Understanding the philosophy of a different culture and integrating this understanding into the provision of pharmaceutical care is challenging and complex. This thesis argues the importance for community pharmacists to acknowledge that culture, religion, family and community dynamics can impact on patients' health, health seeking behaviour and medicines adherence. The perceptions of members of the South Asian population, general practitioners, and community pharmacists about how these factors are viewed in relation to community pharmacy services were explored in this study. It was conducted in Leicester City, which has a South Asian minority ethnic population of more than 25%. Participants' views of the role of extended community pharmacy services in the wider government agenda were explored. South Asians attitudes to healthcare, self care and the management of minor ailments were discussed. A qualitative methodology approach was adopted, which used constructivist and interpretive principles. Data collection for the study was conducted in two phases. In Phase 1, one to one semi-structured interviews were conducted separately with six local GPs and five community pharmacists from both 'white' (European) and South Asian backgrounds. In Phase 2, six gender specific focus groups were convened comprising of fifty five participants in total from the Sikh, Moslem and Hindu communities. Bi-lingual community workers were used in this study which allowed a more 'sensitive' exploration of the sociological aspects of health seeking behaviour and the impact of 'cultural' influences on medicines adherence. The need for 'cultural competence' of community pharmacists is discussed as one of the major contributions to the evidence base for pharmacy practice. Such initiatives would require pharmacists to acquire more effective consultation skills in the first instance. South Asians expressed views that community pharmacists need to be more knowledgeable, responsive and flexible in their professional practice by assessing their pharmaceutical needs and being aware of particular cultural sensitivities when planning their services in line with the new pharmaceutical contract. More specifically, South Asian participants illustrated the need for community pharmacists and their staff to be more 'culturally knowledgeable' about the communities in which they practice. It is argued that the provision of a more culturally sensitive and pro-active service is needed to develop a better patient-practitioner professional relationship that promotes trust. South Asians illustrated how certain behavioural, religious and cultural beliefs impact on medicines adherence, such as compliance issues whilst on holiday to their homeland, the impact of religious pilgrimage 1 The term South Asian refers to people whose origins can be traced to the Indian sub-continent comprising of Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and fasts. Many South Asian participants had limited understanding about 'generic' medicines and considered these to be 'inferior' or 'less effective' than 'branded' medication. Participants' views of 'sharing' of medicines and medicines waste were also illustrated. Factors such as 'stress', 'fate' and 'karma' and their impact on health of the participants were discussed. Many of these factors could not be solely attributable to a South Asian 'culture'. However, the findings illustrate a need for a Medicines Use Review (MUR) service to include more 'targeted' exploration of medicines adherence and medicines optimisation for this population. The findings also highlighted why South Asians rarely consult the community pharmacist about sensitive or stigmatised issues such as depression, and how some conditions and symptoms were perceived to have negative impact on the 'social acceptance' of South Asian individuals within their own communities. South Asians suggested that community pharmacists needed to be more pro-active and 'responsive' to their pharmaceutical needs and respect confidentiality through use of private consultation areas for routine counselling, health promotion and medicines information. All participants endorsed a need for more 'professional' recognition of the pharmacist not only as an autonomous health care professional, but as one integral to providing NHS services relating to medicines and public health. The findings illustrated a lack of professional collaboration between community pharmacists and GPs, confounded by community pharmacists being 'subordinate' to GPs and portraying more of a 'shopkeeper' image. South Asians were well informed about the lack of shared medical records and relied heavily on a doctor's definitive 'diagnosis' for somatic symptoms related common ailments. South Asians pro-actively engaged with 'community action' based approaches in health education and health promotion, and an opportunity for community pharmacists to become more involved with social initiatives was inferred from the findings. Candid and animated discussions explored their understanding of exercise as part of weight management and their interpretation of effects of the use of herbal products, alternative practitioners and the importance of collaboration with religious and community leaders in promoting medicines adherence. Participants desired alternative communication methods other than leaflets (translated or otherwise), including the use of audio-visual means and use of media. Communication difficulties were still prevalent, and trained interpreters were rarely used. By embracing some of these challenges, community pharmacists could enhance the value of their services and provide a more meaningful, 'culturally' competent and responsive services based on the needs of their local populations and nurture a better trusting and professional relationship with their service users and healthcare colleagues.


AIMS
To measure the systemic retention of nicotine, propylene glycol (PG) and vegetable glycerin (VG) in electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) users, and assess the abuse liability of e-cigarettes by characterizing nicotine pharmacokinetics.

DESIGN
E-cigarette users recruited over the internet participated in a 1-day research ward study. Subjects took 15 puffs from their usual brand of e-cigarette. Exhaled breath was trapped in gas-washing bottles and blood was sampled before and several times after use.

SETTING
San Francisco, California, USA.

PARTICIPANTS
Thirteen healthy, experienced adult e-cigarette users (six females and seven males).

MEASUREMENTS
Plasma nicotine was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) and nicotine, VG and PG in e-liquids and gas traps were analyzed by LC-MS/MS. Heart rate changes and subjective effects were assessed.

FINDINGS
E-cigarettes delivered an average of 1.33 (0.87-1.79) mg [mean and 95% confidence interval (CI)] of nicotine, and 93.8% of the inhaled dose, 1.22 (0.80-1.66) was systemically retained. Average maximum plasma nicotine concentration (Cmax ) was 8.4 (5.4-11.5) ng/ml and time of maximal concentration (Tmax ) was 2-5 minutes. One participant had Tmax of 30 minutes. 84.4% and 91.7% of VG and PG, respectively, was systemically retained. Heart rate increased by an average of 8.0 beats per minute after 5 minutes. Withdrawal and urge to smoke decreased and the e-cigarettes were described as satisfying.

CONCLUSIONS
E-cigarettes can deliver levels of nicotine that are comparable to or higher than typical tobacco cigarettes, with similar systemic retention. Although the average maximum plasma nicotine concentration in experienced e-cigarette users appears to be generally lower than what has been reported from tobacco cigarette use, the shape of the pharmacokinetic curve is similar, suggesting addictive potential.


In January of 2013 nearly every worker in the country saw their payroll tax increase by 2.0 percentage points. The payroll tax holiday that had been put in place at the start of 2011 ended in December of 2012, leading to a jump in the Social Security tax from 10.4 percent to 12.4 percent of earnings up to the taxable limit. This was an extraordinarily large increase in the payroll tax. Past increases had generally been phased in gradually. For example, from 1980 to 1990 the tax rate was increased by a total of 2.24 percentage points; however in no year did the rate rise by more than 0.72 percentage points, just over one-third of the 2013 increase.3 If the public was strongly opposed to any tax increases, it would be expected that one as large as the 2013 rise in the Social Security tax would lead to considerable anger, especially given the weakness of the labor market which was still very much feeling the impact of the 2008-2009 recession at that point.


This publication describes systems and techniques directed to hyperspectral data fusion for multifactor face-based authentication. The described systems and techniques include a user equipment with electromagnetic wave modules for emitting and/or sensing multiple spectrums of electromagnetic waves. Based on hyperspectral data associated with electromagnetic waves reflected from the face of a person, a data fusion manager application of the user equipment performs computations to authenticate the person. The hyperspectral data is, in effect, a multifactor face-based authentication key.


Summary Protrusion formation is the first step that precedes cell movement of motile cells. Spatial control of actin polymerization is necessary to achieve directional protrusion during cell migration. Here we show that the spatial coordinators p190RhoGEF and p190RhoGAP regulate actin polymerization during leading edge protrusions by regulating the actin barbed end distribution and amplitude. The distribution of RhoC activity and proper balance of cofilin activation achieved by p190RhoGEF and p190RhoGAP determines the direction of final protrusive activity. These findings provide a new insight into the dynamic plasticity in the amplitude and distribution of barbed ends, which can be modulated by fine-tuning RhoC activity by upstream GEFs and GAPs for directed cell motility.


This paper demonstrates the use of the epipolar geometry to estimate the depth (distance) to a point on the object structure in a pair of stereo images. The well established robust method of RANSAC was implemented to calculate the fundamental matrix. The paper discusses how to calculate the disparity, a parallax that exists in the stereo images. This paper is generally in the nature of following up the existing technology, but addresses the stability issue of the RANSAC fundamental matrix algorithm as a stepping stone for stable generation of the dense disparity maps useful for applications.


We describe a direct and accurate method for defining chest radiographic anatomy and use this method to delineate the anatomic composition of the right mediastinal border in an adult population. Intravenous contrast-enhanced computed tomographic scans of the chest and accompanying scout tomograms from 99 adults without previously known or detected cardiopulmonary disease that could potentially distort mediastinal, cardiac, or pulmonary anatomy were retrospectively evaluated. Transverse CT images through the mediastinum were directly referenced to the respective acquisition location on the scout tomogram via the acquisition reference line. The anatomic composition of the right mediastinal border on the scout tomogram was determined by drawing a vertical line tangential to the most lateral right mediastinal structure in each transverse CT image. The lengths and relationships of these structures were tabulated. These results will help to create a consensus among radiologists and other clinicians regarding radiographic anatomy, allowing improved localization of mediastinal pathology and enabling more optimal positioning of vascular and cardiac support devices.


We consider algorithms for many-to-many hot potato routing. In hot potato (deflection) routing, a packet cannot be buffered, and is therefore always moving until it reaches its destination. We give optimal and nearly optimal deterministic algorithms for many-to-many packet routing in commonly occurring networks such as the hypercube, meshes, and tori of various dimensions and sizes, trees, and hypercubic networks such as the butterfly. All these algorithms are analyzed using a charging scheme that may be applicable to other algorithms as well. Moreover, all bounds hold in a dynamic setting in which packets can be injected at arbitrary times.


