Is there any reason to discriminate among the rival claims self-proclaimed conservatives make for being truly conservative? This article argues that at least some of these claims can legitimately be dismissed by an independent third. Drawing on and critically interrogating the theories of conservatism provided by Huntington, Oakeshott, as well as Brennan and Hamlin, this article argues that many characterizations of conservatism mistake contingent circumstances explaining why people historically were or conceivably might be reluctant to promote social change for a fully formed conservative ideology. Not least, risk- and uncertainty-centered accounts, which have gained in popularity as of recently, constitute no viable basis for plausible claims to being truly conservative. Rather than specifying what it takes to be a true conservative, these accounts provide a formalized description of one kind of contingent circumstances that may lead a principled non-conservative to adopt conservative political attitudes.


: For the first time the method of obtaining synthetic protein-free antigen with the specificity of Salmonella O-factor by the radical copolymerization of the synthetic trisaccharide 3-0 [4-0-(beta-D-mannopyranosyl)-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl]-beta-allyl-D- galactopyranoside with acrylamide was developed. The synthetic antigen thus obtained possessed the narrow specificity of serogroup E Salmonella O-factor 3. The serological activity of the antigen, studied in the precipitation and passive hemagglutination tests, was considerably higher than that of lipopolysaccharides isolated from S. anatum and S. newington. This synthetic antigen proved to be nontoxic and possessed immunogenic properties, inducing the formation of antibodies to Salmonella O-factor 3 in immunized animals.


The relations between 552 bus drivers' low-speed traffic incidents (without consideration of culpability) and their age, exposure (hours of work) and experience (years as a bus driver) were calculated using bus company data from the Swedish city of Uppsala for the years 1999-2003. It was found that risk decreases with age and experience, with experience as the strongest factor, carrying the effect. Exposure (hours worked) had a curvilinear association to accidents. Also, the use of accidents per work hour yielded more easily interpreted results than the absolute number, indicating the importance of taking exposure into account when predicting accidents. These results are mainly in agreement with previous studies on other road user groups. However, two different ways of calculating age effects (individual and group level) gave somewhat different results, indicating that a fairly popular method of calculating risk indexes may be faulty. Furthermore, time for holding a car driver's license did not influence bus accident liability, despite being strongly correlated with age, indicating that bus driving is separate from car driving experience. Also, the extremely small amount of variance accounted for by experience and age point to the importance of other factors, although there seem to be a strong effect during the first years of driving, which thereafter levels off.


Powder-metallurgical (P/M) produced components may be used as mass parts in a very large quantity. Due to the multistage manufacturing process which consists of the pressing of the prepared powder and the sintering of the green bodies also complex shaped components can be produced very economically and precisely. They can be utilised without any further post-processing if the whole production process is optimised. However, it is still difficult and only possible with considerable technical and financial effort to produce highly stressable components profitably using the sinter technique. Therefore, the examinations on hand had the intention to create the basis for the use of the sinter technology also for the production of highly stressable case-hardened components. To this, at first bending specimens were fabricated with modern pressing procedures and sinter facilities and first characterized in the as sintered state. Then the conditions for the case-hardening was analysed and the parameters for an optimised case-hardening procedure fixed. With these parameters specimens were case-hardened and their lifetime behaviour estimated under different bending loading conditions. Finally it should be checked whether the knowledge gained from the specimens could be applied to complex components. To this, gear wheels were produced using powder-metallurgy. The cyclical tooth foot strength of this gear wheels were analysed in the only sintered as well as in the case-hardened state. It could be demonstrated that the improvement of the fatigue strength of the bending specimens by case-hardening also appears at the tooth foot strength of the gear wheels.


At the age of Big Data, it is now common to have to deal with very large datasets of phenomena that evolve over time. When the aim is to estimate simple quantities such as the mean or the median trajectory, as well as the main modes of variation of the data, captured through a principal components analysis, survey sampling techniques may be employed successfully. They can offer an interesting trade off between size of the data and accuracy of estimators. This paper makes a review of survey sampling approaches recently developed to deal with large datasets of functional data. We present different sampling techniques that can be employed to build confidence bands and improve, with the help of auxiliary information, the accurary of estimators compared to simple random sampling without replacement. These procedures are illustrated on a dataset of electricity load curves measured every half-hour over a period of one week.


A pale-yellowish bacterium, strain KWS-1T, was isolated from seawater during a study of the bacterial diversity of the marine environment of the Kanyakumari coastal region of the Bay of Bengal, India, and was studied by using a polyphasic taxonomic approach. Strain KWS-1T had morphological and chemotaxonomic properties (cell-wall diamino acid, menaquinone and fatty acid profile) consistent with its classification in the genus Brachybacterium. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence showed that strain KWS-1T was related most closely to Brachybacterium paraconglomeratum JCM 17781T, followed by Brachybacterium saurashtrense DSM 23186T, Brachybacterium gingengisoli JCM 19356T, Brachybacterium faecium JCM 11609T and Brachybacterium conglomeratum JCM 11608T (98.45, 98.24, 98.12, 98.10 and 98.10 % similarity, respectively), whereas the sequence similarity values with respect to the other Brachybacterium species with validly published names were between 97.4 and 94.2 %. However, the DNA-DNA hybridization values between strain KWS-1T and the five most closely related species were less than the threshold value for species discrimination. The major lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylserine and the major quinone was menaquinone MK-7. The DNA G+C content of strain KWS-1T was 71.8 mol%. The above data in combination with the phenotypic distinctiveness of strain KWS-1T from other reference strains clearly indicate that the strain represents a novel species, for which the name Brachybacterium aquaticum sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is KWS-1T (=MTCC 11836T=DSM 28796T=JCM 30059T).


Since Kenya imports most of the vegetable fibres apart from cotton and sisal, there is need
for research in the development and utilisation of other vegetable fibre sources. This study
however, was aimed at analysing the quality of aramina fibres from the plant Urena Lobata
that grows widely and as a weed in Kenya.
Specifically the study was to determine the chemical and physical properties of aramina
fibres, make sample yarns from fibres using hand spinning methods, construct sample
articles using simple hand techniques and compare the aramina fibre qualities with the
established properties of a textile fibre.
The methodology used was experimental and involved extraction of the fibre by retting
process, situational observation of the experiments and note taking as well as making of
sample articles. The analysis was done both qualitatively and quantitatively, and the
results presented in terms of reports, tables and figures. The experiments were carried out
at Kenya Bureau of Standards (Textile Quality Control Laboratory) where the necessary
conditions for textile testing were maintained at temperature 20°C ± 2°C and Relative
Humidity 65 ± 2%. The carding, spinning and dyeing processes were carried out at the
Fine Art department (Kenyatta University).
The process of extraction of aramina fibres has not been documented. However, Joseph
(1986), and Ghosh (1993) argue that the fibre can be extracted in a similar manner as jute.
Therefore, the process of jute fibre extraction was adapted whereby the barks were
stripped off from the wooden portion and subjected to partial rotting by immersion in
water. The process took two (2) weeks and about 2.6 kg of fibres were obtained from 22
kg of unretted green bark. The unretted bark contained impurities and moisture hence
were much heavier than the dry fibres.
The fibres were then subjected to various fibre tests. The fibre was found to have a
staple length of 13.5 cm and burning characteristics like those of other natural cellulose
fibres such as cotton and linen. The fibre has a moisture regain value of 9.7%, 42.9%
stronger when wet than dry and percentage elongation was recorded to be 1.035 when dry
and 1.3% when wet. The wetness of the fibre has significant effect on the elongation as
well as on fibre strength (tenacity) which was found to be 2.0g/d for the wet fibres while
that of the dry fibres was found to be 1.4 %g/d. Chemically the fibre is affected by acids
and this implies that the fibre cannot be dyed using dye stuffs that are acidic or stored in
acidic solvents and this property is important in the formation of oxycellulose used in the
manufacture of regenerated fibres. The fibre was found to be resilient and pliable. This
quality made it possible to be spun into yarn which was later dyed and made into articles.
Various methods used to make the articles include crocheting, plaiting, hand weaving,
card weaving and macrame knots. The articles made include a shoulder bag, a table mat, a
floor mat, a belt, a plant hanger and a toothpick holder cover.
In short, the fibre was found to qualify as a textile fibre and can be recommended for
usage in the textile industry both at large and small scale. Since it's locally available,
cheap to obtain and of good spinning and dyeing quality it can be of a great use in the "jua Kali" sector.


Motivated by the potential tension between coordination, which may require discriminating between identical agents, and social comparisons, which may call for small pay differentials, we analyze the optimal reward scheme in an organization involving agents with social preferences whose tasks are complementary. Although a tension exists between the effects of inequality aversion and altruism, there is always more reward inequality when agents are inequality-averse and altruistic than when they are purely self-interested. We then highlight how our results differ when agents are not altruistic but rather inequality-averse a la Fehr and Schmidt (1999)


PurposeThis paper aims to assess the accuracy of Lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) for numerical simulation of the stratification of a Van der Waals (VdW) fluid subjected to a gravity field and non-uniform temperature distribution. A sensitivity analysis of the influence of the pseudopotential parameters and the grid resolution is presented. The effect of gravity force on interface densities, density profiles and liquid volume fraction is studied.Design/methodology/approachThe D2Q9 multiple-relaxation-time pseudopotential LBM for two-phase flow is proposed to simulate the phase separation. The analytical solution for density profiles in a one-dimensional problem is derived and used as a benchmark case to validate the numerical results.FindingsThe numerical results reproduce the analytical density profiles with great accuracy over a wide range of simulation conditions, including variations of the gravity and temperature fields. Particularly, the numerical simulations are able to represent the effect of gravity on the existence and position of the liquid–vapor boundary of an ideal pure substance in thermodynamic equilibrium. The sensitivity of the results to variations of the calibration parameters of the VdW pseudopotential was assessed.Research limitations/implicationsThe numerical simulations were performed assuming a VdW fluid in a 2-D cavity with one periodic direction for which analytical solutions for benchmarking purposes are possible to obtain.Originality/valueThe following fundamental question is addressed: Is the pseudopotential LBM capable of simulating accurately the liquid–vapor equilibrium under gravity forces and temperature gradients? Moreover, regarding that the pseudopotential model requires the calibration of several internal parameters to achieve thermodynamic consistency, the sensitivity of the results to variations of these parameters is assessed.


