Following U.S. trends, the number of practicing certified nurse-midwives in Kansas is growing. Since collaboration with physicians is vital to the successful practice of nurse-midwifery, Kansas obstetrician-gynecologists and family practice physicians were surveyed regarding certified nurse-midwifery. Seventy-two randomly-selected physicians received an 11-item questionnaire. The majority of responding physicians (n = 40) expressed an interest in certified nurse-midwifery. Most obstetricians indicated they would consider bringing a certified nurse midwife into their practices. Obstetricians were more knowledgeable about certified nurse midwifery and were more open to collaboration with nurse-midwives than were family practice physicians. Results indicate that the environment is ripe for certified nurse-midwife/physician collaboration in Kansas.


Three optical instruments for measuring the solar total spectral irradiance from 16 nm to 2900 nm were selected under an ESA funded mission for study of the solar, atmospheric and climate physics. These three instruments are referred to as SOLAR payload, which is placed as an external platform for the COLUMBUS laboratory launched on 7 February 2008 onboard the International Space Station.

The primary objective of this mission is the measurement of the solar total and spectral irradiance and their variability using these three instruments. The first instrument called Solar Variability Irradiance Monitor (SOVIM) is made up of two absolute radiometers and filter-radiometers. The second instrument called Solar Spectrum (SOLSPEC) is composed of three double grating spectrometers, covering the wavelength range from 170 nm to 2900 nm. The third instrument Solar Auto-Calibrating EUV/UV Spectrometers (SolACES) consists of four grazing incidence planar grating spectrometers plus two three-current ionization chambers with 42 narrow-band filters to determine the absolute fluxes from 16 nm to 150 nm. This chapter describes the performances of SOLSPEC and SolACES, as well as their most recent results and future plans.


UNLABELLED
The desired mix of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA)-enriched structured lipid (SL) and physically blended lipid (PB) was prepared from grape seed oil and perilla oil at a weight ratio of 3:1. The major triacylglycerol species (LnLnL) in PB was drastically increased after interesterification (SL), from 0.5% to 16.8%. After the reaction, the total unsaturated fatty acid at the sn-2 position was decreased from 98.83% in PB to 91.36% in SL. The reduction of vitamin E compounds was also observed. Compared with a PB-based emulsion, SL-based emulsions showed oxidative instability, as assessed by lipid hydroperoxide (LOOH) and 2-thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) values, which was mainly due to the SL which contained less LA, ALA, and ΣUSFA at the sn-2 position and less γ-tocopherol than did PB. PB-, and SL-based emulsions with Ginkgo biloba extract (GBE) which showed significantly lower values of LOOH and TBARS compared to a blank control. GBE was effective in retarding the oxidation of the emulsion by quenching the free radicals in the water phase of the emulsion and inhibiting the formation of primary and secondary oxidation products. These results indicate that GBE could be used as an antioxidant additive for stabilizing ALA-enriched emulsions.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION
The results suggest the possibility to supplement Ginkgo biloba extract in alpha linolenic acid-enriched structured lipid-based emulsions which would increase the therapeutic value and enhance the antioxidant potential of the emulsions.


Ero1 is an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) resident protein responsible for PDI oxidation in disulphide bond formation. Recent work has shown a link between Ero1 and Notch pathway proteins. We wished to see if the oxidative folding of Notch was directly catalysed by the Ero-PDI pathway or if Ero1 was involved in transcriptional modulation of Notch signalling. Using western blot analysis, immunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence
analysis we were able to characterise and localise relevant proteins within cells. The range of cell lines and conditions under which the Ero1 antibody 2G4 were confirmed and extended.
A novel link between Ero1 and Jagged1, a notch ligand was found. In immunoprecipitation studies Ero1α was able to retrieve Jagged 1 and the opposite was also true, with Jagged 1 pulling down Ero1α as well. This suggests a novel and important link between the Ero1 and the function of
the notch signalling pathway.


On the basis of establishment of radiolarian biostratigraphy and conodont biostratigraphy,a radiolarian Albaillella fauna in the transitional environment from Guadalupian to Lopingian Series in Permian was found at a pelagic chert section in southeast Guangxi, South China. Radiolarian Aibaillella is one of the most sensitive biology to the transitional environment. The Albaillella fauna shows an ecological evolutionary process from Guadalupian to Lopingian: declined stage-recovery stage-flourishing stage. The study of characteristics of the Albaillella fauna in the transitional environment may provide more information, not only for the subdivision and correlation of a high-resolution biostratigraphy, but also for influence of radiolarian Albaillella fauna on the pre-Lopingian mass extinction.


Inhibitor of Apoptosis (IAP) proteins block programmed cell death and are expressed at high levels in various human cancers, thus making them attractive targets for cancer drug development. Second mitochondrial activator of caspases (Smac) mimetics are small-molecule inhibitors that mimic Smac, an endogenous antagonist of IAP proteins. Preclinical studies have shown that Smac mimetics can directly trigger cancer cell death or, even more importantly, sensitize tumor cells for various cytotoxic therapies, including conventional chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or novel agents. Currently, several Smac mimetics are under evaluation in early clinical trials as monotherapy or in rational combinations (i.e., GDC-0917/CUDC-427, LCL161, AT-406/Debio1143, HGS1029, and TL32711/birinapant). This review discusses the promise as well as some challenges at the translational interface of exploiting Smac mimetics as cancer therapeutics. Clin Cancer Res; 21(22); 5030–6. ©2015 AACR. See all articles in this CCR Focus section, "Cell Death and Cancer Therapy."


Diabetes mellitus is common in older populations, as discussed in a previous article in this series (Phillips and Phillips, 2011). In part, this is due to much improved outcomes in diabetes, with better risk management strategies (Hawthorne, 2009). The aim of this article is to investigate the impact and risk of diabetes in, specifically, vulnerable older people, particularly those developing cognitive impairment leading to dementia. The ethical aspects of health-care decision making for people with dementia can be challenging (Beauchamp and Childress, 2009). Loss of memory and cognitive dysfunction can make it difficult for people to take a full role in decisions about their care, and requires intervention and support from carers (often a close relative).


A thorough and timely investigation of both well-established and emerging crime and punishment issues, this book provides readers with compelling examples of how different countries around the world confront these problems. This book offers a detailed look at 10 "hot topics" in crime and punishment that are shared by many countries. Some of these topics are well-established within the field of criminology, such as patterns of criminal behavior, juvenile delinquency, drug trafficking, policing, and punishment; others are emerging topics that have not been well studied across a variety of countries, such as violence against women, hate crimes, and gun control. Within each topic, the book explores how eight countries experience the issue, highlighting similarities across different places as well as unique treatments of the problem. The chapter on punishment addresses the widespread use of incarceration as criminal punishment but also considers different philosophies with respect to the purpose of incarceration and whether or not this strategy is effective in the face of large-scale criminal events, such as mass atrocities. The country narratives provide historical context for understanding the particular crime or punishment issue, current trends, and relevant statistical data for describing the extent of the issue and changes over time, in addition to contemporary examples of the issue.


Objective: Distributed models of the arterial tree allow studying the effect of physiological and pathophysiological changes in the vasculature on hemodynamics. For the adult, several models exist; however, a model encompassing the full age range from newborn to adult was until now lacking. Our goal is to describe a complete distributed hemodynamic model for normal development from newborn to adult. Methods: The arterial system was modeled by 121 segments characterized by length, radius, wall thickness, wall stiffness, and wall viscosity. The final segments ended in three-element Windkessels. All parameters were adapted based on body height and weight as a function of age as described in the literature. Results: Pressures and flows are calculated as a function of age at sites along the arterial tree. Central to peripheral transfer functions are given. Our results indicate that peripheral pressure in younger children resembles central pressure. Furthermore, total arterial compliance, inertance and impedance are calculated. Findings indicate that the arterial tree can be simulated by using a three-element Windkessel system. Pulse wave velocity in the aorta was found to increase during development. Conclusions: The arterial system, modeled from newborn to adult bears clinical significance, both for the interpretation of peripheral measured pressure in younger and older children, and for using a Windkessel model to determine flow from pressure measurements.


Rising costs have made access to affordable insulin far more difficult for people with diabetes, especially low-income individuals, those on high deductible health plans, beneficiaries using Medicare Part B to cover insulin delivered via pump, Medicare beneficiaries in the Part D donut hole, and those who turn 26 and must transition from their parents' insurance, to manage their diabetes and avoid unnecessary complications and hospitalizations. For many patients with diabetes, insulin is a life-saving medication. Policymakers should immediately address drivers of rising insulin prices and implement solutions that would reduce high out-of-pocket expenditures for patients. The Endocrine Society recommends policy options to expand access to lower cost insulin in this paper.


New group IV compounds containing a 9-dialkylaminofluorenide ligand have been prepared. Their properties and reactivity have been investigated. For example, single crystal X-ray analysis of the metallocene (9-(N,N-dimethylamino)fluorenyl)2ZrCl2 (4) reveals a bonding mode that includes a zirconium-nitrogen bond. In combination with methylaluminoxane (MAO), several aminofluorenide complexes afford atactic polypropylene.

A statistical model has been developed that quantifies the unidirectional site epimerization probability, e, for singly- and doubly-bridged C1- symmetric metallocene polymerization catalysts. The unidirectional site epimerization model allows deconvolution of the site sequence probability and the stereochemical probability for producing a given pentad.

Highly stereoregular syndiotactic polypropylene is obtained with the catalyst systems Ph2C(Oct)(C5H4)ZrCl2/MAO (8/MAO) (Oct = octamethyloctahydrodibenzofluorenyl, C-29H36) and Me2C(Oct)(C5H4)ZrCl2/MAO (12/MAO). Melting temperatures as high as 153?C or 154?C are found for the thermally quenched polymers. Distal ligand perturbations are demonstrated to have a dramatic effect on polymer stereochemistry.

