Decorated Paper Paper-making was invented in China, probably some 2,000 years ago. Early paper decoration techniques were also developed in both China and Japan. The marbling technique was known In these two countries as early as the 12th century AD. During the 16th century, it was popular in Persia and Turkey, and from there, knowledge of marbling spread to western Europe. In the 17th-19th centuries, there was substantial marbled paper production in Germany, France, Italy, Holland and England. For paper marbling, a large receptacle is filled with a gelatinous substance, and drops of watercolour dye are floated on top. The colour is then spread with a brush, comb or other tool to produce the desired effect. A sheet of paper is then placed on the floating dye, leaving a mirror image of the design on the paper. Common styles include comb marbling, 'French curl' marbling and stone marbling; examples of these and other styles can all be found in Marbled Paper Design. A variation on marbled paper is paste paper. In this technique, a layer of starch is applied to blank paper, and paint is added on top of it. The design is produced by manipulating the paint with a brush or scraper, or with the help of stamps or rollers. Japanese Papers includes an extensive and rare selection of such designs. This book also contains stunning examples of other Japanese paper decoration techniques, such as block printing and the application of design during the actual paper-making process.


The concept of transactions costs used by Coase in "The Nature of the Firm" is applied to the internal labor market of an organization. Under joint production it is shown that the number of transaction-specific prices necessary to decentralize labor allocations rises geometrically with the size of the work force. Complexity of calculation and costs of implementation constrains the possibilities for internal decentralization through a price mechanism and substitutes a more authoritarian system of allocation instead. These same issues of complexity and implementation costs limit the usefulness of agency theory as a conceptual framework for this problem. The analysis suggests that an internal labor market must be viewed in a more comprehensive framework of a personnel management system.


More and more people go online today and share their personal images using popular web services like Picasa. While enjoying the convenience brought by advanced technology, people also become aware of the privacy issues of data being shared. Recent studies have highlighted that people expect more tools to allow them to regain control over their privacy. In this work, we propose an Adaptive Privacy Policy Prediction (A3P) system to help users compose privacy settings for their images. In particular, we examine the role of image content and metadata as possible indicators of users' privacy preferences. We propose a two-level image classification framework to obtain image categories which may be associated with similar policies. Then, we develop a policy prediction algorithm to automatically generate a policy for each newly uploaded image. Most importantly, the generated policy will follow the trend of the user's privacy concerns evolved with time. We have conducted an extensive user study and the results demonstrate effectiveness of our system with the prediction accuracy around 90%.


This thesis is a study of low-dimensional visualisation methods for data visualisation under certainty of the input data. It focuses on the two main feed-forward neural network algorithms which are NeuroScale and Generative Topographic Mapping (GTM) by trying to make both algorithms able to accommodate the uncertainty. The two models are shown not to work well under high levels of noise within the data and need to be modified. The modification of both models, NeuroScale and GTM, are verified by using synthetic data to show their ability to accommodate the noise. The thesis is interested in the controversy surrounding the non-uniqueness of predictive gene lists (PGL) of predicting prognosis outcome of breast cancer patients as available in DNA microarray experiments. Many of these studies have ignored the uncertainty issue resulting in random correlations of sparse model selection in high dimensional spaces. The visualisation techniques are used to confirm that the patients involved in such medical studies are intrinsically unclassifiable on the basis of provided PGL evidence. This additional category of 'unclassifiable' should be accommodated within medical decision support systems if serious errors and unnecessary adjuvant therapy are to be avoided.


Laser-induced incandescence is both characterized and demonstrated for the measurement of metal nanoparticle concentration. Reported are the results of an initial characterization of the spectral and temporal signature of the laser-induced incandescence as a function of the excitation laser fluence and wavelength. Validation of the incandescence as a measure of the concentration is demonstrated by absorption measurements. Fluence dependence measurements are also presented. Double-pulse measurements determine the fluence for the onset of vaporization-induced mass loss. Comparisons between the present observations and those for carbon nanostructures are also made. Metals tested include (in order of increasing vaporization temperature) Fe, Ti, Mo, and W.


Capital equipment manufacturing and related activities present an opportunity for fostering regional industrialisation and integration due to the large scope for developing productive capabilities through aftermarket services and strong complementarities between mining, construction and rail infrastructure and agriculture. Yet, capital-intensive economies such as Mozambique and South Africa have failed to diversify out of the core base within the minerals-energy complex and are experiencing de-industrialisation albeit with differing dynamics. On the one hand, Mozambique increased demand derived from capital-intensive mega projects has been met largely through imports due to weak and narrow productive, investment and technological capacities. On the other hand, South Africa's capital equipment sector, which is an example of strong backward linkages from the mining industry, is losing capabilities and competitiveness as well as market share in the region. It is within this context that through a combination of primary and secondary research, the paper examines how trade and investment linkages in capital equipment and related industries in and between South Africa and Mozambique have evolved and can be maintained and further developed. This study argues that there is potential to develop mutually beneficial industrial capabilities by leveraging South Africa's capabilities in capital equipment into Mozambican firms. This requires a collaborative approach to regional industrial development and policy that is structured not just around expanded market opportunities but fundamentally on developing local manufacturing capabilities and competitiveness across the region.


The present paper deals with the study and the implementing of a multilevel inverter simultaneously controlled by Modulated Hysteresis Current Control (MHCC) and Fractional Order PID (FOPID) controllers. The converter supplies large ranges of low inductive loads in the purpose to transfer the energy from a DC supply source to an independent electrical network. The MHCC with low frequency of the triangular mono carrier adjusts the load current of the multilevel inverter, insures low power losses, high viability, strong sturdiness and good EMC behavior. The FOPID controller allows keeping constant the grid voltage. Simulation study and experimental results are presented in the paper for verifying the concept and its efficiency in practice.


In the United States and other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, the expected returns on stocks, adjusted for volatility, are much higher in recessions than in expansions. We consider feasible trading strategies that buy or sell shortly after business cycle turning points that are identifiable in real time and involve holding periods of up to 1 year. The observed business cycle changes in expected returns are not spuriously driven by changes in expected near-term dividend growth. Our findings imply that value-maximizing managers face much higher risk-adjusted costs of capital in their investment decisions during recessions than expansions.


This study investigated the efficacy of a POU water treatment system featuring sari-cloth filtration and/or Moringa oleifera coagulation as pre-treatments for solar disinfection (SODIS). Surface water from a peri-urban slum in Chennai, India, was treated and analysed for turbidity, organic content via chemical oxygen demand (COD) and microbiological quality via most probable number (MPN) enumeration of total coliforms. Pre-treatment with both moringa coagulation and sari-cloth filtration significantly improved the turbidity of raw water compared to no pre-treatment controls ( P = 0.0002). Optimal moringa coagulation did not outperform sari-cloth filtration ( P = 0.06), but combining optimal moringa coagulation with sari-cloth filtration significantly outperformed either pre-treatment independently with respect to turbidity ( P = 0.016 and P = 0.0001, respectively). The addition of moringa was found to increase COD in treated water, with greater doses of moringa resulting in higher COD levels ( P = 0.04). Increased organics may have encouraged the re-growth of coliform bacteria that was observed in those jars receiving moringa coagulant such that, with respect to MPN, those jars which were subject to optimal moringa coagulation did not outperform those undergoing sari-cloth filtration alone ( P = 0.41). Sari-cloth filtration is recommended as a pre-treatment for SODIS whereas moringa is not, as further investigation on the relationship between organics and bacterial re-growth is necessary.


Medicinal plants have been used in the Indian subcontinent since antiquity. History of herbal medicine is as old as history of mankind itself. It is time tested and widely used across globe. However, recent trends have been directed more towards maligning this rich heritage rather than exploiting its merits. Recent research papers published across globe have alarmed the world in a wrong direction towards propagation of herbal medicine, especially, Ayurveda. Spurious finished products are a consequence of inferior quality of raw materials used in their processing. Therefore, need of time is to abide by standard protocols laid for assuring quality of these raw materials i.e. medicinal plants. The present article deals in detail the background of standardizing medicinal plants in India and an in depth discussion on WHO protocols related to quality control of these herbal drugs.


In this paper we are presenting a novel method for color inhomogeneity evaluation. We proved that this method has a higher than 95 % linear correlation coefficient if results are correlated with human visual evaluations.We applied this evaluation method to analyze the homogenization in the injection molding process, therefore we measured the homogenization properties of various solid phase masterbatches on injection molded parts. We tested the effects of the processing parameters of injection molding and analyzed various dynamic and static mixers as well. We have also measured the influence of the mold surface texture on the sensation of inhomogeneities on the part surface.We have carried out our tests on an injection grade ABS material using various masterbatches. The method was based on the digitization of the molded flat specimens. The images of these specimens were evaluated with an own developed formula using the CIELAB color space resulting high correlation with human visual inspections.