BACKGROUND
Everolimus, a novel proliferation inhibitor and immunosuppressive agent, may suppress cardiac-allograft vasculopathy. We conducted a randomized, double-blind, clinical trial comparing everolimus with azathioprine in recipients of a first heart transplant.

METHODS
A total of 634 patients were randomly assigned to receive 1.5 mg of everolimus per day (209 patients), 3.0 mg of everolimus per day (211 patients), or 1.0 to 3.0 mg of azathioprine per kilogram of body weight per day (214 patients), in combination with cyclosporine, corticosteroids, and statins. The primary efficacy end point was a composite of death, graft loss or retransplantation, loss to follow-up, biopsy-proved acute rejection of grade 3A, or rejection with hemodynamic compromise.

RESULTS
At six months, the percentage of patients who had reached the primary efficacy end point was significantly smaller in the group given 3.0 mg of everolimus (27.0 percent, P<0.001) and the group given 1.5 mg of everolimus (36.4 percent, P=0.03) than in the azathioprine group (46.7 percent). Intravascular ultrasonography showed that the average increase in maximal intimal thickness 12 months after transplantation was significantly smaller in the two everolimus groups than in the azathioprine group. The incidence of vasculopathy was also significantly lower in the 1.5-mg group (35.7 percent, P=0.045) and the 3.0-mg group (30.4 percent, P=0.01) than in the azathioprine group (52.8 percent). The rates of cytomegalovirus infection were significantly lower in the 1.5-mg group (7.7 percent, P<0.001) and the 3.0-mg group (7.6 percent, P<0.001) than in the azathioprine group (21.5 percent). Rates of bacterial infection were significantly higher in the 3.0-mg group than in the azathioprine group. Serum creatinine levels were also significantly higher in the two everolimus groups than in the azathioprine group.

CONCLUSIONS
Everolimus was more efficacious than azathioprine in reducing the severity and incidence of cardiac-allograft vasculopathy, suggesting that everolimus therapy may alleviate this serious problem.


Modern democratic nations have designed electoral systems to achieve two fundamental goals: increasing enfranchisement and voting, and, assuring the integrity of the vote. Efforts to achieve these two objectives can generate a tension between them. As an example, postal voting (also called absentee balloting) has the benefit of allowing persons who cannot easily reach a polling place to vote from remote locations at some time prior to the day of the election. This is especially valuable to persons with disabilities that limit their ability to travel. But postal voting also increases the risk of fraud. Specifically, these ballots can be stolen and either cast by other people or destroyed. The magnitude of this problem can increase in congregate living settings where multiple voters cast absentee ballots. In short, there is a trade-off between an effort to enhance enfranchisement, in this case by postal voting, while at the same time assuring the integrity of the electoral process.The purpose of this paper is to examine and compare various nations' electoral systems in order to understand how they address this trade-off. Our focus on voting by elderly persons, particularly those with cognitive impairments, highlights how well the various approaches succeed in simultaneously facilitating voting by vulnerable elderly persons while reducing the opportunities for deception and fraud.


Incremental implementation of terminal Area Navigation (RNAV) procedures has yielded significant operational benefits at major U.S. airports. Key prerequisites of these benefits are the advanced flight automation systems that are available on the majority of today's commercial and corporate aircraft as well as the presently achievable conformance of flight operations to the RNAV route structures. Key implementation sites of RNAV procedures include Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta (ATL) International airports. The RNAV Standard Instrument Departure (SID) procedures implemented at these airports have promised and delivered more efficient utilization of available runways and constrained departure airspace by enabling diverging departure operations. This paper investigates the RNAV route conformance currently observed in RNAV departure operations at DFW and ATL and reviews the mechanism that enables operational benefits. It describes the Monte Carlo modeling approach taken to evaluate operational changes, the methodology used to validate model performance with radar data, and presents estimates of departure capacity and delay reduction benefits. The results of the research suggest that capacity gains of about 10 additional departures per hour and runway are possible resulting in significant benefits to operators when RNAV procedure designs enable airports to conduct diverging departure operations. The paper also compares key performance metrics of the model to performance metrics obtained from extensive preand post-implementation operational evaluations. The evaluation results were found to confirm expected operational changes, validate user benefits resulting from diverging RNAV departure operations, and firmly support further terminal procedure implementation at other airports.


The research aims to develop the epistemological attitude towards sources of knowledge questionnaire and evaluate its content validity. The authors developed the model of epistemological attitude, a socio-psychological theory of cognition of sources of knowledge and their content. The theoretical foundations of the model are epistemological theories of cognition, philosophical and psychological aspects of personality cognition, social contexts of scientific and non-scientific cognition. The authors suppose cognition as a process occurring in three spheres, which is reflected in four dimensions of the epistemological attitude model. These dimensions are described as epistemological sphere's dimensions epistemological approach and epistemological strategy, subjective sphere's dimension activity principle of personality in cognition, and contextual sphere's dimension cognition context. Based on the sixteen factors determining the content of the four structure model, a new instrument is developed to assess the use and significance of different sources of knowledge among students. In order to evaluate the degree to which the instrument has an appropriate sample of items for the epistemological attitude model, expert reviewers, the academics, university lecturers and professors, as subject matter experts connected to philosophy, psychology, methodology and education, participated in this study. Experts evaluated the content validity of the items (k =193) using the expert method, and the content validity index of the scale items was calculated. The experts' ratings confirmed the content validity of the instrument. Moderate inconsistencies in ratings across the experts were found and experiencing failures that reveal data quality problems are discussed.


Biases in sensory perception can arise from both experimental manipulations and personal trait-like features. These idiosyncratic biases and their neural underpinnings are often overlooked in studies on the physiology underlying perception. A potential candidate mechanism reflecting such idiosyncratic biases could be spontaneous alpha band activity, a prominent brain rhythm known to influence perceptual reports in general. Biases in sensory perception can arise from both experimental manipulations and personal trait-like features. These idiosyncratic biases and their neural underpinnings are often overlooked in studies on the physiology underlying perception. A potential candidate mechanism reflecting such idiosyncratic biases could be spontaneous alpha band activity, a prominent brain rhythm known to influence perceptual reports in general. Using a temporal order judgment task, we here tested the hypothesis that alpha power reflects the overcoming of an idiosyncratic bias. Importantly, to understand the interplay between idiosyncratic biases and contextual (temporary) biases induced by experimental manipulations, we quantified this relation before and after temporal recalibration. Using EEG recordings in human participants (male and female), we find that prestimulus frontal alpha power correlates with the tendency to respond relative to an own idiosyncratic bias, with stronger α leading to responses matching the bias. In contrast, alpha power does not predict response correctness. These results also hold after temporal recalibration and are specific to the alpha band, suggesting that alpha band activity reflects, directly or indirectly, processes that help to overcome an individual's momentary bias in perception. We propose that combined with established roles of parietal α in the encoding of sensory information frontal α reflects complementary mechanisms influencing perceptual decisions. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The brain is a biased organ, frequently generating systematically distorted percepts of the world, leading each of us to evolve in our own subjective reality. However, such biases are often overlooked or considered noise when studying the neural mechanisms underlying perception. We show that spontaneous alpha band activity predicts the degree of biasedness of human choices in a time perception task, suggesting that alpha activity indexes processes needed to overcome an individual's idiosyncratic bias. This result provides a window onto the neural underpinnings of subjective perception, and offers the possibility to quantify or manipulate such priors in future studies.


This article presents a lithic attribute analysis of blades from the late Middle Stone Age site, Hollow Rock Shelter (HRS), in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Blades from the Still Bay (SB) Industry have not been described previously, but this artifact category makes up a considerable part of the site's lithic assemblage. Blades were systematically detached from prepared cores with a well-shaped exterior core surface. Despite this, variation in attributes best defines blades from HRS. The lithic assemblage also holds a large amount of SB points. Points and blades are present in the same excavation units and layers, indicating they are contemporary. Results of this study show the difficulties of using attribute analysis for interpreting technological aspects of blade production. It is concluded that integrated experiments, together with comparative studies between sites, are needed to further understanding of SB blades.


Chemotherapy-induced alopecia is now potentially preventable. Although scalp tourniquets and hypothermia are neither universally applicable nor always successful, they represent simple and relatively inexpensive methods for reducing hair loss. When successful, these techniques help maintain the patient's self-image and thereby diminish the devastating psychologic effects that accompany a diagnosis of cancer.


