor costs. In recent years, the development of Internet of Things technologies such as wireless sensor technology, ZigBee, RFID, etc., as well as the application of technologies such as video image processing, automatic control, and 3S, etc. have provided technical supports for precision planting of agricultural production, visual management, and intelligent decision-making. This paper, relying on the Internet of things technology, has designed and implemented a set of sugarcane growth monitoring system according to the growth characteristics of sugarcane crops, this system has passed the test, and results showed that it can effectively monitor growing environment of sugarcane, such as temperature, humidity, crop plant height, thus realize the whole process management of agricultural automation.


This research uses conversation analysis to explore a collection of extracts from telephone calls involving laughter as a response in a sequence characterized by complaining. In these instances, the laugh responses fail to align with the complaint in progress and are somewhat disaffiliative (in that they do not display the same stance as that taken by the complainant). However, they do not strongly disaffiliate; they do not, for example, overtly disagree with complaint-relevant assessments produced in prior turns. In this way, recipients of a complaint work to display a somewhat discordant stance to that of the teller, and to discourage further development of the topic in progress while maintaining social solidarity. Thus, the current research adds to the finding (see also Drew, 1987, and Jefferson, Sacks, & Schegloff, 1987) that laughter can be located somewhere in the middle of a continuum ranging from overt affiliation to disaffiliation (Glenn, 2003, ch. 6).


This article proposes a reflection on the policies of tobacco consumption regulation in the ECOWAS countries. The argument is built from a cost-benefit economic approach. It shows that, even if fiscal and pricing policies are necessary to reduce the demand for tobacco, they must make it possible to strengthen information and awareness policies for a comprehensive approach to the fight against smoking and passive smoking.New forms of regulation should be established, which are part of a logic of promotion and health education for dependent, and/or poor people because the latter have difficulty changing their behavior following an increase in drug prices.


Recently, research and development of the micro-fluidic systems such as μTAS and Lab-on-chip have been activated in the field of chemical technology and biotechnology. Micro-fluidic systems are realized by micromachine technology and MEMS technology. These are essential elements for miniaturization of chemical analysis reaction systems. Furthermore, micro-fluidic systems can be applied to home medical care system. Micro mixing device is an essential element for a realization of these systems. Normally, mixing of different fluids depends on turbulent flow and diffusion. But it is difficult to generate turbulent flow in minute space. Micro mixer is important to improve reaction efficiency. The aim of this research is a development of a micro rotary reactor which will be built into micro-fluidic systems. The full length and the diameter of this reactor are 59mm and 15mm, respectively. This reactor is driven by an electromagnetic actuator. Therefore, the structure of this reactor becomes very simple and it is easy to miniaturize this reactor. This reactor aims at combing two liquids and forming spiral laminar flow interfaces. Forming spiral laminar flow interfaces increase reaction surface area and reaction distance of two liquids. This paper shows the structure and the characteristics of this reactor.


Deep neural networks (DNNs) are currently widely used for many artificial intelligence (AI) applications including computer vision, speech recognition, and robotics. While DNNs deliver state-of-the-art accuracy on many AI tasks, it comes at the cost of high computational complexity. Accordingly, techniques that enable efficient processing of DNNs to improve energy efficiency and throughput without sacrificing application accuracy or increasing hardware cost are critical to the wide deployment of DNNs in AI systems. This article aims to provide a comprehensive tutorial and survey about the recent advances toward the goal of enabling efficient processing of DNNs. Specifically, it will provide an overview of DNNs, discuss various hardware platforms and architectures that support DNNs, and highlight key trends in reducing the computation cost of DNNs either solely via hardware design changes or via joint hardware design and DNN algorithm changes. It will also summarize various development resources that enable researchers and practitioners to quickly get started in this field, and highlight important benchmarking metrics and design considerations that should be used for evaluating the rapidly growing number of DNN hardware designs, optionally including algorithmic codesigns, being proposed in academia and industry. The reader will take away the following concepts from this article: understand the key design considerations for DNNs; be able to evaluate different DNN hardware implementations with benchmarks and comparison metrics; understand the tradeoffs between various hardware architectures and platforms; be able to evaluate the utility of various DNN design techniques for efficient processing; and understand recent implementation trends and opportunities.


