It is recognized that oxidative stress plays a critical role in the development of salt-sensitive hypertension, especially in the kidney. The most abundant renal isoform is Nox4, but there is controversy regarding its distribution and function. There have been no studies of the role of Nox4 in a naturally occurring form of hypertension (Dahl salt-sensitive (SS) rat). We have therefore knocked out the Nox4 gene in the SS genetic background (SS
 Nox4-/-
 ) to determine the effect upon the development of salt-sensitive hypertension and renal kidney injury in the SS rat. The SS
 Nox4-/-
 rat, developed using zinc finger nuclease (ZFN) techniques, exhibits an 8 base-pair frame-shift deletion within exon 7 resulting in a truncation of the Nox4 peptide by 195 amino acids with a molecular weight of 22 kD predicted (compared to the full length Nox4 peptide of 594 amino acids with a molecular weight of 68 kD). Western blot analysis confirmed the loss of the Nox4 band at ~65 kD in renal medullary tissue of SS
 Nox4-/-
 rats vs. SS. The functional consequence of this deletion was substantial over a 21 day period following an increase in salt intake from 0.4 (LS) to 4.0% NaCl (HS). SS
 Nox4-/-

 rats exhibited a change in MAP from 105±3 on LS to 130±2 mmHg (a change of 25 mmHg; n=10) on d21 of HS compared to a change from 107±2 mmHg in SS rats to 171±7 on d21 of HS (a change of 64 mmHg; n=10) as determined by telemetry. Albuminuria was virtually eliminated in SS
 Nox4-/-

 rats who also exhibited a large reduction of tubular cast (2.4±0.3% positive strained region vs 12.6±1.3 in SS). Glomerular injury in both the cortex and medulla was significantly less in the SS
 Nox4-/-
 than the SS. The % of glomeruli with an injury score of >2 (0-4 scale) was 43±1.5% (258 of 600 glomeruli) in the SS
 Nox4-/-
 but 65±3.9% (390 of 600) in the SS. We conclude that Nox4 plays an important role in the development of this form of salt-sensitive hypertension and renal injury in SS rats.


New social risks are key factors for social cohesion of local community and society. Currently new social risks which are caused by changes in a society appear more frequently than before. While previously the groups of underprivileged were counted in endangered groups, now the middle class can be affected as well. This report shows a spatial distribution of these risks. How to obtain this result is shown on a particular example of the city of Ostrava. This report seeks to establish future influence of industrial city cohesion. Mainly processes of industrialization and deindustrialization are examined in a detail, especially their effect on demo-social structure of the city. The results are based on the research of the project called "Industrial society in a postindustrial city" under which there were large sociological research of Ostrava and a long term monitoring of statistical indicators carried out.All social problems lead to inability to retain basic residential standards. Social risk distribution is surveyed in Ostrava however the context of larger area (the Moravian-Silesian Region) is also taken into consideration.


: This article examines the role of collectively shared nostalgia after a development-induced loss in Halfeti, a town in Southeastern Anatolia, Turkey. In 2000, part of Halfeti was flooded to form a dam reservoir as part of the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP). The reservoir submerged part of the town's residential area as well as a large complex of orchards that were an integral part of pre-dam life in Halfeti. Ten years later, Halfeti's residents shared a nostalgic, idealised image of the past, dubbed as eski hali, the 'old state', in contrast to yeni hali, the 'new state', which they viewed as being highly unpredictable at both local and global levels. During my research, I found it apparent that the orchards had been central to the economic, social and emotional life of the inhabitants of Halfeti. They were an expression of the social relationships in Halfeti and, in memory, a projection of shared community ideals. This article examines the role of these orchards as mirrored in nostalgic narratives about the eski hali. Abstract. This article examines the role of collectively shared nostalgia after a development-induced loss in Halfeti, a town in Southeastern Anatolia, Turkey. In 2000, part of Halfeti was flooded to form a dam reservoir as part of the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP). The reservoir submerged part of the town's residential area as well as a large complex of orchards that were an integral part of pre-dam life in Halfeti. Ten years later, Halfeti's residents shared a nostalgic, idealised image of the past, dubbed as eski hali , the 'old state', in contrast to yeni hali , the 'new state', which they viewed as being highly unpredictable at both local and global levels. During my research, I found it apparent that the orchards had been central to the economic, social and emotional life of the inhabitants of Halfeti. They were an expression of the social relationships in Halfeti and, in memory, a projection of shared community ideals. This article examines the role of these orchards as mirrored in nostalgic narratives about the eski hali . [ memory, nostalgia, development, resettlement, Southeastern Anatolia Project, GAP, Turkey ]


Inflammatory bowel disease causes a variety of problems in patients. The most obvious is the serious degradation of the intestinal tract. It has been shown that specific diets have ameliorated as well as aggravated the intestinal lining. The specific mechanism and reason for this exacerbation is relatively unknown, however there are notably two possibilities: diet influences gut flora, promoting helpful bacteria or decreasing harmful ones; or that the diet has an impact upon the host's immune system, compromising the host. First, the diets' (specifically types of carbohydrates) effects in mice induced with a mouse model of inflammatory bowel syndrome called dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) was investigated. To understand the central cause of inflammation, the successive study utilized antibiotics to alter the composition of the bacteria flora in the gut and examine how it affects symptom severity of DSS colitis. Through the analysis of weight change, fecal DNA, as well as colon length changes, the correlation between gut flora can be studied. Three diets were used: Chow (CD, LabDiet 5001), Harlan Teklad (TD, TD96348), and a purified diet (PD) (made in the laboratory). There are multiple differences in the diets' composition. The CD diet contained the greatest diversity of fiber. The TD diet, with significant makeup of starch, lactose, and fiber (cellulose) had the most negative effects on the mice induced with DSS. Conversely, the mice fed PD, with dextrose and sucrose, and less fiber, proved to perform better all around, while mice fed TD performed significantly worse. This was determined via relative weight changes, as well as colon shrinkages. After this, antibiotics were introduced in the mice's water with either TD or PD. The influence of antibiotics had a greatly positive consequence on mice given both types of diets, highly outperforming their


A set of miniaturized dual-band bandpass filters is presented with a quadruple-folded substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) implemented into each design. They were fabricated using standard low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) technology. The bandwidths of both passbands of the filters are adjustable independently by changing the geometrical parameters of the coupling structure. Two filter samples are demonstrated with central frequencies located at 2.4/5.2 and 2.4/5.7 GHz, respectively, and their measured S-parameters agree well with the simulated ones.


This book examines the way in which the increasing internationalization of services, including the operation of multinationals in this sector, interacts with the process of innovation in services. The book challenges the theoretical traditions that have developed around the analysis of service innovation and internationalization, and argues for a new research agenda. The distinguished contributors address many of the most pertinent issues and adopt a variety of theoretical and empirical approaches to enrich the debates.


: The influence of various cardiovascular drugs, including ACE inhibitors (lisinopril), beta-adrenoblockers (bisoprolol, nebivolol), calcium inhibitors (nifedipine), cholesterol-lowering drugs (simvastatin), and heparinoids (sulodexide), on the vasodilating endothelial function has been studied in animals with experimental deficiency of sex hormones. According to the expressiveness of a positive effect on endothelium-dependent vasodilatation in castrated rats, the tested drugs can be arranged in the following sequence: sulodexide > lisinopril > or = simvastatin > or = nebivolol > bisoprolol > nifedipine.


Author(s): Hirsch, Lea | Advisor(s): Howard, Andrew W.; Ciardi, David | Abstract: Nearly half of all solar-type stars have at least one stellar or brown dwarf companion, and planets around G- and K-type stars appear to be quite common. Yet the impact of stellar multiplicity on planets, and on our understanding of planets, is not well understood. In this thesis, I describe a combination of work to study the interplay between stellar and planetary companions, using the combination of radial velocity and high-resolution imaging observations. First, planets discovered by transit surveys like the \eke Mission are sensitive to a detection and characterization bias due to stellar companions. The light of unresolved binary companions dilutes the transit of the planet, making it appear shallower than it is. This causes planet sizes in binary systems to be underestimated, and sensitivity to small planets to be overestimated. In Chapter 2, I combined multi-wavelength observations of stellar companions detected within 2 arcseconds of 170 Kepler Object of Interest hosts, to assess whether these companions were physically associated with the planet host stars. I found that stellar companions within 1" had a g80% likelihood of being bound. I used the compiled imaging observations of the bound stellar companions in this sample to determine the factor by which planet radii in these systems were underestimated. I determined that an average radius correction factor of X_R = 1.65 must be applied to planets orbiting stars with unresolved stellar companions, assuming the planets are equally likely to orbit either of the stars in a binary system. This means that planets in unresolved binary systems may have radii underestimated by an average of 65%. This effect is particularly important for Kepler stars with minimal ground-based follow-up; by performing a combination of spectroscopic and imaging observations on Kepler planet hosts, it is possible to reduce the effect of stellar companions by finding or ruling out binary companions in large regions of parameter space.Second, stellar companions likely impact the formation and evolution of planetary systems. To probe these effects, I focused on the solar neighborhood, studying sun-like stars within 25 pc using Doppler spectroscopy as well as adaptive optics and speckle imaging techniques. I built up methodology for performing joint orbital fits to combinations of radial velocity, astrometric, and photometric data by assessing the orbit of HD 159062 in Chapter 3. HD 159062 is a nearby binary system consisting of a G dwarf and a newly-discovered white dwarf companion. I determined that the white dwarf must have a mass of 0.54^{+0.09}_{-0.03} solar masses. Its combined radial velocities, astrometry, and photometry are inconsistent with it being either a brown dwarf or a main sequence star.In Chapter 4, I extended this joint orbital analysis technique to make use of imaging non-detections to place constraints on orbiting planets. In this study, we focused on the nearby adolescent K dwarf, Epsilon Eridani, whose giant planet was detected in three decades of radial velocity monitoring. Using deep M-band coronographic imaging that resulted in no detection of the planet, upper limits were placed on the mass of the giant planet. The combination of the RV data and constraints from the non-detection of the planet allowed the mass and inclination of the planet to be determined more precisely than with the RV data alone.Finally, I performed a simultaneous RV and imaging survey for both stellar and planetary companions to sun-like stars in the solar neighborhood in Chapter 5. By comparing the planet occurrence rates in binary systems to those in single star systems, we can begin to untangle the effects of stellar companions on planet formation. I found that the occurrence rate of planets with masses between 0.1 and 10 Jupiter masses and with semi-major axes between 0.1 and 10 AU is statistically equivalent in single star and binary star systems. I also determined that all known planet-hosting binary systems in the 25 pc sun-like star sample had separations wider than 100 AU. This indicates that wide binary companions do not seem to strongly impact the planet formation process, but that the planet occurrence rate in binary systems may decrease for systems with smaller binary separations.


