In this study, it was aimed to investigate polymorphisms in seven genes (GH, PRL, STAT5A, OPN, PIT-1, LEP and FGF2) related to reproductive traits in dairy heifers. Frequency distributions of the genotypes between fertile and repeat breeder heifers groups were investigated. Allele effects on fertility were also analyzed. Blood samples were taken from a total of 160 Holstein-Friesian heifers and they were divided into two groups according to their artificial insemination numbers (AI). The heifers becoming pregnant after the first AI were used as the fertile heifers (FH, n=80) and the heifers with 3 or more equal AIs were accepted as the repeat breeder heifers (RBH, n=80). All the animals were genotyped by the PCR-RFLP method for seven genes and the association works were performed for 145 animals (RBH, n=79; FH n=66). For all loci investigated, two alleles and three genotypes were found for overall population with the exception that PRL locus had two alleles and two genotypes. The chi-square test (χ2) revealed that the whole population and the two groups separately were at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The genotype distributions of PIT-1 and STAT5A conspicuously differed between the FH and the RBH groups; however, these differences were not found significant. Association of GH-AB genotype was found significant on AI number for the first pregnancy. Mixed effect logistic regression model was used to investigate the allele effects on fertility. No linkage disequilibrium was detected between the investigated loci.


Background
 Sickle cell disease (SCD) is caused by abnormal sickle hemoglobin (HbS) and results in chronic hemolytic anemia, painful vaso-occlusive events (VOEs), and progressive vasculopathy that lead to significant morbidity. While acute vaso-occlusive pain is a defining clinical feature, chronic daily pain also contributes significantly to poor quality of life in many adult patients.
 The ongoing Phase 1/2 HGB-206 Study (NCT02140554) evaluating safety and efficacy of LentiGlobin for SCD (bb1111) gene therapy (GT) uses a modified human β-globin gene that produces GT-derived anti-sickling hemoglobin (HbAT87Q). Data from Group C patients including red blood cell (RBC) physiology, clinical outcomes, and patient-reported pain intensity are presented here.
 Methods
 Patients (≥12 and ≤50 years) with SCD and stroke or severe VOEs, including acute episodes of pain and acute chest syndrome (ACS), were enrolled. CD34+ cells collected by plerixafor mobilization/apheresis were transduced with BB305 lentiviral vector. LentiGlobin was infused following myeloablative busulfan conditioning. Patients were monitored for laboratory evaluations including Hb levels and hemolysis markers, SCD-related outcomes, pain intensity using the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS)-57, and adverse events (AEs). Data are median (min-max) unless otherwise stated.
 Results
 As of 3 March 2020, 40 Group C patients (23.5 [12-38] years) initiated cell collection; 25/40 were treated with LentiGlobin and followed for 12.1 (2.8-24.8) months. Neutrophil and platelet engraftment were achieved at 19 (12-27) days and 28 (19-136) days, respectively.
 All patients stopped RBC transfusions by 90 days post-treatment. In 16 evaluable patients with ≥6 months of follow-up, total Hb at last visit was 11.5 (9.6-16.2) g/dL, with HbAT87Q contribution of 5.2 (2.7-9.4) g/dL, HbS of 6.1 (4.9-7.8) g/dL, and median HbS ≤ 60% of total Hb. Exploratory assays showed near pancellular expression of HbAT87Q ≥6 months post-treatment (N=9 patients), with ~90% of RBCs containing βA-T87Q by 18 months, and reduction in sickling propensity comparable to sickle cell trait. At last visit post-treatment, key hemolysis markers were trending towards normalization with median (quartile [Q]1-Q3) lactate dehydrogenase of 212 (201-287) U/L, reticulocyte count of 178 (146.5-236.3) ×109/L, and total bilirubin of 19 (15.4-27.4) µmol/L (all for n=25).
 In 14 patients with ≥6 months of follow-up and history of vaso-occlusive crisis (VOC) or ACS, the annualized VOC+ACS rate was 4.0 (2.0-14.0) in the 2 years prior to treatment. Post-treatment, no ACS or serious VOCs were observed in these patients. One non-serious Grade 2 VOC occurred ~3.5 months after LentiGlobin infusion, resulting in a 99.5% (95% confidence interval, 92.4%-100%) mean reduction in the annualized VOC+ACS rate post-treatment (Figure 1).
 Patients with PROMIS-57 pain intensity scores "worse" than the population norm at baseline reported clinically meaningful improvements in pain reduction at 12 months post-treatment (n=5). Patients with scores near or "better" than the population norm at baseline (n=5) remained stable over time (Figure 2).
 The most common non-hematologic Grade ≥3 AEs post-treatment were stomatitis (n=15) and febrile neutropenia (n=11). Serious AEs reported in ≥2 patients post-treatment were nausea, opioid withdrawal syndrome, and vomiting (all for n=2); 3 patients had LentiGlobin-related nonserious Grade ≤2 AEs. There has been one death, unlikely related to LentiGlobin, >18 months post-treatment in a patient with significant baseline SCD-related cardiopulmonary disease. There have been no events of graft failure, vector-mediated replication-competent lentivirus, or clonal dominance.
 Summary
 LentiGlobin for SCD GT results in near pancellular βA-T87Q expression and reduced HbS expression, which impacts the pathophysiology of SCD as demonstrated by reduced RBC sickling and hemolysis and increased total Hb. Complete resolution of VOC/ACS was observed in almost all patients, with 99.5% mean reduction in the annualized VOC+ACS rate post-treatment. In addition, patients overall reported an improved pain intensity score. The safety profile post-LentiGlobin remains generally consistent with myeloablative single-agent busulfan conditioning and underlying SCD. Longer follow-up and additional patients will be presented.

 Thompson: CRISPR/Vertex: Research Funding; bluebird bio, Inc.: Consultancy, Research Funding; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Biomarin: Research Funding; Baxalta: Research Funding; BMS: Consultancy, Research Funding. Walters:AllCells, Inc: Consultancy; Veevo Biomedicine: Consultancy; Editas: Consultancy. Kwiatkowski:Agios: Consultancy; bluebird bio, Inc.: Consultancy, Research Funding; Apopharma: Research Funding; Novartis: Research Funding; Terumo Corp: Research Funding; Sangamo: Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy; Imara: Consultancy; Bristol Myers Squibb: Consultancy. Aygun:Patient-Centered Outsomes Research Institute: Research Funding; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute: Research Funding; National Institute of Nursing Research: Research Funding; bluebird bio: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding. Schmidt:German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany: Current Employment; GeneWerk GmbH, Heidelberg, Germany: Other: Equity ownership. DelCarpini:bluebird bio, Inc.: Current Employment, Other: Ownership Interest and Salary. Pierciey:bluebird bio, Inc.: Current Employment, Other: Ownership Interest and Salary. Miller:bluebird bio, Inc.: Current Employment, Other: Ownership Interest and Salary. Gallagher:bluebird bio, Inc.: Current Employment, Other: Ownership Interest and Salary. Chen:bluebird bio, Inc.: Consultancy. Goyal:bluebird bio, Inc.: Current Employment, Other: Ownership Interest and Salary. Kanter:Wells Fargo: Honoraria; Cowen: Honoraria; Jeffries: Honoraria; AGIOS: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Medscape: Honoraria; GLG: Honoraria; NHLBI Sickle Cell Advisory Board: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; SCDAA Medical and Research Advisory Board: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; BEAM: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Sanofi: Consultancy; bluebird bio, inc: Consultancy, Honoraria; Novartis: Consultancy; Guidepoint Global: Honoraria.


A tantalizing question in microbial physiology is the inter-dependence and evolutionary potential of cellular stress response across multiple environmental dimensions. To address this question, we comprehensively characterized the cross-stress behavior of wild-type and evolved Escherichia coli populations in five abiotic stresses (n-butanol, osmotic, alkaline, acidic, and oxidative) by performing genome-scale genetic, transcriptional and growth profiling, thus identifying 18 cases of cross-stress protection and one case of cross-stress vulnerability. We identified 18 cases of cross-stress protection and one case of cross-stress vulnerability, along with core and stress-specific networks. We tested several hypotheses regarding the effect of the stress order, stress combinations, mutation reversal and varying environments to the evolution and final cellular fitness of the respective populations. Our results argue of a common systems-level core of the stress response with several crucial implicated pathways that include metal ion binding and glycolysis/gluconeogenesis that is further complemented by a stress-specific expression program.


Objectives: One in 110 children in the United States has autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Early identification and early intervention have been shown to improve outcomes for children with ASD. Although recommended, routine ASD screening at 18 and 24 months of age has not been widely adopted in practice. This quality improvement study examined whether a private primary care practice could overcome screening barriers and implement the recommended universal ASD screening practice using the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers™. Method: Guided by the Diffusion of Innovations evidence-based conceptual model, a practice change using the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers™ was developed. A retrospective chart review of 99 subjects was done to evaluate screening fidelity and cost. Results: An overall screening fidelity of 91% was achieved over a 7-month period. The cost of screening to the practice averaged $22.78 per month. This was offset by an average of $38.76 of revenue per month. Conclusion: These findings suggest that low-cost universal screening can be implemented in primary care when addressed from an organizational perspective.


