Unusual carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions characterize outcropping dolomitic sandstone of Permian age over the Davenport oil field, Oklahoma. The δC 13 PDB ranges from −5.1 to −11.3/mil and the δO 18 SMOW ranges from +28.8 to +48.8/mil. Areal distribution of both isotopic ranges is systematic and closely reflects the distribution of petroleum in the producing interval at a depth of 1,000 m (3,300 ft). The 20/mil positive oxygen range in these surface rocks suggests evaporative fractionation of ground water controlled by the near-surface expansion of vertically migrating dry natural gas from the underlying deposit. The rather light, though unexceptional, carbon values, unlike those reported for other hydrocarbon-derived carbonate rocks, indicate only partial chemical or biochemical oxidation of the gas, suggesting further that the leakage rate was relatively rapid. At the Cement oil field, Oklahoma, similar relations in surface rocks occur, but the carbon isotopic values are exceptionally light (−5.5 to −39.2/ml relative to PDB), indicating significant near-surface oxidation of slowly seeping hydrocarbons of low molecular weight. The occurrence of carbonate rocks derived from the chemical oxidation or bacterial conversion of hydrocarbons is well known (Thode and others, 1953; S. R. Silverman and others, unpub. data; Russell and others, 1967; Hathaway and Degens, 1968; Mamchur, 1969; Davis and Kirkland, 1970). Such carbonates typically have δC 13 PDB values more negative than about −25/mil. Similarly, unusual isotopic signatures have been documented in carbonate-cemented sandstone and calcitized gypsum cropping out over the Cement oil field in the southeastern part of the Anadarko basin of Oklahoma (Donovan, 1974). There, the rock cements display carbon isotopic ratios that are increasingly light and oxygen ratios that are increasingly heavy toward the crest of the anticlinal structure. These trends are limited areally and are systematic in their patterns, reflecting the subsurface distribution of petroleum. Both liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons have leaked from the Cement reservoirs; much of the hydrocarbon was oxidized and the carbon incorporated into the interstitial carbonate cements of the overlying rocks. Rapid vertical leakage of gas, expansive under depressurization, resulted in preferential evaporation of H 2 O 16 , compared with H 2 O 18 from near-surface ground waters. This evapo-escape to the atmosphere. Rayleigh distillation proceeds if escape rates cause evaporation of ground water at rates faster than the replacement or recharge rate of meteoric water. Rocks whose isotopic compositions reflect an intermediate mix of these contrasting processes have not yet been found but presumably exist. The existence of these kinds of isotopically anomalous carbonate cements would prove useful in petroleum exploration independently of other kinds of geochemical indicators.


A fundamental limitation of Bitcoin and its variants is that the movement of coin between addresses can be observed by examining the public block chain. This record enables adversaries to link addresses to individuals, and to identify multiple addresses as belonging to a single participant. Users can try to hide this information by mixing, where a participant exchanges the funds in an address coin-for-coin with another participant and address. In this paper, we describe the weaknesses of extant mixing protocols, and analyze their vulnerability to Sybil-based denial-of-service and inference attacks. As a solution, we propose Xim, a two-party mixing protocol that is compatible with Bitcoin and related virtual currencies. It is the first decentralized protocol to simultaneously address Sybil attackers, denial-of-service attacks, and timing-based inference attacks. Xim is a multi-round protocol with tunably high success rates. It includes a decentralized system for anonymously finding mix partners based on ads placed in the block chain. No outside party can confirm or find evidence of participants that pair up. We show that Xim's design increases attacker costs linearly with the total number of participants, and that its probabilistic approach to mixing mitigates Sybil-based denial-of-service attack effects. We evaluate protocol delays based on our measurements of the Bitcoin network.


RNA molecules with novel functions have revived interest in the accurate prediction of RNA three-dimensional (3D) structure and folding dynamics. However, existing methods are inefficient in automated 3D structure prediction. Here, we report a robust computational approach for rapid folding of RNA molecules. We develop a simplified RNA model for discrete molecular dynamics (DMD) simulations, incorporating base-pairing and base-stacking interactions. We demonstrate correct folding of 150 structurally diverse RNA sequences. The majority of DMD-predicted 3D structures have <4 A deviations from experimental structures. The secondary structures corresponding to the predicted 3D structures consist of 94% native base-pair interactions. Folding thermodynamics and kinetics of tRNA(Phe), pseudoknots, and mRNA fragments in DMD simulations are in agreement with previous experimental findings. Folding of RNA molecules features transient, non-native conformations, suggesting non-hierarchical RNA folding. Our method allows rapid conformational sampling of RNA folding, with computational time increasing linearly with RNA length. We envision this approach as a promising tool for RNA structural and functional analyses.


This paper addresses two specific questions: how do public affairs practitioners view themselves and how does this conceptualisation relate to wider debates about what constitutes Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC). Scholarship suggests a shift from marketing-centred to organisational perspectives of IMC with a growing importance given to nonmarket stakeholders. Also, public affairs practitioners increasingly operate within a market context and against a changing notion of what constitutes professional work. By using the lens of identity, this paper enables insight into how individuals who help manage nonmarket relationships view themselves. The study is shaped by a critical realistic worldview and draws on data from a mixed methods study of UK practitioners exploring public affairs capabilities. Findings suggest practitioners understand their core identity as predicated on social capital and political insight, but they recognise their role is evolving. This includes widening of skills to include media and digital techniques, a broader remit of stakeholders and greater integration into the organisation. In this they show tendencies towards marketing communications and a stakeholder orientation of IMC. Limitations relate to its scope, a small-scale UK qualitative study and further research is required amongst those who deliver market and nonmarket relationships and the value of integrating these together.


Objective The aim was to evaluate the role of laparoscopy in the management of patients with penetrating abdominal trauma. Patients and methods This prospective study included 60 hemodynamically stable patients with penetrating abdominal trauma presenting to the Casualty Department. The patients were subjected to routine investigations including routine laboratory and radiological investigations and were randomly divided into two groups: local wound exploration (LWE) group (n=30) and laparoscopy group (n=30). In the LWE group, the patients were subjected to LWE under local anesthesia followed by laparotomy if the wound penetrated the deep fascia. In the laparoscopy group, the patients were subjected to diagnostic laparoscopy and managed laparoscopically or converted to laparotomy according to the circumstances. Otherwise, the patient was discharged within 24 h. Results In the LWE group, six (20%) patients were discharged as having intact peritoneum; one of them was back 2 days later, had exploratory laparotomy and a small bowel injury was repaired. A total of 24 (80%) patients with perforated peritoneum proceeded to laparotomy; 17 (56.7%) of them had negative laparotomy. In the laparoscopy group 18 (60.0%) patients showed negative laparoscopy, four (13.3%) patients were managed laparoscopically, and eight (26.7%) were converted to laparotomy. Thus, 33 laparotomies were performed; the rate of complications was 39.4% with significant difference between negative and therapeutic cases (P=0.619). The operative time and hospital stay were significantly longer in cases of laparotomy compared with laparoscopy (P<0.001). Conclusion Routine laparotomy has a negative rate of 57%. Laparoscopy did not miss intra-abdominal injuries, was therapeutically effective in 12%, and was negative in 60% of cases.


Background: Suicidal ideation is a common phenomenon in the elderly. The purpose of this report is to reveal the influence of psychosocial risk factors and psychiatric disorders on the wish to die in the elderly. Method: We compared the data of 54 persons (age 70+) who said that they wished to die with 462 persons without death wishes according to several psychosocial risk factors, physical health and psychiatric diagnoses. The data come from the Berlin Aging Study, an interdisciplinary assessment of an epidemiological random sample of 516 citizens in Germany. Results: Using a MANOVA and logistic regression analysis the data indicated that the wish to be dead, even in these very old persons, was mostly associated with the occurrence of a major depression, self rated higher depressivity, higher age, female gender, and negative life conditions such as living in a nursing home. Conclusion: The results of this study support that the wish to be dead in the very old is very likely to be associated with the occurrence of a psychiatric disorder, especially major depression and the higher probability of negative life conditions. Thus, we emphasize the requirement of psychiatric assessment as well as treatment of those older people who want to die.


Labor is a socio-historical construction and it is constantly changing. It is an unstable process, a human invention that is established in every workplace and every worker. Ergonomics aims to contribute to the understanding of work in its complexity. The guideline in this article will be health within a working context. Thus, the focus is on studies of ergonomics, such as those of Wisner and Falzon, and particularly works by the authors Schwartz and Clot, that were based on French Ergonomics to expand the proposal analysis of labor activity, the first with Ergology and the second with Activity Clinics. As the methodological option, we chose to conduct documentary, descriptive and quantitative research by primary data, which mapped the sick leave claimed by the civil servants at the University under study from March, 2007 to February, 2009 to justify why they were absent from work. With the understanding that labor takes shape as a major factor in the process of health and illness in workers and the possibility of the impact of new ways of living and working on the health of workers. The gains of this reflection are plural, not only in the sense of everyone involved in the process, but in the possibilities that open up further developments in the theme. Data from this study indicate that it is not possible to think about the workers' illness, absences from work in a way that detaches them from life. The mental and behavioral disorders and diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissues that predominate in the population under study only emerge from other processes that support them, resulting, therefore, not in isolated factors, but in labor contexts in interaction with the body and the psychic apparatus of the workers. Granted the inevitable interaction of man and labor, these considerations also allow a reflection on the work of health professionals in the institution under study, opening up a discussion that not only prevents the degradation of health, but which, in an active approach to the workers' health, extends the possibilities of construction and reinvention of health and labor.


