This paper presents an analysis of quantum statistical limits on photolithographic imaging of very large arrays of semiconductor features. In flux limited imaging systems the photon counting statistics contribute to the overall process variation. There is a direct relationship between exposure latitude and sensitivity to photon counting statistics. For example, in an array of 1 million 90 nm contact holes imaged with 20 mJ/cm2 of 157 nm light 1350 of these holes will receive a total dose less than 98% of the mean dose. If the exposure latitude is 4% then these 1350 contacts will print out-of-spec as a result of the Poisson statistical distribution of photon-limited light sources (sometimes called shot-noise). High yield for volume semiconductor manufacturing requires failure rates well below this level. Each new device generation requires more functional transistors than the previous one, increasing approximately linearly. As the imaging wavelength decreases the net number of photons available decreases linearly (assuming constant laser power). The area of a contact hole decreases as the square of the critical dimension. Thus the fraction of chips with at least one contact hole receiving inadequate dose increases approximately as the fourth power of the wavelength. This presents serious implications for 157nm lithography semiconductor yield. Electron imaging systems are not immune to this either, Poisson limited intensity uniformity is nearly identical with that of optical imaging. 157 nm lithography is marginal to photon-statistics limited yield, and 13 nm EUV lithography yield is almost certainly photon limited. In addition, as transistor array size increases the 0.987 ppb failure rate of a 6-sigma process will not be sufficient for high yield. Thus 8 or 9-sigma processing will be needed along with significant improvement in exposure latitude and optimized resist sensitivity will be necessary.


As technology scales, the impact of process variation on the maximum supported frequency (FMAX) of individual cores in a MPSoC becomes more pronounced. Task allocation without variation-aware performance analysis can result in a significant loss in yield, defined as the number of manufactured chips satisfying the application timing requirement. We propose variation-aware task allocation for real-time streaming applications modeled as task graphs. Our solutions are primarily based on the throughput requirement, which is the most important timing requirement in many real-time streaming applications. The three main contributions of this paper are: 1) Using data flow graphs that are well-suited for modeling and analysis of real-time streaming applications, we explicitly model task execution both in terms of clock cycles (which is independent of variation) and seconds (which does depend on the variation of the resource), which we connect by an explicit binding. 2) We present two approaches for optimizing the yield. The approaches give different results at different costs. 3) We present exhaustive and heuristic algorithms that implement the optimization approaches. Our variation-aware mapping algorithms are tested on models of real applications, and are compared to the mapping methods that are unaware of hardware variation. Our results demonstrate yield improvements of up to 50% with an average of 31%, showing the effectiveness of our approaches.


In mutation analysis a mutant is said equivalent if it leaves the semantics of the program or the model unchanged. Equivalent mutants are usually seen as an inconvenience; for example, in software testing they cannot be detected by a test and, therefore, they fictitiously reduce the mutation score of a test suite. In this paper, instead, equivalent mutants are seen as an opportunity, since they can be used to find some static anomalies of software artifacts, i.e., anomalies that can be removed without affecting the artifact semantics. The proposal is applicable to different kinds of software artifacts as source code, Boolean expressions, and feature models.


Until the last decade of the Soviet state's existence, only very few Ukrainian women writers achieved literary fame. This study sheds new light on Soviet Ukrainian political, historical, and social contexts that contributed to the invisibility of Ukrainian women's writing by examining the case of Lviv-based author Nina Bichuia (b. 1937). Bichuia's career and the publication history of her works illustrate several characteristics and paradoxes of Soviet literary politics concerning the Soviet periphery—i.e., the non-Russian republics, such as Ukraine. In particular, this article analyzes the differences in permissible literary expression between Moscow the metropole, Kyiv, the centre of the Ukrainian periphery, and Lviv, the Western Ukrainian periphery. It considers gender politics and biases in the Soviet Ukrainian literary establishment and the strictures of the Soviet "Friendship of Peoples" discourse, which had a provincializing effect on Ukrainian literary production and the tastes of the reading public. The article offers a close reading of Bichuia's last short story, "Kaminnyi hospodar" ("The Stone Master," 1990), which reflects this author's "final word" on the Soviet environment for writing literature in the Western Ukrainian periphery. By analyzing Bichuia's use of important literary intertexts and employing recent theorizations about Soviet state discourse, I demonstrate how "The Stone Master" imaginatively represents and criticizes the regime of discursive monopoly established by the Soviet system. This regime is shown to force a Ukrainian female writer into silence, which can be strategic, but cannot result in greater literary visibility .


Nasal airflow, as measured by rhinomanometry, is frequently impaired in allergic rhinitis (AR). The decongestion test evaluates whether the application of an intranasal vasoconstrictor drug increases nasal airflow. The aim of this study was to verify the suitability of the use of the visual analogue scales (VAS) as a surrogate for rhinomanometry in the decongestion test assessment in adolescents with atopic rhinitis. Forty adolescents [16 males and 24 females, mean age 15 (s.d. 2) yr] with AR were studied. Nasal symptoms, VAS, rhinomanometry, and nasal decongestion test were assessed in all patients. A significant association was observed between VAS and nasal airflow after performing the decongestion test (Spearman's r is −51.7%, p < 0.001). The associated sensitivity and specificity were 84.8 (95% confidence interval, CI 68.1–94.8) and 85.7 (95% CI 42.2–97.6), respectively. The corresponding area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of 0.83 (95% CI 0.67–0.93) indicated a good discriminating ability for the decongestion measured on the VAS scale. In conclusion, the use of VAS appears as clinically relevant, in that it allows, with a fair reliability, to perform the decongestion test in the absence of rhinomanometry.