The real time and in situ analysis of chemical reactions such as polymerization reactions, polymer degradation, and oxidation of polymers is of utmost importance. Surprisingly, only few experimental tools allowing this are available. To bridge this gap, we have developed a new experimental setup coupling a 60 keV electron gun with an infrared spectrometer operating in the mid-IR region (800-4000 cm-1) and associated with the rapid scan mode. The measurements are performed using the infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy approach. We worked here with 0.5-25 ms pulses for which the dose per pulse ranges from 4 to 200 kGy. Combining pulse electrons with rapid scan analysis enables performing experiments with a time resolution of 80 ms (and above). Therefore, this new platform can, for instance, give direct insights into reaction mechanisms at stake during the degradation of polymers. First results on a bisphenol A polycarbonate irradiated under vacuum enabling the validation of this new setup and also the recording of time-resolved spectra are presented. Reaction mechanisms are then proposed.


The last two decades have seen a substantial change in the basic philosophy underlying European transportation policy. Due to the Commission's efforts and due to supporting jurisdiction by the European Court of Justice the dominant approach to transportation policy has become far more market oriented. This change of approach in transportation policy will only be successful and sustainable if the problem of acceptability will be solved. For researchers this entails that their perspective must change from the normative to the positive aspects of transportation policy-making. This paper reports work undertaken within research project TIPP (Transportation Institutions in the Policy Process) funded by the European Commission. In this work it has been attempted to develop a theoretical structure that merges the positive economic theory of regulation with cognitive psychology and traffic psychology. This theoretical structure offers a matrix of actors and factors that are seen to be essential for success or failure in the implementation of a certain measure of transport policy. Four case studies were carried out in order to check the plausibility of this approach. The case studies are the failure of the German Railway (Deutsche Bahn AG) to introduce a new tariff system in passenger transport in the period 2002-2003, the attempt to introduce a toll for HGVs in Germany, the failure to operate a private tolled motorway in Hungary (M1/M15), the failure to introduce a road-pricing system in the densely populated Randstad area in the Netherlands.


The yield of products in the dry milling industry is largely determined by the physical properties of the corn kernel. The main objective of this paper is to investigate several statistical models of dry milling yield prediction based on physical characteristics of corn. Data consisting of one hundred corn samples representing a range of genetic traits and quality differences are used. For each corn sample, 16 physical and chemical properties plus six dry milling product yields were measured in a controlled laboratory environment. For each corn sample, we consider a vector of dry milling product yields and a vector of physical corn characteristics. Several single product models are investigated, two of which implicitly take into account the simplex sample space of product yields. A multivariate model is considered that consists of mapping the sample space from a simplex to unrestricted Euclidean space. Comparison are performed using a jack-knife-like approach.


Cold seeps are locations where seafloor communities are influenced by the seepage of methane and other reduced compounds from the seabed. We examined macro-infaunal benthos through community analysis and trophic structure using stable isotope analysis at 3 seep locations in the Barents Sea. These seeps were characterized by high densities of the chemosymbiotic polychaetes Siboglinidae, clade Frenulata (up to 32120 ind. m-2), and thyasirid bivalves, <i<Mendicula cf. pygmaea (up to 4770 ind. m-2). We detected low δ13C signatures in chemosymbiotic polychaetes and in 3 species of omnivorous/predatory polychaetes. These δ13C signatures indicate the input of chemosynthesis-based carbon (CBC) into the food web. Applying a 2-source mixing model, we demonstrated that 28-41% of the nutrition of non-chemosymbiotic polychaetes originates from CBC. We also documented large community variations and small-scale variability within and among the investigated seeps, showing that the impact of seepage on faunal community structure transcends geographic boundaries within the Barents Sea. Moreover, aggregations of heterotrophic macro- and megafauna associated with characteristic seep features (microbial mats, carbonate outcrops, and chemosymbiotic worm-tufts) add 3-dimensional structure and habitat complexity to the seafloor. Cold seeps contribute to the hydrocarbon-derived chemoautotrophy component of these ecosystems and to habitat complexity. These characteristics make the cold seeps of potential high ecological relevance in the functioning of the larger Arctic-Barents Sea ecosystem.


Although individuals with poor food security might be expected to have reduced food intake, and therefore a lower likelihood of being overweight, some empirical evidence has indicated that overweight status is actually more prevalent among the food insecure. As obesity is associated with excessive energy intake, and hunger reflects an inadequate food supply, such observations would appear to be paradoxical. We develop an economic model that shows that this apparently paradoxical result is consistent with rational behavior regarding food availability risk and the effectiveness of food storage options. The amount of internal storage increases as the variance of food productivity in the second period increases, which is consistent with the empirical observation of a positive relationship between food insecurity and the incidence of overweight.


Context. Weak lensing is one of the most readily available diagnostic tools to measure the total density profiles of distant clusters of galaxies. Unfortunately, it suffers from the well-known mass-sheet degeneracy, so that weak lensing analyses cannot lead to fully reliable determinations of the total mass of the clusters. One possible way to set the relevant scale of the density profile would be to make a direct measurement of the magnification produced by the clusters as gravitational lenses; in the past, this objective has been addressed in a number of ways, but with no significant success. Aims. We revisit a suggestion made a few years ago for this general purpose, based on the use of the fundamental plane as a standard rod for early-type galaxies. Here we move one step further, beyond the simple outline of the idea given earlier, and quantify some statistical properties of this innovative diagnostic tool, with the final goal of identifying clear guidelines for a future observational test of concrete cases, which turns out to be well within the current instrument capabilities. Methods. The study is carried out by discussing the statistical properties of fundamental plane measurements for a sample of earlytype source galaxies behind a massive cluster, for which a weak lensing analysis is assumed to be available. Some general results are first obtained analytically and then tested and extended by means of dedicated simulations. Results. We proceed with determining the optimal way of using fundamental plane measurements to determine the mass scale of a given cluster, which we find to be the study of a sample of early-type galaxies behind the cluster distributed approximately uniformly on the sky. We discuss the role of the redshift distribution of the source galaxies, in relation to the redshift of the lensing cluster and to the limitations of fundamental plane measurements. Simple simulations are carried out for clusters with intrinsic properties similar to those of the Coma cluster. We also show that, within a realistic cosmological scenario, substructures do not contribute much to the magnification signal that we are looking for, but add only a modest amount of scatter. Conclusions. We find that for a massive cluster (M200 > 10 15 M� ) located at redshift 0.3 ± 0.1, a set of about 20 fundamental plane measurements, combined with a robust weak lensing analysis, should be able to lead to a mass determination with a precision of 20% or better.


Academic and professional assessments of shale gas (also known as frac gas) from vast shale formations in the US have focused on the social costs of shale gas development. Using the economic tools of traditional cost benefit analysis, we demonstrate that for one given year, 2010, the consumer surplus from shale gas is in excess of $100 billion to the US economy. The benefit to the US economy of replacing 1.0 million bbls per day of oil consumption with the BTU equivalent of natural gas is in excess of $25 billion.


Sodium iron hexacyanoferrate (Fe-HCF) is a potential cathode material for sodium-ion batteries. However, the side reactions in the NaClO4 electrolyte in the charge process over 4.1 V result in structural collapse and low coulombic efficiency during cycling. In this work, we prepared high-quality Fe-HCF microcubes with a size distribution of ∼2 μm and employed conductive polypyrrole (PPy) to wrap the microcubes to form a Fe-HCF@PPy composite. With the coating of PPy, the composite exhibits a discharge capacity of 113.0 mA h g−1 at a current density of 25 mA g−1 and 75 mA h g−1 at 3000 mA g−1. A greatly improved cycling stability is attained with 79% capacity retention over 500 cycles at 200 mA g−1. The superior rate capability and excellent cyclability can be ascribed to the effects from PPy as both an electronic conductor to enhance the conductivity and a protective layer to prevent the side reactions.


Mining operating and abandoned mines often have resulted in waste rock dumps and open pits that contain materials high in heavy metals and toxic elements. These contaminants are known to be present in groundwater, surface water, sediment, soils and plants and can be transported beyond the former mining areas through the surface and ground water system. Exposure to high level of these contaminants can cause adverse effects in humans, wildlife, and other animals. An effective technology to remove these pollutants is needed. MCM (Mobil Composition of Matter) is a mesoporous material that forms a family of silicate solids (such as MCM 41, MCM 48, etc.) that consist a regular arrangement of cylindrical mesopores that form an one-directional pore system. These mesoporous solids are widely used as absorbents, catalysts, or catalyst supports due to their large surface area to mass ratio. However, MCM materials are not structurally stable and their lattices may collapse with time, which will alter the properties of the materials. Addition of moieties on the surface of the MCM surface structure stabilizes the lattice but also changes the surface properties, thus this technique can serve as a "tuner" for the properties of MCM materials. The properties that are altered are depending on the molecules being attached onto the surface. This report will focus on MCM-41 and its functionalized product as an adsorbent to remove heavy metals and hardness simultaneously from polluted water and groundwater. In this study, MCM-41 was first synthesized by a hydrothermal method, functionalization was prepared by using ZnCl2 to form ZnCl2-MCM-41 with the use of a microwave procedure. MCM and ZnCl2-MCM-41 surface were characterized by SEM, TEM, AFM, and FTIR. Surrogate heavy metals used in the study were Hg, Pb, and Cr, while Ca was used as a major component of the hardness in water. Systematic experiments were performed to investigate the capabilities of these MCM adsorbents at various concentrations of absorbates and durations at neutral pH. Comparisons of adsorption capabilities with activated carbon were also performed. It was found that ZnCl2-MCM-41 could adsorbed 3 times as much as its original weight, and the amount of metal absorbed by ZnCl2-MCM-41 increased with molecular weight of the metals. Among other applications, the results of selective sorption phenonium can be useful for some particular water treatment alternatives, such as nuclear engineering industry.