The problem at hand is that vast amount of data on industrial changes is captured and stored; yet the present challenge is to systematically retrieve and use them in a purposeful way. This paper presents an industrial case study where complex product development processes are modeled using the design structure matrix (DSM) to analyze engineering change requests sequences. Engineering change requests are documents used to initiate a change process to enhance a product. Due to the amount of changes made in different projects, engineers want to be able to analyze these change processes to identify patterns and propose the best practices. The previous work has not specifically explored modeling engineering change requests in a DSM to holistically analyze sequences. This case study analyzes engineering change request sequences from four recent industrial product development projects and compares patterns among them. In the end, this research can help to identify and guide process improvement work within projects.


The Propaganda Model of communication by Herman and Chomsky has been in the periphery of academia as its authors predicted. The authors also predicted what dimensions media coverage will take when the mainstream media cover events in states where corporate-governed super powers have interests, especially the U.S. It is this prediction of media performance that this research is testing in relation to the conflict in Colombia. In recent years Latin America has achieved some nationalist governments, as in Venezuela and Bolivia, however, the U.S quest for hegemony is a fact in Latin America. How the media cover conflict in Colombia, especially in relation to contributions of the U.S and its interventions is the concern of this thesis. This research uses Critical Discourse Analysis as methodology and the PM as its conceptual framework. The Toronto Star, CBC, National Post, and the Globe and Mail are analyzed in this research. Conclusions arrived at support the PM as a good instrument for predicting media performance: Mainstream media coverage favours allies of the U.S., protects U.S. corporations, supports capitalist values and imperialist ideology, and generally neglects the interests of the masses and social justice, while the elite agenda is favoured.


This study explores the effects of state smart growth management and local contextual factors-in particular, aspects of hierarchical governance and the political market framework-on local open space preservation. It takes into account state intervention in local affairs, including state requirements for local planning practices in general and for open space preservation in particular. It also tests local contextual factors such as political and informal institutions, interest groups, and community and physical characteristics, using hierarchical linear modeling. The findings suggest that counties are more likely to preserve open space when the state government strongly intervenes in local planning practices. The county manager form of government and high population density are negatively associated with open space preservation, while high demands for growth control and the presence of active environmental interest groups are positively associated with it.


Efficient metal-free carbon electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) represent a promising alternative to the scarce and costly noble metal-based counterparts, and their performance is good enough to fulfill the requirements of real-life applications. Herein, we describe the rational design and synthesis of nitrogen/sulfur-codoped porous graphene networks (N,S-PGN) as a highly efficient ORR catalyst. Assisted by supramolecular polymerization, petroleum coke, a byproduct produced by the oil refinery industry in million tons every year, can be converted into N/S-codoped graphene nanosheets with a highly porous architecture. Such a hierarchical and doped structure favors the exposure of the active sites and facilitates electron transport. As a result, N,S-PGN exhibits a remarkable electrocatalytic activity for the ORR and, in particular, outperforms the Pt/C electrode in terms of a superior diffusion-limiting current density and stability when operated under the same conditions. Furthermore, the increased number of carbon active sites and enhanced electron transport were confirmed by theoretical calculations. It was found that codoping porous graphene increases the charge density on the carbon active sites and increases the HOMO energy, thus favoring the ORR. The present study demonstrates a novel and feasible route for preparing heteroatom-codoped porous graphene for energy applications as well as a new strategy for the value-added utilization of petroleum coke.


The paper describes the carbonate microfacies identified in the Sinjar Formation (Late Paleocene–Early Eocene) cropping out in Qara Dagh Mountain, near Sulekan Village approximately 20km south–west of Sulaimani (Iraq). One section (62m thick) has been measured in the field and closely sampled to undertake detailed microfaciesal and micropalaeontological studies to determine the formation's age and environment of deposition. A number of 93 samples were collected illustrating all the lithological changes along the section. The limestone in the studied area is hard and extremely rich in large foraminifers (soritids, rotaliids, nummulites, miliolids) and green algae (dasycladales). The investigation of the thin sections allowed us to identify the carbonate microfacies (18 types and subtypes) and the micropaleontological association (foraminifers and green algae), to determine the age of formation and to reconstruct the paleoenvironment of deposition (fore-reef, reef, back-reef). Based on the field observations and the studied thin sections, we determined three Units of a carbonate platform (I, II and III) from the base to the top of the section: Unit I with coralgal associations, Unit II is dominated by larger foraminifers and characterized by the absence of coralgal associations, while Unit III is dominated by small foraminifers (mostly miliolids), peloids and green algae. It is partially dolomitized. Keywords—Facies analysis, Late Paleocene–Early Eocene, Sinjar Formation, SW Sulaimani (Iraq).


Hemifacial spasm is defined as unilateral, involuntary, irregular twitching of all or parts of the muscles innervated by facial nerves. Here, we present a case of recurrent hemifacial spasm after microvascular decompression (MVD) treated with pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) treatment with good results. A 35-year-old woman suffered from recurrent hemifacial spasm after MVD that was refractory to medical treatment and botulinum toxin injections. We attempted a left facial nerve block twice. Then, we applied PRF at a maximum temperature of 42 o C for 120 sec. Some response was observed, so we applied PRF two additional times. The frequency of twitch decreased from 3−4 Hz to < 0.5 Hz, and subjective severity on a visual analogue scale also decreased from 10/10 to 2−3/10. PRF treatment might be an effective medical treatment for refractory hemifacial spasm and has fewer complications and is less invasive compared with those of surgery. (Korean J Pain 2013; 26: 62-64)


Purpose of review The genetic basis of type 1 diabetes (T1D) is being characterized through DNA sequence variation and cell type specificity. This review discusses the current understanding of the genes and variants implicated in risk of T1D and how genetic information can be used in prediction, intervention and components of clinical care. Recent findings Fine mapping and functional studies has provided resolution of the heritable basis of T1D risk, incorporating novel insights on the dominant role of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes as well as the lesser impact of non-HLA genes. Evaluation of T1D-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), there is enrichment of genetic effects restricted to specific immune cell types (CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, CD19+ B cells and CD34+ stem cells), suggesting pathways to improved prediction. In addition, T1D-associated SNPs have been used to generate genetic risk scores (GRS) as a tool to distinguish T1D from type 2 diabetes (T2D) and to provide prediagnostic data to target those for autoimmunity screening (e.g. islet autoantibodies) as a prelude for continuous monitoring and entry into intervention trials. Summary Genetic susceptibility accounts for nearly one-half of the risk for T1D. Although the T1D-associated SNPs in white populations account for nearly 90% of the genetic risk, with high sensitivity and specificity, the low prevalence of T1D makes the T1D GRS of limited utility. However, identifying those with highest genetic risk may permit early and targeted immune monitoring to diagnose T1D months prior to clinical onset.


The activities of mitochondrial alpha-glycerophosphate, malate-asparte, and malate-citrate shuttles which oxidize NADH were determined in liver and kidney cortex mitochondria isolated from Tx and control rats. Weight gain, relative liver and kidney size, oxygen consumption, and serum thyroxine were also determined. Tx animals weighed less, had smaller livers and kidneys, and showed significantly lower oxygen consumption of the resting animal and a marked decrease in serum thyroxine levels. The activity of the three shuttles studies was significantly less in liver mitochondria from Tx animals, particularly when studied in the absence of added ADP. Thyroidectomy had less effect upon shuttle activity of mitochondria from the kidney cortex, with significant decrease in activity found only in the complete alpha-glycerophosphate shuttle and in the endogenous malate-aspartate and malate-citrate shuttles studied in the absence of ADP. Changes in shuttle activity caused by thyroid hormone are discussed in relation to other known metabolic effects of thyroxine, and the possible primary role of adenine nucleotide translocase activity in mediating other thyroxine-dependent metabolic changes is considered.


Ergin Cavusoglu's video installations reflect the complex and constantly changing migration of people between places and countries. Often filmed in ports, airports or markets, his videos treat the themes of travel and the process of transition that determines our reality. In this way they construct a lyrical narrative about the personal experiences of individuals within a broader collective history. Works exhibited: Point of Departure (2006); Silent Glide (2008); Midnight Express (2008); Place after Place (2008) Exhibited at Kunstverein Freiburg, Germany, 6 June-10 August 2008.


The central task of my reflections is to deal with the question what harming a person could mean. In the first part of the reflections, I will be critically concerned with current ways of dealing with the concept of human dignity, and why it is no longer plausible to uphold these regulations, whereby I will particularly focus on the legal dimension. It will come out that the person-object-dichotomy cannot simply be upheld in its traditional manner. Given the plausibility of these reflections, the legal implication that it ought to be legally prohibited to treat another person merely as a means becomes implausible, too, as it rests on the aforementioned distinction between persons and objects. As an alternative, it will be suggested that legally we ought to separate ontological insights clearly from normative ones. In the following part, I will focus on the moral status of personhood, and develop some philosophical reflections which could be upheld on the basis of a posthuman paradigm-shift. Thereby, I will develop a gradual concept of personhood which implies several levels of personhood depending on the corresponding capacity of suffering, which needs to be established empirically. Once, the direction of an alternative concept of personhood becomes clearer, which implies that some animals become person and which provides some reasons for holding that some sufficiently developed embodied AIs could also deserve personhood, the question can be reflected upon further what it could mean to harm a person. The issue of harming, however, is so complex that I merely plan to raise some questions which need to be confronted when clarifying the concept of harming. I do not attempt to propose a definite concept of harming, but stress that the concept is closely related to cultural circumstances, so that there is a permanent need to engage with the concept, redefine it, and adapt it to the current cultural situation. Not proposing a clear concept of harm is not a shortcoming, but rather a necessity.