This paper introduces current debates on assessment practice in Higher Education and explores educational research on assessment. It progresses by exploring a number of outcomes and highlights their role in helping understand the potential reasons for engaging in enterprise education. The paper then applies this outcomes framework to assessment practice. It does so by reporting a series of focus groups undertaken at the International Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE) conference in 2005. The focus groups engaged over 40 entrepreneurship and small business academics in a brainstorming exercise which explored forms of assessment that could be used to meet particular outcomes in enterprise education. These results are presented according to different potential entrepreneurial outcomes. The concluding part of the paper categorises these practices to develop and present the views of the participants and it provides a detailed analysis of assessment practice in enterprise education.


Evaluation method of reliability of industrial products needs to be improved effectively with the advance of science and technology. This paper introduces a new method, named E-Bayesian estimation method, to estimate failure probability in reliability engineering. The definition of E-Bayesian estimation of the failure probability is provided, moreover, the formulas of E-Bayesian estimation and hierarchical Bayesian estimation of the failure probability were provided, and properties of the E-Bayesian estimation, i.e. relations between E-Bayesian estimation and hierarchical Bayesian estimation, are also provided. Finally, calculation on practical problems shows that the provided method is feasible and easy to perform.


In computational electromagnetics and other areas of computational science and engineering, Fourier transforms of discontinuous functions are often required. We present a fast algorithm for the evaluation of the Fourier transform of piecewise smooth functions with uniformly or nonuniformly sampled data by using a double interpolation procedure combined with the fast Fourier transform (FFT) algorithm. We call this the discontinuous FFT algorithm. For N sample points, the complexity of the algorithm is O(/spl nu/Np+/spl nu/Nlog(N)) where p is the interpolation order and /spl nu/ is the oversampling factor. The method also provides a new nonuniform FFT algorithm for continuous functions. Numerical experiments demonstrate the high efficiency and accuracy of this discontinuous FFT algorithm.


: Linear array real time ultrasound was used to measure the diameter of the lateral in 80 infants of varying gestational ages (26 to 42 weeks). The measurements were performed in an axial plane through the temporoparietal bone. They can be considered as normal values for the varying gestational ages. The normal values can be used for the early detection of hydrocephalus or ventricle dilation due to cerebral atrophy.


Piezoelectric transformer (PT) is a combination of piezoelectric actuator and transducer, which serve as the primary side and the secondary side respectively. In the present study the disk – shaped (of 20 mm in diameter and 0.6 mm in thickness), unipoled radial mode piezoelectric transformer based on modified PZT-type solid solution was custom designed and fabricated. Different input and output area ratios of the PT were studied, namely: 21, 4, 1. The electrical properties like voltage step-up ratio, output power and temperature rise were measured for PT operating at the first resonance frequency. With the driving voltage of 20 VRMS, the 3 W output power, 165 VRMS output voltage an temperature rise of 20 0C was obtained for PT with the input/output area ratio of 1. The voltage step-up ratio of 12.5 was obtained for PT with input/output area ratio of 21.


OBJECTIVES
Neurocognitive dysfunction is milder in bipolar disorders than in schizophrenia spectrum disorders, supporting a dimensional approach to severe mental disorders. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of lifetime history of psychosis for neurocognitive functioning across these disorders. We asked whether neurocognitive dysfunction in bipolar and schizophrenia spectrum disorders depends more on history of psychosis than diagnostic category or subtype.

METHODS
A sample of individuals with schizophrenia (n=102), schizoaffective disorder (n=27), and bipolar disorder (I or II) with history of psychosis (n=75) and without history of psychosis (n=61) and healthy controls (n=280), from a large ongoing study on severe mental disorder, were included. Neurocognitive function was measured with a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery.

RESULTS
Compared with controls, all 3 groups with a history of psychosis performed poorer across neurocognitive measures, while the bipolar group without a history of psychosis was only impaired on a measure of processing speed. The groups with a history of psychosis did not differ from each other but performed poorer than the group without a history of psychosis on a number of neurocognitive measures. These neurocognitive group differences were of a magnitude expected to have clinical significance. In the bipolar sample, history of psychosis explained more of the neurocognitive variance than bipolar diagnostic subtype.

CONCLUSIONS
Our findings suggest that neurocognitive dysfunction in bipolar and schizophrenia spectrum disorders is determined more by history of psychosis than by Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fourth Edition) diagnostic category or subtype, supporting a more dimensional approach in future diagnostic systems.


Modern Vacuum Physics presents the principles and practices of vacuum science and technology along with a number of applications in research and industrial production. The first half of the book builds a foundation in gases and vapors under rarefied conditions, The second half presents examples of the analysis of representative systems and describes some of the exciting developments in which vacuum plays an important role. The final chapter addresses practical matters, such as materials, components, and leak detection. Throughout the book, the author's explanations are presented in terms of first principles and basic physics, augmented by illustrative worked examples and numerous figures.


ABSTRACT This study aims to reveal the effects of economic anxiety and burnout levels of active tour guides in Turkey on their occupational commitment. A questionnaire survey was conducted for this purpose on 370 active tour guides. Data were analysed using the path analysis and structural equation modelling. A negative relationship was found between the occupational commitment and burnout levels of tour guides and a strong positive relationship was found between the burnout and economic anxiety levels; it was also observed that the economic anxiety level only had a slight positive impact on continuance commitment.


This paper studies generic object detection. In the view of complexity and diversity of generic object, it proposes Boosting generic object detection method with bag-of-words. Boosting method has good detection efficiency, but it has some fault detections due to the diversity and complexity of the object. While Bag-of-words method has some advantages, such as local patch features, simplicity and robustness, and it has good classification performance of complex object. The proposed method applies Bag-of-words to remove the fault detection and to improve the tracking results of Boosting, and thus it achieves high generic object detection accuracy.


The Li-Ca-Cl-H 2 O system has been described in previous works using different modelling approaches [1-3], including the Pitzer equations [4]. These models are self-consistent but cannot be combined with recent developments aiming at describing larger chemical systems such as H-Li-Na-K-Cl-OH-H 2 O [5,6]. The objective of the present work is thus to develop a new set of Pitzer interaction parameters for the Li-Ca-Cl-H 2 O system consistent with these latter models, at 298.15 K. This task was done in two steps. First, the description of the Ca-Cl-H 2 O subsystem has been extended to the metastable super-saturation region by refining the recent model of Lach [7] using the osmotic coefficient data selected by [8]. Then, using osmotic coefficient or water activity data for LiCl-CaCl 2 mixtures [9,10] and solubility measurement data [10-12], the new set of specific interaction parameters and solubility products has been determined. Both types of data can be reproduced satisfactorily (see figure below) using the geochemical code PhreeSCALE [13], and it is now possible to envision the extended description of the H-Li-Na-K-Ca-Cl-OH-H 2 O chemical system at 298.15 K. Figure: The Li-Ca-Cl-H 2 O system at 298.15 K. (A) Solubility diagram and (B) iso-activity of water in mixtures. Symbols are experimental data, full lines are model results.


Brief Review of the present Status of the Taconic Problem In geology, and probably in all lines of research, there is a tendency to perpetuate established views long after evidence leading to contrary conclusions has been obtained. Likewise we have other examples of certain opinions being abandoned too quickly because of some supposedly good evidence that would seem to demand other explanations. Our textbooks, which in every case must be mainly compilations, are largely responsible for this situation. The ordinary investigator finds it easy to consult such sources and a task, frequently beyond his available time, to read and digest the mass of other literature bearing on his problem. It is, therefore, well from time to time to have general reviews of accumulated literature, with attempts to properly evaluate conflicting data. Such a review of the evidence in support of the belief in the Taconic Revolution was undertaken a few . . .


Molecular fluctuations directly reflect the underlying energy landscape. Variance analysis examines protein dynamics in several biochemistry-driven approaches, yet measurement of probe-independent fluctuations in proteins exposed to mechanical forces remains only accessible through steered molecular dynamics simulations. Using single molecule magnetic tweezers, here we conduct variance analysis to show that individual unfolding and refolding transitions occurring in dynamic equilibrium in a single protein under force are hallmarked by a change in the protein's end-to-end fluctuations, revealing a change in protein stiffness. By unfolding and refolding three structurally distinct proteins under a wide range of constant forces, we demonstrate that the associated change in protein compliance to reach force-induced thermodynamically-stable states scales with the protein's contour length, in agreement with the sequence-independent freely-jointed chain model of polymer physics. Our findings will help elucidate the conformational dynamics of proteins exposed to mechanical force at high resolution, of central importance in mechanosensing and mechanotransduction.