Because certain indigenous peoples have lived in the same habitats for cen- turies, their languages often encode traditional ecological knowledge about interactions between plant and animal species that occur in those habitats. This local knowledge is sometimes complementary to more broadly derived knowledge accrued by academically trained field ecologists. In this analysis of recent ethnoecological studies from the Sonoran Desert, it is clear that O'odham and Comca'ac foragers recognize, name, and interpret ecological interactions among locally occurring species, regardless of whether these species directly benefit them economically. It is demostrated how their knowledge of ecological interactions involving threatened species may offer Western-trained scientists and resource managers hypotheses to test, and to apply to endangered species recovery efforts. It is proposed that endangered species recovery teams include local para-ecologists from in- digenous communities to aid in the integration of knowledge bases derived from various cultural perspectives.


Abstract This study comprises a first-order evaluation of the implications of accelerated sea-level rise and some other aspects of climate change for Turkey's coastal areas. Global sea-level rise during the 20th century has been estimated between 10 and 20 cm and similar changes appear to have occurred along Turkish coasts, although available data is poor. Coastal cities cover less than 5% of the total surface area of Turkey, but they have over 30 million inhabitants and are growing rapidly. The Marmara region around Istanbul has the highest population density of all regions. At the same time, more than 60% of the Turkish Gross National Product (GNP) is produced in the coastal strip from Tekirdag to Kocaeli (along the northern shoreline of the Marmara Sea). Analysis suggests that the effects of a 1-m rise in sea level could be significant and adaptation costs substantial. This preliminary assessment suggests a capital loss of about 6% of current GNP, whereas simple protection/adaptation could cost 10% of current GNP. Continued urbanisation and tourist development will further increase exposure to sea-level rise. Currently, the consequences of sealevel rise and climate change are ignored in coastal management, and although strengthening of coastal management mechanisms is required for a number of reasons, sea-level rise and climate change should be considered an important long-term issue. To assist this, detailed case studies are recommended around Turkey's diverse coast, starting with the strategically important Istanbul area.


This paper studies the convergence rate of randomized quasi--Monte Carlo (RQMC) for discontinuous functions, which are often of infinite variation in the sense of Hardy and Krause. It was previously known that the root mean square error (RMSE) of RQMC is only $o(n^{-1/2})$ for discontinuous functions. For certain discontinuous functions in $d$ dimensions, we prove that the RMSE of RQMC is $O(n^{-1/2-1/(4d-2)+\epsilon})$ for any $\epsilon>0$ and arbitrary $n$. If some discontinuity boundaries are parallel to some coordinate axes, the rate can be improved to $O(n^{-1/2-1/(4d_u-2)+\epsilon})$, where $d_u$ denotes the so-called irregular dimension, that is, the number of axes which are not parallel to the discontinuity boundaries. Moreover, this paper shows that the RMSE is $O(n^{-1/2-1/(2d)})$ for certain indicator functions.


We analyze the dynamic interaction between civil society organizations and Government in a representative developing economy. Government favors corruption and so fails to build efficient institutions. On its side, civil society exerts pressure on Government to constrain it to halt corruption. We distinguish between an authoritarian Government and an unrestrictive one: the latter does not repress society's protests while the former implements punishment mechanisms. We demonstrate analytically the existence of a unique stable equilibrium by solving a linear quadratic differential game for three Regimes respectively the optimal control problem, noncooperative and cooperative games. Numerical assessment indicates that civil monitoring always increases as corruption increases, but civil monitoring is low and institutions improve much faster under cooperation. Furthermore, total factor Productivity effects always dominate the detrimental effect of civil monitoring on growth in the first regime, under some restrictions in the second and never in the third. In response to a change in the government's aversion to rent variations in the presence of authoritarian government, total factor productivity effects always dominate under both the noncooperative and cooperative scenario.