The Earth- and ocean-science communities are developing the concept of a "system of systems" (www.epa.gov/geoss) for observing the Earth and oceans. Related initiatives in the ocean sciences range from the application-oriented Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) to the research-oriented Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI). In an ideal world, all ocean observations would support the broad range of activities because all the systems would be interoperable. Such a "system of systems" will surely result from standardization of some kind. One challenge is that we already have many standards that address data-encoding formats, content metadata, protocols for communicating between computers, and ontology languages for knowledge representation. Two grass-roots community initiatives have aligned to make some concrete choices that will advance the "system of systems" concept: the Marine Metadata Interoperability (MMI) interoperability demo (www.marinemetadata.org) and the OpenIOOS interoperability test bed (www.openioos.org). Although they have substantial overlap, each initiative brings a complimentary set of experiences to the table. With funding from NSF and NOAA, the MMI project has been enabling the exchange, integration and use of marine data by emphasizing ontologies that employ the Web Ontology Language (OWL), in anticipation of the Semantic Web. With funding from the Office of Naval Research and NOAA, OpenIOOS participants have been demonstrating that "standards enable innovation" by leveraging web-service and data-model specifications developed by the Open Geospatial Consortium (www.opengeospatial.org). We present the lessons learned from this coordinated and combined effort


The consolidation and centralization of the IT landscape and software is meant to gain synergy effects and cost savings. Uniform processes and IT procedures within a corporate group or administrative department prevent redundant data storage, ensure uniform data maintenance and facilitate the evaluation of this data, assist cooperation and increase transparency.
In literature, various success factors are discussed in this context. These studies all focus on the changeover process, but not on the subsequent productive operations of the IT procedures. Accordingly, the published concepts of IT consolidation in Germany, for example, contain exactly this and end at the rollout of the various projects.
But, a structured user training is essential for the long term conservation of the advantages of uniform IT procedures mentioned above. Therefore, a consolidation of the IT procedures requires also a consolidation and structuring of the associated trainings. This paper discusses the necessity of structured and continuous training programs in the context of IT consolidation. It arranges the basic characteristics of those programs und derives the requirements for systems and trainings environments to operate them.


Systematic mineralogical investigations, carried out on panned stream concentrates from the northwestern part of the Cambro-Ordovician Stavelot massif (Belgium), led to the discovery of nodular gray monazites. These were later identified in situ in black slates associated with conglomeratic levels containing phosphatic material. Microscopic investigation shows that gray monazites are authigenic and predate cleavage. To test the hypothesis of a sedimentary origin for rare earth elements, samples of shales, phosphatic conglomerates, and monazite concentrates were submitted to sequential inductively coupled plasma analysis. Results show that the rare earth element pattern in gray monazites is a reflection of the abundance of these elements in the host rock. This suggests a model invoking desorption of the rare earth elements from their clayey support and differential precipitation of rare earth phosphates in the sediment initiated by P mobility during diagenesis. The genetic model for gray monazite mineralization assumes three essential and complementary phenomena: (1) sedimentation of clays in a reducing marine environment, (2) a phosphate anomaly in the same lithological sequence, and (3) evolution to low-grade epizonal metamorphic conditions.These nonrestrictive genetic conditions clearly suggest that gray monazites have been generally overlooked and must be much more widespread than believed. The economic interest of gray monazite lies in potential stream or beach placers. Their low Th content and comparatively high Eu content are interesting features in the scope of ore beneficiation.


Unobtrusive longitudinal monitoring of what patients actually do during comprehensive rehabilitation represents a relatively unexplored but potentially very useful approach to functional evaluation. Recent advances in biomedical technology have created the possibility of supplementing and/or substituting a number of human observations with instrument-based measurements. This paper presents the first data obtained as part of a systematic research effort to explore the feasibility and utility of applying unobtrusive instrumentation to monitor selected patient activities over extended periods of time. The target activity studied was time out of bed for 36 spinal cord injury patients undergoing comprehensive rehabilitation. Measurements were made with a Rest Time Monitor (RTM) which provides a continuous, objective record of when a patient is out of bed, how often and for how long. Based on this experience, a 'standard' activity curve has been developed which is used as a reference in assessing the weekly progress of individual patients. Distinctive types of activity patterns are described in relation to how patients do clinically, and functionally during hospitalization and 12 months after discharge. In addition, data are presented which compare in-hospital activity patterns by level of injury, age and presence or absence of complications. This initial study suggests that longitudinal activity monitoring is a useful tool for clinical assessment and management and may help predict those patients who are most likely to develop pre- and postdischarge complications.


Multifactor analysis plays an important role in data analysis since most real-world datasets usually exist with a combination of numerous factors. These factors are usually not independent but interdependent together. Thus, it is a mistake if a method only considers one aspect of the input data while ignoring the others. Although widely used, Multilinear PCA (MPCA), one of the leading multilinear analysis methods, still suffers from three major drawbacks. Firstly, it is very sensitive to outliers and noise and unable to cope with missing values. Secondly, since MPCA deals with huge multidimensional datasets, it is usually computationally expensive. Finally, it loses original local geometry structures due to the averaging process. This thesis sheds new light on the tensor decomposition problem via the ideas of fast low-rank approximation in random projection and tensor completion in compressed sensing. We propose a novel approach called Compressed Submanifold Multifactor Analysis (CSMA) to solve the three problems mentioned above. Our approach is able to deal with the problem of missing values and outliers via our proposed novel sparse Higher-order Singular Value Decomposition approach, named HOSVD-L1 decomposition. The Random Projection method is used to obtain the fast low-rank approximation of a given multifactor dataset.
In addition, our method can preserve geometry of the original data.

In the second part of this thesis, we present a novel pattern classification approach named Sparse Class-dependent Feature Analysis (SCFA), to connect the advantages of sparse representation in an overcomplete dictionary, with a powerful nonlinear classifier. The classifier is based on the estimation of class-specific optimal filters, by solving an L1-norm optimization problem using the Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers. Our method as well as its Reproducing Kernel Hilbert Space (RKHS) version is tolerant to the presence of noise and other variations in an image. Our proposed methods achieve very high classification accuracies in face recognition on two challenging face databases, i.e. the CMU Pose, Illumination and Expression (PIE) database and the Extended YALE-B that exhibit pose and illumination variations; and the AR database that has occluded images. In addition, they also exhibit robustness on other evaluation modalities, such as object classification on the Caltech101 database. Our method outperforms state-of-the-art methods on all these databases and hence they show their applicability to general computer vision and pattern recognition problems.


Free-ranging pet cats (Felis catus) frequently kill wildlife but also return live prey to their owners. This raises welfare concerns if live animals released by cat owners subsequently die, since this is preventable e.g. through prompt euthanasia. To estimate the mortality rate of birds released alive by cat owners, we examined the fates of 3597 cat-attacked individuals submitted to four RSPCA wildlife centres in the UK. Individuals from 64 species were received but most cases (77%) involved just seven species commonly found in urban areas. The overall mortality rate (based on all individuals received at centres i.e. including those which perished in transport, those which were euthanased on arrival and those which were admitted for care after having been triaged) was 78%; the post-admittance mortality rate (n = 2070 birds admitted for care) was 62%. On average, individuals that perished (n = 2798) survived for 3.0 days before dying or being euthanased. Juveniles were more likely to survive to release than adults, possibly because their small size means they are less likely to receive injuries that are ultimately fatal. Extrapolating from the limited data currently available, and applying conservative estimates at each stage, we estimate that a minimum of 0.3 million birds are released annually by cat owners but subsequently die. Substantial welfare improvements could be achieved if owners were more prepared to adopt strategies to limit hunting behaviour (e.g. fitting cats with collars and bells) and if owners and rehabilitators were able to effectively identify individuals with fatal injuries. The latter will require studies that quantify the effects of identifiable physical injuries on the likelihood of survival to release, in order to establish effective triage criteria.


This study of Sweden's 24 football districts analyses whether contextual factors (number of players, number of elite teams, and number of elite players on each district team) influence the district teams' relative age effect (RAE) and the way in which contextual factors and RAE correlate with the U15 teams' competitive success. The analysis is based on register data on district players (4,516 girls and 4,501 boys, all 15 years old) who attended an annual elite football camp: birthdate, the total number of players aged 15, club membership, senior elite clubs, proportion of elite players on the district teams, and match outcomes. Based on the birthdates of the players born between 1986 and 1997, a relative age index was constructed for each district. The results showed a relative age effect (RAE) for the selected district players (boys and girls) compared to the general 15-year-old football population; however, birthdate only affected the competitive success of the boys' district teams. The analysis points out that contextual factors such as the number of football players and the presence of elite clubs are important to consider in order to understand how RAE is produced and its relationship to the success of winning matches for boys' district teams.


Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APML) is the first malignant disease highly curable with targeted therapy directed at a unique molecular abnormality. The characteristic bleeding diathesis due to the combined effect of thrombocytopenia and disseminated intravascular coagulation is the most notorious manifestation of the disease, which historically has accepted for high mortality rate during induction. Acute promyelocytic leukemia is one of the few hematologic diseases that can be diagnosed with certainty by morphological examination of blood film and bone marrow aspirate by the practicing hematologist. Such step facilitates early institution of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) before molecular confirmation of the diagnosis. Therefore, ATRA therapy as well as aggressive blood product support is critical to reduce early mortality. Early diagnosis and prompt institution of appropriate therapy is essential as APML is a medical emergency and without rapid management patient may succumb due to bleeding diathesis. Also the prognosis of APML is much better than other subtypes of acute myeloid leukemia. ATRA plus anthracycline based chemotherapy for induction and consolidation followed by maintenance ATRA with low dose chemotherapy is currently the standard of care. However the combination of ATRA and arsenic trioxide (ATO), with minimal chemotherapy to control leukocytosis, is very effective therapy for newly diagnosed APML patients. The combination may replace conventional approaches to most, if not all, patients in the very near future. Here we report a case of APML of female who got admitted with fever, cough and pupuric rash throughout the whole body.
Birdem Med J 2019; 9(1): 85-88


A treatment for hydrophobic functionalization of natural fiber materials is developed. This hydrophobic treatment is based mainly on natural products. As hydrophobic component the natural Tung Oil is used, which is originally a compound used for wood conservation purposes. The application on textile is done in a padding process under presence of an oxidative agent. For the current investigations a fiber felt from linen was used. The hydrophobic effect is determined by the concentration of Tung Oil and the duration of a thermal drying process. The hydrophobic effect is investigated by capillary rise tests and contact angle measurements. Scanning electron microscopy SEM is used to investigate the surface topography of the fiber material and the deposited hydrophobic material. Altogether, an interesting and promising method for hydrophobisation of natural fibers is developed, which could especially be used as part of a production process of a fiber reinforced composite material, mainly based on natural products.