The Niger Delta region of Nigeria is at the centre of both the economic wealth and climate change in the context of pressing national economic issues. It produces the nation's major foreign exchange earner- crude oil, has abundant fishery and marine resources- all of which are threatened by vagaries in climatic factors. The study was conducted to evaluate awareness of climate change and implications for attaining the MDGs in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The study made use of a multi-stage sampling technique to select three hundred and sixty respondents across three Niger Delta States (Delta, Edo, Ondo). Data for the study were collected with the aid of well-structured questionnaires assisted with interview schedules administered on the respondents. Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics. The analysis of awareness of climate change indicated that level of awareness is low but improving. It was found, however, that the mass media has played the most significant roles in climate change awareness in the study area. The results also indicated that the respondents had been practicing some indigenous and emerging adaptive strategies to climate change for many years. This study concluded that more awareness about climate change in the Niger Delta region have implications for attaining the MDGs.


Initial velocity studies and product inhibition patterns for purine nucleoside phosphorylase from rabbit liver were examined in order to determine the predominant catalytic mechanism for the synthetic (forward) and phosphorolytic (reverse) reactions of the enzyme. Initial velocity studies in the absence of products gave intersecting or converging linear double reciprocal plots of the kinetic data for both the synthetic and phosphorolytic reactions of the enzyme. The observed kinetic pattern was consistent with a sequential mechanism, requiring that both substrates add to the enzyme before products may be released. The product inhibition patterns showed mutual competitive inhibition between guanine and guanosine as variable substrates and inhibitors. Ribose 1-phosphate and inorganic orthophosphate were also mutually competitive toward each other. Other combinations of substrates and products gave noncompetitive inhibition. Apparent inhibition constants calculated for guanine as competitive inhibitor and for ribose 1-phosphate as noncompetitive inhibitor of the enzyme, with guanosine as variable substrate, did not vary significantly with increasing concentrations of inorganic orthophosphate as fixed substrate. These results suggest that the mechanism was order and that substrates add to the enzyme in an obligatory order. Dead end inhibition studies carried out in the presence of the products guanine and ribose 1-phosphate, respectively, showed that the kinetically significant abortive ternary complexes of enzyme-guanine-inorganic orthophosphate (EQB) and enzyme-guanose-ribose 1-phosphate (EAP) are formed. The results of dead end inhibition studies are consistent with an obligatory order of substrate addition to the enzyme. The nucleoside or purine is probably the first substrate to form a binary complex with the enzyme, and with which inorganic orthophosphate or ribose 1-phosphate may interact as secondary substrates. The evidences presented in this investigation support an Ordered Theorell-Chance mechanism for the enzyme.


THERE IS little doubt of existence of the clinical counterpart of Goldblatt hypertension. But, there is great uncertainty about its incidence. When Smith' reviewed the situation in 1956, he decided that curable hypertension due to unilateral renal disease was extremely rare. It was most often a result of unilateral pyelonephritis. Subsequently, the application of differential renal function tests, such as that first described by Howard and co-workers,2 has made it possible to identify a physiologic defect closely associated with occlusive renal arterial disease. Demonstration of such disease also has been facilitated by improved technics of renal angiography. As a consequence of these two developments, a host of enthusiastic reports has appeared that claim correction of hypertensive disease by vascular repair or nephrectomy. In view of the natural history of hypertensive disease, these reports might be premature. On the strength of such reports, numbering only a few hundred "cures," it has been claimed that from 5 to 15 per cent of the hypertensive population (two to six million people in the United States) have renal artery stenosis as the cause of their hypertension.3 Time will tell whether there is truth in this apparently extravagant estimation. Follow-ups are short, and it is especially difficult to evaluate the so-called improved categories. Validation or refutation of this claim places a new and important responsibility on all physicians involved in the study of hypertensive disease. Before considering the application of screening procedures and of more complex diagnostic technics to this large patient population, it must be emphasized that the mech-


An environmental assessment of three designs for a large-scale hydrogen production facility is performed using a Hybrid Life Cycle Assesment approach. The operational adaption of the hybrid framework for this case is shown in detail. The inventory establishment and assembly is explained. The impact assessment is performed by applying midpoint environmental theme indicators. The resulting impact potentials and their origins are presented and discussed for all three cases and for each impact category. It is shown through this comprehensive, life cycle assessment, that carbon emissions can be reduced by the introduction of carbon deposition and use of the produced hydrogen to generate process heat. This benefit, however, comes at the cost of increased impacts in other categories. These environmental repercussions are quantified and discussed.


This paper argues that we need to look at how men discursively construct and treat their partners to understand why violence occurs in intimate relationships between Australian men and Filipino women. Comparing the behavior of two groups of non-Filipino men in their intimate relationships with Filipino women puts the focus on men and makes their behavior visible. The men in the first group were in relationships with Filipino women who were killed or have disappeared in Australia. The men's biographies are drawn from interviews with their partner's family members and friends. The second group of men, with whom I conducted interviews and ethnographic research, are married to Filipino women. Domestic violence is a feature of some of the relationships because the two groups of men differ markedly in their constructions and treatment of their female partners. The men in the first group believed and acted in ways which suggested these women were their 'property', that they 'owned' the women, that the women did not have any rights. Exploring the dynamics of these different relationships, I demolish several myths about Filipino women and their non-Filipino partners, as well as the violence Filipino women experience. Additional narratives of Filipino women are woven through my analysis.


Thirty-five years of research on p53 gave rise to more than 68,000 articles and reviews, but did not allow the uncovering of all the mysteries that this major tumor suppressor holds. How p53 handles the different signals to decide the appropriate cell fate in response to a stress and its implication in tumorigenesis and cancer progression remains unclear. Nevertheless, the uncovering of p53 isoforms has opened new perspectives in the cancer research field. Indeed, the human TP53 gene encodes not only one but at least twelve p53 protein isoforms, which are produced in normal tissues through alternative initiation of translation, usage of alternative promoters, and alternative splicing. In recent years, it became obvious that the different p53 isoforms play an important role in regulating cell fate in response to different stresses in normal cells by differentially regulating gene expression. In cancer cells, abnormal expression of p53 isoforms contributes actively to cancer formation and progression, regardless of TP53 mutation status. They can also be associated with response to treatment, depending on the cell context. The determination of p53 isoform expression and p53 mutation status helps to define different subtypes within a particular cancer type, which would have different responses to treatment. Thus, the understanding of the regulation of p53 isoform expression and their biological activities in relation to the cellular context would constitute an important step toward the improvement of the diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive values of p53 in cancer treatment. This review aims to summarize the involvement of p53 isoforms in cancer and to highlight novel potential therapeutic targets.


Most researches in the VANETs domain concentrate on the development of communication routing protocols. However, it is not effective to apply the existing routing protocols of MANETs to those of VANETs. In this paper, we propose a new greedy forward routing protocol which leverages real time traffic flow information to create a routing policy. Based on this routing policy, the proposed protocol alleviates the influence of high dynamic topology and decreases the average delivery delay on VANETs.


Background: To compare the level of knowledge, the attitudes, and practices with regards to tobacco use between Iranian students at a public (PBU) and Islamic Azad (IAU) university. Methods: A cross-sectional design was used in this study. As the number of students at the IAU were three times greater than that of the PBU, we selected 150 students from the PBU and 450 students from the IAU using simple random sampling. A 57-item survey instrument was utilized for this study. The collected data were recorded by SPSS version 15 software and then it underwent statistical analysis using descriptive statistics and ANOVA to compare the difference between means of knowledge, attitude and practice scores. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify variables that have an independent association with students smoking and to describe possible variations in these relationships. The P value level for statistical significance was set at 0.05. Results: From participants, 46.8% were females, 10% of 327 students reported being daily smokers; of these, 84% were from the IAU. Totally, among the 107 smokers, 61 (57%) and 29 (27.1%) were water pipe and cigarettes smokers, respectively. Ninety-three IAU students (21.7%) and 30 PBU students (20.7%) reported smoking during the past 30 days. The mean of the knowledge items between the students of IAU was lower than PBU students. Female gender, smoking in the home, and allowing visitors to smoke in the home were significant predictors of smoking in the past 30 days in PBU, respectively. In IAU, female gender, smoking by friends, and health status were predictors for smoking in the past 30 days. Conclusions: Future studies should assess the factors affecting smoking initiation, as well as effective techniques for the prevention of smoking initiation and substance abuse in Iranian adolescents and young adults.


Adaptation is a process of deliberate change in anticipation of or in reaction to external stimuli and stress. The dominant research tradition on adaptation to environmental change primarily takes an actor-centered view, focusing on the agency of social actors to respond to specific environmental stimuli and emphasizing the reduction of vulnerabilities. The resilience approach is systems orientated, takes a more dynamic view, and sees adaptive capacity as a core feature of resilient social-ecological systems. The two approaches converge in identifying necessary components of adaptation. We argue that resilience provides a useful framework to analyze adaptation processes and to identify appropriate policy responses. We distinguish between incremental adjustments and transformative action and demonstrate that the sources of resilience for taking adaptive action are common across scales. These are the inherent system characteristics that absorb perturbations without losing function, networks and social capit...


ABSTRACT Maintaining productive partnerships between families and schools is more complex when youth enter middle school. A systematic and inclusive understanding of the strategies parents use, youth want and need, and teachers' desire is needed to broaden our conceptualization and deepen our understanding of parental involvement in education. The authors captured the voices of 3 primary stakeholders in education (i.e., parents, teachers, and students) to identify the goals for parental involvement in education, identify consistencies across stakeholders in the conceptualizations of parental involvement in education, and deepen our understanding of the types of involvement that matter for adolescents. The study used grounded-theory analysis of 20 focus groups, with ethnically diverse parents, youth, and teachers (N = 150), along with quantitative indicators of involvement and interactions with schools. From these analyses scaffolding independence, linking education to future success, and communication emerged as the most consistent strategies for promoting achievement. Conceptualizations of home-based involvement were broadened. Ethnic variations in the general experiences of families at school were highlighted.