A boy watches his mother hooked and reeled ashore by a fisherman. A man builds a swing in the backyard to sit between his wife and her lover. A couple gives up their seat on a bus for lovers soon to be parted. A boy sees his mother come to life gliding on roller skates. Lloyd Jones's The Man in the Shed is a haunting collection of stories about family and longing. Jones's extraordinary tales take conventional family situations and tilt them sideways, delivering a memorable, beautiful blend of the suburban and the surreal.


This thesis is primarily concerned with the growth of bulk cadmium telluride (CdTe) crystals. The work relates to a modified physical vapour transport system which also enables the growth of ternary ll-VI compounds, in particular cadmium zinc telluride (CdZnTe). A computer simulation to model the CdTe growth process is developed, along with a system to measure the partial pressures in situ during growth. The modified Multi Tube Physical Vapour Transport (MTPVT) system, which is essentially a combination of the Markov annulus and Rosenberger flow restrictor designs, consists of two source tubes and a growth tube connected by a crossmember. This crossmember, which is optically heated, contains two capillaries which act as flow restrictors, and allows physical displacement, and therefore better thermal decoupling, of the source and growth areas. The growth of CdTe in the MTPVT system is investigated, in particular, factors affecting the optimal design for the growth tube. The design of the pedestal, on which the seed crystal is located, is of prime importance in preventing polycrystalline growth, and the size and shape of the seed crystal is also critical. Increasing the inner diameter of the growth tube from 32 mm to 52 mm reduces the effect of the annulus gap around the seed, and increases the controllability of the growth process. A computer simulation is used to model the vapour flow from the subliming source, through the capillary, and to the growing crystal and down the annulus. The trends predicted closely match those obtained experimentally, and imply, as expected, the growth process is controlled by the mass transport rate through the capillary. Further comparison with experiment gives an upper limit of 0.45 eV for the activation energy of the incorporation of atoms into the CdTe seed, although no lower limit can be set. The partial pressure - optical density relationships are derived for Cd(_g), Zn(_g) and Te2(_g), with the 214 nm absorption line of Zn(_g) observed to deviate significantly from Beer's Law. Optical monitoring during CdTe growth by a computer controlled optical absorption measurement system allows in situ monitoring of the partial pressures. The measurements of the source side partial pressures match those predicted by the computer simulation, with the partial pressure ratio of around 1.7 also consistent with the model.


Particle heating receiver (PHR) based concentrating solar power (CSP) is widely recognized as the preferred path to reliable and cost-effective solar power. Use of solid particles rather than conventional fluids such as molten salts as collection and storage media, enables the operation of the PHR-based CSP plant at elevated temperatures (∼1000°C). This advantage leads to higher efficiency and lower levelized cost of energy (LCOE) produced by PHR-based CSP plants. However, designing and integrating the commercial solar power plant at high operating temperatures (∼1000°C), is a substantial challenge which has been overcome. Our research teams at King Saud University (KSU) and the Georgia Institute of Technology (GIT) have been working on the design and development of high temperature key sub-systems in PHR-based CSP plants. The proposed 1.3 MWe pre-commercial demonstration (PPCD) plant will incorporate the design evolved from our risk-reducing research activities performed at 300kW test facility at KSU and GIT. The DS-PHR of the PPCD will incorporate the KSU's patented discrete-structured design in which the receiver will be enclosed in a cavity to minimize radiative and convective heat losses. Each PHR panel will have efficient particle flow control system for uniform particles outlet temperatures. Low-cost particulate materials with enhanced solar absorptance and resilience at high-temperatures have been identified to be used as heat collection and storage media. Inexpensive thermal energy storage (TES) bins will accommodate sand with temperatures ∼ 1000 °C. Multiple layered design of the TES bins will limit the heat loss to less than 1% per day (at scale). The current TES design allows easy access to the high-temperature bins for experimental observation and for future modifications. A patent pending skip hoist particle lift system design will be used for particle conveyance with expected mechanical efficiency of 75–85 %. Our lift design is simple, demonstrates autonomous operation with minimal mechanical complexity, minimized heat loss, and reduced maintenance. The heat exchanger proposed is a multi-pass shell-tubes design with high heat transfer coefficient. The design features discussed in this paper will lead to large scale commercial plants and similar small-scale designs for off-grid and remote applications at our anticipated service location which is in Saudi Arabia, and in Mideast and North Africa (MENA) region.


An ultrasensitive analysis method for quantification of endogenous brassinosteroids in fresh minute plants was developed based on dispersive matrix solid-phase extraction coupled with high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. During the dispersive matrix solid-phase extraction, plant samples were first ground with solid sorbent (dispersant) in one microcentrifuge tube and then centrifuged after adding extraction solvent and cleanup materials (another type of sorbent). Three protocols based on dispersive matrix solid-phase extraction were compared and discussed for plant samples with different matrix complexity. The choice of any protocol was a compromise of increasing purification efficiency and decreasing sample loss. Under optimized conditions, the limits of detection were 1.38-6.75 pg mL-1 for five brassinosteroids in the oilseed rape samples. The intraday and interday precisions were in the range of 0.8%-9.8% and 4.6%-17.3%, respectively. The proposed method was successfully applied to detection of endogenous brassinosteroids in milligram oilseed rape (2.0 mg) and submilligram Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings (0.5 mg). Finally, the geographical distribution of five endogenous brassinosteroids of Brassica napus L. oilseed rape in different provinces of origin in the Yangtze River basin was described.