Abstract. In recent times a great deal of research aimed to reduce of uncertainties in probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA). Most attention was paid to the role of ground motion prediction equations (GMPEs; see, e.g., Strasser et al., 2009), while no studies were devoted to a possible larger source of uncertainties: the historical catalogues of earthquakes. In areas where historical catalogues provide a record many centuries long and surface geology does not permit us to obtain complete catalogues of seismogenic faults at the moment, their use is unavoidable for estimating seismicity rates required for PSHA. Their use is also gaining popularity as an independent tool for the estimation of PSHA (D'Amico and Albarello, 2008) and for validation purposes (Stirling and Petersen, 2006; Mucciarelli et al., 2008). After proposing an alternative parametrization of historical macroseismic intensity, this paper is devoted to discussing what the real impact of starting uncertainties in intensities on the final uncertainties in PSHA is.


This study explored 45 primary school teachers' encounters with cases of suspected or disclosed child sexual abuse. Stage I involved a cross-sectional survey which investigated the training experiences and support opportunities for teachers in relation to child abuse. The Maslach Burn-out Inventory assessed levels of occupational stress.

Teacher's identification of abuse and their perceived ability to cope with such cases were hypothesised as associated with the perceived adequacy of training and support, and with teacher's reported levels of occupational stress.

Stage II involved interviewing seven teachers to explore the emotional impact of working with cases of suspected or disclosed abuse.

The entire sample felt that initial teacher training had not adequately prepared them to deal with abused children; over 95 per cent said they would welcome more training. Formal support for teachers was limited and, largely, considered inadequate. Nethertheless, the majority felt they would cope'well'with cases of abuse.

Analysis of results revealed that teachers who had not received disclosures were more likely to rate support as adequate; teachers who had harboured suspicions and teachers who had received disclosures reported higher levels of burn-out.

Qualitative material revealed factors that affected the ability to cope with cases of abuse and factors that influenced the emotional impact of such work.

Aspects of primary school teachers' unique position appear to make encounters with abused children particularly disturbing. It is suggested that the emotional impact of such work could be mediated by resources such as training and support. The implications of insufficient resources extend beyond the psychological well being of the teacher to the effective protection of the child. The implications for clinical psychology are discussed.


Love is the privileged theme in 15 th -century poetry chansonniers and problem literature is particularly adequate to discuss love matters. However, the analysis of Castilian poetical works allows us to acknowledge the existence of problem literature dealing with philosophical and ethical themes, albeit in lesser number. The situation is not different from the Cancioneiro Geral , by Garcia de Resende, where the genre is also characterized, in similar proportions, by the coexistence of love and philosophical themes. The aim of this article, which analyses this particular type of compositions in the Portuguese corpus, is to survey to what extent this poetical exchange allows a dynamic and original treatment of existential issues and a discussion about the lack of values. Consequently, the interaction between the questioner and the author of the answer allows us to broaden the scope of the question, revealing other possible interpretations for the suggested problem. Moreover, the philosophical and ethical problem literature also constitutes an exercise where poets test their expertise through rhetorical games that subvert the argument of the opponent.


In the United States, a war is not only being waged abroad, but also at home. Young people increasingly find themselves out of work, warehoused in substandard schools, or under the jurisdiction of the criminal justice system; people of color are being incarcerated at alarming rates and immigrants are increasingly treated as criminals or threats to national security. However, these groups are not the only targets. Universities are accused of being soft on terrorism; dissident artists are increasingly branded as un-American because of their critiques of the Bush administration; homophobia has become the poster-ideology of the Republican Party; and a full-fledged assault on women's reproductive rights is being championed by Bush's evangelical supporters--most evident in Bush's two recent Supreme Court appointments. An incessant assault on critical thinking itself and a rising bigotry have undercut the possibility for providing a language in which vital social institutions can be defended as a public good. Moreover, as visions of social equity recede unfettered from public memory, brutality, self-interest, and greed combined with retrograde social policies make "security" and "safety" top domestic priorities. As the spaces for producing engaged citizens are either commercialized or militarized, the crushing effects of domination spread out to all aspects of society, and war increasingly becomes the primary organizing principle of politics. (1) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Unfortunately, the university offers no escape and little resistance. Instead, the humanistic knowledge and values of academia are being excised as higher education becomes increasingly corporatized and stripped of its democratic functions. The appeal to excellence by university leadership functions as a corporate logo, hyping efficiency while denuding critical thought and scholarship of any intellectual and political substance. In the corporate university, academics are now expected to be academic entreprencurs whose value largely depends on the grant money they attract, rather than the quality of education they offer to students. (2) As the university is annexed by defense, corporate, and national security interests, critical scholarship is replaced by knowledge for either weapons research or commercial profits; just as the private intellectual now replaces the public intellectual, and the public relations intellectual supplants the engaged intellectual in the wider culture. In addition, faculty are increasingly downsized and turned into an army of part-time workers who are overworked and underpaid, just as graduate students are reduced to wage slavery as they take over many undergraduate teaching functions. It is important to note that such attacks on higher education in the U.S. come not only from a market-based ideology that would reduce education to training and redefine schools as investment opportunities; they also come from conservative Christian organizations such as the American Family Association (AFA), as well as conservative politicians, and right-wing think tanks. These groups have also launched an insidious attack on peace studies, women's studies, Middle Eastern studies, critical pedagogy, and any field that challenges the "orthodoxy of the doctrinaire right-wingers" and is critical of the aims and policies of the Bush administration. (3) This is the same administration that alludes to gay married couples as "terrorists," while saying nothing about U.S. involvement in the torture and abuse at Abu Ghraib prison (or any of the other secret prisons run by the Central Intelligence Agency [CIA]) or the U.S. policy of "extraordinary rendition" that allows the CIA to kidnap people and send them to authoritarian countries to be tortured. (4) The frontal nature of such attacks against both dissent and critical education can also be seen in attempts by conservative legislators in Ohio and a number of other states to pass bills such as the Academic Bill of Rights, which argues that academics should be hired on the basis of their conservative ideology not only in order to balance out faculties dominated by left-wing professors, but also to control what conservative students are taught, allegedly immunizing them against ideas that might challenge or offend their ideological comfort zones. …


The publication of this book coincides with an exceptional exhibition that brings together creations from three of the greatest designers of our time - Cristobal Balenciaga, Philippe Venet, and Hubert de Givenchyat the Chateau de Haroue, the sumptuous eighteenth-century palace built by the Princes of Beauvau-Craon. The collection of evening dresses, presented in this architectural jewel and paragon of art de vivre showcases Hubert de Givenchys passion for elegance and the heritage of France. The extraordinary gowns were selected by Hubert de Givenchy, President of the Cristobal Balenciaga Foundation, along with Philippe Venet, and the Princess of Beauvau-Craon. Not only did the great Spanish designer Cristobal Balenciaga create a style, but he also invented a technique. He was an architect of haute couture and has had a prevailing influence upon the international world of fashion. His trademarks were his astounding creativity, exceptional command of tailoring, and timeless style. Philippe Venet has experience and respect for the traditions of haute couture, but distinguishes himself with his use of colors, and his innovative and imaginative tailoring. Hubert de Givenchy, the aristocrat of haute couture, still inspires the fashion world with his sense of perfection. He initiated and was actively involved in the creation of this luxurious work, which is a tribute to the subtle harmony between haute couture creations and exceptional locations. Christiane de Nicolay-Mazery, author and friend of Hubert de Givenchy and Philippe Venet, presents these legendary dresses displayed at the Chateau de Haroue, such as Queen Fabiola of Belgiums wedding dress created by Balenciaga and the unforgettable black dress created by Givenchy for Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffanys.


The authors report two cases of suddenly deteriorated accommodative esotropia with amblyopia during part-time occlusion therapy. A 7-year-old girl with right accommodative esotropia, which was well controlled, showed marked increase in esodeviation after part-time occlusion and regained orthophoria without occlusion. This phenomenon was repeated. Recession of both medial recti was performed and orthophoria was well maintained at both distant and near targets. Accommodative esotropia of a 9-year-old boy with glasses also showed a striking increase in esodeviation after part-time occlusion. The authors recommended wearing only glasses without occlusion or surgery and he recovered fusion. Three months later, orthophoria was maintained at distant target, with 8PD esophoria at near target with glasses. Although this complication should be considered before occlusion therapy, it must be taken continuously if needed, because an increase of the deviation size with occlusion may simply reflect a true deviation and may not be a poor prognostic sign.


An unsupervised method is proposed for link activation in wireless networks by identifying clusters of interfering users. A k-nearest neighbors interference graph is first defined for the wireless network which is then mapped to a stochastic latent space. The users are then clustered in the latent space using a Gaussian mixture model, and one user from each interfering cluster is activated while the rest of the users in that cluster remain idle. The proposed framework is scalable, works across several network topologies such as device to device (D2D), and is close to the optimal solution in performance.


