If Richard Posner did not invent the term "efficient breach," he at least was its most aggressive marketer. I confess that nowadays I do not find the concept particularly useful, but that does not detract from its value. It was a catalyst, forcing scholars to consider the economic function of contract remedies. Any assessment of Judge Posner's contracts jurisprudence must acknowledge that contribution. In this paper, I will consider three of his opinions that appear with some regularity in contracts casebooks—Northern Indiana Public Service Company v. Carbon County Coal Company, Empire Gas v. American Bakeries, and Lake River v. Carborundum. To anticipate my conclusions, in the first I find his analysis and conclusions to be right (with one tiny quibble). In the second, I find his conclusion on liability correct, given the statute. I believe he could have been more aggressive on the remedy issue. Still, I cannot conclude that he was wrong. On the third, I conclude that he got the outcome wrong and made a number of other errors along the way.


The sodium/iodide symporter (NIS), which is essential for iodide concentration in the thyroid, is reported to be transcriptionally regulated by sterol regulatory element-binding proteins (SREBP) in rat FRTL-5 thyrocytes. The SREBP are strongly activated after parturition and throughout lactation in the mammary gland of cattle and are important for mammary epithelial cell synthesis of milk lipids. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that the NIS gene is regulated also by SREBP in mammary epithelial cells, in which NIS is functionally expressed during lactation. Regulation of NIS expression and iodide uptake was investigated by means of inhibition, silencing, and overexpression of SREBP and by reporter gene and DNA-binding assays. As a mammary epithelial cell model, the human MCF-7 cell line, a breast adenocarcinoma cell line, which shows inducible expression of NIS by all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), and unlike bovine mammary epithelial cells, is widely used to investigate the regulation of mammary gland NIS and NIS-specific iodide uptake, was used. Inhibition of SREBP maturation by treatment with 25-hydroxycholesterol (5 µM) for 48h reduced ATRA (1 µM)-induced mRNA concentration of NIS and iodide uptake in MCF-7 cells by approximately 20%. Knockdown of SREBP-1c and SREBP-2 by RNA interference decreased the mRNA and protein concentration of NIS by 30 to 50% 48h after initiating knockdown, whereas overexpression of nuclear SREBP (nSREBP)-1c and nSREBP-2 increased the expression of NIS in MCF-7 cells by 45 to 60%, respectively, 48h after initiating overexpression. Reporter gene experiments with varying length of NIS promoter reporter constructs revealed that the NIS 5'-flanking region is activated by nSREBP-1c and nSREBP-2 approximately 1.5- and 4.5-fold, respectively, and activation involves a SREBP-binding motif (SRE) at -38 relative to the transcription start site of the NIS gene. Gel shift assays using oligonucleotides spanning either the wild-type or the mutated SRE at -38 of the NIS 5'-flanking region showed that in vitro-translated nSREBP-1c and nSREBP-2 bind only the wild-type but not the mutated SRE at -38 of NIS. Collectively, the present results from cell culture experiments with human mammary epithelial MCF-7 cells and from genetic studies show for the first time that the NIS gene and iodide uptake are regulated by SREBP in cultured human mammary epithelial cells. Future studies are necessary to clarify if the regulation of NIS expression and iodide uptake by SREBP also applies to the lactating bovine mammary epithelium.


In this radically revised intellectual portrait of Hegel and Marx that challenges standard interpretations of their political theory, David MacGregor considers the nature of the state in capitalist society. This is the first book to place Marx's and Hegel's political thought directly into social and historical context. Revealing the revolutionary content of Hegel's social theory and the Hegelian themes that underlie Marx's analysis of the English state in Capital, the author shows how the transformation of the Victorian state in the nineteenth century influenced the mature Marx to reclaim Hegelian arguments he had earlier abandoned. These ideas included a theory of politics and social class that colored Marx's view of capitalist and working-class opposition to government reform initiatives. MacGregor criticizes interpretations of state action that present government solely as a tool of capitalist and patriarchal interests. Noting the essential significance of child labor in the growing industrialization during Hegel's and Marx's time, the author contends that "alienation, " as the two philosophers understood the term, assumes a labor force in which many workers are socially powerless children and women. Given these conditions, the centrality of the English Factory Acts to workers' lives becomes obvious, a centrality acknowledged by Marx but forgotten by his followers. The author concludes his discussion with an assessment of current arguments about the state and civil society, relating these debates to Hegel's conception of the rational state.


Background: Activation of the relaxin receptor RXFP1 is driven by the LDLa module at the RXFP1 N terminus. Results: LDLa residues Leu-7, Tyr-9, and Lys-17 all contribute to receptor activation via interactions involving their hydrophobic side chains. Conclusion: These interactions induce the active receptor conformation, suggesting a novel mode of GPCR activation. Significance: This novel mechanism of GPCR activation may lead to new drug development. The peptide hormone relaxin is showing potential as a treatment for acute heart failure. Although it is known that relaxin mediates its actions through the G protein-coupled receptor relaxin family peptide receptor 1 (RXFP1), little is known about the molecular mechanisms by which relaxin binding results in receptor activation. Previous studies have highlighted that the unique N-terminal low density lipoprotein class A (LDLa) module of RXFP1 is essential for receptor activation, and it has been hypothesized that this module is the true "ligand" of the receptor that directs the conformational changes necessary for G protein coupling. In this study, we confirmed that an RXFP1 receptor lacking the LDLa module binds ligand normally but cannot signal through any characterized G protein-coupled receptor signaling pathway. Furthermore, we comprehensively examined the contributions of amino acids in the LDLa module to RXFP1 activity using both gain-of-function and loss-of-function mutational analysis together with NMR structural analysis of recombinant LDLa modules. Gain-of-function studies with an inactive RXFP1 chimera containing the LDLa module of the human LDL receptor (LB2) demonstrated two key N-terminal regions of the module that were able to rescue receptor signaling. Loss-of-function mutations of residues in these regions demonstrated that Leu-7, Tyr-9, and Lys-17 all contributed to the ability of the LDLa module to drive receptor activation, and judicious amino acid substitutions suggested this involves hydrophobic interactions. Our results demonstrate that these key residues contribute to interactions driving the active receptor conformation, providing further evidence of a unique mode of G protein-coupled receptor activation.


Consumers frequently engage in sequential decisions. This article explores whether the order of these decisions can influence the manner in which consumers search through the possible choice options. Results from five studies suggest that ordering decisions by increasing (vs. decreasing) choice-set size leads to greater search depth (measured by both sampling count and decision time). Initial, smaller choice sets in increasing sequences appear to initiate a maximizing mind-set, which then persists even as participants encounter later, larger choice sets. These participants report a greater desire to maximize and are less satisfied with their decisions, consistent with research on chronic maximizers. In addition, they continue to exhibit maximizing behavior in subsequent, unrelated tasks, supporting a mind-set account of the differences in search. In sum, decision makers are proposed to be "sticky adapters": initial decision strategies seem to constrain the extent to which they adapt to new contexts.


Influence of the frequency to the temperature image obtained by an infrared thermography was investigated using specimens of three kinds of materials at four kinds of frequencies of the cyclic load. Then, the infrared hybrid method was developed to separate individual stress components. However, the influence of heat conduction is inevitable in the infrared stress measurement method. Therefore, an error arises in the infrared hybrid analysis. Then, the system which corrects the error by the inverse analysis was developed. Thereby, the accuracy of the stress intensity factor was able to be raised. Furthermore, the accuracy of hybrid method considering to heat conduction was discussed in comparison with the 3-D finite element analysis and 2-D hybrid method.


This research analyzes how start-up companies implement accounting in their early operations and if that use of accounting (or lack thereof) has played a role in acquiring funding. Prior research shows that the quality of financial statements positively affects investing efficiency for companies in emerging markets (Chen et al., 2011). In this paper, we evaluate the hypothesis that start-ups using financial statements more extensively receive more outside funding than their counterparts. This was tested with a 27-question survey broken into three sections: demographic, accounting use, and financial information. There were 44 participants. The typical start-up profile is 5-6 years old, employs ten people, and identifies in the technology industry. Approximately 75% of participants reported using financial statements. While mostly viewed positively, some participants feel strongly against using standard accounting practices. Results showed companies who use financial statements more often reported a higher percentage of debt and investment funding received than those who used financial statements less frequently or not at all. In conclusion, accounting helps start-ups communicate higher quality information to investors, thus leading to a better chance of receiving capital investment/debt financing. This sample selection was not chosen randomly and is not a statistical depiction of the entire population.


Metallothionein (MT) is a low-molecular-weight, cysteine-rich, and metal-binding protein that protects cells from the cytotoxic effects of heavy metals and reactive oxygen species. Previously, we found that transcriptional induction of endothelial MT-1A was mediated by not only the metal-regulatory transcription factor 1 (MTF-1)-metal responsive element (MRE) pathway but also the nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)-antioxidant response element/electrophile responsive element (ARE) pathway, whereas that of MT-2A was mediated only by the MTF-1-MRE pathway, using the organopnictogen compounds tris(pentafluorophenyl)stibane, tris(pentafluorophenyl)arsane, and tris(pentafluorophenyl)phosphane as molecular probes in vascular endothelial cells. In the present study, we investigated the binding sites of MTF-1 and Nrf2 in the promoter regions of MTs in cultured bovine aortic endothelial cells treated with these organopnictogen compounds. We propose potential mechanisms underlying transcriptional induction of endothelial MT isoforms. Specifically, both MRE activation by MTF-1 and that of ARE in the promoter region of the MT-2A gene by Nrf2 are involved in transcriptional induction of MT-1A, whereas only MRE activation by MTF-1 or other transcriptional factor(s) is required for transcriptional induction of MT-2A in vascular endothelial cells.