When designing I tend to go with the flow. I don't think deeply about why I'm making any particular decision. I'm an intuitive designer. I do have a set of principles that drive my decision making. But I don't ponder what principle to apply at each moment or worry about violating any specific principle when I do make a decision. My design process is fluid, dynamic, and somewhat messy. I'm comfortable with tossing out partial solutions when better ideas come along. Rework and revision seem natural and necessary. A sense of design aesthetics drives my decision making as much as anything. Clean designs are better than messy ones. Simplicity does not precede complexity, but follows it. Get it working, then get it working better seems to track with my experience. But not every comprehensive solution can be simplified


There are many kinds of pre-crosslinking gel being used at present, but their high temperature resisting performance are poor. The general temperature resisting capacity is only about 120°C. Aiming at the poor resistance to high temperature of current pre-crosslinking gel , an anti-high temperature pre-crosslinking polymer gel is developed in this paper. Experimental results show that this product has appropriate swelling ability, better anti-extruding strength, better deformability and elasticity. The temperature resisting capacity in freshwater can reach as high as 150°C,and it still has comparatively higher strength after high temperature treatment.


Aim: The aim of the study was to explore the impact of the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) lockdown on the clinical outcome of patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) attending a primary care Diabetes Clinic in Lagos State, Nigeria, in terms of their compliance with medication intake, blood pressure (BP), and glycemic control and ability to modify medication through telephone consultation. Methodology: A retrospective review of the clinical characteristics of patients was carried out. Telephone calls were made to patients with Type 2 DM who attended the chronic medical disorder clinic of the Family Medicine Department, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria. The information obtained included questions on demographic data, type of medications used, and medication compliance, use of self-monitoring devices for BP, and blood glucose levels. Data analysis was performed using SPSS program version 26. Results: A total of 178 patients were eligible. Most (87%) reported using their medication as prescribed, 74% of patients had self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) during lockdown, though only 29% checked glucose level regularly and 54% practiced home monitoring of BP (HMBP). Medication was modified in 34% of patients by the doctor who called in. Biguanides and Sulfonylureas were the most prescribed oral antidiabetic medications, while Renin Angiotensin Aldosterone System (RAAS) blockers were the most prescribed antihypertensive class. The HMBP was associated with lower systolic BP (t-test 3.49, P = 0.0008). Conclusions: Type 2 diabetic patients managed through telephone during the COVID-19 lockdown reported good level of drug compliance, while improved practice of SMBG, and HMBP resulted in better level of control. The findings of this review suggest that the use of e-consultation can play a role in patient management of Type 2 diabetes even beyond the COVID-19 era including reaching patients in distant locations who are unable to come to the hospital. There is a need for further studies on e-medicine role on various aspects of medical care.


ABSTRACT: We investigate how accounting Ph.D. programs prepare future accounting professors to fulfill their teaching responsibilities. We collect data from 75 recent graduates about their perceptions of the pedagogy training provided by their Ph.D. programs and find that pedagogical knowledge and skills are primarily self-taught with most obtained from the process of teaching a course. The pedagogy training provided by accounting doctoral programs is perceived to cover important areas; however, on a relative basis, the amount of training is significantly less than its perceived importance. Novice teachers place highest value on training of skills that affect day-to-day teaching responsibilities. Analyses also suggest that best practices for teaching pedagogy include a separate course in university pedagogy combined with an apprenticeship-type model. Data Availability: The survey data and instrument used in this study are available upon request from the authors.


This chapter introduces the notion of "news unbundling", the phenomenon that in today's online media landscape, news items are distributed separately. In contrast to newspaper articles that were bundled in one newspaper edition, items from very different sources are distributed via various channels. Thus, the same item can arrive at the user via different pathways, including news sites, news aggregators, and social media. Therefore, the chapter proposes to conceptualize and measure (online) news exposure as a network of users and news items. The proposed model allows to for integrative research perspectives by seeing channel and brand as properties of edges and nodes, while putting the news item itself in a central role, allowing to test communication theory in an unbundled news ecosystem. It allows to answer flow-of-information questions such as via which route a given piece of information reaches a recipient and how this can be predicted; or to test online agenda-setting effects.


Hybrid systems that integrate wave energy converters (WECs) with floating offshore wind turbines (FOWTs) are considered to be key equipment to deeply exploit marine renewable energy. The power take-off (PTO) system is an important component of the hybrid system, whose parameters also have a significant impact on the hybrid system's performance. In this paper, a wind-wave hybrid system using hydraulic PTO systems is proposed. A numerical simulation framework based on the linear wave theory and basic equations of hydraulic components is built and verified. The influence of six critical hydraulic parameters on the wave energy capture and motion response performance of the hybrid system is investigated. Specifically, the parameters of piston area, motor displacement, and equivalent generator damping affect the performance of the hybrid system similar to changing the damping term of the PTO system. The parameters of the initial gas volume and the pre-charged pressure of the accumulator affect the wave power capture only for short wave periods, while the motion response of the hybrid system increases with the increase of these two parameters. The parameter of orifice area of the throttle valve affects the performance of the hybrid system slightly only when it is small. The optimal value of partial hydraulic parameters and their corresponding peak performance are also discussed.


Performance growth of single-core processors has come to a halt in the past decade, but was re-enabled by the introduction of parallelism in processors. Multicore frameworks along with Graphical Processing Units empowered to enhance parallelism broadly. Couples of compilers are updated to developing challenges forsynchronization and threading issues. Appropriate program and algorithm classifications will have advantage to a great extent to the group of software engineers to get opportunities for effective parallelization. In present work we investigated current species for classification of algorithms, in that related work on classification is discussed along with the comparison of issues that challenges the classification. The set of algorithms are chosen which matches the structure with different issues and perform given task. We have tested these algorithms utilizing existing automatic species extraction toolsalong with Bones compiler. We have added functionalities to existing tool, providing a more detailed characterization. The contributions of our work include support for pointer arithmetic, conditional and incremental statements, user defined types, constants and mathematical functions. With this, we can retain significant data which is not captured by original speciesof algorithms. We executed new theories into the device, empowering automatic characterization of program code.


Nitric oxide (NO) is now well characterised as a physiologically important molecule, acting most notably as an intraand intercellular messenger within the cardiovascular and nervous systems. To fulfil these functions NO is produced in a tightly controlled manner by calcium dependent, constitutively expressed nitric oxide synthases (cNOS) present within endothelial and neural cells. Under pathological conditions, however, NO acts very diVerently from a benign signalling molecule. In these circumstances NO is produced in large, apparently tissue damaging amounts by inducible, calcium unregulated nitric oxide synthases (iNOS). For example, in inflammatory bowel disease the presence of high local concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin 8, is associated with the induction of iNOS and so the continuous local generation of NO, 3 possibly in very great amounts. Notably, this diVerence in NO production between cNOS and iNOS enzymes is not due, as is often remarked, to the inducible isoform of NO synthase being capable of producingmoreNO than the constitutive forms. Indeed, cNOS and iNOS enzymes function with very similar kinetics, co-factor requirements and substrate aYnities. The important characteristic of iNOS enzymes is that they are not regulated by intracellular calcium. So, once iNOS is expressed within a cell it immediately sets to work forming NO. The characterisation of cNOS and iNOS permitted a neat theory to be put forward to explain the conflicting roles of NO. cNOS enzymes made NO in low concentrations as a signalling molecule, whereas iNOS enzymes made NO in high, cell damaging, concentrations. However, there was a problem with this theory. NO by itself is not especially reactive. So, how does the production of NO in ungoverned amounts contribute to the tissue damage seen in many inflammatory states? The answer to this question was provided by Beckman and colleagues who showed that the reaction of NO with superoxide anion was not a simple inactivation process but rather an important activation step, resulting in the formation of peroxynitrite (ONOO). Unlike NO, peroxynitrite is a reactive species, giving rise to further damaging molecules, most notably the extremely destructive hydroxyl anion (OH). The formation of reactive peroxynitrite by this combination between NO and superoxide anion explains why—for example, neutrophils are required to produce both species if they are to be eVective killers of invading cells. In inflamed tissue we should also expect peroxynitrite to be formed, as iNOS is present (see earlier) along with considerable populations of invading cells, many of which produce superoxide anion. As long as the NO and superoxide anion are produced in close proximity we must conclude that peroxynitrite is formed, and importantly that this could be central to the inflammatory damage seen. Indeed, instillation of the highly reactive and short-lived peroxynitrite directly into the rat colon unsurprisingly causes notable local damage and inflammation. In this issue (see page 180), Kimura and colleagues, supporting the work of Singer et al, provide further evidence that NO produced by iNOS within the colonic mucosa of active ulcerative colitis is directly associated with the local production of peroxynitrite. In essence, these authors have found iNOS to be present throughout the colonic mucosa in amounts that are proportional to the degree of mucosal inflammation. This does not show that peroxynitrite is also formed, and unfortunately because of its highly reactive nature there is no way to measure peroxynitrite concentrations directly within living tissues. However, peroxynitrite reacts with proteins leaving behind tell-tale nitrotyrosine residue "footprints". These "footprints" can be detected by selective antibodies, which Kimura et al have used to show that, as for iNOS, there is a clear correlation between nitrotyrosine groups and tissue inflammation. Clearly, our most important question must be whether or not the observations of Kimura et al and others will lead to the use of NOS inhibitors as new therapies for inflammatory bowel disease. Unfortunately, our state of knowledge suggests that the answer to this question is no. Currently, there are few genuinely selective iNOS inhibitors and no reports of their use in animal models of these disease states. Non-selective cNOS and iNOS inhibitors have been tested and sometimes found to be therapeutically eVective in animal models. However, these nonselective agents also inhibit cNOS very well and can exacerbate intestinal damage by both reducing local blood flow and promoting neutrophil adhesion to the blood vessel wall. Although it is hoped these side eVects could be avoided by the use of selective iNOS inhibitors, it must be borne in mind that cNOS isoforms could also be up-regulated in inflamed tissues, making the selective targeting of a disease specific NOS isoform impossible. Also supporting our cautious conclusion are studies demonstrating that in a disease model closer to the human, rhesus monkeys displaying spontaneous chronic colonic inflammation, administration of NO synthase inhibitors reduces neither histological inflammatory scores nor diarrhoeal symptoms. One final point of interest arising from Kimura et al's study is, as remarked by the authors, that many of the subjects were taking steroids without any noticeable eVect on iNOS expression or activity, or peroxynitrite formation. Steroids dramatically down-regulate iNOS expression in numerous cell and animal models. Does this reflect diVerent dosing levels of steroids in animal models and human disease, diVerent pathways of iNOS regulation in acute and chronic inflammatory states, or diVerences between the human and animal models? The data presented here do not permit us to draw a conclusion. However, as we investigate the actions of iNOS inhibitors in human disease states, it is clearly vital to understand why such a powerful inhibitor of iNOS expression was without eVect.