The Astro2020 report recommended that NASA's next flagship have direct imaging of rocky, Earthlike exoplanets as its core science mission. At present, the starshade is the only high contrast imaging technique that has demonstrated broadband contrast at levels suitable for imaging exo-Earths in the laboratory. A starshade is an occulter positioned to cast a shadow of an exoplanet's host star onto the telescope aperture, and narrow enough that the nearby exoplanet remains visible to the telescope. The starshade has a precise shape tailored to suppress diffraction of the starlight into the shadow. Starshade-based observations also have other advantages compared to coronagraphic observations. These include: no effective limit to the outer working angle, higher throughput for the exoplanet light, dramatically simpler requirements on the telescope optics, and the ability to provide high contrast at ultraviolet wavelengths. These advantages come at the price of needing a separate spacecraft to fly the starshade in formation with the telescope, and the consequent costs in fuel and time required for stationkeeping and retargeting. We describe work being done to mature starshade technology to technology readiness level 5 (TRL 5) in NASA's S5 activity. This work includes optical measurements of a starshade's ability to suppress light at levels required for a flagship mission, laboratory demonstrations of position sensing and control methods for starshade formation flying, and manufacture and test of flight-like starshade mechanical assemblies that can deploy accurately and stably to the precise shape required for starlight suppression in space.


Recently it has been found that, when operated at large input power, the linewidth of terahertz radiation emitted from intrinsic Josephson junction stacks can be as narrow as some megahertz. In this high-bias regime a hot spot coexists with regions which are still superconducting. Surprisingly, the linewidth was found to decrease with increasing bath temperature. We present a simple model describing the dynamics of the stack in the presence of a hot spot by two parallel arrays of pointlike Josephson junctions and an additional shunt resistor in parallel. Heat diffusion is taken into account by thermally coupling all elements to a bath at temperature T_b. We present current-voltage characteristics of the coupled system and calculations of the linewidth of the radiation as a function of T_b. In the presence of a spatial gradient of the junction parameters critical current and resistance, the linewidth deceases with increasing T_b, similar to the experimental observation.


Background/aim Organic solvents, which are used in many processes in furniture manufacture, are the most common chemicals that may be associated with liver injury. The present study aimed to determine the potential impact among workers exposed to mixtures of organic solvents on liver function tests. Participants and methods The present study included 63 workers occupationally exposed to organic solvents and 27 healthy individuals who served as a control group. The exposed group was divided into three subgroups according to the duration of employment: less than 10 years (G2), from 10 to 20 years (G3), and more than 20 years (G4) of employment. Six air samples were collected in the different production units using activated charcoal tubes according to a standard method developed by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. Clinical data and demographic information were collected. Liver enzymes [alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), g-glutamyltransferase (GGT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activities] were measured in all participants. Results The mean level of organic solvents at air work place was below the maximum allowable limits according to international regulations and Egyptian Environmental Law 4. Serum ALT, AST, GGT, ALP, and LDH activities were significantly higher in exposed workers than in the controls. Serum AST and ALP activities were elevated in subgroups with duration of employment more than 10 years compared with the controls. Serum ALT, ALP, and LDH activities showed a significant positive correlation with the duration of employment. Conclusion The relationship between occupational exposure to organic solvents and hepatic injury was propounded, even though the exposure was below the permissible exposure limit. Serum ALT is a good biomarker of hepatocellular injury and a sensitive biomarker for exposure to solvents.


Summary When triggered by factor (F) XII and nucleic acids, we showed that thrombosis in HRG-deficient mice is accelerated compared with that in wild-type mice. In this study, we set out to identify the mechanisms by which nucleic acids promote contact activation, and to determine whether HRG attenuates their effects. DNA or RNA addition to human plasma enhances thrombin generation via the intrinsic pathway and shortens the clotting time. Their effect on the clotting time is seven- to 14-fold greater in HRG-deficient plasma than in control plasma. Investigations into the mechanisms of activation reveal that nucleic acids a) promote FXII activation in the presence of prekallikrein- and high molecular weight kininogen (HK), and b) enhance thrombin-mediated FXI activation by 10– to 12-fold. Surface plasmon resonance studies show that DNA and RNA bind FXII, FXIIa, HK, FXI, FXIa and thrombin with high affinity. HRG attenuates DNA- and RNA-mediated FXII activation, and FXI activation by FXIIa or by thrombin, suggesting that HRG down regulates the capacity of DNA and RNA to activate the intrinsic pathway. Therefore, HRG attenuates the procoagulant activity of nucleic acids at multiple levels.


Although the dynamic capabilities perspective has become one of the most frequently used theoretical lenses in management research, critics have repeatedly voiced their frustration with this literature, particularly bemoaning the lack of empirical knowledge and the underspecification of the construct of dynamic capabilities. But research on dynamic capabilities has advanced considerably since its early years, in which most contributions to this literature were purely conceptual. A plethora of empirical studies as well as further theoretical elaborations have shed substantial light on a variety of specific, measurable factors connected to dynamic capabilities. Our article starts out by analyzing these studies to develop a meta-framework that specifies antecedents, dimensions, mechanisms, moderators, and outcomes of dynamic capabilities identified in the literature to date. This framework provides a comprehensive and systematic synthesis of the dynamic capabilities perspective that reflects the richness of the research while at the same time unifying it into a cohesive, overarching model. Such an analysis has not yet been undertaken; no comprehensive framework with this level of detail has previously been presented for dynamic capabilities. Our analysis shows where research has made the most progress and where gaps and unresolved tensions remain. Based on this analysis, we propose a forward-looking research agenda that outlines directions for future research.


ABSTRACT Managing authorities in Scandinavia arrange public information meetings when members of the public express fear because wolves or brown bears approach human settlements. This study aimed to increase the understanding of the potential effect of information meetings on self-reported fear of wolves and brown bears. In total, 198 participants completed questionnaires before and after the information meetings. Nine follow-up interviews were held 1 year later. The quantitative analyses revealed that participants who found the information credible reported a significant increase in social trust and a decrease in vulnerability and fear. The qualitative analyses pointed to the importance of information content and meta-communication, for example, nonverbal cues. It is proposed that, among participants who find the information credible, information meetings may change the appraisal of wolves and brown bears, and therefore they might prove useful as an intervention to address fear of these animals.


The novel bulk glasses from the chalcohalide Ge-S-AgI system have been synthesized. From the as-prepared samples amorphous films have been deposited by vacuum thermal evaporation. The amorphous nature of the studied bulk and layered materials has been proved by Xray diffraction. The composition of the synthesized bulk chalcohalide glasses and corresponding amorphous thin films has been ascertained by means of Auger electron spectroscopy. The morphology and uniformity of the deposited layers have been investigated using scanning electron microscopy. The basic optical properties of the studied glassy films have been defined. Variations in the optical behaviors as a function of the composition have been derived. Experiments related to optical recording in the investigated Ge-S-AgI layers has been implemented. The diffraction efficiency as a function of various recording beam intensities has been obtained.


We report new developments in instrumentation and techniques for both acoustic (speed of sound) and radiometric primary thermometry methods. These include both new cylindrical resonators for extending acoustic gas thermometry to higher temperatures and absolute radiation thermometers incorporating InGaAs detectors to extend primary radiometry to lower temperatures than can be achieved using Si-detector based instruments. These new approaches have been established in order to determine the difference between thermodynamic temperature, T, and the International Temperature Scale of 1990 (the ITS-90), T 90, over the temperature range from 430 K to 1358 K as part of the three-year EMPIR project 'Implementing the new kelvin 2' (InK2). This paper describes the facilities and measurement methodologies for measuring T—T 90 at each of the different institutes, along with an assessment of the target uncertainties. The work is ongoing, but we anticipate that the results of these measurements will ultimately be pooled to provide consensus values of T—T 90 with associated estimated uncertainties. These consensus values will initially feed into the technical annex of the mise en pratique for the definition of the kelvin (MeP-K-19) and, if required, will be used to help to provide a foundation for any future temperature scale.


Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) evolves after suffering consecutive, traumatizing forms of abuse during an individual's early years. Repetitive abuse can lead an individual to develop two or more personalities, and then experience memory loss or other cognitive gaps in his or her early childhood that continue to the present day. This can have devastating effects on millions of people because a significant percentage of affected individuals do not recognize the symptoms or choose to believe that DID does not exist. By analyzing the literature currently available, this article creates a central base of popular and emerging models that clinicians use to diagnose DID. With a more informed understanding of what prompts the diagnosis, researchers can pinpoint the factors that lead to DID, which will allow for earlier recognition. This review alerts researchers and clinicians that DID is a legitimate disorder. This review also highlights the fact that effective treatments are available, but that more research is needed to grasp the nature of the mechanisms that drive the development of DID.


Coastal upwelling, with a strong sea-surface temperature (SST) signal, is extremely common in the Baltic Sea during the summer months. Although the spatial scale of upwelling is small, its high frequency of occurrence in the semi-enclosed basin may allow the SST signature to have significant feedback onto the lower atmosphere. In this paper, we develop a method to remove the signature of upwelling from SST fields, and use these modified SST fields as the lower boundary condition of an atmospheric model, allowing us to evaluate the importance of coastal upwelling to the mean summer conditions over the Baltic. The contribution of upwelling is found to be small generally, although significant locally over areas where upwelling is most common. This includes 2 m air temperature reductions of up to 2°C, wind speed reductions of up to 0.25 m s−1, and reductions in the mean boundary-layer height of up to 100 m. High-resolution simulations with artificially enhanced upwelling suggest that upwelling may become increasingly important as winds slacken at the end of an upwelling period.