Polypropylenes that are isotactic-hemiisotactic or syndiotactic-hemiisotactic can be made with proper R substituent selection in the catalyst system Me2C(Flu)(3-R-C5H3)ZrCl2/MAO or Me2C(Oct)(3-R-C5H3)ZrCl2/MAO, where Flu = fluorenyl (C13H8). The prepared polymers have been subjected to a statistical model which suggests that the metallocenes have one highly selective site (99%) and one site of variable selectivity which is highly dependent on the nature of the R substituent and whether the metallocene contains the Flu or Oct ligand.

Control of the tacticity of isotactic-hemiisotactic polypropylene, as quantified by the parameter a, is achieved by proper R substituent selection in the catalyst system R'2C(3-R-C5H3)(C13H8)MCl2/MAO. For R = 2-adamantyl, R' = Ph, and M = Zr or Hf, a is approximately 0.60 and the polypropylene obtained is elastomeric. Its properties are rationalized by the statistical existence of isotactic stereoblocks among an otherwise amorphous hemiisotactic medium.

For the C1-symmetric polymerization catalyst Me2C(3-t-butyl-C5H3)(9-C13H8)ZrCl2/MAO, evidence gathered here supports an alternating mechanism in which both sites of the metallocene wedge are utilized for monomer insertion. For an Oct-containing catalyst system with a cyclopentadienyl substituent of R = 2-methyl-2-adamantyl, unprecedentedly high isotacticity (>99% [mmmm]) is observed for a fluorenyl-based metallocene catalyst. Melting temperatures for such isotactic polymers can be as high as 167?C (Tp = 0?C).


Context. The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) with its 2.5 m telescope provides new science opportunities for spectroscopic observations of planetary atmospheres in the far-infrared wavelength range. Aims. This paper presents first results from the 14 May, 2014 observing campaign of the Martian atmosphere at 4.7 THz using the German REceiver for Astronomy at Terahertz frequencies (GREAT) instrument. Methods. The atomic oxygen 63 m transition, OI, was detected in absorption against the Mars continuum, with a high signal-to-noise ratio ( 35). A beam-averaged atomic oxygen from a global circulation model was used as input to the radiative transfer simulations of the observed line area and to obtain a new estimate on the column density using a grid-search method. Results. Minimizing di erences between the calculated and observed line intensities in the least-square sense yields an atomic oxygen column density of (1:1 0:2) 10 17 cm 2 . This value is about twice as low as predicted by a modern photochemical model of Mars. The radiative transfer simulations indicate that the line forms in the upper atmospheric region over a rather extended altitude region of 70‐120 km. Conclusions. For the first time, a far-infrared transition of the atomic oxygen line was detected in the atmosphere of Mars. The absorption depth provides an estimate on the column density, and this measurement provides additional means to constrain the photochemical models in global circulation models and airglow studies. The lack of other means for monitoring the atomic oxygen in the Martian upper atmosphere makes future observations with the SOFIA observatory highly desirable.


Marine Autonomous Vehicles, either Surface (ASV) or Underwater (AUV) are becoming the kingpin for ocean research and sea exploration. Long term and high persistence are highly desirable characteristics for adding to these autonomous platforms. The possibility of performing adequate tasks by using low cost underwater vehicles could multiply the number of agents in the area and therefore, providing high persistence by using multiagent relay strategies. This paper progresses in the validation of low cost electronic components for applying in the ALBA-13 AUV. Position and velocity estimation are essential for underwater vehicles because GPS signals are not available during immersion. Some works have presented theory and applications of a state observer that integrates the 6 degree-of-freedom (DOF) signals from an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) for estimation of position, velocity and attitude. Filtering of noisy sensor signal in combination with non-measured signal estimation is commonly addressed by the use of Linear Kalman Filters KF, Extended Kalman Filter EKF and nonlinear passive observers. The contribution of this paper is the implementation of the previously mentioned three observers and features comparison, by using low cost MEMs sensors in combination with different microcontrollers for the evaluation in low cost AUV and ASV requirements. Different tests have been simulated using MATLAB and SIMULINK and implemented on a high speed scaled boat for field validation. Keywords—AUV, ASV, IMU navigation, state observer, Low cost marine autonomous Vehicle.


A hierarchical credibility model is a generalization of the Bühlmann credibility model and the Bühlmann-Straub credibility model with a tree structure of four or more levels. This project aims to incorporate the hierarchical credibility theory, which is used in property and casualty insurance, to model the dependency of multi-population mortality rates. The forecasting performances of the three/four/five-level hierarchical credibility models are compared with those of the classical Lee-Carter model and its three extensions for multiple populations (joint-k, cointegrated and augmented common factor Lee-Carter models). Numerical illustrations based on mortality data for both genders of the US, the UK and Japan with a series of fitting year spans and three forecasting periods show that the hierarchical credibility approach contributes to more accurate forecasts measured by the AMAPE (average of mean absolute percentage errors). The proposed model is convenient to implement and can be further applied to projecting a mortality index for pricing mortality-indexed securities.


Molybdenum cofactor deficiency (MOCOD) is a severe inborn error of metabolism. It is characterized by neonatal presentation of intractable seizures, feeding difficulties, severe developmental delay, microcephaly with brain atrophy and coarse facial features. Movement disorders have been rarely reported as presenting complaint of MOCOD. We report a previously healthy 10 months old boy presenting with acute onset status dystonicus. A novel homozygote IVS1-1G>A (c.251-1G>A) mutation was determined and he was diagnosed as MOCOD. MOCOD must be considered in the differential diagnosis of movement disorders. Int J Clin Pediatr. 2017;6(3-4):51-53 doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/ijcp283w


Combined cycles, at present, have a prominent role in the power generation and advanced combined cycles efficiencies have now reached to 60 percent. Examination of thermodynamic behavior of these cycles is still carried out to determine optimum configuration and optimum design conditions for any cycle arrangement. Actually the performance parameters of these cycles are under the influence of various parameters and therefore the recognition of the optimum conditions is quiet complicated. In this research an extensive thermodynamic model was developed for analyzing major parameters variations on gas turbine performance and different configurations of advanced steam cycles: dual and triple pressure cycles with and without reheating in steam turbine sections. In this model it is attempted to consider all factors that affect on actual behavior of these cycles such as blade cooling (air cooling) in gas turbine and different formulations for Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG) performance calculation. Results show good agreement with manufactures data. In the case of gas turbine cycle, location of coolant extraction has large influence on cycle performance. For extraction from compressor end, improving blade cooling technology is suitable than increasing TIT. For mid stage extraction, improving blade cooling technology and TIT has similar effects on efficiency, while power is more sensitive to TIT. Coolant air precooling has large positive effect in high TIT and medium blade cooling technology, but always it increases power. Turbine exhaust temperature has large influence on optimum layout and configuration of HRSG, while for low exhaust temperatures increasing number of pressure levels increase power and heat recovery greatly, for high exhaust temperatures this leads lower enhancement in power and recovery. Second law efficiency of HRSG is proportional to power production in steam cycle. It decreases with increasing gas turbine exhaust temperature.Copyright © 2006 by ASME


This essay discusses the various different ways Christianity affects relations between different characters as well as political and historical events in three historical novels by Bernard Cornwell. Christianity had a large part to play in medieval societies and was often the source of many conflicts, especially in the British Isles. The three novels covered in the essay take place during different periods of time in the medieval history of England, that is, the Arthurian period in The Winter King, the Viking invasions by the Pagan Danes in The Last Kingdom and the high-medieval period in Harlequin. The essay discusses both the historical background of each novel and how these novels depict the Church as it was during the period in question, as well as the Christian and non-Christian characters and religions in general. Furthermore, this essay discusses the troubling youth and life of Bernard Cornwell and how he has admitted to be prejudiced against all religions. Christianity is a religion which Cornwell treats with special contempt, especially when the faith is contrasted with the pagan or otherwise non-Christian faiths in his novels. The medieval Christians in these novels are extremely prejudiced towards their non-Christian counterparts, their adversaries in warfare, whether Christian or not, and even women, who are treated more badly than non-Christian women. Additionally, the Christians are usually seen as more corrupt, lazy, unjust, hypocritical, arrogant and bigoted than others. The Christian characters, especially the members of the clergy, are frequently seen occupying the role of the villain, the coward or the traitor. This is often contrasted with the less religious or pagan characters that are usually depicted as heroic, kind and just. The bigotry, misogyny, hypocrisy and religious fundamentalism of the Christian characters is a central theme in The Winter King, The Last Kingdom and Harlequin.


SUMMARY The use of contemporary technologies of Computer Assisted Design (CAD), combined with latest rapid prototyping, tooling and manufacturing, with traditional CT scanning techniques and high medical skills are used as instruments for better diagnostic visualization, simulation of procedures and treatment of patients with craniofacial deformities. They also improve the overall performances of medical and nursing staff thus influencing the quality of medical service. Patients with congenital defects, orthognathic deformities, deformities after malignancy treatment or after craniofacial traumatic injuries of different severities are of particular interests due to both aesthetic and functional alterations. The paper presents two clinical cases – a patient with scull bone defect after brain hemorrhage and brain edema as well as a patient with hemifacial microsomia treated by surgery followed by implantation of titanium angular implant prepared by means of computer tomography scans, Computer Aided Design and Rapid Manufacturing technologies.


The World Health Organization (WHO) reported more than 6 million cases of cancer worldwide in women during 2008; 57.2 % of those cases occurred in less developed countries. Cervical cancer (CC) ranks third in the world in all cancers affecting women, with an estimated of 530 000 new cases. CC has multiple causes and it arises by the association of various risk factors. The main factor is related to the human papillomavirus infection (HPV), which acts as a necessary but not sufficient cause. Also, the interaction with other cofactors has an impact on the development and severity of this neoplasm. Survival is related to the timeliness of care and, therefore, to more access to health services. CC is a neoplasm considered a preventable cancer; thus, it is possible to save more than 150 000 lives by 2030 if control measures are applied with opportunity. The aim of this work is to review the CC in different geographical areas and to make an analysis of risk factors related to this neoplasm.


