Abstract Currently two algorithms are being used routinely by the MODIS Atmosphere and Ocean Team in order to distinguish sediment influence and clear water pixels over turbid water area. These two algorithms require complicated computational analyses. In this paper, a simple algorithm based on empirical technique to detect the sediment-influenced pixels over coastal waters is proposed as an alternative to these two algorithms. This study used apparent reflectance acquired from MODIS L1B product. This algorithm is based on the gradient difference of the line connecting the 0.47- and 1.24-μm channels and 0.47- and 0.66-μm channels of a log-log graph of the apparent reflectance values against MODIS wavelengths. Over clear-water areas (deep blue sea), the 0.47-, 0.66- and 1.24-μm channels fitted very well in line with correlation R > 0.99. Over turbid waters, a substantial increase of 0.66 μm in the reflectance leads to a low correlation value. By computing the difference between the gradient of the line connecting 0.47 and 0.66 μm and the gradient of the line connecting 0.47 and 1.24 μm, the threshold to discriminate turbid and shallow coastal waters from clear-water pixels can be obtained. If the gradient difference is greater than 0, the pixels were then marked as sediment-influenced pixels. This proposed algorithm works well for MODIS Terra and Aqua sensor. The comparison of this algorithm with an established algorithm also showed a good agreement.


OBJECTIVES
1) Evaluate the incidence of posterior malleolar fractures (PMF) in patients with tibial shaft fractures (TSF) using advanced imaging; 2) identify predictors for patients at risk for an (occult) PMF; and 3) describe PMF characteristics to guide "malleolus-first" fixation.

DESIGN
Retrospective diagnostic imaging study.

SETTING
Level-I trauma centre.

PATIENTS
One-hundred sixty-four patients treated with intramedullary nailing for TSFs that underwent low-dose postoperative computed tomography (CT)-scans to assess (mal)rotational alignment INTERVENTION:: Analysis of advanced imaging for presence of PMFs. Uni- and multivariate analyses to identify predictors. Qualitative analysis of PMFs by fracture mapping.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
1) Incidence of PMFs in patients with TSFs as diagnosed on post-op CT-scans; 2) independent predictors for the presence of PMFs; and 3) PMF patterns.

RESULTS
One-in-five patients with a TSF has an associated PMF (22%), increasing to one-in-two in patients with simple spiral fractures (56%). In 25% these fractures were occult.Univariate analysis identified simple spiral and distal third TSFs, proximal third and spiral fibula fractures, and low energy trauma as predictors for PMFs. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that distal third and simple spiral TSFs were the only independent predictors.Haraguchi Type I is the pattern specific to PMFs associated with TSF.

CONCLUSIONS
Half of patients presenting with a simple spiral TSF have an associated PMF. In one in four these are occult.Additional preoperative CT-scan imaging may be considered in patients presenting with simple spiral distal third TSFs, despite negative lateral radiographs, so that PMFs can be identified and managed with "malleolus-first" fixation.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE
Level-III diagnostic.


Although turbulence has been studied for more than five hundred years, a thorough understanding of turbulent flows is still missing. Nowadays computing power can offer an alternative tool, besides measurements and experiments, to give some insights into turbulent dynamics. In this thesis, numerical simulations are employed to study homogeneous and wall-bounded turbulence in rotating and stably stratified conditions, as encountered in geophysical flows where the rotation of the Earth as well as the vertical density variation influence the dynamics.In the context of homogeneous turbulence, we investigate how the transfer of energy among scales is affected by the presence of strong but finite rotation and stratification. Unlike geostrophic turbulence, we show that there is a forward energy cascade towards small scales which is initiated at the forcing scales. The contribution of this process to the general dynamic is secondary at large scales but becomes dominant at smaller scales where it leads to a shallowing of the energy spectrum, from k-3 to k-5/3. Two-point statistics show a good agreement with measurements in the atmosphere, suggesting that this process is an important mechanism for energy transfer in the atmosphere.Boundary layers subjected to system rotation around the wall-normal axis are usually referred to as Ekman layers and they can be seen as a model of the atmospheric and oceanic boundary layers developing at mid and high latitudes. We study the turbulent dynamics in Ekman layers by means of numerical simulations, focusing on the turbulent structures developing at moderately high Reynolds numbers. For neutrally stratified conditions, we show that there exists a turbulent helicity cascade in the logarithmic region. We focus on the effect of a stable stratification produced by a vertical positive temperature gradient. For moderate stratification, continuously turbulent regimes are produced which are in fair agreement with existing theories and models used in the context of atmospheric boundary layer dynamics. For larger degree of stratification, we show that laminar and turbulent motions coexist and displace along inclined patterns similar to what has been recently observed in other transitional flows.


A 6-day-old premature baby boy presented in a pediatric clinic for severe jaundice, poor feeding and lethargy. He was born to a 24-year-old mother who was primigravida. Pregnancy was complicated by gestational diabetes, appropriately treated chlamydial infection, oligohydramnios and inadequate prenatal care. On physical examination, he was hypotonic and irritable with significant jaundice seen from his head to his lower extremities. Transcutaneous bilirubin obtained in clinic showed a level of 14 mg/dL. A serum bilirubin level was immediately ordered and it confirmed an elevated unconjugated bilirubin level of 18.9 mg/dL. He was admitted to the inpatient unit and a full septic work-up was initiated. Appropriate antibiotics were administered to cover for the most common pathogen involved in neonatal sepsis. A few hours into the admission, his condition deteriorated requiring intubation for multiple consecutive apneic episodes and seizure-like activity. Initial laboratory evaluation included an abnormal white blood cell count of 2,600/ µ L with left shift, elevated lactic acid of 9 mmol/L and a low bicarbonate level of 16 mmol/L further confirming acidosis. Analysis of cerebrospinal fluid revealed a white blood cell count of > 300/ µ L, low glucose with a level of 7 mg/dL and elevated protein level of 645 mg/dL. Due to his rapid clinical deterioration a few hours into the admission, a computed tomography scan of the brain was obtained. Computed tomography scan of brain showed significant damage to brain parenchyma consistent with anoxic brain injury. He expired on his second day of admission. Proteus mirabilis was the causative agent. J Med Cases. 2014;5(4):245-247 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.14740/jmc1290w


Abstract Objective. Achieving successful peripheral intravenous (PIV) vascular access in children can be difficult. In the prehospital setting, opportunities are rare. Obtaining access becomes vital in emergent and life-threating conditions, such as seizures, hypoglycemia, and cardiac arrest. This study examines prehospital pediatric PIV attempts, success rates, and the impact of patient age. Methods. This was a retrospective chart review of patients aged 18 years or younger receiving prehospital PIV attempts from January 1, 2003, through May 31, 2011. Included cases were identified by querying electronic patient care reports for PIV attempts within the specified age range. The documentation of PIV attempts and successes was reported by emergency medical service providers. This study was approved by an institutional review board. Results. Throughout the 101-month study period, there were 261,008 ambulance responses. PIV attempts were made in 4188 patients aged 18 years or younger. PIV placement was successful in 3699 patients (88.3%) and failed in 489 (11.7%). Age was significantly associated with success. Each 1-year increase in age was associated with an 11% increase in odds of PIV success (odds ratio, 1.11; 95% CI, 1.09–1.12; p < 0.001). Success was lowest in patients younger than 2 years old, with an overall success rate of 64.1% (141/220). Accounting for multiple attempts, success was achieved in 53.0% of attempts (141/266). Conclusions. Prehospital PIV attempts are uncommon (2% of emergent responses). Success rates are significantly associated with patient age in the pediatric population and lowest in those aged 2 years or less. Consideration of alternative forms of vascular access in this population may be beneficial. Key words: ambulance; emergency medical services; intraosseous; intravenous; pediatric


New technologies will underpin the future generation of library catalogues. In order to maintain their role in providing information, serving users, and fulfilling their mission as cultural heritage and memory institutions, libraries must take a technological leap ; library bibliographic standards, models, and services, must be transformed to those of the Semantic Web. Bibliographic Information Organization in the Semantic Web explores the technologies that will power the future generation of library catalogues, and argues the necessity of such a leap.


This paper presents a system that creates and navigates an unlimited-size mosaic with geographical information. The input is a sequence of airborne images with or without telemetry data, and the output is a mosaic with a combined geographical coordinate layer inherited from the input images. Rather than registering input images with an orthoimage, which is popular in existing applications, the proposed system only takes use of telemetry data as prior information. The airborne images embedded with geo-information are pair-wise registered, based on image feature correspondence. We extract feature points and form a modified EDGE-based descriptor for image registration. Subsequently, the geographical coordinate layers derived from the telemetry data stream are fused using a registration matrix computed from the previous step. However, due to the unreliability of the telemetry data, the new geodetic coordinate layer might be inconsistent with the image coordinate layer and therefore requires rectification to minimize the squared error between the mosaic coordinate layer and the warped geographical coordinate layer. The above process is incorporated into a cluster framework so that the output mosaic is extensible to an infinite size. That is, once the current mosaic size has expanded beyond computer memory limitations, the image is saved to a database. Its spatial relationship with respect to the world coordinate system is also saved to the database so that the system can navigate the collection of image mosaic data by querying the spatial database and retrieving the relevant mosaics. This method is especially suitable for video sequences spanning large regions, such as surveillance video from a micro UAV. Results with real-world UAV video are provided to demonstrate the performance of the proposed system.


This study investigated the mating system of the long-nosed potoroo, Potorous tridactylus, by examining temporal associations between individuals, and patterns of home-range overlap. Six adult females and five adult males were radio-tracked at intervals throughout the 24-h day from December 1996 to March 1997 in south-western Victoria. Home ranges of individuals overlapped with multiple members of each sex; however, intrasexual overlap was significantly lower than intersexual overlap. When data from consecutive radio-tracking sessions were examined, the locations of resting or 'squat' areas were identified. These were almost entirely intrasexually exclusive. Male home ranges overlapped the squat areas of one or more females; however, males did not regularly associate with every female whose squat area they overlapped. In three of four cases, pairs of a male and a female associated regularly and spent a greater proportion of time in close proximity to each other than would be expected if they were moving at random. In the past it has been assumed that males monitor the sexual status of females while they rest in squats. If this is the case, the mating system of long-nosed potoroos will be largely dictated by the number of female squat areas that a male is able to regularly monitor within his home range.


