The Complaint Model is an interpretation of Scanlon's contractualism which holds that (1) an individual can reasonably reject a distribution of well-being when her complaint against that distribution is larger than any other person's complaint against any other distribution. The Complaint Model further holds that (2) the size of an individual's complaint against a distribution is a function of (2a) her absolute level of well-being under that distribution, with the size of her complaint increasing as her absolute level of well-being decreases, and (2b) the size of her loss in well-being under that distribution relative to the level of well-being she could have enjoyed under the distribution most favourable to her, with the size of her complaint increasing as her loss increases. In this paper, I argue that the Complaint Model should be rejected, because the way in which it takes individuals' losses into account leads to strongly counterintuitive results. In particular, I show that the Complaint Model may sacrifice the well-being associated with the least-well-off, secondleast-well-off, etc. positions for the sake of minimizing the largest complaint. I also argue that revisions to element (1) to allow for the aggregation of complaints must either leave the Complaint Model vulnerable to this objection or lead it to collapse into prioritarianism. The failure of the Complaint Model may lead us to search for an alternative way of taking losses into account. I conclude by arguing that the attractiveness of the Anonymous Pareto principle poses a challenge to any such alternative. 7,500 words (including abstract and endnotes).


In 1890, the Harvard Law Review published an article, co-authored by Boston law firm partners Samuel Warren and (future Supreme Court Justice) Louis Brandeis, titled "The Right to Privacy." The authors argued that existing authority provided a basis for the courts to recognize a new common-law cause of action for the invasion of individual privacy. Today, "The Right to Privacy" is often described as one of the most influential law review articles ever written, having played a key role in the Supreme Court's conceptualization of a constitutionally grounded right to personal autonomy.

Because "The Right to Privacy" remains such an important article, more than a century after its publication, various scholars have set out to reveal the "backstory" of the piece. However, scholars doing so have uniformly overlooked the potentially important role of Samuel Warren's idiosyncratic, paternalistic relationship with his younger siblings. As I researched 1880s New England society for a recent project, "Design and Deviance: Patent as Symbol, Rhetoric as Metric," I learned that Samuel Warren had a younger brother, Ned, whose homosexuality was just under the public radar in Boston at the time -- a volatile period when scientists first proclaimed their "discovery" of homosexuality as a fixed identity trait (and purported sign of "degeneracy," illness, and even insanity.) This announcement led to what many Anglo-American historians have called a "homosexual panic" throughout England and the East Coast of the United States, resulting in (among other things) the passage of the 1885 English law under which famed playwright Oscar Wilde was soon prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced to hard labor for "indecency." Wilde and his family were internationally shamed; when the playwright was released from prison, he lived in exile until the toll of his prison years caused his premature death.

Ned Warren was by no means as famous as Oscar Wilde, but he displayed similar idiosyncrasies in his behavior, dress, and interests. Ned was a member of various, increasingly "suspect" social circles in which Wilde traveled, and further, espoused many Wildean views on "Aestheticism" -- an ideological movement advocating the appreciation of beauty in everyday objects (whose popular downfall accompanied Wilde's public shaming.) As a member of a prominent Boston family, Ned was vulnerable to dangerous rumors -- rumors that, if probed, could inflict great harm both on him and the rest of the Warren family. Given Sam's assumed mission to protect his siblings, he was undoubtedly conscientious of the potentially disastrous consequences of tabloid gossip about Ned's sexuality.

In this piece, I will explore the possibility that protecting Ned from potentially devastating journalistic attention -- and preventing the fallout that such attention would have for the rest of the Warren family -- was a significant concern motivating Sam's taking the lead in writing of "The Right to Privacy." As I will show, many of the article's key passages can very plausibly be interpreted as a reflection of Sam's desire to protect Ned from a fate of the sort Wilde would suffer.

If my backstory of "The Right to Privacy" is plausible, the article might acquire special resonance in this, its one hundred twenty-fifth anniversary. The rhetoric in the 1890 piece can be traced, link by link, case by case, to Supreme Court decisions that gradually established a constitutional right to personal autonomy. From its influence on Justice Brandeis's famous dissent in Olmstead v. United States (1928) (echoing the views articulated largely by Warren in their article) to the Supreme Court's 1967 ruling in Katz v. United States (a pivotal Fourth Amendment decision citing "The Right to Privacy" in the heart of its reasoning) to the penumbra-based theory of privacy rights in Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) to the more recent gay-rights cases of Romer (1996), Lawrence (2003), and Windsor (2013), the article arguably served as a catalyst for a series of events and judicial decisions that culminated in the Supreme Court's 2015 recognition of a constitutional right to same-sex marriage in Obergefell v. Hodges.

In short, if the protection of Ned Warren was indeed a driving factor in Sam's decision to write "The Right to Privacy," then what originated as an effort to protect one gay man might, quite remarkably, be a 125-year-old precursor of the Court's decision securing the protection of a crucial right for every gay person in the United States.


Objective- This study aims at validating the use of serum amyloid A (SAA) as biomarkers of surgical stress using Quantitative ELISA in the Sahel goats. The experiment evaluated SAA profiles of Sahel goats post Diazepam-Lidocaine (DLC) and Diazepam-Bupivacaine (DBC) local anaesthesia. Expressions of SAA in the Sahel goat post rumen skin clamp fixation techniques of rumenotomy with Polyglycolic acid sutures (PGA) and chromic catgut sutures were also expounded. Design- Experimental Study. Animals- Fifteen Sahel goats were randomly allocated into three groups A, B and C for quantitative ELISA evaluation of Serum Amyloid A (SAA) profiles post local anaesthesia and laparo-rumenotomy, as biomarkers of surgical stress. Procedures- Diazepam at 0.2mg/kg was administered intravenously to sedate goats in groups A and B with subsequent lidocaine HCl and bupivacaine inverted-L block anaesthesia respectively. Chromic catgut (CCG) and Polyglycolic Acid (PGA) sutures were used for rumen and abdominal muscle closures for groups A and B respectively while nylon for skin apposition. Blood samples were collected via jugular venipuncture to establish baseline data after local anaesthesia (PAI) and at 0, 5, 8, 24, 48 and 72 hours after surgery. Results- Group A peak SAA values was 9.29±0.43 µg/mL at 8hrs post-surgery while goats in group B had a peak of 10.94±1.22 µg/mL SAA at 24hrs post-surgery. SAA responses of group A indicates stress at 0hr steadily throughout the first 72 hours but peaked at 8hrs post-surgery. Similarly, group B showed significant stress at 8 hours onwards with peak values at 24 and 48 hours post-surgery. Conclusion and Clinical Relevance- SAA as an acute phase protein could be used to determine early complications following laparo-rumenotomy in the goat and offers good prognosis especially when several APP variables are combined in an index.


Plagioclase-rich leucosomes and K-feldspar–rich veins are widely distributed within retrogressed eclogite in the Xitieshan area of the North Qaidam ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic terrane, western China. In this contribution, a combined study of petrology, zircon internal structure, zircon U-Pb age, zircon trace-element composition, whole-rock geochemistry, and Sr-Nd isotopes in plagioclase-rich leucosomes and K-feldspar–rich veins provides insight into the nature and timing of partial melting in these rocks. Petrological evidence for partial melting is provided by elongated, highly cuspate feldspars, quartz along grain boundaries (e.g., muscovite, garnet, and clinopyroxene), and felsic veinlets composed of quartz and feldspar along the boundaries of garnet, clinopyroxene, and clinopyroxene-plagioclase symplectite in the metabasite. Whole-rock geochemistry suggests that the plagioclase-rich leucosomes have lower contents of both rare earth elements (REEs) and high field strength elements (HFSEs) but higher large ion lithophile elements (LILEs; e.g., Rb, Ba, K, Sr, and Pb) than the metabasite hosts. The plagioclase-rich leucosomes may be divided into two subgroups according to their distinct REE patterns: (1) higher total REE content with or without weak negative Eu anomalies, and (2) lower total REE content with conspicuous positive Eu anomalies. The Eu-rich group also shows higher Sr content than those in the Eu-poor group. However, the K-feldspar–rich veins show higher REE, HFSE, and LILE concentrations than the plagioclase-rich leucosomes and metabasites. The inherited cores of K-feldspar–rich veins are of typical magmatic origin (oscillatory zoning with high Th/U ratios, enriched heavy [H] REEs, and negative Eu anomalies), yielding 206 Pb/ 238 U ages ranging from 904 ± 8 Ma to 915 ± 28 Ma. The zircon cores of plagioclase-rich leucosomes and mantles of K-feldspar–rich veins exhibit no zoning or weak zoning, with flat HREE patterns and no negative Eu anomalies, and they contain mineral inclusions of garnet and clinopyroxene, implying that these zircon domains were formed during an episode of eclogite-facies metamorphism with 206 Pb/ 238 U ages ranging from 444 ± 10 Ma to 452 ± 9 Ma. Internal textures and mineral inclusions (quartz, plagioclase, and K-feldspar) and trace-element systematics (steep HREE patterns with negative Eu anomalies and low Th/U ratios) of the zircon rims from plagioclase-rich leucosomes and K-feldspar–rich veins are similar to anatectic zircon. These anatectic zircon domains yielded 206 Pb/ 238 U ages ranging from 430 ± 10 Ma to 440 ± 12 Ma, and 406 ± 12 Ma to 430 ± 13 Ma, respectively. An integrated study of petrology, geochronology, and geochemistry demonstrated that the metabasites of the North Qaidam ultrahigh-pressure terrane likely experienced initial partial melting with plagioclase-rich leucosome formation under eclogite-facies conditions and partial melt crystallization during the granulite-facies stage, triggered by dehydration melting involving zoisite and rare muscovite. The K-feldspar–rich veins within the metabasites may be the result of injected melts that were derived from partial melting of nearby gneisses.