The BNM-LNHB (formerly BNM-LPRI, the French national standard laboratory for ionizing radiation) is equipped with a SATURNE 43 linear accelerator (GE Medical Systems) dedicated to establishing national references of absorbed dose to water for high-energy photon and electron beams. These standards are derived from a dose measurement with a graphite calorimeter and a transfer procedure to water using Fricke dosimeters. This method has already been used to obtain the reference of absorbed dose to water for cobalt-60 beams. The correction factors rising from the perturbations generated by the dosimeters were determined by Monte Carlo calculations. To meet these applications, the Monte Carlo code PENELOPE was used and user codes were specially developed. The first step consisted of simulating the electron and photon showers produced by primary electrons within the accelerator head to determine the characteristics of the resulting photon beams and absorbed dose distributions in a water phantom. These preliminary computations were described in a previous paper. The second step, described in this paper, deals with the calculation of the perturbation correction factors of the graphite calorimeter and of Fricke dosimeters. To point out possible systematic biases, these correction factors were calculated with another Monte Carlo code, EGS4, widely used for years in the field of dose metrology applications. Comparison of the results showed no significant bias. When they were possible, experimental verifications confirmed the calculated values.


This dissertation examines Maria Irene Fornes' and Adrienne Kennedy's plays, focusing on the female characters' act of reading and writing on stage. Usually, reading and writing on stage are considered to be passive and static, but in the two playwrights' works, they are used as an effective plot device that moves the drama forward and as willful efforts by the female characters to develop their sense of identities. Furthermore, in contrast to the usual perception of reading and writing as intellectual processes, Fornes and Kennedy depict these acts as intensely physical and sensual. Julia Kristeva's and Helene Cixous' poststructuralist psychoanalytic theories of language and female sexuality, and Gloria Anzaldua's theory of writing the body are the major theoretical framework within which I explore the two playwrights' works. Since I treat the plays as meta-writing (writing about writing) I also use narrative theory to analyze the narrative structures of the plays, which the two dramatists use to reveal the nature of writing. I conclude that Fornes' plays demonstrate that knowledge and the possibility to create oneself can only result from one's earnest effort to merge language in one's embodied experiences and vice versa. I also conclude that in Kennedy's plays writing opens up a space in which the writer assumes many different identities simultaneously. In this space of writing, the writer uses her body as a medium through which she experiences the others' identities.


Transcriptional Interference (TI) has been shown to regulate gene expression at the DNA level via different molecular mechanisms. The obstacles present on the DNA that a transcribing RNA Polymerase might encounter, e.g. a DNA-bound protein or another RNA Polymerase, can result in TI causing termination of transcription, thus reducing gene expression. However, the potential of TI as a new strategy to engineer complex gene expression modules has not been fully explored yet. Here we created a series of two-input devices using the presence of a roadblocking protein using both experimental and mathematical modeling approaches. We explore how multiple characteristics affect the response of genetic devices engineered to act like either AND, OR, or Single Input logic gates. We show that the dissociation constant of the roadblocking protein, inducer activation of promoter and operator sites, and distance between tandem promoters tune gate behavior. This work highlights the potential of rationally creating different types of genetic responses using the same transcription factors in subtly different genetic architectures.


The highly diverse chemical structures of lipids make their analysis directly from biological tissue sections extremely challenging. Here, we report the in situ mapping and identification of lipids in a freshwater crustacean Gammarus fossarum using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) in combination with an additional separation dimension using ion mobility spectrometry (IMS). The high-resolution trapped ion mobility spectrometry (TIMS) allowed efficient separation of isobaric/isomeric lipids showing distinct spatial distributions. The structures of the lipids were further characterized by MS/MS analysis. It is demonstrated that MALDI MSI with mobility separation is a powerful tool for distinguishing and localizing isobaric/isomeric lipids.


The soil adjacent to integral bridge abutments experiences daily and annual temperature-induced cyclic loading due to expansion and contraction of the bridge deck. This causes a particular soil response and complicated soil-structure interaction problem, with considerable uncertainties in design. This paper describes a method of calculating the effects of thermal cycling by using the results of laboratory cyclic stress path testing within a numerical model. Samples of stiff clay and sand were tested in the triaxial apparatus under stress paths typical for behind an integral abutment. Distinct behavior was observed for the two soils, with stiff clay showing relatively little buildup of lateral stress with cycles, whereas for sand stresses continued to increase, exceeding at-rest and approaching full passive pressures. To explore the implications of these findings on the soil-abutment interaction and to estimate the lateral stresses acting on the abutment as a whole, a numerical (finite difference) model was developed with a soil model reproducing the sand behavior at element level. The numerical model gave good agreement with published centrifuge and field data, and indicated that the stress profile specified in some current standards is conservative. Influence of abutment stiffness and wall friction is also quantified.


Before the arrival of Muhammad (PCBU), the condition of the land of Arab was such that the humanity was groping in the dark, the human conscience has become filthy with ignorant ideas and norms of the society had been deteriorated to its lowest. The roots of humanity had become hallow due to the excessive indulgence of man in luxury and at the same time it was a condition of high deprivation in terms of knowledge. In addition to it, ignorance and barbarism were in prevalence, the religions were thoroughly circumscribed, the divine religions had been tempered with and lost their authenticity and reverence and become soulless and motionless hallow structure with some superstitious and mundane customs left in them. Prior to the advent of Islam whether it was the Roman Empire or the Sassanid Empire of Persian or Jewish culture and civilization or Indian eroticism and untouchability or Bedouin or jingoistic features of Arab land or Monarchy of China, every system and civilization was littered with barbarism and bloodshed of humanity and no one was expected to talk about humanity or the protection of rights of humanity. There was no hope at all that any savior of humanity may emerge on the horizon who may promote the lesson of rights and justice, peace and reconciliation, or the one who may uphold the cause of peace, justice, wisdom and reconciliation. The world was devoid    of such lexicon as peace, justice, and equality. Prior to the Holy Prophet of Allah, Muhammad (PBUH), there were some voices of reason that were raised as they were tired of the barbarism and bloodshed; these voices are called unwarranted pledge (Half ul Fuzool). But this ray of hope had the capacity to illuminate it might have illuminated only the Arab land with its light and only the last Prophet of Allah might have verified it.


Using a viscometric method the latex of Hevea brasiliensis was found to contain a highly active cellulase capable of hydrolysing carboxymethyl cellulose. The enzyme has a pH optimum of around 6.3. It is present in the serum of the latex and is not membrane-bound to any significant extent. Similar cellulase activities were detected in latex from old and new latex vessel rings and also in latex from regularly tapped vessels and newly tapped vessels. The possible role of the enzyme in the removal of cell wall material during the differentiation of latex vessels is discussed.


Control charts are extensively used in many real world applications. Since process parameters are rarely known common practice is to estimate them. Then, the control limits are modified and become actually random variables. In this paper, we deal with the univariate control charts for dispersion for both rational subgroups and individual measurements. We study the effect of estimating the process parameters of this chart on the first two moments of the run length distribution. The results are used for proposing appropriate values of sample size and number of samples in order to make the estimated control limits perform as the theoretical ones.


Endogenous danger signals released from necrotic cells contribute to retinal inflammation. We have now investigated the effects of necrotic cell extracts prepared from ARPE-19 human retinal pigment epithelial cells (ANCE) on the release of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines by healthy ARPE-19 cells. ANCE were prepared by subjection of ARPE-19 cells to freeze-thaw cycles. The release of various cytokines and chemokines from ARPE-19 cells was measured with a multiplex assay system or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. The expression of interleukin (IL)–1α and the phosphorylation and degradation of the endogenous nuclear factor–κB (NF-κB) inhibitor IκB-α were examined by immunoblot analysis. Among the various cytokines and chemokines examined, we found that ANCE markedly stimulated the release of the proinflammatory cytokine IL-6 and the chemokines IL-8 and monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)–1 by ARPE-19 cells. ANCE-induced IL-6, IL-8, and MCP-1 release was inhibited by IL-1 receptor antagonist and by an IKK2 inhibitor (a blocker of NF-κB signaling) in a concentration-dependent manner, but was not affected by a pan-caspase inhibitor (Z-VAD-FMK). Recombinant IL-1α also induced the secretion of IL-6, IL-8, and MCP-1 from ARPE-19 cells, and IL-1α was detected in ANCE. Furthermore, ANCE induced the phosphorylation and degradation of IκB-α in ARPE-19 cells. Our findings thus suggest that IL-1α is an important danger signal that is released from necrotic retinal pigment epithelial cells and triggers proinflammatory cytokine and chemokine secretion from intact cells in a manner dependent on NF-κB signaling. IL-1α is therefore a potential therapeutic target for amelioration of sterile inflammation in the retina.


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Every general relativity textbook emphasizes that coordinates have no physical meaning. Nevertheless, a coordinate choice must be made in order to carry out real calculations, and that choice can make the difference between a calculation that is simple and one that is a mess. We give a concrete illustration of the maxim that "coordinates matter" using the exact Schwarzschild solution for a vacuum, static spherical spacetime. We review the standard textbook derivation, Schwarzschild's original 1916 derivation, and a derivation using the Landau-Lifshitz formulation of the Einstein field equations. The last derivation is much more complicated, has one aspect for which we have been unable to find a solution, and gives an explicit illustration of the fact that the Schwarzschild geometry can be described in infinitely many coordinate systems.