Participatory research can change the view of children from research subjects to active partners. As active partners, children can be recognized as agents who can contribute to different steps of the research process. However, "participatory research" is an umbrella term that covers both the collection of data with children and children's participation in making decisions related to the research process. As such, it raises particular challenges for researchers. Based on a pragmatic ethics approach, we were inspired by the realist review methodology to synthesize the current literature, identify different strategies used to engage children aged 12 and below in participatory research, and analyze how they affect children's active participation and the ethical aspects related to each. Fifty-seven articles were retained for inclusion in the review. A variety of strategies were used to involve children in the research process, including discussion groups, training/capacity-building sessions, photography and filming, children as data collectors and questionnaires. The most prevalent ethical considerations identified were related to power dynamics and strategies to facilitate children's expression and foster the authenticity of children's voices. Researchers should address these ethical considerations to actively involve children within the research process and prevent tokenistic participation. Active inclusion of children in research could include co-identifying with them how they want to be involved in knowledge production (if they want to) from the beginning of a project.


Ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of lactones and cyclic carbonates catalyzed by (super)strong Bronsted acids offers a valuable approach to generate biodegradable aliphatic polyesters. However, these strong acids usually lead to backbiting and decarboxylation; thus a mild and effective acidic catalysis for these ROPs becomes necessary. Inspired by weak Bronsted acidic catalysis in squalene–hopene cyclases, we propose that ortho-amido group(s) on benzoic acids would increase the acidity of the carboxylic moiety by intramolecular H-bonding, and make carboxylic acid active in promoting the ROPs. A series of o-amido- and o,o′-bis(amido)-benzoic acids are evaluated as typical intramolecular H-bonding enhanced Bronsted acidic catalysts in the ROPs. Both o-amido- and o,o′-bis(amido)-benzoic acids exhibited good to excellent performances in the rate and control of ROPs of δ-valerolactone (VL), e-caprolactone (CL), and trimethylene carbonate (TMC) at room temperature in solutions. An exceptional carboxylic acid, o,o′-bis(pivalamido)benzoic acid, showed efficient activation in solution and precise control with high conversions (91–96%), predicted molecular weights from 3.09 to 10.31 kg mol−1, and narrow dispersities (Đ 1.03–1.12) in ROPs of CL and TMC. Well-defined diblock copolymers consisting of PTMC, PVL and PCL segments were synthesized. The controlled/living characteristics of the ROPs were verified by chain extension experiments. 1H NMR, SEC, and MALDI-TOF MS analyses strongly indicated that the obtained polymers were exactly the designated ones. A cationic monomer activation mechanism was proposed and was supported by NMR titrations. The experimental results indicated that mild and tunable ortho-amido benzoic acid with intramolecular H-bonding is a competent organocatalyst in living polymerization.


The development of stable and effective earth-abundant metal oxide electrocatalysts is very crucial to improve competence of water electrolysis. In this study, iron manganite (FeMnO_3) nanomaterials were synthesized as an affordable electrocatalyst for water oxidation reactions. The structural and chemical properties of FeMnO_3 nanomaterials were studied by transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analyses. The microscopy analyses show that the synthesized material has wire morphology, and assembly of approximately 70 nm nanocrystallites forms the wires. XRD patterns confirmed the bixbyite structure of FeMnO_3. The potential utility of the synthesized FeMnO_3 nanowires (NWs) as an electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) was investigated in alkaline medium. The FeMnO_3 NW modified fluorinated tin oxide (FTO) electrodes demonstrated promising OER activity with onset potential of 1.60 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode and overpotential of 600 mV at 10 mA/cm^2 catalytic current density. FeMnO_3 NW modified FTO electrode was also observed to be stable during long-term constant potential electrolysis. Therefore, this new material can be considered as a cost-effective alternative to noble metal electrocatalysts for water oxidation and other possible catalytic reactions.


In this paper, we propose a mixed integer programming (MIP) model for the Chicken Flock Sizing, Allocation and Scheduling Problem (CFSASP), which is an important planning problem in the broiler production supply chain. To solve the CFSASP efficiently, two variants of rolling horizon heuristics (RHHs) have been developed and applied on the case of a Norwegian broiler production company. Computational results show that the RHHs successfully obtain high-quality solutions within a reasonable time. The value of optimisation is verified through comparison with the case company's plans, where the solutions from optimisation outperforms the current solutions. Sensitivity analyses are also conducted to provide managerial insights regarding certain strategic decisions, such as how many and which days to use for hatching of chickens. Due to the promising results, the case company is now implementing an optimisation-based decision support system based on the MIP model and solution methods shown in this paper.


We report on irradiation induced SEU by high-energy protons and neutrons. The experiments were performed at The Svedberg Laboratory in Uppsala, Sweden, and at the Weapons Neutron Research (WNR) facility, in Los Alamos, USA. A wide range of SRAMs were used to study the differences between proton and neutron induced SEUs at different energies.


An emended circumscription of the genus Paulia Fee is given and the morphology and anatomy of the eight included species analysed in detail. Four new species are described, P. gibbosa Henssen and P. rhizophora Henssen from Bermuda, P. tessellata Henssen from Bermuda and Mexico and P. stipitata Henssen from Puerto Rico. The new combination P. cubana (Tuck.) Henssen is made. The genus is characterized by an umbilicate thallus composed of reticulately arranged hyphae; apothecia without an excipulum, with branched paraphyses and thick- walled ascospores; and a member of the Chroococcales as phycobiont with brown gelatinous algal sheaths in which characteristic particles are deposited. The species differ in the external morphology of the thallus and apothecia. The species all grow on limestone, and most of them are confined to islands; the distribution of the genus is world-wide.


This paper provides a framework for understanding Twitter as a historical source. We address digital humanities scholars to enable the transfer of concepts from traditional source criticism to new media formats, and to encourage the preservation of Twitter as a cultural artifact. Twitter has established itself as a key social media platform which plays an important role in public, real-time conversation. Twitter is also unique as its content is being archived by a public institution (the Library of Congress). In this paper we will show that we still have to assume that much of the contextual information beyond the pure tweet texts is already lost, and propose additional objectives for preservation.


The platelet endothelial aggregation receptor‐1 (PEAR1) rs12041331 variant has been identified as a genetic determinant of platelet aggregation in response to antiplatelet therapies, including aspirin. However, association with atherothrombotic cardiovascular events is less clear, with limited evidence from large trials. Here, we tested association of rs12041331 with cardiovascular events and aspirin use in a randomized trial population of healthy older individuals. We undertook post hoc analysis of 13,547 participants of the ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE) trial, median age 74 years. Participants had no previous diagnosis of atherothrombotic cardiovascular disease at enrollment, and were randomized to either 100 mg daily low‐dose aspirin or placebo for median 4.7 years follow‐up. We used Cox proportional hazard regression to model the relationship between rs12041331 and the ASPREE primary cardiovascular disease (CVD) end point, and composites of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) and ischemic stroke (STROKE); and bleeding events; major hemorrhage (MHEM) and intracranial bleeding (ICB). We performed whole‐population analysis using additive and dominant inheritance models, then stratified by treatment group. Interaction effects between genotypes and treatment group were examined. We observed no statistically significant association (P < 0.05) in the population, or by treatment group, between rs12041331 and cardiovascular or bleeding events in either model. We also found no significant interaction effects between rs12041331‐A and treatment group, for CVD (P = 0.65), MACE (P = 0.32), STROKE (P = 0.56), MHEM (P = 0.59), or ICB (P = 0.56). The genetic variant PEAR1 rs12041331 is not associated with cardiovascular events in response to low‐dose aspirin in a healthy elderly population.


The structure of fisheries management institutions is changing all over the world, due in part to issues of sustainability related to exhaustion of resources, fiscal responsibilities, and the exercising of Aboriginal rights to access subsistence and commercial fisheries. As a result of direct action and successful legal challenges, coupled by the ongoing negotiation of modern treaties, changes in the way authority is exercised over fisheries management is occurring and co-management arrangements are being formed between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal parties. While the study of co-management arrangements is relatively recent, much has been written about their potential to manage fisheries in a sustainable manner. Located on south-eastern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, the Cowichan Valley is the historical homeland of the Cowichan Mustimuhw (people). The Cowichan Mustimuhw once controlled an elaborate salmon fishery on the Cowichan River by way of their historical fish weir. Years of conflict between Cowichan Tribes and the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) over control of the historical weir led to a significant reduction in Cowichan Mustimuhw control over their historical fishery. In 2008, the Cowichan Tribes Fish Committee (representing the interests of Cowichan members) re-vitalized the historical weir for use as a sustainable salmon management institution. The revitalized weir, and, in recent years, the multi-stakeholder Cowichan Harvest Roundtable have emerged as collaborative salmon management institutions designed to sustainably manage Cowichan River salmon harvests. While there is a body of literature devoted to the history of fisheries-related interactions between the Cowichan Tribes and DFO, there is little literature describing the Cowichan Harvest Roundtable and its role as a locally-based, collaborative salmon management institution. Through analyzing the historical Cowichan fish weir and the Cowichan Harvest Roundtable, this research will assess the efficacy of both as sustainable salmon management institutions, and explore the extent to which assertion and re-assertion of authority by the Cowichan Harvest Roundtable and Cowichan Tribes Fish Committee has occurred over the management of the fishery. The methodology for this research includes a combination of semi-structured interviews with both past and present members of the Cowichan Harvest Roundtable and Cowichan Tribes