ABSTRACT Background: Perturbations in coagulation function are common following trauma and are associated with poor clinical outcomes. Traditionally considered an iatrogenic process, it is now recognized that an acute coagulation dysfunction develops prior to medical intervention. The mechanisms underlying the development of this acute traumatic coagulopathy remain poorly understood. Preclinical animal research is a necessary adjunct to improve mechanistic understanding and management of this condition. This review aims to identify and evaluate existing animal models of traumatic coagulopathy for clinical relevance. Methods: A structured search of MEDLINE/PubMed was performed in September 2014 in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. Results: A total of 62 relevant publications describing 27 distinct models of traumatic coagulopathy were identified. Porcine models predominated, and hemodilution in isolation or in combination with hypothermia and/or acidosis was the principal mechanism for inducing coagulopathy. Acute coagulation changes in response to tissue injury and hemorrhage were evident in five publications, and pathophysiological evaluation of postulated mechanisms was performed in three studies. Conclusions: There are few clinically relevant animal models that reflect the contemporary understanding of traumatic coagulopathy. This relative deficiency highlights the need for further development of valid and reproducible animal models of trauma. Well-designed models will facilitate improved mechanistic understanding and development of targeted treatment strategies for traumatic coagulopathy.


Bras give support to the breasts and prevent damage to their different components during daily activities. Previous studies have however merely focused on specific types of bras and/or shoulder straps but failed to provide specific guidelines on bra features and materials that can be used to improve the support different functions of bras. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the breast control performance of various types and designs of bra under the conditions of walking and running. Two younger women and 1 older woman (all with a bra size of 36C/80C) have participated in a wear trial to don a total of 12 different commercial bras with different design features, and a changeable bra in which 12 different variables are examined, including the materials, strap width and type of underwire. The 3D movement of the breasts in the various bra conditions during walking at a speed of 4 km/h and running at 6 km/h is recorded and then compared with the braless condition by using an 11-camera motion capture system. The percentage of change in the nipple displacement in the vertical direction relative to the clavicle displacement is used to quantify and compare the breast control performance of the bras. A significant difference (p<0.01) in the ability of the bras to control movement is observed between the group of younger subjects and the mature subject (left breast: 11.49% vs. 35.42%, and right breast: 18% vs. 32.47%, respectively). The control performance of the bras is significantly different (p<0.01) during running and walking (left breast: 26.39% vs. 12.54%, and right breast: 30.04% vs. 15.61%, respectively). The correlation analysis showed that a small bra cup volume (length across the bra cup), taller gore, elongation of the bra strap and bra band, and rigid bra cup fabric allow good control of vertical breast displacement.


Buyers using search engines to look for information tend to trust and follow links displayed in the editorial section of the search-results page. Most on-line sellers, however, do not invest in search engine optimization (SEO) to get higher search-results rankings for their listings, but instead prefer paid placements. They explain that SEO is more expensive than paid placements, produces results that do not justify its cost, and does not consistently lead to high search-results rankings. This implies that sellers would invest in SEO if it were less expensive and its rankings were more consistent. However, even if SEO and paid placement cost the same, and SEO always produced high rankings, paid placement would still be the search engine marketing (SEM) strategy of choice for most on-line sellers. Interestingly, no optimal SEM strategy includes SEO. These findings are especially significant for advertising professionals who have to justify investing in paid placements despite overwhelming evidence that buyers ignore them and follow links in the editorial section of the search-results page.


The inflammatory response is a primary mechanism in the pathogenesis of ventilator-induced lung injury. Autophagy is an essential, homeostatic process by which cells break down their own components. We explored the role of autophagy in the mechanisms of mechanical ventilation-induced lung inflammatory injury. Mice were subjected to low (7 ml/kg) or high (28 ml/kg) tidal volume ventilation for 2 h. Bone marrow-derived macrophages transfected with a scrambled or autophagy-related protein 5 small interfering RNA were administered to alveolar macrophage-depleted mice via a jugular venous cannula 30 min before the start of the ventilation protocol. In some experiments, mice were ventilated in the absence and presence of autophagy inhibitors 3-methyladenine (15 mg/kg ip) or trichostatin A (1 mg/kg ip). Mechanical ventilation with a high tidal volume caused rapid (within minutes) activation of autophagy in the lung. Conventional transmission electron microscopic examination of lung sections showed that mechanical ventilation-induced autophagy activation mainly occurred in lung macrophages. Autophagy activation in the lungs during mechanical ventilation was dramatically attenuated in alveolar macrophage-depleted mice. Selective silencing of autophagy-related protein 5 in lung macrophages abolished mechanical ventilation-induced nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor containing pyrin domain 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activation and lung inflammatory injury. Pharmacological inhibition of autophagy also significantly attenuated the inflammatory responses caused by lung hyperinflation. The activation of autophagy in macrophages mediates early lung inflammation during mechanical ventilation via NLRP3 inflammasome signaling. Inhibition of autophagy activation in lung macrophages may therefore provide a novel and promising strategy for the prevention and treatment of ventilator-induced lung injury.


There are multiple components to emergency preparedness and the response to chemical and biological threat agents. The 5Rs framework (rescue, reentry, recovery, restoration, and rehabitation) outlines opportunities to apply exposure science in emergency events. Exposure science provides guidance and refined tools for characterizing, assessing, and reducing risks from catastrophic events, such as the release of hazardous airborne chemicals or biological agents. Important challenges to be met include deployment of assets, including medications, before and after an emergency response situation. Assessment of past studies demonstrates the value of integrating exposure science methods into risk analysis and the management of catastrophic events.


Abstract The seatbelt syndrome represents an injury pattern seen after motor vehicle accidents. It is secondary to either the misplacement of seatbelts over the abdomen or the misuse of the restraint systems. This syndrome is infrequent in the pediatric population and occurs mostly in school-aged children because recommended lap-shoulder belts and booster seats are often not used in this age group, so that the seatbelt lies over the abdomen. Sudden deceleration bends the child around the lap belt causing injuries to the viscera, head, and spine (Chance fracture), often associated with paraplegia. Because not all patients have an abdominal seatbelt sign, this syndrome can easily not be recognized with potentially life-threatening consequences. We report on 3 patients with the seatbelt syndrome and review the literature regarding prevalence, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of the different injuries and discuss the diagnostic challenges of intestinal lesions and their management. Following this accident pattern, in hemodynamically stable patients with a normal abdominal computed tomography scan, close surveillance is warranted to rule out intestinal lesions manifesting with progressive peritoneal irritation. In hemodynamically unstable patients, or if there is evidence of free air on the computed tomography scan, emergency abdominal exploration is required.


BACKGROUND AND AIMS
Cirrhotic patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection remain at risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) even after the sustained virologic response (SVR). We aimed to evaluate whether the IL28 (rs12979860) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) may constitute a predisposing genetic factor and to identify the SVR patients at risk of HCC.

METHODS
Two hundred patients undergoing DAAs treatment for chronic hepatitis C with advanced fibrosis (F3- F4) were consecutively enrolled. Besides normal routine laboratory testing for HCV, patients' sera were evaluated also for retinol, retinol-binding protein 4 and the following SNPs: PNPLA3 (rs738409), TM6SF2 (rs58542926), MBOAT7 (rs641738), IL28B (rs12979860), TIMP-1 (rs4898), TIMP-2 (rs8179090), NF-kB promoter (rs28362491). Statistical analyses were conducted using Stata/SE 14.2 statistical software (Stata Corp, College Station, TX).

RESULTS
Almost all patients (197/200) obtained SVR24. Seventeen patients had a previous history of treated HCC before DAAs. Six patients developed HCC recurrence and five patients developed de novo HCC after a mean period of 18 months since EOT. All these patients had SVR. A significant association between IL28B - TT genotype and HCC development after DAAs therapy was observed (OR 4.728, CI 95% 1.222 - 18.297, p=0.024).

CONCLUSION
IL28B rs12979860 polymorphism was significantly associated with HCC development after DAAs. Assessment of this SNP may better identify patients at risk of developing HCC after treatment. Further prospective studies are required to confirm these hypotheses.


We study the electromagnetic two-body problem of classical electrodynamics as a prototype dynamical system with state-dependent delays. The equations of motion are analysed with reference to motion along a straight line in the presence of an electrostatic field. We consider the general electromagnetic equations of motion for point charges with advanced and retarded interactions and study two limits, (a) retarded-only interactions (Dirac electrodynamics) and (b) half-retarded plus half-advanced interactions (Wheeler–Feynman electrodynamics). A fixed point is created where the electrostatic field balances the Coulombian attraction, and we use local analysis near this fixed point to derive necessary conditions for a Hopf bifurcation. In case (a), we study a Hopf bifurcation about an unphysical fixed point and find that it is subcritical. In case (b), there is a Hopf bifurcation about a physical fixed point and we study several families of periodic orbits near this point. The bifurcating periodic orbits are illustrated and simulated numerically, by introducing a surrogate dynamical system into the numerical analysis which transforms future data into past data by exploiting the periodicity, thus obtaining systems with only delays.


In this work, we address the problem of estimating 2d human pose from still images. Recent methods that rely on discriminatively trained deformable parts organized in a tree model have shown to be very successful in solving this task. Within such a pictorial structure framework, we address the problem of obtaining good part templates by proposing novel, non-linear joint regressors. In particular, we employ two-layered random forests as joint regressors. The first layer acts as a discriminative, independent body part classifier. The second layer takes the estimated class distributions of the first one into account and is thereby able to predict joint locations by modeling the interdependence and co-occurrence of the parts. This results in a pose estimation framework that takes dependencies between body parts already for joint localization into account and is thus able to circumvent typical ambiguities of tree structures, such as for legs and arms. In the experiments, we demonstrate that our body parts dependent joint regressors achieve a higher joint localization accuracy than tree-based state-of-the-art methods.