A blistering study was performed on a fluorinated polyimide resin and its carbon-fiber composite in an effort to determine the blister-formation temperature and the influence of blisters on composite performance. The fluorinated resin and carbon-fiber composite exhibit higher glass-transition (435–455°C) and decomposition temperatures (above 520°C) than similar polyimide resins and their carbon-fiber composites currently used. Two techniques were used to determine moisture-induced blister formation. A transverse extensometer with quartz lamps as a heating source measured thickness expansion, as did a thermomechanical analyzer as a function of temperature. Both methods successfully measured the onset of blister formation with varying amounts of absorbed moisture (up to 3 wt%) in the samples. The polyimide resin exhibited blister temperatures ranging from 225 to 362°C, with 1.7–3.0 wt% absorbed moisture, and the polyimide composite had blister temperatures from 246 to 294°C with 0.5–1.5 wt% moisture. The blistering effects of the polyimide composites were found to have little correlation with modulus. POLYM. COMPOS., 2011. © 2010 Society of Plastics Engineers


Abstract International research has recognized numerous alternative conceptions and obstacles to learning about Earth dynamics. The objective of this research was to evaluate the impact of a teaching intervention that incorporates models and scientific inquiry to promote understanding about Earth dynamics in a group of seventh grade students at a school in Santiago, Chile. Through a quantitative approach, a quasi-experimental design was implemented with pre- and post-test evaluation of a control and an experimental group. Student-centred lessons were implemented in the experimental group, where data and evidence were analyzed, and analogical models were used to represent the collision of tectonic plates and the formation of relief. In the control group, the teaching of the same contents was carried out by a more "teacher-centred" approach. The participants were 60 7th grade students (36 girls and 24 boys) aged between 12 and 14 years. Student performances were measured with an instrument created and validated in a previous research project, which addressed three main topics: Earth layers, Earth dynamics and continental drift. We identified 26 misconceptions, many of which have not been described by previous studies. At the end of the intervention, both groups improved their knowledge about Earth sciences, but the effect was greater in the experimental group (mean = 26.8, t = –10.24, r = 0.81, p < 0.001) compared to the control group (mean = 22.4; t = –8.3; r = 0.65, p < 0.001). The results suggest that student-centered strategies represent an effective means for decreasing students' misconceptions about plate tectonics and Earth science concepts in general.


ABSTRACT Little is known about the impact of expectations on persistence in couple and family therapy. A better understanding of the factors that contribute to persistence in therapy is key to understanding therapeutic dropout. We report results of a secondary grounded theory analysis of individual, couple, and family therapy clients' therapy expectations and their intention to persist in therapy. Participants were 19 clients of MFTs. Results indicate that clients carry expectations about the therapist, therapy process, duration, and outcome. Positive disconfirmation (Tambling & Johnson, 2010) of negative expectations contributed to therapy persistence.


Drought escape (DE) is a classical adaptive mechanism which involves rapid plant development to enable the completion of the full life-cycle prior to a coming drought event. This strategy is widely used in populations of native plants, and is also applicable to cereal crops such as wheat. Early flowering time and a shorter vegetative phase can be very important for wheat production in conditions of terminal drought since this can minimize exposure to dehydration during the sensitive flowering and post-anthesis grain filling periods. A gradual shift toward early flowering has been observed over the last century of wheat breeding in countries with a Mediterranean-type climate and frequent terminal drought. This trend is predicted to continue for wheat production in the coming years in response to global climate warming. The advantage of early flowering wheat is apparent under conditions of impending terminal drought, and modern varieties are significantly more productive due to minimization of the risk associated with drought stress. Under favorable conditions, a short vegetative phase can result in reduced plant biomass due to the reduction in time available for photosynthetic production and seed nutrient accumulation. However, high yield potential has been reported for the development of both shallow and deep roots, representing plasticity in response to drought in combination with the early flowering trait. Wheat productivity can be high both in well-watered and drought-affected field trials, where an efficient strategy of DE was associated with quick growth, yield potential and water use efficiency. Therefore, early flowering provides a promising strategy for the production of advanced drought-adapted wheat cultivars.


Abstract We present a multi-proxy study of sediment Core 905 from the Arabian Sea offshore Somalia to assess the validity of a number of proxies for productivity, temperature and wind strength, to reconstruct the monsoon history in the western Arabian Sea. The present-day seasonal variation in productivity in the modern Arabian Sea off Somalia reflects the change from the high-productivity SW monsoon to the low-productivity NE monsoon seasons. Annual productivity is therefore largely controlled by SW monsoon driven upwelling. The geochemical records of Core 905 document millennial-scale variations, for example, in Ba/Al and Corg content. The Younger Dryas and the time equivalent period to Heinrich event 1 show low annual productivity whereas the early Holocene and Bølling-Allerød periods are characterized by high productivity. The upwelling-productivity peaked during Early Holocene time and was followed by a decrease toward the modern values. The total flux of planktic foraminifera and the concentration of the planktic foraminifera G. bulloides are not always controlled by the total productivity. Variations in calcite dissolution, the advection of expatriate fauna or a seasonal decoupling of primary and secondary production appear to hamper straightforward interpretations of those foraminifera records. We conclude that at significantly changed climatic boundary conditions compared with the present day, bulk-sediment-related proxies of productivity more consistently record the local upwelling history than foraminifer-based productivity proxies.


Yeasts of the genus, Malassezia, formerly known as Pityrosporum, are lipophilic yeasts, which are a part of the normal skin flora (microbiome). Malassezia colonize the human skin after birth and must therefore, as commensals, be normally tolerated by the human immune system. The Malassezia yeasts also have a pathogenic potential where they can, under appropriate conditions, invade the stratum corneum and interact with the host immune system, both directly but also through chemical mediators. The species distribution on the skin and the pathogenetic potential of the yeast varies between different Malassezia related diseases such as head and neck dermatitis, seborrheic dermatitis, pityriasis versicolor, and Malassezia folliculitis. The diagnostic methods used to confirm the presence of Malassezia yeasts include direct microcopy, culture based methods (often a combination of morphological features of the isolate combined with biochemical test), molecular based methods such as Polymerase Chain Reaction techniques, and Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization—Time Of Flight mass spectrometry and the chemical imprint method Raman spectroscopy. Skin diseases caused by Malassezia are usually treated with antifungal therapy and if there are associated inflammatory skin mechanisms this is often supplemented by anti-inflammatory therapy. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of Malassezia related skin disease, diagnostic methods and treatment options.


We study the exponential Ornstein–Uhlenbeck stochastic volatility model and observe that the model shows a multiscale behaviour in the volatility autocorrelation. It also exhibits a leverage correlation and a probability profile for the stationary volatility which are consistent with market observations. All these features make the model quite appealing since it appears to be more complete than other stochastic volatility models also based on a two-dimensional diffusion. We finally present an approximate solution for the return probability density designed to capture the kurtosis and skewness effects.


Rapid evolution of asexual populations, such as that of cancer cells or of microorganisms developing drug resistance, can include the simultaneous spread of distinct beneficial mutations. We demonstrate that evolution in such cases is driven by the fitness effects and appearance times of only a small minority of favorable mutations. The complexity of the mutation-selection process is thereby greatly reduced, and much of the evolutionary dynamics can be encapsulated in two parameters—an effective selection coefficient and effective rate of beneficial mutations. We confirm this theoretical finding and estimate the effective parameters for evolving populations of fluorescently labeled Escherichia coli. The effective parameters constitute a simple description and provide a natural standard for comparing adaptation between species and across environments.


The goal of the research is to estimate the supply and demand of grain storage for the state of Mato Grosso. This is the first research to employ GPS coordinates to map storage in Mato Grosso. The state has 2,143 registered warehouses. The analysis uses commercial warehouses with capacity greater than 50,000 metric tons as the focus of study. There is an under capacity of 34% compared to production and the situation is aggravated by the rapidly increasing production of second crop maize (safrinha). The worst situation occurs in Sorriso with a maximum deficit of 6,904,730 tons of storage when factoring in a full maize second crop. There is clear evidence of a shortage of storage, particularly private and cooperative, as grain production rises in the state


Following a screening campaign of bleeding cankers of broadleaf hosts in Great Britain, numerous bacterial strains were isolated, identified by 16S rRNA and protein-coding gene sequencing and ultimately classified. During the course of the study, several Gram-negative, facultatively anaerobic strains were isolated from bleeding Platanus x acerifolia (London plane) and Tilia x europaea (common lime) cankers that could not be assigned to an existing species. Partial 16S rRNA gene sequencing placed these strains in the genus Erwinia, as a close phylogenetic relative of Erwinia toletana. In an effort to determine the taxonomic position of the strains, a polyphasic approach was followed including genotypic, genomic, phenotypic, and chemotaxonomic assays. Multilocus sequence analysis based on four protein-coding genes (gyrB, rpoB, infB, and atpD) confirmed the phylogenetic position of the strains as a novel taxon of subgroup 3 of the genus Erwinia, along with E. toletana and E. iniecta, and furthermore, provided support for their reclassification in a novel genus. Whole genome comparisons allowed the delimitation of the novel species and also supported the proposed transfer of subgroup 3 species to a novel genus in the Erwiniaeae. Phenotypically the novel species could be differentiated from E. toletana and E. iniecta, and the novel genus could be differentiated from the closely related genera Erwinia and Mixta. Therefore, we propose (1) the reclassification of E. toletana and E. iniecta in a novel genus, Winslowiella gen. nov., as Winslowiella toletana comb. nov. and Winslowiella iniecta comb. nov., with W. toletana comb. nov. as the type species (type strain A37T = CFBP 6631T = ATCC 700880T = CECT 5263T), and (2) classification of the novel strains as Winslowiella arboricola sp. nov. (type strain BAC 15a-03bT = LMG 32576T = NCPPB 4696T).


Subharmonically injection locking to an oscillator is an approach to obtain a stable source operated in microwave of millimeter-wave regions. In this paper, we present the formulation and results on the locking performance of metal-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MESFET) subharmonically injection-locked oscillator (SILO). Nonlinear-state equations of SILO are derived based on the use of a power series expression for MESFET nonlinear elements. The locking performance includes SILO output power, conversion gain, locking bandwidth, and the critical injection-locking signal level. The derived formulation is useful in the design of a MESFET SILO. Simulation results are shown to be in good agreement with those of experimental test measurement.