Two cases are presented in which a 40-yr-old woman and a 20-yr-old woman developed severe headaches after injection of the local anesthetic Xylestesin-F (3% lidocaine with 1:25,000 norepinephrine). It is suggested that these severe headaches may have been associated with acute transient hypertensive episodes following injection of the local anesthetic. A review of the literature indicates that norepinephrine, at least at a concentration of 1:25,000, should be avoided because of its potential for cardiovascular disturbances.


Abstract Students often struggle to connect concepts with evidence, sometimes because development of research skills has not been emphasized in their science courses. We developed a strategy and protocol to train high school students in research and experimental investigation of questions related to course material on legume biology. The richness of this subject matter allows for adaptations of our framework to address diverse areas of science, including principles in ecology, environmental science, agriculture, microbiology, and evolution. Our framework includes a hands-on classroom inquiry that investigates the symbiotic relationship between nitrogen-fixing rhizobial bacteria and legumes. This student-led, inquiry-based project employs an intellectually demanding, hands-on method of education to build critical research skills using an adaptable model and inexpensive materials. We also report positive student feedback from a post hoc survey to gauge student attitudes toward the activity and the effectiveness of this framework.


In 1997 the Irish Government adopted the National Anti-Poverty Strategy (NAPS), a global target for the reduction of poverty which illuminates a range of issues relating
to official poverty targets. The Irish target is framed in terms of a relative poverty measure incorporating both relative income and direct measures of deprivation based
on data on the extent of poverty from 1994. Since 1994 Ireland has experienced an unprecedented period of economic growth that makes it particularly important to assess whether the target has been achieved, but in doing so we cannot avoid asking some underlying questions about how poverty should be measured and monitored over time. After briefly outlining the nature of the NAPS measure, this article examines trends in poverty in Ireland between 1987 and 1997. Results show that the relative income and deprivation components of the NAPS measure reveal differential trends with increasing relative income poverty, but decreasing deprivation. However, this
differential could be due to the fact that the direct measures of deprivation upon which NAPS is based have not been updated to take account of changes in real living
standards and increasing expectations. To test whether this is so, we examine the extent to which expectations about living standards and the structure of deprivation have changed over time using confirmatory factor analysis and tests of criterion validity using different definitions of deprivation. Results show that the combined income and deprivation measure, as originally constituted continues to identify a set of households experiencing generalised deprivation resulting from a lack of resources.


This article draws attention to some important themes in Hildebrandt's book and refers to other literature that adds to their practical importance. It highlights the way in which social relationships may be understood in terms of private, social and public spheres. Discussing "inbetween" phenomena as seen analogously in defensible-space physical design, and the concepts of "affordance" and "resilience," it considers the importance of these concepts to the design of an onlife infrastructure preserving the Rule of Law. It asks whether the scenario of an individual's situation in the "smart" environment leaves undeveloped the possibility of an onlife politics in the face of novel and threatening developments.


OBJECTIVE
In Ontario, clinical decision units (CDUs) were implemented as a pilot project in 2008 by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care as part of its strategy to reduce emergency department (ED) waiting times. Our objective was to describe general characteristics of the program at each of the participating sites and to examine barriers and facilitators to integrating CDUs into practice.

METHODS
On-site small-group interviews were conducted in two phases with ED and hospital staff at participating sites, first at 8 to 12 weeks and again at 12 months postimplementation. Interview data were analyzed using the framework approach. Unstructured field notes and CDU clinical care protocols and documentation were also reviewed.

RESULTS
The qualitative analysis identified 10 key themes related to integrating CDUs into EDs: shift in clinical and operational practice; administrative aspects of implementation; team building and stakeholder involvement; use of clinical care protocols; physical or virtual model of care; responsive ancillary services; involvement of specialist services; coordination with hospital and community supports; appropriate use of the CDU; and ongoing evaluation and monitoring. Each theme represents an important insight from the perspective of clinical and administrative staff at participating sites.

CONCLUSION
The implementation of CDUs is a complex process, with no single preferred clinical care or operational model. This study identifies a number of key considerations relevant to the future implementation of CDUs.


People often prefer simpler explanations because they have higher prior probability. However, simpler explanations are not always normatively superior because they often do not fit the data as well as complex explanations. How do people negotiate this trade-off between prior probability (favoring simplicity) and goodness-of-fit (favoring complexity)? Here, we argue that people use opponent heuristics—relying on simplicity as a cue to prior probability but complexity as a cue to goodness-of-fit (Study 1). We also examine factors that lead one or the other heuristic to predominate in a given context. Study 2 finds that people have a stronger simplicity preference in deterministic rather than stochastic contexts, while Study 3 finds that people have a stronger simplicity preference for physical rather than social causal systems. Together, we argue that these cues and contextual moderators act as powerful constraints that help to specify otherwise illdefined hypothesis comparison problems.


Brucella ovis infection could not be eradicated from two flocks of sheep despite serologically testing and culling the infected rams for four years. The hypothesis that the ewes played a major role in the maintenance of the infection in both flocks was investigated by using serological, bacteriological and pathological criteria. Specific antibodies against B ovis were demonstrated in 71 ewes in the two flocks. Forty-four of the seropositive ewes were slaughtered for bacteriological and pathological studies and B ovis was isolated from 16 of them; the uterus was the target organ of the infection, although extrauterine infection was also demonstrated in some of the infected ewes.


Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming—At a meeting in Yellowstone, park managers outlined proposals that would give the park a share of any profits derived from hot-water microbes collected from Yellowstone's hot springs. One such microbe yielded the enzyme at the heart of the polymerase chain reaction. A sidebar describes the recent identificationof three Yellowstone bacteria that appear to be the most primitive life forms yet discovered.


This paper provides a framework for understanding competition and industry structure in the context of Fiber to the Home (FTTH). We present engineering cost models, which indicate that FTTH is a decreasing cost industry, thereby making facilities based competition an unlikely outcome. Non-facilities based competition (or service level competition) in FTTH can happen in data-link layer (or transport) services via unbundled dark fiber (i.e. unbundled network elements) and in higher layer (voice, video and data) services via logical layer unbundling (or open access). FTTH architectures differ in the extent to which they support unbundling and therefore the extent of non-facilities based competition in FTTH depends on the architecture of the shared network over which multiple service providers offer service. Among the four different FTTH architectures considered, the curbside single-wavelength Passive Optical Network architecture (PON) that has isolated pole-mounted splitters has the most economical fiber plant but permits unbundling only at the logical layer. Consequently, though a PON supports 'open access' based competition in higher layer services like voice, data and switched digital video, it does not facilitate competition in data-link layer services or in the provision of analog broadcast video services. In complete contrast, the Home Run architecture has the highest initial (fiber related) capital cost, but permits unbundling of both the physical plant and at the logical layer. The Home Run architecture therefore supports a per subscriber choice of data-link layer services (via UNE based competition) as well as competition in higher layer voice, video and data services (via open access). This work further identifies deployment strategies, which can facilitate physical plant unbundling at costs much lower than the Home Run architecture. Physical plant unbundling is made possible by establishing Optimal Fiber Aggregation Points (OFAPs) that aggregate multiple distribution fibers (or homes). Unbundling is achieved at the cost of longer distribution loop lengths (vis-a-vis a curbside PON). Ideally, both passive splitters and active electronics can be deployed at an OFAP. OFAP architectures further lead to higher utilization of splitter and Optical Line Termination (OLT) ports in markets that have less than 100% penetration thereby providing the service provider with a real option to (i) defer investment in OLT ports (ii) deploy multiple data-link layer technologies and (iii) effectively phase in new technologies - under both monopoly and competition. As a result of the FCC's recent Triennial Review decision, incumbents who invest in FTTH are not obligated to offer UNEs at regulated rates. In deploying fiber to the home, incumbents may consider it unnecessary, therefore, to adopt an architecture that enables physical plant unbundling or they may be tempted to design the deployed fiber architecture in a way that eliminates the potential for future competition based on unbundled dark fiber elements even at negotiated rates. This paper argues why it may be desirable to have the option of deploying multiple data-link layer technologies and goes on to show that the minimum cost fiber network - taking into account the real options an OFAP provides - results in fiber layout, which is, in fact, hospitable to physical plant unbundling and Unbundled Network Element (UNE) competition. Such a fiber layout can, conceivably, support both point-to-multi-point (P2MP) PON architectures as well as point-to-point (P2P) active star and home run architectures. While it is too soon to predict the effect of the Triennial Review on the pace of investment by incumbents in FTTH, the lack of such investment to date has led a number of municipalities and large subdivision developers to directly invest in FTTH systems. Municipalities and community associations are likely to have a greater interest in service level competition than incumbents, and therefore need to be aware of the significance of the choice of fiber layout strategies as discussed in this paper.


A surprise medical bill is a bill from an out-of-network provider that was not expected by the patient or that came from an out-of-network provider not chosen by the patient. We investigated consumers' hospital choices after receipt of surprise out-of-network medical bills in an elective situation, using a large national sample of medical claims for obstetric patients with two deliveries covered by employer-sponsored health insurance in 2007-14. We found that 11 percent of mothers experienced a surprise out-of-network bill with their first delivery, and this was associated with an increase of 13 percent in the odds of switching hospitals for the second delivery, compared to mothers who did not experience a surprise bill. Mothers who switched hospitals after a surprise out-of-network bill reduced their relative risk of receiving a second surprise medical bill by 56 percent, compared to mothers who did not switch after receiving their first surprise bill. These results highlight the harmful effects of surprise out-of-network bills, as patients are more likely to switch from their preferred hospital after receiving a surprise bill. Patients would benefit significantly from laws protecting them from the damaging financial consequences of surprise out-of-network bills, including those incurred in elective situations.