There are rapid, sometimes bewildering, changes occurring in in Higher Education; in the regulatory environment, the amount and distribution of funding, societal (and student) attitudes, and in our increasing "evidence based" approaches to teaching. Although much of this latter appears novel, I contend that the basic psychology of how students learn has not changed substantially for centuriesAristotle (384 BC – 322 BC) was familiar with learning styles; he is quoted as saying"For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them.". What has changed, starting mid 20th century, is the development of more widespread research on how our teaching interacts with students' learning, for example evidenced by Bloom's taxonomy as early as the mid 1950s (Bloom et al., 1956). This rapid increase in pedagogical research has lead to an increased pressure on academics to adopt the latest techniques and approaches in their teaching, driven by pressures for increased efficiency but also by the changing demographics and expectations of our students. I contend that "good" teachers have always had this approach, the change is that now everyone is expected to adopt these approaches. Interacting with this are the rapid changes in technologythe advent of e-learning, MOOCS, and distance education means that teachers are no longer repositories of knowledgesince content is now free and widely available – and so their role is changing to one of guiding and mentoring, rather than delivering content. This is a change for the better, but one that can be daunting. If we consider some of the ways that teaching has changed, we can foresee changes likely to occur in the coming years; some for the better, some presenting perhaps unwelcome challenges to current practice and ideas.


Most patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) who remain CD4(+) T-cell deficient on antiretroviral therapy (ART) exhibit marked immune activation. As CD4(+) T-cell activation may be mediated by microbial translocation or interferon-alpha (IFN-α), we examined these factors in HIV patients with good or poor CD4(+) T-cell recovery on long-term ART. Messenger RNA levels for 3 interferon-stimulated genes were increased in CD4(+) T cells of patients with poor CD4(+) T-cell recovery, whereas levels in patients with good recovery did not differ from those in healthy controls. Poor CD4(+) T-cell recovery was also associated with CD4(+) T-cell expression of markers of activation, senescence, and apoptosis, and with increased serum levels of the lipopolysaccharide receptor and soluble CD14, but these were not significantly correlated with expression of the interferon-stimulated genes. Therefore, CD4(+) T-cell recovery may be adversely affected by the effects of IFN-α, which may be amenable to therapeutic intervention.


Chitosan is a versatile polysaccharide of biological origin. Due to the biocompatible and biodegradable nature of chitosan, it is intensively utilized in biomedical applications in scaffold engineering as an absorption enhancer, and for bioactive and controlled drug release. In cancer therapy, chitosan has multifaceted applications, such as assisting in gene delivery and chemotherapeutic delivery, and as an immunoadjuvant for vaccines. The present review highlights the recent applications of chitosan and chitosan derivatives in cancer therapy.


Online social networking sites have become popular platforms on which users can link with each other and share information, not only basic rating information but also information such as contexts, social relationships, and item contents. However, as far as we know, no existing works systematically combine diverse types of information to build more accurate recommender systems. In this paper, we propose a novel context-aware hierarchical Bayesian method. First, we propose the use of spectral clustering for user-item subgrouping, so that users and items in similar contexts are grouped. We then propose a novel hierarchical Bayesian model that can make predictions for each user-item subgroup, our model incorporate not only topic modeling to mine item content but also social matrix factorization to handle ratings and social relationships. Experiments on an Epinions dataset show that our method significantly improves recommendation performance compared with six categories of state-of-the-art recommendation methods in terms of both prediction accuracy and recall. We have also conducted experiments to study the extent to which ratings, contexts, social relationships, and item contents contribute to recommendation performance in terms of prediction accuracy and recall.


Our Eighteenth Century Constitution was supposed to operate without political parties, but today we have a very strong two-party political system and a Nation that is polarized along partisan political lines. Everything that happens with respect to the current impeachment proceedings against President Trump reflects the interaction between our eighteenth century Constitution and the two-party political system. Moreover, the Supreme Court has held that all questions relating to impeachment constitute a textually demonstrable constitutional commitment to the Congress, so that the courts are not involved in the impeachment process in any way whatsoever. In this speech, I will briefly review the two-party political system and the enormous powers of the American President. I will then explain the constitutional process of impeachment and the respective roles of the House of Representatives and the Senate in that process. I will follow that with a review of the Johnson, Clinton and Nixon impeachments and discuss the operation of partisan politics in those impeachments. I will conclude with a discussion of the current impeachment proceedings involving President Trump.


Although the solution to a linear programming problem is not necessarily unique, the theoretical and practical implications of multiple optima have not been thoroughly discussed by agricultural economists. Recently there have been calls for greater recognition, resolution and exploitation of multiplicity. In this note, it is argued that previous recommendations for resolving multiplicity are restrictive both procedurally and conceptually. An alternative and more general approach is outlined.


The United States has always defined itself in terms of great optimism and progress. For long periods, that self-definition was accurate. It no longer is. Robert J. Gordon's magisterial economic history, The Rise and Fall of American Growth, describes 1870-1970 as the miracle century that improved the real standard of living tenfold. For the future, says Gordon, the United States faces an anemic growth rate of less than a third of a percent per year, and — even worse — only the richest tier will see growth.
For tax, the realistic expectations of slow future growth mean a high danger of collapse in our ability to run deficits or borrow money well within the decade. Federal creditors have been extraordinarily generous to the U.S. government, accepting interest below the expected rate of inflation. They have assumed that federal debt is risk free. If our creditors lose faith in our ability to repay debt, or believe that we will just pay it off with inflated paper, then the debt will no longer be treated as risk free. The loss of faith will probably not be just a squeeze but a collapse.
The increasing inequality of America means we must follow the money to reach the broad taxable capacity. We need to increase the efficiency of tax and shift the burden of tax to richer taxpayers — not with higher rates, but by better descriptions of their economic resources.


The immediate early (IE) genes of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) are expressed in lymphocytes and are known to transactivate both viral and cellular promoters. The mechanism by which IE gene products of HCMV transactivate expression of the HLA A2 gene promoter in Jurkat cells, a T-lymphocyte cell line, was investigated. Transient expression assays were performed using plasmids containing the HLA A2 promoter-regulatory region linked to the bacterial chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) gene and a plasmid expressing the CMV IE genes. The upregulation of the HLA A2 promoter by HCVM IE gene products was shown not to be secondary to either interferon-gamma or -alpha. Previously described MHC class I regulatory or enhancer elements such as the interferon-stimulated response element (ISRE), NF-kappa B and H2TF1 binding sequences, and the interferon consensus sequence (ICS) were not required for transactivation of the A2 promoter. Rather, the only known regulatory elements in the HLA A2 promoter necessary for both basal expression and transactivation by HCVM IE gene products are the CCAAT box and TATA box motifs. These results support a model in which HCVM IE gene products act through the minimal HLA A2 promoter elements to increase gene expression.


In recent decades, the declarations of "independent" central banks and the conduct of monetary policy have been assigned an ever increasing role in the pursuit of economic and financial stability. This is curious since there is, in practice, no body of scientific knowledge (evidence based beliefs) solid enough to have ensured agreement among central banks on the best way to conduct monetary policy. Moreover, beliefs pertaining to every aspect of monetary policy have also changed markedly and repeatedly. This paper documents how the objectives of monetary policy, the optimal exchange rate framework, beliefs about the transmission mechanism, the mechanism of political oversight, and many other aspects of domestic monetary frameworks have all been subject to great flux over the last fifty years. The paper also suggests ways in which the current economic and financial crisis seems likely to affect the conduct of monetary policy in the future. One possibility is that it might lead to yet another fundamental reexamination of our beliefs about how best to conduct monetary policy in an increasingly globalized world. The role played by money and credit, the interactions between price stability and financial stability, the possible medium term risks generated by "ultra easy" monetary policies, and the facilitating role played by the international monetary (non) system all need urgent attention. The paper concludes that, absent the degree of knowledge required about its effects, monetary policy is currently being relied on too heavily in the pursuit of "strong, balanced and sustainable growth." JEL codes: E52


Opponent modeling is a key challenge in Real-Time Strategy (RTS) games as the environment is adversarial in these games, and the player cannot predict the future actions of her opponent. Additionally, the environment is partially observable due to the fog of war. In this paper, we propose an opponent model which is robust to the observation noise existing due to the fog of war. In order to cope with the uncertainty existing in these games, we design a Bayesian network whose parameters are learned from an unlabeled game-logs dataset; so it does not require a human expert's knowledge. We evaluate our model on StarCraft which is considered as a unified test-bed in this domain. The model is compared with that proposed by Synnaeve and Bessiere. Experimental results on recorded games of human players show that the proposed model can predict the opponent's future decisions more effectively. Using this model, it is possible to create an adaptive game intelligence algorithm applicable to RTS games, where the concept of build order (the order of building construction) exists.