1) Horse skeletal muscle was found to consist of three distinct fibre types. a) A high myosin ATPase activity at pH 9.4, high oxidative, high glycolytic capacity fibre (FTH). b) A high myosin ATPase activity at pH 9.4, low oxidative, high glycolytic capacity fibre (FT). c) A low myosin ATPase activity at pH 9.4, high oxidative, low glycolytic capacity fibre (ST). 2) Most dog skeletal muscle examined also contained these fibre types but identification was more difficult. Some mongrels had an unusual fibre type profile, with only two types being distinguished, one having high oxidative, high myosin ATPase at pH 9.4 activity and the other having low oxidative, low myosin ATPase at pH 9.4 activity. 3) In the muscles examined in the horse, fibre type percentages were similar in both deep and superficial regions of the muscle. In the gluteus medius variation within a muscle and between contralateral muscles was small for enzyme activities, glycogen and protein. Triglyceride variation was much larger and results were impossible to interpret. 4) The percentages of the three fibre types in the horse varied from muscle to muscle, being generally lower in the fore limb muscles. This variation between muscles was not as great in the dog. 5) In the gluteus medius muscle of the horse, the fastest breed had the highest percentage of high myosin ATPase activity at pH 9.4 fibres. This relationship was less obvious in-the other muscles examined. 6) The greyhound dog had the highest percentage of high myosin ATPase activity at pH 9.4 in all of the muscles examined when compared to the foxhound and cross-bred mongrel. This percentage reached 100% in the deltoideus of several of the greyhounds. 7) In the horse, the Quarterhorse had the largest Lactate Dehydrogenase and Aldolase activities and the lowest Citrate Synthase and 3-Hydroxyacyl CoA Dehydrogenase activities indicating a high capacity for anaerobic metabolism. Similarly, the breeds best suited to endurance exercise had the highest capacity for aerobic metabolism. The donkey, in general, had the lowest enzyme activities. 8) In the dog, greyhound muscle was highest in aerobic and glycolytic carbohydrate metabolism enzyme activities. The mongrel had higher activities in fatty acid oxidation enzymes. 9) During a training programme involving both aerobic and anaerobic work, the activity of several enzymes increased progressively but at different rates, with an approximately twofold increase in Aldolase, Lactate Dehydrogenase, Alanine Aminotransferase, Aspartate Aminotransferase, Citrate Synthase and 3-Hydroxy-acyl CoA Dehydrogenase and a 30% increase in Creatine Phosphokinase. When the isoenzyme content of Lactate Dehydrogenase was examined, an increase in the percentage of the H subunit was found. When the relative activity of the subunits were determined, an increase in both subunits occurred. Hexokinase Glycogen Synthetase Glycerol-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenase and protein were unaffected by training. Glycogen increased by about 33% with training. 10) There was a significant increase in the percentage of FTH fibres at the expense of both the percentage of ST and FT fibres after ten weeks training. 11) A decrease in the activity of those enzymes which increased with training occurred after five weeks detraining. By ten weeks detraining, the activity of those enzymes had increased again to values above those at the end of training. Enzymes which were unchanged with training were similarly unaffected by detraining. Glycogen remained elevated above pre-training levels after ten weeks detraining. 12) Glycogen depletion occurred in horse skeletal muscle after both maximal and sub-maximal exercise. The beta1, beta2 adrenoreceptor blocker dl propranolol (0.2 mg.kg-1) decreased the rate of glycogen depletion during maximal exercise. During submaximal exercise, glycogen depletion was unaffected by dl propranolol (0.2 mg.kg-1) the biologically inactived propranolol (0.2 mg,kg-1 ) or the beta1 blocker dl metoprolol (0.2 mg.kg-1).


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Type II focal cortical dysplasia is a common histopathological substrate in focal epilepsy. This study explored the spatial distribution of abnormal findings on MR imaging across the sulcus with type II focal cortical dysplasia using quantitative MR imaging postprocessing techniques. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The morphometric analysis program and normalized FLAIR signal intensity analysis were applied to retrospectively analyze the MR imaging data of 58 patients with histopathologically confirmed type II focal cortical dysplasia. We divided the dysplastic sulcus into the bottom and nonbottom parts. Then spatial distribution types 1, 2, and 3 were arbitrarily defined as the abnormal findings on MR imaging (z-value > threshold) located in the bottom part, both the bottom and nonbottom parts, and the nonbottom part, respectively. For type 2, the mean z-values and standardized volumes of abnormal findings on MR imaging were compared between the bottom and nonbottom parts. RESULTS: Abnormal findings on MR imaging were detected by quantitative techniques in 42 of 58 enrolled patients. Among these 42 patients, 38 and 26 patients showed gray-white matter junction blurring and cortical FLAIR hyperintensity, respectively, which were the 2 most common abnormal MR imaging features. Gray-white matter junction blurring manifested as types 1, 2, and 3 in 24, 13, and 1 patient, respectively, and the corresponding counts for cortical FLAIR hyperintensity were 12, 13, and 1 patient. For the 2 most common abnormal findings on MR imaging spatially manifested as type 2, higher mean z-values and larger corresponding standardized volumes of abnormalities were found in the bottom part. CONCLUSIONS: Abnormal findings on MR imaging predominate in the bottom part of the sulcus with type II focal cortical dysplasia, which indicates that this malformation is bottom-of-sulcus-rooted.


Choosing good features to represent objects can be crucial to the success of supervised machine learning algorithms. Good high-level features are those that concentrate information about the classification task. Such features can often be constructed as non-linear combinations of raw or native input features such as the pixels of an image. Using many nonlinear combinations, as do SVMs, can dilute the classification information necessitating many training examples. On the other hand, searching even a modestly-expressive space of nonlinear functions for high-information ones can be intractable. We describe an approach to feature construction where task-relevant discriminative features are automatically constructed, guided by an explanation-based interaction of training examples and prior domain knowledge. We show that in the challenging task of distinguishing handwritten Chinese characters, our automatic feature-construction approach performs particularly well on the most difficult and complex character pairs.