The development of several forms of nonassociative learning (habituation, dishabituation, and sensitization) has previously been examined in the gill and siphon withdrawal reflex of Aplysia. In the present study we analyzed the development of one of these forms of learning, sensitization, in a different response system in Aplysia, escape locomotion. A broad range of juvenile stages was examined: stages 10, 11, early 12, late 12, and 13 (early adult). We found that sensitization was completely absent in early developmental stages, not appearing until late stage 12. This stage of development is particularly interesting because it is at this same point that (1) sensitization first appears in the gill and siphon withdrawal reflex (Rankin and Carew, 1987), and (2) the cellular analog of sensitization first emerges in the CNS (the abdominal ganglion) of juvenile Aplysia (Nolen and Carew, 1987). The fact that sensitization emerges synchronously in the escape locomotion system and the gill withdrawal system is striking because the 2 response systems differ markedly in their intrinsic developmental timetables, response topography, and underlying neural circuitry. Thus, the emergence of sensitization in both systems at the same late stage of juvenile development suggests the possibility that a single, unified process during development may be responsible for the simultaneous expression of sensitization.


Molecular classification of glioblastoma has enabled a deeper understanding of the disease. The four-subtype model (including Proneural, Classical, Mesenchymal and Neural) has been replaced by a model that discards the Neural subtype, found to be associated with samples with a high content of normal tissue. These samples can be misclassified preventing biological and clinical insights into the different tumor subtypes from coming to light. In this work, we present a model that tackles both the molecular classification of samples and discrimination of those with a high content of normal cells. We performed a transcriptomic in silico analysis on glioblastoma (GBM) samples (n = 810) and tested different criteria to optimize the number of genes needed for molecular classification. We used gene expression of normal brain samples (n = 555) to design an additional gene signature to detect samples with a high normal tissue content. Microdissection samples of different structures within GBM (n = 122) have been used to validate the final model. Finally, the model was tested in a cohort of 43 patients and confirmed by histology. Based on the expression of 20 genes, our model is able to discriminate samples with a high content of normal tissue and to classify the remaining ones. We have shown that taking into consideration normal cells can prevent errors in the classification and the subsequent misinterpretation of the results. Moreover, considering only samples with a low content of normal cells, we found an association between the complexity of the samples and survival for the three molecular subtypes.


A versatile fabrication process that allows users to quickly construct micromachined structures using a one metal, one silicon dioxide film stack on a silicon wafer is presented. This simplified process, which we have labeled Mock CMOS or M-CMOS, (a) starts from pre-processed wafers and requires only one photolithography step, (b) provides a conductor material for actuating electrostatic and thermal devices, (c) avoids electrical shorting between metal microstructures or to the silicon substrate by using silicon dioxide as an insulator, and (d) allows quick prototyping of true CMOS-MEMS structures similar to those designed at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). Devices successfully microfabricated with M-CMOS include surface-normal and lateral electrostatic and thermal actuators, the majority of which were designed by forty students in an Introduction to MEMS course in Fall 2001 at Carnegie Mellon University.Copyright © 2002 by ASME


Background and Aims: Though, many practitioners prefer conscious sedation (CS), it is unclear which factors most influence neurological outcome following mechanical thrombectomy under CS. The aim of this retrospective study is to identify these factors. Methods: After institutional review board approval, data were collected for the patients >18 years of age who underwent endovascular treatment of AIS under CS at our comprehensive stroke centre between January 2009 and June 2015. The primary outcome measure was the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) at discharge. A good outcome was defined as mRS 0–3 and poor outcome as mRS 4–6. Univariate and logistic regression analysis were performed to identify the independent predictors of poor outcomes at discharge. A P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: One hundred two patients, aged 67 ± 16 years were included. The anterior cerebral circulation was affected in 88 patients (86%), and the median National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score at presentation was 17.5 (range: 1–36). Overall, 21 (21%) patients had good outcome and 81 (79%) had poor outcome. Logistic regression identified the modified treatment in cerebral ischaemia (mTICI) score [odds ratio (OR): 0.443, confidence interval (CI): 0.244–0.805], NIHSS score (OR: 1.290, CI: 1.125–1.481) and previous transient ischaemic attack (TIA) (OR: 6.988, CI: 1.342–36.380) as significant independent predictors of poor outcome at discharge. Conclusion: The outcome of patients who underwent endovascular treatment of AIS under CS depends on the mTICI score, NIHSS score and history of previous TIA.


Quantum Dots (QDs) have been used in life science study because of their higher emission and photostability. Although physicochemical and biological properties of QDs were varied dramatically by the surface modification of QDs, little is known about the reason why the photoluminescence intensity (PLI) of QDs was changed by surface modification. We report on the millisecond-span change of PLI of QD's collective fluorescence oscillation. QDs covered with carboxylic acid and hydroxyl groups show enhanced PLI by adding NaN3, whereas QDs with amine showed less. Removal of NaN3 from QD solution abrogated the enhanced PLI. In addition, observation on evanescent field revealed that addition of antioxidants induced enhanced oscillation of QDs. Furthermore, the blinking count at one millisecond was also increased by addition of antioxidants. However the oscillation enhancement is observed in both aqueous solution and polar organic solvents but not in nonpolar organic solvents, indicating that PLI of QD was varied by the interaction between QDs and their environmental solvents. These millisecond oscillation mechanism was independent of "on" and "off" events which were conventionally known as "blinking". Taken together, the fluorescent emission of colloidal QDs is affected by both surface-covered colloidal molecules and external solvents around at millisecond span interaction.


Port State Control (PSC) is the major global strategy for fighting substandard shipping since the signature of The Hague Memorandum in 1978. In the last years, the increased volume of trade, the enlarged number of main international conventions and the highlighted differences among the various Regimes have posed new challenges to the modern system of PSC, which may need to find its new course. This paper examines the point of view of key maritime stakeholders with regard to the EU PSC regime. Elite interviews (n = 14) were conducted with subject matter experts ranging from policy makers, to industry and seafarers' representatives. The study aims to determine factors leading to difference in treatment among EU Member States. The study concludes that PSC in Europe seems to be the most efficient and reliable of the regional agreement on PSC. However, some discrepancies during the inspection process and outcome can be highlighted due to differences at the inspector and Member State level.


Immunotherapy of multiple sclerosis (MS) will continue to benefit from an increasing understanding of this disease. This knowledge results in newly defined targets for novel therapies. In this article the development of future immunotherapies will be discussed by classifying the approaches into three main types: (1) antigen-specific therapies; (2) agents with a defined target in pathogenic steps of the MS lesion; and (3) therapies with broad immunomodulatory activity. Success in developing new immunotherapies depends on understanding the underlying complexity and heterogeneity of the disease. The current practice of employing a single therapy across a heterogeneous group of MS patients is in part a likely reason for their modest efficacy.The mechanism of action of a single agent may target the appropriate defect in one individual but not others. The therapy of MS in the future will most likely use a combination of agents that are directed at the underlying disease state and stage in the individual patient.


Building Information Modelling (BIM) is becoming increasingly popular across the Architecture, Engineering, Construction and Operations (AECO) industries to manage and deliver built and digital information assets. A key component of BIM is the effective elicitation and translation of client needs into information requirements that can be readily used by AECO professionals. In the UK, the Employer Information Requirement (EIR) is a key document for procurement in BIM-enabled construction projects which specifies such information requirements. However, the literature indicates significant opportunities for the production of more effective, client focused EIR documents that explicitly link high-level organisational requirements with data systems. This paper is part of an ongoing study that investigates information procurement by clients in the Higher Education and social housing sectors in the UK, using a critical realist approach. A preliminary grounded thematic analysis of eight EIR documents reveals a lack of high-level, performative information purpose. To support a greater level of information purpose in future EIRs, the documents are then analysed deductively based on Beynon-Davies' (2010) information theory, leading to the development of a much-needed conceptual framework. Our framework comprises four main dimensions: information purpose, information relationships, information structure, and informative acts. Together, the conceptual categories both enable and encourage systematic and systemic consideration of information purposes. We conclude with recommendations for more purposeful EIRs that reflect client needs from the outset of BIM adoption in construction projects.


Amazon's Free App of the Day program, aimed at improving app visibility using daily free promotions, is a compelling experiment in the 'economics of free'. In this study, we investigate the longer-term consequences of free app promotions on the performance of apps on Amazon Appstore. In particular, we quantify the causal impact of such promotions on apps' future download volumes, star ratings, and sales rank using a multi-level model. On average, apps see a surge in download volumes during such promotions, albeit accompanied by a short-term negative effect on its star ratings. On average, sales rank briefly improves but falls to prepromotion levels within a few months. Interestingly, our findings suggest that lower ranked apps are the biggest beneficiaries of these promotions, as they witness the most significant sales impact. In addition, we show the presence of a cross-market spillover effect of such promotions on the performance of the same apps on Google Playstore. Our results underscore a nuanced set of trade-offs for an app developer: do the benefits of running a promotion and boosting ones' sales rank warrant the lost revenue and risk of lower user ratings in the long run?


This paper addresses the extent to which the rights of privacy and reproductive liberty protected by the United States Constitution prevent states from regulating assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs). It concludes that under the best interpretation of the Supreme Court's existing case law, states have ample room to regulate individuals' decisions to procreate, including decisions to use ARTs. States, pursuant to their police powers, may regulate ARTs in order to protect the health, safety, and welfare of their citizens. However, courts will strictly scrutinize any regulation of procreation that distinguishes socially disfavored groups for different treatment. Similarly, even where a regulation would apply equally to all citizens, it must serve a legitimate governmental interest, rather than merely reflect "outmoded taboos." A companion essay, Throwing the Baby Out with the Amniotic Fluid: Not All Reproductive Choices are Morally or Legally Equivalent, is available at http://ssrn.com/abstract=2127286. Two law review articles in progress, Rights To and Not To Procreate and Towards a Jurisprudence of Procreation, develop these ideas.