Solitary and presocial aculueate Hymenoptera are parasitized by a range of dipteran species in the families Anthomyiidae, Bombyliidae, Conopidae, Phoridae, and Sarcophagidae that are likely to impact on their hosts. We undertook a study over several years of a univoltine and communal bee, Andrena agilissima, and its main dipteran parasites, in particular the satellite fly Leucophora personata (Diptera: Anthomyiidae). Behavioural and ecological data were collected from one nesting aggregation of the host bee on the island of Elba, Italy, from 1993 to 2003, and from a foraging site of the bee, ca 5 km from the nesting aggregation. Other Diptera associated with A. agilissima at the field site were the bee fly Bombylius fimbriatus (Bombyliidae), the conopid fly Zodion cinereum (Conopidae), and the scuttle fly Megaselia andrenae (Phoridae). The phenology of the Diptera broadly overlapped with that of their host across the season of activity (end of April and all of May). Diurnal activity patterns differed slightly; L. personata in particular was active at the host's nesting site before A. agilissima. Female satellite flies also showed a range of behaviours in gaining entry to a host nest. We summarize published data on this and other Leucophora species that parasitize Andrena host bees. Host bees returning to their nests occasionally undertook zig‐zag flight manoeuvres if followed by a satellite fly that were generally successful in evading the fly. Satellite flies that entered a nest, presumably to oviposit, were less likely to remain therein if another host bee entered the same nest, suggesting that one advantage to communal nesting for this host is a reduction in brood cell parasitism by L. personata. We provide the first clear evidence for parasitism by a Zodion of any Andrena host. Both L. personata and M. andrenae concentrated their parasitic activities in the zone of the host nesting aggregation with highest nest densities. Three of the Diptera, L. personata, B. fimbriatus, and Z. cinereum, seemed to have extremely low rates of parasitism whilst that of M. andrenae appeared low. Though they have refined parasitic behaviour that allows them to gain entry into host nests (L. personata, B. fimbriatus, and M. andrenae) or to parasitize adults (Z. cinereum), these parasites seem not to impact upon the dynamics of the host A. agilissima at the nesting aggregation, and the host possesses traits to reduce parasitism.


Abstract On 27 January 2010 a small eruption of basaltic lava occurred 75 km NE of Quetta, Pakistan. This was highly unusual− no eruptions from this magmatically inactive area have ever been reported. Two petrographically distinct basalts types were indentified in the vesicular eruptive products. One basalt type consists of completely fresh, light brown glass with a few (<1 vol.%) partially resorbed quartz-rich xenoliths, whereas the other type is non-glassy and the lava is completely devitrified. These types also have slightly different geochemical signatures that can be partially explained by crustal assimilation. Re-melting of local basaltic rocks by short circuiting of a ruptured high-tension electrical cable is considered unlikely. Mantle melt modelling suggests that the lavas have been largely derived from a source in the garnet-spinel transition zone, i.e. well within the lithosphere. It is proposed that localized asthenospheric melting resulted in relatively depleted melts which were substantially contaminated by fusible lithospheric mantle en route to the surface. Further small-scale eruptions cannot be ruled out.


To the casual observer, glitches occurring in quasi delay-insensitive logic would appear to cause incorrect operation and render the circuits unusable. This paper presents an informal analysis of the effects of glitches occurring on the long interconnect wires connecting logical units of a network-on-chip (NoC) using quasi delay-insensitive (QDI) techniques. This is followed by the introduction and analysis of a set of techniques to reduce the likelihood and impact of such hazards affecting the circuit. Post layout area and performance impacts are presented for a 90nm process.


This paper evaluates the macroeconomic impact of a programme for public infrastructure spending in the euro area (EA) under alternative assumptions about funding sources and the monetary policy stance. The quantitative assessment is made by simulating a dynamic general equilibrium model of a monetary union with region-specific fiscal policy. The main results are the following. First, EA-wide stimuli are more effective than unilateral (region-specific) stimuli. Second, under EA-wide stimulus, the fiscal multiplier is close to 2 if the forward guidance (FG) on the short-term policy rate holds. Third, if the monetary authority keeps down both the policy rates (with FG) and the long-term interest rates (with quantitative easing), the fiscal multiplier exceeds 3 at peak and investment spending is self-financing. Fourth, the financing method is relevant: debt financing, particularly under an accommodative monetary policy stance and if the sovereign spreads do not increase, is more growth-friendly than tax financing in the short-term (but not in the long-term). Fifth, the effectiveness of the fiscal stimulus is larger if government spending is directed towards productive goods and its implementation occurs efficiently and without delays.


Intelligent transportation system (ITS) has gradually become reality with the increasingly wide application of GPS in car navigation system. It is wider and wider applied into traffic management to support short-tern traffic prediction, provide the information for public travel rapidly and effectively and realizes the effective supervision on traffic state. It can also relieve the pressure of highway road in our country. This paper focused on the study of floating car data technology based on GPS in ITS and developed relative procedure based on algorithm theory. It designed out a solution suitable for highway real time road condition system based on GPS floating car data technology after the demand analysis, functional decomposition and concept design on highway real time road condition system and best road and shortest time selection on driving by mathematical modelling so that achieve highway road optimization.


CD200 is a transmembrane protein broadly expressed on a variety of cell types, which delivers immunoregulatory signals through binding to receptors (CD200Rs) expressed on monocytes/myeloid cells and T lymphocytes. Signals delivered through the CD200:CD200R axis have been shown to play an important role in the regulation of anti‐tumor immunity, and overexpression of CD200 has been reported in a number of malignancies, including CLL, as well as on cancer stem cells. We investigated the effect of CD200 blockade in vitro on a generation of CTL responses against a poorly immunogenic CD200+ lymphoma cell line and fresh cells obtained from CLL patients using anti‐CD200 mAb and CD200‐specific siRNAs. Suppression of functional expression of CD200 augmented killing of the CD200+ cells, as well as production of the inflammatory cytokines IFN‐γ and TNF‐α by effector PBMCs. Killing was mediated by CD8+ cytotoxic T cells, and CD4+ T cells play an important role in CD200‐mediated suppression of CTL responses. Our data suggest that CD200 blockade may represent a novel approach to clinical treatment of CLL.


The main foci of this dissertation are 1) developing efficient computational approaches for finding optimal experimental designs for event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (ER-fMRI) and 2) studying the characteristics of optimal ER-fMRI designs obtained. Taking into account both statistical efficiencies and practical constraints, we develop an approach that includes rigorously formulated models, well defined design criteria, and an efficient, versatile search algorithm. Our algorithm incorporates knowledge about the performance of well known ER-fMRI designs, and can accommodate a variety of experimental settings. Through simulations, we show that our approach is more efficient than other methods. Designs found by our approach outperform other designs currently in use by fMRI researchers. Under the popular linear model framework, we adopt our approach to study cases where both individual stimulus effects and pairwise contrasts of stimulus types are of interest; these two effects are common interests of fMRI researchers. A practical situation where a long scanning session is divided into multiple short scanning sessions is also investigated. We also take into account the warm-up period of an MR scanner when finding optimal ER-fMRI designs. These studies indicate that our approach can work reliably well for a variety of practical situations encountered in ER-fMRI experiments. A nonlinear model is also considered in our study. While previous studies use two linear models for the two common statistical objectives, namely estimating the hemodynamic response function and detecting brain activation, the nonlinear model approach that we propose provides a natural, unified setting for these two objectives. In addition to finding locally optimal designs and pseudo-Bayesian designs, we also adopt techniques for solving multi-objective optimization problems to obtain a set of designs for researchers to choose from based on their goals and needs. Index words: Boltzmann transformation, compound design criterion, design efficiency, individual stimulus effect, genetic algorithms, multi-objective optimization, NSGA-II, pairwise contrasts, pseudo-Bayesian design Optimal Experimental Designs for Event-Related Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging


The utilization of toolkits for writing parallel and/or distributed applications has been shown to greatly enhance developer's productivity. Such an approach hides many of the complexities associated with writing these applications, rather than relying solely on programming language aids and parallel library support, such as MPI or PVM. In this work, we evaluate three different middleware systems that have been used to implement a computation and I/O-intensive data analysis application from the domain of computer vision. This study shows the benefits and overheads associated with each of the middleware systems, in different homogeneous computational environments and with different workloads. Our results lead the way toward being able to make better decisions for tuning the application environment, for selecting the appropriate middleware, and also for designing more powerful middleware systems to efficiently build and run highly complex applications in both parallel and distributed computing environments.


The mistakes children make in mathematics are usually not just 'mistakes' - they are often intelligent generalizations from previous learning. Following several decades of academic study of such mistakes, the phrase 'errors and misconceptions' has recently entered the vocabulary of mathematics teacher education and has become prominent in the curriculum for initial teacher education. The popular view of children's errors and misconceptions is that they should be corrected as soon as possible. The authors contest this, perceiving them as potential windows into children's mathematics. Errors may diagnose significant ways of thinking and stages in learning that highlight important opportunities for new learning. This book uses extensive, original data from the authors' own research on children's performance, errors and misconceptions across the mathematics curriculum. It progressively develops concepts for teachers to use in organizing their understanding and knowledge of children's mathematics, offers practical guidance for classroom teaching and concludes with theoretical accounts of learning and teaching. "Children's Mathematics 4-15" is a groundbreaking book, which transforms research on diagnostic errors into knowledge for teaching, teacher education and research on teaching. It is essential reading for teachers, students on undergraduate teacher training courses and graduate and PGCE mathematics teacher trainees, as well as teacher educators and researchers.