Purpose: Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PanNET) are a heterogeneous group of neoplasms with increasing incidence and unpredictable behavior. Whole-exome sequencing has identified recurrent mutations in the genes DAXX and ATRX, which correlate with loss of protein expression and alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT). Both ALT and DAXX/ATRX loss were initially reported to be associated with a favorable prognosis; however, recent studies suggest the contrary. Our aims were to assess the prevalence and prognostic significance of ALT and DAXX/ATRX in both primary and metastatic PanNETs. Experimental Design: Telomere-specific FISH and DAXX/ATRX IHC was performed on a multi-institutional cohort of 321 patients with resected PanNET and 191 distant metastases from 52 patients. These results were correlated with clinicopathologic features, including disease-free survival (DFS) and disease-specific survival (DSS). Results: The prevalence of ALT and DAXX/ATRX loss in resected PanNETs was 31% and 26%, respectively, and associated with larger tumor size, higher WHO grade, lymph node metastasis, and distant metastasis (P < 0.001). The 5-year DFS and 10-year DSS of patients with ALT-positive and DAXX/ATRX-negative PanNETs were 40% and 50%, respectively, as compared with 96% and 89%, respectively, for wild-type PanNETs. Among distant metastases, ALT and DAXX/ATRX loss was 67% and 52%, respectively, and only occurred in the setting of an ALT-positive and DAXX/ATRX-negative primary PanNET. By multivariate analysis, both ALT and DAXX/ATRX loss were negative, independent prognostic factors for DFS. Conclusions: ALT and DAXX/ATRX loss in PanNETs was associated with shorter DFS and DSS and likely plays a significant role in driving metastatic disease. Clin Cancer Res; 23(2); 600–9. ©2016 AACR.


The HIV-1 Rev response element (RRE), a highly structured RNA sequence consisting of five stemloops, is found in all spliced and partially spliced human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) mRNA transcripts. The RRE interacts with HIV-encoded Rev protein, which facilitates exit of the transcripts from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. Because the Rev/RRE interaction is critical to virus function, it is considered a potential target for therapeutic drugs. We have investigated the interactions of antisense oligonucleotides with stem-loop II, a region that contains the high-affinity binding site for Rev. Oligo-2'-O-methylribonucleotides terminating in a nuclease resistant 3'-methylphosphonate internucleotide linkage were targeted to the 5'- or 3'-side of stem-loop IIB, which is adjacent to the Rev binding site. Thermal denaturation experiments showed that oligonucleotides of this type form highly stable duplexes with complementary single-stranded RNA. Gel electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA) showed that the oligonucleotides bound with high affinity and specificity at 37 degrees C to RRE stem-loop II RNA with apparent dissociation constants, K(D), in the low nM range. A 16-mer, 2-1mp, whose K(D) is 46 nM, competitively inhibited binding of Rev peptide to RRE stem-loop II RNA as shown by EMSA experiments. When transfected into HEK 293T cells, 2-1mp inhibited RRE mediated expression of chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CAT) by 60% at a concentration of 300 nM oligonucleotide. These results are consistent with a mechanism by which 2-1mp blocks access of Rev to the RRE/CAT transcript thus preventing nuclear export and subsequent translation.


The binding modes of a series of molecules, containing the glucosamine (1-->6) myo-inositol structural motif, into the ATP binding site of the catalytic subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) have been analysed using molecular docking. These calculations predict that the presence of a phosphate group at the non-reducing end in pseudodisaccharide and pseudotrisaccharide structures properly orientate the molecule into the binding site and that pseudotrisaccharide structures present the best shape complementarity. Therefore, pseudodisaccharides and pseudotrisaccharides have been synthesised from common intermediates using effective synthetic strategies. On the basis of this synthetic chemistry, the feasibility of constructing small pseudotrisaccharide libraries on solid-phase using the same intermediates has been explored. The results from the biological evaluation of these molecules provide additional support to an insulin-mediated signalling system which involves the intermediacy of inositolphosphoglycans as putative insulin mediators.


Fascioliasis is a worldwide infection caused by the liver fluke, Fasciola hepatica. In the United States, fascioliasis is an uncommon infection and is mainly reported among the immigrant population. Fasciola hepatica infection comprises 2 distinct stages (hepatic and biliary) and manifests mainly as abdominal pain, elevated liver enzymes, and eosinophilia. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) testing is sensitive for both stages while stool exams for F. hepatica eggs are positive only in the biliary stage. Radiographic findings using computed tomography and ultrasonography are not specific but support the diagnosis. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) has been increasingly used to diagnose F. hepatica and to remove the adult fluke from the biliary tree. Triclabendazole is currently the recommended drug for treating F. hepatica infection. The rarity of the disease in the United States can result in a delayed diagnosis and sometimes in mismanagement. Physicians should consider this infection in patients with abnormal liver function and peripheral eosinophilia, especially in the immigrant population.


The main objective of this study was to extend the understanding of selection criterias for a future job in television and radio journalism by the Institute of Journalism students. The study also presents how the Russian full-scale invasion to Ukraine influenced the students' choices. The study is based on two methods – a students survey and a comparison of the survey results from 2021 and 2022. The list of the most common criterias includes: ranking, content, audience, media independence, team, resources, salary, social networks, compliance with the standards and reputation. A comparison of the following criterias for choosing radio and television shows that "Content" lost its absolute advantage among other criterias, although it remained the leader in 2022. "Team", "Compliance with standards" and "Media independence" increase their importance in comparison with the previous year. The criterion "Salary" showed the greatest growth, which may indicate a decrease in the respondents economic level and the expectation of further economic destruction due to the Russian war on the territory of Ukraine. A share of "Rating" and "Power" criterias has significantly decreased. As well as "Reputation" criterion is recorded only in 2022. The results of the study are important for correcting the content of journalism education in general and the teaching of television and radio journalism in particular.


The National Cancer Institute estimates that about 76,250 new cases of melanomas will be diagnosed in 2012 in the United States leading to at least 9810 related deaths. Therefore, novel strategies to control and treat melanoma are of prime importance. In this study, we determined the cytotoxic effects of piperine, a major constituent of black (Piper nigrum Linn) and long pepper (Piper longum Linn), in melanoma cell lines. Piperine treatment inhibited the growth of SKMEL-28 and B16-F0 cells in a dose and time-dependent manner. The growth inhibitory effects of piperine were mediated by cell cycle arrest of both the cell lines in G1 phase. The G1 arrest by piperine correlated with the down-regulation of cyclin D1 and induction of p21. Furthermore, this growth arrest was associated with DNA damage caused by piperine treatment as indicated by phosphorylation of H2A.X at Ser139, activation of ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3-related protein (ATR) and checkpoint kinase 1 (Chk1). Pretreatment with AZD 7762, a Chk1 inhibitor not only abrogated the activation of Chk1 but also piperine mediated G1 arrest. Furthermore, transfection of cells with Chk1 siRNA completely protected the cells from G1 arrest induced by piperine treatment. The G1 arrest by piperine was also confirmed with the down-regulation of E2F1 and decreased phosphorylation of retinoblastoma protein (Rb), indicating the inhibition of the dynamic transcription complex. In addition, apoptosis induced by piperine was associated with down-regulation of XIAP and Bid (uncleaved) and cleavage of Caspase-3 and PARP. In addition, our results showed that piperine treatment generated ROS in melanoma cells. Blocking ROS generation by Tiron prevented the cells from piperine mediated cell cycle arrest. Taken together, our results demonstrate that activation of Chk1 is required for piperine induced G1 phase cell cycle arrest. [Supported in part by R01 grants CA 106953 and CA 129038 awarded to S.K.S by National Cancer Institute, NIH] Citation Format: Neel Fofaria, Sanjay K. Srivastava. Activation of Chk1 by Piperine causes cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in melanoma cells. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Eleventh Annual AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research; 2012 Oct 16-19; Anaheim, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Prev Res 2012;5(11 Suppl):Abstract nr B56.


This paper presents the theory and the design of intra-predictive transforms, which unify the inter-block prediction and block-based transforms in block-based image coding. Motivated by interpreting inter-block prediction as a transform with a larger size, we derive the concept of intra-predictive transforms. Conventional predictions and transforms can be viewed as special cases of intra-predictive transforms. Intra-predictive transforms are able to exploit both inter and intra-block correlations. We derive the tight upper bound of the coding gain of intra-predictive transforms for stationary Gaussian sources. It turns out that the coding gain can be greater than that of conventional transforms. The optimal intra-predictive transform that achieves the upper bound is also derived. We also design a practical intra-predictive transform using frequency-domain prediction that can achieve better performance in image coding while exhibiting low computational complexity. Experimental results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed intra-predictive transforms in block-based image coding systems and show the improvements over the current design.


The stiffness of a parallel manipulator is not only concerned with its detailed structure but also affected by the allocation scheme of actuators. Even though the precise values of stiffness cannot be derived since the link structure is not definitive at the stage of mechanism design, the effect of the allocation of actuators on the mechanism stiffness can be qualitatively evaluated in order to guild the optimal allocation. In this paper, the mechanism stiffness of a parallel manipulator is classified into the actuated stiffness and the structural stiffness. The actuated stiffness is obtained through the principle of virtual displacement and Jacobian matrix, and it is presented as a stiffness matrix which contains all the stiffness components and maps the stiffness of each actuator into the stiffness of the moving platform. The proposed analysis method of the actuated stiffness is suitable for all types of actuators. The structural stiffness is analyzed based on the principle of virtual force. A parallel mechanism is converted into a stationary structure when all active joints are frozen. The stationary structure is regarded as the combination of the basic links which are categorized according to their geometric shapes, join types, and load conditions. The proposed analysis method of structural stiffness takes account of all kinds of internal forces such as axial force, shearing force, bending moment, and torque. It can be seen that the allocation scheme of actuators plays an important role in the contribution to the stiffness of a parallel mechanism. The stiffness analysis that is usually investigated at the stage of structure design in the traditional process of mechanical design is considered in anticipation at the stage of mechanism design in the proposed approach. The stiffness of the moving platform affected by the allocation of actuators is analyzed through the simplified mechanism model without the detailed geometric shapes or physical parameters of link parts, which is able to guild the optimal selection of an allocation scheme of actuators at the early stage of the design process.