This study evaluated the effect of community-based case management (CM) intervention on patient outcomes in Medicare beneficiaries with chronic illness in a rural Midwest region from 2002 to 2004. The relationships between 252 patients' access and clinical outcomes (the number of hospitalizations, length of stay (LOS), and emergency department (ED) visits) and CM were investigated. CM services were provided as four types: high home, high clinic, high telephone, and mixed-care services by nurse case managers. A descriptive, repeated-measurement design was used, and a secondary analysis of a data set containing longitudinal community-based CM data was conducted. The transitional care model and transition theory served as the theoretical background for the study. Descriptive statistics and frequency analysis, t-test, and a repeated-measure ANOVA analysis were used to analyze the data. Characteristic profiles of the patients were analyzed with their self-care Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) scores. The patients in this study were relatively healthy on their self-care functional status at the beginning of the study. The four types of CM services were compared with patientreported clinical outcomes (the self-care ADL, IADL, symptom control, quality-of-life, and personal well-being scores) in each year. Analyses showed that patients' clinical outcomes were similar regardless of the type of CM services in each year. Two years of longitudinal CM intervention greatly affected patient's clinical outcomes and access outcomes. The study found that CM significantly reduced the number of hospital days and influenced patients' quality of life and symptom control. The impact of CM on LOS and ED visits was indeterminate. Further research is needed—including the effect of type and dosage of CM services and outcomes and the development of a comprehensive CM model—to guarantee CM as a core intervention in health care reconfiguration.


Chronic inflammation often precedes malignant transformation and later drives tumor progression. Likewise, subversion of the immune system plays a role in tumor progression, with tumoral immune escape now well recognized as a crucial hallmark of cancer. Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) are elevated in most individuals with cancer, where their accumulation and suppressive activity are driven by inflammation. Thus, MDSCs may define an element of the pathogenic inflammatory processes that drives immune escape. The secreted alarmin HMGB1 is a proinflammatory partner, inducer, and chaperone for many proinflammatory molecules that MDSCs develop. Therefore, in this study, we examined HMGB1 as a potential regulator of MDSCs. In murine tumor systems, HMGB1 was ubiquitous in the tumor microenvironment, activating the NF-κB signal transduction pathway in MDSCs and regulating their quantity and quality. We found that HMGB1 promotes the development of MDSCs from bone marrow progenitor cells, contributing to their ability to suppress antigen-driven activation of CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells. Furthermore, HMGB1 increased MDSC-mediated production of IL-10, enhanced crosstalk between MDSCs and macrophages, and facilitated the ability of MDSCs to downregulate expression of the T-cell homing receptor L-selectin. Overall, our results revealed a pivotal role for HMGB1 in the development and cancerous contributions of MDSCs.


Abstract We present results from a multiwavelength study of the blazar PKS 1954–388 at radio, UV, X-ray, and gamma-ray energies. A RadioAstron observation at 1.66 GHz in June 2012 resulted in the detection of interferometric fringes on baselines of 6.2 Earth-diameters. This suggests a source frame brightness temperature of greater than 2 × 1012 K, well in excess of both equipartition and inverse Compton limits and implying the existence of Doppler boosting in the core. An 8.4-GHz TANAMI VLBI image, made less than a month after the RadioAstron observations, is consistent with a previously reported superluminal motion for a jet component. Flux density monitoring with the Australia Telescope Compact Array confirms previous evidence for long-term variability that increases with observing frequency. A search for more rapid variability revealed no evidence for significant day-scale flux density variation. The ATCA light-curve reveals a strong radio flare beginning in late 2013, which peaks higher, and earlier, at higher frequencies. Comparison with the Fermi gamma-ray light-curve indicates this followed ~ 9 months after the start of a prolonged gamma-ray high-state—a radio lag comparable to that seen in other blazars. The multiwavelength data are combined to derive a Spectral Energy Distribution, which is fitted by a one-zone synchrotron-self-Compton (SSC) model with the addition of external Compton (EC) emission.


Uganda has placed the fight against corruption high on the development agenda by establishing a range of anti-corruption institutions and strategies. The Uganda third National Integrity Survey, released in 2008 by the Inspectorate of Government, recommended that if Uganda was to make real progress in tackling corruption nationwide, individual sectors would need to undertake sector-specific studies to identify best practice and facilitate scaling-up of anti-corruption efforts. In that year, the good governance sub-sector working group, chaired by the Ministry of Water and Environment, commissioned a water integrity study to establish how citizens in both rural and urban areas contractors, private operators, local government officials and staff from the main water utility experience integrity in the provision of water services. The study would also facilitate development of an updated action plan to address integrity risks. This note describes the key ingredients to putting in place a nationwide good governance action plan in Uganda's water sector, the challenges to be overcome and lessons learned to date. The implications for practice are discussed from the perspectives of policy makers, regulators and ombudsmen, development partners, water service providers and civil society actors. This provides guidance for the replication of best practice by stakeholders in other countries and sectors.


Oversupply has led to a number of perplexities for the Australian wine industry in recent times. When disaggregated from the industry level, however, the problem can be better described as a range of attribute-specific disequilibria. To date, the solutions to this problem have predominantly revolved around supply-side policies of reducing output through crop thinning or vine pulling. By contrast, this paper focuses on the demand side and argues that the disequilibria may be reduced by gaining a better understanding of the demand for Australian wine. A discrete choice model of product differentiation is used to estimate the demand for wine in Australia's second largest export market, the United States. Implications of the analysis are explored.


Sir,
In their letter the authors describe a case of placental abruption with fetal demise in a women with severe pre-eclampsia and HELLP syndrome. Despite delivery and supportive treatment, she deteriorated over the following days with occurrence of kidney failure, eclamptic seizures and cardiac arrest, for which CPR was started. Spontaneous circulation was recovered but remained unstable, for which ECMO and hypothermia were initiated with short delays. While experience with extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (E-CPR) in pregnancy is limited, evidence in the general population suggests its superiority over conventional CPR. It is probably the prompt action of the team with rapid initiation of ECMO that contributed to the good maternal recovery. As timing is crucial in these circumstances and obstetricians are often first involved, knowledge about these evolutions in E-CPR will probably help in reducing ECMO initiation time, thereby improving outcome.
We also agree with the authors that this case strongly suggests microvascular dysfunction. It can occur independently from the apparent macrocirculatory hemodynamic instability. Yet, it is on this capillary level that the main goal of circulation, the exchange of O2, nutrients and fluids, for CO2, and waste products between blood and tissue cells takes place.
We and others have previously demonstrated microcirculatory perfusion problems in women with HELLP. While more research is needed on the subject, microvascular assessment has the potential to assist in predicting prognosis and in guiding treatment.
In this case, the clinical condition deteriorated despite delivery and adequate supportive treatment. It highlights that in severe pre-eclampsia, our current management is in essence limited to damage control until the maternal condition spontaneously recovers after delivery. Hypertension control within the safe zone merely prevents cerebrovascular incidents and magnesium sulphate is mainly for seizure prophylaxis. None of these actions substantially improves the pre-eclamptic condition. While intravascular volume depletion is prominent, fluid management remains a controversial issue, given the capillary leak and risk of iatrogenic pulmonary oedema. In the future, assessment of functional microcirculatory haemodynamics with small handheld cameras, might assist in optimising fluid therapy. The main two mechanisms behind oxygen delivery from red blood cells (RBC) to tissues are convection and diffusion. The former depends on RBC velocity, O2 saturation and O2 carrying capacity. The latter is mainly dependent on the O2 gradient and is inversely proportional to the distance between tissues and RBC. Although crystalloids have little inherent capacities to improve O2 delivery, administration can increase RBC velocity, thereby improving convection and, by opening previously closed capillaries, reducing distance and improving passive diffusion. However, if too much is given, interstitial oedema again increases the distance.
Microvascular imaging could assist in achieving optimal convection and diffusion by measuring parameters of RBC velocity and perfused capillary density. While this concept seems promising, it remains experimental at this moment. Extensive research is still needed before its clinical value and benefice can be truly be evaluated in women with severe pre-eclampsia.


The Journal of Data Science, Statistics, and Visualisation (JDSSV) is an electronic journal which welcomes contributions to data science, statistics, and visualisation, and in particular, those aspects which link and integrate these subject areas. Articles can cover topics such as machine learning and statistical learning, the visualisation and verbalisation of data, visual analytics, big data infrastructures and analytics, interactive learning, and advanced computing. Articles thatdiscuss two or more research areas of the journal are favoured. Scientific contributions should be of a high standard. Articles should be oriented towards a wide scientific audience of statisticians, data scientists, computer scientists, data analysts, etc. The journal welcomes original contributions that are not being considered for publication elsewhere and contain a high level of novelty. Articles with a thorough but concise review of a certain topic with the potential to provide new insights are also welcome. Manuscripts submitted to the journal generally are accompanied by supplementary material containing software code, data, technical derivations or detailed explanations, additional examples, etc. All submitted material will be reviewed by the assigned associate editor and reviewers of the manuscript.