Visualization of the membranous structures of the inner ear has been limited to the detection of the normal fluid signal intensity within the bony labyrinth by using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) equipped with a 1.5 Tesla (T) magnet. High-field (HF) MRI has been available for more than a decade, and numerous studies have documented its significant advantages over conventional MRI with regards to its use in basic scientific research and routine clinical assessments. No previous studies of the inner ear by using HF MRI have been reported, in part because high-quality resolution of mastoid pneumatization is challenging due to artifacts generated in the HF environment and insufficient performance of radiofrequency (RF) coils. Therefore, a hybrid RF coil with integrated circuitry was developed at 7 T and was targeted for anatomical imaging to achieve a high resolution image of the structure of the human inner ear, excluding the bony portion. The inner-ear's structure is composed of soft tissues containing hydrogen ions and includes the membranous labyrinth, endolymphatic space, perilymphatic space, and cochlear-vestibular nerves. Visualization of the inner-ear's anatomy was performed in-vivo with a custom-designed hybrid RF coil and a specific imaging protocol based on an interpolated breath-held examination sequence. The comparative signal intensity value at 30-mm away from the phantom side was 88% higher for the hybrid RF coil and 24% higher for the 8-channel transmit/receive (Tx/Rx) coil than for the commercial birdcage coil. The optimized MRI protocol employed a hybrid RF coil because it enabled high-resolution imaging of the inner-ear's anatomy and accurate mapping of structures including the cochlea and the semicircular canals. These results indicate that 7 T MRI achieves high spatial resolution visualization of the inner-ear's anatomy. Therefore, MRI imaging using a hybrid RF coil at 7 T could provide a powerful tool for clinical investigations of petrous pathologies of the inner ear.


Single phase of Ba1-xEuxMgAl10O17(0.02≤x≤0.14) phosphors were first successfully prepared by coprecipitation method at 1300°C, which is 300°C lower than the temperature of solid-state method. Different precipitants were used to evaluate the changes in the morphology and luminance properties. When using (NH4)2CO3 as precipitant, the phosphor particle without agglomeration has a more regular shape and uniform distribution. Their photoluminescence was investigated under UV and VUV region, respectively. The emission spectrum excited by 254nm or 147nm showed a characteristic wide band with the peak at about 450nm. The synthesized phosphor showed much stronger emission intensity than that prepared by solid-state method, especially using (NH4)2CO3 as precipitant, it indicated that this novel process will be great potential in practical use.


In this article I want to draw upon examples from European settlement in the Americas, Australasia and South Africa in order to argue that modern colonisation and imperialism, despite considerable variation, drew upon a range of justificatory principles which constituted a background theory, or worldview, that was invoked in part or in its entirety in justifying the civilising mission which was viewed by its proponents as both a right and a duty. I begin by showing how the infamous 'Requirement' ('Requerimiento') of 1513 becomes intelligible as a performative utterance when connected to the constellation of ideas which makes it warrantably assertible, to use John Dewey's terminology. It is not so much about the land or its use in conceptual terms but instead about the larger value judgements the colonists were applying. It is contended that despite the variation in emphases and conclusions, and the different levels of discourse at which justifications are offered, the efficacy and veracity of colonial and imperialist justifications invoke the authority of the world of ideas in which the assertions alone have intelligibility.


Rapid Prototyping (RP) technique was used to prepare porous Ti6Al4V with designed structures. Firstly, a 3-D interconnected porous wax mold with uniform pore size and porosity was designed by computer aided design (CAD), and fabricated by 3-D printing machine, then an aqueous Ti6Al4V slurry prepared from Ti6Al4V powder and binders was cast in these molds. The green bodies were subjected to drying, debinding and finally sintering at a high temperature and a high vacuum to obtain porous Ti6Al4V. Optical microscopical observation, scanning electronic microscopical observation, mechanical test were performed on the obtained porous Ti6Al4V with regard to the porous structures and mechanical properties. The porous Ti6Al4V made by RP technique posses designed structure with uniform pore size, porosity and interconnection. With the computer aided design, it is easy to improve the mold structure with predicted or controlled macrostructure and microstructure according to the custom requirement.


After introducing rat brain homogenate or mitochondria into polarographic cell without adding the substrate a quick shift of recording pen from the point of initial concentration of oxygen towards zero is observed. According to Kotova and coworkers (Biochemia, 38, 287, 1973) this shift is accompanied by a decrease of oxygen concentration (less than oxygen rapid consumption greater than). We established that the size of this shift was not proportional to the quantity of homogenate. Boiled homogenate of the rat brain, liver DNA solution, starch gel and casein glue caused less than oxygen rapid consumption greater than. It was proposed to locate the point of the initial oxygen concentration on the polragoramme in the position of the recording pen after the introduction of homogenate into the polragoraphic cell.