ABSTRACT Entrepreneurs need physical, financial, and social resources to succeed, but institutional gaps in emerging economies limit access to these resources. Current research shows that entrepreneurial ecosystem entities, such as business incubators, have a considerable influence on creating networks for novice entrepreneurs. Through a partially grounded research approach, this article explores the micro-level relationships of entrepreneurs within and outside the incubator. Our findings reveal that novice entrepreneurs interact most with mentors and incubatees to achieve results within entrepreneurial ecosystems of emerging economies. Key propositions about entrepreneurial effort, entrepreneurial networking, the incubator web, and trust-based interactions could aid further research.


Confined H2O molecules act as local probes for depressurization phenomena during the pressure induced amorphisation of faujasite NaX at which the OH stretching frequency first decreases and then increases almost to its room pressure value upon further compression. Pair distribution function (PDF) analysis provides evidence that amorphisation corresponds to a collapse of the structure around hydrated sodium cations with strong distortion of the secondary building units (double six-membered rings, sodalite cages). Both the use of guest molecules as local probes in far- and mid-infrared spectroscopy, where we correlate intermolecular water H bonding vibrations and internal mode behaviour under confinement, and PDF analysis could be of great use to study the mechanical behaviour of other hydrated materials.


Historians have dubbed the period from the Civil War to World War I "the age of the university," suggesting that colleges, in contrast to universities, were static institutions out of touch with American society. Bruce Leslie challenges this view by offering compelling evidence for the continued vitality of colleges, using case studies of four representative colleges from the Middle Atlantic region - Bucknell, Franklin and Marshall, Princeton, and Swarthmore. A new introduction to this classic reflects on his work in light of recent scholarship, especially that on southern universities, the American college in the international context, the experience of women, and liberal Protestantism's impact on the research university. According to Leslie, nineteenth-century colleges were designed by their founders and supporters to be instruments of ethnic, denominational, and local identity. The four colleges Leslie examines in detail here were representative of these types, each serving a particular religious denomination or lifestyle. Over the course of this period, however, these colleges, like many others, were forced to look beyond traditional sources of financial support, toward wealthy alumni and urban benefactors. This development led to the gradual reorientation of these schools toward an emerging national urban Protestant culture. Colleges that responded to and exploited the new currents prospered. Those that continued to serve cultural distinctiveness and localism risked financial sacrifice. Leslie develops his argument from a close study of faculties, curricula, financial constituencies, student bodies, and campus life. The book will be valuable to those interested in American history, higher education, as well as the particular institutions studied.


We describe the stabilization of the beatnote of an Er,Yb:glass dual-frequency laser at 1.5 mum with and without an external microwave reference. In the first case, a classical optical phase-locked loop (OPLL) is used, and absolute phase noise levels as low as -117 dBrad2/Hz at 10 kHz from the carrier are reported. In the second case one or two fiber-optic delay lines are used to lock the frequency of the beatnote. Absolute phase noise levels as low as -107 dBrad2/Hz at 10 kHz from the carrier are measured, fairly independant of the beatnote frequency varying from 2 to 6 GHz. An analysis of the phase noise level limitation is presented in the linear servo-loop theory framework. The expected phase noise level calculated from the measurement of the different noise sources fits well with the predictions.


Abstract Discoidal fossils, despite being the oldest, youngest, and most common elements of the Ediacaran biota, have not received their fair share of attention. Taxonomy of discoidal fossils is currently dubious, and some forms have not been properly re-examined since the initial incorrect descriptions as medusae. Attachment discs of benthic stalked forms, which adhere to microbial mats at the sediment–water interface, are unequivocally present without stalks or other upper parts in most discoidal Ediacaran assemblages. However, many discoidal assemblages are likely to have represented a heterogeneous mixture of benthic discoidal organisms, including bacterial colonies, fungi, actinian-grade cnidarians, and perhaps poriferans. Such organisms probably account for the vast majority of fossils in the Fermeuse Formation of Newfoundland and similar assemblages from Norway, England, and Wales. Discs in the underlying complex Mistaken Point assemblages, however, likely mostly represent holdfasts. Other complex assemblages, such as those of South Australia and the White Sea of Russia, unequivocally contain more than one biological construction responsible for the discoidal structures, but holdfasts likely represent a significant proportion. The disc-dominated Fermeuse assemblages and the nearby rangeomorph-dominated Mistaken Point assemblages are unlikely to merely represent different taphonomic windows on identical communities, as previously suggested, but rather reflect environmental control on both biotic composition and taphonomy.


Background PLA2G6-associated neurodegeneration (PLAN) is a recessive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by three distinct phenotypes: infantile neuroaxonal dystrophy (INAD), atypical neuroaxonal dystrophy (atypical NAD), and PLA2G6-related dystonia–parkinsonism. Methods A consanguineous index case from Turkey was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinsonism at the Istanbul Faculty of Medicine. She and her unaffected brother were subjected to whole-genome sequencing. Results In this report, we describe a 33-year-old index case with parental consanguinity and early-onset Parkinsonism. Whole-genome sequencing of this individual revealed that a homozygous p.R747W mutation in PLA2G6 segregates with the disease in this family Discussion This result supports the importance of prioritizing this gene in mutational analysis of autosomal recessive Parkinsonism, and confirms the clinical heterogeneity of PLAN.


Recent years have witnessed a rapid growth of published reports on the descriptive features associated with the personality disorders. Despite growing recognition of the existence and clinical relevance of these disorders, there has been relatively little systematic experimental research performed, perhaps because of an absence of a testable, guiding theoretical framework. In the recognition that descriptive studies without the benefit of a guiding theoretical framework can only provide limited understanding, this study examined the applicability of Jeffrey Gray's structural and behavioral theory of personality to a subset of the DSM-HI-R personality disorders. Two independent samples, a normative and a research sample, were employed in this study to test some of the basic assumptions of Gray's theory. The normative sample consisted of 477 college undergraduates. This sample's primary roles in this study included the evaluation of some of the structural assumptions of Gray's model as well as the provision of a context for understanding the smaller research sample. The research sample, self-selected based on individual perceptions of oneself as being anxious or impulsive, was composed of 77 persons who responded to advertisements in local periodicals. This sample's principle roles in this research included: (a) the further evaluation of some of the structural assumptions of Gray's theory, (b) the evaluation of Gray's behavioral predictions arising from his structural model, and (c) the evaluation of the applicability of a subset of the DSM-III-R personality disorders, specifically the "anxious-fearful" and "erratic-dramatic" disorders, to Gray's structural and behavioral theory.


The present work deals with the implementation of the test system Nordic32 proposed by Cigre task force 38-02-08. This test system which consists of 32 buses is a representation of the Swedish transmission and is suitable for the simulation of transient stability and long term dynamics. This work provides a detailed description about the steps followed to create both the static part of the system for load flow calculations and the controllers that the generators are equipped with.Furthermore, the thesis closes with a basic study concerning the modal analysis and the voltage stability of the system revealing some weaknesses that need further examination.


Study on Integrated Farming Systems Model Development was conducted by the Livelihood Improvement of Farming Community in Haor area through System approach Project of the Department of Agronomy, Bangladesh Agricultral University, Mymensigh worked in Purbo Tethulia village of Moahjganj upazilla, Netrakona district from April 2010 to June 2013 with the financial assistance from the National Agricultural Technology Project, SPGR subproject, Bangladesh Agricultural Council with the following objectives i. Increase productivity of field crops, vegetables, livestock and fishes in a household through the use of appropriate technogies and techniques devised/developed/ designed/refined by the farmers for ensuring household food security and nutritional upliftment and raising income ii. Diversify enterprises, mobilize resources and intensify farming and non farming activities for in situ employment generation iii. Conserve farm environment through efficient mobilization and management of natural resource for sustainable production sysyems iv. Develop human resoures for capacity building of the participants and improve their livelihood through system approach. Research programme was finalized in the Bench Mark Survey Workshop. Farmer selection for different research acivities was done as per plan for defferent five components. The crop and agroforestry component conducted experiments both in the homestead land and crop land. In the homestead area, year round vegetables were intervened through community trial for three years. Production of timber trees like mahogany, lambu and fruit trees like mango, guave, jujube, litchi, lemon papaya and jackfruit was also practiced. Timber trees are now at growing stage and among the fruit trees some like papaya, jujube and lemon are at bearing stage. African dhaincha was introduced around homestead fallow/waste land to protect homestead area from wave thrust and to produce biomass fuel. Field trials on rice, vegetables, spices and oil crops were conducted to intensify and diversify the cropping pattern and as well as to utilize the fallow/ waste land of the research site. Under livestock component, experiments were conducted on rearing of egg producing hen, duck, fattening of animals, milching cow, artificial insemination and chemical evaluation of available feedstuffs. A continuous vaccination programme against common diseases of poultry was maintained throughout the study period. Farmers' response was very positive towards the experimental results. In the fisheries component, experiment on cage culture in open water, perennial and seasonal pond culture, dry fish and pickle were conducted/done. Among the experiments cage culture in open water proved to be a promising technology and fish pickle was highly appreciated in panel test. For the rural hydrology and mechanization component four studies were conducted. The physico-chemical properties of farm land and homestead soils were determined. Additional application of sulphur and zinc fertilizers were found not required. Both the surface and groundwater characteristics were studied. The maximum flood water depth was found around 3.0 m at farm land. Irrigation facilities developed by installing a shallow tubewell (STW) resulted higher crop production and motivated farmers to install four new STWs by their own capital. All the households (462) of Purbo Tethulia were intervened from the project. The interventions were crop, vegetable, livestock, poultry and fish farming. It was observed that as the number of enterprises increased in the farming systems, the income also increased. The evidence also showed that the training of the beneficiaries increased their knowledge and skill.