A study was initiated to determine the vegetative history and boundary stability of Cinnabar Park, a small park located in Medicine Bow National Forest, Albany County, Wyoming, typical of many high altitude parks scattered throughout our National Forest Lands. The park and the forest immediately surrounding the park occur on an erosional remnant of uplifted Tertiary aged sediments at an elevation of 2,758 m. The soils of the park are classified as Cryoborolls, and those of the forest surrounding the park are Cryochrepts. Vegetation in the park consists of a variety of forbs, shrubs, and grasses, while that of the surrounding forest is mainly lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl.), with some Engelmann's spruce (Picea engelmanni (Parry) Engelm.) intermixed. Various soil characteristics of the park were compared with those of the surrounding forest in an effort to obtain clues which might point to the vegetative history of this area. The content of plant opal and the pH of the soils, together with field observations, led to the conclusion that the park boundaries are slowly shifting in an eastward direction. Strong prevailing westerly winds and drifting snow appear to be the forces responsible for the boundary movement.


The conceptual guideline underlying this study is that the goal of processing theory should be to construct a transparent parser. A transparent parser is a parser which employs only properties and relations that are available in the grammar, without resorting to processing-specific notions.

Under a lexicalist conception of grammar, such as the Minimalist Program, this conceptual guideline leads to the conclusion that the structure-building mechanism available to the human parser must be head-driven. As a starting point for developing a transparent parser, this study takes the processing model of Pritchett (1992), which is introduced in chapter 2. In this head-driven model, initial analysis is driven by the need to satisfy a grammatical principle (the Theta Criterion) as soon as possible. The model also features a reanalysis constraint, the On-Line Locality Constraint, which specifies two structurally defined conditions under which the human parser can perform reanalysis without evoking a garden path effect.

Head-driven processing models have encountered resistance in the literature. Frazier (1987, 1989) and Schneider (1999) argue that the processing complexity which can occur in headfinal structures, shows that the parser builds structure before it encounters the head. In chapter 3, this argumentation is critically examined and rejected. The discussion involves a variety of locally ambiguous structures, such as relative clauses in Dutch, and preverbal PP-attachment ambiguities.

Chapter 4 discusses the processing of verb-final structures under Pritchett's theory. One language of interest is Dutch, which is verb-final in embedded clauses, and verb-second in main clauses. Another language of interest is Japanese. Although Pritchett s theory goes a long way in explaining the virtual absence of garden path effects in Japanese, it does predict processing difficulties in Japanese in some contexts that are actually processed without effort, as has been pointed out by Mazuka and Itoh (1995). To accommodate these cases, an extension of Pritchett's reanalysis constraint is proposed. It is argued on the basis of Dutch and Japanese that the reanalysis process that is available to the human parser can reanalyze material from the edge of a phase to a position outside that phase.

Chapter 5 gives an overview of the resulting system, and shows how it accounts for the English, Japanese and Dutch data that were discussed. Furthermore, a unified formulation of the reanalysis constraint is proposed, in terms of domain closure. Chapter 6 concludes that it is possible to construct a transparent parser that accounts for garden path phenomena in both OV- and VO-structures, and that garden path data provide no evidence that there is a need to posit a separate parser for head-final languages such as Japanese, as is sometimes proposed. The resulting system comprises a step forward in the formulation of a universal, transparent parser.


In a recent paper, Fernandez (2004a) argues that the present value effect of the tax saving on debt cannot be calculated as simply the present value of the tax shields associated with interest. This contradicts standard results in the literature. It implies that, even though the capital market is complete, value-additivity is violated. As a consequence, adjusted present value formulae of a standard sort cannot be used. Also, it implies that the value of the tax saving differs from conventional estimates by a considerable amount. We reconcile Fernandez's results with standard valuation formulae for the tax saving from debt. We show that, as one would expect, the value of the debt tax saving IS the present value of the tax savings from interest. The apparent violation of value-additivity in the Fernandez paper comes from mixing the Miles-Ezzell and Miller-Modigliani leverage policies.


Particle tracking is a key to single-particle-level confocal microscopy observation of colloidal suspensions, emulsions, and granular matter. The conventional tracking method has not been able to provide accurate information on the size of individual particles. Here we propose a novel method to localise spherical particles of arbitrarily relative sizes from either 2D or 3D (confocal) images either in a dilute or crowded environment. Moreover this method allows us to estimate the size of each particle reliably. We use this method to analyse local bond orientational ordering in a supercooled polydisperse colloidal suspension as well as the heterogeneous crystallisation induced by a substrate. For the former, we reveal non-trivial couplings of crystal-like bond orientational order and local icosahedral order with the spatial distribution of particle sizes: crystal-like order tends to form in regions where very small particles are depleted and the slightly smaller size of the central particle stabilizes icosahedral order. For the latter, on the other hand, we found that very small particles are expelled from crystals and accumulated on the growth front of crystals. We emphasize that such information has not been accessible by conventional tracking methods.


The severe deformation and temperature paths in the stir zone, also called weld nugget, of friction stir welded joints result, at very local levels, in significant microstructural variations, such as major differences in grain size or precipitation. One of the most common features of friction stir welds is the presence of successive material layers, known as onion rings; however, little data is available on the mechanical properties of the different regions of the weld nugget, and particularly within the onion ring bands. Such information becomes very important for the integrity of large size friction stir welded structures. In the present study, a comprehensive characterization of onion rings produced during friction stir welding of a 6082-aluminum alloy was carried out. Advanced techniques such as in-situ SEM nanoindentation, EBSD, and high-resolution EDS were used to validate and compare the characteristics of the different bands in the onion rings. The analyses consisted of quantifying variations in grain size, precipitate composition and distribution, crystallographic orientations, and mechanical properties in each band. Furthermore, the tensile strengths of different regions of the weld nugget were evaluated using shear punch testing and correlated with those for the onion ring region in order to determine the impact of the presence of onion rings on weld nugget mechanical properties. The main difference between the alternate bands in the onion ring was found to be due to the difference in their grain size, misorientation, and precipitate content. It was also observed that the bands originate from the base metal and stir zone successively due to the nature of the stirring process, which pulls BM into SZ. Comparison of the shear punch testing results in different regions of the nugget revealed that, in spite of having local differences in the hardness of alternate bands in the onion ring, the presence of onion rings has no significant impact on the deterioration of the mechanical properties of the weld nugget.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the frequency and localization of synovitis and enthesitis in patients with active, untreated polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) by ultrasonography (US).

METHODS
Polyarticular sonographic evaluation was carried out in 50 consecutive patients with PMR at disease onset. Results were compared with 50 consecutive patients with seronegative spondyloarthropathies (SpA) and 50 with seronegative and seropositive rheumatoid arthritis (RA) at disease onset.

RESULTS
Synovitis and/or effusion was detected, in at least one joint, in 100% of patients with PMR. The most frequent alterations observed in patients with PMR were effusion in the subacromial-subdeltoid (SA-SD) bursa in 70% of patients, tenosynovitis of the long head of the biceps tendon (LHBT) in 68%, glenohumeral joint effusion in 66%, tenosynovitis of the flexor tendons in the carpal tunnel in 38%, radiocarpal effusion in 18%, wrist extensors tenosynovitis in 18%, coxofemoral joint effusion in 40%. knee effusion in 38%, and ankle effusion in 10%. Enthesitis and tendonitis of the anchoring tendons were relatively rare in all the articular sites. Comparison of the SpA and PMR patients showed that enthesitis (mostly in the elbow, knee, and heel) was significantly more frequent in SpA. There was a significant difference in glenohumeral and coxofemoral effusion between the PMR and SpA patients (66% vs 16% and 40% vs 14%, respectively). Comparison of PMR and RA patients showed no significant difference in the involvement of entheses, shoulder, hip, or wrist flexor tendons in the carpal tunnel. Synovitis of the elbow, knee, and wrist was significantly more frequent in the SpA and RA patients than in those with PMR.

CONCLUSION
Synovitis was detected in at least one site in 100% of patients with PMR. SA-SD bursitis, LHBT tenosynovitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, and glenohumeral, knee and hip synovitis were the most frequent alterations in PMR. Enthesitis was relatively rare at any articular site.


Precision nutrition, also referred to as personalized nutrition, focuses on the individual to determine the individual's most effective eating plan to prevent or treat disease. A precision nutrition for infants requires the determination of the profile of human milk. We compared the lipid profiles of the foremilk (i.e., the initial milk of a breastfeed) and hindmilk (the last milk) of six Japanese subjects and evaluated whether a human milk lipid profile is useful for precision nutrition even though the fat concentration fluctuates during lactation. We detected and quantified 527 species with a lipidome analysis by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The fat concentration in hindmilk (120.6 ± 66.7 μmol/mL) was significantly higher than that in foremilk (68.6 ± 33.3 μmol/mL). While the total carbon number of fatty acids in triglyceride (TG) was highest in C52 for all subjects, the second or third number differed among the subjects. Both the distribution of total carbon number of fatty acids included in TG and the distribution of fatty acids in TG classified by the number of double bonds were almost the same in the foremilk and hindmilk in each subject. The lipids levels containing docosahexaenoic acid and arachidonic acid in total lipids of the foremilk and the hindmilk were almost the same in each subject. Among the sphingolipids and glycerophospholipids, the level of sphingomyelin was the highest in four subjects' milk, and phosphatidylcholine was the highest in the other two subjects' milk. The order of their major species was the same in each foremilk and hindmilk. A clustering heatmap revealed the differences between foremilk and hindmilk in the same subject were smaller than the differences among individuals. Our analyses indicate that a human-milk lipid profile reflects individual characteristics and is a worthwhile focus for precision nutrition.