Purpose: Helical Tomotherapy (HT) offers advantages for total marrow irradiation (TMI) patients.The purpose of this study was to perform a more rigorous validation of TMI treatment plans using two types of radiation QA phantoms. Methods and Materials: Cylindrical solid water phantom: Several different delivery quality assurance (DQAs) were generated at different anatomical sites of the PTV of an actual TMI patient. The DQAs were performed using an ion chamber for point absolute dose measurement and EDR film for relative dose profiles. The ion chamberdose and film dose profiles were compared with the expected dose and dose profiles calculated from the treatment planning station (TPS). Rando Phantom: A HT TMI treatment plan was generated using a Rando phantom as the patient. The prescription was 80% of the PTV receives12 Gy. A DQA was also generated based on this plan. The same CTimage set acquired for planning the patient was also used as the CT scan for the DQA phantom. Film profile dose measurements were performed in transverse planes in between slabs making up the phantom. Results: For Rando TMI treatment plan, the mean dose of the PTV was 12.34±0.65Gy and the other organdoses were also well below currently accepted normal tissue tolerances. The absolute dose measurement and isodose distribution comparisons between planned and delivered doses on both coronal and transverse direction were within the clinical tolerance limit. Conclusion: Dose verification to the large TMI PTV delivered by the HT system was performed using an ion chamber and film in a cylindrical solid water phantom at multiple treatment sites along the patient's axis. Both the absolute point doses and relative dose profiles were within the clinical tolerance of +/−3%. A Rando phantom can be used for more rigorous QA by eliminating differences between an actual patient and a phantom.


Owing hysteresis free characteristics and good reproducibility, inverted p-i-n perovskite solar cells (PSC) are gaining large interest in the photovoltaic field. In this context, the need for stable materials calls for the development of robust transporting layers compatible with the fabrication processes of the solar cell. In this study, we introduce a new precursor, tris(ethylene diamine) nickel acetate, for low temperature (280–300 °C) deposition of NiO hole transporting layer. Full characterization of the deposited NiO film layer was performed through XRD, Raman and Auger spectroscopy. We found a direct correlation between device performance and NiO thickness with maximum efficiency exceeding 15% for the thin NiO (10 nm) layer.


A fully integrated solution for rejecting the interference caused by wireless local area network transmissions in the 4.9-5.825-GHz band for ultra-wide-band (UWB) receivers is presented. Front-end prototypes implemented in a low cost 0.35-m SiGe BiCMOS technology are used as a test vehicle to assess the effectiveness of the presented approach. The proposed blocker filtering technique mitigates the gain desensitization, third-order intermodulation distortion and second-order intermodulation distortion by as much as 9.8, 7.9, and 6 dB, respectively. At a power consumption of only 49.2 mW, the receiver conversion gain ranges from 22-19 dB while the double side-band measured at the PCB connectors ranges from 5.5-8 dB in the 3.6-7.4-GHz frequency range.


Distributed systems, such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud computing, are becoming popular. This requires modeling that reflects the natural characteristics of such systems: the locality of independent components, the autonomy of their decisions, and asynchronous communication. Automated verification of deadlocks and distributed termination supports rapid development. Existing techniques do not reflect some features of distribution. Most formalisms are synchronous and/or use some kind of global state, both of which are unrealistic. No model supports the communication duality that allows the integration of a remote procedure call and client-server paradigm into a single, uniform model. The majority of model checkers refer to total deadlocks. Usually, they do not distinguish between communication deadlocks from resource deadlocks and deadlocks from distributed termination. Some verification mechanisms check partial deadlocks at the expense of restricting the structure of the system being verified. The paper presents an original formalism for the modeling and verification of distributed systems. The Integrated Model of Distributed Systems (IMDS) defines a distributed system as two sets: states and messages, and the relationship of the "actions" between these sets. Communication duality provides projections on servers and on traveling agents, but the uniform specification of the verified system is preserved. General temporal formulas over IMDS, independent of the structure of the verified system, allow automated verification. These formulas distinguish between deadlocks and distributed termination, and between communication deadlocks and resource deadlocks. Partial deadlocks and partial termination can be checked. The Dedan tool was developed using IMDS formalism.


Abstract
 This paper highlights the most unique characteristics of Araceae: their high species diversity, high habit diversity, high rates of endemism, and high rates of new species discovery. Also discussed is the origin of the family in the Early Cretaceous period and its modern-day worldwide distribution, which shows high generic diversity in Asia and high species diversity in South America. The last 40 years have shown dramatic increases in the number of species known for most of the Neotropical genera but with most of the growth coming from Central America. The development of computerized determination keys has led to the realization that many more species are likely to be new to science. This study also recommends future directions and localities or regions where most aroid research should be concentrated.