Innovation in clinical learning is reported as being useful in preparing health and social care students for clinical patient care, but historically these learners have relied on traditional pedagogies including didactic classroom learning and apprenticeship "practice" on live patients in a clinical environment. This paper investigates whether students find it useful to augment traditional learning methods with simulation and video (hybrid learning) as a pre-junct to learning in clinical placement. Replacing the usual initial clinical placement with a 12-week study block employing hybrid-teaching techniques reformed the traditional curriculum for Operating Department Practitioner students. An interpretative phenomenographic methodology was adopted for this study and data was collected through anonymous focus group interviews. The data support two concepts that 1) confidence and self-belief perpetuate the desire for new learning and 2) multi-professional learning develops a professional approach in terms of communication, care intervention and thinking processes. The data presented was obtained using a qualitative phenomenographic approach and the results infer specific advantages of hybrid learning to the participants to supplement traditional teaching methods by addressing theoretical limitations of learning and inequity of placement experiential learning. Limitations to this study are the absence of a control group to directly compare against apprenticeship learning methods alone and the sample group being single site, single cohort. © 2013 GESDAV


Are ?financial intermediaries inherently unstable? If so, why? What does this suggest about government intervention? To address these issues we analyze whether model economies with financial intermediation are particularly prone to multiple, cyclic, or stochastic equilibria. Four formalizations are considered: a dynamic version of Diamond-Dybvig banking incorporating reputational considerations; a model with delegated investment as in Diamond; one with bank liabilities serving as payment instruments similar to currency in Lagos- Wright; and one with Rubinstein-Wolinsky intermediaries in a decentralized asset market as in Duffie et al. In each case we find, for different reasons, ?financial intermediation engenders instability in a precise sense.


Moral distress is a phenomenon that can result in feelings of disappointment, guilt, depression, insecurity, fear, discouragement, and depression in nurses, and can affect their personality and professional performance. Burnout in nurses could cause various complications in their families, personal and social lives, and organizations. The aim of the present study was to determinate the correlation between moral distress and burnout in nurses. This was a correlative descriptive study conducted on 224 nurses selected by stratified randomized sampling. Data were collected through a demographic characteristics questionnaire Corley's Moral Distress Scale and the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory. Data analysis was performed by SPSS 20 software and Spearman correlation tests. In this study, mean of moral distress score, mean of personal burnout score, score of work-related burnout, and mean of client-related burnout were 1.31, 55.97, 54.35 and 51.28 respectively. The findings showed a positive significant correlation (P<0.001) between moral distress and all of its dimensions, and personal burnout, work-related burnout, and client-related burnout, although the correlation was low. According to these findings, it is recommended to reduce the conditions and situations causing moral distress and burnout in order to promote job satisfaction and quality of nursing care.


Outbreaks of human infection linked to the powdered infant formula (PIF) food chain and associated with the bacterium Cronobacter, are of concern to public health. These bacteria are regarded as opportunistic pathogens linked to life-threatening infections predominantly in neonates, with an under developed immune system. Monitoring the microbiological ecology of PIF production sites is an important step in attempting to limit the risk of contamination in the finished food product. Cronobacter species, like other microorganisms can adapt to the production environment. These organisms are known for their desiccation tolerance, a phenotype that can aid their survival in the production site and PIF itself. In evaluating the genome data currently available for Cronobacter species, no sequence information has been published describing a Cronobacter sakazakii isolate found to persist in a PIF production facility. Here we report on the complete genome sequence of one such isolate, Cronobacter sakazakii SP291 along with its phenotypic characteristics. The genome of C. sakazakii SP291 consists of a 4.3-Mb chromosome (56.9% GC) and three plasmids, denoted as pSP291-1, [118.1-kb (57.2% GC)], pSP291-2, [52.1-kb (49.2% GC)], and pSP291-3, [4.4-kb (54.0% GC)]. When C. sakazakii SP291 was compared to the reference C. sakazakii ATCC BAA-894, which is also of PIF origin, the annotated genome data identified two interesting functional categories, comprising of genes related to the bacterial stress response and resistance to antimicrobial and toxic compounds. Using a phenotypic microarray (PM), we provided a full metabolic profile comparing C. sakazakii SP291 and the previously sequenced C. sakazakii ATCC BAA-894. These data extend our understanding of the genome of this important neonatal pathogen and provides further insights into the genotypes associated with features that can contribute to its persistence in the PIF environment.


New technical methods and instruments have made possible large scale screening for diabetes. A palatable, refreshing, carbonated drink, containing the equivalent of 75 gm. of glucose, was developed which makes possible uniform carbohydrate administration without nausea. Portable, automatic, analytical instruments, capable of rapid and accurate determination of glucose by a ferricyanide reduction method, were designed and built. Only .075 ml. of blood, readily obtainable from a finger prick, was required. The result was available in seven minutes, each machine being capable of forty analyses per hour. The equipment was incorporated into mobile units for testing in a community, or setting up in industrial plants. Confirmatory carbohydrate tolerance tests were done whenever possible on all individuals having capillary blood glucose levels above 140 mg. per 100 ml., two hours after the carbohydrate drink. In a completed Pilot Study, 8,790 individuals were screened, with 709 initially positive; 560 individuals returned for carbohydrate tolerance tests, and of these 407 had abnormal curves, for atotal over-all incidence of 4.5 per cent. An advantage of this method is that every individual screened has had, in effect, two carbohydrate tolerance tests before being referred to his physician.


Volumes 389–391 of Ferroelectrics and Volume 106 of Integrated Ferroelectrics are dedicated to Prof. Mario Bertolotti, co-chair of the 9th European Conference on Applications of Polar Dielectrics (ECAPD-9). Mario Bertolotti is one of the founders of the school of quantum electronics and nonlinear optics in Italy and served as full professor of Physics in the Engineering Faculty of the SAPIENZA University of Roma from 1970 to 2008. During his career he contributed with fundamental studies to the fields of laser physics, quantum electronics, optics, radiation damage in semiconductors, and quantum optics. In more than five hundred papers published in scientific journals during his activity he focused his attention on the study of coherence and statistical properties of laser beams, optical properties of liquid crystals, study of stability of laser cavities with a matrix method, optical bistability, laser annealing of semiconductors, properties of laser beams propagation through the turbulent atmosphere, statistical properties of scattered light, methods of measurements of nonlinear properties of materials and applications, coherence of nonstationary sources,


The influence of Al-10.5%Sr master alloy, which is much cheaper than Mg-Sr master alloys, on the as-cast microstructure of the AZ31 alloy was investigated. The research results revealed that the Al-10.5%Sr master alloy produced obvious modification of the as-cast microstructure of the AZ31 alloy, and the modification efficiency increased with the holding time from 0min to 60min and the amount of Sr from 0.01% to 0.1%. Moreover, the results also showed that the Al-10.5%Sr master alloys of different states had different modification efficiency on the as-cast microstructure of the AZ31 alloy. The Al-10.5%Sr master alloys in extrusion deformation state and rapid solidification state had better modification efficiency than the Al-10.5%Sr master alloys received and in heat treatment state, which could be related to the microstructure of the Al-10.5%Sr master alloys with different states.


Drought monitoring and early warning are essential elements impacting drought sensitive sectors such as primary production, industrial and consumptive water users. A quantitative estimate of the probability of occurrence and the anticipated severity of drought is crucial for the development of mitigating strategies. The overall aim of this study is to develop a methodology to assess drought frequency and severity and to advance the understanding of monitoring and predicting droughts in the future. Seventy (70) meteorological stations across Victoria, Australia were selected for analysis. To achieve the above objective, the analysis was initially carried out to select the most applicable meteorological drought index for Victoria. This is important because to date, no drought indices are applied across Australia by any Commonwealth agency quantifying drought impacts. An evaluation of existing meteorological drought indices namely, the Standardised Precipitation Index (SPI), the Reconnaissance Drought Index (RDI) and Deciles was first conducted to assess their suitability for the determination of drought conditions. The use of the Standardised Precipitation Index (SPI) was shown to be satisfactory for assessing and monitoring meteorological droughts in Australia. When applied to data, SPI was also successful in detecting the onset and the end of historical droughts.
Temporal changes in historic rainfall variability and the trend of SPI were investigated using non-parametric trend techniques to detect wet and dry periods across Victoria, Australia. The first part of the analysis was carried out to determine annual rainfall trends using Mann Kendall (MK) and Sen's slope tests at five selected meteorological stations with long historical records (more than 100 years), as well as a short sub-set period (1949-2011) of the same data set. It was found that different trend results were obtained for the sub-set. For SPI trend analysis, it was observed that, although different results were obtained showing significant trends, SPI gave a trend direction similar to annual precipitation (downward and upward trends). In addition, temporal trends in the rate of occurrence of drought events (i.e. inter-arrival times) were examined. The fact that most of the stations showed negative slopes indicated that the intervals between events were becoming shorter and the frequency of events was temporally increasing. Based on the results obtained from the preliminary analysis, the trend analyses were then carried out for the remaining 65 stations. The main conclusions from these analyses are summarized as follows; 1) the trend analysis was observed to be highly dependent on the start and end dates of analysis. It is recommended that in the selection of time period for the drought, trend analysis should consider the length of available data sets. Longer data series would give more meaningful results, thus improving the understanding of droughts impacted by climate change. 2) From the SPI and inter-arrival drought trends, it was observed that some of the study areas in Victoria will face more frequent dry period leading to increased drought occurrence. Information similar to this would be very important to develop suitable strategies to mitigate the impacts of future droughts.
The main objective of this study was the development of a methodology to assess drought risk for each region based on a frequency analysis of the drought severity series using the SPI index calculated over a 12-month duration. A novel concept centric on drought severity-duration-frequency (SDF) curves was successfully derived for all the 70 stations using an innovative threshold approach. The methodology derived using extreme value analysis will assist in the characterization of droughts and provide useful information to policy makers and agencies developing drought response plans. Using regionalisation techniques such as Cluster analysis and modified Andrews curve, the study area was separated into homogenous groups based on rainfall characteristics. In the current Victorian application the study area was separated into six homogeneous clusters with unique signatures. A set of mean SDF curves was developed for each cluster to identify the frequency and severity of the risk of drought events for various return periods in each cluster. The advantage of developing a mean SDF curve (as a signature) for each cluster is that it assists the understanding of drought conditions for an ungauged or unknown station, the characteristics of which fit existing cluster groups. Non-homogeneous Markov Chain modelling was used to estimate the probability of different drought severity classes and drought severity class predictions 1, 2 and 3 months ahead. The non-homogeneous formulation, which considers the seasonality of precipitation, is useful for understanding the evolution of drought events and for short-term planning. Overall, this model predicted drought situations 1 month ahead well. However, predictions 2 and 3 months ahead should be used with caution.
Many parts of Australia including Victoria have experienced their worst droughts on record over the last decade. With the threat of climate change potentially further exacerbating droughts in the years ahead, a clear understanding of the impact of droughts is vital. The information on the probability of occurrence and the anticipated severity of drought will be helpful for water resources managers, infrastructure planners and government policy-makers with future infrastructure planning and with the design and building of more resilient communities.