Although we have witnessed major improvements in genomic testing in the past 5 years, multiple challenges need to be solved before clinical genomic testing becomes routine (1). The clinical implementation of genomic testing parallels the challenges we have faced with other transformative technologies. For the past decade, the medical community has been discussing the impact on healthcare and society of direct-to-consumer marketed whole-body computed tomography (CT)8 scanning (2). The CT scan is a technology that uses X-rays to produce cross-sectional images of the human body. There are clinical scenarios in which the CT scan is invaluable: disease diagnosis, evaluation after trauma, and monitoring response to oncologic therapy. However, CT scan is also being marketed as a preventive diagnostic for healthy individuals (3). Genomics can parallel CT scanning in scenarios of ( a ) first line diagnostic testing, ( b ) last ditch diagnosis, and ( c ) inappropriate clinical use.

Genomic testing implies the examination of the nucleic acid sequence of multiple, if not all, known genes. Broadly, this includes microarray tests that survey changes in single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and copy-number variation across the entire genome, sequencing the exome or whole genome by next-generation sequencing, and sequencing large panels of clinically significant genes. Genomic testing is currently moving from academic research practice to commercialization and direct-to-consumer marketing. Although genomic testing is not yet routine, DNA testing targeted to single genes, viruses, or bacteria is commonplace and performed in many clinical laboratories. The use of genetic information has evolved over the past decade from targeted single-gene tests to broader genomic tests that encompass thousands of genes. Numerous ethical, economic, and …


This paper deals with supervisory control of discrete event systems (DES) by state feedback in order to avoid uncontrollable specifications and blockings. It incorporates two levels of modeling that includes the system and specification model and secondly the interpretation of the specification model in term of the system model based on trace equivalence. Next the controller process is computed. In this approach the specification and the system model are described by interpreted Petri nets (IPN), and the specification describes a state subset that the specification must reach. It also captures the order, in which these states must be reached. The method to interpret the specification language in term of the system language includes structural information of both IPN (system and specification) to define trace equivalence, which to avoid blocking and uncontrollability. Moreover, this work presents a technique to modify trace equivalence based on the inclusion of uncontrollable events to guarantee controllability (compute of the infimal controllable language).


ABSTRACT Primordial germ cells (PGCs) form at the posterior pole of the Drosophila embryo, and then migrate to their final destination in the gonad where they will produce eggs or sperm. Studies of the different stages in this process, including assembly of germ plasm in the oocyte during oogenesis, specification of a subset of syncytial embryonic nuclei as PGCs, and migration, have been informed by genetic analyses. Mutants have defined steps in the process, and the identities of the affected genes have suggested biochemical mechanisms. Here we describe a novel PGC phenotype. When Neurl4 activity is reduced, newly formed PGCs frequently adopt irregular shapes and appear to bud off vesicles. PGC number is also reduced, an effect exacerbated by a separate role for Neurl4 in germ plasm formation during oogenesis. Like its mammalian homolog, Drosophila Neurl4 protein is concentrated in centrosomes and downregulates centrosomal protein CP110. Reducing CP110 activity suppresses the abnormal PGC morphology of Neurl4 mutants. These results extend prior analyses of Neurl4 in cultured cells, revealing a heightened requirement for Neurl4 in germ-line cells in Drosophila.


Objective The goal of the present study was to investigate the roles of situational (ie, psychophysiological reactivity to acute stress) and dispositional variables (ie, neuroticism, coping styles) in shaping the effects of acute stress exposure on REM sleep. Methods Sixty-three healthy young adults slept in the laboratory after being randomized into CTL or EXP. Measures of psychophysiological reactivity (state anxiety, stress level, and mean arterial blood pressure) were collected before and immediately after randomization. All subjects completed the Neuroticism-Extroversion-Openness-Personality Inventory Revised and the Ways of Coping Checklist. Results A significant stress exposure by REM period interaction was found, and average RCs in the last REM period were significantly lower in EXP compared with CTL subjects (p = .005). The global slope of increase in average RC across successive REM sleep periods was less steep in EXP compared with CTL subjects (p = .02). Late-night RC was mediated by changes in subjective stress level from baseline to task notification, whereas REM latency was predicted by changes in state anxiety. Neuroticism and coping style did not directly moderate the effects of acute stress exposure on REM sleep. Rather, social coping and avoidance moderated psychological reactivity. Conclusions The findings suggest that attenuation of REM sleep phasic activity after stress exposure may reflect adaptive regulation of waking emotional arousal. Mediation and moderation models are more informative than traditional bivariate approaches to investigating the relation between stress exposure and sleep alterations.


Neuropsychologists routinely assess patients from racially, ethnically, and culturally diverse populations. Despite this fact, there remains a paucity of research investigating the influence of these variables on neuropsychological test performance. The Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) is a widely used measure of attention, visual scanning and tracking, and psychomotor speed. The purpose of the present study was to assess the relation between ethnicity and SDMT performance in ethnically diverse cognitively normal and cognitively impaired samples. Participants were 168 college students (81 Caucasian, 49 African American, 20 Asian American, and 18 Hispanic) and 24 patients (12 Caucasian and 12 Hispanic) chronically infected with hepatitis C. Results revealed no significant group differences in SDMT performance in either the student or patient sample. Furthermore ethnicity accounted for only 2 and 3 percent of the variance in SDMT scores for the patient and student samples, respectively. These findings provide preliminary support for the use of the SDMT across ethnically diverse populations in both clinical and normal samples though further analysis is warranted.


A digital simulator that permits the integration of an AC transient stability program with a detailed simulation of a DC system is discussed. It provides a means of overcoming limitations of AC studies for which discontinuous and distorted interactions with DC networks are not accurately predicted. The response of the DC network takes into account the dynamics of a large system without the compromises of severe network reduction. A departure from previous practice extends the locations for interfacing the simulations away from the converter buses, and multiple interfaces are accommodated. The interfacing methods and scheduling are described. A simple test example is provided. >


The purpose of a servo is to reproduce a signal at a place or power level or form different from the original signal, but under its control. It is therefore a signal-transmitting system. It uses negative feedback to minimize noise and distortion, which the servo designer usually calls error. It uses mechanical and thermal circuit elements as well as electrical circuit elements, but the problems of circuit design are the same. The methods of Nyquist and Bode, which have proved so useful in the design of electrical feedback amplifiers, are equally useful in the design of servo systems. They encourage the determination of the significant constants of the system by experimental means involving steady-state amplitude measurements.


In an era marked by atrocities perpetrated on a grand scale, the tragedy of the so-called comfort women - mostly Korean women forced into prostitution by the Japanese army - endures as one of the darkest events of World War II. These women have usually been labeled victims of a war crime, a simplistic view that makes it easy to pin blame on the policies of imperial Japan and therefore easier to consign the episode to a war-torn past. In this revelatory study, C. Sarah Soh provocatively disputes this master narrative.Soh reveals that the forces of Japanese colonialism and Korean patriarchy together determined the fate of Korean comfort women - a double bind made strikingly apparent in the cases of women cast into sexual slavery after fleeing abuse at home. Other victims were press-ganged into prostitution, sometimes with the help of Korean procurers. Drawing on historical research and interviews with survivors, Soh tells the stories of these women from girlhood through their subjugation and beyond to their efforts to overcome the traumas of their past. Finally, Soh examines the array of factors - from South Korean nationalist politics to the aims of the international women's human rights movement - that contributed to the incomplete view of the tragedy that still dominates today.


Spirulina platensis has roles in biotechnological product advancement due to its safety for humans and animals. Analysis of S. platensis extract by high-performance liquid chromatography reflected the presence of 14 phenolic and flavonoid compounds with different concentrations such as ellagic acid (333 µg/g), gallic acid (294 µg/g), methyl gallate (147 µg/g), naringenin (144 µg/g), and chlorogenic acid (142 µg/g). The isolated Aspergillus flavus from silage of maize was tested to evaluate the effect of S. platensis extract on aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, and G2 production. The treated silage with S. platensis extract showed the presence of 37±0.33 ppb, 0.59±0.16 ppb, 0.26±0.22 ppb, and 0.21±0.18 ppb compared to un-treated silage that showed 3.14±0.15 ppb, 0.81±0.08 ppb, 0.46±0.05 ppb, and 0.26±0.23 ppb aflatoxins of B1, B2, G1, and G2. These results were shown on the 10th day of incubation. On the 15th day of incubation, the treated silage showed less mycotoxins than un-treated silage. At different incubation periods, glucosamine was estimated as a growth development biomarker. The content of glucosamine was inhibited as a result of the effect of S. platensis extract on fungus growth with 53.71%, 49.19%, 47.84%, 38.47%, and 35.72% inhibition on the 3rd, 6th, 9th, 12th, and 15th day.


We diagnosed 28 cases of culture-proven tinea capitis in eastern Taiwan between July 1991 and
February 2001. The patients included 11 children and 17 adults, from 1 to 79 years old. There were 25
females and 3 males. All the 3 male patients were boys. The median age was 5 years for children and 61
years for adults. Microsporum canis was the most common isolated dermatophyte (9 cases), followed by
Trichophyton violaceum (8 cases), Trichophyton tonsurans (5 cases), Trichophyton rubrum (4 cases) and
Trichophyton mentagrophytes (2 cases). Eight of the 11 children were infected by M. canis from cats.
Anthropophilic dermatophytes were main causative agents of 17 adult patients, all were women and
majority (88%) of them were above 50 years old. This bimodal distribution of patients and causative
fungi, also reported in southern and northern Taiwan, represents a new trend of tinea capitis in the past 2
decades.