A novel transfer matrix method is employed for the analysis of polarization rotation in an asymmetrically periodically loaded rib waveguide. The transfer matrix method is based on the hybrid local normal modes. The vector normal modes are approximated by a linear combination of the scalar modes. In comparison with the coupled-mode analysis, this approach takes the radiation loss due to scattering at the junctions of the periodic loading into account. A new simple analytical solution in the power coupling for the periodically loaded rib waveguide is derived. Analytic results are shown for some typical structure and compared with results by more rigorous numerical methods. >


Abstract: The lymphatic system plays an important role in fluid/macromolecular balance, lipid absorption, and immune functions, and is involved in many different pathologic conditions, like inflammation, spread of cancer cells, and lymphedema. There are several forces that drive lymph centripetally. Extrinsic driving forces, or the passive lymph pump, include lymph formation, arterial pulsations, skeletal muscles contractions, fluctuations of central venous pressure, gastrointestinal peristalsis, and respiration. Intrinsic forces, or the active lymph pump, are the result of coordinated contractions of lymphangions, the morpho‐functional units of the lymphatic vessels, which include the valve and portion of the vessel extending to the next valve. The contractions of the lymphangions are initiated by the pacemaker activity of the smooth muscle cells of lymphangion wall. Transmural pressure is an important hydrodynamic factor that modulates pacemaking. Under conditions of low filling, lymphangions might produce negative intraluminal pressures and a suction effect. Because of the complicated hydrodynamic conditions in lymphatic beds, the passive and active lymph pumps sometimes work together to propel lymph centripetally. In other cases (i.e., under conditions of enhanced lymph flow), flow‐mediated inhibition of the active lymph pump could serve to decrease lymphatic outflow resistance and save metabolic energy when the driving force of the passive lymph pump is enough to propel lymph. We have recently found that there are profound differences in the pressure and flow sensitivities of lymphatic vessels derived from different tissues, such as the thoracic duct and mesenteric lymphatics. Such results, when considered in light of the controversy surrounding some studies performed in different animals, lead to the idea that the active lymph pumps in humans may have greater regional differences in contractile function than has been seen in animals, because of the upright posture in bipedal humans. This posture creates an additional outflow resistance for lymphatics of the lower part of the body. Thus, despite the ongoing attempts to determine the mechanisms of lymphatic diseases and useful therapies to treat them, there are many disputable or unknown issues regarding the physiology of lymph transport in humans.


Soils are the fundament of terrestrial ecosystems. Across the globe we find different soil types with different properties resulting from the interacting soil forming factors: parent material, climate, topography, organisms and time. Here we present the role of soils in habitat formation and maintenance in natural systems, and reflect on how humans have modified soils from local to global scale. Soils host a tremendous diversity of life forms, most of them microscopic in size. We do not yet know all the functionalities of this diversity at the level of individual taxa or through their interactions. However, we do know that the interactions and feedbacks between soil life, plants and soil chemistry and physics are essential for soil and habitat formation, maintenance and restoration. Moreover, the couplings between soils and major cycles of carbon, nutrients and water are essential for supporting the production of food, feed and fibre, drinking water and greenhouse gas balances. Soils take thousands of years to form, yet are lost very quickly through a multitude of stressors. The current status of our soils globally is worrisome, yet with concerted action we can bend the curve and create win–wins of soil and habitat conservation, regeneration and sustainable development. This article is part of the theme issue 'The role of soils in delivering Nature's Contributions to People'.


This paper proposes an alternative reading of the politics of the 2017 French presidential election, using an unstudied source of information on voters' preferences: experimental data on approval voting. We provide a new narrative of the election process and outcome. The principal approach for understanding the political context has for many decades been a distinction between left and right-wing political forces. We introduce a method for generating an endogenous political axis, and construct three indices so that we might understand how and why the conventional approach has become progressively irrelevant. We find no gender effect, but instead an age effect. Voters, especially those who belong to generations at the beginning or the end of their working life, use their vote in national elections to support radical change; and the younger the voters, the less they conform to a left-right axis. However, this desire for change does not represent a rejection of existing parties, as the official results would suggest. Rather, the approval results suggest an erosion in the voters' minds of barriers between distinct political camps, and between traditional and populist parties.


Results of 29 physiologic tests are reported for 1,268 cultures of Pasteurella multocida from various hosts over a 10-year period. Of the cultures, 97 to 100% fermented galactose, glucose, mannitol, mannose, fructose, and sucrose, produced hydrogen sulfide and indole, and reduced nitrate; 6 to 91% fermented arabinose, glycerol, sorbitol, trehalose and xylose. Fermentation of dextrin, dulcitol, inositol, inulin, lactose, maltose, raffinose, rhamnose, and salicin, growth on MacConkey agar, change of litmus milk, production of urease and hemolysin, liquefaction of gelatin and motility were negative with 97 to 100% of the cultures. Of 200 cultures tested for catalase and oxidase, all were positive. Results of this study indicate that none of these tests will determine the host from which the culture was isolated.


Melt blowing combines extrusion of a polymer melt through orifices and attenuation of the extrudate with hot high-velocity air jets to produce nonwoven fibers in a single step. Due to its simplicity and high-throughput nature, melt blowing produces more than 10% of global nonwovens (∼$50 billion market). Semicrystalline thermoplastic feedstock, such as poly(butylene terephthalate), polyethylene, and polypropylene, have dominated the melt blowing industry because of their facile melt processability and thermal/chemical resistance; other amorphous commodity thermoplastics (e.g., styrenics, (meth)acrylates, etc.) are generally not employed because they lack one or both characteristics. Cross-linking commodity polymers could enable them to serve more demanding applications, but cross-linking is not compatible with melt processing, and it must be implemented after fiber formation. Here, cross-linked fibers were fabricated by melt blowing linear anthracene-functionalized acrylic polymers into fibers, which were subsequently cross-linked via anthracene-dimerization triggered by either UV light or sunlight. The resulting fibers possessed nearly 100% gel content because of highly efficient anthracene photodimerization in the solid state. Compared to the linear precursors, the anthracene-dimer cross-linked acrylic fibers exhibited enhanced thermomechanical properties suggesting higher upper service temperatures (∼180 °C), showing promise for replacing traditional thermoplastic-based melt blown nonwovens in certain applications. Additionally, given the dynamic nature of the anthracene-dimer cross-links at elevated temperatures (> ∼180 °C), the resulting cross-linked fibers could be effectively recycled after use, providing new avenues toward sustainable nonwoven products.


In 1955, the East German Socialist Unity Party issued the Regulations for the Protection of Youth as a means of controlling publications for children and young people coming across the relatively open German-German border. At the same time, the regime authorized the creation of socialist comics in order to fill the gaps these regulations left in children's entertainment. However, as socialist alternatives to the perceived trash and filth represented by western comics and American influence, these East German comics were employed as extensions of the regime's education system, delivering the state's ideology in its efforts to develop the socialist personality among youth and generate genuine enthusiasm for the construction of state-socialism. Just as these comics organized children's activities and leisure time, they were taken up and read by East German children who made their own meanings of the publications' contents. As much as these comics were meant to fulfill the state's ideological agendas and foster the spirit of socialism within these readers, the children themselves understood comics in terms of the perceived freedoms they allowed. As such, children projected their own desires, interests, and tastes upon these publications. These expectations limited the range of actions available to the regime for drawing these readers into participation with socialism and the SED-state. This dissertation approaches the subject of comics in the German Democratic Republic as constructions of state power and, in keeping with Foucault's governmentality thesis, as levers of power that allowed for the perpetuation of SED control. As children understood comics in ways different from the regime, comics are also examined in terms of Jurgen Habermas' critical public sphere insofar as they provided space for child-readers to make their own sense of the SED-state and the society around them despite these constructions of power. To this end, this dissertation examines archival records of the GDR youth groups and issues of Verlag Junge Welt's comics and children's magazines. This study argues that GDR comics were constructions of the regime's power at the same time that they provided fantasies of empowerment, escapism, and constructive of the experience of childhood under socialism.


The minimum time (E) required for a new pair of replication origins (oriCs) produced upon initiating a round of replication to be ready to initiate the next round after one cell mass doubling, the 'eclipse', is explained in terms of a minimal distance (lmin) that the replication forks must move away from oriC before oriCs can 'fire' again. In conditions demanding a scheduled initiation event before the relative distance lmin/L0.5 (L being the total chromosome length) is reached, initiation is presumably delayed. Under such circumstances, cell mass at the next initiation would be greater than the usual, constant Mi (cell mass per copy number of oriC) prevailing in steady state of exponential growth. This model can be tested experimentally by extending the replication time C using thymine limitation at short doubling times τ in rich media to reach a relative eclipse E/C < lmin/L0.5. It is consistent with results obtained in experiments in which the number of replication 'positions'n (= C/τ) is increased beyond the natural maximum, causing the mean cell size to rise continuously, first by widening, then by lengthening, and finally by splitting its poles. The consequent branching is associated with casting off a small proportion of normal‐sized cells and lysing DNA‐less cells. Whether or how these phenomena are related to peptidoglycan composition and synthesis are moot questions.


When modelling medium and long-term challenges we need a reference path of economic development (the so-called baseline). Because sectoral models often offer a more fundamental understanding of future developments for specific sectors, many CGE modeling teams have adopted different kinds of linking approaches to sectoral models to generate baselines. We systematically compare and discuss approaches of linking CGE models for the baseline calibration procedure, and discuss best practices and pitfalls. We identify different types of linking approaches which we divide into a) links with partial equilibrium models, and b) links with non-economic models. These two types of linking approaches are then analyzed with respect to e.g. the degree of linkage, information exchanged, as well as compromises in aggregations and definitions. Based on this, we discuss potential drawbacks and conclude with suggestions for best practices and research recommendations.


The Mittelplate oil field with its 600 × 10 6 BOIP is Germany's largest oil field and lies offshore Germany in coastal tidal flats about 100 km northwest of Hamburg at the mouth of the River Elbe estuary, some 25km northeast of Cuxhaven. It is located in the Westholstein Jura Trough with its flanking salt walls, Oldensworth and Heide. The discovery well Mittelplate 1 was drilled in 1980 by the consortium RWE Dea AG and Wintershall AG. The prospects targeted by the Mittelplate 1 well were Middle Jurassic Dogger sandstone reservoirs. At the time only 2D data was available to the group and only a few seismic lines defined the play. The discovery well encountered two separate oil columns within the Middle Jurassic 'Mittelplate' sands which, when tested, flowed low gravity oil from four sandstone reservoir horizons at a depth of 2136–2743m below sea level. In 1981 three appraisal wells were drilled, confirming the structure with initial recoverable reserves estimated to be at around 200 × 10 6 BO. The distance of the field to the coast is between 7 and 13 kmwith a N–S extension of more than 10km straddling the western flank of the Busum salt dome. After building an artificial drilling and production island in 1985, 15 wells have been drilled since 1986 from the Mittelplate-A platform draining the central part of the field. Along with the acquiring of new 3D seismic in 1997 in the area between the appraisal wells Mittelplate 2 and Mittelplate 3, a pilot project was initiated to develop the field through extended reach wells from onshore. Three wells were drilled from the Mittelplate island to the salt dome to verify geology and drilling requirements. At the same time one well, the Dieksand 1, was drilled from the shore to investigate the situation from the onshore side. After only half a year of engineering time, the first extended reach drilling (ERD) well, Dieksand 2, was spudded, drilled more than 3600m horizontally through the Busum salt dome and was successfully completed at a TD of 7727min 1998. Since then a further six ERD wells have been drilled from onshore reaching a maximum length of 9275mMD. After 17 years of undisturbed and accident-free operation, the Mittelplate group is now planning to investigate the development of the southern and northern part of the field with horizontal wells of more than 8km from the Mittelplate-A platform location.