Effects of heat treatment on the microstructure of as-cast and as-forged Ti-45Al-5Nb-0.3Y alloy are discussed. The as-cast Ti-45Al-5Nb-0.3Y alloy exhibits a microstructure consisting of fine equiaxed grains which average size is almost 100μm. Phase transformation of as-cast Ti-45Al-5Nb-0.3Y alloy greatly depends upon cooling rate. During furnace cooling, the alloy transform to fully lamellar microstructure. During air cooling, massive transformation predominates. During oil cooling, extremely fine fully lamellar microstructure is formed. During water cooling, ordering α2 phases are primary. Thermo-mechanical treatments, through combined action of hot canned forging and heat treatment, were performed on a Ti-45Al-5Nb-0.3Y alloy to investigate their effect on the microstructure of the alloy. The as-forged Ti-45Al-5Nb-0.3Y alloy is comprised of a large number of dynamic recrystallization (DRX) γ grains, curved and broken lamellae, and a small amount of remnant lamellae. And three different microstructures, duplex (DP), nearly lamellar (NL) and fine fully lamellar (FFL), have been obtained through heat treatment at different temperatures (1320-1370°C), respectively.


During a routine scan for Signal Recognition Particle (SRP) RNAs in eukaryotic sequences, we surprisingly found in silico evidence in GenBank for a 265-base long SRP RNA sequence in the ITS1 region of a total of 11 fully identified species in three ectomycorrhizal genera of the Basidiomycota (Fungi): Astraeus, Russula, and Lactarius. To rule out sequence artifacts, one specimen from a species indicated to have the SRP RNA-containing ITS region in each of these genera was ordered and re-sequenced. Sequences identical to the corresponding GenBank entries were recovered, or in the case of a non-original but conspecific specimen differed by three bases, showing that these species indeed have an SRP RNA sequence incorporated into their ITS1 region. Other than the ribosomal genes, this is the first known case of non-coding RNAs in the eukaryotic ITS region, and it may assist in the examination of other types of insertions in fungal genomes.


SiC particles are effective grain refiners in Mg-Al alloys. Several investigations, from different researchers, into their effect on a range of alloys with different Al contents has been undertaken and it has been found that the greatest reduction in grain size occurs in alloys having low Al contents. Performing grain refinement studies on a range of alloy contents also allows for further investigation into the mechanisms of grain refinement. It was found that the size of the SiC particles is also important in magnesium grain refinement. However, the presence of Mg2Si in the microstructure and the consideration of phase equilibria suggest that SiC can transform into other binary or ternary carbides. If such carbides are formed, they may also act as an effective grain refiner for Mg-Al alloys. In this study, the possibility of formation of new carbides (Al4C3, Al2MgC2, Mn7C3, Mg2C, Mg2C3, Al2CO etc.) and their ability to be good grain refiners for Mg-Al alloys is discussed.


Thoracotomy is one of the most painful incision and an non adequate control of post-thoracotomy pain increases the morbidity and mortality (1,2). Despite post-thoracotomy pain has different sources, reducing skin and chest wall incision with minimally invasive approaches could decrease the pain stimuli and improve the postoperative outcome. In the last two decades, video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) has emerged as alternative strategy to standard open thoracotomy in the management of lung, chest wall, mediastinal and pleural diseases (3-10). Benefits of VATS over thoracotomy include less postoperative pain, shorter hospital stay, less morbidity and mortality, better cosmetic results and similar oncological outcome. Thus, VATS has become the treatment of choice in elderly patients with severe comorbidity and/or in young patient with poor clinical conditions that cannot tolerate the surgical trauma of thoracotomy (11-14).


This study identifies the double-edged sword of high ploidy as a prerequisite to personalize combination therapies with cytotoxic drugs and inhibitors of signal transduction pathways such as MTOR-Is. Breast cancer progresses in a multistep process from primary tumor growth and stroma invasion to metastasis. Nutrient-limiting environments promote chemotaxis with aggressive morphologies characteristic of invasion. It is unknown how coexisting cells differ in their response to nutrient limitations and how this impacts invasion of the metapopulation as a whole. In this study, we integrate mathematical modeling with microenvironmental perturbation data to investigate invasion in nutrient-limiting environments inhabited by one or two cancer cell subpopulations. Subpopulations were defined by their energy efficiency and chemotactic ability. Invasion distance traveled by a homogeneous population was estimated. For heterogeneous populations, results suggest that an imbalance between nutrient efficacy and chemotactic superiority accelerates invasion. Such imbalance will spatially segregate the two populations and only one type will dominate at the invasion front. Only if these two phenotypes are balanced, the two subpopulations compete for the same space, which decelerates invasion. We investigate ploidy as a candidate biomarker of this phenotypic heterogeneity and discuss its potential to inform the dose of mTOR inhibitors (mTOR-I) that can inhibit chemotaxis just enough to facilitate such competition. Significance: This study identifies the double-edged sword of high ploidy as a prerequisite to personalize combination therapies with cytotoxic drugs and inhibitors of signal transduction pathways such as mTOR-Is. Graphical Abstract: http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/canres/80/22/5109/F1.large.jpg. Graphical Abstract


Increasingly stringent emissions targets are encouraging vehicle manufacturers to prioritise reduction of vehicle mass. The falling cost of carbon fibre is increasing the viability of lightweight carbon-based body panel systems across a broad range of production volumes. In the present work an automated process has been developed for the manufacture of random fibre preforms at medium volume production levels (30-50,000ppa).

This thesis seeks to understand the influence of key microstructural parameters on the mechanical and physical properties of carbon fibre laminates produced by directed fibre preforming. The principal parameters studied are fibre length, tow filament count and laminate thickness. A statistical process simulation has been developed to predict preform density variation and the results are compared with experimental tensile properties.

Experimental studies have shown that there is a notable reduction in areal density variation and consequently an increase in tensile properties with shorter fibres (115mm to 6mm) and thicker laminates (1.5mm to 4mm for a constant volume fraction). Shorter lengths improved preform coverage and gave higher tensile strength, whilst thicker laminates reduced the presence of unreinforced areas which cause stress concentrations. Tow filamentisation has been induced by pneumatic means to reduce the mean filament count and maximise the mechanical performance when using inexpensive, 24K bundles. By maximising the level of filamentisation both stiffness and strength can be increased by 20% and 45% respectively.

An analytical stiffness model is presented to predict the effect of tow filament count on the in-plane elastic constants. Filament count and out-of-plane fibre orientation distributions are determined from optical microscopy and are incorporated into a multi-level Mori-Tanaka based model. Predictions are within 8% of the experimental data for laminates containing large fibre bundles and 10% for laminates with highly filamentised bundles. An expression for critical bundle length has been developed for more accurate strength prediction, based on the number of filaments within the bundle. Experimental results confirm that the critical tow length is proportional to the tow filament count.

Directed fibre preforming has been benchmarked against other competing processes in respect of mechanical properties, weight saving potential and cost. A full-scale demonstrator component has been manufactured using a variety of carbon composite solutions, which can all provide 40 to 50% weight saving for an equivalent bending stiffness to steel and greatly improved dent resistance. Directed fibre preforming has shown great promise for both semi-structural and structural components for medium volume applications, particularly when aligned fibres are introduced. The results from this work can be directly scaled for industrial application to provide a cost effective, lightweight alternative to steel.


Despite having several characteristics of naïve B cells, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells have been shown in some cases to have somatically mutated Ig variable region genes, indicating that the cell of origin has passed through the germinal center. A previous study of patients with CLL found an association between lack of somatic mutation and trisomy 12 and, therefore, possibly with a less favorable prognosis. We have sequenced the Ig V(H) genes of the tumor cells of 84 patients with CLL and correlated our findings with clinical features. A total of 38 cases (45.2%) showed >/= 98% sequence homology with the nearest germline V(H) gene; 46 cases (54.8%) showed >2% somatic mutation. Unmutated V(H) genes were significantly associated with V1-69 and D3-3 usage, with atypical morphology; isolated trisomy 12, advanced stage and progressive disease. Survival was significantly worse for patients with unmutated V(H) genes irrespective of stage. Median survival for stage A patients with unmutated V(H) genes was 95 months compared with 293 months for patients whose tumors had mutated V(H) genes (P =.0008). The simplest explanation is that CLL comprises 2 different diseases with different clinical courses. One, arising from a memory B cell, has a benign course, the other, arising from a naïve B cell, is more malignant.


Invasive carcinoma of the cervix is the most common gynecologic malignancy to occur during the reproductive years. To analyze the effects of pregnancy on the course and survival of invasive cervical cancer, we compared 40 women with invasive cervical cancer to 89 nonpregnant controls matched for age, calendric year of diagnosis, stage, and tumor type. Additionally, we compared the distribution of invasive cervical cancer stages among the 40 pregnant women with that among the 1,963 cases of invasive cervical cancer treated during the same 30 years in women less than 45 years of age registered in the same hospital. To evaluate pregnancy outcome, we compared babies born to women with invasive cervical cancer to babies born of women matched for maternal age and not exposed to known teratogens or reproductive risks during pregnancy. Thirty-year survival of pregnant women with invasive cervical cancer was identical to that of their matched controls. Women having invasive cervical cancer were 3.1 times more likely to be diagnosed with stage I disease (95% confidence interval, 1.6 to 6.2). Additionally, they had a significantly lower chance of being diagnosed with stages III and IV (P = .02). Babies born to women with invasive cervical cancer were similar in gestational age and rates of prematurity but had a lower birth weight than the matched controls. There were two stillbirths among the 24 pregnancies that continued to term (8%), not statistically different from the 1.1% rate for Ontario. Our data suggest that pregnancy per se does not adversely affect the survival of women with invasive cervical cancer. However, this study provides evidence that pregnant women are more likely to present with early disease because of regular, pregnancy-related obstetric exams. Moreover, there is an increased risk for stillbirth, which should lead to follow-up of these patients by a high-risk perinatal unit.