Network-on-Chip (NoC) provides a scalable approach to integrate more and more cores on chip, while limited capacity and bandwidth of DRAMs becomes the performance bottleneck. To break the memory wall, 3D integration of DRAMs and processors using Through Silicon Vias (TSVs) has emerged. Distributed memory controllers (MCs) are allocated on chip in order to utilize the abundant bandwidth of stacked DRAMs, but unavoidably incur significant hardware overhead. In this paper, we analyze the design of memory controllers in NoC-based many-core systems with stack-DRAMs. By analyzing the interaction between NoCs and MCs, the optimal number and placement of MCs are explored. Specifically, a Genetic algorithm (GA) based approach is proposed to find the optimal memory controller placement with different number of DRAM partitions. We evaluate memory controller configurations for various memory-intensive applications in terms of network latency and energy, as well as thermal distribution.


How do you build the best board for your organization? What attributes and skills are required by law and what mix of experiences and talents will give you the best corporate governance? What are the commonly required director attributes that are a must for each board and how do you customize and fine-tune your search to achieve a high performance board? Optimal board composition, that is, the best mix of director skills and experience will depend on many company-specific variables. Some of the most important of these variables include: (1) company lifecycle stage, (2) extent to which international markets are mission critical to your future (detailed understanding of target culture, markets and business risk); (3) unique technology dependence; and (4) need for access to financial and capital markets. My goal in writing this paper is to provide: answers to these basic questions, a roadmap for the entrepreneur faced with recruiting a board for the first time, a matrix methodology that every nominating committee and board can employ to systematically define their needs and explore their options, and provoke radical thinking about how any company-specific system of corporate governance may be improved by questioning existing fundamental assumptions. This discussion of board composition is not set out in a vacuum; rather, it is based on a clear prejudice by the author that all current business operations should be a part of and based upon articulated enterprise strategy that is headed somewhere with purpose, and clearly communicated to all involved.


From 1924 to 1934, Victor and Constance Daniel practiced emancipatory education at the Cardinal Gibbons Institute, a Catholic high school for African Americans in Ridge, Maryland. The purpose of emancipatory education was to liberate Black and White Americans, both mentally and morally, from the vestiges of slavery that created and perpetuated racism in the United States. Emancipatory education placed the study and appreciation of African American history and culture at its center. The Daniels rooted their development of emancipatory education in their experience as Catholic educators, the racial uplift movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and African American scholarship.


The story of the ten previous Conferences is brilliantly told by Dr Alan M. G. Stephenson in Anglicanism and the Lambeth Conferences (SPCK, fl2-50, pp. xvi+341), which the present Archbishop of Canterbury commends to all bishops attending the 1978 gathering. It tells how what was first held in 1867 in response to a request from the Canadian Church a Conference attended by only 76 bishops and viewed so unfavourably that Dean Stanley refused to allow its closing service to be held


Monospecific and bispecific genera are of particular interest in studies of taxonomic diversity and speciation evolution. Here, the distribution patterns of mono- and bispecific amphibians worldwide are investigated, with some discussion of on the conservation implications also presented. Based on an online database search (available from the American Museum of Natural History, New York), we found that the mean number of mono- and bispecific genera was similar among zoogeographic regions, with a
total of 120 mono- (95 Anura, 17 Caudata, 8 Gymnophiona) and 65 bispecific (48 Anura, 10 Caudata, 7 Gymnophiona) genera. Out of 73 known amphibian families worldwide, only 35.6 % of them do not contain any mono- or bispecific genera. The frequency of mono- or bispecific genera by
family was not significantly different among Anura, Caudata and Gymnophiona. There was a general tendency for the number of mono- and bispecific genera of amphibians to be positively correlated with the total number of genera in that family. In Anura, there was a preponderance of
mono-specific genera in Afrotropical and Neotropical regions. Concerning bispecific genera, there was a clear preponderance in the Neotropical region for anurans. There was a positive correlation between the number of
threatened genera (according to the IUCN Red List) in both the mono- and bispecific groups and the relative number of species in each taxon, thus showing that taxonomical speciosity clearly influences the frequency of occurrence of mono- and bispecific taxa in each family and order. In this
regard, Anura dominated in both the number of worldwide described mono- and bispecific taxa as well as in that of the threatened ones according to IUCN Red List .


In this article we report hydrogen sensing property of WO3/MWNTs thin films that were fabricated by spin-coating on alumina substrates. The MWNTs were initially functionalized (f-MWNTs) to enhance dispersion in the sol of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) and tungsten trioxide (WO3). Microstructure, morphology and chemical composition of the materials were characterized by SEM, TEM, XRD and XPS methods. Our results show WO3 nanoparticles were nucleated on oxygenated group on surface of f-MWNTs in hybrid suspension. After annealing the films at 350 °C, electrical conductance measurements at different operating temperature were performed and the results indicates rather fast and linear sensitivity as a function of hydrogen concentrations (0.0024% to 1.14%). The gas sensitivity are suggested to arise mainly from the increase in surface area as well as development of two types of depletion layers, one at the n-WO3/ p-MWNTs hetero junction and the other at WO3 grain boundaries.


Plants are predicted to show floral adaptation to geographic variation in the most effective pollinator, potentially leading to reproductive isolation and genetic divergence. Many sexually deceptive orchids attract just a single pollinator species, limiting opportunities to experimentally investigate pollinator switching. Here, we investigate Drakaea concolor, which attracts two pollinator species. Using pollinator choice tests, we detected two morphologically similar ecotypes within D. concolor. The common ecotype only attracted Zaspilothynnus gilesi, whereas the rare ecotype also attracted an undescribed species of Pogonothynnus. The rare ecotype occurred at populations nested within the distribution of the common ecotype, with no evidence of ecotypes occurring sympatrically. Surveying for pollinators at over 100 sites revealed that ecotype identity was not correlated with wasp availability, with most orchid populations only attracting the rare Z. gilesi. Using microsatellite markers, genetic differentiation among populations was very low (GST = 0.011) regardless of ecotype, suggestive of frequent gene flow. Taken together, these results may indicate that the ability to attract Pogonothynnus has evolved recently, but this ecotype is yet to spread. The nested distribution of ecotypes, rather than the more typical formation of ecotypes in allopatry, illustrates that in sexually deceptive orchids, pollinator switching could occur throughout a species' range, resulting from multiple potentially suitable but unexploited pollinators occurring in sympatry. This unusual case of sympatric pollinators highlights D. concolor as a promising study system for further understanding the process of pollinator switching from ecological, chemical and genetic perspectives.


Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase plays a key role in photosynthetic carbon fixation in higher plants. The small subunit of this chloroplast enzyme (rbcS), encoded by a family of nuclear genes, is regulated at the transcriptional level by light. Promoter analyses have previously identified the box II sequence as a cis element critical for the light-regulated expression of rbcS genes. Nuclear factor GT-1 binds specifically to this element and is one of the plant nuclear factors that has been detected and studied in great detail. Here we describe the cloning and characterization of a tobacco cDNA encoding a protein, designated B2F (Box II Factor), with similar binding specificity and mobility in gel retardation assays as nuclear GT-1. Steady state levels of mRNA encoding B2F do not appear to be regulated by light; this is consistent with the previous observation that nuclear GT-1 activity is present in extracts from both light-grown and dark-adapted plants. Sequence comparison with another plant trans-acting factor, GT-2, which binds to a GT-like element in the rice phytochrome promoter, shows striking homology in three putative alpha-helices that may be involved in DNA binding.


The functional effects of bone and suture stiffness were considered here using finite element models representing three different theoretical phenotypes of an Alligator mississippiensis mandible. The models were loaded using force estimates derived from muscle architecture in dissected specimens, constrained at the 18th and 19th teeth in the upper jaw and 19th tooth of the lower jaw, as well as at the quadrate‐articular joint. Stiffness was varied systematically in each theoretical phenotype. The three theoretical phenotypes included: (i) linear elastic isotropic bone of varying stiffness and no sutures; (ii) linear elastic orthotropic bone of varying stiffness with no sutures; and (iii) linear elastic isotropic bone of a constant stiffness with varying suture stiffness. Variation in the isotropic material properties of bone primarily resulted in changes in the magnitude of principal strain. By comparison, variation in the orthotropic material properties of bone and isotropic material properties of sutures resulted in: a greater number of bricks becoming either more compressive or more tensile, changing between being either dominantly compressive or tensile, and having larger changes in the orientation of maximum principal strain. These data indicate that variation in these model properties resulted in changes to the strain regime of the model, highlighting the importance of using biologically verified material properties when modeling vertebrate bones. When bones were compared within each set, the response of each to changing material properties varied. In two of the 12 bones in the mandible, varied material properties within sutures resulted in a decrease in the magnitude of principal strain in bricks adjacent to the bone/suture interface and decreases in stored elastic energy. The varied response of the mandibular bones to changes in suture stiffness highlights the importance of defining the appropriate functional unit when addressing relationships of performance and morphology.