Inertial navigation applications are usually referenced to a rotating frame. Consideration of the navigation reference frame rotation in the inertial navigation algorithm design is an important but so far less seriously treated issue, especially for super high-speed flying vehicles or the future ultraprecision navigation system of several meters per hour. A rigorous approach is proposed to tackle the issue of navigation frame rotation in velocity/position computation by use of the newly-devised velocity/position integration formulae in the Part I companion paper. The two integration formulae set a well-founded cornerstone for the velocity/position algorithms' design that makes the comprehension of the inertial navigation computation principle more accessible to practitioners, and different approximations to the integrals involved give birth to various velocity/position update algorithms. Two-sample velocity and position algorithms are derived to exemplify the design process. In the context of level-flight airplane examples, the derived algorithm is analytically and numerically compared with the typical algorithms that exist in the literature. The results throw light on the problems in existing algorithms and the potential benefits of the derived algorithm.


The study determined the prenatal practices and pregnancy outcomes among primigravida mothers in Ilocos Sur. It looked into the significant relationship between the respondents' socio-demographic profile and prenatal practices. Significant relationship between pregnancy outcome and prenatal practices of primigravida mothers was also determined. The study made use of a descriptive correlational type of research. A questionnaire-checklist formulated by the researchers was the main tool used to gather data.. It involved 120 primigravida mothers from selected municipalities of Ilocos Sur, who were chosen through purposive sampling. Frequency, percentage and simple linear correlation analysis were the statistical tools. Majority of the respondents were 21-25 years old, single, college graduates, plain housewives, from rural areas, with a monthly family income of Php5,000 and below, availed of the services of the midwives for prenatal check up, at the rural health unit, once during the first trimester, twice during the second and third trimester, availed of tetanus toxoid immunization, assessment of fetal growth, fundic height measurement, iodine and iron supplementation, physical examination , laboratory examinations, and health education. Most of the respondents did not develop any complications, delivered a full term baby in the hospital through normal spontaneous delivery. Significant relationship existed between civil status and pre-natal practices along preference for health care provider; age and health education classes, occupation and physical assessment and health education classes; income and physical assessment; provision of iodine supplementation and health education: place of residence and tetanus toxoid immunization. A significant relationship also existed between provision of iodine and pregnancy outcome: hemorrhage and type of delivery; hemorrhage and health education classes; anemia and health education classes; preterm birth and abdominal palpation and health education classes. It is, then, recommended that primigravida must be encouraged to follow the desired number of prenatal visits. Health workers in the RHU should conduct home visits to remind them of the next visits.


A developing body of evidence indicates that chaplain care is associated with higher levels of patient/family satisfaction with their hospital care. We examined the association between chaplain care and patient experience among patients at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago who responded to Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems and Press Ganey survey items between 2011 and 2017. Information about chaplain care was taken from the inpatients' electronic medical record. Our analyses included 11 741 patients, 26.5% of whom had received any chaplain care. Patients with lower self-rated health were more likely to have received chaplain care (P < .001). In bivariate analyses, chaplain care was associated with lower likelihood of reporting the highest score for 4 patient experience items (P < .001). In multi-variable models that adjusted for patient self-rated health and other factors, the association between chaplain care and the 4 patient experience items was nonsignificant. There was no effect modification for patient religious affiliation, self-rated health, or other demographic factors. The chaplain care-patient experience association may be more complex than has initially appeared, and further research is needed to help us better understand it.


Water immersion alters the autonomic nervous system (ANS) response in humans. The effect of water immersion on executive function and ANS responses related to executive function tasks was unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to determine whether water immersion alters ANS response during executive tasks. Fourteen healthy participants performed color–word-matching Stroop tasks before and after non-immersion and water immersion intervention for 15 min in separate sessions. The Stroop task-related skin conductance response (SCR) was measured during every task. In addition, the skin conductance level (SCL) and electrocardiograph signals were measured over the course of the experimental procedure. The main findings of the present study were as follows: 1) water immersion decreased the executive task-related sympathetic nervous response, but did not affect executive function as evaluated by Stroop tasks, and 2) decreased SCL induced by water immersion was maintained for at least 15 min after water immersion. In conclusion, the present results suggest that water immersion decreases the sympathetic skin response during the color–word Stroop test without altering executive performance.


Abstract During Europe–Adria collision in Tertiary times, the Monte Rosa nappe was penetratively deformed in several stages after an eclogite-facies pressure peak: (1) top-to-the-NW thrust shearing (Mattmark phase, after 40 Ma); (2) orogen-parallel, top-to-the-SW extensional shearing and folding (Malfatta phase); (3) orogen-perpendicular, top-to-the-SE extensional shearing and folding (Mischabel phase, before 30 Ma); and (4) large-scale, upright, SE-vergent folding (Vanzone phase, c. 29–28 Ma). Structural analysis and neutron texture goniometry of quartz mylonites show that the Stellihorn shear zone in the Monte Rosa nappe accommodated a complex and multidirectional sequence of shearing movements during the Mattmark, Malfatta and Mischabel phases, and was folded in the Vanzone phase. In the tail-shaped eastward prolongation of the Monte Rosa nappe in the Southern Steep Belt of the Alps, both dextral and sinistral mylonites (Olino phase) were formed during and after the formation of the Vanzone fold, reflecting renewed orogen-parallel (SW–NE) extension contemporaneous with NW–SE shortening from c. 29 Ma onward. A similar sequence of deformation stages was identified in the Adula nappe at the eastern border of the Lepontine metamorphic dome. Important consequences arise for the Insubric fault at the southern border of the Lepontine dome: (1) the NW- to N-dipping orientation of the Insubric fault is not a primary feature but resulted from rotation of an originally SE-dipping shear zone after c. 30 Ma; and (2), the strong contrast in metamorphic grade across this fault (upper amphibolite facies to the north versus anchizone to the south) results from north-side-up faulting coupled with orogen-parallel extension of the northern block (Lepontine dome), while no such extension occurred in the southern block (Southern Alps). Extension in the northern block started in the Malfatta phase and continued in the Mischabel phase when the foliation in the area which later became the Southern Steep Belt still dipped towards south. During Vanzone/Olino deformation, further unroofing and uplift of the Lepontine dome relative to the South Alpine block took place while the Southern Steep Belt was progressively rotated into its present, overturned position, changing its character from a normal fault into a backthrust. Complex deformation paths in the Southern Steep Belt resulted from the combination of extension of the northern block with strike-slip motion along the Insubric fault.


Because of the weather-associated variability of renewable energy generation, forecasting is an inherent component of an overall solution to reduce the grid integration cost of renewable energy. Accuracy of a forecast is characterized typically by metrics such as root mean square error (RMSE) or mean absolute error (MAE). Such metrics, however, may not comprehensively capture the usefulness of a forecast. Use cases of forecasts are usually complex and are connected to how energy producers, balancers, or traders may apply the forecast to minimize some cost functions in order to improve performance. Often a cost function is asymmetric, unlike RMSE or MAE. Here, we treat complex cost functions as asymmetric perturbations to the symmetric RMSE metric and ask how a forecast can be statistically corrected to minimize the cost function. The analysis leads to an analytical expression for one aspect of a forecast's usefulness, which characterizes the capability of a user to benefit from the knowledge of the asymmetry of the cost function. As a case study, we present a comparison of solar forecasts derived from a number of numerical weather predictions at a test site in Rutland, Vermont.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the incidence of Borrelia burgdorferi infection in humans with erythema migrans (EM) in 2 southeastern states.

DESIGN
Prospective case series.

SETTING
Family medicine practice at academic center.

PATIENTS
Twenty-three patients with solitary EM lesions meeting Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) criteria for Lyme disease.

INTERVENTIONS
Patients underwent clinical and serologic evaluation for evidence of B burgdorferi infection. All lesions underwent photography, biopsy, culture and histopathologic and polymerase chain reaction analysis for B burgdorferi infection. Patients were treated with doxycycline hyclate and followed up clinically and serologically.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Disappearance of EM lesions and associated clinical symptoms in response to antibiotic therapy; short-term and follow-up serologic assays for diagnostic antibody; growth of spirochetes from tissue biopsy specimens in Barbour-Stoenner-Kelly II media; special histopathologic stains of tissue for spirochetes; and polymerase chain reaction assays of tissue biopsy specimens for established DNA sequences of B burgdorferi.

RESULTS
The EM lesions ranged from 5 to 20 cm (average, 9.6 cm). Five patients (22%) had mild systemic symptoms. All lesions and associated symptoms resolved with antibiotic therapy. Overall, 7 patients (30%) had some evidence of B burgdorferi infection. Cultures from 1 patient (4%) yielded spirochetes, characterized as Borrelia garinii, a European strain not known to occur in the United States; 3 patients (13%) demonstrated spirochetallike forms on special histologic stains; 5 patients (22%) had positive polymerase chain reaction findings with primers for flagellin DNA sequences; and 2 patients (9%) were seropositive for B burgdorferi infection using recommended 2-step CDC methods. No late clinical sequelae were observed after treatment.