In this paper, we discuss whether and how bank lobbying can lead to regulatory capture and have real consequences through an overview of the motivations behind bank lobbying and of recent empirical evidence on the subject. Overall, the findings are consistent with regulatory capture, which lessens the support for tighter rules and enforcement. This in turn allows riskier practices and worse economic outcomes. The evidence provides insights into how the rising political power of banks in the early 2000s propelled the financial system and the economy into crisis. While these findings should not be interpreted as a call for an outright ban of lobbying, they point in the direction of a need for rethinking the framework governing interactions between regulators and banks. Enhanced transparency of regulatory decisions as well as strenghtened checks and balances within the decision-making process would go in this direction. JEL Classification Numbers: D72, G21, G28, P16


Biomass gasification has gained significant attention in the last couple of decades for the production of heat, power and second generation biofuels. Biomass gasification processes are highly complex due to the large number of reactions involved in the overall process as well as the high sensitivity of the process to changes in the operational conditions. This report reviews the state-of-the-art of biomass gasification by evaluating key process parameters such as gasifying agent, temperature, pressure, particle size, etc., for fluidized bed and entrained flow gasifiers. The pros and cons of each technology and the remaining bottlenecks are also addressed.Copyright © 2011 by ASME


Lignocellulose constitutes a vast renewable resource for the production of, for example, paper and bioethanol. The potential of using laccase and oxalate-degrading enzymes in novel applications for the processing of lignocellulose was investigated in this work. Laccase cDNAs from the white-rot fungus Trametes versicolor were characterised and expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Pichia pastoris. The lcc2 cDNA was found to encode a laccase isoenzyme of 499 amino-acid residues preceded by a 21-residue signal peptide, and the sequence showed identity with Edman degradation data for T. versicolor laccase A. With S. cerevisiae, a 16-fold higher laccase activity was obtained by lowering the temperature of cultivation from 28oC to 19oC. P. pastoris transformants that were cultivated at 19oC provided five times higher laccase activity than transformants kept at 28oC, indicating the importance of low temperature for optimal production of heterologous laccase in yeast systems in general. The heterologous expression of laccase by S. cerevisiae was improved further by simultaneous overexpression of the homologous t-SNARE protein Sso2 and by optimising pH and aeration. Phenolic compounds inhibit the fermentation of sugars in lignocellulose hydrolysates to bioethanol by S. cerevisiae. Increased resistance to phenolic compounds and improved production of ethanol was obtained by using laccase-expressing S. cerevisiae for fermentation of a dilute acid hydrolysate of spruce. The formation of calcium oxalate in process water from the pulp and paper industry gives rise to the problem of calcium oxalate scaling. Oxalate-degrading enzymes could potentially be utilised for the prevention of calcium oxalate scaling in the pulp and paper industry, and for the analysis of the levels of oxalic acid in recirculated process water. Three cDNAs encoding oxalate oxidase from barley and wheat were expressed in Escherichia coli. The use of Origami B(DE3), a strain that allows disulphide formation in its cytoplasm, was found to be of critical importance in achieving successful expression in E.coli. Treatment of a series of six industrial bleaching filtrates with barley oxalate oxidase indicated that the efficiency of oxalic acid degradation was highly dependent on the chemical composition of the filtrate. Analysis of the filtrates showed the presence of compounds that had an inhibitory effect on oxalate oxidase. The inhibition could be alleviated by treatment of the filtrates with anion exchanger, cation exchanger and, to a lesser extent, uncharged resin. Chlorate, formic acid, sulphite and hydrogen peroxide, iron(II), iron(III) and copper(II) were identified as potential oxalate oxidase inhibitors in the bleaching filtrates. Comparison of oxalate decarboxylase and oxalate oxidase in eleven filtrates showed that oxalate decarboxylase performed better than oxalate oxidase in nine of the filtrates, whereas the opposite was observed in one filtrate. Analysis of the filtrates indicated that the difference in performance between the enzymes in D stage filtrates could be largely attributed to chlorate, which strongly inhibited oxalate oxidase but not oxalate decarboxylase. (Less)


In a study of 52 consecutive out-patients the effects of diazepam and dixyrazine were compared with each other and with placebo as premedication for elective gastroscopy. All patients also received topical lidocaine and intravenous administration of propantheline bromide immediately before the examination. No difference was found between diazepam and dixyrazine, but they were both significantly superior to placebo in relieving anxiety, retching, and eructations.


Aggregation in the distribution of pathotypes of Erysiphe graminis f.sp. hordei, the barley powdery mildew pathogen, was investigated in field plots of 'Golden Promise', 'Proctor' and 'Tyra'. 'Golden Promise' and 'Proctor' have no effective mildew resistance alleles, whereas 'Tyra' has Mla1, which was only effective against a proportion of the mildew population. Isolates of mildew were sampled according to a grid sampling scheme and their virulence spectra ascertained in order to group them according to pathotype. The populations were very diverse, and evidence for aggregation (quantified using join counts) was found only in the 'Tyra' plots, at distances of up to 1m. This aggregation was reduced in a subsequent sample. The results are consistent with a model in which mildew epidemics are started by a large number of initial infections, which then form diffuse, overlapping aggregations of clones. These aggregations then become more diffuse, so that the amount of aggregation reduces with time. The greater amount of aggregation seen in the 'Tyra' plots might have been caused by there being less initial inoculum with virulence towards that cultivar.


It has been accepted that receptor-mediated action of steroid hormones depends on
both the receptor and the hormonal level. The mechanism of transcription by steroid
receptors is mediated by cofactors, which function as co-activators or co-repressors,
while their non-genomic actions depend on receptors localized to the cell membrane.
Recently, a number of environmental chemicals, which are now termed as endocrine
disruptors, have been identified, and their unwanted effects on our lives have become
serious problems all over the world. Their adverse effects on endocrine systems in
animals, mostly estrogenic or anti-estrogenic, have resulted in reproductive malfunction
and developmental disorders. Although aryl hydrocarbons exhibit estrogenic or anti-
estrogenic activity through specific interaction with aryl hydrocarbon receptors, other
chemicals seem to interact directly with estrogen receptors, α and β forms. In this
paper, we surveyed the most recent understanding of endocrine disruptors from the
viewpoint of steroid receptor systems. We suggest two potential mechanisms of action
for endocrine disruptors. Endocrine distruptors i) directly associate with steroid
receptor systems and/or ii) associate with the growth factor or the neurotransmitter
receptor systems, and then upregulate the mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling
cascades, leading to the ligand-independent activation of steroid receptor systems. Using
these steroid receptor-dependent mechanisms, it appears that endocrine disruptors
disorder our endocrine systems. We have proposed future suggestions to further
understand endocrine disruptors from the viewpoint of steroid receptor systems.
Key words: endocrine disruptors; receptor-mediated actions; steroid hormones


Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the volatility spectral of five major public real estate markets, namely, the USA, the UK, Japan (JP), Hong Kong (HK), and Singapore (SG), during the pre- and post-global financial crisis (GFC) periods. Design/methodology/approach - First, univariate spectral analysis is concerned with discovering price cycles for the respective real estate markets. Second, bivariate cross-spectral analysis seeks to uncover whether any two real estate price series share common cycles with regard to their relative magnitudes and lead-lag patterns of the cyclical variations. Finally, to test the contagion effects, the authors estimate the exact percentage change in co-spectral density (cyclical covariance) due to high frequencies (short run) after the GFC. Findings - The authors find that whilst none of the public real estate markets examined are spared from the crisis, the three Asian markets were less severely affected by the GFC and were accompanied by a reversal in volatility increase three years post-global financial crisis. Additionally, the public real estate markets studied have become more cyclically linked in recent years. This is particularly true at longer frequencies. Finally, these increased cyclical co-movements measure the outcomes of contagion and indicate fairly strong contagious effects between the public real estate markets examined due to the crisis. Research limitations/implications - The implication of this research is that benefits to investors from international real estate diversification may not be as great during the present time compared to previous periods because national public real estate markets have become more correlated. Nevertheless, the findings do not imply the complete absence of diversification benefits. This is because although cyclical correlations increase in the short run, many of the correlation values are still between low and moderate range, indicating that some diversification benefits may still be realized. Practical implications - Given the significant market share and the highest levels of securitization in Asia-Pacific markets including JP, HK/China, and SG, this cyclical research including major public real estate markets has practical implications for ongoing international real estate investment strategies, particularly for the USA/UK and Asian portfolio managers. Originality/value - This paper contributes to the limited research on the cyclical return and co-movement dynamics among major public real estate markets during financial/economic crisis in international finance. Moreover, the frequency-domain analysis conducted in this paper adds to better understanding regarding the impact of GFC on the cyclical return volatility and co-movement dynamics of major developed public real estate markets in international investing.


Efficient energy interconversion between light propagation and the localized field of light is important for highly-sensitive biological and chemical detectors. Solid optical tip can effectively enhance optical intensity for the measurement of nanoscale single molecule imaging. However, it lacks dynamic control mechanisms and is difficult to realize a smooth interface which may result in serious loss of scattering. Liquid can be dynamically controlled and the interfaces are optically smooth. Recently, liquid waveguides are reported to exhibit various advantages of dynamic, cheap and low optical loss. In this paper, a liquid optical tip in a microchannel controlled by flow rates is reported. In the design of the optofluidic chip, the core flow stream of the liquid waveguide is formed as Calcium Chloride (CaCl2) flow stream, and the cladding flow stream is formed as dioionzed (DI) water flow stream. The diffusion of CaCl2 between the microfluidic laminar flows establishes a gradient refractive index distribution to make an optical tip. For the optical system, laser source with central wavelength of 633 nm is used as input. The microchannel has a height of 80 µm and a width of 100 µm. The diffusion coefficient is 1 × 10-9 m2/s. The original refractive index of CaCl2 solution and deinized (DI) water are 1.442 and 1.332, respectively. The optical intensity at the optical tip is increased by 15 times sing Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) method. Thus, light be guided to form a sharp optical tip through the control of liquid. The on-chip optical tip has potential applications in biological, chemical and medical solution detectors.


This note considers the most relevant literature and contends that, even if the 'middle income trap' is myth, it provides impetus for policy makers to reassess their strategies once the traditional sources of economic growth have diminished. Middle-income countries must find drivers of productivity, innovation, and competitiveness while strengthening the economic fundamentals that foster and stabilize growth. Reaching high-income levels is challenging, with a strong likelihood of growth slowdowns along the way. But stagnation is inevitable, and middle income countries must have patience to manage the transition responsibly, avoid pitfalls, and promote new opportunities.


This book is one of a series designed specifically to teach the concepts of automobile emissions control systems. It is intended to assist the practicing mechanic or the home mechanic to better understand the Exhaust Gas Recirculation Systems which are an integral part of automobiles today. The mechanic's increased knowledge should help him keep 'emissions controlled' vehicles operating as designed. Respectable fuel economy, performance and driveability, as well as cleaner air, can be obtained from the automobile engine that has all of its emissions systems functioning properly.


The focus of this narrative-analytical text-photo-montage is the so-called Wendezeit in East Germany, the years after the reunification and the individual and collective outbreaks of violence that accompanied thisradical change. Based on personal experiences and trained on literary and theoretical works such as Alexander Kluge's "Lebensläufe", Klaus Theweleit's "Männerphantasien" or W.G. Sebald's novel "Austerlitz", Kai Ziegner reflects on remembrance and testimony in a way that is as critical as it is experimental. Where and how do authoritarian regimes and structures persist across generations? What scars can be read on the fault lines of disruptive processes and how to deal with—not only historical—situations in which the protagonists are victims and perpetrators at the same time? Ziegner's artistic research shows how the unpresentable can become visible, how the ambiguous can be told and how a differentiated processing can be made possible.