BACKGROUND Orbital angioleiomyoma is generally considered a rare tumor; approximately 40 cases have been reported. However, after their experience with 6 consecutive cases in their single institution during 3 years, the authors speculate that the incidence of orbital angioleiomyomas is possibly underestimated. OBSERVATIONS A 34-year-old female presented with progressive exophthalmos of 2 years' duration. Orbital computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed a well-circumscribed orbital tumor with partial and heterogeneous gadolinium enhancement. Technetium-99m red blood cell single-photon emission computed tomography showed positive perfusion in the late blood-pool phase, which was exactly consistent with the finding of a cavernous hemangioma. Under the impression of a cavernous hemangioma, the authors accessed the mass with an endoscopic endonasal approach and completely removed it without neurological deficit. Pathological examination revealed that the final diagnosis was an angioleiomyoma with positive immunostaining results for smooth muscle actin (SMA). LESSONS The incidence of orbital angioleiomyomas may not be very low, as these lesions have possibly been misdiagnosed as orbital cavernous hemangiomas because of their histological similarity. Preoperative presumption and differentiation from cavernous hemangiomas are very challenging because of the rarity of orbital angioleiomyoma and similar radiological findings. SMA immunostaining may be critical to differentiate orbital angioleiomyomas from cavernous hemangiomas.


Paracetamol is an active metabolite with analgesic and antipyretic properties of phenacetin, which is sold without a prescription in our country and in many countries. However, the effect of paracetamol on oxidative stress due to glutamate-induced cytotoxicity remains unclear. This study aims to investigate the effect of an appropriate dose of paracetamol on nitric oxide and increased oxidative stress as a result of glutamate-induced cytotoxicity in C6 cells. The cells were divided into 4 groups as Control group, Glutamate group, Paracetamol group, and Paracetamol+Glutamate group. Cell viability rate between groups was measured by XTT assay. Oxidative stress and antioxidant levels were measured with TOS and TAS elisa kits. Paracetamol at all concentrations significantly increased cell viability in C6 cells (p < 0.001). Paracetamol also increased TAS levels (p <0.01) while significantly decreased TOS levels (p < 0.001). In addition, paracetamol was observed to decrease TNF-α and NO levels (p <0.001). In conclusion, paracetamol has protective feature on glutamate-induced cytotoxicity in C6 glial cells by suppressing oxidative stress. The results of this study show that when the appropriate dose of paracetamol is used, it can be a crucial promoter agent in glutamate toxicity-induced neurodegeneration.


Pain is one of the main complaints at admission in emergency services. This article aims at presenting pain assessment
methods in trauma patients using objective tools in pre- and intra-hospital settings. The harmful effects of pain in the posttrauma patients, and the benefits of early analgesia are discussed. We found that acute pain in emergency wards is rarely studied in Brazil, which points out a significant gap in terms of care and research.


Organic pollution of Kingston Harbour has continued unabated since the first set of comprehensive studies (conducted in the 1970s), which indicated that the area was under stress. The major objective of the most recent study (concluded in the 1990s) was, therefore, to investigate the changes in the water quality and planktonic communities of Kingston Harbour after 20 yrs of continuous nutrient loading. To this end, the abundance, species composition and community structure of the planktonic communities were examined along with water column temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, NO 2 -N + NO 3 -N and PO 4 -P concentrations between December 1993 and February 1995 (inclusive). The indices used were similar to those used in the previous characterization and only stations common to both studies and sampled over the entire annual cycle were used for the comparison. All physico-chemical parameters examined (with the exception of light extinction and phosphates) were significantly different between the two studies especially the nitrite + nitrate concentration. Maximum labile NO 2 -N + NO 3 -N concentration of 45.3 μM and maximum PO 4 -P concentration of 0.95 μM were recorded in the 1994 study compared with values in the 1972 data of 2.02 μM and 1.49 μM, respectively. The increased eutrophic state was indicated by the significantly higher values for mean phytoplankton abundance throughout the harbor compared to 1973 findings. Mean phytoplankton abundance (29 x 10 7 cells L -1 ) for the entire harbor was higher than the previous maximum (5 x 10 7 cells L -1 ). Phytoplankton biomass values were also significantly higher (maximum average = 26.1 mg m -3 chlorophyll a) compared to previous findings (maximum average = 16.82 mg m -3 ) and followed distribution patterns similar to abundance values. The impact of continued eutrophication is further evidenced in a shift in phytoplankton community composition during the 20 yrs from dominance of smaller cells and diatoms to a dominance of larger cells and dinoflagellates. In the 1994, mean total numbers of zooplankton for the area were significantly higher and ranged from 3347 animals m -3 in Hunts Bay to 91,905 animals m -3 at station 8, located at the end of the airport runway. This maximum value was 3.6 times the maximum reported in the 1972 study (25,248 animals m -3 ), but it was obtained at the same station. In fact, for all zooplankton indices except Paracalanus spp. and Lucifer faxoni numbers, the values in the present study were all on average between 5.5-1.2 times greater than in 1972. They also followed a similar pattern of distribution. Obvious differences in species distribution were seen in Temora turbinata numbers, which in the present study were far more important (on average 52 times greater) than in the earlier study, and in Penilia avirostris, which dominated the harbor in the 1972 study. Despite these differences, community diversity between the two periods followed a similar pattern. Therefore, while parameters indicate a worsening of conditions in Kingston Harbour, the pattern of distribution is very similar, suggesting that the areas experiencing the greatest stress remain the same.


Flame sprayed ceramic coatings on the wall of coke oven are characterized before and after melting. The attempt has been made to investigate thermal shock resistant, carbon deposit resistant, wear resistant of the coated and melted samples. The techniques used are SEM and XRD. The results show that: 1) Presence of quartz, corundum and mullite are identified in the surface of the coated specimen. Good adhesion between the coating and the substrate is caused by presence of quartz which is the same content as the substrate.2) The thermal shock resistance cycles of the coating samples are 15 ~ 30 times, but uncoated samples are only 1~2 times. The main reason is that he coating–substrate interface shows no gaps or cracks, and it has a characteristic feature of good adhesion between the coating and the substrate. 3) The wear resistance of the coated samples are better than that of the uncoated samples because glass-coating is more smooth than the uncoated specimen and the mullite and corundum in the coating have the high hardness value that makes the hardness of the coating increased.


The teachings of Hazrat Muhammad (ﷺ) and his life provides a base of individual and collective progress for the Muslims, because the Holly Seerah provides a brief and complete guidelines to every aspect of the life. The Seerah of Hazrat Muhammad (ﷺ) gives instructions for individual life as well as for collective life. When Hazrat Muhammad ( ( ﷺ migrated to Madinah, there he pounded the first independent state for the Muslim community discipline, education and sermonizer. Whose state government rules are to be followed and replicated by a best and normative state. Hazrat Muhammad ( ( ﷺ proposed an Islamic State whose objectives consist of virtues, fairness, the eradication of evils, disputes and vitations. The new established Islamic State had basic qualities of truthfulness, honesty and merit. His successful foreign policy proved very helpful for the spread of Islam and due to the best interior policy there was perfect peace and brotherhood in the country. The pious Caliphs became unique rulers whose greatness is admitted by the non muslims due to following the Seerah and the prophecy state. This article consists of uniqueness of Islamic State and its origin, objectives of Islamic Government in order to achieve a successful Government by the current Muslims through following the Holly Seerah.


Culture and tourism have been used extensively in a variety of initiatives that concern urban regeneration, by using particular promotional strategies and tactics in the context of city marketing. The contribution of culture and tourism must be related to the conformance and implementation of urban policy actions, the focus on the satisfaction of the needs and demands of the potential target markets, the enforcement and promotion of the urban cultural identity and image, the contribution of citizens to achieving a better quality of life, and the construction of a city's competitive advantage in order to attract tourists, inhabitants and investors. This paper investigates the cultural and tourist policy dimension in city marketing, using as a study area the Olympic Municipality of Nea Ionia in the Prefecture of Magnesia in Greece. The data are derived from the INTERREG IIIC CultMark (Cultural Heritage, Local Identity and Place Marketing for Sustainable Development) project that was in operation in five European places locations (Nea Ionia - lead partner, Chester-UK, Rostock/TLM-Germany, Kainuu-Finland, Pafos-Cyprus) between 2004 and 2006.


Background: Identification is an important objective of post mortem examination in decomposed bodies. It becomes still more difficult when the body has been reduced to skeleton. The objective of such skeleton examination includes determination of race, sex, estimation of age, stature, ascertaining cause of death, time since death and manner of death. Determination of sex takes precedence over all other objectives as it eliminates 50% of subjects from the field of search by discarding other sex in the missing population can be discarded from the study. Various anthropometric methods have been employed to measure skeletal dimensions to achieve the objectives. When the skeletal remains recovered in a broken or fragmented state, the individual bones or parts of bones are used. The use of the dimensions of nasal aperture is one such parameter that can be used to determine sex.
Methods: The present study was performed to discover the possibility of sex determination from radiologic measurements of dimensions of nasal aperture and nasal Index among a known cross-section of South Indian population. In this study, by the use of Multidetector Computed Tomography (MDCT) 2 dimensional (2D) scan, height, and width of nasal aperture were noted in 150 living non-pathologic South Indians comprising 84 males and 66 females aged 12 - 80 years referred to the Radiology Department. Using the parameters the nasal index was calculated. The data subjected to statistical analysis revealed all the three variables showing significant differences.
Results: The nasal width and heights were more in males compared to females in South Indian population whereas the nasal index value was more in females. The Nasal Index alone cannot be considered for sex determination using 2D CT scans as the values were statistically insignificant in our study. But the nasal width and height showed significant results with positive predictive value being 69% (95% confidence interval of 58%, 78%) and 70% (95% confidence interval of 59%, 80%) respectively.
Conclusion: MDCT 2D measurements of nasal aperture can be useful features in sex determination in South Indians.