We propose and evaluate a 2-D photonic crystal waveguide with two line defects separated by a row of elliptic air holes. By adjusting the structural parameters, we obtain a waveguide with an inflection point on the dispersion curve corresponding to a slow-light mode with reduced distortion. Moreover, we investigate the transversely confined field and high quality factor, which both indicate that the dispersionless slow wave can be generated in our wave guide.


BACKGROUND: A multimodality approach for locally recurrent colorectal cancer in the pelvis provides a significant survival advantage when negative margins are achieved. However, outcomes of surgical resection in patients who have locally re-recurrent disease in the pelvis are not well studied. Our aim was to assess the safety, feasibility of a negative margin resection, and survival outcomes in patients with pelvic locally re-recurrent colorectal cancer. DESIGN: A retrospective review identified 406 patients who underwent surgery for locally recurrent colorectal cancer between 1997 and 2007. Patients who had locally re-recurrent disease in the pelvis who underwent curative-intent resection were identified. RESULTS: Forty-seven patients (31 male) were identified. Median age was 57 years (range, 30–84 years). Median time to re-recurrence was 2.4 years (range, 0.5–5.6 years). Margin status following re-resection was R0 60%, R1 32%, and R2 8%. Nonbowel organs were resected en bloc in 81%, including 7 sacral resections. Intraoperative radiation was given to 77%. Morbidity occurred in 42%, with 6% requiring reoperation for complications. Thirty-day mortality was nil. Overall survival at 2 and 5 years was 83% and 33%. Disease-free survival at 2 and 5 years was 55% and 27%. Five-year survival for patients who had R0 and R1 resections was 37% and 42%, whereas no patients having an R2 resection survived beyond 2 years (p = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: In highly selected patients with re-recurrent colorectal cancer in the pelvis, we found that surgery could be performed safely and that a curative (R0) resection was possible in more than 50%. Two- and 5-year survival rates are comparable to results seen when surgery is done for first-time recurrences.


Low-temperature site-selective fluorescence (SSF) spectroscopy is employed to study morphological effects on the conformation of poly(p-phenylene vinylene) (PPV) and its phenyl-substituted, soluble derivative poly(phenylphenylenevinylene) (PPPV). Samples of PPV prepared as spin-coated thin films and stretch-aligned free-standing films, and samples of PPPV prepared as cast films and as blends with poly(methylmethacrylate) and polycarbonate have been studied. The results that the authors present are considered with the notion that each polymer sample consists of an array of ordered chain segments whose average length reflects the perfection of the local structure. The statistical distribution of the segment lengths is responsible for inhomogeneous broadening of the optical spectra (absorption and emission). The dominant electronic excitation created by photoexcitation across the pi - pi * energy gap is a singlet exciton that can execute a random walk among the chain segments. SSF spectroscopy allows the authors to distinguish the contributions to the apparent fluorescence Stokes shift that arise from energy relaxation through excitation migration (spectral diffusion) and from structural relaxation of the polymer chain (self-localization). The structural contribution to the Stokes shift approaches zero in well aligned PPV and reaches values of up to 500 cm-1 in highly disordered PPPV films. The SSF method also provides a means of assessing the extent of phase separation that occurs in PPPV blends.


The Dermestidae species Attagenus smirnovi Zhantiev, 1973 was discovered in two household in South Tyrol, making it the first official records for this species in Italy. The larvae feeds upon dried organic materials, making this species a common pest in museum collections and households in Central and Northern Europe. The spread of A. smirnovi in Italy was expected but has not yet been recorded. Further, developments of its distribution need to be monitored to prevent damaging infestations, especially to museum collections.


Clinical manifestations of anti-synthetase syndrome positive for anti-alanyl-tRNA synthetase (anti-PL12) antibodies: a retrospective study of 17 cases Abstract Objective. To describe the clinical manifestations of the anti-synthetase syndrome (ASS) specifically associated with anti-alanyl-tRNA (anti-PL12) synthetase antibodies. Methods. In a retrospective study, 17 patients (eight males, nine females, mean age = 60.3 years) with ASS symptoms confirmed by two consecutive tests (cyto-dot and/or immunoblot, or both), with positive results for anti-PL12 antibodies, were included. Results. All patients presented with interstitial lung disease (ILD), which was associated with mild myositis in 41% of the cases. RP and general impairment were common, whereas rheumatic and dermatological symptoms were uncommon. Four patients suffered from SS, and four others had an atypical oesophageal involvement. The long-term course was assessable for 10 patients (follow-up of 41.1 months). Five patients required immunosuppressive drugs. Two patients are waiting for a lung transplant because of disproportionate and refractory pulmonary hypertension. Conclusion. The severity of anti-PL12 ASS varied because of the constant pulmonary involvement. ILD was the predominant prognosis factor, which was notable in cases associated with pulmonary hypertension.


Abstract Tornadoes and other intense atmospheric vortices are known to occasionally transition to a flow structure with multiple vortices within their larger circulations. This phenomenon has long been ascribed to fluid dynamical instability of the inner-core circulation, and many previous studies have diagnosed low-wavenumber unstable modes in tornado-like vortices that resemble the observed structures. However, relatively few of these studies have incorporated the strong vertical motions of the inner-core circulation into the stability analysis, and no stability analyses have been performed using a complete, frictionally driven secondary circulation with strong radial inflow near the surface. Stability analyses are presented using the complete circulations generated from idealized simulations of tornado-like vortices. Fast-growing unstable modes are found that are consistent with the asymmetric structures present in these simulations. Attempts to correlate the structures and locations of these modes with instability conditions for vortices with axial jets derived by Howard & Gupta and by Leibovich & Stewartson produce only mixed results. Analyses of perturbation energy growth show that interactions between eddy fluxes and the radial shear of the azimuthal wind contribute very little to the growth of the dominant modes. Rather, the radial shear of the vertical wind and the vertical shear of the vertical wind (corresponding to deformation in the axial direction) are the primary energy sources for perturbation growth. Relatively weak axisymmetric instabilities are also identified that have some similarity to symmetric oscillations that have been observed in tornadoes.


THE OTTOMAN MILLET SYSTEM This paper explores the main tenets of the millet system. Millet is an Arabic word that tran slated into English as nation. This term was not used 0nly for non-Muslims, but also for any nation. However, in the terminology of the Ottoman historians, it is mostly used to define non-Muslim communities. People were seen in the eyes of State not 0n the basis of ethnicity or language, but religion. "Religion, language, community, ethnicity, and family made up the socio-cultural fabric of the millet." For the period of the Ottoman, the most important thing was religion and supremacy of family: in other words, the millet system was in favour of "fusion of family and the community." Key words: Ottoman, Millet, Turk, Ottoman State, Islam


Background The concept of disability is now understood as a result of the interaction between the individual, features related to impairment, and the physical and social environment. It is important to understand these environmental influences and how they affect social participation. The purpose of this study is to describe the social participation of young adults with Down syndrome and examine its relationship with the physical and social environment. Methods Families ascertained from the Down syndrome 'Needs Opinion Wishes' database completed questionnaires during 2011. The questionnaires contained two parts, young person characteristics and family characteristics. Young adults' social participation was measured using the Assessment of Life Habits (LIFE-H) and the influences of environmental factors were measured by the Measure of the Quality of the Environment (MQE). The analysis involved descriptive statistics and linear and logistic regression. Results Overall, participation in daily activities was higher (mean 6.45) than in social roles (mean 5.17) (range 0 to 9). When the physical and/or social environment was reported as a facilitator, compared to being no influence or a barrier, participation in social roles was greater (coef 0.89, 95%CI 0.28, 1.52, coef 0.83, 95%CI 0.17, 1.49, respectively). The relationships between participation and both the physical (coef 0.60, 95% CI −0.40, 1.24) and social (coef 0.20, 95%CI −0.47, 0.87) environments were reduced when age, gender, behavior and functioning in ADL were taken into account. Conclusion We found that young adults' participation in social roles was influenced more by the physical environment than by the social environment, providing a potentially modifiable avenue for intervention.


We begin this paper by summarizing various studies which used surveys and economic models to describe the characteristics and benefits of the old tradition of ROSCAs which is prevalent in many developing countries around the world. These studies also document the types of draws and the factors that motivate people to participate in a ROSCA. We expand the information on this tradition in a state in India where ROSCA is referred to as bhishi. During the month of January 2013, we interviewed (in-person & over the telephone) several regular participants living in two metro areas in the State of Maharashtra, namely, Mumbai & Pune. Another smaller city of Miraj was also included. The findings from the interviews in India are illustrative of the creative ways people have taken the old, money-based idea of bhishi and interwoven it with the fabric of social and cultural traditions. It is being kept alive to build and strengthen relationships among friends, relatives, and neighbors. Incorporating the fun dimensions ranging from enjoying different cuisine to taking trips into the old tradition seems to maintain its popularity. This behavior is noteworthy especially with India's recent entry into the world market as an emerging economic power. Although people with lower incomes still value bhishi in its traditional role as a saving vehicle (and occasionally as a lender of last resort), most middle and upper-income earners strongly believe in this modern evolution of an old tradition and are committed to continue it.