In the past 20 years, the major effort in plant breeding has changed from quantitative to molecular genetics with emphasis on quantitative trait loci (QTL) identification and marker assisted selection (MAS). However, results have been modest. This has been due to several factors including absence of tight linkage QTL, non-availability of mapping populations, and substantial time needed to develop such populations. To overcome these limitations, and as an alternative to planned populations, molecular marker–trait associations have been identified by the combination between germplasm and the regression technique. In the present preview, the authors (1) survey the successful applications of germplasm–regression–combined (GRC) molecular marker–trait association identification in plants; (2) describe how to do the GRC analysis and its differences from mapping QTL based on a linkage map reconstructed from the planned populations; (3) consider the factors that affect the GRC association identification, including selections of optimal germplasm and molecular markers and testing of identification efficiency of markers associated with traits; and (4) finally discuss the future prospects of GRC marker–trait association analysis used in plant MAS/QTL breeding programs, especially in long-juvenile woody plants when no other genetic information such as linkage maps and QTL are available.


We introduce a cross-layer priority-aware packet fragmentation scheme at the MAC layer to enhance the quality of pre-encoded H.264/AVC compressed bitstreams over bit-rate limited error-prone links in wireless networks. The H.264 slices are classified in four priorities at the encoder based on their cumulative mean square error (CMSE) contribution towards the received video quality. The slices of a priority class in each frame are aggregated into video packets of corresponding priority. We derive the optimal fragment size for each priority class which achieves the maximum expected weighted goodput at different encoded video bit rates, slice sizes and bit error rates. Priority-aware packet fragmentation invokes slice discard in the buffer due to channel bit rate constraints on allocating fragment header bits. We propose a slice discard scheme using frame importance and slice CMSE contribution to control error propagation effects. Packet fragmentation is extended to slice fragmentation by modifying the conventional H.264 decoder to handle partial slice decoding. Priority-aware slice fragmentation combined with the proposed slice discard scheme provides considerable PSNR and VQM gains as compared to priority-agnostic fragmentation.


Abstract Forest fires are a kind of natural hazard with a high number of occurrences in southern European countries. To avoid major damages and to improve forest fire management, one can use forest fire spread simulators to predict fire behavior. When providing forest fire predictions, there are two main considerations: accuracy and computation time. In the context of natural hazards simulation, it is well known that part of the final forecast error comes from uncertainty in the input data. These data typically consist of a set of GIS files, which should be appropriately conflated. For this reason, several input data calibration methods have been developed by the scientific community. In this work, the Two-Stage calibration methodology, which has been shown to provide good results, is used. This calibration strategy is computationally intensive and time-consuming because it uses a Genetic Algorithm as a solution. Taking into account the aspect of urgency in forest fire spread prediction, it is necessary to maintain a balance between accuracy and the time needed to calibrate the input parameters. In order to take advantage of this technique, one must deal with the problem that some of the obtained solutions are impractical, since they involve simulation times that are too long, preventing the prediction system from being deployed at an operational level. A new method which finds the minimum resolution reduction for such long simulations, keeping accuracy loss to a known interval, is proposed. The proposed improvement is based on a time-aware core allocation policy that enables real-time forest fire spread forecasting. The final prediction system is a cyberinfrastructure, which enables forest fire spread prediction at real time.


The phase coherence limitations of L-band digital correlation radiometry are investigated for receiver architectures that use low A/D converter resolution (1-3 bits). Statistical models and measurements of a 1.4 GHz digital radiometer system show that coarse quantization can cause excess fringe washing losses which degrade the spatial resolution capabilities in synthetic thinned array radiometry (STAR) implementations. For single-bit STAR, excess fringe washing is discernible immediately away from the boresight direction and, further from the center of the image, can result in as much as 2 dB loss in visibility information. To accommodate low-bit correlators in remote sensing STAR, a novel band division correlation (BDC) processor is proposed. BDC improves the time-coherence of each correlated brightness signal while it also maintains the system bandwidth and noise-equivalent sensitivity of a conventional STAR radiometer. Analytical and numerical solutions are presented for the point spread function of a 27 m L-band STAR sensor to evaluate the band-slicing technique. The results show that with 4 subband channels, BDC improves swath edge resolution from 17.0 to 10.2 km and reduces correlation loss from 2.5 to 0.2 dB.


Acute Trypanosoma cruzi infection of mice results in a very marked polyclonal activation of B and T lymphocytes, accompanied by high numbers of Ig-secreting PFC and lectin-dependent effector CTL. Treatment of mice with monoclonal anti-L3T4 antibodies from the time of infection (days 0, 4, and 8) completely suppresses the polyclonal PFC response and CTL generation. Treatment of nude mice with antibody does not alter the lipopolysaccharide-induced polyclonal PFC response, and it only modulates the isotypic profile of the PFC response to T. cruzi infection, without reducing its magnitude. Furthermore, antibody-treated, T. cruzi-infected euthymic mice do not develop the typical B cell blastogenic response, but show high numbers of activated Lyt-2+ lymphoblasts in the spleen. These results indicate that effector cell generation in T. cruzi-infected mice is predominantly helper T cell-dependent.


Game theory is a promising approach for the system-level analysis of power control (PC) in wireless networks. This paper extends game-theoretic analysis to the study of link adaptation, which involves the variation of modulation parameters, in addition to PC. We use the link adaptation scheme in general packet radio service (GPRS) as an example, although the basic approach is applicable to any centralized wireless system with power and rate control. The action space of a player in our proposed game, which is called the link adaptation game (LAG), consists of power, as usual, and a discrete-valued adaptable link parameter (ALP), e.g., code rate. The utility function is a sigmoid (which is fitted to the throughput characteristics of a link adaptation scheme) priced by the square of power. We first show the existence of a Nash equilibrium (NE) in the game. Next, we propose a distributed algorithm to discover the NE. The algorithm is analytically shown to converge to an NE by treating it as a point-to-set map. Simulation results using the GPRS system demonstrate superior throughput and fair system-wide allocation of resources in comparison with other non game-theoretic methods.