Background. Kidney transplantation with hepatitis C viremic (dHCV+) donors appears safe for recipients without HCV when accompanied by direct acting antiviral (DAA) treatment. However, US programs have been reluctant to embrace this approach due to concern about insurance coverage. While the cost of DAA treatment is currently offset by the reduction in waiting time, increased competition for dHCV+ organs may reduce this advantage. This analysis sought to demonstrate the financial benefit of dHCV+ transplant for third-party health insurers to expand coverage availability. Methods. An economic analysis was developed using a Markov model for 2 decisions: first, to accept a dHCV+ organ versus wait for a dHCV uninfected organ; or second, accept a high kidney donor profile index (KDPI) (>85) organ versus wait for a better quality dHCV+ organ. The analysis used Medicare payments, historical survival data, cost report data, and an estimated cost of DAA of $29 874. Results. In the first analysis, using dHCV+ kidneys reduced the cost of end-stage kidney disease care if the wait for a dHCV uninfected organ exceeded 11.5 months. The financial breakeven point differed according to the cost of DAA treatment. In the second analysis, declining a high-KDPI organ in favor of a waiting dHCV+ organ was marginally clinically beneficial if waiting times were <12 months but not cost effective. Conclusions. dHCV+ transplant appears to be economically and clinically advantageous compared with waiting for dHCV-uninfected transplant but should not replace high-KDPI transplant when appropriate. Despite the high cost of DAA therapy, health insurers benefit financially from dHCV+ transplant within 1 year.


A theme of the symposium is to explore ways to employ AI to make games more appealing to people who do not enjoy current genres, and to expand the market for interactive entertainment beyond the traditional niche of young male players. We suggest that AI techniques employed in the world of intelligent tutoring to model the user and adjust instruction, help and content could be fruitfully adapted to interactive entertainment. In computer-based educational tutoring, adaptivity to user behaviors and characteristics such as gender and cognitive developmental level have been shown to increase learner motivation, engagement and achievement in the area of mathematics learning. Similarly, utilizing data regarding player behaviors such as latency and errors to construct a model of the player would allow for more adaptive game play, which in turn would increase the appeal of computer games to a wider audience.


EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER Urodynamic testing is indicated for older adults with incontinence when the underlying cause remains unclear (Grade of Recommendation: B, based on multiple well designed, but inconsistent, randomized controlled trials [RCTs]). Simple cystometry—specifically, measuring post void residual and bladder capacity—is helpful in the evaluation of urinary incontinence when the cause has remained unclear. It may also offer benefit when surgery is under consideration, when there is a history of genitourinary surgery, or when a conservative therapeutic trial has not had an adequate response (Grade of Recommendation: C, based on a small number of RCTs, retrospective cohort studies and systemic reviews).


Nowadays researchers are focused on biological farming. In modern environmental conditions the reduction of the chemical load on the environment is a current issue. In the article the following plants are used as pest management, especially, with Colorado potato beetle: jimson weed, white hellebore, Camelina. They contain a lot of alkaloids and essential oils that inhibit weeds and frightening off potato pests. The use of such agricultural practices on large areas reduces the cost of chemical means of pest control and improves product quality while maintaining the environment.


This paper examines the stock market impact of announcements of corporate bond rating revisions for companies in the United Kingdom (UK) and in Australia. Investigating the market reaction to bond rating changes by Moody's and Standard & Poor's, our findings reveal similar results for downgrade announcements but not upgrade announcements. Using daily data from 1997 to 2006 we find a significant announcement affect to downgrades both in the UK and Australia markets. In contrast, evidence of stock price reaction during upgrade announcements is weak. Subperiod analysis supports these results. Finally, an investigation of the market reaction to a rating change for different bond grades reveals similar results for the UK and Australia in the case of downgrade announcements only. JEL classification: G12 and G14


Abstract. The alpine region is important in riverine and watershed ecosystems as a contributor of freshwater, providing and stimulating specific habitats for biodiversity. In parallel, recent climate change, human activities and other perturbations may disturb hydrological processes and eco-functions, creating the need for next-generation observational and modeling approaches to advance a predictive understanding of such processes in the alpine region. However, several formidable challenges, including the cold and harsh climate, high altitude and complex topography, inhibit complete and consistent data collection where/when needed, which hinders the development of remote sensing technologies and alpine hydrological models. The current study presents a suite of datasets consisting of long-term hydrometeorological, snow cover and frozen ground data for investigating watershed science and functions from an integrated, distributed and multiscale observation network in the upper reaches of the Heihe River Basin (HRB) in China. Gap-free meteorological and hydrological data were monitored from an observation network connecting a group of automatic meteorological stations (AMSs). In addition, to capture snow accumulation and ablation processes, snow cover properties were collected from a snow observation superstation using state-of-the-art techniques and instruments. High-resolution soil physics datasets were also obtained to capture the freeze-thaw processes from a frozen ground observation superstation. The updated datasets were released to scientists with multidisciplinary backgrounds (i.e., cryosphere science, hydrology, and meteorology), and they are expected to serve as a testing platform to provide accurate forcing data and validate and evaluate remote sensing products and hydrological models for a broader community. The datasets are available from the Cold and Arid Regions Science Data Center at Lanzhou https://doi.org/10.3972/hiwater.001.2019.db.


In recent times, organization have been striving to achieve excellence in relation to the effectiveness and efficiency of employees. The behavior of individuals can help organizations to achieve this goal. It has been noted by several researchers that organizational citizenship behavior is a workplace behavior, which is optional because when individuals engage in this kind of behavior they voluntarily do more than is, expected of them for the organization and this in turn increases their performance as well as that of the entire organization. It has been mentioned by many researchers that organizational commitment and organizational support are two factors that can significantly affect the sustainability of organizations as well as the organizational citizenship behavior while increasing the competitive advantage of the organization. Based on the fact organizations strive to support their employees as well as strengthen their commitment. In general, findings of past studies have argued that organizational citizenship behaviour is directly determined by organizational commitment and organizational support. By highlighting the effects of organizational support and organizational commitment on the organizational citizenship behaviour, the direct and indirect effects on employee performance are explained in this article.


This paper reports the results of a large scale randomized experiment that was de- signed to assess whether a short in-class intervention by an external female role model can influence students' attitudes towards science and contribute to a significant change in their choice of field of study. The intervention consists in a one hour, one off visit of a high school classroom by a volunteer female scientist. It is targeted to change students' perceptions and attitudes towards scientific careers and the role of women in science, with the aim of ultimately reducing the gender gap in scientific studies. Using a random as- signment of the interventions to 10th and 12th grade classrooms during normal teaching hours, we find that exposure to female role models significantly reduces the prevalence of stereotypes associated with jobs in science, for both female and male students. While we find no significant effect of the classroom interventions on 10th grade students' choice of high school track the following year, our results show a positive and significant impact of the intervention on the probability of applying and of being admitted to a selective science major in college among 12th grade students. This effect is essentially driven by high-achieving students and is larger for girls in relative terms. After the intervention, their probability to be enrolled in selective science programs after graduating from high school increases by 30 percent with respect to the baseline mean.


Outdoor Survival Skills has taught three generations of wilderness adventurers how to survive in nature without expensive purchased equipment, instead drawing on knowledge of the land and carefully tested techniques, many of them ancient, for finding or creating shelter, fire, tools, water, and plant and animal foods. In this new edition, anecdotes from the author's lifetime of experience provide thrilling examples of the skills and attitudes that ensure survival outdoors.


Palliative therapy aims at increasing the quality of life in patients with a terminal illness. This article provides an overview of the available therapeutic options for the most important symptoms occurring in late-stage neurological disease, including restlessness, drowsiness, death-rattle, shortness of breath, pain, seizures, raised intracranial pressure, thirst and hunger.


Presidents routinely overpromise and underdeliver, especially amidst partisan polarization, narrow congressional majorities, and persistent gridlock. As Congress routinely stymies their legislative agendas, presidents consider alternative courses of action. We study public reactions to unilateral power in the context of congressional inaction. While some research suggests that presidents cannot afford to pass up opportunities for action, more recent scholarship indicates that the public holds negative views of unilateral power and disapproves of its use. Survey experiments embedded on a national sample of Americans provide unambiguous evidence of the costs of unilateral power. Across three policy areas and betweenand within-respondent analyses, the public responds negatively when presidents exercise unilateral power rather than accept the status quo, even among individuals who share the president's policy views. Our results suggest that while legislative gridlock may increase the appeal of unilateral power, its use may come at a steep public cost.