This paper introduced the different classifications and advantages of the project level thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer ,and according to the injection molding process of raw materials Isoplast 302EZ and thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer, from raw material preparation, injection machine selection, tooling selection, molding conditions, and introduced TPU injection molding process .The filter housing of TPU were briefly discussed from the design goals, technical characteristics, performance analysis. Combination of typical products, we studied the technology of the production of the thermoplastic polyurethane flexible filter housing. The results showed that the material should be pre-dried in a vacuum, and the time, temperature and pressure should be controlled properly. It should be pay attention that the specification of the waste and the raw materials should be the same, when recycling and on the other hand, the quality of the productions should be improved and no pollution should be ensure during the process; to avoid the decomposition temperature and the products aging, we should empty the material or stop the machine during it doesn't work.


Starting from the reflection on the «constitutional» meaning of punishment, the author highlights the centrality of the right to a non inhuman execution of penalty and of its effective protection. In the absence of an adequate protection of this preliminary right, it makes little sense to talk about the subjective legal positions to which detainees are entitled, lacking the prerequisite for their effective exercise. The current situation of prisons overcrowding - which was also cause of significant condemnations by the European Court of Human Rights - has come to affect the aforesaid right, moreover transforming, in practice, the constitutional commitment to reeducation from a duty of the administration into a mere invitation to adopt practices that, as far as possible, might facilitate social reintegration. The essay proposes to reverse this trend, reflecting on the causes of prisons overcrowding and proposing appropriate remedies to stem it, to restore the «constitutional» meaning of punishment by, first of all, making effective the right to a non inhuman execution of penalty, as a «right to have rights» in the penitentiary field.


This project is a contribution towards the understanding of the mechanisms involved in
the chemocommunication systems of large mammals. Data are included on the social
behaviour and use of scent marking for the African lion, P. leo as well as two other
Panthera species namely the Siberian tiger, P. tigris altaica, and the leopard, P. pare/us.
The study was conducted in three Zoos or Safariparks in Denmark: K0benhavn Zoo,
Givskud Safaripark and Knuthenborg Safaripark.
Data were collected in three ways. The first part of the project comprised behavioural
observations of the undisturbed social and marking patterns of the study groups. Particular
attention was paid towards Spraymarking, Scrape/urination and normal Urination but
Clawing, Chinrubbing and Defaecation were also recorded. Methods were developed
which made it possible to collect samples of scent marks from the study animals. The
scent samples collected were used in the second part of the field work, which involved an
experimental investigation in which the animals were presented with scent marks from
foreign individuals of varying sex, age or reproductive status. These experiments were
conducted both in the "natural" setting of the outdoor enclosures as well as in the artificial
surroundings of the night cages of the animals. In the third and final part of the study the
scent mark samples collected were subjected to chemical analysis using the "Headspace"
procedure on a combined Gas Chromatograph and Mass Spectrometre.
The activity and social interactions of the animals, although under influence of the
captive environment, were generally close to what one would expect to see for wild
animals. Each animal showed a distinct activity pattern and social repertoire, but more
general differences between the sex/age groups were also found. Males tended to stand
more than females or cubs and show higher levels of Investigation, whereas females
generally moved more than males. Cubs played more than the two adult groups. These
trends were seen in all three species.
Each animal had a distinct marking repertoire, but generally the male patterns were
dominated by Sprayrmarking followed by Scrape/urination, whereas the female patterns
were much more variable. Male lions had higher rates of Spraymarking and significantly
higher rates of Scrape/urination than females. No significant difference was found
between Sprayrnarking rates of male and female tigers, but both had significantly higher
rates than castrated tiger males. The leopard male had higher rates of the two marking
types than the female.
Male lions showed a bias towards Spraymarking over Scrape/urination in territorial
contexts, but no such bias in social contexts. The females showed no bias in markings in
either context.
Investigation of experimental marks were dominated by Scenting and Flehmen and
very little Licking and Overmarking was seen.
In the chemical analysis 58 compounds were identified in lion urine samples. Lion
male samples overlapped significantly more in compound composition with other male
samples than they did with female samples. The majority of the lions overlapped more
within their own samples than they did with samples from other lions, and for seven out of
16 lions this difference was significant. Male lions had a significantly higher absolute
concentration of 2-butanone than females, and females had a significantly higher relative
concentration of acetone than did males.
57 compounds were identified in tiger urine samples. All tigers overlapped more
within their own samples than between theirs and other samples from same sex
individuals, but only one significantly so. Castrated tiger males had higher concentration
of 5-hydroxy-4-methyl-6-hepten-3-one than the intact male.
In leopard urine samples 18 compounds were identified.
Possible candidates for species and sex identifying compounds were put forward for
lions and tigers. On average two lion samples overlapped significantly more in compound
composition thall did a lion sample and a tiger sample. This was also the case for the
overlap between two tiger samples compared to a tiger and a lion sample. Leopard
samples overlapped equally with lion and tiger samples.
The results are discussed in relation to what is known about the same species living in
the wild. Furthermore the use of chemical signals are discussed in relation to their
chemical and physical properties, and their function in a territorial context is commented
upon.


Polish academia has a long tradition of studies on the Middle East, Islam and its heritage. Oriental studies have been part of university curricula in Kraków, Lvov (today in Ukraine) and Vilno (today Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania), later expanding also in such cities as today's capital Warsaw [1]. The Oriental studies concentrated on the MiddleEastduetocontactsPolandhashadwiththeregion.Oneofthemostinteresting ideas brought up by researchers is based on the observations of cultural encounters throughout the turbulent history of the country leading some to coin terms such as Polish "Orientalness". This term denotes a set of identity and cultural characteristics and can beopposed to the widely debated "Orientalism", as defined by the renowned Palestinian intellectual and academic Edward Said in his seminal book from 1979, due to different experiences of relations with Muslim communities. Today's Poland due to several, mainly historical factors, is one of the most homogenous nations of the entire world so it seems crucial to look upon patterns of multicultural existence which were once experienced on a daily basis.


This project was developed within the ART-WiSe framework of the IPP-HURRAY group (http://www.hurray.isep.ipp.pt), at the Polytechnic Institute of Porto (http://www.ipp.pt). The ART-WiSe – Architecture for Real-Time communications in Wireless Sensor networks – framework (http://www.hurray.isep.ipp.pt/art-wise) aims at providing new communication architectures and mechanisms to improve the timing performance of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). The architecture is based on a two-tiered protocol structure, relying on existing standard communication protocols, namely IEEE 802.15.4 (Physical and Data Link Layers) and ZigBee (Network and Application Layers) for Tier 1 and IEEE 802.11 for Tier 2, which serves as a high-speed backbone for Tier 1 without energy consumption restrictions. Within this trend, an application test-bed is being developed with the objectives of implementing, assessing and validating the ART-WiSe architecture. Particularly for the ZigBee protocol case; even though there is a strong commercial lobby from the ZigBee Alliance (http://www.zigbee.org), there is neither an open source available to the community for this moment nor publications on its adequateness for larger-scale WSN applications. This project aims at fulfilling these gaps by providing: a deep analysis of the ZigBee Specification, mainly addressing the Network Layer and particularly its routing mechanisms; an identification of the ambiguities and open issues existent in the ZigBee protocol standard; the proposal of solutions to the previously referred problems; an implementation of a subset of the ZigBee Network Layer, namely the association procedure and the tree routing on our technological platform (MICAz motes, TinyOS operating system and nesC programming language) and an experimental evaluation of that routing mechanism for WSNs.


We present the first coordinated observations of quasi-periodic (QP) radar echoes from sporadicE (Es) field-aligned irregularities (FAIs), OI 557.7-nm airglow, and neutral winds in a common volume over Shigaraki, Japan (34.9 N, 136.1 E) on the night of 5 August 2002 during the SEEK-2 campaign. QP echo altitudes of 90–110 km were lower than usual by 10 km, enabling us to make a detailed comparison among QP echoes, airglow intensity, and neutral wind at around 96 km altitude. Eastward movement of the QP echo regions is consistent with the motions of neutral winds, airglow structures, and FAIs, suggesting that the electrodynamics ofEs-layers is fundamentally controlled by the neutral atmospheric dynamics. During the QP echo event, the echo altitudes clearly went up (down) in harmony with an airglow enhancement (subsidence) that also moved to the east. This fact suggests that the eastward-moving enhanced airglow region included an upward (downward) component of neutral winds to raise (lower) the altitude of the windshear node responsible for the Es formation. The airglow intensity, echo intensity, and Doppler velocity of FAIs at around 96 km altitude fluctuated with periods from 10 min to 1 h, indicating that these parameters were modulated with short-period atmospheric disturbances. Some QP echo regions below 100 km altitude contained small-scale QP structures in which very strong neutral winds exceeding 100 m/s existed. The results are compared with recent observations, theories, and simulations of QP echoes.