The 3-D Princeton Ocean Model with tidal forcing supplied by a 2-D barotropic model was used to examine the time-depth variability and features of tidal current, turbulence, and power of tidal stream energy in the Taiwan Strait (TS). A number of potential tidal stream sites for the kinetic energy conversion were identified. Numerical simulations showed that semidiurnal tidal currents are predominant in the TS, with along-channel maximum amplitude reaching 1.3 m s–1. The modeling revealed multicore eddy structures generated by the ebb and flood flows over the Chang-Yuen Rise (CYR). The eddy structures were found to contain filaments with different vorticities, positions, and signs, which depend on the phase of the tide. The maximum of absolute relative vorticity was estimated to reach 100 rad/week. During the flood-ebb cycle, the turbulence exhibited symmetry over the CYR and in the Peng-Hu Channel (PHC), while in the cross-slope direction south from the CYR it was asymmetrical, changing from ebb-dominant to flood-dominant. The maximum values of eddy diffusivity within the bottom boundary layer ranged from ∼10–3 to 10–2 m2 s–1. A numerical simulation revealed that, in the PHC, bottom shear turbulence on the flood is suppressed by strong stratification due to the inflow of dense water from the South China Sea. An assessment of power density revealed several potentially attractive sites for the installation of tidal turbines in the vicinity and over the CYR. Tidal currents at these sites are characterized by insignificant flood/ebb asymmetry and the magnitude of power density reached 100 Wm–2. The most promising site for tidal energy converter installations was identified in the northern extremity of the PHC, where the magnitude of power density reached 300 Wm–2.


Community service providers deliver vital services to vulnerable populations. In the wake of a disaster, community service providers go beyond their normal service offerings to meet the added needs of clients. Research to date indicates that 25 per cent of community service providers effected by a disaster would not be able to reopen after a disaster, reducing the access to vital services. This paper discusses the disaster impacts on service providers for people experiencing homelessness and the possible ways to mitigate severe effects. To investigate the effects of disasters and barriers to preparedness, a survey was conducted and completed by 161 homeless service providers in Australia. A further 45 interviews were conducted. The results indicated that these service providers experience greater client demand for services and are heavily burdened during stressful and traumatic times. An increase in client presentations puts financial pressure on these organisations as well as on staff workload and staffing demands. Identifying these stresses and limitations, homeless service providers identified five initiatives to be better prepared. Initiatives include increased funding; training for staff, volunteers and clients; funds for identified infrastructure recovery; material support for clients and good inter-agency collaboration.


We propose a technique for generating alternative models for keywords in a hybrid hidden Markov model - artificial neural network (HMM-ANN) keyword spotting paradigm. Given a base pronunciation for a keyword from the lookup dictionary, our algorithm generates a new model for a keyword which takes into account the systematic errors made by the neural network and avoiding those models that can be confused with other words in the language. The new keyword model improves the keyword detection rate while minimally increasing the number of false alarms.


Recently the importance of student employability has taken centre stage of the Higher Education (HE) agenda. The HE pedagogic rationale has shifted from students acquiring knowledge for its own sake to students attaining a set of employability attributes that will ready them for employment. Although anecdotal evidence suggests Contextual Studies (CS) within the Art, Media and Design (AMD) Faculty of Staffordshire University is frequently viewed as 'academic' by students, it actually includes a number of activities and skills that feature repeatedly in lists of key employability attributes as published by the UK Government, academics and employers. The purpose of this paper is to challenge the prevalent student view of CS by looking into the positive contribution it can make to a student's employability.


Abstract. In many semi-arid regions, multisectoral demands often stress available water supplies. Such is the case in the Elqui River valley of northern Chile, which draws on a limited-capacity reservoir to allocate 25 000 water rights. Delayed infrastructure investment forces water managers to address demand-based allocation strategies, particularly in dry years, which are realized through reductions in the volume associated with each water right. Skillful season-ahead streamflow forecasts have the potential to inform managers with an indication of future conditions to guide reservoir allocations. This work evaluates season-ahead statistical prediction models of October–January (growing season) streamflow at multiple lead times associated with manager and user decision points, and links predictions with a reservoir allocation tool. Skillful results (streamflow forecasts outperform climatology) are produced for short lead times (1 September: ranked probability skill score (RPSS) of 0.31, categorical hit skill score of 61 %). At longer lead times, climatological skill exceeds forecast skill due to fewer observations of precipitation. However, coupling the 1 September statistical forecast model with a sea surface temperature phase and strength statistical model allows for equally skillful categorical streamflow forecasts to be produced for a 1 May lead, triggered for 60 % of years (1950–2015), suggesting forecasts need not be strictly deterministic to be useful for water rights holders. An early (1 May) categorical indication of expected conditions is reinforced with a deterministic forecast (1 September) as more observations of local variables become available. The reservoir allocation model is skillful at the 1 September lead (categorical hit skill score of 53 %); skill improves to 79 % when categorical allocation prediction certainty exceeds 80 %. This result implies that allocation efficiency may improve when forecasts are integrated into reservoir decision frameworks. The methods applied here advance the understanding of the mechanisms and timing responsible for moisture transport to the Elqui Valley and provide a unique application of streamflow forecasting in the prediction of water right allocations.


In this article we develop a simple statistical model for the prediction of halogen bond interaction energies at equilibrium geometries. The model is based on explicitly correlated coupled cluster results and produces root-mean-squared deviations of 0.14 and 0.28 kcal mol–1 over separate fitting and validation sets, respectively. We also show how the model can be used to highlight cases where induction or dispersion significantly affect the underlying nature of the interaction.


I would like to examine how freedom and control operate today within fine art education. Control mechanisms can be viewed both from within and outside of education, as effects of University systems on the one hand and art world systems on the other. Both are themselves expressions of wider political and economic realities. Given the emphasis placed on professionalism, esteem indicators and self-investment, can we reignite notions of artistic freedom without returning to bohemian fantasies of social separation? Or has the 'artistic critique' of subjugation and disenchantment been taken over wholesale by new forms of capitalist enterprise, rendering obsolete artistic notions of freedom?


Human pain experience and expression evolved to serve a range of social functions, including warning others, eliciting care, and influencing interpersonal relationships, as well as to protect from physical danger. Study of the relatively specific, involuntary, and salient facial display of pain permits examination of these roles, extending our appreciation of pain beyond the prevalent narrow focus on somatosensory mechanisms.


Enormously successful during his own lifetime, the 15th-century Flemish painter Hans Memling left a vast legacy of work, including landscapes, portraits, altarpieces and miniatures. Brilliantly colourful, and characterised by an air of fantasy and illusion far removed from the political turbulence and bloodshed of 15th-century Flanders, Memling's paintings have always been extremely popular with the general public. Today Memling enjoys the stature he deserves as one of the true masters of late medieval art, and this volume provides a thorough reassessment of the artist and his work to herald the 500th anniversary of his death. Encompassing the entire range of his work, it contains a complete catalogue of the art, with each work reproduced in colour, and accompanied by detailed notes and analysis. A comprehensive biographical essay incorporating the latest research covers each period of Memling's life, setting him in the context of his own time and providing information on his most important contemporaries and predecessors. In conclusion the author provides an analytical review of his achievement, approached from historical, iconographic, stylistic, technical and aesthetic perspectives. Dirk De Vos is an art historian specialising in 15th and early 16th-century Flemish painting who has contributed to numerous periodicals and exhibition catalogues.


The pathogenesis of oral lichen planus (OLP) remains unclear, and microbial dysbiosis has been proposed to play a role in the pathogenesis of OLP. Oral mucosal swabs from 77 OLP patients and 76 healthy subjects were collected. The bacterial community among the OLP lesion, the adjacent normal mucosal, and the oral mucosal surface in healthy people were analyzed by 16S sequencing. The factor of gender and age that may affect the flora distribution of OLP patients were explored. Results indicate no significant difference in microbiota between OLP and the adjacent group. Compared with the healthy group, Neisseria, Haemophilus, Fusobacterium, Porphyromonas, Rothia, Actinomyces, and Capnocytophaga significantly increased in the OLP group. Actinomyces increased in male OLP patients, and the other six bacteria increased in female OLP patients. In female OLP patients, Lautropia and Dialister were positively correlated with age. While in male OLP patients, Moraxella, Porphyromonas, and Fusobacterium were positively correlated with age. Functional enrichment analysis suggested that abnormal energy metabolism related to ATP synthases, abnormal transport and metabolism of glycans, amino acids, and vitamins, and disorders of the local immune microenvironment might exist in OLP lesion.


The Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) corridor project is intended to traverse northern counties of Kenya, link with other corridors in Africa and attract investors. This article explores the dynamics of anticipation and how they relate to contestation over land, compensation
 and the benefits of development along the corridor area, finding that a variety of actors have different visions and capacities to position themselves favourably to achieve economic benefits from the corridor. Anticipatory behaviours may be both private and collective, the latter consisting
 of group claims on land prompted by the desire to block private actors, and also to prevent economic or political dominance by other ethnic groups. Thus both private and collective anticipation may exacerbate inequalities and lead to conflict along lines of ethnicity and class. Further, conflict
 may be ignited in an opportunistic manner to remove other potential beneficiaries, which is itself an example of anticipation.


Out of the 111 armed conflicts that took place worldwide between 1989 and 2000, only seven were interstate conflicts. The others were intrastate in nature. As a result, the last decade and a half witnessed a boom in the publication of works on civil wars. While the percentage of civil wars involving religion increased from 21% to 43% between the 1960s and 1990s, scholars have been rather slow to integrate the study of religion into the overall framework of conflict in general, and of civil wars in particular. Operating under the impact of the secularization thesis and treating religion as an aspect of ethnicity, the literature on civil wars has long embraced ethnonationalism as its subject matter. Yet, since the early 2000s there has been a rapid increase in the number of works focusing on religion and civil wars. While one branch treats religion as a trigger for and an exacerbating factor in conflict, another focuses on religion as a conflict resolution tool.
 Turkey is an apt case to ponder the latter as several governments have deployed religion (namely, Sunni Islam) as a tool to suppress ethnic divisions for years. During the Justice and Development Party (AKP) rule, religion has gained even more visibility as a conflict resolution tool in the 33-year-long armed ethnic conflict between the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). Yet, the role of religion in Turkey's Kurdish conflict still remains understudied. Increased attention to this topic could deliver important insights not only for those who conduct research on the Kurdish conflict in Turkey specifically, but also for those who explore the role of religion in civil wars more generally.


Optical bistability (OB) and optical multistability (OM) behaviors are investigated theoretically in a four-level N-type diamond germanium-vacancy (GeV) color center scheme immersed in a unidirectional ring cavity based on electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). It is found that OB behavior is very sensitive to the system parameters, such as the detunings of probe and coupling fields and the intensities of coupling fields as well as the density of GeV centers, and the thresholds of OB can be controlled via changing these parameters. In addition, we can switch OB to OM by adjusting the intensity of control field and the density of GeV centers or vice versa. Our results may provide some guidance for an all-optical switching, optical communications, and optical logic devices in a solid-state system.


In 2017 the European Union adopted amendments to the Shareholder Rights Directive enacted a decade earlier. Among the changes was a new Article 9c dealing with the topic of related party transactions (RPT). This paper analyses how that new provision has been implemented in a range of Member States and assesses its impact on the prior laws of those states.

Compared with the initial proposals of the European Commission, Article 9c as adopted was considerably watered down. Allegedly inspired by the related party provisions of the UK Listing Rules, those proposals mandated disclosure at the 1% level of significance (measured typically by the value of the company's assets), accompanied by a fairness opinion, and approval by the independent shareholders (majority-of-the-minority (MOM)) at the 5% level). As enacted, MSS were given a choice of MOM or board approval and freedom to set the criterion for triggering the approval requirement. The same freedom as to trigger was accorded to the MSS in relation to disclosure and the requirement for a fairness opinion was dropped.

In consequence, MSS had a wide range of choices to make at the transposition stage. A major focus of this piece is an analysis of the choices actually made by the MSS (Part 3). This provides a basis for the assessment in Part 4 of the impact of Article 9c in moving the laws of the MSS towards a more demanding orientation. There are three main conclusions. First, the requirements of Article 9c for approval of RPT had limited impact. No MS which did not already have MOM adopted it in the transposition process. As for board approval, which was already widespread in the laws of the MSS, it is doubtful whether the transposition of the Article ensured the independence of the board members called upon to approve the transaction. Second, it is likely that the most important change required by the Article was public disclosure, even if shorn of the fairness opinion. The adverse impact of disclosure on the company's share price is potentially capable of reducing the levels of wholly one-sided RPT. Public disclosure, although already required by the laws of some MSS, was not widespread.

Third, and more optimistic, there is evidence that the process of transposing Article 9c caused MSS to review their laws on RPT more generally and, in some MSS, this provided an opportunity for reformers to secure changes beyond those required by the Article itself. This might be termed the "catalysing" effect of transposition. The outcome in any particular MS turns on the balance of power between reformers and conservatives, but transposition gives reformers the opportunity to make a case which might otherwise not have been available to them.


Recently, we have proposed a scheme for the calculation of nonadiabatic couplings and nonadiabatic coupling vectors within linear response time-dependent density functional theory using a set of auxiliary many-electron wavefunctions [I. Tavernelli, E. Tapavicza, and U. Rothlisberger, J. Chem. Phys. 130, 124107 (2009)]. As demonstrated in a later work [I. Tavernelli, B. F. E. Curchod, and U. Rothlisberger, J. Chem. Phys. 131, 196101 (2009)], this approach is rigorous in the case of the calculation of nonadiabatic couplings between the ground state and any excited state. In this work, we extend this formalism to the case of coupling between pairs of singly excited states with the same spin multiplicity. After proving the correctness of our formalism using the electronic oscillator approach by Mukamel and co-workers [S. Tretiak and S. Mukamel, Chem. Rev. (Washington, D.C.) 102, 3171 (2002)], we tested the method on a model system, namely, protonated formaldimine, for which we computed S(1)/S(2) nonadiabatic coupling vectors and compared them with results from high level (MR-CISD) electronic structure calculations.


The deactivation kinetics of catalysts for vinyl acetate (I) [108-05-4] manuf. from ethylene, AcOH, and O were studied in regard to product inhibition. Surface reactions were studied using models and a 2-parameter model was discussed which satisfactorily described the kinetics of relatively low I concns. I formation decreased with increasing CO2 and acetaldehyde [75-07-0] concns. The formation of I and CO2 occurred at different centers on the catalyst and followed different deactivation kinetics so the reactions could be selectively poisoned. [on SciFinder (R)]


The purpose of seismic qualification of Structures, Systems and Components (SSCs) in nuclear power plants is to ensure that their intended safety function will not be compromised during and after a postulated earthquake event. The seismic performance of the equipment is generally evaluated using In-Structure Response Spectra (ISRS) at equipment-support locations as an input motion. Traditionally, these ISRS are generated based on design ground spectra prescribed by either U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Regulatory Guide 1.60 or other design spectral shapes, which normally consider the frequencies content up to 33Hz. However, it has been recently recognized that probabilistic hazard-based site specific ground motion response spectra (GMRS) for Central and Eastern United States (CEUS) hard rock sites contains significant energy in the high frequency range, far beyond 33Hz. Since the motion at equipment support locations is highly affected by the dynamic characteristics of the soil or rock surrounding the building foundations and those of the structure itself, the adequacy of dynamic modeling and analysis techniques for determining the ISRS is critical to seismic qualification of safety-related equipment.This paper provides examples on dynamic modeling and analysis techniques required to accurately capture the structural responses for purposes of calculating ISRS throughout the frequency range of interest, including the high frequency responses typically expected at the CEUS sites. The discussion includes the selection of finite element mesh size, and sensitivity analysis performed to demonstrate that the propagation of these high frequencies through the different levels of the structure is properly captured. Other analytical considerations, such as the selection of time step size, for conducting time-history analysis, are also presented.Copyright © 2012 by ASME


This panel engages critically with the development, application and emerging effects of 'smart' technologies of governance. Attending specifically to the ramifications of new forms of ('big') data capture and integration implemented by or for state agencies, the panel describes how the rollout of these technologies impacts on and is shaped by contexts prefigured by social and economic inequalities.
Two specific arenas are addressed and juxtaposed, with two papers on each of these. The first arena is the introduction of 'smart city' technologies and their implications for low income and marginalised communities. Often presented as novel augmentations of urban space, enhancing and customising the urban experience at the same time that they increase the city's efficiency and 'awareness', smart city technologies also reconfigure urban spaces and how they are understood and governed by rendering the city a site of data generation and capture. This presents new opportunities and risks for residents and powerful commercial and state actors alike.
The emergence of public wi-fi kiosks as a means of providing internet access to underserved communities, as one panellist describes, can be shown to expose low-income residents to new forms of surveillance and to new kinds of inequity in terms of the asymmetry of information made available to the parties in the exchange at the kiosk. Surveillance and data capture is organised to particular ends and powerful interests shape and leverage the design and affordances of such initiatives in particular ways. Insofar as concerns are raised about these developments, they are commonly framed in terms of individual rights to privacy, missing the scale of the issues involved. It is not merely that 'opting out' becomes untenable. As other panellists show, the issues involved are fundamentally social rather than individual in that they foreground questions around the appropriate relations between state and commercial actors, the use and nature of public space, and the uneven distribution of rights of access to space, information, and other resources within the city. Economically disenfranchised groups are not only denied meaningful access and participation, but colonised by data processes designed to extract various forms of value from their use of 'public' infrastructure which may not best serve their own interests.
The second arena addressed by the panel is the role of algorithmic governance and artificial intelligence in the provision of social welfare. This context is described in terms of both the effects for the frontline service encounter, and the design, justification, and implementation of the technologies reformatting this encounter from key locations within state agencies. Emerging technological infrastructures for social welfare do not simply reconfigure how existing services are offered and accessed. They facilitate the identification of new target populations for intervention, at the same time that they introduce additional burdens, hurdles and forms of intervention and surveillance for these populations. As such, it is evident in the design and application of these technologies that they accord with and expedite punitive logics in welfare provision, providing new opportunities for the application of dominant neoliberal governance strategies.
In both arenas, one can conceptualize 'pipelines' for the implementation of these developments. These pipelines are interstitial and heterogeneous, and combine different timelines, technologies and actors. They are often technically or administratively opaque or otherwise obscured from view. This gives rise to a methodological and intellectual problem, around the extent to which researchers can say they know enough to point to determining instances, political agendas, commercial agreements, incidental alignments and so on in such a way as to advocate effectively for democratic input and oversight. In this sense the papers assembled highlight how these developments call for new politics of method, new modalities of analysis and critique, and more effective activist and academic engagements with the question of how ideals of justice and equity can best be instantiated in these contexts.