The 3D organization of the genome is tightly connected to its biological function. The Hi-C approach was recently introduced as a method that can be used to identify higher-order chromatin interactions genome-wide. The aim of this study was to determine genome-wide chromatin interaction frequencies using the Hi-C approach in mouse sperm cells and embryonic fibroblasts. The obtained results demonstrated that the 3D genome organizations of sperm and fibroblast cells show a high degree of similarity both with each other and with the previously described mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells. Both A- and B-compartments and topologically associated domains (TADs) are present in spermatozoa and fibroblasts. Nevertheless, sperm cells and fibroblasts exhibited statistically significant differences between each other in the contact probabilities of defined loci. Tight packaging of the sperm genome resulted in an enrichment of long-range contacts compared with the fibroblasts. However, only 30% of the differences in the number of contacts are based on differences in the densities of their genome packages; the main source of the differences is the gain or loss of contacts that are specific for defined genome regions. An analysis of interchromosomal contacts in both cell types demonstrated that the large chromosomes showed a tendency to interact with each other more than with the small chromosomes and vice versa. We found that the dependence of the contact probability P(s) on genomic distance for sperm is in a good agreement with the fractal globular folding of chromatin. The similarity of the spatial DNA organization in sperm and somatic cell genomes suggests the stability of the 3D structure of genomes through generations.


The sensitivity of millimeter-wave (mmWave) radio channel to blockage is a fundamental challenge in achieving low-latency and reliable connectivity. In this paper, we explore the viability of using coordinated multi-point (CoMP) transmission for a delay bounded and reliable mmWave communication. We provide an iterative algorithm for the time-average sum-power-minimization problem by solving a system of Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) optimality conditions. We use the Lyapunov optimization framework and derive a dynamic control algorithm to transform a time-average stochastic problem into a sequence of deterministic subproblems. Furthermore, for the robust beamformer design, we consider a pessimistic estimate of the user-specific rate, assuming that a portion of CoMP links would be blocked during the data transmission phase, while ensuring the average latency requirements. The numerical examples illustrate that in the presence of random blockages, the proposed method outperforms baseline scenarios and results in energy-efficient, high-reliability and low-latency mmWave communication.


The use of online live-streaming videos to promote brands and products in e-commerce is "exploding" in China. Whereas, little is known about the mechanism underlying viewers/ audience participating behavior in the rapidly growing online live-streaming videos for commerce phenomenon. Based on the stimulus–organism–response paradigm, this study endeavors to investigate the effects of content and social features (information quality, broadcaster attractiveness and para-social interaction) of on customers cognitive and emotional state (cognitive assimilation and emotional energy) and the subsequently their responses (hedonic consumption, impulsive consumption, and social sharing). 200 valid respondents were collected via cross-sectional online survey websites. The research results provide empirical evidences to support most of our hypotheses, indicating that hedonic consumption and social sharing behavior are determined by emotional energy and cognitive assimilation. These cognitive and emotional states, are influenced by information quality, broadcaster attractiveness, and para-social interaction. Impulsive consumption is only determined by emotional energy.


Aims
Most patients with advanced malignancy suffer bone metastases, which pose a significant challenge to orthopaedic services and burden to the health economy. This study aimed to assess adherence to the British Orthopaedic Oncology Society (BOOS)/British Orthopaedic Association (BOA) guidelines on patients with metastatic bone disease (MBD) in the UK.

Methods
A prospective, multicentre, national collaborative audit was designed and delivered by a trainee-led collaborative group. Data were collected over three months (1 April 2021 to 30 June 2021) for all patients presenting with MBD. A data collection tool allowed investigators at each hospital to compare practice against guidelines. Data were collated and analyzed centrally to quantify compliance from 84 hospitals in the UK for a total of 1,137 patients who were eligible for inclusion.

Results
A total of 846 patients with pelvic and appendicular MBD were analyzed, after excluding those with only spinal metastatic disease. A designated MBD lead was not present in 39% of centres (33/84). Adequate radiographs were not performed in 19% of patients (160/846), and 29% (247/846) did not have an up-to-date CT of thorax, abdomen, and pelvis to stage their disease. Compliance was low obtaining an oncological opinion (69%; 584/846) and prognosis estimations (38%; 223/846). Surgery was performed in 38% of patients (319/846), with the rates of up-to-date radiological investigations and oncology input with prognosis below the expected standard. Of the 25% (215/846) presenting with a solitary metastasis, a tertiary opinion from a MBD centre and biopsy was sought in 60% (130/215).

Conclusion
Current practice in the UK does not comply with national guidelines, especially regarding investigations prior to surgery and for patients with solitary metastases. This study highlights the need for investment and improvement in care. The recent publication of British Orthopaedic Association Standards for Trauma (BOAST) defines auditable standards to drive these improvements for this vulnerable patient group.


Why do nations produce scientific research? This is a fundamental problem in the field of social studies of science. The paper confronts this question here by showing vital determinants of science to explain the sources of social power and wealth creation by nations. Firstly, this study suggests a new general definition of science and scientific research that synthetizes previous concepts and endeavors to extend them: Science discovers the root causes of phenomena to explain and predict them in a context of adaptation of life to new economic and social bases, whereas scientific research is a systematic process, applying methods of scientific inquiry, to solve consequential problems, to satisfy human wants, to take advantage of important opportunities and/or to cope with environmental threats. In particular, science and scientific research are driven by an organized social effort that inevitably reflect the concerns and interests of nations to achieve advances and discoveries that are spread to the rest of humankind. This study reveals that scientific research is produced for social and economic interests of nations (power, wealth creation, technological superiority, etc.), rather than philosophical inquiries. A main implication of this study is that the immense growth of science in modern society is not only due to activity of scientists but rather to general social efforts of nations to take advantage of important opportunities and/or to cope with environmental threats, such as war. Empirical evidence endeavors to support the sources of scientific research for nations, described here. Finally, relationships between R&D investment and productivity, and research policy implications are discussed.


Sex-related differences in cardiovascular diseases are highly complex in humans and model-dependent in experimental laboratory animals. The objective of this work was to comprehensively investigate key sex differences in the response to acute and prolonged adrenergic stimulation in C57Bl/6NCrl mice. Cardiac function was assessed by trans-thoracic echocardiography before and after acute adrenergic stimulation (a single sub-cutaneous dose of isoproterenol 10 mg/kg) in 15 weeks old male and female C57Bl/6NCrl mice. Thereafter, prolonged adrenergic stimulation was achieved by sub-cutaneous injections of isoproterenol 10 mg/kg/day for 14 days in male and female mice. Cardiac function and morphometry were assessed by trans-thoracic echocardiography on the 15th day. Thereafter, the mice were euthanized, and the hearts were collected. Histopathological analysis of myocardial tissue was performed after staining with hematoxylin & eosin, Masson's trichrome and MAC-2 antibody. Gene expression of remodeling and fibrotic markers was assessed by real-time PCR. Cardiac function and morphometry were also measured before and after isoproterenol 10 mg/kg/day for 14 days in groups of gonadectomized male and female mice and sham-operated controls. In the current work, there were no statistically significant differences in the positive inotropic and chronotropic effects of isoproterenol between male and female C57Bl/6NCrl. After prolonged adrenergic stimulation, there was similar degree of cardiac dysfunction, cardiac hypertrophy, and myocardial fibrosis in male and female mice. Similarly, prolonged isoproterenol administration induced hypertrophic and fibrotic genes in hearts of male and female mice to the same extent. Intriguingly, gonadectomy of male and female mice did not have a significant impact on isoproterenol-induced cardiac dysfunction as compared to sham-operated animals. The current work demonstrated lack of significant sex-related differences in isoproterenol-induced cardiac hypertrophy, dysfunction, and fibrosis in C57Bl/6NCrl mice. This study suggests that female sex may not be sufficient to protect the heart in this model of isoproterenol-induced cardiac dysfunction and underscores the notion that sexual dimorphism in cardiovascular diseases is highly model-dependent.


OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the applicability of the London Chest Activity of Daily Living (LCADL) scale in patients on the waiting list for lung transplantation. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study, conducted between May and September of 2010, involving 26 male and female patients on the waiting list for lung transplantation and treated at the Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program in the Complexo Hospitalar Santa Casa de Misericordia de Porto Alegre, located in the city of Porto Alegre, Brazil. We evaluated the patients using the six-minute walk test (6MWT) and pulmonary function tests. We also obtained the LCADL scores, as well as the modified Borg scale scores for sensation of dyspnea and leg fatigue. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used to determine the internal consistency of the LCADL scale. Linear regression analysis was used in order to identify associations between the total LCADL score (expressed as a percentage) and the variables studied. RESULTS: According to the LCADL scale results, 69% of the patients reported that the performance of their activities of daily living was significantly impaired by their dyspnea. The internal consistency of the LCADL scale was 0.89. After adjusting for age and FEV1, we found that the total LCADL scale score showed statistically significant negative associations with the six-minute walk distance (β = -0.087; p < 0.001) and the six-minute walk work (β = -0.285; p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that the LCADL scale is a useful tool for assessing patients on the waiting list for lung transplantation.


The author argues that a theory of concupiscence (desire), the subject of much of Metz's early work (during his "transcendental phase") implicitly plays a decisive role in his Political Theology. The implied concept of concupiscence is explicated with the aid of the major categories of a theory of reification as developed by Lukacs, Benjamin and Adorno. The main categories of Metz's Political Theology (notably asceticism, theodicy, negative theology and praxis) are linked to the (implied) central concept of concupiscence, eventually described as the might of what is. As this might seems to be absolute, the problem of the praxis of the believer becomes acute. Metz calls for a theology that integrates into its concepts societal, historical and cultural contexts. His notion of praxis as privation is interpreted in terms of longing and resistance.