Abstract Conflicting data exist as to the outcome of elderly victims of trauma. With recent improved outcomes for functional recovery, aggressive management of these patients has been advocated. The purpose of this study is to determine outcomes of admitted elderly trauma victims based on initial mechanism of injury and the degree to which other factors affected their overall outcome. A prospective study involving admitted patients ≤65 years was performed at an urban university center from September 15, 1996 until August 31, 1997. Patients sustaining any potentially serious form of trauma were included. Data about mechanism of injury (MOI), comorbid conditions, preinjury medications, types of injuries sustained, length of stay, functional outcome, and ultimate disposition were recorded. Two hundred thirty-nine consecutive patients were enrolled. Mean age was 78.1 ± 8.1 years. There were 130 women (54%) and 109 men (46%). MOI was as follows: 132 low-mechanism falls (LMFs), 64 high-mechanism motor vehicle crashes (HMMVCs), 22 high-mechanism falls (HMFs), 8 pedestrian versus car (PVCs), and 13 other types. Mean length of stay surviving beyond the ED was 12.9 days. 8 patients were either DOA or died in the ED. There were 19 in-hospital deaths. Deaths were seen in 14% of HMMVCs, 13.6% HMFs, 9.1% LMFs, 25% PVCs, and 7.7% for other mechanisms. Overall outcomes by mechanism were categorized as functional (or baseline), fair, alive but poor, and dead. Functional outcomes were seen in 76.6% of HMMVCs, 81.8% of HMFs, 84.1% of LMFs, 50% of PVCs, and 84.6% for all other injuries. Forty-five percent were discharged home, 26% went to rehabilitation units, 16% went to nursing homes, and 11% died; the remaining 2% were either transferred to a psychiatric facility or to another hospital. Preexisting comorbid conditions did not appear to play a significant role in the ultimate outcomes of these patients. Severity of injury was the leading determinant of death, but severely injured patients often had functional outcomes. Elderly trauma victims most often achieve functional outcomes despite multiple or severe injuries. (Am J Emerg Med 2000;18:575–580.


Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text. Background: Many ethnic minority women have low attendance at breast cancer screening. Objectives: This brief report explores whether women's screening histories impact mammography screening attendance after tailored education. Research Design: Systematic searches were conducted in 5 databases. Randomized controlled trials of educational interventions tailored to ethnic minority women that measured attendance at mammography screening were eligible for inclusion. Data extraction and risk of bias assessment were performed independently. Data were combined in a meta-analysis by using random effects models. Heterogeneity was estimated by using I 2 statistics. Results: Six studies with 3521 women were eligible for inclusion. The D+L pooled risk ratio (RR) for mammography attendance for never screened participants was 1.54 (95% confidence interval, 1.24–1.91; P<0.001), with low heterogeneity (I 2=27.1%, P=0.231). The D+L pooled risk ratio for attendance for ever screened participants was 1.26 (95% confidence interval, 1.11–1.43; P<0.001), with low heterogeneity (I 2=35.5%, P=0.213). Conclusions: Tailored education increased attendance at mammography by 54% among never screened women and 26% among ever screened women. Although these findings must be interpreted with caution, the findings suggest that women's screening history is an important and ignored variable that affects how effective tailored education is on mammography screening attendance.


OBJECTIVE
American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/AN) who live in the Northern Plains, includingt Wisconsin, face disproportionate cancer disparities. This report examines cancer incidence and mortality based on residence in Contract Health Service Delivery Areas (CHSDA) to assess disparities between AIs/ANs and other racial populations in Wisconsin.

METHODS
To improve identification of the AI/AN race, incidence data were linked with Indian Health Service (IHS) patient records. Analysis further focused on residents of IHS CHSDA counties. Age-adjusted cancer incidence and mortality rates (2007-2011) were calculated by sex and major cancer sites. AI/AN rates were.analyzed for both statewide and CHSDA residency in comparison to statewide white rates and comparable national rates.

RESULTS
In comparison with whites, AI/ANs in CHSDA counties had higher incidence rates of cervical (3.5 times), liver (3.2), lung (2.3), and kidney cancers (2.1), and higher mortality rates for liver (2.7), kidney (2.2) and lung (1.9) cancers. Although there were similar rates of prostate cancer incidence between the 2 populations, AI/ANs were 1.9 times more likely to die from the disease.

CONCLUSIONS
AI/AN individuals in Wisconsin CHDSA counties experience the highest cancer incidence rate of any racial group for both genders combined and for females. This population also has the highest mortality rate among all racial groups for both males and females. To meet the Wisconsin Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan 2015-2020 and Healthy People 2020 goals of lowering cancer incidence and mortality rates, the disproportionate cancer burden among AIs.


Rapidly dropping power supply voltages and tight voltage regulation requirements for integrated circuits challenges power supply designers. A novel interleaved discharging (ID) approach is presented to reduce the output ripple in step-down switched-capacitor (SC) dc-dc converters. Simulation and experimental results of a four-stage SC dc-dc converter show that the ID approach can reduce the output ripple by a factor of three. The proposed approach also improves the converter efficiency by 7%. The ID method provides flexibility in the design optimization of step-down SC dc-dc converters


The maturation of the technical infrastructure has enabled the emergence and growth of distributed software development. This has created tempting opportunities for companies to distribute their software development, for example, to economically favourable countries so as to gain needed expertise or to get closer to customers. Nonetheless, such distribution potentially creates problems that need to be understood and addressed in order to make possible the gains offered. To clarify and understand the most difficult problems and their nature, a survey of individuals engaged in distributed software development was conducted. The purpose of this survey was to gather and share lessons learned in order to better understand the nature of the software development process when operating in a distributed software development environment and the problems that may be associated with such distributed processes. Through a clear appreciation of the risks associated with distributed development it becomes possible to develop approaches for the mitigation of these risks. This paper presents the results of the survey, focusing on the most serious problems raised by the respondents. Some practical guidelines that have been developed by industry to overcome these problems are also briefly summarized. Copyright # 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Absorption of photons by pigments in photoreceptor cells results in photoisomerization of the chromophore, 11-cis-retinal, to all-trans-retinal and activation of opsin. Photolysed chromophore is converted back to the 11-cis-configuration via several enzymatic steps in photoreceptor and retinal pigment epithelial cells. We investigated the levels of retinoids in mouse retina during constant illumination and regeneration in the dark as a means of obtaining more information about the rate-limiting step of the visual cycle and about cycle intermediates that could be responsible for desensitization of the visual system. All-trans-retinal accumulated in the retinas during constant illumination and following flash illumination. Decay of all-trans-retinal in the dark following constant illumination occurred without substantial accumulation of all-trans-retinol or 11-cis-retinol, at a rate approximately equal to visual pigment regeneration (t1/2 5 and t1/2 7 min, respectively). All-trans-retinal, generated by constant illumination, decayed 3 times more rapidly than that generated by a flash and, as shown previously, the rate of rhodopsin regeneration following a flash was 4 times slower than after constant illumination. The retinyl ester pool (\95% all-transretinyl ester) did not show a statistically significant change in size or composition during illumination. In addition, constant illumination increased the amount of photoreceptor membrane-associated arrestin. The results suggest that the rate-limiting step of the visual cycle is the reduction of all-trans-retinal to all-trans-retinol by all-trans-retinol dehydrogenase. The accumulation of all-trans-retinal during illumination may be responsible, in part, for the reduction in sensitivity of the visual system that accompanies photobleaching and may contribute to the development of retinal pathology associated with light damage and aging. © 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.


We show that the Franck-Condon Factor (FCF) associated to a transition between initial and final vibrational states in two different potential energy surfaces, having $N$ and $M$ vibrational quanta, respectively, is equivalent to calculating the number of perfect matchings of a weighted graph with loops that has $P = N+M$ vertices. This last quantity is the loop hafnian of the (symmetric) adjacency matrix of the graph which can be calculated in $O(P^3 2^{P/2})$ steps. In the limit of small numbers of vibrational quanta per normal mode our loop hafnian formula significantly improves the speed at which FCFs can be calculated. Our results more generally apply to the calculation of the matrix elements of a bosonic Gaussian unitary between two multimode Fock states having $N$ and $M$ photons in total and provide a useful link between certain calculations of quantum chemistry, quantum optics and graph theory.


Computed tomography (CT) scans provide three-dimensional information about intracranial structures, which can be used to place stereotactically guided radiofrequency (RF) lesions and destroy a targeted volume of tissue. This technique was used for lesioning of the corpus callosum (CC) or the amygdala-hippocampus complex (AHC) in 9 patients with intractable seizures. The procedures were monitored by intraoperative CT scans. Lesions were made in the AHC in 7 patients and the CC in 2 patients. In addition, multiple subpial transection (MST) was performed in 6 patients. The longest follow-up is 29 months with a median of 19 months. Five patients (56%) are free of seizures, 3 patients (33%) have greater than 90% reduction in seizure activity and 1 patient (11%) has greater than 50% but at most 90% reduction in seizure activity. There were no complications except for temporary hemiparesis following MST in 1 patient. The results suggest that stereotactic volumetric RF lesioning of the AHC and the CC may be safe and effective in controlling intractable seizures.