This article is the first indepth ethical analysis of empirical studies that support the claim that children born without major parts of their cerebral cortex are capable of conscious experiences and have a rudimentary capacity for agency. Congenitally decorticate children have commonly been classified as persistently vegetative, with serious consequences for their well-being and opportunities to flourish. The paper begins with an explication of the rights-based normative framework of the argument, including conceptual analysis of the terms 'agency', 'potentiality for agency' and 'gradual approach of agency'. It critically examines Alan Gewirth's account of the criteria for being a rights bearer and principles for settling rights conflicts between agents and potential agents. It then applies the rights-based normative framework to the ethical challenges associated with care for congenitally decorticate children. It argues that recent empirical studies support the claim that the concepts 'potential for agency' and 'capacity for rudimentary agency' apply to children who are born without major parts of their cerebral cortex. The article finally discusses important medical ethical implications of these results. It specifically focuses on congenitally decorticate children's preparatory rights to a stimulating intellectual and social environment.


SYNOPSIS: In 2005, an ad hoc committee appointed by the American Accounting Association (AAA) documented a crisis-level shortage of accounting Ph.D.s and recommended significant structural changes to doctoral programs (Kachelmeier, Madeo, Plumlee, Pratt, and Krull 2005). However, subsequent studies show that the shortage continues and the cumulative costs grow (e.g., Fogarty and Holder 2012; Brink, Glasscock, and Wier 2012). The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) recently called for renewed attention to the problem (AACSB 2013b). We contribute to the literature by providing updated information regarding responses by doctoral programs and, from the eyes of potential candidates, of continuing impediments to solving the doctoral shortage. In this paper, we present information gathered through surveys of program administrators and master's and Accounting Doctoral Scholars Program (ADS) students. We explore (1) the cumulative impact of the Ph.D. shortage as of 2013, including its imp...


The main objective with this paper is to test the hypothesis that peoples stated WTP for an environmental public good (old growth forest in Sweden) are sensitive to the respondents' relative income. To do that I use an experimental valuation question in a split-sample setting, conditioning the respondents on hypothetical changes in their absolute and relative income. The results indicate that the relevant income measure may not only be the income level per se, but also the income level relative to others. People with green attitudes and males react more strongly to changes in their relative position than others. The results stress that growth in incomes may not be a guaranty for growth in WTP, the distribution of growth also matter.


A comparative study of gelonin and A-chains of ricin, mistletoe lectin I and diphtheria toxin was undertaken. The effect of pH was studied on: a) the conformation of the proteins under study using intrinsic fluorescence; b) interaction of these proteins with ricin B-chain using gel-filtration. Structural stability of the proteins was assessed according to denaturing action of guanidine hydrochloride and temperature, and localization of tryptophan residues was determined using fluorescence quenching by I-, Cs+ and acrylamide. All investigated proteins were shown to undergo the conformational changes when a environment became acidic. In comparison with an intact protein--gelonin, the A-chains of ricin, a mistletoe lectin and a diphtheria toxin are less stable. At pH less than 5.0 tryptophan residues became more accessible to quencher and a positive charge of the surrounding area increases (in the case of gelonin it is negatively charged). No reliable interaction of a ricin B-chain with both gelonin and A-chain of diphtheria toxin was observed. The interaction of a ricin B-chain with a A-chain of mistletoe lectin I is weaker than that with ricin A-chain and is practically pH-independent.


The rabbit kappa-casein cDNA was cloned and sequenced. One of the isolated clones included almost the entire 5' end, while another clone corresponded to the 3' end of the cDNA. No polyadenylation site was found and therefore this clone did not harbour the complete cDNA. The amino acid sequence of a full-length protein was deduced from the nucleotide sequence obtained for this partial cDNA. It revealed the presence of a chymosin cleavage site and five potential phosphorylation sites. Rabbit kappa-casein was compared with those already described in other species. The rabbit sequence is closer to the ovine than to the mouse sequence. This result supports the idea that Lagomorpha are not closer to Rodentia than to Artiodactyla. The cDNA described above was used to study kappa-casein gene expression in the rabbit mammary gland. This expression was induced primarily by prolactin in mammary gland organoids and was similar to alpha s1-casein gene expression in vivo. The kappa-casein gene present in the casein gene locus is thus subject to the same regulation as the alpha s1-casein gene, although it has evolved from a fibrinogen gene.


Abstract: Vertebrate tracks are linked to the depositional environment where they were formed. Several studies hypothesized a paleoenvironmental control on vertebrate track ichnocoenoses, although this issue was never analyzed thoroughly. A new study of the sedimentology and tetrapod ichnology of two key stratigraphic sections in the Pizzo del Diavolo Formation of the lower Permian continental Orobic Basin of Southern Alps (Italy) tested the link between tetrapod ichnocoenoses and depositional environment. Behavior, taphonomy, and ichnocoenoses of three different lithozones (P-PDV, U-PDVa, U-PDVb) were analyzed and compared, two new census methods for tetrapod tracks were tested ("track/slab" and "weighting size") and the first was applied to our specimen sample. The possible biostratigraphic meaning of track occurrences/relative proportions were discussed and excluded. Results indicate a predominance of the ichnogenus Erpetopus in a distal floodplain environment (P-PDV), a diverse ichnocoenosis in a proximal floodplain environment (U-PDVa), and a predominance of the ichnogenus Dromopus in a scarcely diverse ichnocoenosis in a floodplain/marginal lacustrine environment (U-PDVb). This encourages further detailed studies on tetrapod track paleoecology, in order to refine and give utility to the concept of tetrapod ichnofacies.


Jakarta bay is a unique water since there are hydrological and ecological complexity. In general, the feature of these water consist of three ecological elements that are estuaries, coral reefs and open sea. Each of these ecological element has different hydrology, ecology as well as biological characteristics. As a form of meiobenthic community, foraminifera has adaptive behavior to each of ecological element of the waters. The observation on foraminiferal adaptive behavior due to the hydrological condition of Jakarta Bay was conducted from 2003 to 2009. The result showed that foraminiferal distribution was tend to pursue to the degradation water conditions and constructed a specific pattern. Coastal water and estuary were found dominated by Ammonia beccarii, Calcarine and other larger benthic foraminifera were common in coral reef area, Elphidium and Nonion depressulum were common in open waters area. Based on the diversity indices, the foraminifera in Jakarta Bay has a higher diversity compared to foraminifera in the coastal water of Semarang and Cirebon and among the ecological element of Jakarta Bay, reef area has the highest diversity index than coastal nor open sea area.


Nitric oxide (NO) is generated in human and animal tissues from L-arginine. Its known effects include mediation of the parasympathetic nervous system (effects of acetylcholine), smooth muscle tonus, apoptosis, and tissue differentiation. The physiological effects of NO attract significant theoretical and practical interest in medicine and agriculture due to its possible regulation of physiological functions. It is known that embryo development involves intensive NO production, but the exact role of NO in embryogenesis is not clear. Elucidation of the features of NO metabolism in the embryo and their correlation with its development is necessary for the clarification of this role. The avian embryo is a convenient object for such research, because of its relatively large size and its development outside the dam, which allows control of all stages of the development. This article reviews the scientific information on the physiological effects of NO, current hypotheses about their mechanism, and, finally, some perspectives of practical application in poultry breeding. It also reviews of the basic results of our own research that is conducted according to the program of RAAS. It has been observed that NO metabolites contents in embryo amnion and allantois of both egg laying and meat poultry breeds are very different. The value of the difference is more than one order of magnitude, which is seen in more than 30 lines and crosses of hen, quail, turkey and ostrich. It is possible that elucidation of the mechanism of action will allow active regulation of embryo development, as well as the potential for using the indices of NO metabolites content in selection work.


PurposeScholars have examined the relationship between sports and urban development and proposed to use sport programs and events as a catalyst to revitalize communities, upgrade urban infrastructure, promote city image, shift economic structure, nurture an active lifestyle, and enhance societal harmony and solidarity. Yet, previous studies were usually focused on mega sport events and were typically conceptual, theoretical and lack of practical applications. This study was designed to attain in-depth understanding on how a specific sport, table tennis, can be systematically organized and utilized to influence urban development through a qualitative research injury.Design/methodology/approachThis investigation was carried by conducting in-depth interviews of the executive director of the Shanghai Table Tennis Association, on-site observations and comprehensive review of literature. Development of interview questions took into consideration the conceptual framework postulated by Preuss (2007) that contains six structures of urban development through sports. Triangulation analyses were conducted to cross validate the three information sources to generate themes and assertions.FindingsWhile the identified practices were consistent with Preuss' (2007) framework, specific management activities earnestly practiced in Shanghai are centered on utilizing cultural and historical heritage, star power, branding strategies, staging tournaments, hallmark events, technical innovation and government relations to achieve the objectives of table tennis as a sport and the objectives of urban development through table tennis.Originality/valueThe findings of this study help fill the void that a theory usually cannot specify, namely, detailed, unambiguous practices. While table tennis may be a viewed as a small sport in many parts of the world, it has a strong, unprecedented historical heritage in Shanghai. This city has made a prudent choice and investment in this sport, which has proved to be effective. Other cities in the world should look into their own social, cultural and historical heritage and develop sport strategies, operations and programs accordingly.


Onsite rainwater harvesting is an inexpensive water source for indoor use; it is also a sustainable water management practice, since it may contribute to the reduction of runoff volume and peaks, and to the control of non-point source pollution. The aim of this paper is to provide a method for sizing rainwater harvesting tanks based on the local daily rainfall record, the served family size, the roof collection area, the roof type, the in-house water uses, and other factors. Various methods used worldwide are presented and compared. The comparative application of these methods is made using a daily rainfall record from a meteorological station near Kimmeria Village in Xanthi, Northeast Greece. Based on the proposed method here, the optimum tank size is computed by allowing excess water to overflow and setting to zero the use of the public water supply; the method may result in reduced tank sizes compared to other methods tested.