We present recent progress on visible light communication systems using polymer light-emitting diodes as the transmitters and a commercial silicon photodetector as the receiver. In this paper, we use transmitters at red, green, and blue wavelengths to investigate the maximum on-off keying link performance of each device type as the first steps toward a wavelength-division multiplexed link. We show that a total transmission speed of 13 Mb/s is achievable when considering the raw bandwidth of each of the RGB PLEDs. Such a rate represents a 30% gain over previously demonstrated systems. Further capacity improvement can be achieved using high performance artificial neural network equalizer offering a realistic prospect for transmission speeds up to 54.9 Mb/s.


Objective. To investigate whether greater social support and support network are cross-sectionally associated with less functional limitations and psychological distress in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA); whether this association is constant over time; and whether increases in social support or support network are associated with less functional limitations and psychological distress. Methods. Subjects were from the European Research on Incapacitating Diseases and Social Support cohort and had early RA. Social support, support network, functional limitations (Health Assessment Questionnaire), and psychological distress (General Health Questionnaire) were assessed annually. Variance and covariance analyses with repeated measures were performed. Results. A total of 542 subjects were assessed for 3 years. On average, patients with a greater amount of specific social support or a stronger specific support network experienced less functional limitation and less psychological distress. Changes in a given subject's functional limitations and psychological distress did not depend on his or her baseline social support or support network. Neither social support nor support network change over time. Conclusion. There may be a cross-sectional link between specific social support or support network and functional limitations and psychological distress, but no longitudinal association could be evidenced.


Wild giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) herds have been described as random associations of individuals, but recent research has suggested that giraffe do form social bonds and have a complex social structure. The aims of this investigation were to determine whether a group of three captive giraffe associated randomly or patterned their behaviour and proximity in a way that suggests social relationships. Also to analyse how the giraffe use their enclosure in order for the zoo to develop the enrichment program to encourage the giraffe to use the enclosure more equally. Index of association and maintenance of proximity were used to analyse the social interactions. SPI and Chi Squared (goodness of fit) tests were used to determine the enclosure usage. Mother- son pairs and pairs with large age differences between members interacted and associated most often. Areas of the enclosure such as the inside, concrete area, and sand area were used more than expected; on the other hand areas such as grass areas were used less than expected; this is because these areas contain no resources. The social structure of this captive group is influenced by social relationships between individuals, especially mother and son. It is suggested that the social behaviour between wild individuals should be examined more closely in order to improve the welfare of giraffes in captivity.

Key words: Giraffe; Social; Association; Relationships; Home range; Bond; Captivity; Enclosure use


Objectives - The aim of the present study was to examine postoperative serum levels of cardiac enzymes after transmyocardial laser treatment (TML) and to evaluate any associations between this release, postoperative cardiac events and change in ejection fraction after 3 months' follow-up. Design - Forty-nine patients with angina pectoris Canadian Cardiovascular Society Angina Score Class III & IV refractory to medical therapy and untreatable by coronary artery bypass or percutaneous transluminal angioplasty treated with CO2 laser were included. Inclusion criteria were age less than 75 years, left ventricular ejection fraction greater than or equal to 30% and myocardial regions with reversible ischemia. Serum levels of aspartate aminotranspherase (ASAT), alanine aminotranspherase (ALAT) and MB-isoenzymes of creatine kinase (CK-MB) were followed during the first 72 h after surgery. Ejection fractions were estimated by multiple-gated acquisition ventriculography at inclusion and 3 months postoperatively. Results - A significant increase in serum markers of myocardial necrosis was observed 8 h after surgery. A subsequent increase from 8 to 24 h after surgery was associated with the presence of postoperative cardiac adverse events. An inverse correlation was found between peak level of cardiac enzymes and change in ejection fraction from baseline to 3 months' follow-up. Conclusions - TML with CO2 laser is followed by a significant increase in serum levels of cardiac enzymes after 8 h. Further significant increases are associated with cardiac adverse events postoperatively. Peak enzyme values are inversely correlated with change in ejection fraction from baseline to 3 months' follow-up.


Purpose

This paper of this study is to attempt to explore the status of collection in agricultural libraries of Northern India and assess the magnitude of impact of the advent of electronic information resources (EIRs) on the contemporary acquisition.

Design/methodology/approach

While adhering to the survey method, the questionnaire was used as a data collection tool to collect data from university librarians. Telephonic interaction and e-mail correspondence were also used to clear doubts, remove ambiguities and obtain data of higher significance from the respondents.

Findings

The majority of the agricultural libraries in Northern India have a sound collection of information resources in the print form, which may continue to act as a source of attraction for users in the future for a long time to come. Yet, the acquisition of information resources in the print form across the studied libraries continues at routine pace, and as such the advent of e-resources seems to have not yet laid any prominent impact on acquisition of resources in print form. E-Books have not yet been fully incorporated into the library collection and that e-journal collection "CeRA" (Consortium for Electronic Resources in Agriculture) seems to gratify the needs of users of these libraries, as no additional e-journals are seen to be subscribed to at present.

Research limitations/implications

Only seven agricultural libraries have been taken as a sample. Moreover, the work is confined to only two aspects, i.e. current status and the impact of EIRs on acquisition of information resources. Other aspects like those of collection development, storage and accommodation, preservation, library functionality and library services need to also be studied.

Originality/value

This is first work of its nature in Northern India with agricultural libraries as their domain. The findings will help the librarians and the library advisory committees decide on logical grounds about the proportion at which the print and electronic forms of information resources need to be acquired.


The Low-Cost, Moderate-Cost, and Liberal Food Plans, three fundamental parts of the U.S. food guidance system, have been revised by USDA's Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, with assistance from USDA's Food and Nutrition Service, Economic Research Service, and Agricultural Research Service. The plans provide representative healthful market baskets at three different cost levels. This revision maintains the same inflation-adjusted costs as those of the previous three food plans, last revised in 2003. In line with previous food plans, an assumption used to develop these plans was that all purchased food is consumed at home. The newly revised (2007) Low-Cost, Moderate-Cost, and Liberal Food Plans differ from, and improve upon, the previous versions in a number of ways: • The Plans are based on the most current dietary standards: the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans as well as the 2005 MyPyramid Food Guidance System. • The Plans use the latest data on food consumption, nutrient content, and food prices: the 2001-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and the 2001- 2002 Food Price Database. • The Plans offer a more realistic reflection of the time available for home food preparation; hence, each plan incorporates more prepared foods within the recipes and requires fewer preparations from scratch.


In this paper we propose a set of necessary and sufficient conditions under which the throughput in an ad-hoc network can remain constant as the number of nodes n increases. Throughput refers to the minimum achievable rate between a source-destination pair for a given routing mechanism and physical model, when the network is shared by \Theta(n) randomly chosen source-destination pairs. The main idea is to use a connectivity graph, that does not represent the actual physical network, but rather the available communication resources.


Aims & Objectives: To estimate the frequency, aetiologies and outcome of neonates admitted with Tachypnea in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) FGPC PGMI Islamabad.To identify the causes of Tachypnea in newborns, analyze outcome at present, and to plan better outcome in futureMaterials & Methods: A prospective study was conducted at Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Federal Government Polyclinic Hospital PGMI from 1st June 2016 till 31st July 2017.Data were collected from all patients enrolled in the study during this period. Aim of our study is to identify the causes of Tachypnea in newborns, analyze outcome at present, and to plan better outcome in future.Results: Total 826 neonates were admitted, of which 248 were enrolled in the study. The frequency of tacyopnea was found to be 29.9%.The commonest causes of Tachypnea in our study were Respiratory distress syndrome 82 cases (33.1%), Transient Tachypnea of newborn 71 cases (28.6%) , Meconium Aspiration syndrome 31 cases (12.5%), Congenital heart disease 17 cases (6.8%).Cesearean section was the most common predisposing factor associated with development of  RDS & TTN( the two most common causes of respiratory distress in our study) 146 (58.9%) cases. The mortality rate of tacyopnea in our study was 103 cases (41.5%).Conclusion: Tachypnea is one of the most common problems encountered in neonatal ICUs of which RDS, TTN, MAS and CHD are the common ones. Prematurity, low birth weight neonates and neonates born via Cesearean section show a poorer outcome, needing advanced respiratory support and longer duration of hospital stay. Thus, timely decisions regarding the mode of delivery, prevention of preterm deliveries, and appropriate management of Tacyopnea may reduce neonatal mortality.


A serious problem in the replication of repeating-sequence DNa polymers using Escherichia coli DNA polymerase I arises from the fact that this polymerase has a very strong preference for the replication of poly[d(A-T)]. Thus reactions primed with DNA containing small amounts of contaminating poly[d(A-T)] will eventually result in complete domination of the synthesis by poly[d(A-T)]. This problem can be overcome by the addition to the reaction mixture of the synthetic quinoxaline antibiotic TANDEM which binds specifically to poly[d(A-T)] completely inhibiting its replication. Using thermal denaturation experiments it can be shown that TANDEM does not bind to most other synthetic DNA polymers (e.g., poly(dA) . poly(dT) and poly[d(A-T-C)] . poly[d(G-A-T)] and therefore their replication is not inhibited. The only exception we have encountered is poly[d(T-A-C)] . poly[d(G-T-A)] which does bind TANDEM and therefore the drug cannot be used during the synthesis of this polymer. The fact that poly[d(T-A-C)] . poly[d(G-T-A)] does bind TANDEM while poly[d(A-T-C)] . poly[d(G-A-T)] does not, suggests that the drug recognizes T-A rather than A-T sequences.