OBJECTIVES: Recent advances in knowledge of Psychoneuroimmunology have shown that several neuroactive substances, including neurohormones and neuropeptides, may exert immunomodulatory effects. However, despite the great variety of potential neuroimmune interactions, at present we may recognize two major neuroendocrine systems exerting a physiological neuroimmunomodulatory function, consisting of the pineal gland and the brain opioid system, provided by immunostimulatory and immunosuppressive effects, respectively. Recent in human studies have demonstrated the possibility to amplify the biological activity of IL-2, the major anticancer cytokine, by pineal indoles. MATERIALS & METHODS: The present study was carried out to draw some preliminary in human results on the possible immunomodulatory effects of the inhibition of the brain opioid activity by a long-acting opioid antagonist, naltrexone (NTX). The study was performed in 10 metastatic renal cell cancer patients, who had progressed on a previous immunotherapeutic cycle with IL-2 alone. Patients were treated with the same doses of IL-2 (6 million lU/day subcutaneously for 6 days/week for 4 weeks) plus an oral administration of NTX at a dose of 100 mg every 2 days. RESULTS: The clinical response consisted of a partial response in 1 and a stable disease in 5 patients, whereas the other 4 patients progressed. Therefore, the percent of non-progressive disease was 6/10 (60%). Moreover, mean lymphocyte increase achieved during IL-2 plus NTX was significantly higher (P<0.05) than that obtained during the previous treatment with IL-2 alone. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that a blockade of the brain opioid system, which plays a physiological immunosuppressive role, may improve the anticancer effects of IL-2 in humans. O R I G I N A L


Malaysian palm oil industry has been associated with tropical deforestation and faunal biodiversity loss. Despite the numerous forest reserves and protected areas, biodiversity conservation should be extended into agricultural areas including commercial oil palm. Scientific studies have clearly demonstrated that oil palm monocultures are poor substitute to natural forests. However, those studies have also indicated that oil palm-dominated landscapes support substantial biodiversity including forest species. With respect to ecological services, some species are known to be important in controlling pest outbreaks in oil palm plantations. Previous studies have shown that oil palm cultivations are effective carbon sinks. The central remaining knowledge gap of how palm oil-producing countries should conserve biodiversity within the existing oil palm plantations and smallholdings is addressed in this study. Thus, thematic review process that was organized around a topic of interest was used. In more specific, 53 journal articles investigating or highlighting the impacts of commodity crops cultivation on biodiversity were reviewed. It was proposed that oil palm-dominated landscapes be managed for conservation outcomes similar to that have been implemented in forest reserves and protected areas.


In this article the influence of the panel slab, girder slab formwork and tableforms to the effectiveness of solid concrete slab construction works of multi-storey buildings is investigated. The object of investigation is 22-storey high-rise commercial residential building. The effectiveness of solid concrete slab construction works and selecting the formwork system was evaluated taking account of quality requirements, equipment ability, demand of time and labour i.e. complexity of assembling technology, universality of operation and other. Three options of PERI formwork systems were selected for investigation: SKYDECK panel slab aluminium formworks, MULTIFLEX girder slab formworks and UNIPORTAL tableforms. The rating criteria were selected for the evaluation of the effectiveness of selected formwork systems. Using the pairwise evaluation method the following order of criteria importance was obtained: 17.3% – formwork rental price (K7), 16.3% – complexity of assembling technology (K3), 15.4% – machinery costs (K2), 13.9% – labour costs (K1), 13.0% –  required compressive strength of concrete before formwork demoulding (K5), 12.5% – formworks demoulding time, days (K6), 11.5% – reliability of suppliers (K4). The evaluation of formwork systems, as options, according to selected evaluation criteria, was performed by TOPSIS method and the results show that for the mounting of concrete slabs in the investigated building the rational option is to use SKYDECK panel slab aluminium formworks.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.sace.15.2.15789


s 15th World Congress on Disaster and Emergency Medicine sl43 IES-R, some may not have experienced a traumatic event. The purpose of this study is to clarify the differences between: (1) IES-R-J (the Japanese-language version) high and low scoring groups; (2) IES-R-J high and low scoring groups who had experienced a traumatic event; and (3) those with high IES-R-J scores with and without experiencing a traumatic event. Methods: The IES-R-J questionnaire was distributed to all firefighters in a local fire department. Results: Of the 157 possible subjects, 131 (83.4%) responded to the questionnaire. All were Japanese males with a mean age of 42 years; most worked a 24-hour shift. In general, those who scored high on IES-R were unhealthy, stressed, and received little social support. Those who had experienced a traumatic event and received social support received low IES-R scores, that is, they experienced few PTSD symptoms. Respondents who had experienced traumatic events and received little social support, scored high on the IES-R. Conclusions: Social support is a key buffering factor against the development of PTSD.


Seeing magnetism on an atomic level Electrons tunneling from the magnetized tip of a scanning tunneling microscope into the surface of a material can reveal the material's magnetic structure. Although researchers have used the technique on simple nanostructures, they've had trouble preparing the tip in just the right way to visualize the magnetic order in more exotic materials. Enayat et al. used a tip with a magnetic cluster on its apex to reveal patterns of magnetic ordering in the material Fe1+yTe, which becomes superconducting by substituting Te with Se atoms. The researchers prepared the tip by simply picking up atoms from the surface of the material. Science, this issue p. 653 Spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy reveals the magnetic ordering of a strongly correlated material. Spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy (SP-STM) has been used extensively to study magnetic properties of nanostructures. Using SP-STM to visualize magnetic order in strongly correlated materials on an atomic scale is highly desirable, but challenging. We achieved this goal in iron tellurium (Fe1+yTe), the nonsuperconducting parent compound of the iron chalcogenides, by using a STM tip with a magnetic cluster at its apex. Our images of the magnetic structure reveal that the magnetic order in the monoclinic phase is a unidirectional stripe order; in the orthorhombic phase at higher excess iron concentration (y > 0.12), a transition to a phase with coexisting magnetic orders in both directions is observed. It may be possible to generalize the technique to other high-temperature superconductor families, such as the cuprates.


The aim of the investigation was to assess the effects of individual differences in emotional processing on health outcomes in persons experiencing the 1997 earthquake in Central Italy. Thirty-nine subjects were examined one month after the event with Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), Impact of Event Scale (IES) and a short interview. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and scored for Referential Activity (RA), reflecting 'translation' of non-verbal activation into language. Six months after initial assessment, subjects reported their health in that period. Each subject's report was rated on three health dimensions: Sickness, how physically sick a subject was; distress, how emotionally distressed a subject was; illness behaviour, how often a subject went to see the doctor. Multiple regressions were performed: TAS-20 predicted sickness, IES total predicted distress, while both age and RA predicted illness behaviour. Different parallel levels emerge from the data: a 'here and now' level, linking an intrusive and/or avoidant reaction to the earthquake with subjective distress; a 'deeper', 'structural' level linking a trait difficulty in regulating emotions with the occurrence of actual physical disease. The positive correlation of RA with illness behaviour may be interpreted as an index of general activation of a capacity to seek help.


: The widely spread Essenes practice of the future events prediction is likely to be based on their belief in the absolute predestination. In this light the hitherto unclarified ety-mology of the very term Ἐσσαῖοι / Ἐσσηνοί can be traced to the Aramaic notion אישח (pl. st. emph.)/resp. ןיאשח (st. abs.; sing. אשח ), which is likely to be interpreted as "what man has to suffer, predestination, fortune"; this derivation appears to be relevant not only semantically, but also linguistically. Thus the term "Essenes" can be interpreted as the "fatalists" (see e.g. Tantlevskij 2013) . The doctrine of predestination also plays the key role in religious outlook of the Qumran community, and it is considered to be one of the most fundamental argu-ments in favor of the Qumranites identification with the Essenes. Some Platonic-Pythagorean (not only Stoic) doctrines can be regarded as certain Hellenistic parallels to the Essenic-Qumranic conception of predestination. K


A method to implement quantized-state system (QSS) models in industry standard RF-IC design tools is proposed. The method is used to model a GHz-range 0.18 μm CMOS phase-locked loop (PLL), and enables a truly event-driven simulation of the entire mixed-signal PLL circuit. First- and second-order (QSS and QSS2, respectively) models of the PLL loop-filter implemented in Verilog-AMS are first described in detail. These models do not rely on analog nets, and use only the event-based solver. Then, simulation results are compared to reference SPICE simulation results to prove the validity of the QSS method. The entire PLL circuit is finally simulated using the QSS model of the loop-filter, charge-pump and VCO, in conjunction with standard high-level models of the PLL digital circuits. To verify the proposed QSS method, measured phase noise is compared with simulated phase noise. It is shown that simulated phase noise accurately predicts the measured phase noise with improved accuracy, and an increase in simulation efficiency by more than 50 times. Measured and simulated results generally demonstrate the feasibility of the QSS modeling for mixed-signal circuit simulation and design.


Energy conservation of urban district heating system is an important part of social energy conservation. In response to the situation that the setting of heat load in the system is unreasonable, the heat load forecasting method is adopted to optimize the allocation of resources. At present, the artificial neural networks (ANNs) are generally used to forecast district heat load. In order to solve the problem that networks convergence is slow or even not converged due to the random initial parameters in traditional wavelet neural networks (WNNs), the genetic algorithm with fast convergence ability is used to optimize the network structure and initial parameters of heat load prediction models. The results show that when the improved WNN is applied to forecast district heat load, the prediction error is as low as 2.93%, and the accuracy of prediction results is improved significantly. At the same time, the stability and generalization ability of the prediction model are improved.


The Fick principle was used to aetermine the rate of hepatic utilization of lactic acid in dogs. Noncannulating electromagnetic flowmeters measured portal vein and hepatic artery flows. The ratio of gastroduodenal artery to common hepatic artery flow was constant (0.25) in four dogs so that true hepatic artery perfusion could be reliably estimated from common hepatic artery flow measurements. The transhepatic lactate concentration difference was determined from systemic arterial, portal venous, and "mixed hepatic" venous blood. Mixed hepatic venous blood samples, obtained from a catheter in the suprahepatic vena cava one minute following infrahepatic caval occlusion, were considered more representative of hepatic effluent than single hepatic vein blood since lactate concentrations of blood from different hepatic veins simultaneously sampled showed significant variability (0.20 ± 0.02 millimols/liter). The data suggests negligible hepatic metabolism of lactate in the resting, anesthetized state.