We investigated the ability of embryonic clownfishes Amphiprion ephippium and A. rubrocinctus to detect sound during incubation in benthic nests. The heart rates of embryos within eggs were monitored as the young fish were exposed to sounds in the range of 100 to 1200 Hz at lev- els of 80 to 150 dB (re 1 µPa at 1 m) on each day of incubation. We found that, from 3 d after fertilisa- tion, the heart rates of the embryos significantly increased when exposed to sound. As the embryos developed, a response in heart rate was found over a broader spectrum of sound (from 400 to 700 Hz at 3 d to a maximum of 100 to 1200 kHz at 9 d after fertilisation) and sensitivity also increased, with response threshold minima at 700 Hz dropping from 139.1 dB at 3 d to 88.3 dB at 9 d after fertilisa- tion. We discuss these findings with respect to recent work that demonstrates the importance of sound as a settlement cue in coral reef fishes.


Urease is a nickel-dependent enzyme that catalyzes hydrolysis of urea in the last step of organic nitrogen mineralization. Its active site contains a dinuclear center for Ni(II) ions that must be inserted into the apo-enzyme through the action of four accessory proteins (UreD, UreE, UreF, UreG) leading to activation of urease. UreE, acting as a metallo-chaperone, delivers Ni(II) to the preformed complex of apo-urease-UreDFG and has the capability to enhance the GTPase activity of UreG. This study, focused on characterization of UreE from Sporosarcina pasteurii (SpUreE), represents a piece of information on the structure/mobility-function relationships that control nickel binding by SpUreE and its interaction with SpUreG. A calorimetric analysis revealed the occurrence of a binding event between these proteins with positive cooperativity and a stoichiometry consistent with the formation of the (UreE)2-(UreG)2 hetero-oligomer complex. Chemical Shift Perturbations induced by the protein-protein interaction were analyzed using high-resolution NMR spectroscopy, which allowed to characterize the molecular details of the protein surface of SpUreE involved in the complex formation with SpUreG. Moreover, backbone dynamic properties of SpUreE, determined using 15N relaxation analysis, revealed a general mobility in the nanoseconds time-scale, with the fastest motions observed at the C-termini. The latter analysis made it possible for the first time to characterize of the C-terminal portions, known to contain key residues for metal ion binding, that were not observed in the crystal structure of UreE because of disorder. The residues belonging to this portion of SpUreE feature large CSPs upon addition of SpUreG, showing that their chemical environment is directly affected by protein-protein interaction. Metal ion selectivity and affinity of SpUreE for cognate Ni(II) and non cognate Zn(II) metal ions were determined, and the ability of the protein to select Ni(II) over Zn(II), in consistency with the proposed role in Ni(II) cations transport, was established.


Background and Objectives: The environmental permit from the construction of the TanjungJati B 5-6 steam power plant has consequences for environmental responsibility, in the form of environmental monitoring activities. This research is a monitoring activity on aspects of marine aquatic biology and avifauna status, as a biocontrol of ecological balance. Materials and Methods: The research was conducted by laboratory experimental methods by calculating diversity index, uniformity index, and dominance index in plankton, benthos, and nekton, while avifauna analysis was carried out based on the results of inventory and observations of their encounters at the research location. Results: The status of the water in the study site is included in the medium polluted category. The status of the water in the study site is included in the medium polluted category. The results of the evaluation of diversity index parameters and the plankton-benthos dominance index showed a positive tendency, while the dominance index was negative. The nekton evaluation trends for all negative parameters. Status of the frequency of encounters for Ardea alba, Egretta garzetta, and Ibis bubulcus with a negative tendency. The avifauna is a type that is protected by the Government of the Republic of Indonesia. Conclusion: Action is needed to maintain the evaluation trend of modeling positive trends in all parameters so that the ecological balance in locations around the Tanjung Jati B steam power plant remains good.


Living organisms utilize metabolic processes to achieve adaptive, reproductive, and self-healing functions, which require dynamic and precise control of sequential chemical events. Since traditional synthetic materials do not possess these functions, there is an ongoing quest for the development of self-healing attributes. This study reports self-healing of crosslinked polyurethane networks by damage-induced formation of primary amines. Deliberately modified with methyl α-D-glucopyranoside (MGP) and catalyzed by zinc acetate (Zn(OAc)2), polyurethane (PUR) networks are capable of restoring mechanical properties upon mechanical damage. Self-repair is initially driven by entropic shape recovery facilitating interfacial contacts in damaged areas, followed by covalent reformation of cleaved bonds. Amine functionalities resulting from mechanical damage facilitate covalent re-bonding to form urea linkages responsible for recovery of mechanical properties.


A guide for students studying English and Creative Writing at the University of South Wales Mae'r canllaw hon hefyd ar gael yn Gymraeg


Despite considerable focus on mangroves in the scientific literature, an apparent universal appreciation for their biological and economic values, and the enactment of protective legislation, these tropical coastal forests continue to disappear globally, as a direct result of human activity. We report and rank current, primary conservation issues threatening mangrove forests at 38 sites in 16 nations and island states, based on discussions with local professional land managers, university scientists, villagers and village leaders, and regional government officials. While adequate relevant data to inform conservation efforts already exist in the scientific literature, this information must be disseminated more widely in a form that local nonscientists can use. Stand-structure data, analyses of rates and causes of deforestation, techniques for reforestation, and socioeconomic evaluations of benefits and costs to local communities of mangrove conservation must be developed and shared. Communication among biologists and lay people within and among regions should be enhanced, collaborations among social scientists and biologists must be fostered, and government support for conservation and restoration must be strengthened if mangrove ecosystems are to be sustained.


Objectives. To assess the degree of fungal contamination in hospital environments and to evaluate the ability of air conditioning systems to reduce such contamination. Methods. We monitored airborne microbial concentrations in various environments in 10 hospitals equipped with air conditioning. Sampling was performed with a portable Surface Air System impactor with replicate organism detection and counting plates containing a fungus-selective medium. The total fungal concentration was determined 72-120 hours after sampling. The genera most involved in infection were identified by macroscopic and microscopic observation. Results. The mean concentration of airborne fungi in the set of environments examined was 19 ± 19 colony-forming units (cfu) per cubic meter. Analysis of the fungal concentration in the different types of environments revealed different levels of contamination: the lowest mean values (12 ± 14 cfu/m3) were recorded in operating theaters, and the highest (45 ± 37 cfu/m3) were recorded in kitchens. Analyses revealed statistically significant differences between median values for the various environments. The fungal genus most commonly encountered was Penicillium, which, in kitchens, displayed the highest mean airborne concentration (8 ± 2.4 cfu/m3). The percentage (35%) of Aspergillus documented in the wards was higher than that in any of the other environments monitored. Conclusions. The fungal concentrations recorded in the present study are comparable to those recorded in other studies conducted in hospital environments and are considerably lower than those seen in other indoor environments that are not air conditioned. These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of air-handling systems in reducing fungal contamination.


This paper presents a system developed for online monitoring of various aging effects, such as fatigue, creep and fatigue–creep interaction. An appropriate life prediction methodology has been used to address the various aspects of creep, fatigue and creep fatigue interaction, creep and fatigue crack growth. The system converts the plant transients to temperature and stress responses using the analytical models modified by FEM. The fatigue usage factor is computed using the rainflow cycle counting algorithm. The creep damage index is evaluated from the computed temperature and stress histories and the material creep rupture curve. This system has already been installed at Henan Jiaozuo power plant in china for monitoring the fatigue and creep degradation.


Top-k queries are important to many wireless sensor applications. Conventional Top-k query processing algorithms install a filter at each sensor node and suppress unnecessary sensor updates. However, they have some drawbacks that the sensor nodes consume energy extremely to probe sensor reading or update filters. Especially, it becomes worse, when the variation ratio of top-k result is higher. In this paper, we propose a novel top-k query processing algorithm for energy-efficiency. First, each sensor determines its priority as the order of data gathering. Next, sensor nodes that have higher priority transmit their sensor readings to the base station until gathering k sensor readings. In order to show the superiority of our query processing algorithm, we simulate the performance with the existing query processing algorithms. As a result, our experimental results show that the network lifetime of our method is prolonged largely over the existing method.


Range test method (RTM) is a qualitative imaging algorithm, which is based on analytic extensibility of the scattered electric field. Although detailed analysis of the RTM can be found in the mathematical literature, the method is not well-analyzed from an engineering perspective. In particular, the numerical performance of RTM is not compared with the other well-known shape reconstruction methods. In this direction, this paper present a numerical comparison of the RTM with the linear sampling method (LSM). To this aim, scattered electric fields for several configurations are produced synthetically via a 2D method of moments (MoM) code. After corrupting the scattered field data with a synthetic noise, the noisy fields are supplied to both LSM and RTM and binary shape reconstructions are obtained. Quality of the reconstruction results are evaluated with the well-known Jaccard index. Obtained reconstructions show that the RTM is also a promising qualitative approach for microwave imaging applications.


A learning strategy in 2014/2015 involved students working in groups to create a poster for module NUR371 in support of a Health Promotion Resource developed for module NUR372. A poster exhibition afforded students opportunity to display and present the posters and public health resources. In 2014/2015 academic year, the modules teams for two modules: NUR 371 Interprofessional and Collaborative Working and NUR372 Promoting Health and Wellbeing, developed an integrated learning strategy to maximise student engagement in active and meaningful learning. The strategy developed was that students working in groups would create a poster (for NUR371) in support of a Health Promotion Resource developed for NUR372. A further enhancement strategy was an increased use of clinical practice colleagues (the majority being student teachers), British Red Cross, Public Health Agency and the military to support learning.The health promotion resources that the students developed were displayed at the Poster Exhibition held 9 June 2015. Each student group delivered an oral presentation to an audience of peers, School of Nursing academic staff, members of Institute of Nursing and Health Research, clinical practice colleagues, staff from NW regional college, PSNI and British Red Cross.The review process comprised:•Development of an expert and independent adjudication panel to judge the quality of the posters; •A student survey to ascertain student perspectives about the integrated learning and teaching strategy. •Research to evaluate the effectiveness of the poster development workshops on adult nursing students' perceptions about team working. The learning strategy was positively appraised.