Background People with aphasia may not fully benefit from rehabilitation for a number of reasons to do with their communication. Participation, which is key to the success of most treatments in stroke rehabilitation [1] may be adversely affected by 'barriers' such as inaccessible information, negative staff attitudes, or unskilled communication partners. Although experienced stroke practitioners might be expected to already possess the necessary skills to support people with aphasia, communication problems in healthcare settings do not necessarily resolve with clinical experience. Indeed, individual communication skills training may not in itself lead to improved patient outcomes if not supported by attention to the particular needs of the practice setting and strategies for sustained implementation of the intervention [2]. We report findings from an ongoing pilot study, which aims to build on existing evidence for the use of supported communication training for service providers [3,4], investigating whether the techniques can be learned by staff, and used during everyday rehabilitation to enhance participation and improve outcomes for people with aphasia. In particular we investigate: adaptation of the intervention to the context; application and acceptability of the intervention to staff and patients; evidence for clinical efficacy; cost-effectiveness of providing supported communication compared to standard practice. Methods An exploratory cluster controlled assessor blinded trial (supported communication enhanced care vs routine care) and cost-effectiveness analysis. Focus group discussions with staff and aphasia experts were used to develop the intervention and evaluate its implementation. Participating intervention unit staff were asked to complete a monthly 'learning log' reflecting on the process and impact of implementing supported communication. Self-report and observational methods were used to gain the patients' perspective in terms of: health-related quality of life and health outcomes; satisfaction with staff communication; participation in rehabilitation. In line with UK guidance [5], we collected data on: resources associated with training regimes; input by staff in each of the stroke units; and at 6 month follow-up, any patient re-admissions to hospital, and other health or non-healthcare contacts. Appropriate unit costs were assigned to levels of resource use; the impact on health outcomes was also examined. Results We recruited nurses, therapists and healthcare assistants. Practitioner and aphasia expert contributions were key to the design and delivery of classroom and experiential training. There were numerous challenges to the organisation and delivery of training impacting on efficiency. Return rate for 'learning logs' was 30%; staff reflected on their own confidence levels in using supported communication and the impact of aphasia severity and type on completing rehabilitation tasks. Raised awareness levels among all ward staff about communicating with PWA were attributed to the intervention. There were numerous benefits for aphasia experts involved as advisers, assessors and trainers. Challenges to patient recruitment necessitated the introduction of alternative data collection procedures; the implications for recruiting people with severe aphasia soon after stroke are discussed. We will also report on the use of EQ-5D as a measure of effectiveness for economic analysis with this population. Conclusions Feasibility data from this pragmatic evaluation of a complex intervention provides important information which can be used to inform the design of a more definitive study. Estimates of costs and benefits need to be treated with caution, due to the small sample sizes. Acknowledgements Funded by NIHR Research for Patient Benefit (PB-PG-0609-17264) ISRCTN: 37002304 References 1. The Royal College of Physicians (2008). 2. Simmons Mackie NN et al (2007) Aphasiology, 21, 1, 39-66. 3. Kagan et al (2001) Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research, 44, 624-638. 4. Simmons Mackie et al (2010) Archives of Physical and Medical Rehabilitation, 91, 1814-1837. 5. National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence Guide to the Methods of Technology Appraisal (2008) NICE publications. Keywords Environmental intervention; cost effectiveness


Naive T cells can be induced to differentiate from an uncommitted precursor to T helper 1 (Th1) and Th2 cells. During this differentiation, genes for transcription factors are activated, and transcription factors such as AP-1 accumulate. To study this activation, we have developed reporter transgenic mice for a number of factors, including AP-1. Naive T cells require two signals to activate AP-1. However, upon becoming effector cells, activation through diacylglycerol analogues is sufficient. Rested effector cells lose accumulated AP-1, and the induction of AP-1 synthesis requires both Ca2+ diacylglycerol signals, but not co-stimulation.


The empirical analysis of the micro links between trade and knowledge diffusion allows us to distinguish among the key predictions of the theoretical literature on endogenous growth. This literature postulates that total factor productivity (TFP) is higher when trade gives access to a wider or more sophisticated range of technologies. The papers reviewed here find considerable evidence that imported technologies positively affect TFP in the importing countries, particularly in developing ones and when technologies are acquired by way of imports of intermediates. It also provides some support for the models that argue that exporting is an efficient learning channel. The role of foreign direct investment is more mixed, likely helping the economy but hurting domestic competitors. Relative factor and machinery costs, skill and technology endowments affect the choice of imported technologies. Although the access to foreign technologies has a positive impact on developing countries' TFP, overall, these countries are shown to purchase older and simpler. But governments' attempts of limiting or guiding technology selection are likely to have a negative effect on growth, because they force producers either to choose sophisticated technologies they are unable to use or they prevent them from getting the most appropriate and efficient technologies. Rather, policies aimed at promoting technological development should strengthen the absorptive capacity of importing countries by addressing the relationship of complementarity between human and physical capital.


This article analyses the problems of relationships between Lithuanian municipalities and non-governmental organisations in two Lithuanian municipalities. Aiming to disclose the problems of interaction between Vilnius city and Ukmergė district municipalities and non-governmental organizations, the authors have carried out three surveys based on in-depth interviews and "participatory" research. The article not only proves the insufficient level of social capital at the interaction of municipalities and non-governmental organizations, but also presents the measures to improve it by promoting higher level of interaction, enhancing the potential of non-governmental organisations, and reducing the asymmetrical information, which means uneven and unfair distribution of information from the ruling elite disposing information. In many ways asymmetrical information creates disproportional power relations and increases unnecessary transactional costs. Asymmetrical information was a greaterproblem in Ukmergė district than in Vilnius city. http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ppaa.10.1.233


We build on recent work concerning message passing approaches to approximate fitting and inference for arbitrarily large regression models. The focus is on regression models where the response variable is modeled to have an elaborate distribution, which is loosely defined to mean a distribution that is more complicated than common distributions such as those in the Bernoulli, Poisson and Normal families. Examples of elaborate response families considered here are the Negative Binomial and t families. Variational message passing is more challenging due to some of the conjugate exponential families being non-standard and numerical integration being needed. Nevertheless, a factor graph fragment approach means the requisite calculations only need to be done once for a particular elaborate response distribution family. Computer code can be compartmentalized, including that involving numerical integration. A major finding of this work is that the modularity of variational message passing extends to elaborate response regression models.


This paper summarizes and assesses recent studies on the impact of current trends in trade and direct investment on employment and wages in OECD countries. The general conclusion is that such factors as changes in labour supplies, technology and demand are more important than changes in trading patterns in accounting for changes in employment and shifts in relative wages. However, further studies are needed to understand better the employment and wage impact of foreign direct investment.


Other successes have since been reported from America. Fisher and Leider (Arch. Derm. Syph., Chicago, 1950, 64, 164) treated eight cases with aureomycin troches each containing 15 mg. of the antibiotic. Six of the eight benefited, but two got " aureomycin mouth." Everett (J. Amer. dent. Ass., 1950, 40, 555) treated 38 patients with benefit in all but five cases. The average duration of the lesions fell to 62 days as compared with 10 days in a control series. Systemic therapy has also been reported as successful in one case (J. invest. Derm., 1949, 13, 51).-I am, etc.,


An essential step in the life cycle of many viruses is transmission to a new host by insect vectors, and one critical step in the transmission of persistently transmitted viruses is overcoming the midgut barrier to enter vectors and complete their cycle. Most viruses enter vector midgut epithelial cells via specific interaction between viral structural proteins and vector cell surface receptor complexes. ABSTRACT Many viral pathogens of global importance to plant and animal health are persistently transmitted by insect vectors. Midgut of insects forms the first major barrier that these viruses encounter during their entry into the vectors. However, the vector ligand(s) involved in the movement of plant viruses across the midgut barrier remains largely uncharacterized. Begomoviruses, many of which are disease agents of some major crops worldwide, are persistently transmitted by whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci). Here, in order to identify whitefly midgut proteins that interact with a devastating begomovirus, tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV), we performed midgut-specific TYLCV coat protein (CP) immunoprecipitation followed by high-throughput mass spectrometry proteomic analysis. We find that vitellogenin (Vg), a critical insect reproductive protein that has been considered to be synthesized by the fat body, is also synthesized by and interacts with TYLCV CP in the whitefly midgut. TYLCV appears to be internalized into midgut epithelial cells as a complex with Vg through endocytosis. Virus-containing vesicles then deliver the virus-Vg complexes to early endosomes for intracellular transport. Systematic silencing of Vg or midgut-specific immune blocking of Vg inhibited virus movement across the midgut wall and decreased viral acquisition and transmission by whitefly. Our findings show that a functional Vg protein is synthesized in the midgut of an insect and suggest a novel Vg mechanism that facilitates virus movement across the midgut barrier of its insect vector. IMPORTANCE An essential step in the life cycle of many viruses is transmission to a new host by insect vectors, and one critical step in the transmission of persistently transmitted viruses is overcoming the midgut barrier to enter vectors and complete their cycle. Most viruses enter vector midgut epithelial cells via specific interaction between viral structural proteins and vector cell surface receptor complexes. Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) is persistently transmitted by the whitefly Bemisia tabaci between host plants. Here, we find that TYLCV coat protein interacts with vitellogenin (Vg) in the whitefly midgut. This interaction is required for the movement of the virus crossing the midgut wall and thus facilitates viral acquisition and transmission by whitefly. This study reveals a novel mechanism of virus overcoming the insect midgut barrier and provides new insights into the function of Vg beyond serving as nutrition for developing embryos in insects.