The concept of chirality has become prominent over the years, particularly with regards to the design of therapeutic molecules. This phenomenon was recently reported for pro-carcinogenic fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1), wherein two inhibitors exhibited disparate inhibitory potencies due to the effects of chirality. Therefore, the ability of the R-enantiomer (R-21c) to possess a potency 10.44 times that of the S-enantiomer (S-21c) leaves us with a curiosity to investigate the underlying mechanisms using computational methods. Hence, presented in this study are insights that clearly explain the systematic effects of chirality on the differential activities of (R)-21c and (S)-21c towards FGFR1. The findings showed that the "R-configured" (R)-21c induced a notable conformational change in the active site P-loop, which enhanced its motion, as complemented by rotation of two dihedral angles: φ1(CNCC) and φ2(CC*OC), providing a favorable orientation. Likewise, optimal positioning of (R)-21c at the binding cavity allowed adequate interspaces that facilitated the formation of strong interactions with target residues. Moreover, the estimated ΔG binding correlated with bioactivity data (IC50) and, when decomposed, we observed that van der Waals (vdW) interactions were the major highlight of the binding process of both 21c enantiomers and also accounted for their differential activities. Active site interactions of (R)-21c with residues Phe489 and Arg629 stabilized its two benzimidazole motifs, while Arg570 and Pro663 formed two strong NH-N hydrogen bonds and one π-alkyl interaction, which altogether accounted for its inhibitory prowess towards FGFR1. In contrast, these interactions were not observed in (S)-21c due to its non-flexible S-configuration, which disallowed its extension into the active site region and prevented interaction with crucial residues. These results are expected to facilitate the discovery and rational design of novel and specific FGFR1 inhibitors.


The Gonen granitoid is exposed in the western Sakarya Zone and is overlain unconformably by a Jurassic succession. The medium to coarse-grained Gonen granitoid has mineral assemblage of K-feldspar, plagioclase, quartz, muscovite, and biotite. Accessory phases are apatite and zircon. In this study, zircon U-Pb age is combined with Lu-Hf isotopes, which are presented to reveal the magma source and possible petrogenetic processes that took place during the formation of the parental magma for the Gonen granitoid. U-Pb dating of magmatic zircons yielded a concordia age of 336.3 ± 2.9 Ma referring to the early Carboniferous crystallization age of the Gonen granitoid. Magmatic zircons have negative eHf t values -3.2 to -8.3 , indicating that the granitoid magma was derived from the recycling of ancient crustal materials. TDM model ages vary in the range of 1489-1811 Ma, indicating that the crustal material involved during the early Carboniferous partial melting could be extracted from the mantle or added to the basement of the Sakarya Zone in the Mesoproterozoic/Paleoproterozoic times. Geochronological and Lu-Hf findings point to a collisional setting rather than ongoing subduction during the formation of the early Carboniferous Gonen granitoid.


Fast-response organizations are under increased scrutiny as to their ability to mount a timely and coordinated response to unexpected events. Our inductive study focuses on a high profile murder that occurred in Amsterdam in 2011 where a large multidisciplinary police team faced major coordination challenges and was unsuccessful in switching from the practice of surveillance to that of apprehension when their target was suddenly gunned down. Our analysis suggests that challenges related to relational ambiguity, knowledge flows, communications technology, team composition, and field obstructions, hindered the switching between practices under conditions of surprise and fast response. The paper offers a theoretical framework toward a greater understanding of the persistent coordination challenges that arise when a sudden switch from one practice to another becomes necessary. Our study contributes toward a greater understanding of practice performance and the social and material challenges related to switching between practices.


This article concentrates on Wind Field Simulation in a mega city such as Tehran which is home to nearly 10 million inhabitants. The necessity of having a comprehensive knowledge about the wind field in a certain zone is significant for different reasons; the most important of all would be surveying on the emission and dispersion of pollutants. The wind models can be classified as: Dynamic and Kinematics. In this article the authors have developed a Kinematics model based on Continuity Equation. The final version of the equation being solved is a elliptic partial differential equation. The lateral boundary Conditions are first kind and those for top and bottom are the second kind. In order to initializing the model, the data gathered by two meteorological towers set up in Tehran and also the data of the upper layer atmosphere from Mehrabad Airport have been used. The result of the wind field simulation reveals when the velocity of the synoptic scale wind is low, the condition of the wind flow is entirely affected by the local system of mountain-valley. During the day, the flow is towards the valley to the mountains, while at night it is from the mountain to the valley. The local systems of wind circulation such as mountain-valley and land-sea are closed systems that trigger in removing of the pollutants, their accumulation and their chemical changes in a definite area. It should be noted that wind field simulation, by means of diagnostic (Kinematic) models, depend entirely on the existing data and considering the time we cannot forecast wind field over the observed data. The results of wind field simulation using combination of diagnostic and prognostic (Dynamic) models are significantly improved.


In recent years, all economically developed countries of the world experience formation of knowledge economy as the highest stage of postindustrial economy development. International companies, basing their activity on accumulation of human capital according to the principles of innovativeness, scientific nature, continuity and progressiveness, play an important role in activation of this process. Owing to global nature of their activity it influences all spheres of human life in the world, improving it, as well as having an adverse impact (enhancement of poverty in some regions of the word, environment pollution, etc.). Achievement of these conditions of sustainable economic growth is possible just by the way of prevention of the adverse impact, which, among other things, depends on the active social position of the management of international companies. Therefore this paper is aimed at identification of priority focuses of socially responsible activity of international companies. This goal was achieved through generalization of basic program initiatives of the activity of three companies, leading in innovations (Apple, Samsung and IBM). Adoption of the above-mentioned initiatives by other companies of the world as guides while developing their own development strategy has to facilitate the growth of positive effects from enhancement of knowledge economy in the world. Maxim Polyakov (Ukraine) BUSINESS PERSPECTIVES LLC "СPС "Business Perspectives" Hryhorii Skovoroda lane, 10, Sumy, 40022, Ukraine www.businessperspectives.org Positive impact of international companies


In this illustrated essay I explore the intertwined histories of two rural settlements Indigo in north-eastern Victoria, Australia, and Shek Quey Lee in Xinhui county, Guangdong, China to consider how the rich story of Chinese migration and settlement in Australia has been remembered and forgotten, both in China and Australia. With the growth in interest in the history and heritage of the Chinese in Australia over the past twenty years, we can no longer say that it is a "forgotten" history, yet there are still challenges to researching and telling it. One of these is for Chinese Australian history to be seen as integral to the broader narrative of Australia's past. Another is being able to connect the Chinese and Australian parts of the story, to broaden the scope of our research beyond national boundaries to create a truly shared history. This essay suggests that drawing on the small stories of individual people is one way to bring together the connections across time and place, and between landscapes and people often thought of as distant and fundamentally different.


Today's nurse managers face an environment where change is the only constant. Managers and staff are feeling threatened, overworked, and stressed. Career development strategies provide managers with an opportunity to assist staff to cope with change and to grow and develop professionally. The strategies described also assist managers to feel a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction--something hard to achieve.


The co-condensation of functional alkoxysilanes with tetraethoxysilane in the presence of a structure directing agent under sol-gel process chemistry is a common way to access functional organosilica with an ordered mesostructure. In this report, bulky silylated fatty acid methyl esters were used both as co-templating bio-molecules and functionalizing agents in the process of supra-molecular silica mineralization. The highest structural regularity in terms of pore size distribution and channel size homogeneity was observed for carboxy-tethered silica possessing SBA-15-type architecture due to an enhanced fatty acid precursor-surfactant interaction. The carboxylic surface embedded within the hydrophobic environment of the fatty compounds confers to these materials interesting reactive-surface properties with promising applications as drug-delivery systems and bio-catalytic nanoreactors.


Spermatozoa represent the morphologically most diverse type of animal cells and show remarkable variation in size across and also within species. To understand the evolution of this diversity, it is important to reveal to what degree this variation is genetic or environmental in origin and whether this depends on species' life histories. Here we applied quantitative genetic methods to a pedigreed multigenerational data set of the collared flycatcher Ficedula albicollis, a passerine bird with high levels of extra‐pair paternity, to partition genetic and environmental sources of phenotypic variation in sperm dimensions for the first time in a natural population. Narrow‐sense heritability (h2) of total sperm length amounted to 0.44 ± 0.14 SE, whereas the corresponding figure for evolvability (estimated as coefficient of additive genetic variation, CVa) was 0.02 ± 0.003 SE. We also found an increase in total sperm length within individual males between the arrival and nestling period. This seasonal variation may reflect constraints in the production of fully elongated spermatozoa shortly after arrival at the breeding grounds. There was no evidence of an effect of male age on sperm dimensions. In many previous studies on laboratory populations of several insect, mammal and avian species, heritabilities of sperm morphology were higher, whereas evolvabilities were similar. Explanations for the differences in heritability may include variation in the environment (laboratory vs. wild), intensity of sexual selection via sperm competition (high vs. low) and genetic architecture that involves unusual linkage disequilibrium coupled with overdominance in one of the studied species.