The study reviews the performance of 43 of 44 Philippine IPOs undertaken in the period 1989-1993, and explores various issues surrounding the observed rates of return.   IPOs of common stock are found to have significant excess returns on listing day.  The mean raw return of 32 actively traded IPOs is 42.1 percent resulting in an excess returns on listing day.  The mean raw return of 32 actively traded IPOs is 42.1 percent resulting in an excess return of 40.0 percent.  The high returns may be the result of a speculative bubble or fad on listing day, but the hypothesis that the aftermarket is efficient cannot be rejected.  Rate of return patterns in the aftermarket up to the first year of trading suggest an efficient market.  The study discounts the possibility that the high return is solely a premium for greater systematic risk.  A large number of IPOs was thinly traded in their first year, suggesting that the excess return might consist of a liquidity premium.  Small IPOs are potentially less liquid but there is no correlation observed between excess returns and the size of the offering or market capitalization.  Taxes, transactions and search costs in the local exchange are not likely to command high premiums.  The results point to the possibility that IPOs are generally underpriced during the offering period.  This raises questions about the responsibilities of underwriters and corporate managers of the issuing companies to their shareholders.


This paper is an introduction to the eleven works of the special issue on Quantum and Classical Frontiers of Noise. The weather, and its butterfly effect, is the typical example that explain why many natural phenomena are, in fact, not predictable with certainty. Noise in classical or quantum phenomena, understood as the difference between the empirical output of an experiment and its statistical prediction, is a measure of such uncertainty. One of the great contributions of noise appeared in 1905 when Einstein showed how the noisy (Brownian) motion of a dust particle seen in a microscope provided uncontroversial evidences on the existence of the (unseen) atoms. The aim of this special issue is to provoke discussions on how noise can help us to better understand (the reality behind) classical and quantum theories, and the frontier between them.


The purpose of the present study was to examine the effectiveness of a six-week intervention that aimed to promote teachers' physical activity level during working hours. Thirty-eight teachers from three intervention schools (schools randomly assigned as intervention group) received intervention prompts: SMS messages, leaflets and posters promoting walking, and a pedometer. Fourteen teachers were from a control school (school randomly assigned as control group). All participants reported pedometer readings and rated their Stage of Change scores before and after intervention. Differences in step counts per minute between groups were examined using ANCOVA adjusted by time duration for step counts. The intervention group had a higher increase in steps-at-work (t=3.61, P<0.001) than the control group and type of commuter affected the increase in steps-at-work for the intervention group (F 2,34=4.95, P<0.01, ηp 2 =.23). The study concluded that an intervention utilizing environmental stimuli as the strategy can be successfully applied in the school setting for the promotion of school teachers' physical activity.


Vibration analysis of complex structures at medium frequencies plays an important role in automotive engineering. Flexible beam structures modeled by the classical Euler-Bernoulli beam theory have been widely used in many engineering problems. A kinematic hypothesis in the Euler-Bernoulli beam theory is that plane sections of a beam normal to its neutral axis remain normal when the beam experiences bending deformation, which neglects the shear deformation of the beam. However, as observed by researchers, the shear deformation of a beam component becomes noticeable in high-frequency vibrations. In this sense, the Timoshenko beam theory, which describes both bending deformation and shear deformation, may be more suitable for medium-frequency vibration analysis of beam structures.
 This paper presents an analytical method for medium-frequency vibration analysis of beam structures, with components modeled by the Timoshenko beam theory. The proposed method is developed based on the augmented Distributed Transfer Function Method (DTFM), which has been shown to be useful in various vibration problems. The proposed method models a Timoshenko beam structure by a spatial state-space formulation in the s-domain, without any discretization. With the state-space formulation, the frequency response of a beam structure, in any frequency region (from low to very high frequencies), can be obtained in an exact and analytical form. One advantage of the proposed method is that the local information of a beam structure, such as displacements, bending moment and shear force at any location, can be directly obtained from the space-state formulation, which otherwise would be very difficult with energy-based methods. The medium-frequency analysis by the augmented DTFM is validated with the FEA in numerical examples, where the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed method is present. Also, the effects of shear deformation on the dynamic behaviors of a beam structure at medium frequencies are illustrated through comparison of the Timoshenko beam theory and the Euler-Bernoulli beam theory.


The generation and maintenance of subcellular organization in bacteria is critical for many cell processes and properties, including growth, structural integrity and, in pathogens, virulence. Here, we investigate the mechanisms by which the virulence protein IcsA (VirG) is distributed on the bacterial surface to promote efficient transmission of the bacterium Shigella flexneri from one host cell to another. The outer membrane protein IcsA recruits host factors that result in actin filament nucleation and, when concentrated at one bacterial pole, promote unidirectional actin‐based motility of the pathogen. We show here that the focused polar gradient of IcsA is generated by its delivery exclusively to one pole followed by lateral diffusion through the outer membrane. The resulting gradient can be modified by altering the composition of the outer membrane either genetically or pharmacologically. The gradient can be reshaped further by the action of the protease IcsP (SopA), whose activity we show to be near uniform on the bacterial surface. Further, we report polar delivery of IcsA in Escherichia coli and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, suggesting that the mechanism for polar delivery of some outer membrane proteins is conserved across species and that the virulence function of IcsA capitalizes on a more global mechanism for subcellular organization.


In a previous study1, cancer patients completed QoL questionnaires and the results were fed back
to oncologists before the consultation in order to promote a discussion of patient well-being. This
resulted in improved doctor-patient communication and patient QoL scores, but the underlying
mechanisms linking the use of patient-reported QoL data in clinical practice to patient outcomes
were unclear. It was acknowledged that further understanding of the mediating effects of this
intervention was needed, along with the impact of these data on communication and medical
decision-making. A training program will be developed, informed by a detailed analysis of the use
of patient-reported QoL data in clinical practice


Most organisms display remarkable differences in morphological, anatomical, and developmental features between the two sexes. It has been recognized that these sex-dependent differences are controlled by an array of specific genetic factors, mediated through various environmental stimuli. In this paper, we present a unifying statistical model for mapping quantitative trait loci (QTL) that are responsible for sexual differences in growth trajectories during ontogenetic development. This model is derived within the maximum likelihood context, incorporated by sex-stimulated differentiation in growth form that is described by mathematical functions. A typical structural model is implemented to approximate time-dependent covariance matrices for longitudinal traits. This model allows for a number of biologically meaningful hypothesis tests regarding the effects of QTL on overall growth trajectories or particular stages of development. It is particularly powerful to test whether and how the genetic effects of QTL are expressed differently in different sexual backgrounds. Our model has been employed to map QTL affecting body mass growth trajectories in both male and female mice of an F2 population derived from the large (LG/J) and small (SM/J) mouse strains. We detected four growth QTL on chromosomes 6, 7, 11, and 15, two of which trigger different effects on growth curves between the two sexes. All the four QTL display significant genotype-sex interaction effects on the timing of maximal growth rate in the ontogenetic growth of mice. The implications of our model for studying the genetic architecture of growth trajectories and its extensions to some more general situations are discussed.


We suggest that an appropriate role of early visual processing is to describe a scene in terms of intrinsic (vertical) characteristics -- such as range, orientation, reflectance, and incident illumination -- of the surface element visible at each point in the image. Support for this idea comes from three sources: the obvious utility of intrinsic characteristics for higher-level scene analysis; the apparent ability of humans to determine these characteristics, regardless of viewing conditions or familiarity with the scene; and a theoretical argument that such a description is obtainable, by a noncognitive and nonpurposive process, at least, for simple scene domains. The central problem in recovering intrinsic scene characteristics is that the information is confounded in the original light-intensity image: a single intensity value encodes all the characteristics of the corresponding scene point. Recovery depends on exploiting constraints, derived from assumptions about the nature of the scene and the physics of the imaging process.


Calibration results of the advanced visible and near infrared radiometer (AVNIR) on board ADEOS are presented. First, the AVNIR responses to the internal and external calibration sources are evaluated, and their short- and long-term stabilities are summarized. Second, absolute radiometric calibration of AVNIR is conducted by using the NASA JPL's calibrated airborne optical sensor, and the results from several different calibration methods (preflight calibration, and in-flight calibrations using the on-board data, the AVIRIS, and the vicarious method) are compared. Third, the geometric accuracy and the image quality are summarized.