The upper extremities provide support, protection, and pleasure in the everyday activities of work, fun, sports, driving, and writing. When an upper extremity sustains an injury, it has a dramatic effect on quality-of-life issues. As professional caregivers, it is important to have a comprehensive understanding of the the effects of upper extremity fractures. The assessment of the patient with an upper extremity should consist of the general health of the patient after a traumatic event, determination of the mechanism of injury, assessment of the fracture site, confirmation of the exact injury, identification of potential complications, and assessment of the patient's social and professional statuses to identify potential problems that might affect treatment and rehabilitation


The double-strand break DNA repair (DSBR) pathway is implicated in maintaining genomic stability and therefore could affect bladder cancer risk. Here we present data evaluating 39 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in seven candidate genes whose products are involved in DNA break sensing (NBS1, BRCA1 interacting genes BRIP1 and ZNF350), non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) DNA repair (XRCC4) and homologous recombination (HR) repair (RAD51, XRCC2 and XRCC3). SNPs for RAD51 and XRCC2 covered most of the common variation. Associations with bladder cancer risk were evaluated in 1,150 newly diagnosed cases of urinary bladder transitional cell carcinomas and 1,149 controls conducted in Spain during 1997-2001. We found that the genetic variants evaluated significantly contributed to bladder cancer risk (global likelihood ratio test P = 0.01). Subjects with the ZNF350 R501S (rs2,278,415) variant allele showed significantly reduced risk compared with common homozygote variants, odds ratio (OR) [95% confidence interval (95% CI)]: 0.76 (0.62-0.93) per variant allele. Carriers of a putative functional SNP in intron 7 of XRCC4 (rs1,805,377) had significantly increased bladder cancer risk compared with common homozygotes: 1.33 (1.08-1.64) per variant allele. Lastly, XRCC2 homozygote variants for three promoter SNPs (rs10,234,749, rs6,464,268, rs3,218,373) and one non-synonymous SNP (rs3,218,536, R188H) were associated with reduced bladder cancer risk (ORs ranging from 0.36 to 0.50 compared with common homozygotes). Meta-analysis for XRCC3 T241M (rs861,539) had a significant small increase in risk among homozygote variants: OR (95% CI) = 1.17 (1.00-1.36). Results from this study provide evidence for associations between variants in genes in the DSBR pathway and bladder cancers risk that warrant replication in other study populations.


Air-containing fashion, which can offer diverse functions through the inflow and outflow of air, is highly relevant in today`s mobile society, where people are experiencing a wider range of environments. This study attempts to suggest the possibility of air-containing multi-functional fashion that could continuously be utilized by developing a design for an air-containing jacket using modular systems. In this research, the modular systems in architecture and furniture design were referenced through a review of the literature for the purpose of establishing modular systems in fashion. Functions relevant to the mobility of today`s society are derived from the results of advanced research and applied to the design of modules of the jacket. The modules are integrated through the modular systems. The folding and unfolding structure in architecture and furniture is applied as a folding system in fashion, the vertical accumulation structure as a layering system, and the horizontal integration structure as a combining system, and in addition, the containing system has emerged in fashion. Each module is designed to fulfill certain functions, such as cushioning, heat insulation, and portability. The folding system is utilized in designing the cushion module to support the neck and back of a wearer by making its hood and hem fold in the back. The application of a layering system was suggested by making the vest, combined with the neck cushion and back cushion via the combining system, layered with its insulation module. By applying the combining system, the hood that includes the neck cushion, the skirt that includes the back cushion, the body that includes the insulation module, and the sleeves can be connected and separated by a zipper. The applicability of this concept was proven by applying a developed design to an actual item.


The analysis of clinical course of the immediate postoperative period in 295 newborns who had the intestinal anastomosis placed was carried out. In 31 (10.5%) child, a failure of the anastomotic sutures was revealed. A dependence of the clinical course of this complication on manifestations of peritonitis, concomitant diseases and degree of an organism maturity was determined. A difficulty to diagnose the anastomotic suture leakage is shown. The indications for operative and conservative treatment were established. Causes of the complication development were revealed.


To accurately capture how the public values marine environmental management, we need valuation approaches that can accommodate the complexity of environmental systems and human interaction with them. Coherently representing this complexity in an evaluation means that we can inform the socially optimal allocation of marine resources among competing uses, such as fisheries, industry, and environmental protection. Integrated choice experiments (ICE) provide a systematic approach to valuing large numbers of attributes, and we use them to value eight marine ecological and recreational features at Moreton Bay, South-East Queensland. The ICE employed two sub-experiments: ecological and recreational, to reduce cognitive load for respondents. We compare the ICE approach with a full-profile discrete choice experiment (DCE), with all eight attributes. The ICE had greater face validity than the traditional format. We find large, positive willingness to pay (WTP) for the provision of recreational features and habitat protection, although with some diminishing marginal effects.


A compiled empirical global Joule heating (CEJH) model is described in this study. This model can be used to study Joule heating patterns, Joule heating power, potential drop, and polar potential size in the high-latitude ionosphere and thermosphere, and their variations with solar wind conditions, geomagnetic activities, the solar EUV radiation, and the neutral wind. It is shown that the interplanetary magnetic field ( IMF) orientation and its magnitude, the solar wind speed, AL index, geomagnetic K-p index, and solar radio flux F-10.7 index are important parameters that control Joule heating patterns, Joule heating power, potential drop, and polar potential size. Other parameters, such as the solar wind number density (N-sw) and Earth's dipole tilt, do not significantly affect these quantities. It is also shown that the neutral wind can increase or reduce the Joule heating production, and its effectiveness mainly depends on the IMF orientation and its magnitude, the solar wind speed, AL index, K-p index, and F10.7 index. Our results indicate that for less disturbed solar wind conditions, the increase or reduction of the neutral wind contribution to the Joule heating is not significant compared to the convection Joule heating, whereas under extreme solar wind conditions, the neutral wind can significantly contribute to the Joule heating. Application of the CEJH model to the 16 July 2000 storm implies that the model outputs are basically consistent with the results from the AMIE mapping procedure. The CEJH model can be used to examine large-scale energy deposition during disturbed solar wind conditions and to study the dependence of the hemispheric Joule heating on the level of geomagnetic activities and the intensity of solar EUV radiation. This investigation enables us to predict global Joule heating patterns for other models in the high-latitude ionosphere and thermosphere in the sense of space weather forecasting.


Intelligent congestion control is vital for encoded video streaming of a clip or film, as network traffic volatility and the associated uncertainties require constant adjustment of the bit rate. Existing solutions, including the standard transmission control protocol (TCP) friendly rate control equation-based congestion controller, are prone to fluctuations in their sending rate and may respond only when packet loss has already occurred. This is a major problem, because both fluctuations and packet loss affect the end-user's perception of the delivered video. A type-1 (T1) fuzzy logic congestion controller (FLC) can operate at video display rates and can reduce packet loss and rate fluctuations, despite uncertainties in measurements of delay arising from congestion and network traffic volatility. However, a T1 FLC employing precise T1 fuzzy sets cannot fully cope with the uncertainties associated with such dynamic network environments. A type-2 FLC using type-2 fuzzy sets can handle such uncertainties to produce improved performance. This paper proposes an interval type-2 FLC that achieves a superior delivered video quality compared with existing traditional controllers and a T1 FLC. To show the response in different network scenarios, tests demonstrate the response both in the presence of typical Internet cross-traffic as well as when other video streams occupy a bottleneck on an All-Internet protocol (IP) network. As All-IP networks are intended for multimedia traffic, it is important to develop a form of congestion control that can transfer to them from the mixed traffic environment of the Internet. It was found that the proposed type-2 FLC, although it is specifically designed for Internet conditions, can also successfully react to the network conditions of an All-IP network. When the control inputs were subject to noise, the type-2 FLC resulted in an order of magnitude performance improvement in comparison with the T1 FLC. The type-2 FLC also showed reduced packet loss when compared with the other controllers, again resulting in superior delivered video quality. When judged by established criteria, such as TCP-friendliness and delayed feedback, fuzzy logic congestion control offers a flexible solution to network bottlenecks. These findings offer the type-2 FLC as a way forward for congestion control of video streaming across packet-switched IP networks.


This article presents a reasonable present-day, sea-level highstand numerical simulation and scenario for a potential tsunami generated by a landslide with the characteristics of the BIG'95 debris flow, which occurred on the Ebro margin in the western Mediterranean Sea in prehistoric times (11,500 cal yr BP). The submarine landslide deposit covers an area of 2200 km2 of the slope and base of slope (200–1800-m water depth), involving a volume of 26 km3. A leapfrog finite difference model, COMCOT (Cornell multigrid coupled tsunami model), is used to simulate the propagation of the debris-flow-generated tsunami and its associated impact on the nearby Balearic Islands and Iberian coastlines. As a requisite of the model, reconstruction of the bathymetry before the landslide occurrence and seafloor variation during landsliding have been developed based on the conceptual and numerical model of Lastras et al. (2005). We have also taken into account all available multibeam bathymetry of the area and high-resolution seismic profiles of the debris flow deposit. The results of the numerical simulation are displayed using plots of snapshots at consecutive times, marigrams of synthetic stations, maximum amplitude plots, and spectral analyses. The obtained outputs show that the nearest shoreline, the Iberian coast, would not be the first one hit by the tsunami. The eastward, outgoing wave would arrive at Eivissa Island 18 min after the triggering of the slide and at Mallorca Island 9 min later, whereas the westward-spreading wave would hit the Iberian Peninsula 54 min after the slide was triggered. This noticeable delay in the arrival times at the peninsula is produced by the asymmetric bathymetry of the Catalano-Balearic Sea and the shoaling effect due to the presence of the wide Ebro continental shelf, which in addition significantly amplifies the tsunami wave (>9 m). The wave amplitudes attain 8 m in Eivissa, and waves up to 3 m high would arrive to Palma Bay. Resonance effects produced in the narrow Santa Ponça Bay in Mallorca Island could produce waves up to 9 m high. A similar event occurring today would have catastrophic consequences, especially in summer when human use of these tourist coasts increases significantly.