The Copyright Office is really pleased to be cosponsoring this symposium with Columbia Law School on copyrightability. I am especially pleased to be able to do so because copyrightability is something that the Copyright Office knows just a little bit about, having registered and reviewed claims for copyright for nearly 150 years. The Copyright Office analyzes thousands of questions of copyrightability each day. Last year, we examined nearly 650,000 claims to copyright, and by the end of 2019, the Office will have registered more than 38 million claims since 1870. While impressive, these numbers refer only to the number of applications, not to the total universe of works that the Copyright Office has actually reviewed. Indeed, the number of works we have examined over the years soars into the many, many millions. Each time the Copyright Office examines a work, we determine whether it's copyrightable, of course. These works span the full spectrum of musical works and sound recordings; visual works, including useful articles; and literary works, like books and computer programs. We make more copyrightability decisions than almost anywhere else in the world. For example, in just one week, we make more copyrightability decisions than are received in an entire year by all federal district courts combined.


Here, an interesting, new 0D material is presented: graphene quantum dots. The new properties arising from quantum confinement and edge effects after converting 2D graphene into graphene quantum dots have attracted great interest in various disciplines, such as physics, biology, materials, and chemistry. Here, the recent technological advances in the field of graphene quantum dots reported in the literature on both a theoretical and an experimental basis are highlighted. Various synthesis methodologies and physical properties are discussed, along with their implementation in energy (supercapacitors, fuel cells, photovoltaic devices, light-emitting diodes), biomedical (biosensors, drug delivery, bioimaging), and environmental applications.


Today, it is practically impossible to provide a complete undergraduate education within software engineering, not only because of its breath and depth but also due to its complexity, intricate nature and huge competition from other curriculum subjects. In this paper, we suggest a half-day tutorial providing one angle of teaching software engineering and tackling the incompleteness problem. The tutorial is based on the ESSENCE Kernel, a recently accepted OMG standard. The Kernel covers the domain of software engineering in a minimalistic way. It includes specifications of the essential things that must be considered for assuring the progress and health of every software engineering endeavor. Hence, it provides a good basis for embracing the whole software engineering domain in a simple yet fully covering manner.


Nodular regenerative hyperplasia of the liver is a rare condition. We describe here the case of a patient with HIV who presented with a clinical syndrome of portal hypertension. After multiple evaluations the diagnosis was recognized by the histology. The findings were attributed to the prolonged use of didanosine.


As part of two research projects for analysing bycatch and discards, we quantified catch composition, catch rates, bycatch and discards in two important commercial bottom trawl fisheries (crustacean and fish trawls) off the southern coast of Portugal (Algarve). Stratified sampling by onboard observers took place from February 1999 to March 2001 and data were collected from 165 tows during 52 fishing trips. Commercial target species included crustaceans: blue and red shrimp ( Aristeus antennatus ), deep-water rose shrimp ( Parapenaeus longirostris ), Norway lobster ( Nephrops norvegicus ); and fishes: seabreams ( Diplodus spp. and Pagellus spp.), horse mackerels ( Trachurus spp.) and European hake ( Merluccius merluccius ). The trawl fisheries are characterised by considerable amounts of bycatch: 59.5% and 80.4% of the overall total catch for crustacean and fish trawlers respectively. A total of 255 species were identified, which belonged to 15 classes of organisms (137 vertebrates, 112 invertebrates and 6 algae). Crustacean trawlers had higher bycatch biodiversity. Bony fish (45.6% and 37.8%) followed by crustaceans (14.6% and 11.5%) were the dominant bycatch components of both crustacean and fish trawlers respectively. The influence of a number of factors (e.g. depth, fishing gear, tow duration and season) on bycatch and discards is discussed.


Understanding the mechanisms and controlling factors of erosion rates is of great importance as it is a vital component of both geochemical and sediment mass balance studies, and a deep understanding of these processes will enable a development of accurate landscape evolution models. During the past decades scientists have been studying and measuring erosion rates on local and global scales. A major objective of these studies is to try and discover the controlling factors of erosion rates. Due to limitation of available data in the past, the analysis used to be relatively basic. Thanks to abundant newly obtained erosion rates data, combined with new high resolution DEMs, a more complete and comprehensive analysis can be made, and correlation of erosion rates with factors related to basin morphometry, climate and tectonics is possible. The study is based on previously obtained and published erosion rate data and sediment yield measurements published by the U.S. Geological Survey and an analysis using GIS. In this work we focus on the connection between erosion rates and tectonic related factors: fault distribution, peak ground acceleration (PGA) and distance to tectonic plate boundaries. Bivariate correlation analysis shows the following characteristics. 1) Erosion rates are strongly related to tectonic activity factors. They are positively correlated to PGA and negatively correlated to distance to tectonic plate boundary. 2) Distance to tectonic plate boundary is an indirect measure of tectonic activity as generally, the further away from a plate boundary the more likely the basins are in a tectonically stable environment. Despite this being the case, this parameter is as good an indicator for erosion rates as PGA. 3) There is a correlation between slope and tectonic related factors. A positive correlation with PGA and a negative one with distance to tectonic plate boundary. This might mean that tectonic related factors affect erosion rates through slope. Tectonically active areas tend to develop steep slopes which in turn are responsible for higher erosion rates. 4) On a global scale almost 30% of variance in erosion rates can be explained by a combination of only two factors –distance to tectonic plate boundary and PGA.


After a single-blind, randomized, cross-over protocol using decaffeinated coffee in a control experiment, the effect of an oral 250-mg caffeine dose on plasma immunoreactive atrial natriuretic peptide (ANF) was assessed in eight healthy students who had been on a methylxanthine-free diet for 1 week. One to 2 h after caffeine ingestion, both systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) increased by 12 mm Hg while heart rate (HR) also tended to increase. An increase in diuresis and in urinary sodium, potassium, and osmol excretion was observed within 1 h. Decaffeinated coffee induced no change in any of these parameters. Plasma epinephrine (EPI) increased gradually from 16.6 ± 3.2 pg/ml (mean ± SEM) to 45.1 ± 7.9 pg/ml within 2 h after caffeine ingestion, but did not change after decaffeinated coffee (p < 0.001). Plasma norepinephrine (NE), renin activity (PRA), aldosterone, and vasopressin remained unchanged. Plasma ANF was measured by radioimmunoassay (RIA) using an extremely sensitive antiserum (Kd = 10-12 M) after rapid and virtually complete (90–103%) extraction from plasma. In 0.2 ml plasma, the theoretical detection limit is 1.1 fmol/ml. Normal plasma ANF concentrations in supine subjects were 17.9 ± 8.1 fmol/ml (mean ± SD) and 11.0 ± 3.3 fmol/ml in subjects in the upright position. Plasma ANF levels were not affected by coffee drinking. In conclusion, by using a new and sensitive assay for plasma ANF, we did not find that caffeine-induced diuresis is mediated by ANF.


When making arguments in scientific writing, students struggle with using evidence and reasoning when making claims. Over the course of six weeks, ninth grade biology students were introduced to the claim, evidence, reasoning (CER) framework to help organize and develop scientific arguments in science lab conclusions. This research included a survey and writing assessment both before and after introduction to the CER framework. The purpose of this research was to determine if the CER framework would increase the frequency that students used evidence and reasoning when making their claims. Results of this study indicate that the CER framework did increase student use of evidence and reasoning in claims. Results also indicate that the CER framework did not have an effect on student ability to use scientific principles in their reasoning.


We document the recent phenomenon of "uphill" flows of capital from nonindustrial to industrial countries and analyze whether this pattern of capital flows has hurt growth in nonindustrial economies that export capital. Surprisingly, we find that there is a positive correlation between current account balances and growth among nonindustrial countries, implying that a reduced reliance on foreign capital is associated with higher growth. This result is weaker when we use panel data rather than cross-sectional averages over long periods of time, but in no case do we find any evidence that an increase in foreign capital inflows directly boosts growth. What explains these results, which are contrary to the predictions of conventional theoretical models? We provide some evidence that even successful developing countries have limited absorptive capacity for foreign resources, either because their financial markets are underdeveloped, or because their economies are prone to overvaluation caused by rapid capital inflows.


We develop a tractable model in which trade is generated by asymmetry in agents' information sets. We show that, even if news are not generated by a stochastic volatility process, in the presence of information treatment and/or order processing costs, the (unique) equilibrium price process is characterised by stochastic volatility. The intuition behind this result is simple. In the presence of trading costs and dynamic information, agents strategically choose their trading times. Since new (constant volatility) information is released to the market at trading times, the price process sampled at trading times is not characterised by stochastic volatility. But since trading and calendar times differ, the price process at calendar times is the time change of the price process at trading times – i.e. price movements on the calendar time scale are characterised by stochastic volatility. Our closed form solutions show that: i) volatility is autocorrelated and is a non-linear function of both number and volume of trades; ii) the relative informativeness of numbers and volume of trades depends on the sampling frequency of the data; iii) volatility, the limit order book, and liquidity, in terms of tightness, depth, and resilience, are jointly determined by information asymmetries and trading costs. The model is able to rationalise a large set of empirical evidence about stock market volatility, liquidity, limit order books, and market frictions, and provides a natural laboratory for analysing the equilibrium effects of a financial transaction tax.


Visual input can be used to recover the 3-D structure of a scene by estimating distances (depth) to the observer. Depth estimation is performed in various applications, such as robotics, autonomous driving, or surveillance. We present a low-power, compact, passive, and static imaging system that computes a semi-dense depth map in real time for a wide range of depths. This is achieved by using a focus-tunable liquid lens to sweep the optical power of the system at a high frequency, computing depth from focus on a mixed-signal programmable focal-plane processor. The use of local and highly parallel process- ing directly on the focal plane removes the sensor-processor bandwidth limitations typical in conventional imaging and processor technologies and allows real-time performance to be achieved.