Over the past decades, robots have emerged as a valuable technological solution for multiple highly complex industrial processes, and the manufacture of marine propellers has not been an exception. Majority of the propellers being produced worldwide are custom-designed products aiming to satisfy each ship's propulsion requirements. Such geometrical diversity is a considerable challenge when traditionally manual manufacturing processes like hand-grinding and polishing need to be automated.In several market-leading propeller manufacturers within Europe and Asia, industrial robots are being applied for widely diverse operations such as milling polystyrene blocks to make moulding patterns, grinding out the excess material in the blade surfaces, or polishing the complete propellers' surface before their final verification. Propeller blades are customized products, formed by curved and warped surfaces, requiring minimum 5 axes to be smoothly polished, and this can be easily achieved with a robot cell where the CAD/CAM data coming from the individual design are directly translated into robotic parameters.While this solution has demonstrated to be perfectly capable to comply with the marine propellers finishing tolerances, which are internationally defined by ISO 484 standard rules [6], robotic solutions for propeller measurement have not been successfully implemented within this specific industry due to reasons like lack of accuracy and repeatability. This paper analyses the root causes behind this problem, identifying the calibration process, the cell alignment method and the tool positioning as the principal factors resulting in this low measuring repeatability.Findings explained by the authors are the outcome of several practical measuring tests made on real marine propellers within ABB and Fanuc robot cells. This paper concludes offering solutions to reduce the inaccuracies caused by the mentioned factors, and recommending what type of marine propellers are more suitable to be measured with industrial robots, on the basis of ISO 484 requirements for each customized design. Moreover, suggestions for further research on this specific measuring application are provided in the concluding chapter.© 2012 ASME


Background The intervention of circular RNA HIPK3 (circHIPK3) in diabetes has drawn increasing attention in recent years. However, the underlying mechanism of circHIPK3 in diabetic nephropathy (DN) has not been fully elucidated. Thus, the current study aims to investigate the role of circHIPK3 in high glucose (HG)-induced toxicity to human renal tubular epithelial HK-2 cells. Methods The expression of circHIPK3 in HK-2 cells induced by HG was determined by qRT-PCR and Western blot. The regulatory effects of circHIPK3 and miR-326/miR-487a-3p on cells proliferative and apoptosis were evaluated by CCK-8 and flow cytometry. Dual-luciferase reporter assay was applied to predict the target genes of miR-326 or miR-487a-3p. Results Expression level of circHIPK3 in HK-2 cells was remarkably decreased after the treatment of HG. The overexpression of circHIPK3 effectively reversed the HG-induced HK-2 cell proliferation inhibition and apoptosis. Furthermore, SIRT1 was confirmed to be the target gene of miR-326 and miR-487a-3p, which were showed to be the downstream genes of circHIPK3. The silencing of miR-326 or miR-487a-3p was also proved to induce proliferation and reduce apoptosis in HG-induced HK-2 cells. Conclusion Our data suggest that overexpression of circHIPK3 can attenuate the proliferation inhibition of HK-2 induced by HG and inhibit apoptosis through sponging miR-326 or miR-487a-3p to regulate SIRT1.


SIR,-The administration of sulphinpyrazone early after myocardial infarction was recently shown by Dr R G Wilcox and others (23 August, p 531) to be accompanied by a significant elevation of serum creatinine and urea. Moreover some of us had reported on four cases of acute renal failure within the first days after starting sulphinpyrazone therapy in patients with a recent myocardial infarction.1 The mechanism of this renal functional deterioration has to be clarified. Little evidence supports the hypotheses of intratubular urate precipitation or of an immunologically induced interstitial nephritis. We propose that sulphinpyrazone impairs renal function by inhibiting synthesis of prostaglandins in the kidney, as it does in platelets.2 To test this hypothesis, we compared the effect of sulphinpyrazone and of indomethacin -a well-known inhibitor of prostaglandin synthesis-on the urinary excretions of prostaglandins E2 (PGE,) and F2,X (PGF2cX), which reflect the renal synthesis of PGE2 and PGF2X.' Four healthy male volunteers with normal dietary salt intake collected their 24hour urine during 10 consecutive days. Four doses of sulphinpyrazone 200 mg were taken on days 3 and 4 and three doses of indomethacin 50 mg on days 9 and 10; other days served as controls. Other medications, smoking, and sexual activity were withheld. Urinary PGE2 and PGF2C were measured by radioimmunoassay, as previously described.' When compared with the mean of the values obtained during the two days preceding the drug therapies, the mean urinary PGE2 concentration significantly decreased on the two days of sulphinpyrazone as well as of indomethacin therapy (see accompanying table). Both drugs produced a comparable effect on the urinary PGE2. On the other hand, the mean urinary PGF2a did not change under sulphinpyrazone therapy, but it was significantly reduced under indomethacin treatment. Neither drug produced a significant change in creatinine clearance; while sulphinpyrazone produced, as expected, an increase in the urate clearance. The different handling of renal PGF2x by the two drugs is not yet well understood. However, a drug such as sulphinpyrazone that reduces the formation of the vasodilating PGE2 in the kidney and does not modify the formation of the vasoconstrictive PGF20 could in certain clinical situations impair renal haemodynamics and even lead to acute renal failure. In the volunteers studied neither drug produced a consistent change in creatinine clearance. This contrasts with the decrease in renal function when sulphinpyrazone was prescribed soon after infarction reported by Dr Wilcox and his colleagues and by Boelaert et al.1 It is possible, however, that sympathoadrenal activation and other vasoconstrictive stimuli characteristic of the postinfarction period lead to renal prostaglandin activation, withdrawal of which could result in decrease in renal blood flow and glomerular filtration. This is now under investigation.


Background: The rapidly increasing diabetes burden, reaching epidemic proportions despite decades of efforts, reflects our failure to translate the proven evidence for prevention of diabetes. Yoga, with its holistic approach, alters the habituated patterns of lifestyles and behaviour. Motivated by the accumulating evidence, the Government of India funded a large randomized controlled trial. Aims and Objectives: The twin objectives were: (a) estimate the prevalence of prediabetes and diabetes through a parallel multisite stratified cluster sampling method and (b) implement NMB 2017 (niyantrita madhumeha bharata abhiyaan), a randomized control trial using yoga based lifestyle program. Materials and Methods: Screening for Indian Diabetes Risk score(IDRS) was conducted in randomly selected clusters in all 7 zones (65 districts from 29 states/union territories) of India. This was followed by detailed assessments in those with known diabetes and high risk (≥60) on IDRS. Those who satisfied the selection criteria and consented were recruited for the two armed waitlisted randomized control trial. A validated remedial diabetesspecific integrated yoga lifestyle module was taught to the experimental arm by certified volunteers of Indian Yoga Association. Followup assessments were done after 3 months in both groups. In this article, we report the methodology of the trial. Results: Response to door to door visits (n-240,968 adults >20yrs) in randomly selected urban and rural households for screening was 162,330; detailed assessments (A1c, lipid profile, BMI, stress, tobacco etc) were performed on 50,199 individuals. Of these 12466 (6531 yoga 5935 control) consented and for the RCT; 52% females, 48% males; 38% rural, 62% urban; BMI 21.1 ± 3.8; waist circumference 91.7 ± 11.9. A1c in diabetes subjects in yoga group was 7.63 ± 2.17 and 7.86 ± 2.13 in control group. Conclusion: This unique methodology provides the evidence to implement a validated yoga life style module using yoga volunteers in all parts of the country which is an urgent need to prevent India from becoming the global capital for diabetes.


The theme of our project is care and treatment infants receive in nurseries. More specifically, the objective of the study was to investigate the attitudes of pedagogical departments' students toward the role, value, utility, and in particular, contribution of nurseries. The sample consisted of 61 students of the Department of Early Childhood Education School University of Western Macedonia, Florina and 105 students of the Department of Educational and Social Policy, University of Macedonia. To illustrate the results, techniques of multivariate statistical analysis were used which showed that the area of the nursery operates not only as a space of babysitting but plays an important role in shaping a healthy infant's personality, as well.


A modeling approach is used in this paper to study the effects of fatigue on the ground reaction force (GRF) and the vibrations of the lower extremity soft tissues. A recently developed multiple degrees-of-freedom mass-spring-damper model of the human body during running is used for this purpose. The model is capable of taking the muscle activity into account by using a nonlinear controller that tunes the mechanical properties of the soft-tissue package based on two physiological hypotheses, namely, "constant force" and "constant vibration." In this study, muscle fatigue is implemented in the model as the gradual reduction of the ability of the controller to tune the mechanical properties of the lower body soft-tissue package. Simulations are carried out for various types of footwear in both pre- and post fatigue conditions. The simulation results show that the vibration amplitude of the lower body soft-tissue package may considerably increase (up to 20%) with muscle fatigue, while the effects of fatigue on the GRF are negligible. The results of this modeling study are in line with the experimental studies that found muscle fatigue does not significantly change the GRF peaks, but may increase the level of soft-tissue vibrations (particularly for hard shoes). A major contribution of the current study is the formulation of a hypothesis about how the central nervous system tunes the muscle properties after fatigue.


CBL reference : the unique reference for the advertised property Number of bids : the total number of bids made Band : the band of the successful applicant Band time : how long the successful applicant has been in their band for


Rolf-Heinz Höppner was a German official and a member of young Nazi intellectuals and experts, who created the population and national policy. During the German occupation in Poland he was a head of Security Service of SS in Poznań. He headed also another institution. The position that he held gave him a real impact on the policies pursued against the population in the occupied territories. His activities included: gathering information on the moods of the people of the Wartegau, organizing the expulsions of Poles and Jews to the General Government and conducting germanization policy against the Poles. He is best known, however, as the author of a note to Adolf Eichmann from 1941, in which he described the possible ways of using and exterminating the Jewish population. This article is an attempt at a biographical description of Höppner's activities. First, the stages of political socialization and the first political experiences of German are described. The second and largest part of the text is the characteristics of his activity in the Wartegau. Than are presented his post-war fates and attempts — taken by the Polish and German jurisdiction — to judge and punish Höppner for the committed crimes.


The enzymes from hyperthermophilic microorganisms populating volcanic sites represent interesting cases of protein adaptation and biotransformations under conditions where conventional enzymes quickly denature. The difficulties in cultivating extremophiles severely limit access to this class of biocatalysts. To circumvent this problem, we embarked on the exploration of the biodiversity of the solfatara Pisciarelli, Agnano (Naples, Italy), to discover hyperthermophilic carbohydrate‐active enzymes (CAZymes) and to characterize the entire set of such enzymes in this environment (CAZome). Here, we report the results of the metagenomic analysis of two mud/water pools that greatly differ in both temperature and pH (T = 85 °C and pH 5.5; T = 92 °C and pH 1.5, for Pool1 and Pool2, respectively). DNA deep sequencing and following in silico analysis led to 14 934 and 17 652 complete ORFs in Pool1 and Pool2, respectively. They exclusively belonged to archaeal cells and viruses with great genera variance within the phylum Crenarchaeota, which reflected the difference in temperature and pH of the two Pools. Surprisingly, 30% and 62% of all of the reads obtained from Pool1 and 2, respectively, had no match in nucleotide databanks. Genes associated with carbohydrate metabolism were 15% and 16% of the total in the two Pools, with 278 and 308 putative CAZymes in Pool1 and 2, corresponding to ~ 2.0% of all ORFs. Biochemical characterization of two CAZymes of a previously unknown archaeon revealed a novel subfamily GH5_19 β‐mannanase/β‐1,3‐glucanase whose hemicellulose specificity correlates with the vegetation surrounding the sampling site, and a novel NAD+‐dependent GH109 with a previously unreported β‐N‐acetylglucosaminide/β‐glucoside specificity.