DONG, KE. Advanced Design Techniques in Linear Parameter Varying Control. (Under the direction of Associate Professor Fen Wu). To improve the analysis and control synthesis approach of linear fractional transformation (LFT) parameter-dependent systems, two types of non-quadratic Lyapunov function and switching control scheme are introduced and studied in this thesis. A gain-scheduled controller with parameter variation rate, a nonlinear gain-scheduled controller and an online switching linear parameter varying (LPV) controller are derived, and the advantages of proposed LPV control techniques are demonstrated through numerical and physical examples. In the first part of this thesis, we introduce a quadratic LFT parameter-dependent Lyapunov function, which includes affine parameter-dependent functions as special cases. Using full-block S-procedure, new LPV synthesis conditions have been derived in terms of finite number of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). The constructed controller depends on parameters and their variation rate in general form compared with traditional LFT form. It is shown that the proposed approach can achieve better performance in a ship steering example by exploiting parameter variation rates. In the same spirit of exploiting more general type of Lyapunov function to achieve better controller, an analysis and synthesis algorithm for LPV systems using convex hull Lyapunov function (CHLF) and maximum Lyapunov function is presented. Using duality of LPV systems and conjugate properties of CHLF, sufficient LPV analysis and synthesis conditions have been derived in terms of LMIs with linear search over scalar variables. Because of the special structure of CHLF and maximum Lyapunov function, the output feedback controller turns out to be a nonlinear gain-scheduled controller. A second-order plant is used to demonstrate advantages and benefits of the new approach. The other main contribution in this thesis is the application of switching control to LPV systems with online optimization method. Arbitrary switching among subsystems is achieved, as well as performance improvement using multiple Lyapunov functions. A gainscheduled controller working for the next switching interval is designed at each switching instant. A bumpless transfer compensator is also designed to minimize the output jump caused by switching. The synthesis conditions for both switching controller and bumpless transfer compensator are formulated as LMIs. The new LPV switching control scheme is applied to an uninhabited combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) problem. All our proposed approaches are efficient in computation, where the conditions are all formulated as LMIs or LMI-like ones. With slightly increased computational complexity, the proposed new approaches for analysis and synthesis of LFT parameter-dependent systems can achieve significant performance improvement comparing to existing approaches. Advanced Design Techniques in Linear Parameter Varying Control


The populations inhabiting the high-altitude Himalayan valleys and the Tibetan plateau represent an exceptional case of human adaptation to a challenging environment having evolved multifaceted physiological adjustments that allow them to cope with hypobaric hypoxia. Recently, several studies shed new light into the ancestry of populations inhabiting the northern regions of the Tibetan plateau, partially elucidating also the genetic bases of their high-altitude adaptation. Nevertheless, the polygenic nature of such an adaptive phenotype, while being previously hypothesized, has not been formally tested so far. Moreover, less attention has been devoted to the study of populations from the Southern slopes of the Himalayas and to the history of migrations, admixture and/or isolation of the many non-Tibetan trans-Himalayan Tibeto-Burman speaking populations.
In the present study, we examined genome-wide variation of previously unsurveyed Tibeto-Burman (i.e. Sherpa and Tamangs) and Indo-Aryan communities from remote Nepalese valleys along with literature data for many South/East Asian populations. Our analyses showed that most of Southern Himalayan Tibeto-Burmans derived their East Asian ancestry not from the Tibetan/Sherpa lineage, but from low-altitude ancestors who plausibly migrated across Northeast India/Myanmar, having experienced extensive admixture that reshuffled the ancestral Tibeto-Burman gene pool. These demographic inferences were also confirmed by the absence in Tamangs of the classical Tibetan/Sherpa "hard sweep" signatures at the high-altitude associated EPAS1 and EGLN1 genes.
Finally, by generating a 20X whole genome sequence of a Sherpa individual and by merging it with published whole genome sequence data from Sherpa and Tibetan subjects, we applied an innovative gene network-based pipeline for the detection of signatures of positive selection. This approach enabled us to identify possible signals of polygenic adaptation occurred at the level of gene subnetworks belonging to functional pathways involved in controlling angiogenesis, thus expanding the knowledge about the genetic determinants underlying the complex Tibetan/Sherpa adaptive phenotype.


MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
A nonsense mutation is a single base change that converts an amino acid-coding triplet nucleotide into a codon specifying translational termination. Catching such a defective messenger RNA (mRNA) before a truncated and potentially harmful protein is synthesized is the job of the nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) pathway. The mechanisms involved are not yet understood, but it has been noted that these mutations also can perturb the splicing of the pre-mRNA in a phenomenon termed nonsense-mediated altered splicing.

Liu et al. have analyzed the effects on splicing of a nonsense mutation in the breast cancer susceptibility gene BRCA1. This mutation is located in an amino acid-coding or exonic region of the gene and appears in vitro to cause exon skipping; this would result in aberrant removal of an exon during mRNA processing. Losing an exon can result in deleterious effects on protein function or in a shift of the reading frame and entry into the NMD pathway. — GJC

Nature Genet. 27 , 55 (2001).


Purpose: The internationalization of "technical help over the phone" is tied to the increasing usage of a lingua franca facilitating the interaction between a call center agent and a caller who are both linguistically different. Researchers have noted that interactions between two parties who are nonnative users of the language employed for the encounter are peppered with understanding problems. This study looks into the causes of understanding problems in helpdesk encounters between nonnative speakers of English and the techniques those interacting parties used to resolve or prevent flaws in the conversation.
 Method: Conversation analysis was used to analyze 25 recorded phone calls, amounting to 750 minutes of data, made in a commercial call center and in the helpdesk of an international academic institute in Enschede, the Netherlands.
 Results: Analysis of the phone calls reveals that causes of understanding problems between an agent and a caller who are nonnative users of English go beyond asymmetries in their proficiency with the language. Factors such as incomplete information or erroneous inference from the utterance of the partner in the interaction are important triggers for the occurrence of understanding problems. Consequently, call center agents and callers use varied repair and preventative techniques to ensure that understanding problems will not impede the attainment of the primary goal of the encounter -to resolve the product-related problem of the caller.
 Conclusion: While understanding problems are inevitable in helpdesk encounters, especially those that involved nonnative users of the language employed for the interaction, such problems are hardly attributable to the linguistic differences characterizing interacting parties. It is apparent that helpdesk agents and callers are equipped with varied techniques to resolve understanding problems or to prevent their inception


The subtitle of this book is Tracing the Development of Spiritual Ideals and Art in Tibet 600-2000 A.D. and in it Amy Heller places the artwork within its historic, social and religious context, utilising in situ photographs from Tibet. She incorporates the latest research material and features works of international renown as well as those that have never been published. The author approaches Tibetan art through the religious anthropology of Tibetan Buddhism. Tibetan Art will provide accessible and valuable information for both the specialist and the interested novice. The photographic content of the book is superb - detailed colour photographs of mandalas, paintings, gold pieces, metalwork and the stunning Tibetan landscape and architecture reveal the splendours of this long hidden country. Contents: The Era of the Tibetan Empire (630-850) The Flourishing of Buddhism in Tibet (950-1300) The Tibetan Renaissance (1300-1500) The Era of the Dalai Lamas (1500-2000) Bibliography Map of Pilgrims'


A factorial field trial investigating the effects of farm yard-manure (FYM) and urea application on cotton yield, quality and soil properties was conducted on a Vertisolic soil, low in organic matter, using cultivar Acala 93-H, for 3 consecutive seasons (1995-98) at the Gezira Research Station in Sudan. The FYM was given at 3 levels (0, 10, and 20 t/ha), while urea was at the rates (0, 21.5, 43.0, 64.5 and 86.0 kg N/ha). Both FYM and urea application significantly increased cotton fiber yield. Application of 20t FYM+43 kg N/ha gave the optimum cotton fiber yield (908 kg/ha) and outyielded the standard control (86 kg N/ha) by 10.1%. Urea and FYM application had no significant effects on most of the fiber properties. FYM reduced bulk density, and increased the hydraulic conductivity, total nitrogen and organic carbon of the top 30 cm of soil. The proposed practice (20t FYM+43kg N urea/ha) has definitely reduced the cost of inorganic nitrogen fertilizer and improved the soil conditions.


Real-time adaptation is crucial in today's unpredictable world. A plethora of revision triggers force organizations to adapt to a fluid reality. This article suggests that leaders need to develop the capacity for real-time adaptation since it is impossible to anticipate and plan for every eventuality. Super-flexibility is one way to achieve real-time adaptation. The term is an umbrella concept that encompasses agility and versatility, as well as resilience and robustness. In a practical sense, it is a dialectical capacity of withstanding turbulence, like a camel surviving in desert conditions, while transforming, like a chameleon changing its color. Based on the second edition of the book Super-Flexibility for Knowledge Enterprises (Springer, 2010) and distilling the authors' experience in Silicon Valley, this article describes the conceptual foundations of super-flexibility and presents five action principles for becoming super-flexible.


$\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric systems are one of the most interesting research fields in modern quantum physics, where various theoretical and experimental progress has been made. In our work, we experimentally demonstrate how to realize a general $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric two-level operation in a quantum computation frame with a universal circuit model. It is based on enlarging the system with ancillary qubits and encoding the subsystem with the non-Hermitian Hamiltonian with postselection. Furthermore, we use the general formula to demonstrate one particular interesting issue, entanglement restoration induced by local $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric operation in our four-qubit liquid nuclear magnetic resonance platform, and a theoretical explanation for the physical characteristics has been proposed. We also extend the protocol to the realization of an arbitrary two-level Hamiltonian evolution without a Hermitian restriction by an appropriate modification of the original quantum circuit. Our work lays the foundation for quantum simulation of the general $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric problem in realistic quantum simulators, and the scheme can be extended to other quantum computation platforms.


The time reversal wide band digital beam forming and calibration technique is briefly described. New techniques using the bore-sight probing RF signal alone to derive the time reversal FIR (Finite Impulse Response) filter set are discussed. In the digital beam forming simulation, a set of 50-tap FIR filters measured from a 16 channel of 1 to 8GHz tunable 500Mhz bandwidth front end digitized system is used as RF front end. The simulation results of the previous time reversal approach and new approaches are compared.