Abstract Objective: The aim of this study was to examine consumers' perceived benefits and barriers to the consumption of a vegetarian diet. Design: Survey (written questionnaire) that included questions on perceived benefits and barriers to the consumption of a vegetarian diet. Setting: South Australia. Subjects: Six hundred and one randomly selected South Australians. Results: The main perceived barriers to adopting a vegetarian diet were enjoying eating meat and an unwillingness to alter eating habits. This was the case for men, women and all age groups, although there were sex and age differences present in over half of the barrier items. For example, family food preferences were a greater problem for women than for men, while the oldest group was more likely to agree that humans are 'meant' to eat meat than the younger groups. The main benefits associated with vegetarian diets were health benefits: increased fruit and vegetable intake, decreased saturated fat intake, weight control. Animal welfare-related benefits and disease prevention were also important. Age and sex differences were apparent, although age differences were more important than sex differences. Conclusions: The majority of respondents perceived there to be health benefits associated with the consumption of a vegetarian diet, but also, predictably, enjoyed eating meat. Given this, it is likely that interest in plant-based diets that contain some meat is higher than that in no-meat diets. An understanding of the perceived benefits and barriers of consuming a vegetarian diet will allow the implementation of strategies to influence meat and vegetarianism beliefs, dietary behaviour and, hence, public health.


As the tide of Big Data continues to influence the landscape of Natural Language Processing (NLP), the utilization of modern NLP methods has grounded itself in this data, in order to tackle a variety of text-based tasks. These methods without a doubt can include private or otherwise personally identifiable information. As such, the question of privacy in NLP has gained fervor in recent years, coinciding with the development of new Privacy- Enhancing Technologies (PETs). Among these PETs, Differential Privacy boasts several desirable qualities in the conversation surrounding data privacy. Naturally, the question becomes whether Differential Privacy is applicable in the largely unstructured realm of NLP. This topic has sparked novel research, which is unified in one basic goal how can one adapt Differential Privacy to NLP methods? This paper aims to summarize the vulnerabilities addressed by Differential Privacy, the current thinking, and above all, the crucial next steps that must be considered.


This volume contains the contributions to a conference that is among the most important meetings in financial mathematics. Serving as a bridge between probabilists in Japan (called the Ito School and known for its highly sophisticated mathematics) and mathematical finance and financial engineering, the conference elicits the very highest quality papers in the field of financial mathematics.


Water resources are among basics for sustainable development. The non uniform temporal and spatial distribution of water resources is led to shortage water in arid and semi arid regions. The inter basin water transfer projects are one remedy to this problem. According to the diversity of the feasible water transfer projects, ranking of the projects with different criteria is currently one of the important issues in water resources management. Fuzzy Multiple Criteria Decision Making (FMADM) is a collection of methodologies which can be used to compare, select, or rank multiple alternatives that typically involve incommensurate attributes. The aim of this research was to use some of the fuzzy multiple attribute group decision making methods for ranking some inter-basin water transfer projects of Karoon River, western Iran. Maximizing and minimizing sets method, the Bonissone's method for group decision making, Fuzzy TOPSIS for group decision making, and Fuzzy Decision Making software were used in this study. A set of 10 interbasin water transfer projects with 8 criteria were considered. First, the weight of each criterion was determined within a group of five water resources experts, Then the rating preference for each alternative were obtained by the same group of experts. Finally, the results of different methods were compared. The results showed that the Tunnel Koohrang 1 posses the higher rank. Also, the Spearman rank correlation coefficient was obtained between different methods. The results showed that the Fuzzy TOPSIS and Bonissone method provide the best correlation. For evaluating the criteria weightings, the sensitivity analysis was conducted and the results were compared.


Since the commercialization of the World Wide Web, web technologies and the Internet have enabled companies to perform digital business operations more efficiently and effectively than ever before. These apparent gains in business performance have transformed e-Business operations from an exploratory action to a competitive necessity for most organizations. However, this e-Business transformation requires specific skills, capital, information, technology, access to markets, and core resources that many firms lack. Relatively little is known about how firms obtain these e-Business-specific resources and capabilities. One increasingly common approach appears to be the use of alliances. We know that firms engaging in eBusiness transformation use a range of alliance forms to enhance their e-Business operations, however little is known about the nuances of e-Business alliance formation and the resultant effects. Drawing upon resource-based view, social exchange and institutional theories, our research objective is to: 1) identify the antecedents to e-Business alliance formation, 2) understand why firms choose a specific alliance form over other alternatives when participating in an e-Business alliance and 3) capture the firm performance outcomes of an e-Business alliance.


The increasing life expectancy of HIV-infected persons due to antiretroviral therapy (ART) is associated with growing frequency of non-opportunistic respiratory diseases. This review of literature is devoted to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which is known to be the most common chronic noninfectious lung condition in HIV-patients. The prevalence of COPD in the global population with HIV is high and is associated with HIV.The article contains actual data on HIV/COPD comorbidity, presents current information on mechanism of COPD development in HIV-infection, factors contributing to the mutual influence and adverse course of comorbid conditions. The specialties of COPD treatment during ART and clinically significant drug interactions between different COPD medications and some antiretrovirals are highlighted.The socio-economic significance of both HIV-infection and COPD argues wide informing of pulmonologists, therapists and infectious disease specialists about the course and treatment of COPD in persons with HIV-infection.


BACKGROUND The use of blood group O as "universal blood" for emergency whole blood transfusions carries the risk for a hemolytic transfusion reaction mediated by incompatible A/B antibodies. This risk can be minimized by assuring that the donor has a low titer of anti-A and anti-B. The level of these naturally occurring antibodies has been shown to be increased by vaccination with most biologically derived vaccines. This boostering effect has been investigated for the new generation of vaccines. METHODS The 120 crew members of a Swedish naval ship deployed for 7 months to the Indian Ocean were tested for anti-A and anti-B before their predeployment vaccination program and after returning to Sweden. The vaccination program contained vaccines against cholera, diphtheria, hepatitis A and B, influenza, measles, meningitis, mumps, pertussis, polio, rubella, TBE virus, tetanus, typhus and yellow fever. Paired antibody titrations were performed for both IgM and IgG using microtube gelcards (Diamed GMBH). RESULTS No crew member, including the six belonging to the "high titer" group, showed a sign of a booster effect by any of the used vaccines. CONCLUSION The earlier reported boostering effects mediated by different vaccines cannot be replicated with the new vaccines of today. This is probably a result of the new manufacturing techniques resulting in much purer vaccines. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Therapeutic/care management study, level II.


Abstract We discuss the Capitulation Problem for Néron-Raynaud class groups of tori over global fields F and obtain generalizations of the main results of [González-Avilés, J. reine angew. Math. 613: 75–97, 2007]. We also show that short exact sequences of F-tori induce long exact sequences involving the corresponding Néron-Raynaud class groups. For example, we show that the Néron-Raynaud class group of any F-torus which is split by a metacyclic extension of F can be "resolved" in terms of classical ideal class groups of global fields.


OBJECTIVE
To identify potential risk factors for feline litter box issues (eg, house soiling).

ANIMALS
3,049 privately owned cats.

PROCEDURES
Data were collected using a validated, owner-completed survey with convenience sampling. The feline behavior and personality survey included 138 statements related to cat behavior and questions concerning cat background and health. Statements related to litter box issues were subjected to factor analysis. Associations between the identified factors and personality and background variables were studied using generalized linear models. Strength of these associations (ie, importance) was evaluated by calculating relative and absolute effect sizes.

RESULTS
Factor analysis yielded 2 factors: house soiling and litter box fussiness. This study suggests that fearful cats are more prone to both forms of litter box issues than nonfearful individuals. Other associations we found differed between factors. For example, low sociability toward cats, male sex, and being intact associated only with increased house soiling and older age only with litter box fussiness. The most important variables in the litter box models (ie, sociability toward cats, breed, and activity/playfulness) failed to reach the suggested cutoff for a small effect size.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Numerous variables are thought to influence litter box issues, but few studies have examined their relevance. Here, we studied the associations of over 30 background variables and personality traits with 2 litter box issue factors to estimate their importance at the population level. Our results bring new knowledge to this field and may contribute to finding new solutions for these complex issues in the future.


We show that to lower the sampling rate in a spread spectrum communication system using Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS), compressive signal processing can be applied to demodulate the received signal. This may lead to a decrease in the power consumption or the manufacturing price of wireless receivers using spread spectrum technology. The main novelty of this paper is the discovery that in spread spectrum systems it is possible to apply compressive sensing with a much simpler hardware architecture than in other systems, making the implementation both simpler and more energy efficient. Our theoretical work is exemplified with a numerical experiment using the IEEE 802.15.4 standard's 2.4 GHz band specification. The numerical results support our theoretical findings and indicate that compressive sensing may be used successfully in spread spectrum communication systems. The results obtained here may also be applicable in other spread spectrum technologies, such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems.


The welfare state is not merely a stand-in for missing markets; it can do a whole lot more. When generations overlap and the young must borrow to make educational investments, a dynamically-efficient welfare state, by taxing the middle-aged and offering a compensatory old-age pension, can generate higher long-run human capital and welfare compared to laissez faire. Along the transition, no generation is hurt and some are better off. If an intergenerational human capital externality is present, unfunded pensions can be gradually phased out entirely. Public pension reform can be rationalized on efficiency grounds without relying on political-economy concerns or aging.