Summary
The effect of extrusion cooking and simulated in vitro gastrointestinal digestion on proanthocyanidins in type II and III tannin sorghums was studied. Extrusion cooking was performed at different feed moisture levels (2 L h−1, 3 L h−1, 5 L h−1 and 8 L h−1), with a barrel temperature of 150 °C followed by in vitro gastrointestinal digestion. Extrusion cooked samples had lower total phenols, tannin content and radical scavenging properties than unprocessed tannin sorghum flour. For extrudates, there was progressive increase in total phenols and tannin content with increase in feed moisture. Extrusion cooked samples had increased proportion of dimers and decreased oligomers in the two tannin sorghums. Gastric and duodenal digests of the extrudates contained high proportions of monomers and dimers and some oligomeric proanthocyanidin species. Undigested porridges, gastric and duodenal digests inhibited radical-induced oxidative DNA damage. Extruded tannin sorghum may have health-promoting potential in relation to combating chronic diseases associated with oxidative stress.


The research has as objective to analyze the evolution of the agrarian structure, and the behavior of the economic and social development indicators, for the North and Northwest regions of the Rio de Janeiro state. Moreover, it searchs to verify if the land distribution is an important variable in the explanation of the divergences between the degree of economic development of the cities. The results show that, for the considered regions, the differences in the agrarian structure, separately, can not explain the differences in the degree of economic and social development. The size of the population, in turn, seems to be an important variable in this process. This can be associated to the greater potential demand, what is attractive the private investments. Another reason is, possibly, the greatest politics power, due to the size of the electorate, what can influence in the destination of the public investments.


Between 2000 and 2004, a survey of Triatominae fauna (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) and examination of natural infection caused by Trypanosomatidae in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, was conducted. A total of 13,671 specimens were collected. Through fauna analysis on the insects that were caught, Triatoma sordida was characterized as very abundant, very frequent, constant and dominant. The rates of natural infection with Trypanosoma cruzi were 3.2% for Panstrongylus geniculatus, 0.6% for Rhodnius neglectus and 0.1% for Triatoma sordida. Nevertheless, the State of Mato Grosso do Sul is free from endemic vector transmission.


The gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neuronal system regulates fertility across vertebrates. Thus, migration and positioning of GnRH neurons in the preoptic area (POA) is crucial for proper development and maturation of the GnRH system. However, prenatal stress and glucocorticoid exposure alters reproductive function and behaviour in the adult offsprings. Furthermore, prenatal glucocorticoid exposure during late gestational stages coincides with the early development of GnRH neurons in the brain, thus renders this system vulnerable to this effect. Whether prenatal glucocorticoid exposure alters the GnRH system linked with adult reproductive dysfunction in the offspring has not been shown. This study thus determined the effect of prenatal dexamethasone (DEX, a synthetic glucocorticoid agonist) exposure on the early postnatal GnRH neurons using transgenic rats expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) under the control of GnRH promoter.
We first tested the hypothesis that prenatal DEX administration disrupts the number, distribution and dendritic development of GnRH neurons in the brain of early postnatal day 0 (P0) male offsprings. Prenatal DEX exposure decreased the total number of GnRH neurons in the brain of P0 males, observed within the medial septum (MS), organum vasculosom of the lamina terminalis (OVLT) and anterior hypothalamic area (AHA). GnRH promoter activity in P0 males, expressed indirectly as EGFP-GnRH/IF-GnRH neuronal ratio, was not affected by DEX exposure. However, decreased percentage of GnRH neurons with branched dendritic structure was observed in the OVLT/POA of DEX-P0 males. Morphological observations in Chapter 2 thus demonstrated that prenatal DEX exposure disrupts the early establishment of GnRH neuronal system in the brain of the P0 male offspring.
We further determined the effect of prenatal DEX exposure on the characteristic cellular movement of early postnatal GnRH neurons within the brain of male offsprings in vitro. Time-lapse image analysis demonstrated that the neuronal movement of maternally DEX-administered P0 GnRH neurons localised within the POA was decreased at 60 hr in vitro. The altered motility of DEX-P0 GnRH neurons is possibly linked with the decrease F-actin expression seen by phalloidin staining in DEX-P0 GnRH neurons at 60 hr time point. Taken together in Chapter 3, prenatal DEX exposure possibly alters the fine-tuning movement for the positioning of GnRH neurons in the brain during the early postnatal stage.
The effect of prenatal DEX administration on functional characterisation of GnRH neuronal plasticity and synaptic inputs were further determined in P0 male offspring. Prenatal DEX exposure did not alter the spine density in GnRH neurons of DEX-P0 males. The number of synaptic cluster inputs in areas surrounding the GnRH neurons was decreased within the OVLT of DEX-P0 males. The number of synaptic cluster inputs in close apposition with the GnRH neurons was decreased within the OVLT and AHA region. These results in Chapter 4 further demonstrate that the synaptic inputs of neural afferents to the GnRH neurons are altered by prenatal DEX exposure in the P0 male offsprings.
Collectively, the body of work presented in this thesis provides morphological evidences that prenatal DEX exposure during late gestational stages alters GnRH neurons and function in the early postnatal stage of the male offsprings. Early disruption of establishment and development of GnRH neurons in the POA by prenatal DEX in males suggests long-term consequences of adult reproductive dysfunction and altered sexual behaviour, mediated by early-life stress and prenatal glucocorticoid exposure.


To understand the role of annealing conditions on the segregation and selective oxidation phenomena, Fe 2Mn 2Si 0.8Cr (all in wt.%) model alloy was investigated. The samples were annealed at 820°C in N2-5%H2 forming gas atmospheres over a wide range of dew pints (-80 to 0°C) with dwelling time of 1 to 5 minutes. At all dew points, the strong chemical interaction between Mn and Si causes the formation of manganese silicates. External oxidation of Mn, Si and Cr were decreased at the higher dew points. Increasing the dwelling time shows an extended oxidation front i.e. pronounced external/internal oxidation of Mn, Si and Cr. Basically, the present work addresses the two stages of oxidation front.


Recital presented at the UNT College of Music Merrill Ellis
Intermedia Theater in partial fulfillment of the Bachelor of Music (BM) degree.


In this article, the author argues that the separation of sexual harassment from sex discrimination within legal and popular discourses deflects attention from systemic discrimination. The article examines a range of conduct to support the view that the closer to heterosex the harassing conduct is, the more likely it is to be accepted as sexual harassment. This corporealised focus not only individualises the conduct and detracts from the idea of women as rational knowers in authoritative positions, it also legitimises other forms of harassing conduct in the workplace. The unremitting focus on the sexual in sexual harassment therefore serves a convenient political and ideological purpose within a neo liberal climate that privileges employer prerogative over workers' rights.


This study was conducted to measure the effect of occupational stress on job satisfaction using 80 usable questionnaires gathered from academic employees in private institutions of higher learning in Kuching City, Malaysia. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were used to assess the survey questionnaire data and found that the measurement scales met the acceptable standards of validity and reliability analyses. Next, a stepwise regression analysis was used to test the research hypotheses and the outcomes of this regression analysis showed two important findings: first, physiological stress significantly correlated with job satisfaction. Second, psychological stress insignificantly correlated with job satisfaction. This result demonstrates that level of physiological stress has increased job satisfaction, and level of psychological stress had not decreased job satisfaction. Further, the study confirms that occupational stress does act as a partial determinant of job satisfaction in the stress models of the organizational sector sample. In addition, implications and discussion are elaborated.


We present a novel, fast differentiable simulator for soft-body learning and control applications. Existing differentiable soft-body simulators can be classified into two categories based on their time integration methods: Simulators using explicit timestepping schemes require tiny timesteps to avoid numerical instabilities in gradient computation, and simulators using implicit time integration typically compute gradients by employing the adjoint method and solving the expensive linearized dynamics. Inspired by Projective Dynamics (PD), we present Differentiable Projective Dynamics (DiffPD), an efficient differentiable soft-body simulator based on PD with implicit time integration. The key idea in DiffPD is to speed up backpropagation by exploiting the prefactorized Cholesky decomposition in forward PD simulation. In terms of contact handling, DiffPD supports two types of contacts: a penalty-based model describing contact and friction forces and a complementarity-based model enforcing non-penetration conditions and static friction. We evaluate the performance of DiffPD and observe it is 4–19 times faster compared with the standard Newton's method in various applications including system identification, inverse design problems, trajectory optimization, and closed-loop control. We also apply DiffPD in a reality-to-simulation (real-to-sim) example with contact and collisions and show its capability of reconstructing a digital twin of real-world scenes.


Recent studies highlight the importance of intestinal fungal microbiota in the development of human disease. Infants, in particular, are an important population in which to study intestinal microbiomes because microbial community structure and dynamics during this formative window of life have the potential to influence host immunity and metabolism. When compared to bacteria, much less is known about the early development of human fungal communities, owing partly to their lower abundance and the relative lack of established molecular and taxonomic tools for their study. Herein, we describe the development, validation, and use of complementary amplicon-based genomic strategies to characterize infant fungal communities and provide quantitative information about Candida, an important fungal genus with respect to intestinal colonization and human disease. Fungal communities were characterized from 11 infant fecal samples using primers that target the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) 2 locus, a region that provides taxonomic discrimination of medically relevant fungi. Each sample yielded an average of 27,553 fungal sequences and Candida albicans was the most abundant species identified by sequencing and quantitative PCR (qPCR). Low numbers of Candida krusei and Candida parapsilosis sequences were observed in several samples, but their presence was detected by species-specific qPCR in only one sample, highlighting a challenge inherent in the study of low-abundance organisms. Overall, the sequencing results revealed that infant fecal samples had fungal diversity comparable to that of bacterial communities in similar-aged infants, which correlated with the relative abundance of C. albicans. We conclude that targeted sequencing of fungal ITS2 amplicons in conjunction with qPCR analyses of specific fungi provides an informative picture of fungal community structure in the human intestinal tract. Our data suggests that the infant intestine harbors diverse fungal species and is consistent with prior culture-based analyses showing that the predominant fungus in the infant intestine is C. albicans.