CONCLUSIONS
The EM lesions we observed are consistent with early Lyme disease occurring elsewhere, but laboratory confirmation of B burgdorferi infection is lacking in at least 16 cases (70%) analyzed using available methods. Genetically variable strains of B burgdorferi, alternative Borrelia species, or novel, uncharacterized infectious agents may account for most of the observed EM lesions.


Drawing on discourse analyses of 36 in-depth interviews with elite business people from Turkey, the study identifies the networking patterns of new and established business elites in the context of economic liberalization and socioreligious transformation of the country. Through a comparative analysis of the so-called secular and religious elite networks, we demonstrate the role of institutional actors such as the government, and identity networks, based on religion and place of birth in shaping the form and content of social networks among business elites in Turkey. In order to achieve this, we operationalize Bourdieu's notion of theory of practice and Granovetter's theory of social networks, illustrating the utility of combining these approaches in explicating the form and content of social networks in their situated contexts, in which power and divergent interests are negotiated.


The evolution of trade rules on agricultural products has three aspects: firstly, from intervening to market mechanism to ʻmarket-oriented'; secondly, from that mainly of "mass-production and mass-consumption" products to that of "small-scale production and small-scale consumption" products; and thirdly, elaborated in a more and more detailed manner in function of the purposes and characteristics of the measures in question. Due attention should be paid to the WTO's trade issues resolving functions and rules elaboration functions as well as regional trade agreements' tendency to 'supplement' the WTO rules as well as to realize the difficult of achieving each country's interests in the WTO. Japan has to have a clear self-recognition of the ʻquality' merits of its products and make the best use of the trade rules.


My name is Ronald Cotterill. I am a Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Connecticut, and Director of University of Connecticut's Food Marketing Policy Center. My curriculum vitae has been marked as Exhibit No. 1. I have been asked by John Vetne, attorney for White Eagle Milk Marketing Federation and other interested parties, to analyze the impact of proposed changes to pool qualification rules on pricing conduct and the economic performance of markets in Midwestern milk marketing channels. Proposal Number 2 at this Hearing would tighten pool performance standards by reducing the diversion limits for Sec 9c. cooperatives and other handlers from 60% to 50% in each of the months of August through February and from 70% to 60% in each of the months of March through July (Federal Register, 2/17/2005, p. 8045). Pool supply and cooperative plants would also experience a tightening of pooling standards, but the burden of these changes would fall more heavily on supply plants because supply plants qualify for pool participation on the merits of the individual plant's conduct while cooperative plants qualify by paper designation based on the cooperatives system-wide performance. Dean Foods has proposed additional, and more restrictive, pool qualification rules.


It has been successfully provided that in Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Al, Ga, Cr, and Mn, alloy has been done to obtain reliable values of diffusion coefficient particularly with Arrhenius relationship graphic plotter tool. In the presented work, the Arrhenius plots of self-diffusions and other diffusion mechanisms have been exemplified. It is an aim to summarize diffusion coefficients in Arrhenius relations that are important for physical constant values in specified materials via free-of-charge Web-based diffusion coefficient diffusion database.


Ocean thermal energy conversion system uses from water in surface of the ocean as high temperature source and water in the depth of the ocean as low temperature source. Three types of ocean thermal energy conversion systems including close cycle, open cycle and hybrid systems are available. In a close cycle system, working fluid through a thermodynamic cycle based on the Rankine cycle can rotate the turbine and generate electricity. Due to the variation in the ocean surface temperature, the output power of the ocean thermal energy conversion system is not fixed and controllable and so this uncertainty nature results in the numerous states in the generated power of this plant. Thus, in integrating ocean thermal energy conversion systems to the power system, many aspects of power system such as reliability may be affected and so new approaches must be developed for investigation these effects. In this regard, in this paper for the first time, the reliability of power system containing ocean thermal energy conversion system is evaluated and the valuable indices such as loss of load expectation, expected energy not supplied and peak load carrying capability that can be used for generation expansion planning of power system, are calculated.


Oceanic oxygen concentrations vary widely in space and time. Since oxygen is essential for (most) life, oceanic oxygen concentrations influence the distribution and diversity of life in the marine realm. The surface ocean is rich in oxygen because it is in direct contact with the atmosphere. Deeper waters, however, lose oxygen with time, because it is consumed by (micro)organisms that feed on organic matter produced by plankton that sinks towards the sea floor. Oxygen-rich surface water has to be mixed downwards to supply the deep ocean with oxygen. If mixing is inhibited or the supply of organic matter to deeper waters intensifies (leading to increasing oxygen consumption), deeper water layers may become devoid of oxygen, hence development of anoxia. At present, oxygen concentrations are decreasing in many regions of the world's oceans, due to human intervention. Much research aims to elucidate the mechanisms and time scales of this so-called deoxygenation, to better project future trends. Here, these issues are addressed by studying massive ocean anoxia during the greenhouse climate system in the mid-Cretaceous (Cenomanian-Turonian Oceanic Anoxic Event; OAE2; ~94 million years ago; with an approximate duration of 600.000 years) and a more recent anoxic period in the Eastern Mediterranean (Sapropel S1; 10.000-6.000 before present). More specifically, existing marine palynological (notably fossil remains of dinoflagellates, a group of unicellular plankton) and geochemical data were compiled and new data were generated for critical sediment cores to understand the key drivers responsible for ocean anoxia and the biosphere and climate feedbacks. The results of this study show that climate-driven changes in temperature and hydrology, have been of particular importance for the occurrence of widespread ocean anoxia during OAE2 and sapropel S1. This is illustrated by the strong influence of river discharge from the Nile on the formation of Eastern Mediterranean sapropel S1, which not only led to freshwater stratification-induced preservation of organic matter, but also contributed to enhanced production of organic matter by delivering nutrients for marine primary productivity, eventually leading to increased oxygen consumption. This mechanism was also shown to be responsible for organic matter deposition during OAE2 on flooded continental shelves. As a consequence of extreme warmth, the hydrological cycle accelerated. Enhanced precipitation and runoff ultimately led to freshwater stratification and enhanced marine primary productivity, culminating in widespread ocean anoxia and organic carbon sequestration. Interestingly, temporarily cooler and drier conditions during OAE2, correspond to a minimum in sedimentary organic carbon content. This minimum can be tracked throughout the, during OAE2, generally anoxic deep proto-North Atlantic basin, suggesting large-scale oxygenation of the water column. This again implies that temperature and hydrology were crucial factors in determining bottom water oxygen concentrations. This cooling event not only diminished organic carbon sequestration, but was also shown to drive equatorward migration of dinoflagellate species, showing that relatively small changes in temperature during the mid-Cretaceous super-greenhouse world had significant implications for biogeographical patterns.


This minithesis entitled the implementation of fulfillment of creditors' rights to
the fiduciary guarantee value under the credit value in PT. BPR Berlian Bumi Arta
Sleman. The purpose was to know the implementation of fulfillment of creditors' rights
to the fiduciary guarantee value that have capability to conduct it through the loaning
agreement between the creditor in one hand and debtor in other hand. After the
agreement was agreed, thus it established an obligation to creditor, i.e. submitting the
money agreed to the debtor by rights to reaccept the money from the debtor in time.
During both parties conduct their rights and obligation appropriately to the agreement,
thus there will not be any case. Ordinarily, a case emerges if the debtor neglects to repay
the debt in determined time. It means the debtor in a loaning agreement needs credit in
the shape of property, i.e. fiduciary guarantee. Based on the aforementioned above
explanation, thus it can be formulated a problem, i.e. how is the implementation of
fulfillment of creditors' right to fiduciary guarantee value of debtor under the credit value
in PT. BPR Berlian Bumi Arta Sleman.
The type of research was empirical research, i.e. a research focusing on the social
attitude and this research needed primary data as main data as well secondary data. The
method of analysis used was qualitative analysis, i.e. a research process that results
analytical descriptive data, i.e. what had been stated by respondent in writing or orally
and also the significant attitude being studied and investigated as whole.
Based on the result of conducted research, the conclusion gained is the efforts
conducted by the part of PT. BPR Berlian Bumi Arta always prioritize the familial
method, e.g. requiring other guarantee as additional or the substitution on the lack of
fulfillment of debtors' obligation to PT. BPR Berlian Bumi Arta in Sleman to
administratively conduct repetitive credit agreement (rescheduling, reconditioning, or
restructuring) by keep on conducting re-analysis to know the debtors' capability in order
in future it can be conducted fluently appropriate to the plan in order to repay credit
without bear burden to the debtor.


This paper considers modifications a conventional terrestrial toilet design may require in order to ensure a successful flush if it was placed on the surface of mars. It is found that the water tank must be located a factor of 2.6 times higher than it would be on earth to compensate for reduced gravity on the Martian surface.


In 1968 and 1969, Andrews proved two partition theorems of the Rogers-Ramanujan type which generalise Schur's celebrated partition identity (1926). Andrews' two generalisations of Schur's theorem went on to become two of the most influential results in the theory of partitions, finding applications in combinatorics, representation theory and quantum algebra. In this paper we generalise both of Andrews' theorems to overpartitions. The proofs use a new technique which consists in going back and forth from $q$-difference equations on generating functions to recurrence equations on their coefficients.


The purpose of the study was to construct and standardize the specific physical fitness test battery for college level Circle Style male Kabaddi Players. The descriptive type study was designed to collect the data on selected 21 physical fitness test items and the statistical procedure was adopted. With the purposive sampling technique a sample of 216 circle style male kabaddi players was taken from sixteen teams which were qualified for the league stage or qualified for the semifinal of the inter college tournament of selected universities i.e. PU Chandigarh, Pbi.U Patiala, GNDU Amritsar and KU Kurukshetra during the session of 2.017-18. The results were obtained through the SPSS verson 21.0. Factor Analysis technique was applied to develop the Specific Physical Fitness Test Battery of eight test items namely medicine ball throw, dips, 50 meters run, flamingo balance test, shuttle run, ball reaction exercise, 600 meters run and bridge test. A short specific physical fitness test battery of three test items was also constructed. The percentile norms were developed from the whole data.