Background:High rates of partner change in 'upstream' sex work networks have long been recognized to drive 'downstream' transmission of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). We used a stochastic microsimulation model (STDSIM) to explore such transmission dynamics in a generalized African HIV epidemic. Methods:We refined the quantification of sex work in Kisumu, Kenya, from the 4-cities study. Interventions with sex workers were introduced in 2000 and epidemics projected to 2020. We estimated the contribution of sex work to transmission, and modelled standard condom and STI interventions for three groups of sex workers at feasible rates of use and coverage. Results:Removing transmission from sex work altogether would have resulted in 66% lower HIV incidence (range 54–75%) and 56% lower prevalence (range 44–63%) after 20 years. More feasible interventions reduced HIV prevalence from one-fifth to one-half. High rates of condom use in sex work had the greatest effect, whereas STI treatment contributed to HIV declines at lower levels of condom use. Interventions reaching the 40% of sex workers with most clients reduced HIV transmission nearly as much as less targeted approaches attempting to reach all sex workers. Declines were independent of antiretroviral therapy rollout and robust to realistic changes in parameter values. Conclusion:'Upstream' transmission in sex work remains important in advanced African HIV epidemics even in the context of antiretroviral therapy. As in concentrated Asian epidemics, feasible condom and STI interventions that reach the most active sex workers can markedly reduce the size of HIV epidemics. Interventions targeting 'transactional' sex with fewer clients have less impact.


With the lesson from the overturning accident of single-pier bridge and based on the analysis on the size and distribution mode of the load on the bridge surface when the ramp bridge of Tianjin segment in the Jin-Jin Expressway collapsed, this Article drafts the load size and distribution mode are (possibly undertaking up to 4x165t load) studied out for analysis and design of single pier bridge of pier-girder consolidation for the analysis on the calculation of the overturning resistance for single-column girder, and analyzes the overturning resistance capacity of single-column girder with pier-girder consolidation according the planned load size and distribution mode. In addition, this Article proposes the reinforcement measures by adding the column supports at the horizontal direction of the single-column pier, thus effectively improving the overturning resistance capacity of main girder. This Article may be used as the reference for the study of overturning resistance and the reinforcement of single-column pier bridge.


Analytical model based on the Bernoulli beam theory and strain compatibility conditions at the interfaces between the two layers have been developed to predict the distribution of thermal stresses within the multi-layered structure due to the mismatch of thermal expansion. The closed-form solution of thermal stresses related to the material properties and geometry were obtained. It is useful to provide a simple and efficient analytical model, so that the stress level in the layers can be accurately estimated. The analytical results are compared with finite element results. Good agreement demonstrates that the proposed approach is able to provide an efficient way for the calculation of the thermal stresses.


We present a case that highlights the difficulties with diagnosis and the dangers of occupational allergic sinusitis and asthma left unrecognized. We describe the case history of a man who experienced work-related symptoms 1 year after beginning work as a cheesemaker at a creamery, and whose respiratory symptoms progressively worsened over 16 years before an occupational cause of his asthma was identified. His initial discrete episodes of sinusitis and acute bronchitis evolved into persistent asthma of increasing severity with exacerbations requiring repeated emergency room treatment. The case described in our report emphasizes the importance of clinician diagnosis of OA, and subsequent removal from exposure, such that asthma severity does not progress to near-fatal or fatal asthma in the sensitized worker. As demonstrated by this case report, identification of an occupational cause of asthma relies on a high degree of suspicion and excellent detective work by the clinician.


We explore the notion of dataflow programming in realtime graphics artistic practice. We complement the previous editions of the course at SIGGRAPH Asia (2015, 2016, 2018) and SIGGRAPH (2017, 2019) to include OpenISS and PureData/GEM. First, we explore a rapid prototyping of interactive graphical applications for stage and beyond using Jitter/Max and Processing with OpenGL, shaders, and featuring connectivity with RGBD cameras. Such rapid prototyping environment is ideal for entertainment computing, as well as for artists and live performances using real-time interactive graphics on stage. We share the expertise we developed in connecting the real-time graphics with on-stage performance with the Illimitable Space System (ISS) v2 and its OpenISS core framework for creative near-realtime broadcasting, and the use of AI and HCI techniques in art.


Many researchers are concerning with using powerful image processing tools to achieve high quality images for their applications. Recently, great interest has been arisen on using wavelet transforms [I-IO] to analysis multi-resolution images and to fuse remote sensing images. Image fusion especially in remote sensing applications is one of the fields that growing continuously. Many methods have been proposed to fuse panchromatic and multi-spectral images [ I -71. This work presents a proposed scheme to fuse the Landsat-7 low-resolution (30m) multi-spectral images and its high-resolution (Ism) panchromatic images. The proposed image fusion method is based on Two Dimensional Discrete Wavelet Transform (2D-DWT). The method aims to fuse two images in order to produce high resolution (15m) multi-spectral image. It also presents a comparison between the implemented 2D-DWT method and other conventional methods of image fusion using correlation between the output image and the two input images to ascertain the best possible technique that can result in better results of multi-sensor image fusion. The output image of the 2D-DWT technique contains 86.6 % of spectral content of the multi-spectral image and 97.08 % of the spatial content of panchromatic image.