Introduction: Hydroxyurea (HU) reduces vaso-occlusive complications, hospitalizations and transfusion requirements in children with sickle cell anemia (SCA; HbSS and HbSβ 0 thalassemia). Despite linear pharmacokinetics (PK) and apparent dose dependency for HU effect, there remains unexplained large inter-individual variability in drug response. To better understand this variability, we conducted a PK study of HU to assess: 1) effect of multiple dosing on PK of HU, and 2) explore the utility of using a single post-dose HU plasma concentration as a basis for therapeutic drug monitoring. Methods: Data from two prospective trials, "Pharmacokinetics of Liquid Hydroxyurea in Pediatric Patients with Sickle Cell Anemia" (NCT01506544) and "Single-Dose (SD) and Steady-State (SS) Pharmacokinetics of Hydroxyurea in Children and Adolescents with Sickle Cell Disease", were utilized for this analysis. Participants were children (≤18 years) with HgbSS and HbSβ 0 thalassemia from 8 medical centers in the U.S. One cohort of patients had never been treated with HU and the second cohort had been treated with HU for at least ≥3 months at a stable dose. All participants received a single oral dose of HU and plasma PK samples were collected pre-dose, then at 15, 30, 45, and 60 minutes, and 1.5, 2, 4, 6, and 8 hours after study drug was administered under direct supervision. HU was quantitated from plasma and urine using a validated HPLC method. PK parameters for HU were determined from each patient using a standard model-independent approach (apparent Cmax observed from plasma concentration vs time data; AUC determined via a log-linear approach). PK parameters were compared using parametric (two-sample t-test) or nonparametric (Wilcoxon Rank Sum test) as appropriate based on normality of distribution. The coefficient of determination was used to determine the most predictive relationship between post-peak HU plasma concentrations and systemic exposure (AUC). The significance limit accepted for all statistical analyses was a = 0.05. Results: A complete plasma HU PK profile was obtained for 59 children. Participants with PK after the first dose (n=7, HU first ) group received an average dose of 17.9 ±2.6 mg/Kg of HU whereas those with PK after multiple doses (n=52, HU chronic group) received an average dose of 23.8 ±5.1 mg/Kg (p max ) of 0.9 ±0.58 hours in the HU first group and 0.8 ±0.47 hours in the HU chronic group (p=0.68). The mean dose/weight- normalized Cmax in the HU first group (2.0 mg/L per 1 mg/kg dose) was 1.4 fold higher than in the HU chronic (1.4 mg/L per 1 mg/kg) (p=0.03). A similar relationship was observed in mean dose/weight-normalized AUCinf, where the HU first group was 1.3 fold higher than in the HU chronic group (5.9 vs 4.6 mg/L*hr per 1 mg/kg; p=0.002). Weight-normalized mean apparent oral clearance (Cl/F) was significantly lower in the HU first cohort (0.17 L/hr/kg) as compared to the HU chronic (0.23 L/hr/kg) (p first cohort (0.52 L/kg) was not significantly different than that in the HU chronic cohort (0.61 L/kg) (Table 1). As suggested by data in Figure 1a, the apparent mean elimination half-life did not vary between the groups (e.g., 2.1 hr in HU first vs. 2.3 hr in HU chronic ). Finally, between 45 minutes post-dose and through the last blood sampling point, the 4 hour post-dose concentration most accurately predicted the AUC of HU (r 2 = 0.78) (Figure 1b). Conclusion: Weight and dose-normalized PK parameters for HU suggest potential differences in the bioavailability of the drug with multiple dosing. This finding may contribute to the known wide variability in HU response. Finally, a single 4 hour post-dose HU plasma concentration adequately predicts systemic exposure (AUC) to HU and thus, could provide an approach to facilitate dose individualization / optimization. Disclosures Liem: National Institute of Health: Research Funding; Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children9s Hospital of Chicago: Research Funding; Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children9s Hospital of Chicago: Employment. Estepp: Daiichi Sankyo: Membership on an entity9s Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Global Blood Therapeutics: Membership on an entity9s Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Pfizer: Research Funding; National Institute of Health: Research Funding.


Politeness is an important aspect of human interaction. In daily communication, misunderstandings often occur due to inappropriate use of language. This aspect must be taught in teaching and learning so that students are trained to apply it in daily communication. In fact, the teaching and learning process is often more focused on mastering vocabulary and grammar to support language skills rather than politeness. This study aims to obtain a picture of the level of politeness of students communicating in the context of German language and culture. How do they use the strategy to keep the face of their speech partner? When commenting, for example, do they deliver using direct speech acts or are they more likely to choose indirect forms. The results of the study illustrate that the knowledge of students' politeness in speaking needs to be improved. Although they have learned German, including its communication culture, students still use Indonesian patterns in communication. In asking their friends to do an action or by giving some comment, for example they are more likely to use indirect forms, lthough according to the context of communication actually considered polite if delivered with a direct pattern. That happened because they lacked in training how to use language in the context of German culture. For this reason, it is necessary to adjust the curriculum of the German department to accommodate politeness training process in speaking skills. Linguistics skills that are taught for certain communication contests such as asking for help, borrowing something, inviting, answering questions, making comments, rejecting, conveying information, giving opinions etc.must be complemented with an exercise in how that context authentically used in German culture.


The present experiment was carried out to investigate the effects of exogenous adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) and growth hormone (GH) on cellular H(+) efflux rate (extracellular acidification rate) and Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)](c)) in cloned bovine mammary epithelial cells (bMEC) raised from the mammary gland of a 26-day-pregnant Holstein heifer. Perifusion of 2-day cultured cells with a medium containing ATP (10, 100 and 1000 micromol/l) for 30 min caused a significant and concentration-dependent increase in the cellular H(+) efflux rate. ATP application (100 micromol/l) caused a transient and large increase in [Ca(2+)](c) in all cells. In contrast, perifusion with a medium containing bovine GH at 10, 50 and 250 ng/ml for 30 min caused a significant decrease in the cellular H(+) efflux rate in a concentration-dependent manner. However, bovine GH application (50 ng/ml) caused a small decrease followed by an increase, in some cases, in [Ca(2+)](c). In bMEC treated with lactogenic hormones (1 microgram/l prolactin, 1 nmol/ml dexamethasone and 5 microgram/ml insulin) for 2 days, the increased H(+) efflux rate induced by ATP was significantly reduced, whereas the negative response induced by GH was inversely and significantly changed to the positive. Treatment of the cells with lactogenic hormones reduced the increase in [Ca(2+)](c) induced by ATP stimulation, while it enhanced the increase in [Ca(2+)](c) induced by GH stimulation. Application of ATP or GH did not cause any significant changes in [pH](c). Treatment with lactogenic hormones enhanced GH receptor (GHR) transcription that was determined by RT-PCR. From these results, we conclude that exogenous application of ATP and GH causes prompt and significant responses in H(+) transport and [Ca(2+)](c) that were significantly changed in the opposite direction by the treatment with lactogenic hormones. The lactogenic hormone treatment also enhanced GHR transcription, which may change post-receptor signal transduction systems for both agents in the bMEC.


Abstract Purpose To provide physicians and patients with the tools needed to evaluate patients' problems and health-related quality of life by cross-culturally adapting and validating the Chronic Otitis Media Questionnaire 12 (COMQ-12), the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI), the Neuropsychological Vertigo Inventory (NVI) and the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI). Materials and methods COMQ-12, DHI, NVI and THI were translated into the Slovenian language and completed by patients treated at our department for chronic otitis media, vertigo or tinnitus. The control group for each questionnaire consisted of healthy volunteers. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, discriminant validity, diagnostic accuracy and cut-off value were determined for each questionnaire. Results Test-retest reliability was excellent for DHI (ICC A=0.946) and NVI (p=0.315, ICC A=0.975), good to excellent for COMQ-12 (p=0.680, ICC A=0.858) and satisfactory for THI (p=0.120). Discriminant validity was confirmed for each questionnaire (p>0.05) using the Mann-Whitney U test (COMQ-12, DHI, THI) or the Welch t-test (NVI). COMQ-12 had acceptable (α=0.796) and DHI (α=0.910), NVI (α=0.950) and THI (α=0.924) perfect internal consistency. COMQ-12 and DHI had excellent, NVI acceptable and THI perfect diagnostic accuracy (AUC=0.987, AUC=0.999, AUC=0.781 and AUC=1.000 respectively). Cut-off values determined by Youden's index were 7, 7, 9 and 56 for COMQ-12, THI, DHI and NVI, respectively. Conclusion Slovenian COMQ-12, DHI, NVI and THI are a valid and accurate tool for the diagnosis and measurement of health-related quality of life in patients with chronic otitis media, vertigo and tinnitus. They could aid general practitioners, occupational health specialists, neurologists and otorhinolaryngologists.


In the Exchanges, we present conversations with scholars and practitioners of community engagement, responses to previously published material, and other reflections on various aspects of community-engaged scholarship meant to provoke further dialogue and discussion. In this section, we invite our readers to offer their thoughts and ideas on the meanings and understandings of engaged scholarship, as practiced in local or faraway communities, diverse cultural settings, and in various disciplinary contexts. We especially welcome community-based scholars' views and opinions on their collaborations with university-based partners in particular and engaged scholarship in general.
In this issue, we profile the perspectives of young scholars. Here we feature a conversation between Penelope Sanz, who recently obtained her Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Saskatchewan and who serves as the Journal's pioneering managing assistant, and Jayne Malenfant, a 2018 Pierre Elliott Trudeau Scholar, Vanier Scholar, and Ph.D. Candidate at McGill University in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education. A young engaged scholar working with the homeless in Montreal, Jayne talks about her on-going study on how homelessness impacts young people's education. She looks at the challenges of accessing educational institutional support, an issue, she says, close to her heart as she was once a homeless youth herself. She reflects on the need for academia to open more spaces for young researchers undertaking engaged scholarship to involve the homeless youths themselves in the search for solutions.


In an optical trap, micron-sized dielectric particles are held by a tightly focused laser beam. The optical force on the particle is composed of an attractive gradient force and a destabilizing scattering force. We hypothesized that using anti-reflection-coated microspheres would reduce scattering and lead to stronger trapping. We found that homogeneous silica and polystyrene microspheres had a sharp maximum trap stiffness at a diameter of around 800 nm—the trapping laser wavelength in water—and that a silica coating on a polystyrene microsphere was a substantial improvement for larger diameters. In addition, we noticed that homogeneous spheres of a correct size demonstrated anti-reflective properties. Our results quantitatively agreed with Mie scattering calculations and serve as a proof of principle. We used a DNA stretching experiment to confirm the large linear range in detection and force of the coated microspheres and performed a high-force motor protein assay. These measurements show that the surfaces of the coated microspheres are compatible with biophysical assays.