Two atypical PKC isoforms can compensate for each other during short- and long-term memory. Gloss How long-term memories are stored in the brain is a fundamental yet unresolved question in neuroscience. Persistent increases in the abundance of a constitutively active protein kinase, PKMζ, have emerged as a critical step in the maintenance of long-term memories. The related protein kinase, PKCι/λ, is a "back-up" mechanism for memory if PKMζ malfunctions. The next important task in the quest to understand memory is to define the proteins that are the relevant targets for phosphorylation by these kinases. Elucidating the molecular mechanisms that maintain long-term memory is a fundamental goal of neuroscience. Accumulating evidence suggests that persistent signaling by the atypical protein kinase C (PKC) isoform protein kinase Mζ (PKMζ) might maintain synaptic long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term memory. However, the role of PKMζ has been challenged by genetic data from PKMζ-knockout mice showing intact LTP and long-term memory. Moreover, the PKMζ inhibitor peptide ζ inhibitory peptide (ZIP) reverses LTP and erases memory in both wild-type and knockout mice. Data from four papers using additional isoform-specific genetic approaches have helped to reconcile these conflicting findings. First, a PKMζ-antisense approach showed that LTP and long-term memory in PKMζ-knockout mice are mediated through a compensatory mechanism that depends on another ZIP-sensitive atypical isoform, PKCι/λ. Second, short hairpin RNAs decreasing the amounts of individual atypical isoforms without inducing compensation disrupted memory in different temporal phases. PKCι/λ knockdown disrupted short-term memory, whereas PKMζ knockdown specifically erased long-term memory. Third, conditional PKCι/λ knockout induced compensation by rapidly activating PKMζ to preserve short-term memory. Fourth, a dominant-negative approach in the model system Aplysia revealed that multiple PKCs form PKMs to sustain different types of long-term synaptic facilitation, with atypical PKM maintaining synaptic plasticity similar to LTP. Thus, under physiological conditions, PKMζ is the principal PKC isoform that maintains LTP and long-term memory. PKCι/λ can compensate for PKMζ, and because other isoforms could also maintain synaptic facilitation, there may be a hierarchy of compensatory mechanisms maintaining memory if PKMζ malfunctions.


In this anatomical study, the anteroposterior curvature of the surface of 16 cadaveric distal femurs was examined in terms of radii and center point. Those two parameters attract high interest due to their significance for total knee arthroplasty. Basically, two different conclusions have been drawn in foregoing studies: (1) The curvature shows a constant radius and (2) the curvature shows a variable radius. The investigations were based on a new method combining three-dimensional laser-scanning and planar geometrical analyses. This method is aimed at providing high accuracy and high local resolution. The high-precision laser scanning enables the exact reproduction of the distal femurs-including their cartilage tissue-as a three-dimensional computer model. The surface curvature was investigated on intersection planes that were oriented perpendicularly to the surgical epicondylar line. Three planes were placed at the central part of each condyle. The intersection of either plane with the femur model was approximated with the help of a b-spline, yielding three b-splines on each condyle. The radii and center points of the circles, approximating the local curvature of the b-splines, were then evaluated. The results from all three b-splines were averaged in order to increase the reliability of the method. The results show the variation in the surface curvatures of the investigated samples of condyles. These variations are expressed in the pattern of the center points and the radii of the curvatures. The standard deviations of the radii for a 90 deg arc on the posterior condyle range from 0.6 mm up to 5.1 mm, with an average of 2.4 mm laterally and 2.2 mm medially. No correlation was found between the curvature of the lateral and medial condyles. Within the range of the investigated 16 samples, the conclusion can be drawn that the condyle surface curvature is not constant and different for all specimens when viewed along the surgical epicondylar axis. For the portion of the condylar surface that articulates with the tibia during knee flexion-extension, the determined center points approximate the location of the centers of rotation. The results suggest that the concept of a fixed flexion-extension axis is not applicable for every specimen.


Extant research established that customers' expectations play an ambivalent role in the satisfaction formation process: While higher expectations are more difficult to meet and thus cause dissatisfaction, they simultaneously increase satisfaction via customers' perceived performance owing to a placebo effect. However, to date, knowledge is scarce on the question under which conditions either the positive or negative effect of expectations on satisfaction prevails. Building on information processing theory, the authors hypothesize that an essential contingency of the indirect, placebo-based effect is the degree to which customers are able and motivated to process a service experience. Three studies with a total of over 4,000 customers in different service contexts provide strong evidence for this hypothesis. Thus, managers are well advised to provide a realistic or even understated prospect if the service context favors customers' ability or motivation to evaluate. Conversely, if customers are neither able nor motivated to evaluate the service, increasing customer expectations represents a viable strategy to enhance satisfaction. Relatedly, if customers hold low service expectations, managers should foster customers' ability and motivation to evaluate the service. In contrast, if service expectations are high, managers may benefit from reducing the likelihood that customers overly focus on the service performance.


The evolution of the Y chromosomes of different taxa (humans, plants and Drosophila) is considered as well as the degeneration processes that affected the autosomal ancestor (proto-Y chromosome). The acquisition of testis-expressed genes and their amplifications on the Y chromosome are discussed. In spite of the differences and the specificity of evolutionary forces driving their diversification, the molecular studies of the Y chromosomal structures reveal some unexpected similarities in different evolutionary lineages.

Keywords:

Y chromosome;
degenerate genes;
ampliconic sequences;
heterochromatin;
loss of recombination


Context: The growth behaviour and yield of any crop plants are governed by their genetic potential, climatic conditions and the supply of nutrients. Specific control of these processes can be done by the application of plant bioregulators of natural or synthetic origin. Objectives: The aim of the present investigation was to study the effect of different plant growth regulators on root and shoot emergence, and root and shoot length of onion. Materials and Methods: Onion. var "Taherpuri" was used as plant material and four growth regulators namely GA 3 , Uniconazol, CCC and 2,3,6-TBA along with water as control with different concentration viz. 100, 150, 200, 250 and 300 ppm were used as treatment. Onion bulbs were placed on vials containing different doses of growth regulators. Data recorded on root and shoot emergence and their lengths after different days of setting the experiment. Results: Higher concentrations of uniconazole necessitated maximum days for root and shoot emergence whereas GA 3 required minimum days. Root length decreased gradually with increasing the concentrations of all the growth regulators at different days of emergence. Higher concentrations of GA3 produced longest shoot whereas same concentrations of uniconazole produced the shortest than the lower ones at different days of emergence. The highly significant and negative correlation was found between days to root emergence and shoot length and between days to shoot emergence and shoot length but highly significant and positive correlation was found between root length and shoot length. Conclusion: GA 3 required minimum days to root and shoot emergence and promote the vegetative growth of onion whereas uniconazole and CCC are retards and 2,3,6-TBA shows a little retarding effect. Key words: Growth regulators; Root and shoot characters; Onion DOI: 10.3329/jbs.v17i0.7101 J. bio-sci. 17: 51-55, 2009


Digital watermarking technique is becoming one of thehot research fields of copyright protection for CAD graphic data under the network environment. Along with its development there came a new technique called multiplewatermarking. It combines several single watermarkingalgorithms and has lots of advantages such as high capacity, good robustness and various functions. In this paper we will discuss several watermarking techniques for CAD models and eventually propose a multiple watermarking-based digital rights management system that would test our techniques.


In this paper smartphones are discussed. Today's smartphone are more common than computers. In fact, smart phones are simply computers with extra hardware-namely, a GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) radio and a baseband processor to control it. These extra features are great, but with the power they provide, there's also a threat. Today, smartphones are becoming targets of attackers in the same way PCs have been for many years. This paper focus on the security models of two smart phone operating systems: Apple's iOS and Google's Android. These two have a special place in my heart because I was the first to publicly exploit both of them.


Natural freeze tolerance in several anuran species involves the accumulation of high concentrations of glucose as a cryoprotectant in body fluids and tissues. The present study identifies an important new molecular mechanism supporting freeze tolerance, an adaptive increase in the capacity for facilitated transport of cryoprotectant across plasma membranes by increasing the numbers and/or activity of plasma membrane glucose transporters. Glucose transport by membranes isolated from liver and skeletal muscle was analyzed in two species, the freeze-tolerant wood frog Rana sylvatica and the freeze-intolerant leopard frog Rana pipiens. Membranes from both liver and muscle of R. sylvatica displayed much higher rates of carrier-mediated glucose transport, measured by a rapid filtration technique, compared with corresponding rates for R. pipiens membranes. For the liver Vmax values for glucose transport by membrane vesicles were 69 +/- 18 and 8.4 +/- 2.3 nmol.mg protein-1.s-1 at 10 degrees C for R. sylvatica and R. pipiens, respectively. This difference was due primarily to a greater number of glucose transporters in R. sylvatica liver membranes; the total number of transporter sites, determined by cytochalasin B binding, was 4.7-fold higher in the freeze-tolerant species. For muscle membranes, the Vmax for glucose transport was 4.9 +/- 1 and 0.6 +/- 0.16 nmol.mg-1 x s-1 at 22 degrees C for R. sylvatica and R. pipiens, respectively. However, in muscle there were no differences in the number of membrane transporters between species.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Hypophosphatemic osteomalacia is a rare form of metabolic bone disorder in neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). The exact disease mechanism of this disorder in NF1 is yet to be established. We present a 44-year-old female known to have NF1, who presents with debilitating bone pain, weakness and multiple fractures. Laboratory investigations showedpersistent hypophosphatemia with renal phosphate wasting suggestive of hypophosphatemic osteomalacia. She also had concomitant vitamin D deficiency which contributed to the disease severity. Medical therapy with oral phosphate and vitamin D improved her symptoms without significant changes in fracture healing or phosphate levels.