The EU institutions (European Commission, European Parliament and Council) have diverging opinions on the aims and outcomes of the Conference on the Future of Europe. The Council has been the EU institution with the most reservations about the format and aim of the exercise. This scepticism, however, is the lowest common denominator of a more diverse set of priorities and expectations. This report reveals what individual member states want to achieve with the Conference and their expectations of the potential results. It brings together short contributions from a representative cross-section of EPIN members and distils the essential aspects. It investigates the respective governments' positions on institutional reform ideas, EU Treaty change, prioritised policy fields, plans for national citizen participation and media coverage, as well as the general current political environment regarding further EU integration. Managed Expectations: EU Member States' Views on the Conference on the Future of Europe Minna Ålander, Nicolai von Ondarza, Sophia Russack (eds)


Background and Aim: Widespread use of imipenem in intensive care units (ICUs) in India has led to the development of numerous carbapenemase-producing strains of pathogens. The altered pathophysiological state in critically ill patients could lead to subtherapeutic antibiotic levels. Hence, the aim of this study was to investigate the variability in the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profile of imipenem in critically ill patients admitted to an ICU in India. Materials and Methods: Plasma concentration of imipenem was determined in critically ill patients using high performance liquid chromatography, at different time points, by grouping them according to their locus of infection. The elimination half-life (t΍) and volume of distribution (Vd) values were also computed. The patients with imipenem trough concentration values below the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and 5 times the MIC for the isolated pathogen were determined. Results: The difference in the plasma imipenem concentration between the gastrointestinal and the nongastrointestinal groups was significant at 2 h (P = 0.015) following drug dosing; while the difference was significant between the skin/cellulitis and nonskin/cellulitus groups at 2 h (P = 0.008), after drug dosing. The imipenem levels were above the MIC and 5 times the MIC for the isolated organism in 96.67% and 50% of the patients, respectively. Conclusions: The pharmacokinetic profile of imipenem does not vary according to the locus of an infection in critically ill patients. Imipenem, 3 g/day intermittent dosing, maintains a plasma concentration which is adequate to treat most infections encountered in patients admitted to an ICU. However, a change in the dosing regimen is suggested for patients infected with organisms having MIC values above 4 mg/L.


B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and the inactive N-terminal fragment of the precursor (NT-proBNP) are hormones predominantly produced by the cardiac myocyte. It has been shown that very high levels of circulating natriuretic peptides correlate with a diagnosis of heart failure. In view of this, the current NICE, SIGN and European Society of Cardiology guidelines on heart failure recommend the measurement of natriuretic peptides as part of the diagnostic pathway for patients with suspected heart failure in primary care. Patients should be stratified according to results with high risk patients referred and reviewed by specialist services within 2 weeks. There has also been interest regarding the potential use of natriuretic peptides in disease surveillance, therapeutic monitoring and inpatient discharge planning. Consequently, it is a test that we will encounter with increasing frequency in clinical practice. Heart failure is common in older persons; hence geriatricians need to have an understanding of the implications of natriuretic peptide levels. The test can be affected by both physiological and pharmacological factors and this should be taken into consideration when interpreting results.


Entrepreneurial drive or aspiration is known as entrepreneurial motivation (EM) which is fundamental to entrepreneurial activities and a central theme of the literature since the inception and evolution of entrepreneurship. The entrepreneurship models that are in existence in South Asia are often based on the western ideological assumptions of the need for achievement (N-Ach) and personality trait theory. Research on how socio-cultural factors influence EM in the South Asian context, where entrepreneurs are fashioned with unique social means of existence, is indispensable. The exploratory nature of this socio-culture-based study embraces the fundamental philosophy of subjectivism. A qualitative research methodology and inductive holistic case study approach including grounded theory analysis, allowed context sensitive realities of EM in Sri Lanka to emerge. Findings of this study suggest that EM in Sri Lanka is rooted not only in a need for individual achievement, but also in the conscious or unconscious need to satisfy a sense of social intimacy. Finally, this study recommends that if people matter in entrepreneurship, then the cultural context of people must have an impact on EM in the South Asian societies.


This article focuses on the application of the Rules of Professional Conduct to licensed attorneys who serve in non-lawyer jobs in government. There is a fair amount of literature about members of the bar who serve as staff counsel in legislatures or executive agencies. There is also literature on Rule 5.7 of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct ("Responsibilities Regarding Law-related Services") in the context of practicing lawyers who participate in ancillary "non-lawyering" business activities. Model Rule 5.7 deals with "services that might reasonably be performed" or "are related to the provision of legal services" but which are permitted to be performed by lay persons. But little has been written about the ethical obligations of licensed lawyers who undertake policy or management roles in government. Model Rule 5.7 was written principally for a different type of situation: where a lawyer is both "lawyering" and carrying on a related business enterprise. But 2002 amendments to Rule 5.7 expanded its reach. As currently written, Model Rule 5.7 provides guidance - probably mandatory guidance - for lawyers in public sector jobs that on first glance appears to involve little or no "legal work." Unfortunately, the rule is flawed because it does not provide adequate direction on what constitutes "legal services" versus "law-related services." This article suggests how best to conceptualize "legal services," in contrast with "law-related services," in the context of work performed by lawyers in government management and staff positions. It proposes that for a government employee with a bar card who serves in a non-lawyer job and wishes to avoid the full panoply of the RPCs, the best approach is to determine whether the position needs to be treated as one providing "law-related services" under MR 5.7. If so, then the non-lawyer lawyer should follow the formal steps under that rule to notify the recipients of services, and certain others as well, that the lawyer is not providing legal services and that the protections of the rules of professional conduct will not apply.


This article is an attempt to explain an observable change in present-day English in terms of quite disparate influences. Since the change is not yet complete, it is a messy conspiracy of these influences. By studying life-time changes of this sort we may gain insights into how well-understood historical changes work. The change under discussion is most noticeable in the written form, but its trigger has been the phonetic realizations of the forms to be considered. The forms are exemplified by alternations in noun phrases such as box(ed)sets, skim(med) milk, arch(ed) corbel table. The relationship between the very different structures used in speech on the one hand and writing on the other is also relevant in this case. The NPs with -ed have a structure Adjpp N, whereas the forms without it are compound nouns. Some of the Adjpp forms found in such noun phrases are actually pseudo-past participles; that is, they are not formed from a verb, but take the -ed ending, e.g. four-wheeled, gate-legged. Whether native speakers learn such forms from the spoken or written language to some extent determines how they are perceived. This is relevant because the phonetic realization of members of both sets may be the same, so the phonetic form [bɒks set] may be perceived as boxed set or box set. I also consider the stress patterns of the new compounds, the orthography as a reflection of the structural change, and the 'Germanic' tendency towards compounding. The resultant picture is a messy one and the change has certainly not yet been completed, but we can see a conspiracy of disparate areas of the linguistic system putting pressure on certain lexical combinations. It should also be noted that 'English' is not a consistent linguistic system: we have to be clear about which variety is being discussed. English 'belongs' to many different groups of people, including non-native speakers as a lingua franca, so it is subject to many more influences today than the parochial versions of even just a hundred years ago.


Context. Until recently almost nothing was known about the evolution of magnetic fields found in upper main sequence Ap/Bp stars during their long main sequence lifetime. We are thus studying magnetic Ap/Bp stars in open clusters in order to obtain observational evidence of how the properties of Ap/Bp magnetic stars, such as field strength and structure, evolve with age during the main sequence. One important aspect of this study is to search for the very rare examples of hot magnetic stars in short-period binary systems among magnetic cluster members. Aims. In this paper we characterise the object BD-19 5044L, which is both a member of the open cluster IC 4725 = M 25, and a short-period SB2 system containing a magnetic primary star. Methods. We have obtained a series of intensity and circular polarisation spectra distributed through the orbital and rotation cycles of BD-19 5044L with the ESPaDOnS spectropolarimeter at CFHT. From these data we determine the orbital and stellar properties of each component. Results. We find that the orbit of BD-19 5044L AB is quite eccentric (e = 0.477), with a period of 17.63 d. The primary is a magnetic Bp star with a variable longitudinal magnetic field, a polar field strength of ∼1400 G and a low obliquity, while the secondary is probably a hot Am star and does not appear to be magnetic. The rotation period of the primary (5.04 d) is not synchronised with the orbit, but the rotation angular velocity is close to being synchronised with the orbital angular velocity of the secondary at periastron, perhaps as a result of tidal interactions. Because this system is a member of IC 4725, the two stars have a common age of log t = 8.02 ± 0.05 dex. Conclusions. The periastron separation is small enough (about 12 times the radius of the primary star) that BD-19 5044L may be one of the very rare known cases of a tidally interacting SB2 binary system containing a magnetic Ap/Bp star.


A novel approach for multi-objective generation scheduling is presented. The work reported here employs a simple heuristics-guided evolutionary algorithm to generate solutions to this nonlinear constrained optimization problem where the objectives are mutually conflicting and equally important. The algorithm produces a cost-emission frontier of Pareto-optimal solutions, any of which can be selected based on the relative preference of the objectives. Within this framework, an efficient search algorithm has been developed to deal with the combinatorial explosion of the search space such that only feasible schedules are generated based on heuristics. This approach has been evaluated by successful experiments with three test systems containing 11, 19 and 40 generating units. Attaching importance to heuristics results in producing high-quality solutions in a reasonable time for this large-scale tightlyconstrained problem.


A piecewise flat manifold is a triangulated manifold given a geometry by specifying edge lengths (lengths of 1-simplices) and specifying that all simplices are Euclidean. We consider the variation of angles of piecewise flat manifolds as the geometry varies in a particular way, which we call a conformal variation. This variation generalizes variations within the class of circles with fixed intersection angles (such as circle packings) as well as other formulations of conformal variation of piecewise flat manifolds previously suggested. We describe the angle derivatives of the angles in two and three dimensional piecewise flat manifolds, giving rise to formulas for the derivatives of curvatures. The formulas for derivatives of curvature resemble the formulas for the change of scalar curvature under a conformal variation of Riemannian metric. They allow us to explicitly describe the variation of certain curvature functionals, including Regge's formulation of the Einstein-Hilbert functional (total scalar curvature), and to consider convexity of these functionals. They also allow us to prove rigidity theorems for certain analogues of constant curvature and Einstein manifolds in the piecewise flat setting.