The paper is dedicated to the 65th anniversary of theinvention of the revolutionary electronic component that actuallychanged our way of life—the transistor. It recounts the keyhistorical moments leading up to the invention of the firstsemiconductor active component in 1947. The meaning of theblend "transistor" is explained using the memorandum issued byBell Telephone Laboratories. Certain problems appeared in theengineering phase of the transistor development and the newcomponents obtained as a result of this research are reviewed.The impact of this invention on the development of powerelectronics is being emphasized. Finally, the possibility that themost important invention of the 20th century has been conceivednot once but twice is discussed.


REPORT OF A CASE A 6-year-old boy had a 2-year history of erythematous papules with some crusting in the perioral region and around the nasal alae (Fig 1). They were not tender or pruritic. There was no evidence of a rash elsewhere on his body. The patient had been treated with oral and topical corticosteroids, oral antibiotics, and topical acyclovir, all without any response. The rest of the systems inquiry and family history were noncontributory. He was receiving no medications. Results of a complete physical examination were otherwise unremarkable. Laboratory tests included a complete blood cell count; measurements of erythrocyte sedimentation rate, serum calcium, phosphate, liver function, anti-nuclear antibody, and rheumatoid factor; and chest roentgenogram. All the results of the above tests were either normal or negative. A skin biopsy specimen from the left corner of the mouth is shown in Fig 2. No polarizable foreign body material was seen.


One approach to tracking anatomical and robot joint motion consists of tracking the XYZ locations of multiple point targets that are attached to each of the moving segments and then computing the three translations and three orientation angles between adjoining segments. The complexity of such systems requires that we introduce a new conservative maximum error statistic to be used for evaluating the accuracy of 3D motion tracking systems. This paper addresses the various phenomena that contribute to measurement error when computing six degrees of freedom associated with the relative motion between the adjacent segments. The characteristics of these errors, common to many 3D motion tracking systems, were first determined by experimentation using one such system (MnSCAN). These and additional artifacts were then modeled in order to quantitatively evaluate their effects using the maximum error statistic. Based on these computer experiments, several relationships were identified that predict how each of these phenomena influences the predicted measurement of relative motion between bodies. These suggest where design emphasis should be placed in order to minimize the error in tracking the six degrees of freedom. The methodology and the conclusions based on these results can be applied to designing most six degree of freedom position and motion measurement systems.


In the period from 2003 to 2008 we conducted a research on avian chlamydiosis in Bosnia and Herzegovina on a great number of domestic and wild birds from different localities. Diagnostic material from the wild birds was provided by the hunting societies during the hunting season while material from the domestic poultry was taken indiscriminately. Chicken samples are taken from the facilities for intensive production, namely parent flocks. Turkey samples are taken from the individual households keeping and breeding turkey on extensive basis (half – open type of breeding). Pigeon samples are provided from the central parts of Sarajevo where the pigeons live in a close contact with people. Also, pigeon samples are provided from around the town's bakery and a farm for intensive poultry breeding because the pigeons are considered a potential source of infection for other birds, primarily domestic ones, and also for the people. We also took samples of the breeding pheasants from a pheasant farm in Orasje, which is oriented toward breeding and releasing pheasants into their natural habitat, but also breeding for the needs of hunting industry. Samples from the wild/hunting birds (ducks and wild pheasants) were provided in the proximity of watercourses as their residence, and where the hunting is of a greater extent. To obtain valid diagnostic results we have used multiple diagnostic methods and tests: bacteriological examination to exclude cross reactions, IIF (indirect immunofluorescence) to confirm antibodies in the blood serum, ELISA (immunoesay) and EIA (quick immunoessay) to detect antigen, and conventional PCR and rRT – PCR to detect antigen as sensitive and sophisticated diagnostics methods. Key words: avian chlamydiosis, epizootiological chart, Bosnia and Herzegovina


Backgrounds:
 We tried to investigate whether differ in various blood pressure (BP) parameters between the patients with low normal TSH and high normal TSH levels.

 Methods:
 The study groups consisted of 285 patients with treatment-naïve hypertension and euthryoid undergoing comprehensive echocardiography (TTE), brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (PWV), ankle-brachial index, central BPs, and ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM) evaluations. All patients were divided into those with low normal TSH (0.40~1.99 μIU/ml, group 1) or high-normal TSH (2.00-4.50 μIU/ml, group 2).

 Results:
 Hypertensive male patients were divided into group 1 (n=113, 68.9%) and group 2 (n=51, 31.1%) and female patients were divided into group 1 (n=71, 58.7%) and group 2 (n=50, 41.3%). Multivariate analyses revealed augmentation index (AIx, 71.0 [adjusted mean]±1.7 [standard error] vs. 78.8±2.5 %, p=0.045), central systolic BP (SBP) (143.3±2.1 vs. 153.0±3.2 mmHg, p=0.013), systemic vascular resistance (21.4±0.6 vs. 23.9±0.9 mmHg/L/min, p=0.027), and SBP in daytime (144.1±1.4 vs. 151.6±2.1 mmHg, p=0.004) and nighttime (130.4±1.6 vs. 138.5±2.5 mmHg, p=0.008), and nighttime pulse pressure (PP, 47.2±0.9 vs. 51.7±1.4 mmHg, p=0.010) were significantly higher and cardiac output (5.4±0.1 vs. 4.8±0.2 L/min, p=0.043) and PP amplification (1.02±0.02 vs. 0.94±0.03, p=0.039) were significantly lower in male group 2. After multivariate analyses, SBP (β=0.225, p=0.010) and PP (β=0.179, p=0.022) at office, PWV (β=0.192, p=0.036), AIx (β=0.285, p=0.007), central SBP (β=0.351, p=0.001), DBP (β=0.246, p=0.012), and PP (β=0.317, p=0.006), SBP in daytime (β=0.219, p=0.004) and nighttime (β=0.232, p=0.013), and PP in 24-hour (β=0.216, p=0.005) and nighttime (β=0.172, p=0.024) were linearly associated with levels of TSH in hypertensive male.

 Conclusion:
 Despite euthryoid, arterial stiffness, central SBP, and SBP in ABPM are higher and cardiac output and PP amplification are lower in high normal TSH group of treatment-naïve hypertensive male, but not female. Arterial stiffness, SBP and PP at office, central BPs, and SBP and PP in ABPM are linearly associated with TSH levels among hypertensive male.


We have previously shown that G8-1, a murine clonal skeletal-muscle cell line, produces a substrate-attached extracellular matrix [Beach, Burton, Hendricks & Festoff (1982) J. Biol. Chem. 257, 11437-11442]. To examine further the expression of extracellular-matrix proteins by muscle cells, we have analysed the collagenous proteins secreted by G8-1 myoblasts. We have found that collagens and/or procollagens, corresponding to genetic types I, III and IV (and possibly V), are produced and secreted by G8-1 myoblasts. The major secreted collagenous polypeptides were identified as alpha 1 type I and its precursors by using pulse-chase studies, pepsin and collagenase digestions and CNBr fragmentation. The presence of lesser amounts of the other collagens was determined by immunoprecipitation. These results demonstrate that clonal skeletal-muscle cells, in the absence of fibroblasts and an exogenous collagen substrate, are able to synthesize and secrete several extracellular-matrix collagenous proteins in proportions similar to those which are commonly found in muscle tissue and mixed cultures of muscle cells and fibroblasts.


Communication via the Internet and online social networking sites (SNS) has come to form an inherent part of most political campaigns today. Yet the potential of online activism to bring about political change is debated. While its advocates insist on its positive contribution to participatory democracy, critics dismiss it as a "slacktivist" activity that carries little societal benefit. Our analysis of the Brazilian anti-corruption campaign Ficha Limpa, which was primarily promoted through social media channels, picks up on this debate. After discussing the campaign's impact on the macro- and meso-level of the Brazilian political system, we proceed to analyze its impact on the micro level of individual participation using original survey data concerning citizens' online and offline behaviour in the context of this campaign. We find that the low-effort online activities typically offered by entertainment orientated SNS contribute little to increase political participation. In turn, targeted campaigning by e-advocacy groups has the potential to increase the political engagement of individuals with low levels of political interest and can help to produce the switch from online to offline participation among individuals with high levels of political interest.


An artificial neural network can be trained by uniformly broadcasting a reward signal to units that implement a REINFORCE learning rule. Though this presents a biologically plausible alternative to backpropagation in training a network, the high variance associated with it renders it impractical to train deep networks. The high variance arises from the inefficient structural credit assignment since a single reward signal is used to evaluate the collective action of all units. To facilitate structural credit assignment, we propose replacing the reward signal to hidden units with the change in the L2 norm of the unit's outgoing weight. As such, each hidden unit in the network is trying to maximize the norm of its outgoing weight instead of the global reward, and thus we call this learning method Weight Maximization. We prove that Weight Maximization is approximately following the gradient of rewards in expectation. In contrast to backpropagation, Weight Maximization can be used to train both continuous-valued and discrete-valued units. Moreover, Weight Maximization solves several major issues of backpropagation relating to biological plausibility. Our experiments show that a network trained with Weight Maximization can learn significantly faster than REINFORCE and slightly slower than backpropagation. Weight Maximization illustrates an example of cooperative behavior automatically arising from a population of self-interested agents in a competitive game without any central coordination.