In the last few decades, Mexico's export sector has seen extraordinarily robust growth and has undergone sweeping changes, with exports of manufactures, especially intermediate- and high-technology products, leading the way. At the same time, however, the gap between exports and GDP has been widening, which indicates that the export sector is underperforming as a driver of economic growth. This study is based on the idea that the ability of exports to galvanize the economy will be heightened if export activity leads to an expansion of the domestic market. Whether or not it will do so depends on the amount of national income that is incorporated into exports. The authors estimate how much national value added is contained in exports of manufactures, by sector and by category (direct income, i.e., income generated directly by export activity, and indirect income, i.e., income incorporated into the inputs used to produce export goods). This information is provided for total exports of manufactures, exports of the maquila industry and non-maquila exports.


Borderlands is an experimental audio performance by Monty Adkins (composition)
and Deborah Templeton (text) and features the cello playing of William
Mace. The work explores liminal states and the borders of consciousness. The
text is performed by Templeton, and was recorded and mixed by Adkins at various
points throughout the sound component of the work with the cello1
.
Borderlands was originally created for Totum One, an interactive installation
designed by the British company, IOU2
, and premiered at the Junction in Goole
(UK) in September 2014. A large white inflatable space, created by the artist,
Lisa Gort, housed examples of IOU's current experimentation in 360° sound
and virtual world technology. Borderlands was the heart of the installation: the
audience was invited to recline on white deck chairs and listen to the audio


Abstract: Acral lentiginous melanoma (ALM) is a relatively rare clinicopathologic subtype of cutaneous malignant melanoma, but it is the most common type of melanoma among Asians. Although the research to identify immunohistochemical (IHC) markers to differentiate nevi from melanoma is being conducted, specific markers for ALM are not well-known. Therefore, we aimed to analyze and compare the differences in the expression of melanocyte-associated IHC markers between ALM and acral benign nevi (ABN). Two independent groups of 53 and 19 paraffin-embedded specimens (from patients with pathologically confirmed ALM and ABN, respectively) were subjected to IHC staining for MART-1, preferentially expressed antigen in melanoma (PRAME), SOX10, HMB-45, Ki-67, and p16. We performed a quantitative analysis of PRAME, SOX10, KI-67, and p16 expression and gradient pattern analysis of HMB-45 expression for each specimen. The PRAME (60.1% and 28.5%, P < 0.05) and Ki-67 (7.8% and 3.5%, P < 0.05) expression levels were significantly higher in the ALM group than in the ABN group. The p16 expression was significantly lower (14.2% and 19.4%, P < 0.05), and the absence of HMB-45 gradient was more frequent in the ALM group than in the ABN group. However, no statistical significance was noted in SOX10 (54.8% and 44.7%). Receiver operating characteristic curves showed that PRAME had the highest area under the curve value. In summary, among various IHC markers, PRAME was the most valuable marker for the diagnosis of ALM; however, further large-scale studies are needed to validate these findings.


Background: The ability to scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS) is crucial for cornea epithelial cells to resist oxidative damage. The authors previously demonstrated that exogenous thymosin beta-4 (Tβ4) was able to protect human cornea epithelial (HCE-T) cells against H2O2-induced oxidative damage, and its cellular internalisation was essential. The aim of this study is to further elucidate its protective mechanism. Methods: HCE-T cells with or without Tβ4 pretreatment were exposed to H2O2, and the differences in caspase activity, intracellular ROS levels, cell viability, and the expression of anti-oxidative enzymes, were measured and compared. Results: Besides reducing caspase-9 activation and intracellular ROS levels induced by H2O2, treatment of Tβ4 could also increase cell viability and stimulate the expression of manganese superoxide dismutase (SOD) and copper/zinc SOD. Moreover, both transcription and translation levels of catalase were also upregulated by Tβ4 in the presence of exogenous H2O2. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that the addition of catalase inhibitor abrogated the protective effect of Tβ4 against H2O2-induced oxidative damage. Conclusion: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first report to show that Tβ4 was capable of upregulating anti-oxidative enzymes in human corneal epithelial cells, and these findings further support its role in cornea protection.


The detection of pedestrians plays an essential part in the development of automated driver assistance systems. Many of the currently available datasets for pedestrian detection focus on urban environments. State-of-the-art neural networks trained on these datasets struggle in generalizing their predictions from one environment to a visually dissimilar one, limiting the use case to urban scenes. Commercial working machines like tractors or excavators make up a substantial share of the total number of motorized vehicles and are often situated in fundamentally different surroundings, e.g. forests, meadows, construction sites or farmland. In this paper, we present a dataset for pedestrian detection which consists of 1018 stereo-images showing varying numbers of persons in differing non-urban environments and comes with manually annotated pixel-level segmentation masks and bounding boxes.


Kleinman and Majewski, Pickrell et al., and Lin et al. suggest that mapping and sequencing errors and genetic variants led to false discovery of RNA-DNA sequence differences in our paper. We repeated our analysis using two different sequence alignment methods and carried out additional experiments including whole genome DNA sequencing. The results are consistent with our finding of widespread RNA-DNA sequence differences.


Judgments about a youth's level of remorse are frequently used to make important decisions in the juvenile justice system that can have serious consequences to the person. Unfortunately, little is known about these ratings and what factors may influence them. In a sample of 325 1st-time youth offenders who were arrested for offenses of moderate severity, we tested whether probation officers' ratings of an adolescent's remorse soon after arrest were associated with the youth's self-report of showing a callous and unemotional interpersonal style, being arrested for a violent offense, and several demographic and background characteristics (e.g., age, race, socioeconomic status [SES], and intelligence). Our analyses indicated that both arrest for a violent offense and the adolescent's self-reported level of callous–unemotional (CU) traits were associated with probation officers' ratings of remorse. Further, youth age, SES, and intelligence neither were associated with these judgments nor moderated the association between CU traits and probation officers' ratings of remorse. However, youth race or ethnicity did moderate the association between CU traits and judgments of remorse, such that Latino youth who were high on CU traits showed a very low probability of being rated as remorseful.


Tarhana is a traditional cereal-based fermented food produced with a mixture of yoghurt and flour. The main microbiota in the fermentation of tarhana is yeast, together with lactic acid bacteria. In this study, the yeast microbiota of home-made tarhana (HMT) and plant-type tarhana (PTT) dough samples was evaluated and compared during fermentation. Culture-dependent LSU and ITS-5.8S rDNA sequence analysis of yeast isolates collected during the tarhana dough fermentation clarified 45 selected isolates representing different clusters. These yeast isolates displayed high homologywith species Pichia kudriavzevii (11), Candida glabrata (11), Candida humilis (10), Saccharomyces cerevisiae (7), Kluyveromyces marxianus (4), Kazachstania servazzi (1), and Kazachstania unispora (1). Additionally, both culture-dependent and PCR-Denaturated Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) analyses showed that S. cerevisiae, P. kudriavzevii and K. marxianus were abundant in the fermentation of HMT dough samples whereas P. kudriavzevii, C. humilis, and C. glabrata dominated the PTT dough samples. It was concluded that tarhana fermentation was accomplished with the presence of a wide variety of yeast species that mainly included P. kudriavzevii in both HMT and PTT dough samples.


In this tutorial we consider three methods for selecting the best of a set of competings yst ems: interactive analysis, ranking and selection, and multiple comparisons. We describe each method; discuss assumptions, implement ation aspects, advantages, and disadvantages; and demonstrate the use of each method with an airline-reservation-system simulation example.


Background/Aims Chemotherapy for advanced (stage III/IV) colon cancer has changed with new drugs and combination regimens. Treatment guidelines for advanced disease are broad thus allowing for treatment variation. We evaluated cases enrolled at 7 HMO Research Network sites through the Comparative Effectiveness in Genomic and Personalized Medicine for Colon Cancer (CERGEN) study to describe characteristics and patterns of chemotherapy treatment by geographic site and patient characteristics. Methods Metastatic colon cancer cases diagnosed between 1/1/04 and 12/31/09 were identified. Information on relevant patient characteristics including comorbidities, treatment, KRAS test status, and utilization of acute and palliative care was collected electronically. Chart review was conducted to supplement and/or verify the electronic data. Tumor specimens were obtained for KRAS testing on cases not tested as part of standard care. Analysis included descriptive statistics, incidence rates, and Cox proportional hazards regression models. Results A total of 1,220 advanced Colon cancer cases, 422 with Stage III disease prior to progression and 798 with Stage IV disease were enrolled. The proportion of patients who received chemotherapy varied by stage (87%; 256 of 294 with stage III disease and 68%; 630 of 926 with stage IV disease at time of treatment, adjusted p-value=0.0452), geographic site (range 51–83%; adjusted p-value 0.0003; age (rate decreased with increasing age, adjusted p-value < 0.0001), Charlson Score (range score 0, 76%; 147 of 196 to score 6+, 46%; 118 of 257; adjusted p-value < 0.0001), Medicare coverage (yes, 90%; 311 of 346 vs. no, 66%; 577 of 874; adjusted p-value < 0.0001), and positive family history of cancer (family history 82%; 460 of 561 vs. no family history 71%; 258 of 363; adjusted p-value <0.0456), but did not vary by BMI, patient gender, race, level of education, or household income. The median time to treatment varied by geographic site, stage, increasing age, race, Medicare coverage, college education, household income, and other therapy but did not vary by gender, BMI, Charlson Score, or positive family history. Discussion Chemotherapy use and median time to treatment in advanced colon cancer varied by disease stage, geographic site, and patient characteristics.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE
To investigate the optimal technique for repairing recurrent rhegmatogenous retinal detachments.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
A 2-year retrospective review of recurrent rhegmatogenous retinal detachments by 23-gauge pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) or combined 23-gauge PPV with encircling scleral buckling was performed. The primary outcome was anatomical success. The secondary outcome was the likelihood of achieving a final best corrected visual acuity of 6/12 or better at 6-month follow-up.