Objective: To examine the attitudes of doctors and nurses to the practice of allowing family presence during resuscitation (FPDR), and to examine the factors influencing their attitudes. Design: An anonymous self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted among doctors and nurses in the paediatric department of a regional hospital in Hong Kong. Apart from demographic data, questions were directed to study the overall acceptance on the practice of allowing FPDR, and various factors that explained their attitudes. Results: The response rates for doctors and nurses were 87.9% and 92% respectively. Only 10% of the respondents supported the practice of FPDR while 55% were against the practice. There was no significant correlation of non-acceptance of the practice with the following factors: years in paediatric service; intensive care unit working experience; professional qualifications; occupations (doctor versus nurse); training in bereavement or PALS, or previous experience with FPDR. Their non-acceptance of FPDR was correlated to their health belief and their perceived cues/triggers, subjective norms, self-efficacy and behavioural control. However, on multiple regression analysis, only cues/triggers and perceived behavioural control were significant independent predictors of their attitudes. Conclusion: The health professionals in our department were not ready to allow FPDR. Efforts to change their attitudes should aim at setting up a mechanism that facilitates the practice and at relieving their concerns on legal liability.


The widespread availability of electronic health records (EHR) promises to usher in the era of personalized medicine. However, the problem of extracting useful clinical representations from longitudinal EHR data, sometimes called computational phenotyping, remains challenging, owing to the heterogeneous, longitudinally irregular, noisy and incomplete nature of such data. In this paper, we explore flexible deep state space models for phenotyping longitudinal EHR data. These models explicitly account for the longitudinal nature of the data and are able to seamlessly deal with noise, heterogeneity and missing data issues. Our initial experiments produce promising results, and demonstrate the effectiveness of the learned representations in better discriminating between controls and cases in cohorts of congestive heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients.


Carotid ultrasound is a well-established research tool that can identify the presence of atherosclerosis and quantify the degree of arterial injury in a broad range of populations. A specific application of carotid ultrasound, measurement of intima-media thickness (IMT), precisely quantifies the combined thicknesses of intimal and medial layers of the arterial wall. Carotid IMT values are strongly associated with abnormal levels of risk factors for atherosclerotic vascular disease and prevalent vascular disease, and independently predict future cardiovascular disease events.1 In well-trained hands, the accuracy and reproducibility of carotid IMT are unsurpassed among non-invasive tests of arterial injury. The strong evidence base associating increased cardiovascular disease risk with increasing carotid IMT has led to this test being recommended, in selected adults, as a clinical tool to assist with cardiovascular disease risk prediction.

Arterial wall thickness increases with ageing, as a result of age-associated cellular and biochemical changes that lead to progressive thickening of the intimal and medial layers, even in the absence of histological atherosclerosis.2 In humans, carotid IMT increases nearly threefold between the ages of 20 and 90 years.3 These changes can be attributed to abnormalities of endothelial function, increases in procoagulant, vasoconstrictive and inflammatory molecules, increased oxidative stress and the proliferation and migration of smooth muscle cells.4 5 Indeed, childhood measures of cardiovascular disease risk factors such elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and body mass index predicted carotid IMT among young adults (aged 25–37 years) in the Bogalusa Heart Study who were followed for a median of 22 years.6 Similarly, the Young Finns Study demonstrated that childhood low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, body mass index, systolic blood pressure and smoking predicted carotid …


Research on the development of the Fine Motor Pocket Book media has a goal that is, to determine the results of the development of a pocket book and to get the effectiveness of a fine motor pocket book. This research method uses the type of R&D or research and development with ADDIE development models. The trial design used in this study used the Survey method. The targets in this study are 50 parents and 50 kindergarten / RA teachers in Surabaya who have children aged 4-5 years. Data was obtained and collected using a questionnaire technique that was carried out online through Google forms, and documentation techniques in the form of product designs before and after revision. The results of this study are the Fine Motor Pocket Book media. The survey results and feedback from teachers and parents showed that the fine motor pocket book that was developed proved to be very valid. this is shown through the material or media in the pocket book, the level of explanation in the picture / text 3.07, the level of suitability of the location has a mean value of 3.28, the level of quality of the book has a value of 3.15 which means 51-75 responses of teachers and people old is very effective. Furthermore, the attractiveness and suitability of the location of 3.28 and the level of accuracy has a mean value of 3.35 where the value approaches a score of 4, which means 76-100 means effective. These results can be categorized very well so that it is feasible and effective to be used in learning at school or at home. The results of this fine motor pocket book research have implications on the development of fine motor aspects in children.