Introduction: Low back pain is one of the most frequent causes of disability, with several associated etiologies. Osteopathic manipulative treatment is widely used to evaluate and manage musculoskeletal disorders. The aim of the study was to evaluate the immediate and late effects of 3 sessions of myofascial osteopathic techniques on pain intensity, posterior chain flexibility, lumbar mobility and level of disability in patients with chronic low back pain. Methods: 60 subjects of both genders, randomly divided into 3 experimental groups: healthy control (HC n = 20), low back pain control group (CG, n = 20) and treated low back pain group (TG, n = 20). Initially, the 3 groups were evaluated using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Oswestry questionnaire, Wells bench and measurement of lateral spine tilt and fingertip-to-floor test. The TG was submitted to 3 sessions of myofascial techniques (lasting 40 minutes), 1x / week. The session consisted of the application of 6 myofascial techniques (thoracolumbar fascia, quadratus lumborum fascia, iliopsoas muscle stretching, quadratus lumborum stretching and iliolumbar ligaments). Subjects were reevaluated immediately after the first session, 7 days after the last session and one month after treatment completion (follow up). Results: There was an improvement in posterior chain flexibility (20.3 ± 7.4 cm pre to 26.3 ± 8 cm after 3 sessions), spinal mobility (fingertip-to-floor: 13.3 ± 11.33 cm pre to 4.8 ± 10.5 cm after 3 sessions), as well as pain intensity reduction (3.3 ± 1.9 cm pre to 1 ± 1.7 after 3 sessions) and reduction in the level of lumbar disability (15.8 ± 7.3 in the pre to 9.2 ± 8.6 after 3 sessions) for TG. In HC and CG there was no change in any of the variables. The results shown for TG remained even one month after the intervention. Conclusion: The osteopathic treatment protocol with myofascial techniques was effective for the treatment of low back pain.


A hybrid friction model was recently developed by Azizian and Mureithi [1] to simulate the friction behavior of tube-support interaction. However, identification of the model parameters remains unresolved.In previous work, the friction model parameters were identified using reverse the harmonic method, where the following quantities were indirectly obtained by measuring the vibration response of a beam: friction force, sliding speed of the force of impact and local displacement at the contact point.In the present work, the simulation by the finite element method (FEM) of a beam clamped at one end and simply supported with the consideration of friction effect at the other is conducted. This beam is used to validate the inverse harmonic balance method and the parameters of the friction models identified previously.Two static friction models (the Coulomb model and Stribeck model) are tested. The two models produce friction forces of the correct order of magnitude compared to the friction force calculated using the inverse harmonic balance method. However, the models cannot accurately reproduce the beam response; the Stribeck friction model is shown to give the response closer to experiments.The results demonstrate some of the challenges associated with accurate friction model parameter identification using the inverse harmonic balance method. The present work is an intermediate step toward identification of the hybrid friction model parameters and, longer term, improved analysis of tube-support dynamic behavior under the influence of friction.Copyright © 2015 by ASME


We introduce a forecasting method that closely matches the econometric properties required by exchange rate theory. Our approach formally models (i) when (and if) predictor variables enter or leave a regression model, (ii) the degree of parameter instability, (iii) the (potentially) rapidly changing relevance of regressors, and (iv) the appropriate shrinkage intensity over time. We consider (short-term) forecasting of six major US dollar exchange rates using a standard set of macro fundamentals. Our results indicate the importance of shrinkage and flexible model selection/averaging criteria to avoid poor forecasting results.


Filamins are large rod-like proteins that cross-link actin filaments into three-dimensional networks. They also bind to a plethora of proteins with distinct functions showing that they have a versatile role in cells. Functional filamins are dimers consisting of an N-terminal actin binding domain followed by 24 immunoglobulin-like domains. The most C-terminal domains mediate the dimerization. Two hinge regions are located between the domains 15 and 16 and 23 and 24, respectively, and produce structural flexibility that is essential for the protein function. The domains 18-19 and 20-21 are folded in a pairwise manner in which the first β strands of the even numbered domains are folded along with the odd numbered domains. Recent study implies that a focal adhesion protein migfilin binding replaces the β strand of the domain 20 inducing a conformational change in filamin A that makes its structure more flexible. Previously only stretching force induced conformational changes have been reported and they are thought to function as a mechanism to sense tension. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the migfilin induced conformational change using Forster resonance energy transfer (FRET). Enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) was cloned to the C-terminus of a four domain fragment of filamin A which was first mutated to have a unique site for the acceptor fluorophore conjugation. Then, the recombinant fusion protein was expressed overnight and subsequently purified with affinity chromatography and gel filtration. Finally, the purified protein was labeled with Alexa Fluor 532 C5 maleimide to produce a FRET pair. The change in the energy transfer efficiency upon migfilin addition was measured with steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence methods. No statistically significant change in the amount of energy transfer was observed. The reason is unclear, though it is possible that the EGFP disrupted the dynamics of filamin A or that the migfilin binding was abolished. However, it is also possible that the used method was not sensitive for the possible conformational change in the construct. Changes in the construct are required in further studies.


Influenza is one of the major threats to public health. Current influenza vaccines cannot provide effective protection against drifted or shifted influenza strains. Researchers have considered two important strategies to develop novel influenza vaccines with improved immunogenicity and broader protective efficacy. One is applying fewer variable viral antigens, such as the haemagglutinin stalk domain. The other is including adjuvants in vaccine formulations. Adjuvants are promising and helpful boosters to promote more rapid and stronger immune responses with a dose-sparing effect. However, few adjuvants are currently licensed for human influenza vaccines, although many potential candidates are in different trials. While many advantages have been observed using adjuvants in influenza vaccine formulations, an improved understanding of the mechanisms underlying viral infection and vaccination-induced immune responses will help to develop new adjuvant candidates. In this review, we summarize the works related to adjuvants in influenza vaccine research that have been used in our studies and other laboratories. The review will provide perspectives for the utilization of adjuvants in developing next-generation and universal influenza vaccines.


The continuous effort to improve efficiency, reduce particle, and greenhouse gase emissions leads to the emergence of the concept "more electric." This concept helps to boost the performance as well as the flexibility of the domestic and vehicular applications; however, on the other hand, it excessively burdens current power networks (including vehicle power systems). In order to remedy this problem, simultaneous usage of renewable sources and energy storages is encouraged. A multiconverter system is commonly adopted to process the renewable power in form of distributed generation. However, due to the discrete structure of such systems, power flow and load regulation are coordinated via communication channel, which inevitably reduces the reliability and dynamic response of the system. This paper presents the concept of multiport power electronic interface (MPEI) for renewable energy sources and storages. With a unified modular topology and highly integrated digital control system, controlled quasi-current source is achieved for each input port in both steady-state and transient power-sharing modes. MPEI analysis, modeling, design, and system operation are treated in a systematic manner in this paper. Both power stages and digital control system are implemented for a five-port MPEI. Experiments are conducted under meaningful operation scenarios. The results are presented to prove the feasibility of MPEI concept and system design methodology.


In the global society of the twenty-first century, language plays a fundamental role that is neither neutral nor innocent. The meaning of every word is never pure, but it is charged with many different noises and rhythms according to the culture in which they originate. As a result, the most important and also the most difficult and compromising function of translators, from an ethical viewpoint, is not translating meaning, but translating those noises and rhythms implicit in texts. That is why I believe we have to rethink the concept of translation from a new point of view. What I propose in this article is an interdisciplinary approach, derived from music and philosophy, and specifically from Michel Serres' and Jacques Attali's concept of noise, John Cage's concept of silence and Henri Lefebvre's concept of rhythmanalysis, that will allow us, as translators, to become more aware of the ideologies that filter in through the noises and rhythms of words. This article will examine examples of these ideas found in literary texts.


Background. We evaluated the accuracy of the Bishop score in predicting the likelihood of successful labor induction (entry into active phase) in nulliparous and multiparous women. Methods. During an index year, all patients having induction of labor and a preinduction Bishop score were included in a standard protocol for cervical ripening and use of oxytocin. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed for Bishop scores (0 to 11) to predict abdominal delivery for failed induction (final cervical dilation <4 cm) versus vaginal delivery. Results. Parturients who had vaginal delivery (n=253) and those in whom attempted induction failed (n=38) did not differ significantly with respect to maternal demographics, length of gestation, Bishop score and its distribution, and infant birth weight. The area under the ROC curve did not differ significantly from the area under the nondiagnostic line. Conclusion. The Bishop score appears to be a poor predictor of the outcome of labor induction.


The search for efficient hydrogen-storage materials has led to an increasing interest in hydrogen clathrate hydrates, since it has been demonstrated that an appreciable amount of molecular hydrogen can be stored in the water cages and released at melting. Different synthetic routes have been followed to maximize the quantity of trapped hydrogen and to speed up the kinetics of the clathrate formation. Here, we describe two different synthetic routes for the production of hydrogen clathrate hydrates. Then we present the results of inelastic neutron scattering and Raman light scattering experiments on simple (i.e. containing only hydrogen) and binary (i.e. with a second guest molecule) clathrates. For each class of compounds, we have obtained spectroscopic information on the motion of hydrogen inside the cages, on the occupancy of the cages by hydrogens, and on lattice dynamics. Finally, we have investigated the clathrate crystal stability and the hydrogen release as a function of temperature by means of neutron diffraction.


: Massive pulmonary hemorrhage is a complication which frequently leads to death in newborns with conditions susceptible to surgical treatment. Out of 112 postmortem studies, focal hemorrhage was found in 38 (33.9%) and massive in 34 cases (30.3%). In this series, congenital anomalies were found in digestive tract in 70.5% of the patients. Prematurity andlow weight were not important factors as was hypoxia, which was evident in 70.5% of the cases. Manifestations of respiratory insufficiency, shock, rales in lung fields, bleeding in other places different from the lung, blood leaking through upper respiratory ducts, are all clinical features of diagnostic aid. Disturbances in coagulation tests were detected, the same as drop in figures of hemoglobin, acidosis, hypoxia and hypercapnia. Gram-negative germs, with a predominance of Klebsiella, were isolated in 33 cultures. The radiographic finding with reticulogranular image was unfrequent. Among other precipitating factors of pulmonary hemorrhage, identification was made of the surgical disease by itself, surgical and anesthetic procedures, of ventilatory assistance and therapy with oxygen at high concentration for long periods of time.