Nitrogen incorporation into GaAs has received much attention in the last decade, because of its application to long-wavelength lasers. However, nitrogen incorporation into GaP (100) has not received much attention to date despite the promising application of this material system to yellow-amber-red light-emitting diodes. In order to investigate the not yet well-studied (Al,In,Ga)NP material system, we use gas-source molecular beam (MBE), in which nitrogen radicals are used as nitrogen precursor, to grow these mixed group-V alloy semiconductors with excellent crystallinity. This dissertation is divided into two major parts. In the first part we describe the growth and characterization of the (Al,In,Ga)NP material system. Optical and structural properties of GaNP bulk layers, AlGaNP bulk layers, and InGaNP quantum wells are studied. The dependence of the GaNP band gap vs. nitrogen concentration and temperature dependent PL are analyzed. For AlGaNP layers, using a thermodynamic approach we explain the difference between nitrogen incorporation into GaP and AlP. The dependence of the emission wavelength vs. nitrogen and indium compositions is studied for InGaNP QWs. The electron effective mass is determined for InGaNP materials with different indium concentration. The conduction and valence band offsets are calculated for the InGaNP/GaP heterojunction. In the second part, we describe LED chip fabrication and contacts optimization. development of n-type and p-type contacts is discussed. A description of LED chip processing optimization is given for a p-i-n diode structure. The band offsets are compared for (Al,In,Ga)NP-based LED structures and conventional AlInGaP-based LED structures; they are 2-3 times higher in LEDs based on the (Al,In,Ga)NP material system. Growth and fabrication results for bulk GaNP-based amber LEDs are discussed. Color stability (electroluminescence peak wavelength shift vs. current) is compared for GaNPbased LEDs and AlInGaP-based LEDs; the wavelength shift of (Al, In,Ga)NP-based LED chips is 6 times less than that of AlInGaP-based LED chips, in the drive current range of 10 - 60 mA. The influence of In concentration in InGaNP QWs on EL properties of LED chips is reported. Single and multiple InGaNP QW-based LEDs are studied


A difference method of spatially fourth order accuracy on the staggerd mesh points is applied to study the transition of natural convection in a cubic box heated from below with insulating side-walls. Special attentions are paid to the sensitivity of the solution on the degree of spatial resolution and transformation way of the coordinate variables to concentrate mesh points near the boundaries. As a preliminery study, numerical solutions of the cavity flow are computed. The present results agree with those ohtained by the methods with high accuracy reported in the previous paper. It is found that the natural convection which initially grows symmetrically with respect to the vertical center line, changes to a lateral single roll as time proceeds. The critical Rayleigh number is about 6 050 slightly smaller than 6 798 which has been obtained for the fixed boundary condition by use of the linear stability analysis (Mizushima et al. 1997).


The article discusses Augustine's teaching on suicide, especially in the way he exposed it when a Christian facing despair is tempted to take his own life. In the first part, the article examines some basic aspects of Augustine's teaching on suicide in some of his works outside the letter 244. In a second part, the article presents an analytic reading Augustine's Letter 244 to Chrisimus. The article also discusses some important remarks to show the relevance of Augustine's recommendations nowadays.


This paper describes the development of U.S. Army Public Health Command (Provisional) Technical Guide 312, Health Risk Assessment Methods and Screening Levels for Evaluating Office Worker Exposures to Contaminants on Indoor Surfaces Using Surface Wipe Data. Surface sampling of indoor surfaces may be performed to determine whether a building is safe for re-entry following an event (for example, fire, pesticide application) or change in building use (for example, laboratory to administrative office). Surface wipe sampling results may be used to assess either the degree of contamination before cleanup or to determine whether post-abatement (also post-remediation, post-clearance) actions were effective. The U.S. Army Public Health Command (Provisional) Environmental Health Risk Assessment Program has conducted risk assessments based on surface wipe sampling data and, over time, has evolved the methodology into a technical guide. The technical guide addresses the need to develop an approach to characterize potential health risk to exposed populations using surface wipe sampling results and to provide surface wipe screening levels to facilitate initial assessments. The methodology provides a means to estimate office worker exposures from inhalation of resuspended particles, dermal contact, and incidental ingestion exposure routes. Potential chemical health risks from aggregated intakes are evaluated using conventional U.S. Environmental Protection Agency risk assessment methods.


This paper presents a new on-line recognition of Thai handwritten characters. Active researches in Thai handwritten character recognition are converged into two distinct methods, HMM and fuzzy logic classifier. The former showed poor recognition rate due to Thai fuzzy characters. The shortcoming of the latter is on difficulties in establishing the set of rules to cover a whole handwriting styles. Our method is proposed to exploit the better of two worlds (HMM and distinctive feature based fuzzy classifier). The experimental result was shown an average recognition rate is improved from 89.1%(using HMM) to 91.2 using our proposed method.


PURPOSE
To investigate the potential protective effects of erdosteine against the harmful effects of ischemia-reperfusion injury on the liver in an experimental rat model.

METHODS
Forty rats were divided into 4 groups. In the sham group, only the hepatic pedicle was mobilized. No other manipulation or treatment was performed. In the other groups, ischemia was achieved by clamping the hepatic pedicle for 60 min. After that, 90 min reperfusion was provided. In the control group, no treatment was given. In the perioperative treatment group, 100 mg/kg erdosteine was administered 2 hours before ischemia induction. In the preoperative treatment group, 100 mg/kg/day erdosteine was administered daily for ten days before the operation. At the end of the procedures, blood and liver samples were obtained for biochemical and histopathological assessment.

RESULTS
Treatment with erdosteine ameliorated the histopathological abnormalities when compared with the control group. Furthermore, this treatment significantly decreased the serum liver function test values. It was also found that erdosteine ameliorated the oxidative stress parameters in both the perioperative and preoperative treatment groups.

CONCLUSION
The current study is the first to have shown the favorable effects of erdosteine on the harmful effects of experimental hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury.


The development of the oil sands in Alberta has become a focal point in Canada's response to global climate change. Before an oil sands project can proceed, it must first undergo environmental assessment. This process frequently engages both provincial and federal environmental assessment legislation, which are implemented by administrative tribunals. The purpose of the paper is two-fold: firstly, to determine whether environmental assessment legislation provides regulators with the tools to assess the impact of an oil sands project's greenhouse gas emissions on the environment, and secondly, to examine how tribunals have been enforcing those standards during assessments. This paper finds that federal and provincial statutes provide panels with the scope to consider GHG emissions at the assessment stage; however, the relevant legislation places no demands on tribunals to specifically address the issue. The permissive language affords tribunals with latitude in downplaying the environmental effects of climate change. As such, climate change issues rarely surface in environmental assessments of oil sands projects, and when they do, the effects of climate change do not hinder regulatory approval. After reviewing policy responses, the paper concludes that any change in environmental assessment is only possible when either tribunals or governments prioritize the effects of climate change in environmental assessment.


ABSTRACT Training classification models on imbalanced data tends to result in bias towards the majority class. In this paper, we demonstrate how variable discretization and cost-sensitive logistic regression help mitigate this bias on an imbalanced credit scoring dataset, and further show the application of the variable discretization technique on the data from other domains, demonstrating its potential as a generic technique for classifying imbalanced data beyond credit socring. The performance measurements include ROC curves, Area under ROC Curve (AUC), Type I Error, Type II Error, accuracy, and F1 score. The results show that proper variable discretization and cost-sensitive logistic regression with the best class weights can reduce the model bias and/or variance. From the perspective of the algorithm, cost-sensitive logistic regression is beneficial for increasing the value of predictors even if they are not in their optimized forms while maintaining monotonicity. From the perspective of predictors, the variable discretization performs better than cost-sensitive logistic regression, provides more reasonable coefficient estimates for predictors which have nonlinear relationships against their empirical logit, and is robust to penalty weights on misclassifications of events and non-events determined by their apriori proportions.