RESULTS
Anatomical success was achieved in 65.2% (95% CI, 53.4% to 75.4%) of the PPV group versus 74.3% (95% CI, 57.9% to 85.8%) of the PPV-scleral buckling group with one additional procedure (not statistically significant). There was no significant difference in the likelihood of achieving a final acuity of at least 6/12 between groups at 6-month follow-up.

CONCLUSION
The results of our study do not demonstrate a superiority of method of primary repair, or of one method of secondary repair, over another.


Subcritical transition to turbulence requires finite-amplitude perturbations. Using a nonlinear optimisation technique in a periodic computational domain, we identify the perturbations of plane Couette flow transitioning with least initial kinetic energy for Re ⩽ 3000. We suggest a new scaling law Ec = O(Re−2.7) for the energy threshold vs. the Reynolds number, in quantitative agreement with experimental estimates for pipe flow. The route to turbulence associated with such spatially localised perturbations is analysed in detail for Re = 1500. Several known mechanisms are found to occur one after the other: Orr mechanism, oblique wave interaction, lift-up, streak bending, streak breakdown, and spanwise spreading. The phenomenon of streak breakdown is analysed in terms of leading finite-time Lyapunov exponents of the associated edge trajectory.


The petrographic and geochemical investigations of the Kadinhani metamorphic, igneous and sedimentary rocks indicate a great range in petrography and geochemistry. The stratigraphy in the area starts with the metasedimentary Esiragili Formation which is followed upwards in the Devonian by the Bagrikurt Formation which is characterized by metavolcanic rocks, cherts, metasedimentary rocks, pelite, carbonate, calc-silicate and block limestone. The formation is overlain by the upper Devonian-lower Carboniferous Kursunlu formation limestone, which reflects a shelf environment and is cut by intrusive dykes. The Lorasdagi Formation carbonate was deposited in the an open shelf environment in the Jurassic to Cretaceous, overlies the older rocks unconformably and continues up to the unconformably overlying upper Miocene-Pliocene Osmankayasi Tepe Formation limestone which is overlain by dacite which itself is overlain by the Plio-Quaternary Toprakli Formation. Three phases of deformation (D1-D3) have been recognized in the present area.The microstructural and petrographic investigations show distinct phases of deformation and different metamorphic events. The apparent absence of any mineral growth during D2 and the post tectonic mineral overgrowth, indicates a metamorphic relaxation followed the Mi metamorphism. The second metamorphic event involves retrogression with pseudomorphic replacement of chloritoid, biotite, amphibole and feldspar. The area was metamorphosed first under the conditions of the greenschist facies (the most important minerals, muscovite, chlorite, chloritoid, actinolite and stilpnomelane) and then later under the blueschist facies metamorphism which gave rise to magnesio riebeckite, crossite, glaucophane, phengite and albite minerals. The psammite and quartzites have a passive or active continental margin setting. The cherts haye been deposited in a relatively shallow-water environment similar to recent continental shelf slope environment. The pelitic rocks were originally shales in which the main control in composition was the sheet silicates. The metabasic schists were possibly tuffs in the pelites. The calc silicate rocks were originally impure siliceous limestones with variable amounts of clay material. The carbonate rocks contains variable amounts of terrigenous material and dolomite is possibly of late diagenetic origin. The meta-igneous and igneous rocks are of a subalkaline character. The metahornblende gabbros were derived from a subalkaline basaltic melt with oceanic affinity. The metadolerites reveal a parental magma source similar to subduction- related lavas in a continental margin environment. The parental magma of the metadolerite involved a mix of subcontinental lithosphere and subduction components. The possiblity of derivation of the metatrachyandesite from basaltic magma via crystal fractionation of mafic minerals conflicts with the degree of REE fractionation of the metabasaltic andesite. The dacites were evolved mainly by amphibole fractionation under hydrous conditions at shallow levels in the continental crust and probably formed by fractional crystallization from an andesitic parental magma. The thesis contain 18 REE analyses, 153 XRF analyses of metamorphic, igneous and sedimentary rocks, microprobe analyses of feldspars, sheet silicates, amphiboles, pyroxenes, carbonate minerals, stilpnomelane, chloritoids, tourmalines, rutiles, epidotes, pumpellyites and magnetites. There is a new geological map of the area.


It may be essential for taking appropriate therapeutic decisions in cases with early central-type lung cancer, to know the depth of tumor invasion of the bronchial wall at the laminar level. When a tumor penetrates the cartilaginous layer, photodynamic therapy (PDT) may no longer effective. For optimal therapeutic outcome, the physicians should know accurately whether or not the lesion has invaded the cartilaginous layer. Endobronchial ultrasonography (EBUS) is the sole tool available currently for depicting the laminar structure of the bronchial wall in clinical use. But mastery is required for judging the extent of tumor invasion of the bronchial wall from the ultrasonogram. Even experienced interpreters have to depend on their subjective judgment. We employed image analysis software to digitize the EBUS image. This allowed us to draw a plot of the EBUS data from the bronchial wall and perform statistical analysis for an objective assessment. In this study, we examined the ultrasound images of the bronchial wall structure using 20 MHz and 30 MHz transducers. The results showed that the 30 MHz transducer was significantly more useful for delineating the bronchial wall layers than the 20 MHz probe. Our image analysis is an objective evaluation, and any examiner should arrive at the same results.


The aim of this study was the design and evaluation of a novel plasma stable, pH-sensitive niosomal formulation of Mitoxantrone by a modified ethanol injection method. Cholesterol hemisuccinate was added instead of cholesterol in order to produce pH-sensitivity property and using PEG-Poly (monomethyl itaconate)-CholC6 (PEG-PMMI-CholC6) copolymer introduced simultaneously pHsensitivity and plasma stability properties in prepared niosomes. The pH-sensitivity and cytotoxicity of Mitoxantrone niosomes were evaluated in vitro in phosphate buffer with different pHs as well as using human ovarian cancer cell line (OVCAR-3), human breast cancer cell line (MCF-7) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). Results showed that both cholesterol derivatives bearing formulations had pH-sensitive property and were found to release their contents under mild acidic conditions rapidly. In addition, the PEG-PMMI-CholC6-based niosomes could reserve the pH-sensitivity after incubation in plasma. Both Mitoxantrone-loaded pH-sensitive niosomes showed higher cytotoxicity than the conventional niosomes on OVCAR-3 and MCF-7 cell lines. However, both pH-sensitive niosomes exhibited lower cytotoxic effect on HUVEC cell line. Plasma stable, pH-sensitive niosomes could improve the cytotoxic effect and reduce the side effects of anti-tumor drugs.


We present a numerical study on the rheology of semi-dilute and concentrated filament suspensions of different bending stiffness and Reynolds number, with the immersed boundary method used to couple the fluid and solid. The filaments are considered as one-dimensional inextensible slender bodies with fixed aspect ratio, obeying the Euler–Bernoulli beam equation. To understand the global suspension behaviour we relate it to the filament microstructure, deformation and elastic energy and examine the stress budget to quantify the effect of the elastic contribution. At fixed volume fraction, the viscosity of the suspension reduces when decreasing the bending rigidity and grows when increasing the Reynolds number. The change in the relative viscosity is stronger at finite inertia, although still in the laminar flow regime, as considered here. Moreover, we find the first normal stress difference to be positive as in polymeric fluids, and to increase with the Reynolds number; its value has a peak for an intermediate value of the filament bending stiffness. The peak value is found to be proportional to the Reynolds number, moving towards more rigid suspensions at larger inertia. Moreover, the viscosity increases when increasing the filament volume fraction, and the rate of increase of the filament stress with the bending rigidity is stronger at higher Reynolds numbers and reduces with the volume fraction. We show that this behaviour is associated with the formation of a more ordered structure in the flow, where filaments tend to be more aligned and move as a compact aggregate, thus reducing the filament–filament interactions despite their volume fraction increases.


This is a study of the contemporary Anglican and Catholic school systems in England. It compares the main characteristics of each and seeks to establish how far these are attributable to characteristics of the churches themselves and the extent to which there is convergence between the two school systems as they and their churches respond to contemporary challenges. This is a complex subject, analysis of which is aided by a model developed from the work of Ball (1994) in the field of education policy studies. Using this model, the broader context in which church schools operate is analysed first, including especially the historical development of church schools, the educational requirements of modern government, the characteristics of the two churches in England as they have adapted to the social changes of the 20th century, together with the relevant aspects of those changes, particularly the secularisation of society. The relationship between this broad 'context of influence' and the contemporary church school systems is emphasised throughout this study. Against this background the Anglican and Catholic school systems are analysed and compared at two levels - the strategic level at which Official' policy is produced and the school level at which it is implemented, with the relationship between the two levels examined in detail. The main features of the two systems are identified and analysed, together with each of the main areas of policy relating to church schools, using a classification system to assist the comparison between them. For example, the issue of pupil admissions is analysed in terms of the stated policies of each church at national and diocesan levels and examined in terms of application at school level in each system. Whilst this is a study of church schools nationally, it is illustrated where appropriate by a case study of Anglican and Catholic schools in the city of Liverpool. This study has demonstrated clearly that, despite many obvious similarities between the Anglican and Catholic school systems, they do indeed reflect a number of distinctive characteristics of each church. The study also suggests that these characteristics have made it easier for the Anglican system to adapt to the demands of the modern state and the secularisation of society than it has been for the Catholic system, not least because most Anglican schools have traditionally served children from any or no religious background. These differences, it is argued, help to explain the contrasting current approaches of the two churches to the possibilities for expanding