Optimization of the ScaLAPACK LU factorization routine using communication/computation overlap.- On experiments with a parallel direct solver for diagonally dominant banded linear systems.- The computation of partial eigensolutions on a distributed memory machine using a modified lanczos method.- The parallel computation of partial eigensolutions of large matrices on a massively parallel processor.- Preprocessing of sparse unassembled linear systems for efficient solution using element-by-element preconditioners.- Implementing the parallel quasi-Laguerre's algorithm for symmetric tridiagonal eigenproblems.- Comparing task and data parallel execution schemes for the DIIRK method.- Numerical turbulence simulation on different parallel computers using the sparse grid combination method.- Parallel Fourier-Motzkin elimination.- Comparison of three Monte Carlo methods for Matrix Inversion.- Parallel solution of the volume integral equation of electromagnetic scattering.- Optimization of parallel multilevel-Newton algorithms on workstation clusters.- A time and space parallel algorithm for the heat equation: The implicit collocation method.- Parallel image/video processing and computer arithmetic.- A high performance image database system for remotely sensed imagery.- An asynchronous parallel algorithm for symbolic grouping operations in vision.- A parallel pipelined Hough Transform.- High-performance SAR image formation and post-processing.- A parallel implementation of image coding using linear prediction and iterated function systems.- Parallel algorithms for using non-stationary MRA in image compression.- High radix cordic rotation based on selection by rounding.- On-line algorithms for computing exponentials and logarithms.- Parallel and on-line addition in negative base and some complex number systems.- A variable latency pipelined floating-point adder.- Basic linear algebra operations in SLI arithmetic.- CAM2: A highly-parallel 2D cellular automata architecture for real-time and palm-top pixel-level image processing.- A self-optimising coprocessor model for portable parallel image processing.- System-level memory management for weakly parallel image processing.- Multidimensional periodic scheduling model and complexity.- Global approach for compiled bit-true simulation of DSP systems.- Parallel implementation of RBF neural networks.- Selected results from the ParkBench Benchmark.- Exploiting symmetry in parallel computations for structural biology.- An object-oriented and parallel simulation of a power-plant.- A Planning System for Aircraft Production with parallel constraint logic programming.- Modelling and optimising flows using parallel spatial interaction models.- The queue-read queue-write asynchronous PRAM model.- ERCW PRAMs and optical communication.- Goodness of time-processor optimal PRAM simulations.- Simulations of PRAM on complete optical networks.- Adaptive parallelism in the Bulk-synchronous Parallel model.- Implementation issues relating to the WPRAM model for scalable computing.- The bulk-synchronous parallel random access machine.- The E-BSP model: Incorporating general locality and unbalanced communication into the BSP model.- Communication efficient data structures on the BSP model with applications in computational geometry.- Submachine locality in the bulk synchronous setting.- Algebraic laws for BSP programming.- Realistic parallel algorithms: Priority queue operations and selection for the BSP* Model.- Multilayer perceptron learning control.- Evaluating the hyperbolic model on a variety of architectures.- SPC: A model of parallel computation.- Systematic efficient parallelization of scan and other list homomorphisms.- Array structures and data-parallel algorithms.- Compile-time cost analysis for parallel programming.- HPP: A high performance PRAM.- Relaxing the inclusion property in cache only memory architecture.- Using proxies to reduce controller contention in large shared-memory multiprocessors.- A RISC approach to weak cache coherence.- 3D optoelectronic computer architectures for the conjugate gradient and multigrid benchmark algorithms.- MSparc: A multithreaded sparc.- A new concept for parallel neurocomputer architectures.- Transformation of a 2-D VLSI systolic adder circuit in 3-D circuits using optical interconnections.- Scalable software latency hiding schemes: Evaluation of the poststore and prefetch options.- Reducing coherence overhead in shared-bus multiprocessors.- An asymptotically optimal affine schedule on bounded convex polyhedric domains.- List scheduling in the presence of branches: A theoretical evaluation.- Iterative approach for the clustering problem.- Compile-time task scheduling for multi-phase programming.- Scheduling with unit processing and communication times on a ring network: Approximation results.- Efficient parallel algorithms for scheduling with tree precedence constraints.- Bulk synchronous parallel scheduling of uniform dags.- Generalized multiprocessor scheduling.- A static scheduling heuristic for heterogeneous processors.- On the cyclic scheduling problem with small communication delays.- A new scheduling method for parallel discrete-event simulation.- Minimum length scheduling of precedence constrained messages in distributed systems.- Optimization of parallel programs on machines with expensive communication.- Eager scheduling with lazy retry for dynamic task scheduling.- Load management for load balancing on heterogeneous platforms: A comparison of traditional and neural network based approaches.- Application-assisted dynamic scheduling on large-scale multi-computer systems.- Economic-based dynamic load distribution in large workstation networks.- Flexible scheduling for non-deterministic, and-parallel execution of logic programs.- A load balancing task allocation scheme in a hard real time system.- A library implementation of the nano-threads programming model.- Speedup and efficiency of large size applications on heterogeneous networks.- Dip: A parallel program development environment.- Accurate performance prediction for massively parallel systems and its applications.- Contention in the Cray T3D communication network.- Theory, practice, and a tool for BSP performance prediction.- Applying the Semi-markov Memory and Cache coherence Interference model to an updating based cache coherence protocol.- Analytical models of multithreading with data prefetching.- IDRA (ideal resource allocation): Computing ideal speedups in parallel logic programming.- Estimation of the throughput for some stochastic resources sharing systems.- Some closed form results for circuit switching in a hypercube network.- to ILP workshop.- Instruction fetching mechanisms for superscalar microprocessors.- Designing dynamic two-level branch predictors based on pattern locality.- Streaming prefetch.- Functionality distribution on a superscalar architecture.- Investigating the limits of fine-grained parallelism in a statically scheduled superscalar architecture.- On-chip multiprocessing.- Identifying bottlenecks in a multithreaded superscalar microprocessor.- Aggregate operation movement: A min-cut approach to global code motion.- Global instruction scheduling - a practical approach.- Generation de micro-code parallele pour la carte coprocesseur Rapid-2.- RESIS: A new methodology for register optimization in software pipelining.- Optimal software pipelining through enumeration of schedules.- Triangular grid protocol: An efficient scheme for replica control with uniform access quorums.- Mapping a parallel complex-object DBMS to operating system processes.- A transaction model for multidatabase systems.- Multi-dimensional declustering methods for parallel database systems.- Modelling resource utilization in pipelined query execution.- On transforming a sequential SQL-DBMS into a parallel one: First results and experiences of the MIDAS project.- DPL graphs - A powerful representation of parallel relational query execution plans.- Blocker: A variable & multiattribute declustering for parallel database machines.- The PALLAS portable parallel programming environment.- An optimal parallel algorithm for Gaussian elimination.- Synthesis of massively pipelined algorithms for list manipulation.


This paper investigates how Mycenaean Greek and Hittite languages can be analyzed in the light of the new acquisitions of historical sociolinguistics. In absence of living informants, the study of contact phenomena, which sheds light on a broader extra-linguistic scenario, could be an effective approach in a micro-sociolinguistic perspective. Particularly, the potential role played by Hittite as an intermediary between Akkadian and Mycenaean Greek will be analyzed. Interference phenomena seem to occur on two levels: on the one hand, there are lexemes directly borrowed from Hittite into Mycenaean while, on the other hand, we have found terms of a Semitic derivation where Hittite acts as an intermediary.


: This paper reviews recent developments in the experimental approach to panic anxiety. Inhalation of carbon dioxide appears to trigger panic attacks in panic disorder patients and agoraphobics. The biological and psychopathological implications of this finding are discussed in the light of recent data on experimental pharmacology of anxiety.


In anticipation of the inevitable shift from adaptation planning to adaptation action, this chapter provides a background on climate change adaptation policy and a survey of climate impacts and adaptation responses likely to put some demand on legal institutions and rules. The chapter opens by defining the key terms and concepts of climate change adaptation as it has been discussed in major policy analyses. The chapter then summarizes the scope and focus of federal, state, local, tribal, and private climate change adaptation planning initiatives. From there, the chapter reviews the current law of climate change adaptation, which as mentioned above is not yet extensive. What few morsels of legal initiative exist break down into five types: (1) coastal land use controls; (2) environmental impact assessment programs; (3) corporate disclosure requirements; (4) endangered species protection; and (5) anti-adaptation measures The chapter closes with a survey of the potential legal issues climate change adaptation could spark, organized into five categories: (1) land and resources; (2) infrastructure; (3) business disputes and regulation; (4) health and safety concerns; and (5) governance and process.


Systems of distributed artificial intelligence can be powerful tools in a wide variety of practical applications. The predator-prey pursuit problem is used to confirm our hypothesis that complex surrounding behavior may emerge from simple, implicit defined interactions among the predator agents. The emergent behavior, is also the most answerable for the difficulty in projecting these systems. This work proposes a tool capable to generate individual strategies for the elements of a multi-agent system and thereof providing simple mechanism of implicit interaction and no explicit communications among the predator agents. A synthesis of system strategies was implemented of which internal mechanism involves the integration between simulators by particle swarm optimization algorithm (PSO), a swarm intelligence technique. The system had been tested in several simulation settings and it was capable to synthesize automatically successful hunting strategies, substantiating that the developed tool can provide, as long as it works with well- elaborated patterns, satisfactory solutions for problems of complex nature and of difficult resolution starting from analytical approaches.