【Objectives : To explore the relationship between Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty(PTCA) volume and the associated immediate outcome. Methods : A total of 1,379 PTCAs were peformed in 25 hospitals in Korea between October 8 and December 31 in 1997. Data from 1,317 PTCAs (95.5%) were collected through medical record abstraction. Inter-observer reliability of the data was examined using the Kappa statistic on a subsample of 110 PTCA procedures from five hospitals. Intra-observer reliability of the data was also examined. PTCA success and immediate adverse outcomes were selected as the outcome variables. A successful PTCA was defined as a case that shows less than 50% diameter stenosis and more than 20% reduction of diameter stenosis. Immediate adverse outcomes included deaths during the same hospitalization, emergency coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) within 24 hours after PTCA, and acute myocardial infarction within 24 hours after PTCA. The numbers of PTCAs performed in 1997 per hospital were used as the volume variables. Results : Without adjusting for patient risk factors that may affect outcomes, procedures at high volume hospitals ( $\geq200$ cases per year) had a greater success rate (P=0.001) than low volume hospitals. There was a marginally significant difference (P=0.070) in major adverse outcome rates between high and low volume hospitals. After adjusting for risk factors, there were significant differences in procedural failure and major adverse outcome rates between high and low volume hospitals. Conclusions : After adjusting for patient clinical risk factors, the hospital volume of PTCA was associated with immediate outcomes. It is recommended that a PTCA volume per year be established in order to improve the immediate outcome of this procedure in Korea.】


In 1970, the National Committee for Geological Sciences accepted in principle the ISSC recommendations for stratigraphic classification and a South African Committee for Stratigraphy (SACS) was appointed. A local code was published in 1971 and, through working groups, SACS has revised and completely reclassified the South African stratigraphic column. The former and the revised principal stratigraphic subdivisions are presented in tables. The principal lithostratigraphic units in the main Precambrian basins of deposition are being termed supergroups, groups, and sequences; the former Swaziland, Witwatersrand, and Ventersdorp "Systems" are now Supergroups; the Pongola, Dominion Reef, and Waterberg "Systems" are Groups; and the Transvaal "System" is now the Transvaal and Griqualand-West sequences with component groups. The term Bushveld Complex replaces Bushveld Igneous Complex. The Gariep and Nosib Groups (formerly "Systems") have been placed in the Damara Supergroup. The Nama "System" which spans the Precambrian-Phanerozoic boundary has become a Group; its counterpart in the southwestern Cape Province, which is intruded by the Cape Granite, is now termed the Malmesbury Group. For the Phanerozoic, SACS decided that the Cape "System" becomes the Cape Supergroup and the Karoo "System" a sequence. In the Cape Supergroup the major units are now termed the Table Mountain, Bokkeveld, and Witteberg Groups. In the Karoo sequence, the Dwyka Tillite Formation forms the base followed by the Ecca, Beaufort, and Drakensberg Groups. The widespread dolerites intrusive into the Karoo are still collectively referred to as Karoo Dolerites. In the Jurassic-Cretaceous, the term Beds has been abandoned and Suurberg, Uitenhage, and Zululand Groups are defined. The problem of subdividing the Precambrian chronostratigraphically is discussed. In South Africa there are unrivalled, relatively undisturbed, and only slightly metamorphosed Precambrian successions that cover, with only minor hiatuses, the time span from 3,750 m.y. to the Phanerozoic. A wide span of reliable radiometric age determinations, and absence of major facies changes, has led to their formal subdivision into the following erathems: Swazian (3,750+ to 2,870 m.y.), Randian (2,870 to 2,630 m.y.), Vaalian (2,630 to 2,070 m.y.), Mogolian (2,070 to 1,080 m.y.) and Namibian (1,080 to 570 m.y.).


We demonstrated that a green campus initiative can reduce the carbon footprint of a university and improve the disaster resilience of the local community. A project sustainability assessment framework was structured to support the initiative. First, an on-campus solar photovoltaic (PV) system was designed. The project performance in terms of financial cost and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions was assessed using life cycle cost analysis (LCC) and a life cycle assessment (LCA), respectively. Then, we explored the incorporation of positive social impacts on the local community in the context of natural disaster-prone Japan. Indicators for improving the disaster resilience of the residents were defined based on the Sendai Framework. Our results showed that the proposed solar PV system could provide an electricity self-sufficiency rate of 31% for the campus. Greenhouse gas emissions of 0.0811 kg CO2-eq/kWh would decrease the annual emissions from campus electricity use by 27%. Considering the substituted daytime electricity purchase, a payback period of 12.9 years was achievable. This solar PV system could serve as an emergency power source to 4666–8454 nearby residents and 8532 smart city residents. This external effect would encourage stakeholders like local government and developers to participate in the project.


In the present work, we present an analysis of ethics in the practice of medicine, as a fundamental element of the quality of medical care. We present a brief review of factors related to the development of ethics. In this paper we have shown different institutional and societal conditions for the definition and promotion of ethics. We present a conceptual analysis of the quality of medical care and how ethics interplays with the care given by medical practitioners and how that combination of quality medical care and adherence to ethical principles are used to solve health problems, with a high-degree of satisfaction to both patients and their families. Before entering into the conceptualization of each of the ethical principles of medical practice, the concepts of morality, ethics, bioethics, medical ethics, and ethical deontology are defined. We continue with the proposal of ten ethical principles of medical practice that include charity, fairness, autonomy, confidentiality, respect, dignity, solidarity, honesty, loyalty, and justice, and the concept of each of them, as well as the precepts that each principle contains.


Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) virus (SFTSV) is an emerging highly pathogenic phlebovirus. The syndrome is characterized by the substantial production of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, described as a cytokine storm, which correlates with multiorgan failure and high mortality. ABSTRACT Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) virus (SFTSV) is an emerging highly pathogenic phlebovirus. The syndrome is characterized by the substantial production of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, described as a cytokine storm, which correlates with multiorgan failure and high mortality. SFSTV nonstructural (NSs) protein was suggested to mediate the pathogenesis by inhibiting antiviral interferon signaling in the host. However, whether SFTSV NSs protein mediates the induction of a fatal cytokine storm remains unaddressed. We demonstrated that SFTSV NSs promotes the hyperinduction of cytokine/chemokine genes in vitro, reminiscent of a cytokine storm. Using gene deletion and pharmacological intervention, we found that the induced cytokine storm is driven by the transcription factor NF-κB. Our investigation revealed that TANK-binding kinase 1 (TBK1) suppresses NF-κB signaling and cytokine/chemokine induction in a kinase activity-dependent manner and that NSs sequesters TBK1 to prevent it from suppressing NF-κB, thereby promoting the activation of NF-κB and its target cytokine/chemokine genes. Of note, NF-κB inhibition suppressed the induction of proinflammatory cytokines in SFTSV-infected type I interferon (IFN-I) receptor 1-deficient (Ifnar1−/−) mice. These findings establish the essential role of NSs in SFTS pathogenesis and suggest NF-κB as a possible therapeutic target.


This paper uses case studies of four innovative U.S. midscale food value chains to provide models of how midsized farms and ranches and associated processing, distribution, and retail businesses can prosper by acting collectively to construct a "third tier" in the U.S. agri-food system. Specifically we consider the importance of acting collectively at three distinct levels: horizontally among producers, vertically within food value chains, and horizontally across food value chains. These midscale food value chains represent strategic alliances among midsized farms and other agri-food enterprises that operate at regional levels, handle significant volumes of high-quality, differentiated food products, and distribute profit margins equitably among the strategic partners. From a market perspective, the key advantage of these food value chains is their ability to provide these high-quality, differentiated products that are not available through the mainstream commodity market.


This paper draws on the conceptual framework of "time poverty" to explore how employed students, a group much affected by "time poverty", experienced changes in time allocation during the COVID-19 lockdown in Romania. Findings of a mixed-method study indicate that working and non-working students perceived and engaged differently with this sudden increase in discretionary time. Compared to non-working students, working students, welcomed this newly acquired time and saw it as an opportunity to engage in both education and self-growth activities. They also show higher levels of engagement with educational activities and an increased sense of satisfaction resulting from this engagement, as well as higher levels of wellbeing. This quick reorientation clearly reveals that time poverty is a barrier to education and personal well-being for working students.


The duties of the Reid Professor of Music at the University of Edinburgh included public musical performances in the form of annual 'Reid festival' concerts. The concerts sat uneasily between entertainment and education, and were a source of tension and trouble from the institution of the Professorship in 1837. Herbert Stanley Oakeley, Professor from 1865 to 1891, introduced a series of organ recitals to bridge the gap between his educational role as professor and the public face of the orchestral concerts. Using the recitals to introduce his audience to new music or to allow repeated hearings, Oakeley had an enormous influence on the repertoire heard and the reception of new music in Edinburgh during this period.


Thermoelectrics is a research area that focuses on the development of high-performance materials for direct thermal and electrical energy conversion in power generation and solid-state cooling. Ever since Ioffe's inference in 1950s that heavily doped semiconductors make the best thermoelectrics, inorganic semiconductors and semimetals have remained the cornerstone of high-performance thermoelectric materials. In this article, we review the recent advances in inorganic material thermoelectrics with special emphases on: (i) the complementary local-global view of material and the roles of configurational entropy and Fermi surface complexity in material screening; (ii) the emerging schemes of resonant bonding, dynamic disorder, "gap" engineering, pudding-mold-shaped bands in material performance enhancement; (iii) a list of promising bulk materials, such as host–guest structures, half-Heusler compounds, silicides, Zintl phases, and incommensurate structures; and (iv) state-of-the-art materials synthesis and fabrication techniques. These advances will facilitate the development of next-generation bulk thermoelectric materials.