The coordination chemistry of the cyclopropyl-substituted alkenes, bicyclopropylidene (BCP) and methylenecyclopropane (MCP), with platinum was explored. A range of complexes with ŋ²-alkene ligands were synthesised by the displacement of a ligand, typically ethene, from a precursor complex. These complexes are [Pt(L)(P—P)] (L = BCP, MCP; P—P = Ph₂P(CH₂)₃PPh₂, Cy₂P(CH₂)₂PCy₂, ᵗBu₂P(CH₂)₂PᵗBu₂, ᵗBu₂PCH₂(o-C₆H₄)₂PᵗBu₂), [Pt(L)(P—S)] (L = BCP, MCP; P—S = ᵗBu₂PCH₂(o-₆H4)CH₂SᵗBu), [Pt(C₂H4)(L)(PR₃)] (L = BCP, MCP; PR₃ = PPh₃, PCy₃), [Pt(MCP)₂(PR₃)] (PR₃ = PPh₃, PCy₃) and [PtCl₂(L)(L′)] (L = BCP, MCP; L′ = Py, DMSO). These were the first examples of platinum complexes with ŋ²-BCP ligands, and the first bis-MCP Pt complexes.  BCP underwent ring-opening reactions with both Pt(0) and Pt(II) complexes to form the 1,3-diene allylidenecyclopropane (ACP). The first transition metal complexes of ACP [Pt(ACP)(P—P)] (P—P = Ph₂P(CH₂)₃PPh₂, Cy₂P(CH₂)₂PCy₂, ᵗBu₂P(CH₂)₂PᵗBu₂) were synthesised. Some of these complexes rearranged to form ŋ²:σ²-metallacyclopentene complexes, the first instances of the formation of ŋ²:σ²-metallacyclopentene complexes from ŋ²:π-diene complexes. With MCP, the ring-opening reaction only occurred with [₂(COD)], as a result of the anti-Markovnikov addition of Pt–H, generated by the β-hydride elimination of an Et group, across the double-bond. The major products of this reaction were the 1-methylcyclopropyl complexes [Pt(C(CH₂)₂CH₃)Et(COD)] and [Pt(C(CH₂)₂CH₃)₂(COD)], the first examples of such complexes.  Protonation of [Pt(L)(P—P)] resulted in a ring-opening reaction to form both the 2-substituted and 1-methyl allyl complexes, [Pt(ŋ³-CH₂CRCH₂)(P—P)]⁺ (R = ᶜPr, Me; P—P = Ph₂P(CH₂)₃PPh₂, ᵗBu₂PCH₂(o-C₆H₄)CH₂PᵗBu₂) and [Pt(ŋ³-CR₂CHCHMe)(P—P)]⁺ (R = cPr, Me; P—P = Ph₂P(CH₂)₃PPh₂, ᵗBuPCH₂(o-C₆H₄)CH₂PᵗBu₂). The analogous 1-methyl complexes were also formed from [Pt(L)(P—S)], wherein the alkene reacted with a hydride formed by the ortho-metallation of the P—S ligand. Computational models were used to investigate the formation of the allyl structures and it was found that the activation energy had a more significant effect than complex stability on product distributions.  Complexes with β-chloroalkyl ligands [Pt(C(CH₂)₂CR₂Cl)Cl(L)₂] (R = CH₂, H, L = SEt₂, NCᵗBu, Py) were formed by the addition of Pt–Cl across the alkene double bond. Phosphine complexes were formed by the displacement of a ligand from cis–[Pt(C(CH₂)₂CR₂Cl)Cl(Py)₂] (R = CH₂, H). These are the first examples of stable Pt(II) β-haloalkyl complexes. It was found using computational models that the presence of cyclopropyl rings had a stabilising effect on these complexes.


The application of building simulation and modelling is becoming more widespread, particularly in the analysis of residential buildings. The energy consumption and control of systems in residential buildings are tightly linked to the behaviour of people, arguably more so than in commercial buildings which have traditionally been the preserve of building simulation analysis. The input profiles used in simulation pay little attention to the link between numerical characterisations of observed 'behaviour' and the way people actually live in the home. Understanding this is important if we are to improve the modelling of buildings, gain greater insight into energy consumption and make better decisions about future energy production and generation. This paper explores this link by combining conventional numerical analysis of appliance data with insights from the ethnographic study of families in 20 UK homes. Ethnographic insights provide a context to the analysis and understanding of monitoring data that would not otherwise be possible. Importantly, this paper highlights the need to rethink previously static notions of simulation input, such as occupancy and individual appliance use.


The paper uses a case study approach to present the challenges to develop a large and thick oil carbonate reservoir, full of opportunities but also of uncertainties. Additionally, Libra block development is under a Production Sharing Contract that was awarded to a Consortium where Petrobras is the operator in partnership with Shell, Total, CNOOC Limited and CNPC. This paper will present the main subsea technological achievements made during the execution of the Libra Extended Well Test (EWT) Project so far and also future technologies that will contribute to overcome the full field development challenges.


The implementation of end-of-life care interventions is promoted within English healthcare policy to improve care delivery within different settings. How these interventions are best implemented is less clearly promoted. The role of facilitation in the implementation of one end-of-life care initiative, recommended by the English Department of Health, the Gold Standards Framework in Care Homes (GSFCH) programme is considered in this study. It has been noted that a low number of care homes complete the programme which has raised questions about the implementation process. Whilst an early evaluation reported that it was easier to implement the GSFCH programme when a care home was supported by an external facilitator, this report and subsequent evaluations failed to clearly identify the role or competencies that they needed. This mixed methods study was undertaken within 38 nursing care homes undertaking the GSFCH programme in England. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected from staff employed within (nursing care home managers and GSFCH coordinators) or associated with (external facilitators) these nursing care homes and included interviews, surveys, Facilitator Activity Logs and a researcher's diary. Following separate quantitative and qualitative data analysis the data sets were integrated by 'following a thread'. Utilisation of a system-based-framework enabled the wider context of the participating nursing care homes to be considered. Three approaches of facilitation were provided to nursing care home staff when implementing the GSFCH programme: 'fitting it in' facilitation; 'as requested' facilitation; and, 'being present' facilitation. Completion of the GSFCH programme, through to accreditation, was influenced by the approach of facilitation that was provided. Implementation of the programme required an external facilitator who could mediate multi-layered learning at an appreciative system level, an organisational level and at an individual level. Multi-layered learning was required in order to achieve the cultural change necessary to complete the GSFCH programme.


Heat flow measurements data in the northern part of Svalbard plate near Franz-Josef Land (FJL) and Spizbergen are resulted. Measurements were carried out by new updating geothermal probe «GEOS-M». Seven heat flow measurements on «FJL» and twenty on «Spizbergen» are received. On first of them heat flow variation from 30 up to 85 mW/m2 are connected both with trough valley Franz-Victoria tectonic activization and with structural and thermal conductivity heterogenesis inside sedimentary cover. Abnormal heat flow values (from 120 up to 519 mW/m2), measured in trough Orly (to the eastern of Spizbergen North-East Land), testify to rift zone development which completely destroyed a continental crust. Water temperature sounding discovered a leyer of negative temperatures in the depths from 30 to 100 m. Researches were sponsored of the Norwegian oil Management, RAS Presidium, RAS Earth sciences departament and the Russian Basic Research Foundation.


Relationship between the type of protein digestion in gastrointestinal tract and coefficient of protein efficiency (CPE) was studied after artificial feeding of 15-21 days-old rats using milk substitutes. Distinctly low level of CPE was observed after rapid transfer of blood serum albumin (BSA) along the gastrointestinal tract accompanied by the protein intensive proteolysis. On the other hand, a considerable retardation of ovalbumin in intestine and the low rate of its proteolysis resulted in high efficiency of the protein consumption. Thus, a long-term transfer of protein in gastrointestinal tract is of paramount importance for its effective consumption at the early neonatal period. Therefore ovalbumin may be a better component in the protein complex of the milk substitutes as compared with BSA. Caseins, which are coagulated in stomach simultaneously with formation of peptides, affecting actively the functions of gastrointestinal tract, appear to maintain the most suitable for neonates rate of digestion and absorption of proteins, responsible for highly effective consumption of a protein mixture including casein. The most intensive digestion and absorption of the milk protein substitutes occurred in the middle and distal sections of small intestine. Cavital digestion of proteins was shown to be incomplete in spite of its relatively high efficiency.


Understanding the vertical discrete electrofacies distributions in wells is a vital step to preserve the reservoir heterogeneity. Predicting the electrofacies distribution at all wells is commonly conducted manually or with the use of some graphing approaches, but recently different machine learning techniques have been adopted to categorize electrofacies. In this paper, two supervised machine-learning techniques were implemented to model electrofacies given well logging data for a well in order to predict the distributions in all other wells (classification) in a carbonate reservoir in a giant southern Iraqi Oil Field.
 The available data included open-hole and CPI well logging records in addition to the routine core analysis. The well discrete electrofacies distribution for the entire reservoir thickness has been obtained in our paper [OTC-29269-MS] using the Ward Hierarchical Clustering Analysis. For electrofacies classification, two supervised machine-learning techniques, K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN) and Random Forests (RF), were adopted to model the resulting electrofacies given the CPI well logging data for a well to predict at other wells that have missing data. These two supervised learning techniques were implemented as non-linear and non-parametric classifiers, which are imperative attribute due to the non-linearity of the electrofacies properties and the geological reservoir control.
 The results of this research illustrated that the reservoir electrofacies can be predicted through the use of the supervised learning techniques when well logging records and core data are available. The two adopted classification algorithms were analyzed and compared based on confusion table, transition probability matrix and total percent correct (TCP) of the identified electrofacies that reveal the accuracy of the classification. RF was observed to be the optimum approach as it led to better electrofacies classification in this carbonate reservoir than the KNN.
 The application of supervised machine learning techniques enhanced the accuracy and reduced the time spent in electrofacies classification. The two machine learning algorithms were implemented by R software, the most powerful statistical programming language.