Aim Team performance is important in multidisciplinary teams (MDTs), but no tools exist for assessment. Our objective was to construct a robust tool for scientific assessment of MDT performance. Materials and methods An observational tool was developed to assess performance in MDTs. Behaviours were scored on Likert scales, with objective anchors. Five MDT meetings (112 cases) were observed by a surgeon and a psychologist. The presentation of case history, radiological and pathological information, chair's effectiveness, and contributions to decision-making of surgeons, oncologists, radiologists, pathologists and clinical nurse specialists (CNSs) are analysed via descriptive statistics, a comparison of average scores (Mann–Whitney U) to test interobserver agreement and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) to further assess interobserver agreement and learning curves. Results Contributions of surgeons, chair's effectiveness, presentation of case history and radiological information were rated above average (p≤0.001). Contributions of histopathologists and CNS were rated below average (p≤0.001), and others average. The interobserver agreement was high (ICC=0.70+) for presentation of radiological information, and contribution of oncologists, radiologists, pathologists and CNSs; adequate for case history presentation (ICC=0.68) and contribution of surgeons (ICC=0.69); moderate for chairperson (ICC=0.52); and poor for pathological information (ICC=0.31). Average differences were found only for case-history presentation (p≤0.001). ICCs improved significantly in assessment of case history, and Oncologists, and ICCs were consistently high for CNS, Radiologists, and Histopathologists. Conclusions Scientific observational metrics can be reliably used by medical and non-medical observers in cancer MDTs. Such robust assessment tools provide part of a toolkit for team evaluation and enhancement.


This is an essential reference on the reciprocal role that U.S. and Native policy and law have played in American political development. Created by a culturally diverse editorial board of major scholars and containing invaluable bibliographic material not found in other publications, this definitive two-volume set examines the history and impact of U.S. relations with Native Americans. Extensive essays trace policies from the Continental Congress to the present day - including the role that managing the 'Indian question' has played in American political development - while A to Z entries cover everything critical to a full understanding of the context to U.S./Native American relations, from history, politics, and sociology to civil rights and culture. The set is also the first reference of its kind to incorporate the expanding scholarship reflecting both the Native American viewpoint on and response to federal policies and initiatives over time.


The indications and techniques for performing the operation of anterior mediastinotomy are described. In the years 1966-71, 116 anterior mediastinotomies were done. The results of these are presented. In 36 patients the operation was done to provide a histological diagnosis in benign conditions. In 51 patients, with probable carcinoma but normal bronchoscopy, mediastinotomy was done to establish a diagnosis and assess operability; 43 had involved mediastinal nodes proven on histology. In a further 29 patients, with positive bronchoscopic biopsies, mediastinotomy was done to assess operability alone. In all, 14 patients (17·5%) were judged suitable for thoracotomy. Of these, nine had operable disease while five were found to be inoperable. The incidence of complications of the operation was low (11%). These were mostly minor, There were no deaths. Most patients, after anterior mediastinotomy alone, were fit for discharge 48 to 72 hours after the operation. The value of an operation that provides both diagnosis and assessment of mediastinum, lung, and pleura is discussed. The operation of anterior mediastinotomy is compared with mediastinoscopy and, in our opinion, the superiority of the former is demonstrated.


This article explores which factors enable or hinder populist presidents in Latin America to pursue a radical strategy of institutional change and induce the erosion of horizontal checks and balances. Applying an actor-centred approach, the article focuses on specific constellations in the political arena that shape populist presidents' incentives and their ability to engage in institutional change. Three conditions are considered to be most decisive: the absence of unified government between the executive and the legislature, the existence of a 'power vacuum' in the political arena and the distribution of public support. Using configurational analyses, different causal paths explaining the presence or absence of the erosion of horizontal accountability are identified.


To explore one impact of the information available by adding sensors in a classical production planning setting, we consider a continuous time infinite horizon lot-sizing model where a single product is manufactured on a single machine. Each time manufacturing restarts, a random production rate is realized, and production continues at this rate until the machine is shut down. Although the rate is random and chosen from an arbitrary set of random rates, it is known as soon as production starts due to the availability of sensor information, so this information could be used to determine when to stop production. However, we show that given the objective of minimizing either average cost per unit time or total discounted cost, it is optimal to produce up to the same inventory level regardless of the realized production rate. We also develop heuristics for the multi-product version of this model.


The salt-gradient operation mode used in ion-exchange simulated moving bed chromatography (SMBC) can improve the efficiency of protein separations. A detailed model that takes into account any kind of adsorption/ion-exchange equilibrium, salt gradient, size exclusion, mass transfer resistance, and port periodic switching mechanism, was developed to simulate the complex dynamics. The model predictions were verified by the experimental data on upward and downward gradients for protein separations reported in the literature. All design and operating parameters (number, configuration, length and diameter of columns, particle size, switching period, flow rates of feed, raffinate, desorbent and extract, protein concentrations in feed, different salt concentrations in desorbent and feed) can be chosen correctly by numerical simulation. This model can facilitate the design, operation, optimization, control and scale-up of salt-gradient ion-exchange SMBC for protein separations.


The purpose of this study was to illustrate the influence of missing data mechanisms on results of a multiple regression analysis and to demonstrate the influence of the use of traditional techniques (including listwise deletion, pairwise deletion and mean substitution) versus use of multiple imputation (MI) for handling missing data. A methodological approach involving a real dataset was adopted. Results from descriptive analyses and multiple regression models indicated that traditional missing data handling methods and MI yield similar regression coefficients and standard error estimates. Although the means and correlations are almost always biased regardless of missing mechanism and missing data techniques, the bias was less severe when using MI.


Green tea, non-fermented leaves of Camellia sinensis var. assamica, is widely consumed as healthy beverage since thousands of years in Asian countries. Chewing sticks (miswak) of Salvadora persica L. are traditionally used as natural toothbrush to ensure oral health in developing countries. Both green tea and Salvadora persica L. extracts were reported to have antibacterial activity against many dental plaque bacteria. However, their combination has never been tested to have antibacterial and antiadherence effects against primary dental plaque colonizers, playing an initial role in the dental plaque development, which was investigated in this study. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the synergistic antiplaque activity of the combination of green tea and Salvadora persica L. aqueous extracts both in vitro and in vivo.
In the in vitro part of the study, two-fold serial micro-dilution method was used to measure minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of aqueous extracts of green tea, Salvadora persica L. and their combinations. Adsorption to hexadecane was used to determine the cell surface hydrophobicity (CSH) of bacterial cells. Glass beads were used to mimic the hard tissue surfaces, and were coated with saliva to develop experimental pellicle for the adhesion of the primary colonizing bacteria. While in the in vivo part of the study, a double-blinded, randomized, 24 hours plaque re-growth crossover clinical trial was carried out involving 14 participants who rinsed with test (combination of green tea and Salvadora persica L. aqueous extracts), 0.12% chlorhexidine (CHX) and placebo mouth rinses for 24 hours. A week before the trial, all participants received scaling, polishing and oral hygiene instruction. On the trial day, the participants received polishing at base line and rinsed with 15 ml of randomly allocated mouth rinse twice a day without oral hygiene measures. After 24 hours, plaque index was scored and then the participants entered a six days washout period with usual oral hygiene measures after which they repeated the same protocol for the following two mouth rinses.
In vitro results have revealed that green tea aqueous extracts exhibited better antiplaque effect than Salvadora persica L. aqueous extracts. Their combination, equivalent to 1/4 and 1/2 of MIC values of green tea and Salvadora persica L. aqueous extracts respectively, showed synergistic antiplaque properties with fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) equal to 0.75. This combination was found to significantly reduce CSH (p < 0.05) and lower the adherence ability (p < 0.003) towards experimental pellicle. In vivo, significant differences were found between mouth rinses by means of plaque index. Test mouth rinse significantly reduced plaque accumulation when compared with placebo and CHX mouth rinses. CHX mouth rinse non-significantly reduced plaque accumulation when compared with placebo. In conclusion, combination between green tea and Salvadora persica L. aqueous extracts exhibited synergistic antiplaque activity against primary dental plaque colonizers in vitro. Rinsing with 15 ml of this combination twice daily has a significant antiplaque effect better than CHX for a 24 hours period in vivo; therefore it could be utilized as a natural alternative mouth rinse to CHX.


College students screened for hallucination-proneness using the Launay-Slade Hallucination Scale (LSHS) were compared on measures of self-report vividness of imagery and on behavioral measures of imagery and perception (visual and auditory). Specifically, we tested the hypothesis whether hallucination-prone individuals would show smaller differences between imagery and perception performance, which may be indicative of increased sensory characteristics of mental images. We replicated earlier findings of higher self-report imagery ratings in the high hallucination-prone group. However, the two groups did not differ on five of six behavioral imagery-perception comparisons. Although vividness of mental images may be subjectively associated with mild hallucinatory experiences, we suggest that cognitive processes associated with reality discrimination rather than increased perceptual characteristics of mental images may play a role at the information processing level.


Available data suggest that more than 700 million people in the developing world lack the food necessary for an active and healthy life. The problem of food security is not caused by an insufficient supply of food as has been commonly believed, but by the lack of purchasing power on the part of nations and households. This report outlines the nature and extent of food security problems in developing countries, explores the policy options available to these countries in addressing these problems, and indicates what international institutions such as the World Bank can and should do to help countries solve their food security problems. It suggests policies to achieve the desired goal in cost-effective ways. It also identifies policies that waste economic resources and fail to reach the target groups. It is in that sense as much about what should not be done as about what should be done