Abstract. We present GRAPHJ, a forensic tool for handwriting analysis. The proposed tool has been designed to implement the real forensic protocol adopted by the "Reparto Investigazioni Scientifiche" of Carabinieri, Italy. GRAPHJ allows the examiner to (1) automatically detect text lines and words in the document, (2) search for a specific character and detect its occurrences in the handwritten text, (3) measure different quantities related to the detected elements (e.g., heights and widths of characters), and (4) generate a report containing measurements, statistics, and the values of all parameters used during the analysis. The generation of the report helps to improve the repeatability of the whole process. The experiments performed on a set of handwritten documents show that GRAPHJ allows one to extract quantitative measures comparable to those acquired manually by an expert examiner. We also report a study on the use of the relative position of the superscript dot of the "i" characters as a parameter to infer the identity of the writer. The study has been performed using GRAPHJ and illustrates its value as a forensic tool.


The paper deals with the macroscopic type modelling of the unidirectional pedestrian flow moving through a corridor with a bottleneck. The macroscopic model of pedestrian flow is the two-dimensional Lighthill-Whitham-Richards model described as a mass conservation equation. The characteristic feature of pedestrian route choice is that pedestrians in the corridor try to minimize the instantaneous travel time and improve the comfort level. The model equation is solved numerically by the discontinuous Galerkin method. Numerical results visualize the ability of the model to predict macroscopic characteristics of pedestrian flow through bottlenecks, i.e. the spatial distribution of the flow speed and density, as well as the formation and dissipation of traffic congestion in the corridor. They also validate that congestion is caused by the limited capacity of the bottleneck.


For this paper, emotional and socio-political questions lie at the heart of relationships in understanding intellectual disability and what it is to be a human. While the sexual and intimate is more often than not based on a private and personal relationship with the self and (an)other, the sexual and intimate life of intellectually disabled people is more often a 'public' affair governed by parents and/or carers, destabilizing what we might consider ethical and caring practices. In the socio-political sphere, as an all-encompassing 'care space', social intolerance and aversion to difficult differences are played out, impacting upon the intimate lives of intellectually disabled people. As co-researchers (one intellectually disabled and one 'non-disabled'), we discuss narratives from a small scale research project and our personal reflections. In sociological research and more specifically within disability research it is clear that we need to keep sex and intimacy on the agenda, yet also find ways of doing research in a meaningful, caring and co-constructed way.


Computer assisted diagnosis in digital pathology is becoming ubiquitous as it can provide more efficient and objective healthcare diagnostics. Recent advances have shown that the convolutional Neural Network (CNN) architectures, a well-established deep learning paradigm, can be used to design a Computer Aided Diagnostic (CAD) System for breast cancer detection. However, the challenges due to stain variability and the effect of stain normalization with such deep learning frameworks are yet to be well explored. Moreover, performance analysis with arguably more efficient network models, which may be important for high throughput screening, is also not well explored.To address this challenge, we consider some contemporary CNN models for binary classification of breast histopathology images that involves (1) the data preprocessing with stain normalized images using an adaptive colour deconvolution (ACD) based color normalization algorithm to handle the stain variabilities; and (2) applying transfer learning based training of some arguably more efficient CNN models, namely Visual Geometry Group Network (VGG16), MobileNet and EfficientNet. We have validated the trained CNN networks on a publicly available BreaKHis dataset, for 200x and 400x magnified histopathology images. The experimental analysis shows that pretrained networks in most cases yield better quality results on data augmented breast histopathology images with stain normalization, than the case without stain normalization. Further, we evaluated the performance and efficiency of popular lightweight networks using stain normalized images and found that EfficientNet outperforms VGG16 and MobileNet in terms of test accuracy and F1 Score. We observed that efficiency in terms of test time is better in EfficientNet than other networks; VGG Net, MobileNet, without much drop in the classification accuracy.


In 1998 a European funded research programme ROCC (Risk of Cliff Collapse) was initiated by a team from France and the UK because of the growing hazard to local commu-nities from chalk cliff retreat. Could the where, when and how of cliff collapses be answered and could the rate and scale of cliff retreat be modelled more accurately? Such answers are vital to the planners and local authorities respon-sible for the safety and access to cliffs and beaches. The primary research area is the eastern English Channel, where in northeast France there is 120km of Chalk coast, and in southeast England 40km in Sussex and a similar length in Kent. The research programme brought together geologists and engineers from BRGM, the University of Le Havre and the University of Brighton in partnership with the regional governments of the Somme, Seine Maritime, southeast England and their constituent local authorities. This book, representing several years of previous and concurrent research on the engineering geology of chalk and coastal pro-cesses, is the outcome of that research programme and allied work. It was fortuitous that several other chalk investigations were coming to completion prior to ROCC starting. These formed a foundation on which to build the investigations. In particular, a refined Chalk lithostratigraphy with practical application to mapping and detailed correlation, was finally accepted by a joint stratigraphic committee of the Geological Society and the British Geological Survey in September 1999 (Mortimore 1986; Bristow et al. 1997; Rawson et al. 2001). This meant that


Recent seismological observations and their analyses suggest the existence of a stably stratified layer just below the core-mantle boundary of the Earth, whose thickness is O(100km). The extent of penetration of the deep convective motion into the outer stable layer is one of the important key issue for considering magnetic field generation through the dynamo process as well as origin of the magnetic secular variation of the Earth. Takehiro and Lister (2001) theoretically derived the scaling of penetration thickness of the columnar convection into the stable layer in the case of no magnetic field, and showed that the penetration thickness is in proportion to the ratio of the angular velocity of the planet to the Brunt-Vaisala frequency of the stable layer and to the horizontal wavenumber of the disturbance. Takehiro (2015) considered the effect of magnetic field and obtained the penetration thickness when the stable stratification is sufficiently strong. The penetration thickness is proportion to the ratio of Alfven wave speed and inverse proportion to the ``arithmetic'' average of viscous and magnetic diffusion coefficients and to the total wavenumber of the disturbance. However, these scalings of penetration thickness can be applied when the disturbance under the stable layer is time-dependent. The extent of penetration of steady fluid motions, such as mean zonal flows induced by MHD rotating convection, should be examined separately. Takehiro and Lister (2002) investigated penetration of mean zonal flows excited by non-magnetic columnar convection into an upper stable stratified layer in a rotating spherical shell. They showed that penetration extent can be explained by the formula of Takehiro and Lister (2001) in the initial stage of the time development of mean zonal flows, whereas in the final stage, penetration extent becomes similar to the horizontal scale of zonal flows due to viscosity. In contrast, penetration of mean zonal flows into an upper stable layer under effects of magnetic field is not yet investigated. Here we theoretically examine the characteristics of mean zonal flows in the outer stable layer induced by the MHD convective motions below the layer. We reexamine the theoretical model proposed by Takehiro (2015) in the case of steady fluid motion below the bottom boundary. Steady disturbances penetrate into a density stratified MHD fluid existing in the semi-infinite region in the vertical direction. The axis of rotation of the system is tilted with respect to the vertical. The basic magnetic field is uniform and may be tilted with respect to the vertical and the rotation axis. Linear dispersion relation shows that the penetration distance with zero frequency depends on the amplitude of Alfven wave speed. When Alfven wave speed is small, viscous diffusion becomes dominant and penetration distance is similar to the horizontal scale of the disturbance at the lower boundary. In contrast, when Alfven wave speed becomes larger, disturbance can penetrate more deeply, and penetration distance becomes in proportion to the Alfven wave speed and inverse proportion to the ``geometric'' average of viscous and magnetic diffusion coefficients and to the total horizontal wavenumber. In order to validate the theoretical scaling of propagation distance, we perform numerical time integration of finite amplitude MHD thermal convection in a rapidly rotating spherical shell with an upper stably stratified layer embedded in the axially uniform basic magnetic field. The numerical results show that mean zonal flows trapped below the stable layer gradually penetrate into the stable layer as the basic magnetic field is strengthened, which is quantitatively MIS10-P05 Japan Geoscience Union Meeting 2016


The John Marshall Law Review originally published this article in its Fall 1992 edition. Please cite this article as 26 J. MARSHALL L. REV. 29 (Fall 1992). This article contains page numbers from that edition so the John Marshall Law Review can be properly cited, i.e., [*1].


This essay examines the formation of contemporary Yemeni American agency at the interplay of economics, politics, and arts. The context of my analysis draws from the unfolding events and policies following the tragic attacks of 9/11 (2001) in the United States and the revolutionary fervor of the Arab Spring in Yemen (2011). The various economic, political, and cultural forms of agency explored in this work constitute responses to US policing of Yemeni American individuals and communities in both the United States and Yemen as part of the so-called war on terror campaign. Moving away from the "sojourner-settler" paradigm, which has limited understanding of Yemeni American experiences in the United States since the 1970s, I theorize Yemeni American agency as multi-dimensional and multi-sited and emphasize its dynamic and collaborative, albeit often contradictory, character. In doing so, I demonstrate how Yemeni Americans have not been passive victims of the post–9/11 backlash against Arabs and Muslims and the post–Arab Spring collapse of Yemen, but instead been active participants in building coalitions, joining alliances, and resisting forms of discrimination, harassment, and violence.


Fluorous multi-phase bromination reaction of alkenes could be successfully transformed to a continuous microflow system in which a fluorous polyether, Galden® HT135, is employed as a recyclable molecular bromine support. This microflow bromination of alkenes could be carried out without any temperature control or an inert gas atmosphere. The circulatory continuous microflow reaction system for bromination of cyclohexene was created which gave 8.3 g (85%) of dibromocyclohexane after continuous operation for 6 h.