The author proposes a simple mechanical model of biomass flow in an ecosystem using a hydrological model. Three tanks representing three trophic levels to determine which form of control is predominantly effective and under what conditions. The model shows that in the question of which is the dominant control, the cascade processes of control from top (predator control) or from bottom (Prey control), Top down control is predominant when the system is predator efficient, where mortality due to intraspecific competition is steady and bottom up control is predominant in systems where the predators are inefficient and mortality due to intraspecific competition is varying dependent on resource levels. The behavior of trophic levels under each type of control is also discussed.


The proportion of elderly people is rapidly growing and the resources to help them will soon be insufficient. An important difficulty faced by the seniors is locomotion. Among the conditions that may be responsible for gait impairment, the reduced muscular force is one of the most frequent in elderly. This thesis focuses on the design and the evaluation of new solutions for assisting people with reduced vigor. Robotic orthoses are then used to support critical movements required for walking. Over the last two decades, the use of actuated orthotic devices for helping people suffering from gait disorders has been made possible. Recently, autonomous devices have even enabled spinal cord injured patients to walk again by mobilizing their paralyzed limbs. Addressing a completely different population, similar devices have been developed to augment healthy users' capabilities, for instance when heavy loads need to be carried. In this case, the wearer is in charge of the movements and the device simply follows the imposed trajectories. Extra load can then be carried by the exoskeleton without being felt by the user. The walk assistive devices developed as part of this thesis being intended for the elderly, they are at the intersection between these two classes of robotic orthosis. Indeed, most of the seniors who have difficulties to walk are able to move and therefore the mobilization devices are not adapted to them. Even though they need assistance, they surely do not want to have their movements imposed by a robotic device. The performance augmentation exoskeletons cannot help them either, as they simply follow the movements and only reject the external perturbations. A device that follows their movements and that adds the right amount of force when needed is therefore required. In order to achieve the demanding characteristics associated with assistive devices, new actuation solutions based on conventional electric motors are proposed. The combination of specifications in terms of overall weight, required assistance torque, dynamics capabilities or transparency when no support is provided is undeniably challenging. Various mechanisms are therefore presented to address these requirements. Two prototypes based on the proposed solutions are presented. The first one is based on a ball-screw transmission combined with linkages which provides a transmission ratio that is adapted to multiple walk related activities. The second one uses a transmission with clutches and an inversion mechanism which notably limits the losses due to the inertia of the actuation and greatly improves the natural transparency. In order to limit the obstructiveness of the assistive device, we propose to use partial devices that support specific movements. Two studies about the influence of such partial devices on gait are therefore presented. The first one focuses on identifying the potential sources of gait disturbance that orthotic device can induce. The second examines the effects of an assistive controller implemented on one of the developed prototypes. These studies demonstrate that even though the passive influence of a hip assistive orthosis on kinematic patterns is limited, the metabolic cost is increased. A moderate assistance cannot compensate for this undesirable effect but a link between the hip assistance and the ankle trajectory could be established. This is of major importance as the elderly tend to compensate for their weak ankle muscles with their hips.


With the evolution of service-oriented architecture, providing support for compositing distributed and autonomous Web services into business applications has become a key area in software engineering research. Flexibility of business applications will be obtained through utilizing Web services composition technologies. However, at this stage, the research on these emerging technologies dose not solve the necessary problems to build Web service compositions, especially in Web service composition modeling, composition verification, executable semantics and supporting systems. In this paper, a temporal logic named TLA (Temporal Logic of Actions ) is introduced to solve the problem of composition verification. Particularly, algorithms for the automatic translation from BPEL4WS (Business Process Execution Language for Web Services )to TLA are discussed. The aim is to use model checking to automatically verify Web service behaviors for TLA specifications which is translated from the BPEL specifications.


Summary Leptospirosis is a worldwide zoonosis caused by Leptospira interrogans. This study was conducted to evaluate serologic and bacteriologic findings of leptospirosis in clinically-suspected cows. 380 sera and 33 urine samples were collected from 6 industrial dairy farms in Tehran suburb, from December 2004 to June 2005. The prevalence of disease was determined by microscopic agglutination test (MAT), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), direct dark-field microscopic (DFM) examination, indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT), microbiologic cultural isolation technique and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Antibodies were detected by MAT at least against one serovar of L. interrogans in 55 sera (14.5%) among 380 samples at a dilution of ≥ 1:100. L. interrogans serovar icterohaemorrhagiae was the most prevalent serovar. Leptospiral antibodies were detected by ELISA in 85 sera (22.4%) among 380 samples. Four (12.1%) of 33 urine samples were suspected by DFM examination and no positive sample by IFAT was observed. Leptospires could be isolated from none of the 33 samples taken from industrial farms. In this study, positive controls were detected at a dilution of ≥ 2000 leptospires per each ml of urine sample by PCR. Therefore, no DNA from serum and urine samples were collected from 6 industrial dairy farms could be detected by this method. It seems that, to increase the accuracy in the diagnosis of the disease, using a range of reliable techniques and comparing the results is important in reaching final conclusion.


2,3-Dichloro-5,6-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone (DDQ) is an excellent oxidant for cleaving the carbon–hydrogen bond of allylic (or benzylic) ethers to generat oxocarbenium ions. When DDQ oxidation proceeds in a macrocyclic system that contains a sterically undemanding alkynyl group, the (Z)-geometry oxocarbenium ion dominates due to the geometric constraint of the macrocyclic core. The following nucleophilic addition of the appending enol acetate to this macrocyclic oxocarbenium ion yields the bridged 2,6-trans-disubstituted tetrahydropyran diastereoselectively.

Based on the DDQ oxidation methodology, a one-pot process has been developed to access synthetically challenging spiroketal structures through combining simple dienes and aldehydes. After the initial hetero-Diels-Alder (HDA) reaction, the resulting tetrahydropyranyl enol silyl ethers are subjected to DDQ oxidation. The tetrahydropyranyl oxocarbenium ions are formed immediately, followed by cleavage of the carbon–silicon bonds to produce the enones that go through an oxa-Michael addition to afford the spiroketals in excellent yields.

This one-pot process has been successfully applied to the construction of the spiroketal core during the convergent total synthesis of bioactive natural product bistramide A. The 2,6- trans-tetrahydropyran in the righthand fragment was fast assembled through another novel one- pot process, which is composed of a hydroformylation, cyclization, and acetylation. Currently, our total synthesis of bistramide A holds the shortest synthetic sequence in the literature.


Electrical mobility classification (EC) followed by Condensation Particle Counter (CPC) detection is the technique combined in Scanning Mobility Particle Sizers(SMPS) to retrieve nanoparticle size distributions in the range from 2.5 nm to 1 μm. The detectable size range of SMPS systems can be extended by the addition of an Optical Particle Sizer(OPS) that covers larger sizes from 300 nm to 10 μm. This optical sizing method reports an optical equivalent diameter, which is often different from the electrical mobility diameter measured by the standard SMPS technique. Multi-Instrument Manager (MIMTM) software developed by TSI incorporates algorithms that facilitate merging SMPS data sets with data based on optical equivalent diameter to compile single, wide-range size distributions. Here we present MIM 2.0, the next-generation of the data merging tool that offers many advanced features for data merging and post-processing. MIM 2.0 allows direct data acquisition with OPS and NanoScan SMPS instruments to retrieve real-time particle size distributions from 10 nm to 10 μm, which we show in a case study at a fireplace. The merged data can be adjusted using one of the merging options, which automatically determines an overall aerosol effective refractive index. As a result an indirect and average characterization of aerosol optical and shape properties is possible. The merging tool allows several pre-settings, data averaging and adjustments, as well as the export of data sets and fitted graphs. MIM 2.0 also features several post-processing options for SMPS data and differences can be visualized in a multi-peak sample over a narrow size range.


We investigate the problem of recovering a partially observed high-rank matrix whose columns obey a nonlinear structure such as a union of subspaces, an algebraic variety or grouped in clusters. The recovery problem is formulated as the rank minimization of a nonlinear feature map applied to the original matrix, which is then further approximated by a constrained non-convex optimization problem involving the Grassmann manifold. We propose two sets of algorithms, one arising from Riemannian optimization and the other as an alternating minimization scheme, both of which include first- and second-order variants. Both sets of algorithms have theoretical guarantees. In particular, for the alternating minimization, we establish global convergence and worst-case complexity bounds. Additionally, using the Kurdyka-Lojasiewicz property, we show that the alternating minimization converges to a unique limit point. We provide extensive numerical results for the recovery of union of subspaces and clustering under entry sampling and dense Gaussian sampling. Our methods are competitive with existing approaches and, in particular, high accuracy is achieved in the recovery using Riemannian second-order methods.


The aim of this study was to determine whether a skin‐specific bioengineered regenerating agent (RGTA) heparan sulphate mimetic (CACIPLIQ20) improves chronic wound healing. The design of this article is a prospective within‐subject study. The setting was an urban hospital. Patients were 16 African‐American individuals (mean age 42 years) with 22 wounds (mean duration 2·5 years) because of either pressure, diabetic, vascular or burn wounds. Two participants each were lost to follow‐up or removed because of poor compliance, resulting in 18 wounds analysed. Sterile gauze was soaked with CACIPLIQ20 saline solution, placed on the wound for 5 min, then removed twice weekly for 4 weeks. Wounds were otherwise treated according to the standard of care. Twenty‐two percent of wounds fully healed during the treatment period. Wounds showed a 15·2–18·1% decrease in wound size as measured by the vision engineering research group (VERG) digital wound measurement system and total PUSH scores, respectively, at 4 weeks (P = 0·014 and P = 0·003). At 8 weeks there was an 18–26% reduction in wound size (P = 0·04) in the remaining patients. Wound‐related pain measured by the visual analogue pain scale and the wound pain scale declined 60% (P = 0·024) and 70% (P = 0·001), respectively. Patient and clinician satisfaction remained positive throughout the treatment period. It is concluded that treatment with CACIPLIQ20 significantly improved wound‐related pain and may facilitate wound healing. Patient and clinician satisfaction remained high throughout the trial.