Objectives: We review the current status of pathology services in low- and middle-income countries and propose an "essential pathology package" along with estimated costs. The purpose is to provide guidance to policy makers as countries move toward universal health care systems. Methods: Five key themes were reviewed using existing literature (role of leadership; education, training, and continuing professional development; technology; accreditation, management, and quality standards; and reimbursement systems). A tiered system is described, building on existing proposals. The economic analysis draws on the very limited published studies, combined with expert opinion. Results: Countries have underinvested in pathology services, with detrimental effects on health care. The equipment needs for a tier 1 laboratory in a primary health facility are modest ($2-$5,000), compared with $150,000 to $200,000 in a district hospital, and higher in a referral hospital (depending on tests undertaken). Access to a national (or regional) specialized laboratory undertaking disease surveillance and registry is important. Recurrent costs of appropriate laboratories in district and referral hospitals are around 6% of the hospital budget in midsized hospitals and likely decline in the largest hospitals. Primary health facilities rely largely on single-use tests. Conclusions: Pathology is an essential component of good universal health care.


Abstract Starting from the rigorous excitation equation, the propagation of waves through a 2D waveguide with the periodically corrugated finite-length insert is examined in detail. The corrugation profile is chosen to obey the property that its amplitude is small as compared to the waveguide width, whereas the sharpness of the asperities is arbitrarily large. With the aid of the method of mode separation, which was developed earlier for inhomogeneous-in-bulk waveguide systems [Waves Random Media 2000; 10: 395], the corrugated segment of the waveguide is shown to serve as the effective scattering barrier whose width is coincident with the length of the insert and the average height is controlled by the sharpness of boundary asperities. Due to this barrier, the mode spectrum of the waveguide can be substantially rarefied and adjusted so as to reduce the number of extended modes to the value arbitrarily less than that in the absence of corrugation (up to zero), without changing considerably the waveguide average width.


ISIS and other international terrorist organizations rely on the Internet to disseminate their extremist rhetoric and to recruit people to their cause, particularly through popular online social media applications. Any meaningful counterterrorism strategy must, therefore, account for the ways in which terrorist organizations use the Internet to prey on young, manipulable minds who are drawn to radical ideas and propaganda and to the desire to serve a cause larger than themselves. This article outlines the ways in which extremist organizations use the Internet to ensnare new recruits, analyzes the implications of cyber-recruitment on existing counterterrorism techniques, and suggests ways in which the U.S. government can work with Internet service providers and other major cyber corporations to better address this growing threat.


▪ Abstract We survey modern models of delegation that assume a boss and a subordinate pursue their own goals. Among the major themes covered are the following: the conditions under which the boss will prefer to delegate versus those in which she will prefer to retain authority; how a boss can induce a subordinate to truthfully reveal information; when rational principals will use the ally principle (i.e. delegate to agents with similar goals); delegation in repeated interactions; and how delegation can overcome commitment problems. These themes are relevant to a wide variety of institutions, affecting intralegislative organization, executive-legislative relations, and central banks.


Elections need to remain innovative and robust in the fast-changing world in the digital age. While previous literature focuses on the technicality, legality, security and practicality of e-voting in Canada, the purpose of this study is to find if younger voters would adopt a different attitude towards online voting than older voters. The question at hand here is; how does age affect attitudes towards online voting in Canada? For populations that are under-represented in Canada, online voting can be a conduit that leads to better civic engagement, increased political participation and a better perception of elections. Online voting makes it easier for younger voters to engage in civic duties rather than going into polling stations and filling out a ballot in the electoral process. Often, a cost and benefit analysis is the mechanism behind rational choice voting. Therefore, there is reason to believe online voting may lead to a better sense of engagement for younger voters who are currently disengaged from our political system. Online voting could also lead to better representation for the interests of younger cohorts.


El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) peaks in boreal winter but its impact on Indo-western Pacific climate persists for another two seasons. Key ocean–atmosphere interaction processes for the ENSO effect are investigated using the Pacific Ocean–Global Atmosphere (POGA) experiment with a coupled general circulation model, where tropical Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies are restored to follow observations while the atmosphere and oceans are fully coupled elsewhere. The POGA shows skills in simulating the ENSO-forced warming of the tropical Indian Ocean and an anomalous anticyclonic circulation pattern over the northwestern tropical Pacific in the post–El Niño spring and summer. The 10-member POGA ensemble allows decomposing Indo-western Pacific variability into the ENSO forced and ENSO-unrelated (internal) components. Internal variability is comparable to the ENSO forcing in magnitude and independent of ENSO amplitude and phase. Random internal variability causes apparent decadal modulations of ENSO correlations over the Indo-western Pacific, which are high during epochs of high ENSO variance. This is broadly consistent with instrumental observations over the past 130 years as documented in recent studies. Internal variability features a sea level pressure pattern that extends into the north Indian Ocean and is associated with coherent SST anomalies from the Arabian Sea to the western Pacific, suggestive of ocean–atmosphere coupling.


There is a strong desire to safeguard taro (Colocasia esculenta) continued production by breeding for improved production. The two major constraints to the development of taro cultivation, processing and value-adding are: its insufficient adaptation to the changing climate (especially its limited adaptation to drought) and its chemotype (low dry matter, starch and amylose contents and high oxalate content). Both can be genetically improved. The chances of getting a high yielding clone, with excellent eating quality, are generally very low and they become much lower when the selection procedure includes additional traits. Therefore breeders have to test a lot of offspring individuals, even when the parents are the best existing genotypes. The sustainable and safe use of taro germplasm cannot be addressed if only one gene pool is studied. There is an urgent need to exchange genetic resources. This makes sense both in scientific terms and in terms of technical co-operation between developing countries. The present paper highlights some of the present constraints to taro genetic improvement and discuss future perspectives opened by the international exchange of true seeds. (Resume d'auteur)


Chapter 2 showed that current maps on the Internet are composed of the discrete set of LODs/scale pyramids with big changes of map content and representations. This can lead to confusion for the users when they navigate in the map. Therefore, a conceptual model (SSC) was proposed, see Chapter 3. We believe that, by capturing the whole generalization process in small smooth incremental changes, it is possible to achieve a better user experience e. g. when the user zooms in and out. To verify this hypothesis it is necessary: (1) generate a SSC dataset (2) develop a software prototype where a dataset can be used in its full potential and (3) perform usability test. Hence this chapter will describe the benefits of such as smooth representation in more detail. Section 6.1 gives an introduction to the problem and it suggests our solution. Section 6.2 covers the theoretical background, principle and example of smooth zooming. Section 6.3 presents possible conversion strategies to smooth representation. Section 6.4 explains the software prototype for possible usability testing. This is followed by our initial usability test, which was carry out addition to our plans. More specific, Section 6.5 defines all elements of the testing. Section 6.6 presents preliminary results, and Section 6.7 describes gained experiences. Then, Section 6.8 summarizes possible improvements for the future.


The inhibition of squalene epoxidase by the allylamine antimycotic agents naftifine and compound SF 86-327 was investigated, with particulate enzyme preparations from the pathogenic yeasts Candida albicans and Candida parapsilosis and from rat liver. Both naftifine and compound SF 86-327 were potent inhibitors of the Candida epoxidases and showed apparently non-competitive kinetics with respect to the substrate squalene. The Ki values for naftifine and compound SF 86-327 in the C. albicans system were 1.1 microM and 0.03 microM respectively. The C. parapsilosis enzyme was slightly more sensitive to inhibition. Varying the concentrations of cofactors or the soluble cytoplasmic fraction (S200) had no effect on the inhibition. The epoxidase from rat liver was much less sensitive (Ki for compound SF 86-327 was 77 microM). The inhibition was also qualitatively different from that in Candida, being competitive with respect to squalene and also with respect to the S200 fraction. S200 fraction derived from C. albicans also antagonized the inhibition of the epoxidase from liver, but the liver S200 fraction did not affect inhibition of the Candida enzyme by compound SF 86-327. There was no evidence for an irreversible or mechanism-based inhibition of either the fungal or the mammalian epoxidase. The selective inhibition of squalene epoxidase was sufficient to account for the known antimycotic action of the compounds.