The remediation of polluted soils containing DDX (DDT, DDE, and DDD), endrin, and endosulfan was assessed using zero-valent iron (Fe0) and iron-copper Fe0/Cu0at microcosms and bench-scale in batch experiments. The treatments allowed for the reduction of the initial concentrations of DDX (30 mg/kg), endrin (150 mg/kg), and endosulfan (40 mg/kg) at both scales, indicating their suitability. However, in the case of DDX-polluted soil, the accumulation of the intermediate compound DDNS was registered. In microcosms experiments, the highest degradation percentage for DDX was obtained using a Fe0/Cu0ratio of 10/3 (w/w). The degradation observed in the bench-scale reactor was improved for endrin and endosulfan-polluted soils, while degradation of DDX was similar to that found in microcosms experiments. The Fe0/Cu0system mainly improves the degradation rates of DDD, DDE, and endrin, reducing the time of treatment from 8 to 4 days. The selection of the remediation strategies using Fe0/Cu0or Fe0should weigh the cost of copper versus the time of treatment since the extent of remediation was similar for most experiments, except for DDD and DDE. Since the degradation of pesticides was not fully completed and the accumulation of intermediates compounds was observed, further investigation is required.


In South America, 94% of dry‐temperate lands present some degree of environmental degradation, highlighting the need for ecological restoration. We analyzed geographic patterns of genetic variation in Austrocedrus chilensis, a dominant conifer of the steppe‐forest ecotone in the eastern Andes, to examine its potential for restoration. We sampled 67 locations in Argentina and estimated genetic parameters to determine the effects of historical factors affecting diversity, together with inbreeding and gene flow, using 12 allozyme loci. Genetic diversity decreased southwards in eastern populations, which are marginal for the range of the species and patchily distributed, while high genetic admixture was detected in continuous western populations, possibly reflecting postglacial migrations from northern and eastern sources. Higher inbreeding (FIS > 0.14) was recorded in northern compared with southern populations, attributed to the impact of recent bottlenecks resulting from anthropogenic fires. Gene flow was found to be moderate overall (FST = 0.12). The implications of these results for restoration actions focusing on Austrocedrus were explored. Relatively small, inbred yet genetically diverse northern populations should be the subject of passive restoration efforts, while experimental common gardens should be established toward the south, to support active restoration approaches. This illustrates how ahead of time information on patterns of genetic variation can support restoration efforts for dryland tree species.


Exposures to ambient air pollutants have been associated with adverse birth outcomes. We investigated the effects of air pollutants on birth weight mediated by reduced fetal growth among term infants who were born in California during 1975–1987 and who participated in the Children's Health Study. Birth certificates provided maternal reproductive history and residence location at birth. Sociodemographic factors and maternal smoking during pregnancy were collected by questionnaire. Monthly average air pollutant levels were interpolated from monitors to the ZIP code of maternal residence at childbirth. Results from linear mixed-effects regression models showed that a 12-ppb increase in 24-hr ozone averaged over the entire pregnancy was associated with 47.2 g lower birth weight [95% confidence interval (CI), 27.4–67.0 g], and this association was most robust for exposures during the second and third trimesters. A 1.4-ppm difference in first-trimester carbon monoxide exposure was associated with 21.7 g lower birth weight (95% CI, 1.1–42.3 g) and 20% increased risk of intrauterine growth retardation (95% CI, 1.0–1.4). First-trimester CO and third-trimester O3 exposures were associated with 20% increased risk of intrauterine growth retardation. A 20-μg/m3 difference in levels of particulate matter ≤ 10 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM10) during the third trimester was associated with a 21.7-g lower birth weight (95% CI, 1.1–42.2 g), but this association was reduced and not significant after adjusting for O3. In summary, O3 exposure during the second and third trimesters and CO exposure during the first trimester were associated with reduced birth weight.