Previously, we have demonstrated that somatostatin mediates all of its inhibitory effects on glucose-induced insulin secretion from the HIT-T15 cell through pertussis toxin-sensitive G-proteins and that the membrane fraction of this clonal line of pancreatic β-cells contains six such proteins: Giα1, Giα2, Giα3, and three forms of Goα. To determine the specificity of somatostatin receptor–G-protein coupling in HIT-T15 cells, we examined the ability of antisera specific for the COOH-terminus of G α subtypes to inhibit somatostatin-induced augmentation of membrane GTPase activity. GTPase activity increased in membranes as a function of GTP. At all concentrations of GTP studied, 1 μmol/l somatostatin stimulated GTPase activity. Pertussis-toxin pretreatment prevented the effects of somatostatin. Antisera selective for Goα subtypes reduced the effects of somatostatin on GTPase activity (GTPase activity in absence of antisera, 125 ± 3% of control; in the presence of antisera 976, 110 ± 2% of control; n = 13, P < 0.001), whereas antisera directed against Giα1, Giα2, Giα3, and Gsα were without effect. Somatostatin also significantly prevented cyclic AMP accumulation during perifusion with 11.1 mmol/l glucose through a pertussis toxin–sensitive mechanism. These data indicate that the somatostatin receptor couples to Goα in the HIT-T15 cell and suggest that Goα may link somatostatin to cyclic AMP metabolism in pancreatic β-cells.


Senior Scientific Researcher at National Center for Scientific Research "Demokritos" and Co-Founder of the Spin Of company Syndesis Ltd, AgiaParaskevi, Athens, GREECE. Dr. Homer Papadopoulos holds a Physics degree and a Pre PhD on Telecommunications from the University of Athens and a Bio-design Graduate Certificate from Stanford University US. He has an MBA at Warwick University and he holds a PhD from IS/IT Department of Bath University UK. Dr. Papadopoulos is working for NCSR "Demokritos" www.demokritos.gr, in the Division of Applied Technologies and in the Institute of Informatics and Telecommunications, for almost two decades managing various European funded Research programs within the fields of e-services, mobile services and technologies and broadband telecommunication networks. Dr. Papadopoulos' research interests concern the domains of medical informatics, human computer interfaces for the ageing population, Internet of Things platforms and ontologies, wearable technologies, web services, machine learning and Big data platforms, ehealth and unobtrusive monitoring services. A web based integrated platform (www.iwelli.com) which enables ehealth, mhealth and IoT services in parallel with intelligent algorithms to provide Decision Support Services to Professionals has been developed and is under pilot validation within real settings. Dr. Papadopoulos has a track record of success in income generation from EU and National funded projects, while he acting as the principal investigator and coordinator in EU R&D funded projects like the www.usefil.eu project. He has published several papers in journals and international conferences. He is coordinating the European Innovation Partnership on Active Healthy Ageing, (supported by the European Union) Synergy group and A1 group for ICT technologies in Adherence in polypharmacy and medical plans. He is Co-founder of the NCSR "Demokritos" spin off company Syndesis LTD. Syndesis (www.sydnesis.eu) intends to apply the research results and develops ehealth/assistive living state of the art technologies and applications. Dr. Papadopoulos is also an expert at the World Health Organization (WHO) Public Health Emergency Operations Centre Network (EOC-NET).


Agriculture is the major form of protection of local identities and sustainability and one of the most fragile Italian economic sectors, exposed to fluctuations of the financial/economic crisis. As a consequence, boosting agricultural policies should integrate conflicting objectives connected to preservation and innovation, effectiveness/efficiency, and landscape features and job opportunities. Referring to a large land area located in the central part of Sicily (Italy) the paper proposes an assessment/planning pattern aimed at providing some axiological items and a specific algorithm able to appraise each specific land parcel, generating different strategies and selecting the best format of funding allocation. The pattern combines some WebGIS tools helpful for spatial analysis and management of the big data amount coming from the Landscape Regional Plan and the cadastral vector database. The general approach integrates monetary and qualitative features, as well as land estate and landscape values within a multidimensional pattern providing the quantitative conditions for supporting qualitative and sustainable development.


IN 1824 Abraham Montefiore journeyed to the Continent in a vain attempt to restore his failing health. He was accompanied by Dr. Thomas Hodgkin. They proved incompatible, so Hodgkin was pleased when he heard that they were to be joined by Abraham's elder brother, Moses, whom he had previously met in Paris. Thus began their close association. They were of different types. Hodgkin was small and slight with an aquiline nose and very bright dark brown eyes. He was alert and full of activity. He favoured the Quaker speech and dress:1 a plain black, grey, or drab suit, the coat shaped like a covert coat with stand-up collar and a white necktie. The broad-brimmed hat was not removed either in place of worship or for salutation. A joint founder of the Aborigines Protection Society, he worked hard for oppressed savages, persecuted Jews, and ill-housed poor.2 Moses Haim Montefiore34 was born in 1784 and died in 1885. In 1812 he married Judith Cohen, whose sister was wife to Nathan Mayer Rothschild, and moved his business of broker and banker to 4, New Court. He was a founder of the Alliance Assurance Company,5 Imperial Continental Gas Association, and Provincial Bank of Ireland.6 Having amassed great wealth by the age of forty, he retired in order to devote his few expected remaining years to charity. He stood six feet three inches, was of soldierly bearing, having been a Captain in the Surrey Militia, and was something of a martinet. He was possessed of great personal bravery: at Bucharest,7'8 when eighty-three years old, his hotel was surrounded by a howling mob of several thousands seeking his life, but he fearlessly strode to the window, flung it open and addressed them; then he drove through the city in an open carriage with one companion. He was a Sheriff of the City of London and of Kent, a friend of princes and potentates. He gave his neighbour, the young Princess Victoria, a golden key9 to his garden at Ramsgate so that she might enjoy it at will. He was no ascetic, drinking a bottle of port daily until he was ninety-nine, and delighting in making the Ramsgate schoolboys tipsy at the weekends. Lady Montefiore's health began to fail in 1860.10 In spite of Dr. Hodgkin's care and that of Sir Charles Locock and others whom he called into consultation, she died on 24 September 1862, just as the Jewish New Year (5623) began. Sir Moses, in expressing his gratitude for the medical care, wrote to Mrs. Hodgkin,1" 'I feel assured that you will both of you preserve the memory of my dear Wife with sentiments of genuine attachment and I trust you will gratify me by accepting the enclosed for any little Souvenir which may approve itself to your own taste as a parting Gift from her and in * A paper read to the Osler Club of London on 1 April 1966.


Let $M$ be an arbitrary matroid with circuits $\mathcal{C}(M)$. We propose a definition of a derived matroid $\delta M$ that has as its ground set $\mathcal{C}(M)$. Unlike previous attempts of such a definition, our definition applies to arbitrary matroids, and is completely combinatorial. We prove that the rank of $\delta M$ is bounded from above by $\lvert M\rvert-r(M)$ and that it is connected if and only if $M$ is connected. We compute examples including the derived matroids of uniform matroids, the Vámos matroid and the graphical matroid $M(K_4)$. We formulate conjectures relating our construction to previous definitions of derived matroids.


'Polar gigantism' describes a biogeographic pattern in which many ectotherms in polar seas are larger than their warmer-water relatives. Although many mechanisms have been proposed, one idea-the oxygen-temperature hypothesis-has received significant attention because it emerges from basic biophysical principles and is appealingly straightforward and testable. Low temperatures depress metabolic demand for oxygen more than supply of oxygen from the environment to the organism. This creates a greater ratio of oxygen supply to demand, releasing polar organisms from oxygen-based constraints on body size. Here we review evidence for and against the oxygen-temperature hypothesis. Some data suggest that larger-bodied taxa live closer to an oxygen limit, or that rising temperatures can challenge oxygen delivery systems; other data provide no evidence for interactions between body size, temperature, and oxygen sufficiency. We propose that these findings can be partially reconciled by recognizing that the oxygen-temperature hypothesis focuses primarily on passive movement of oxygen, implicitly ignoring other important processes including ventilation of respiratory surfaces or internal transport of oxygen by distribution systems. Thus, the hypothesis may apply most meaningfully to organisms with poorly developed physiological systems (eggs, embryos, egg masses, juveniles or adults without mechanisms for ventilating internal or external surfaces). Finally, most tests of the oxygen-temperature hypothesis have involved short-term experiments. Many organisms can mount effective responses to physiological challenges over short time periods; however, the energetic cost of doing so may have impacts that appear only in the longer term. We therefore advocate a renewed focus on long-term studies of oxygen-temperature interactions.


This book addresses the causes, effects, and dynamics of political corruption in Mexico. Systematic analysis of corruption is critical to a better understanding of the politics of Mexico, and despite the many conceptual and methodological obstacles, the importance of the subject matter demands treatment. Morris's work should therefore be seen not as definitive, but as an initial step in understanding a central dimension of Mexican politics. Corruption, as a topic of research, invites certain misunderstandings, as it is a broad concept conveying a variety of moral connotations. This inquiry into political corruption is not intended to depict the Mexican people or society as any less or more moral than others. The study draws on extensive content analysis of news reports from the Mexican press, a public opinion poll conducted in 1986, and personal interviews. The objective is not to expose scandals and wrongdoing by Mexican officials, name names, or point fingers: it is an academic endeavour. The author discusses scandals and gives examples of corruption for illustrative purposes, but his analysis is more theoretical than anecdotal. He questions whether, in fact, corruption has enhanced or diminished the stability of the Mexican government, and examines the reasons for the failure of many anti-corruption efforts.