The dimeric dithiolate complex [1,5-bis(mercaptoethyl)-1,5-diazacyclooctanato]zinc(II), [(bme-daco)Zn](2) or Zn-1, and its cadmium analogue, Cd-1, were investigated as models for the active site of zinc-dependent methylation proteins. The key issue addressed was whether alkylation of a thiolate in a relatively rigid tetradentate ligand would result in coordination of the thioether product to the metal. On the basis of (1)H and (13)C NMR spectroscopy and similar reactivity toward alkylating agents, the newly synthesized cadmium complex, Cd-1, is proposed to be isostructural with the previously reported Zn-1 complex, which is known from X-ray crystallography to be dimeric in the solid state (Tuntulani, T.; Reibenspies, J. H.; Farmer, P. J.; Darensbourg, M. Y. Inorg. Chem.1992, 31, 3497). Iodomethane reacts with Zn-1 in hot CH(3)OH/CH(3)CN to produce a thioether which dissociates, replaced by coordination of iodide in the pseudotetrahedral complex, (Me(2)bme-daco)ZnI(2) or Zn-2. Complex Zn-2 crystallizes in the triclinic P&onemacr; space group with a = 7.911(2) Å, b = 10.675(2) Å, c = 12.394(2) Å, alpha = 75.270(10) degrees, beta = 75.270(10) degrees, gamma = 82.12(2) degrees, V = 998.270 Å(3), and Z = 2. An analogous reaction was observed for the cadmium derivative, Cd-1, which displays a (1)H NMR spectrum identical to that of Zn-2. In attempts to promote thioether binding, the iodide was displaced by addition of AgBF(4) to solutions of Zn-2 or the BF(4)(-) analogue was synthesized directly from Zn(BF(4))(2) and methylated ligand, Me(2)bme-daco, to yield Zn-3. Similar reactions with the cadmium analogue yielded a product identified as Cd-3 that was indistinguishable from Zn-3 by (1)H NMR. The (113)Cd NMR spectra of Cd-3 displayed a single resonance at 88 ppm consistent with a hard donor environment and inconsistent with sulfur binding. As a further attempt to induce thioether binding to zinc, the macrocyclization reagent 1,3-dibromopropane was added to Zn-1. The resulting product, [BrZn(macrocycle)](+), was only slightly soluble in pyridine and identified by +FAB/MS as the desired macrocyclic product with a large amount of free macrocycle ligand. Recrystallization from pyridine/ether resulted in loss of the zinc as Zn(py)(2)Br(2), which was obtained as colorless crystals and characterized by X-ray crystallography. Complex Zn(py)(2)Br(2) crystallizes in the monoclinic P2(1)/c space group with a = 8.534(2) Å, b = 18.316(4) Å, c = 8.461(2) Å, beta = 101.07(3) degrees, V = 1297.9(5) Å(3), and Z = 4.


The nucleotide sequences of the 5'-flanking regions of the duplicated Amy genes in eight sibling species belonging to the melanogaster species subgroup are analyzed. In Drosophila melanogaster, a region of about 450 bp immediately upstream of the translation initiation site of the two paralogous genes (the proximal and distal genes) has sequence similarities. However, we could not detect any significant sequence similarity in the region more upstream than -450. This result indicates that the coding regions of the ancestral Amy gene were duplicated together with 450 bp of the 5'-flanking region as one unit. Multiple alignment of these 450-bp sequences in the proximal and distal genes of all eight species revealed a mosaic pattern of highly conserved and divergent regions. The conserved regions included almost all the putative regulatory elements identified in previous analyses of the sequences. A phylogenetic analysis of the aligned sequences shows that these 450-bp sequences are clustered into the proximal and the distal groups. As a whole, the divergence between groups in this region is very large in contrast to that in the coding regions. Based on the divergence between groups, the 450-bp region is divided into two subregions. We found that the ratios of the divergence between groups to that within groups differ in the two subregions. From these observations, we discuss a possibility of positive selection acting on the subregion immediately upstream of the Amy coding region to cause divergence of regulatory elements of the paralogous genes.


Catch shares or Individual Transferable Quotas (ITQs) are economic instruments used in fisheries to address common pool problems. They attempt to increase economic yield from the fishery by allocating exclusive and secure fishing rights and by promoting catch constraints that will lead to stock rebuilding. The catch shares are transferable, which results in a market for both sales and temporary leasing of quotas within the fishery. Fishers are expected to make their decisions in line with good stewardship practices because they benefit from future improvements in the stock, and efficiency of harvesting increases as quota is transferred to more efficient operators. There is empirical evidence that some successes towards these goals has been achieved by ITQs, such as fleet rationalization, however, some issues arise when fishers do not behave as expected. Therefore, knowing how fisheries respond to ITQs and how the incentives change with changing stock abundances is critical in assisting fisheries managers when designing polices. In this thesis the total allowable catch (TAC) setting process in Australian and New Zealand ITQ fisheries were analysed to identify factors that prevent fishers exercising good stewardship. The Tasmanian rock lobster fishery (TRLF) was then used as a case study to analyse the sale and lease quota market. Changes in quota transfers and interactions between operators in response to changes in stock abundance were assessed. Finally, an experimental economic approach was used to assess factors that may promote cooperation when restocking is used as a tool to address stock and congestion externalities that result in spatial stock heterogeneity. The aim of the thesis was get a higher understanding of factors that may prevent expected outcomes emerging from ITQ systems.
A fundamental and expected outcome of ITQ systems is resource stewardship through the setting of conservative TACs. This is anticipated to be promoted by increase in catch share values that results from higher catch rates, in combination with security and exclusivity. Despite most of the analysed fisheries behaving as expected, a nontrivial fraction consistently showed lack of stewardship, keeping constant and even increasing the TACs when stock status and asset values were trending downward. Several reasons were identified as a cause of this behaviour, the most frequent being a lack of understanding or acceptance of the principle underlying the ITQ systems. For instance, TAC constraints were interpreted as a reduction in profitability which indicated no understanding or value placed on the economic benefit of higher future catch rates. This analysis showed that despite the fact that stewardship is possible in ITQ fisheries, it is not inevitable and additional conditions are required to promote stewardship.
Stock abundance can change as a consequence of a lack of stewardship and/or natural causes such as recruitment failures. This can potentially be reflected in the quota markets, as they are expected to respond to variations in economic rent from the fishery. Since the ITQ system was introduced in the TRLF, the stock has shown two periods of trends in abundance - a period of stock growth between 1998 and 2006, followed by a period of stock decline between 2007 and 2011. These changes affected quota markets in the fishery with a trend of increasing activity in the permanent quota trade market during the period of stock growth and during both periods in the quota lease market. The transfer of quota units was not associated with the operators' technical efficiency (i.e. catching capability) as predicted for ITQ fisheries, but linked to their financial capacity (i.e. number of owned quota units). The stock decline changed fishers' behaviour, with those previously active reducing their activity in the quota lease market, and those inactive becoming involved in the market, resulting in an expanding fleet with more small operators.
Stock abundance changes also affected the lease quota trade network with increased interactions during the period of stock growth, which lasted until the second year of the period of stock decline. Individuals had greatest level of connection (traded quotas) with other fishers at this time, following which the trend reversed as the stock declined. The social capital of active operators and position in the lease quota trade network was mostly influenced by the fishing operation characteristics, and by quota ownership in the case of investors. Different dimensions of social capital influenced the success of operators in the fisher and caused them to modify their trading interactions in response to changes in stock abundance. There were some indications of asymmetry in bargaining power, such as between small and large quota owners and this relationship changed when the stock declined and the lease quota trade market became less competitive.
In addition to temporal variations, stock may vary spatially in terms of abundance and/or resource quality. ITQ systems do not delineate who can fish in each specific patch; therefore, fishers target more profitable areas, which generates stock and congestion externalities. An economic experiment was used to assess the effect of different factors promoting cooperation, including when restocking was used to address stock and congestion externalities and the consequent rent dissipation. When policies involved compulsory actions and economic punishment some extent of cooperation was reached. The highest level of cooperation occurred when the policy design gave the option of choosing between getting involved in the restocking plan or not. Nonetheless, evidence showed that the voluntary option should be complemented with a measure that provided those individuals who are intrinsically cooperative with security that those liable to free-riding are either physically excluded from or punished for fishing in the restocked area. When the design only included a voluntary setting, free-riders dominated. Thus, depending on signals conveyed by the rules, intrinsically cooperative individuals may lead the economic exchanges to an equilibrium of low rent dissipation and vice versa.
This research makes a contribution to the discussion of factors that affect fishers' decisions, and how in some cases these decisions prevent expected outcomes of the ITQ system. This provides guidance on the design of management policies in the context of ITQ systems.


This overview focuses on two out of the six categories of organized youth sports; namely, agency-sponsored and interscholastic athletics. The discussion of the current status and proposed future direction of organized athletics for youth includes seven components of the problem: the role of youth sports in American culture; the role of athletic competition in youth development; education of youth sport coaches; injury prevention and safety in youth sports; patterns of participation and attrition in sports by adolescents; issues of gender in youth sports; and effectiveness of sports programs for adolescents. The discussion focuses on adolescents, especially those who live in high-risk environments. Programs that seem to be meeting specific objectives have been identified as a resource for those who seek models of effectiveness. Responses of ''ouch to a survey about their experiences in organized sports are summarized. Among the findings are: progress toward true equality in sports opportunities regardless of gender has been made, but participation rates for boys continue to be much higher than those for girls; a commitment to provide progams for specific populations, such as low-income or minority groups, is absent from the mission, goals, and objectives of many national governing agencies; the potential benefits of competition are acknowledged, but whether these benefits are actually experienced by a significant number of participants depends largely on the quality of adult leadership; and competitive sports have the potential to produce negative effects, such as the disintegration of moral development. The paper concludes with 23 recommendations, divided among the following topics: Organization of Sports Programs (11 recommendations); Scheduling of Practice and Games (3 recommendations); Quality of Adult Leadership (9 recommendations). Three appendixes provide information on two publications ("Guidelines for Coaching Education: Youth Sports," and "Coaching Certification: A Position Paper") and an address list of representatives of national youth sports governing agencies. Contains 78 references. (AMH)


Abstract Background Vasospastic angina (VA) is an important cause of chest pain and patients often have 3- to 6-month clusters of recurrent attacks, separated by relatively asymptomatic periods. During these episodes the resulting myocardial ischaemia can lead to clinical complications of different severity, including acute myocardial infarction, acute heart failure, and cardiogenic shock. The management of severe and recurrent VA attacks is challenging, and no specific recommendations exist in recent cardiologic guidelines on the pharmacological strategy (inotropic/vasopressor agents) to adopt for this acute clinical setting. Case summary We present a case of recurrent episodes of VA complicated by acute pulmonary oedema and cardiogenic shock despite maximal tolerated therapy (intravenous calcium antagonist and nitrates) that was successfully treated with levosimendan. Discussion Levosimendan rapidly reverted cardiogenic shock, acute pulmonary oedema, and mitral regurgitation caused by a refractory coronary spasm, contributing to persistent clinical stabilization. Further evidence and a longer follow-up are needed to support our observation on the efficacy of levosimendan in this specific clinical setting.