BACKGROUND
There is no established primary care solution for the rapidly increasing numbers of severely obese people with body mass index (BMI) > 40 kg/m(2).

AIM
This programme aimed to generate weight losses of ≥15 kg at 12 months, within routine primary care.

DESIGN AND SETTING
Feasibility study in primary care.

METHOD
Patients with a BMI ≥40 kg/m(2) commenced a micronutrient-replete 810-833 kcal/day low-energy liquid diet (LELD), delivered in primary care, for a planned 12 weeks or 20 kg weight loss (whichever was the sooner), with structured food reintroduction and then weight-loss maintenance, with optional orlistat to 12 months.

RESULT
Of 91 patients (74 females) entering the programme (baseline: weight 131 kg, BMI 48 kg/m(2), age 46 years), 58/91(64%) completed the LELD stage, with a mean duration of 14.4 weeks (standard deviation [SD] = 6.0 weeks), and a mean weight loss of 16.9 kg (SD = 6.0 kg). Four patients commenced weight-loss maintenance omitting the food-reintroduction stage. Of the remaining 54, 37(68%) started and completed food reintroduction over a mean duration of 9.3 weeks (SD = 5.7 weeks), with a further mean weight loss of 2.1 kg (SD = 3.7 kg), before starting a long-term low-fat-diet weight-loss maintenance plan. A total of 44/91 (48%) received orlistat at some stage. At 12 months, weight was recorded for 68/91 (75%) patients, with a mean loss of 12.4 kg (SD = 11.4 kg). Of these, 30 (33% of all 91 patients starting the programme) had a documented maintained weight loss of ≥15 kg at 12 months, six (7%) had a 10-15 kg loss, and 11 (12%) had a 5-10 kg loss. The indicative cost of providing this entire programme for wider implementation would be £861 per patient entered, or £2611 per documented 15 kg loss achieved.

CONCLUSION
A care package within routine primary care for severe obesity, including LELD, food reintroduction, and weight-loss maintenance, was well accepted and achieved a 12-month-maintained weight loss of ≥15 kg for one-third of all patients entering the programme.


This thesis presents three substantive chapters on the economics of households. The objectives are to quantitatively examine if remittances are a source of insurance for recipient households, and to explore how remittance income alters family time allocation between market and home production activities. The first substantive chapter presents stylized facts on the properties and distribution of remittance flows to developing economies. Here, I document the nature and increasing share of remittances relative to other forms of international capital flows to developing countries. This chapter also studies the dynamics of household earnings, consumption and income from home production using monthly household-level panel data from the Townsend Thai survey.

The second substantive chapter examines remittances as a source of insurance for recipient households. I specify a fairly standard model that incorporates households' labour supply and consumption decisions, and derived analytical expressions for consumption and earnings as a function of wage and remittance income shocks. These expressions are empirically estimated to explore whether the presence of remittances alters the degree of household consumption smoothing. Our model predicts that households have higher access to smooth consumption against transitory wage shocks than against permanent shocks. In particular, I find that 72% of family consumption smoothing is explain by households' self-insurance behaviour through asset accumulation. On the other hand, remittances only explain 11% of consumption smoothing against wage shocks. Interestingly, households with low educational attainment rely more on remittances as a source of insurance while those with higher education levels have higher access to smooth consumption via asset accumulation.

The final chapter builds on the model developed in the previous chapter to examine the effect of remittances on households' time allocation between market and home production activities. This model was modified by giving households the opportunity to involve in home production, either for home consumption or for the market. The derived expressions are also estimated using data from the Townsend Thai survey to examine whether the presence of remittances affects family time allocation. By decomposing the response of labour hours to wage and remittance shocks, I find no support that increased remittance income leads to lower labour effort among Thai households. On the contrary, increased remittance income induces Thai households to reallocate labour hours from market to home production activities.


ABSTRACT In two representative patch reefs within the Florida Reef Tract the majority of Acropora cervicornis colonies appear to have developed from broken fragments of parent colonies rather than directly from settled larvae. Following breakage, both the parent and the fragment regenerate polyps to cover the broken area and apical polyps to continue growth (the parent appears to recover more quickly). Fragments first attach to the substrate by growing laterally, thereby forming a stabilizing base. They then begin to grow upward. Two main morphological growth forms result from this process: (1) Forms which result from branches of the colony fusing with other branches of the colony; and (2) Forms which result from the interaction of the branches of the colony with the surrounding substrate and organisms. Branches of A. cervicornis may grow parallel or cross closely without fusing. However, most branches fuse on contact, with polyps covering the contact area. On the reefs examined, the A. cervicornis colonies were small, relatively scattered, and did not appear to be a major binding agent. However, within the immediate vicinity of the colonies, they actively bind carbonate rubble and other clastic sediment. Thus in reefs where A. cervicornis is more abundant, this coral could be a major factor in fortification and stabilization. Intergrowth and attachment habits of A. cervicornis are compatible with its occurrence and morphology in many horizons of the Key Largo Limestone, generally interpreted to be a Pleistocene equivalent of the present day Florida patch reefs.


Direct current cardioversion (DCCV) as a treatment for persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) was first introduced in the 1960s.1 It has become a standard medical procedure performed in almost all hospitals with an acute medical unit in the UK. Much has changed in the management of AF in recent years and with the explosion of interest in AF ablation and the introduction of the NICE guidelines on AF management last year (http://guidance.nice.org.uk/CG36 (accessed 16 April 2008)) now is an appropriate time to ask if we are using the technique to best effect.

Several series following the results from unselected patients undergoing DCCV for AF have shown that sinus rhythm (SR) is achieved at the time of the procedure in about 85% of patients, but that at the end of 1 year, only 30–40% of these will still be in SR, the remainder having reverted to AF; yet, in those patients where SR has been achieved and maintained, a significant improvement in left ventricular performance, exercise capacity and heart failure symptoms can be expected.2 The disappointingly high rate of reversion to AF after DCCV has led to the use of antiarrhythmic drugs to try to increase the number of patients remaining in SR. In some trials these have been started following the cardioversion, but more usually patients were preloaded before DCCV and the drug then continued for a period after the procedure. The most notable example of this approach was probably the SAFE-T trial, which showed freedom from AF recurrence with amiodarone for a mean of 487 days compared with 74 days with sotalol and 6 days with placebo, according to intention-to-treat analysis.3 These observations informed the advice shown on page 11 of the NICE …


This thesis is concerned with the study of nonstandard models in measure theory and in functional analysis.
In measure theory, we define elementary numerosities, that are additive measures that take on values in a non-archimedean field and for which the measure of every singleton is 1. We have shown that, by taking the ratio with a suitable unit of measurement, from a numerosity it can be defined a non-atomic real-valued measure, and that every non-atomic measure can be obtained from a numerosity by this procedure. We then used numerosities to develop
a model for the probability of infinite sequences of coin tosses coherent with the original ideas of Laplace.
In functional analysis, we introduce a space of functions of nonstandard analysis with a formally finite domain, that extends both the space of distributions and the space of Young measures. Among the applications of this
space of functions, we develop a continuous-in-time, discrete-in-space nonstandard formulation for a class of ill-posed forward-backward parabolic equations, and on the study of the regularity and asymptotic behaviour of its nonstandard solutions. This approach proved to be a viable alternative to the study of the vanishing viscosity limit of the solution of a pseudoparabolic regularization of the original problem.


Interest in estimating the impact of school quality on earnings has increased. But most studies on this topic have important limitations, particularly in studies for developing countries. They tend to ignore behavioral decisions regarding schooling and individual and family background characteristics, use school quality measures aggregated to the regional level, and rely on crude indicators of teacher quality. These limitations may explain why the micro evidence of important school quality effects is scant. Moreover, the question of the relative rates of return, in terms of earnings, to improving school quality versus raising quantity has not been addressed. The data demands for estimating such rates of return are considerable. This paper presents a conceptual framework for undertaking such estimates, uses special data collected for this study, and makes estimates within a framework that controls for important individual and household choices, including the duration of schooling and subsequent participation in the wage labor market. Subject to qualifications because such an ambitious strategy stretches the limits of the even the special data that we collected, the estimates suggest that in rural Pakistan rates of return are much higher for investing in primary school quality or quantity than for investing in middle schools and, at the primary school level, somewhat higher for expanding low-quality schools (predominantly for girls) than for increasing quality in existing schools. More generally, the methods adopted here permit a more satisfactory assessment in developing economies than previously of the rates of return to improving school quality versus increasing quantity and their implications for educational policy.


The pulp and paper industry utilizes more biomass for stationary heat and power than any other industry in the United States. In total, pulp and paper mills in the US emit ∼150 million metric tons of CO2 each year, of which 77% is biogenic. Thus, the pulp and paper industry has significant potential to indirectly remove atmospheric CO2 through bioenergy with CO2 capture and storage (BECCS). In addition, avenues for CO2 utilization exist in pulp and paper processing. Here, we analyze the technical and economic potential of integrating carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration (CCUS) technologies at pulp and paper mills in the US through top-down, industry-wide screening and bottom-up, chemical process modeling techniques. We estimate costs of capturing and transporting CO2 from pulp and paper mills using post-combustion amine chemisorption in the year 2026 with application of the existing federal tax credit for carbon capture and sequestration (Section 45Q). Costs are highly dependent on scenario-specific details, such as waste heat or power generation at the mill, idling or stranded assets, and proximity to suitable geologic storage opportunities. Some CCS implementation scenarios produce significant economic returns for pulp and paper mills, indicating a near-term opportunity to accelerate CCS in the US. Finally, we qualitatively assess alternative techniques for CO2 capture through process innovation, and opportunities for CO2 utilization at pulp and paper mills.