A model of firm innovation illustrates the effects of the threat of imitation and product varieties on a representative firm ' s decision to invest in research and development to produce new product varieties. The model motivates two empirical questions: (1) Is research and developm ent partially correlated with firms ' propensity to introduce new products or product innovation in developing countries? (2) Do trade policies and the national investment climate affect firms ' propensity for product innovation? The econometric evidence suggests that the answers are yes and yes, but the investment climate affects product innovation in a manner that is consistent with the presence of market failures and state capture. National trade-policy distortions appear to reduce the probability of product innovation, and the density of exporting firms at the national level also seems to positively affect the propensity to introduce new products by individual firms. The paper discusses some policy implications.


The ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) is a method for combining a dynamical model with data in a sequential fashion. Despite its widespread use, there has been little analysis of its theoretical properties. Many of the algorithmic innovations associated with the filter, which are required to make a useable algorithm in practice, are derived in an ad hoc fashion. The aim of this paper is to initiate the development of a systematic analysis of the EnKF, in particular to do so for small ensemble size. The perspective is to view the method as a state estimator, and not as an algorithm which approximates the true filtering distribution. The perturbed observation version of the algorithm is studied, without and with variance inflation. Without variance inflation well-posedness of the filter is established; with variance inflation accuracy of the filter, with respect to the true signal underlying the data, is established. The algorithm is considered in discrete time, and also for a continuous time limit arising when observations are frequent and subject to large noise. The underlying dynamical model, and assumptions about it, is sufficiently general to include the Lorenz '63 and '96 models, together with the incompressible Navier–Stokes equation on a two-dimensional torus. The analysis is limited to the case of complete observation of the signal with additive white noise. Numerical results are presented for the Navier–Stokes equation on a two-dimensional torus for both complete and partial observations of the signal with additive white noise.


ABSTRACT This article examines statements issued by National Contact Points (NCPs) under the OECD's Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. Applying the term 'risk-based due diligence', the OECD's Guidelines have adopted the human rights due diligence concept introduced by the UN Framework and elaborated by the UN Guiding Principles. OECD NCPs de facto serve as remedy institutions for those instruments. The analysis aims to identify and glean insights provided by NCPs on human rights due diligence. It identifies and analyses specific instances that have addressed due diligence in regard to state guidance for companies operating in conflict areas and the identification of a business relationship as 'directly linked' in the terms of the UNGPs and the Guidelines. It also considers steps that form part of due diligence, particularly stakeholder engagement, the exercise of influence through leverage, and integrating and acting upon findings on impact. The article finds that final statements and recommendations issued by NCPs can serve as sources of norms for human rights/risk-based due diligence. It also finds that there appears to be scope for a larger number of NCPs to deliver guidance through their final statements.


2 Centro Oceanográfico de Cádiz Instituto Español de Oceanografía Puerto Pesquero Muelle de Levante s/n 11006 Cádiz, Spain Abstract—The trophic ecology of 7 key species of Gadiformes, the silvery pout (Gadiculus argenteus), Mediterranean bigeye rockling (Gaidropsarus biscayensis), European hake (Merluccius merluccius), blue whiting (Micromesistius poutassou), Mediterranean ling (Molva macrophthalma), greater forkbeard (Phycis blennoides), and poor cod (Trisopterus minutus), in the western Mediterranean Sea was explored. A total of 3192 fish stomachs were examined during 2011–2017 to investigate ontogenetic shifts in diet, trophic interactions (both interspecific and intraspecific), and feeding strategies. The results from applying multivariate statistical techniques indicate that all investigated species, except the Mediterranean bigeye rockling and poor cod, underwent ontogenetic dietary shifts, increasing their trophic level with size. The studied species hold different trophic positions, from opportunistic (e.g., the Mediterranean bigeye rockling, with a trophic level of 3.51) to highly specialized piscivore behavior (e.g., the Mediterranean ling, with a trophic level of 4.47). These insights reveal 4 different feeding strategies among the cooccurring species and size classes in the study area, as well as the degree of dietary overlap. Such information on ecological patterns within a fish assemblage, including species interactions, is often requested by those who aim to implement ecosystem management. Therefore, these findings can be used to improve management of sustainable fisheries in this region.


Macau's gaming boom and the planned construction of the Hong Kong, Macau, and Zhuhai (HMZ) Bridge present good opportunities for the three destinations to develop tourism. However, developing tourism without regional coordination and collaboration could result in overcapacity and cut-throat competition among HMZ and dampen the healthy growth of tourism in the region. This study investigates the HMZ tourism cooperation issue by conducting in-depth interviews with government officials, industry practitioners and tourism researchers in HMZ. The question it seeks to answer is: How should the three destinations join hands to develop the region's tourism in a cooperative way? Based on the interviews, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analyses were conducted with a focus on HMZ's internal relationship and threats from external competitors in tourism development. Policy recommendations that could benefit HMZ as an integrated region were made based on the analyses.


Abstract The broadcaster, who uses the possibility of functioning in the broadcasting media space as a social broadcaster, ensures not only independence from power centres, political parties and commercial entities, but also full control over the broadcast content. He consciously directs ithe message to a specific group of recipients, often a niche group, providing content that commercial and public stations avoid, considering it to be unattractive. The type of programmes broadcast is strictly defined by the role it has to fulfil, the requirements set by the legislator for social broadcasters and the possibilities resulting from having such status. This has a significant impact on the place it occupies in the media radio market.


the particle apa (therefore), which does not appear in stat ing a conditional. As the author says, it is not surprising that such "monstrous" sentences as (a) and (a') should fail to come through the gantlet of scribes and editors unscathed (the hyphens which we have here used to show the construction are of course not in the Greek text). One of the particular passages discussed is the same which is quoted by Lukasiewicz in his footnote 9. This case is interesting because what is evidently the correct reading is found in two of the manuscripts, and is used by Lukasiewicz, but it has seemed unintelligible to some modern editors, who offer doubtful emendations. ALONZO CHURCH


The general acceptance of the principle of restriction of the total caloric intake in the dietetic management of diabetes mellitus in contrast to the older principle of overfeeding has increased the importance of an accurate knowledge of the minimum amount of protein that will maintain nitrogenous equilibrium in the diabetic patient. The ultimate effect of long continued gradual loss of body nitrogen is not known, but it seems probable that such a condition is very undesirable. The subject whose nitrogen excretion is constantly higher than his nitrogen ingestion is certainly suffering for want of one of the most important of the tissue repairing elements, and a diet so arranged as to induce this negative balance, even though not lethal, must produce a severe grade of inanition. The following experiments were undertaken in an effort to determine the minimum protein ingestion that will safely maintain nitrogen balance in patients with diabetes


Infants with congenital heart defects (CHD) have increased risk of childhood mortality; previous research indicates racial/ethnic differences in timing of death during infancy. However, less is known about racial/ethnic disparities in timing of death during early childhood. Texas Birth Defect Registry data were used in a retrospective cohort study of 19 406 singleton, live-born infants, born with a CHD between 1 January 1996 and 31 December 2003 to non-Hispanic (NH) white, NH-black, or Hispanic women. Registry data were linked to death records to ascertain deaths through 31 December 2005. Kaplan–Meier survival estimates were computed and HRs and 95% CIs were calculated from multivariable Cox-proportional hazard regression models to determine the adjusted effect of maternal race/ethnicity on mortality for each specific CHD during the neonatal, post-neonatal and childhood periods. Racial/ethnic disparities in mortality were most pronounced during the post-neonatal period and persisted into early childhood. Among children who survived infancy, NH-Blacks with tetralogy of Fallot (HR=3.61; 95% CI 1.25 to 10.47), coarctation of the aorta (HR=3.13; 95% CI 1.15 to 8.54) and ventricular septal defect (HR=2.60; 95% CI 1.31 to 5.19) were more likely to die in early childhood compared to similarly affected NH-Whites. No statistically significant differences in timing of death after infancy were found for Hispanics vs NH-Whites. Racial/ethnic disparities in timing of death in childhood for specific CHD diagnoses are present but of unknown aetiology. Elucidation of factors associated with early childhood CHD mortality will aid in development of public health and clinical strategies to reduce racial/ethnic disparities in childhood mortality.


This thesis examines the early stages of the transformation of emblematic political prints into political caricature from the beginning of the Seven Years' War (1756) to the Treaty of Paris, which ended the American Revolutionary War (1783). Both contextual and iconographical issues are investigated in relation to the debates occasioned by Britain's imperial project, which marked a period of dramatic expansion during the Seven Years' War, and ended with the loss of the American colonies, consequently framing this thesis as a study of political prints during the rise and fall of the so-called 'First British Empire'. Previous studies of eighteenth-century political prints have largely ignored the complex and lengthy evolutionary process by which the emblematic mode amalgamated with caricatural representation, and have consequently concluded that political prints excluded emblems entirely by the end of the 1770s. However, this study emphasizes the significance of the Wilkite movement for the promotion and preservation of emblems, and investigates how pictorial political argument was perceived and received in eighteenth-century British society, arguing that wider tastes and opinions regarding the utilization of political prints gradually shifted to accept both modes of representation. Moreover, the marketplace, legal status, topicality, and manufacturing methods of political prints are analyzed in terms of understanding the precarious nature of their consumption and those that endeavoured to engage in political printmaking. The evolution, establishment, and subsequent appropriation of pictorial tropes is discussed from the early modern period to the beginning of the so-called Golden Age of caricature, while tracing the adaptation of representational models in American colonial prints that employed emblems already entrenched in British pictorial political debate. Political prints from the two largest print collections, the British Museum and the Lewis Walpole Library at Yale are consulted, along with a number of eighteenth-century newspapers and periodicals, to develop the earlier research by M. Dorothy George, Charles Press, Herbert Atherton, Diana Donald, Amelia Rauser, and Eirwen Nicholson.