Due to its exponential growth, the World Wide Web is increasingly experiencing several problems, such as hot spots, increased network bandwidth usage, and excessive document retrieval latency. The standard solution to these problems is to use a caching proxy. However, a single caching proxy is a bottleneck; there is a limit to the number of clients that can use the same cache, and thereby the effectiveness of the cache is limited. Also, a caching proxy is a single point of failure. We address these problems by creating a protocol that allows multiple caching proxies to cooperate and share their caches, thus increasing robustness and scalability. This scalability, in turn, gives each client an effectively larger cache with a higher hit rate. This paper describes a prototype implementation of this protocol that uses IP multicast to communicate between the servers.


Cities with cleaner power plants and lower energy demand tend also to have tighter land‐use restrictions; these restrictions increase housing prices and reduce the incentive for households to live in these lower greenhouse gas‐emitting cities. We use a spatial equilibrium model to quantify the overall effects of land‐use restrictions on the levels and spatial distribution of household carbon emissions. Our model features heterogeneous households, cities that vary in both their power plant technologies and their utility benefits of energy usage, as well as endogenous wages and rents. Relaxation of the current land‐use restrictions in California to the level faced by the median urban household in the US leads to a 0.6% drop in national household carbon emissions and a decrease in the social cost of carbon of $310 million annually.


High temperature reactivity of materials under oxidizing atmospheres is based on the formation of protective oxide scales. The protectiveness is obtained when the thermally grown oxide scales are dense, continuous and adherent to the metallic substrates (even during thermal shocks); as a matter of fact, the growth of the scale has to be governed by diffusion of species across the growing scale. The diffusing species are coming from the substrate (metallic ions) and/or from the oxidizing atmosphere (oxygen ions). The understanding of growth mechanisms can be reached by making two stage oxidation experiments, using oxygen isotopes. The experiment consists in oxidizing first the metallic substrate in 16O2, evacuating the oxygen after the desired time, and replacing it by 18O2. The distribution of oxygen isotopes given by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) across the oxide scale informs about the growth mechanisms: anionic transport, cations diffusion or mixed diffusion processes. The use of marker experiment is able to determine the oxygen diffusion coefficients within the growing scales. In this case, a thick scale is grown under 16O2, followed by a shorter diffusion experiment in 18O2. The distribution of 18O isotope across the scale by plotting ln (18O intensity) versus x (depth in oxide) allows determining the oxygen effective diffusion coefficient in the scale, according to the classical Fick's law solution. A more accurate analysis of these profiles can provide information about bulk and grain boundary diffusion of oxygen. The results can be related to kinetics according to Wagner's theory. The proposed work consists firstly in making a state of the art review about oxygen diffusion in thermally grown oxide scales, and secondly in connecting the so-obtained outcome (effective, bulk and grain boundary diffusion) to kinetics results. The proposed oxides are chromia, alumina and zirconia.


We have measured the widths of spectral lines from a polar coronal hole using the Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer on board Hinode. Polar coronal holes are regions of open magnetic field and the source of the fast solar wind. We find that the line widths decrease at relatively low heights. Previous observations have attributed such decreases to systematic effects, but we find that such effects are too small to explain our results. We conclude that the line narrowing is real. The non-thermal line widths are believed to be proportional to the amplitude of Alfvén waves propagating along these open field lines. Our results suggest that Alfvén waves are damped at unexpectedly low heights in a polar coronal hole. We derive an estimate on the upper limit for the energy dissipated between 1.1 R☉ and 1.3 R☉ and find that it is enough to account for up to 70% of that required to heat the polar coronal hole and accelerate the solar wind.


Wavelet domain hidden Markov models (HMMs) have been proposed and applied to image processing, e.g., image denoising. We develop a new HMM, called local contextual HMM (LCHMM), by introducing the Gaussian mixture field where wavelet coefficients are assumed to locally follow the Gaussian mixture distributions determined by their neighborhoods. The LCHMM can exploit both the local statistics and the intrascale dependencies of wavelet coefficients at a low computational complexity. We show that the LCHMM combined with the "cycle-spinning" technique can achieve state-of-the-art image denoising performance.


A general numerical technique for analyzing diffraction gratings of arbitrary groove shape as electromagnetic boundary-value problems is suggested. The method yields the induced surface current, from which the energies in various radiating orders can be conveniently obtained. Computed results are compared to the theoretical as well as the experimental results available in the literature. The accuracy and versatility of the technique are demonstrated together with its economy and convenience.


Perishable products run their life cycle in a short period of time due to the shortness of their shelf lives. Product efficiency falls when especially non-recyclable products are thrown away without being used. Furthermore, this kind of products that unnecessarily occupy shelves of supermarkets cause supermarkets to follow an insufficient stock management policy. Unconscious and unplanned use of our limited natural resources will deteriorate the product portfolio for future generations. Such unconscious production and consumption patterns will disrupt natural balance and damage sustainability of products. In addition to creating very high costs for producers, sellers and consumers alike, these unsold or stale products lead to environmental problems due to such pricing policies. In other words, although the products have to be thrown away without being sold is attributed by many managers to be attributable to the unplanned over-orders, the actual reason is something else. The real contributor of the problem is changing purchase attitudes of customers because of wrong pricing policies of wholesaler. In addition, limited resources are also consumed fast and in unnecessary amounts. The imbalance in respect to the sustainability of these products leads to increase in the production costs, procurement costs and failure to achieve balance among products to be kept in storage houses as some of the products occupy stocks unnecessarily. In the present study, a new pricing policy is developed for product stock whose shelf lives are about to expire and generally become waste to increase salability of these products in reference to fresher stocks of these products. The present study, which is designed to reduce the above-mentioned losses, will seek to minimize the cost of waste, maximize the profit earned by supermarkets from the product, maximize product utilization rates and ensure sustainability of products and stocks as well. Fulfillment of these objectives will increase productivity and enhance the significance of product efficiency and nature-friendly attitudes.


Statement of Problem: Although mechanical debridement is considered as the conventional technique in the management of chronic periodontitis, the locally delivered antiseptic agents have also been investigated as an adjunctive therapy. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical effectiveness of subgingival irrigation with polyvinylpyrrolidone-Iodine (PVP-I) 10%, H2O2 3%, and the combination of both in the measurement of probing depth and plaque and gingival indices of patients with moderate to severe chronic periodontitis. Materials and Method: In this double-blind randomized clinical trial, 16 patients with moderate to severe periodontitis were selected using the simple random sampling method. They had at least one tooth with a probing depth ≥5 mm in each quadrant and had undergone phase I of periodontal therapy one month after dental scaling, The initial probing depth, plaque, and gingival indices were recorded and the selected teeth were randomly irrigated with PVP-I 10%, H2O2 3%, H2O2 3% + PVP-I 10%, or normal saline. The measurements were repeated five weeks after the procedure. The data were analyzed through running paired-samples t-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test, and Kruskal-Wallis Test. Results: The mean differences in probing depth before and after subgingival irrigation in patients who were treated with normal saline, H2O2, PVP-I, and PVP + H2O2 were 1.29 mm, 1.35 mm, 1.47 mm, and 1.71 mm, respectively. This indicated a significant difference among all the groups ( p <05). Furthermore, PVP-I had a positive effect on the gingival index but it had no significant effect on the plaque index. Conclusion: Subgingival irrigation is an effective adjunctive therapy to mechanical debridement in treating moderate to severe chronic periodontitis.


Childhood blindness carries a high financial cost for the community as well as a high individual cost impacting normal motor, language and social development of the child. These factors are all compounded when the child enters the education system and adulthood. There are very little accurate data available on the prevalence of blindness in children.

We have recently published the results of a capture and recapture estimate of the total blind population in Western Australia.1 This estimate was derived from three independent lists of legally blind people and is a well-validated method for the accurate determination of population sizes.2 Here, we add additional analysis of a subset of data on the children contained within the original capture and recapture lists to provide an estimate of the prevalence of blindness in those aged less than 18 years.

Blind children were identified either from the voluntary register of the Association for the Blind of Western Australia (list …


The European Union (EU) has long been in a diplomatic row with its main trading partners. The row concerns the EU's decision to include foreign aircraft emissions within its Emissions Trading System (ETS). Several States have objected to the inclusion as a violation of their sovereignty. The importance of the quarrel can hardly be overestimated: it is the first real clash concerning unilateral measures to combat climate change. By including foreign aircraft emissions within the ETS, the EU has taken unilateral action to prevent international environmental harm. The EU's action has given rise to some fundamental questions concerning legislative jurisdiction. Moreover, as the impact of climate change becomes more severe, climate change may serve as a pretext for all kinds of protectionist policies. The current quarrel is therefore also one of principle. This article analyses the jurisdictional basis for extending the ETS to extraterritorial flights and the reactions of third States. In doing so, the article reveals fundamental limits in international rules concerning the allocation of competencies between States, especially in relation to the protection of the environment. The article considers these shortcomings in the context of the present case and suggests a new approach to the traditional principles of sovereignty and legislative jurisdiction.