Evolution on neutral networks of genotypes has been found in models to concentrate on genotypes with high mutational robustness, to a degree determined by the topology of the network. Here analysis is generalized beyond neutral networks to arbitrary selection and parent-offspring transmission. In this larger realm, geometric features determine mutational robustness: the alignment of fitness with the orthogonalized eigenvectors of the mutation matrix weighted by their eigenvalues. "House of cards" mutation is found to preclude the evolution of mutational robustness. Genetic load is shown to increase with increasing mutation in arbitrary single and multiple locus fitness landscapes. The rate of decrease in population fitness can never grow as mutation rates get higher, showing that "error catastrophes" for genotype frequencies never cause precipitous losses of population fitness. The "inclusive inheritance" approach taken here naturally extends these results to a new concept of dispersal robustness.


The evaluation of an intra-plate earthquake that occurred on Friday, 11th September, 2009 and felt in parts of Abeokuta, Ago-Iwoye, Ajambata, Ajegunle, Imeko, Ijebu-Ode, Ilaro and Ibadan, all in south western Nigeria is presented. This event has been the largest inland earthquake recorded since the inception of digital seismological recording in Nigeria in 2008 was incepted. The event was recorded by three seismological stations operated by Centre for Geodesy and Geodynamics (CGG), Toro. Data obtained from the CGG stations and others distributed around the world were analysed to determine precise earthquake locations and focal mechanism and to assess the regional tectonic stress. The data recorded in MiniSEED format at a sampling rate of 40 samples per second (sps) were analyzed using the SEISAN earthquake analysis software. The resultshowed an epicentral location situated about 108 km west of Lagos, a focal depth of 10.0 km and an origin time of 03:10:21.60 GMT. The local and moment magnitudes were 4.5 and 4.2 respectively. The P-wave to S-wave velocity ratio was 1.72. The fault plane solutions obtained for the rupture process indicated that a normal dip-slip fault with median solution of strike 325°, dip 40° and rake -90° was the probable trigger mechanism for this earthquake. It suggested that the event was a reactivation of a buried high-angle fault in the Precambrian basement represented by the contemporary northeast-southwest trending regional horizontal compressive stress. Generally, the seismotectonics of the region was linked to the fracture zones in the Atlantic Ocean.


The effect of climatic variation on conflict and crime is well established, but less is known about the mechanism through which this effect operates. This study contributes to the literature by exploiting a new source of exogenous variation in climate to study the effect of fishermen's income opportunities on sea piracy. Using satellite data to construct a monthly measure of local fishing conditions it is found that better income opportunities reduce piracy. A wide range of approaches are employed to ensure that these effects are driven by income opportunities rather than other mechanisms through which climate could affect piracy. (JEL D74, J31, K42, O13, O17, Q22, Q54)


The Internet is growing every day as a source of knowledge and medium for exchange of information. Midwives are beginning to recognise its potential for networking and collaboration, as well as a research tool for accessing evidence-based information that can be utilised in practice. This thesis explores the use of the Internet by midwives in New Zealand. It describes a pilot study, which took the opportunity to trial the use of the Internet as a research tool. The pilot study also tested a survey designed to discover how midwives regard and utilise the potential of the Internet to revolutionise the provision of maternity care. The sample for this study was a convenience sample of 54 midwives working in New Zealand. The midwives were invited by personal email to access the web site and complete the questionnaire. The data were then transferred by electronic transmission into the research database, and analysed by SPSS computer software. The data generated were nominal and descriptive statistics were used. This pilot study has shown that there is a population of midwives in New Zealand who regularly use the Internet for searching information, which they utilise in their professional practice, and pass onto colleagues and midwifery clients. Respondents were recruited to the study by way of 'snowballing.' One hundred and ten emails were sent out inviting midwives to participate in the study. They were also asked to pass on the invitation email to as many colleagues as possible. 54 midwives completed and submitted the questionnaire.


Background: Bleeding from esophageal varices in cirrhosis is an emergency condition. Esophageal varices band ligation has shown better results in terms of variceal obliteration as well as having fewer side effects like ulceration, perforation and stricture formation.
Methods: This observational study was conducted at the gastroenterology department of BIRDEM general hospital, from September 2014 to March 2015. Subjects were eligible if they had a diagnosis of cirrhosis based on history, physical examination, biochemical parameters and presence of esophageal varices in upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. All patients were tested to determine the cause of liver cirrhosis. All patients under-went upper gastrointestinal endoscopy after consent. Esophageal variceal ligation was done at appropriate situation and patients were followed up later on. SPSS 23 was used for statistical analysis.
Results: The sample size was 69. The cumulative mean age was 55.58±14.462 years (range: 20-90), with gender-based mean age of 54.76±15.704 years for males and 57.22±11.739 years for female. Mild portal hypertensive gastropathy (PHG) was found 31 (44.9%) patient and severe PHG 36 (52.2%). Patients were followed up for mean period of 8.52±3.6 months. Variceal obliteration was achieved in 25 (36.2%) patients, while 06 (8.7%) cases developed re-bleeding during the study period and this type of patients were managed by other modalities or combination therapies. Recurrence of varices occurred in 13 (18.8%). 25 (36.2%) patients reduction of varix size occured after esophageal variceal ligation (EVL), 32 (46.4%) required second session and 12 (17.4%) required more than second session (Table-2). Thirty nine (56.5%) patients experienced minor adverse events like GI discomfort (retrosternal pain or dysphagia), while severe adverse events were noticed in 13 (18.8%) patients. Fundal varix was found among 8 (11.6%) patient on follow up endoscopy and GAVE found in 6 (8.69%) patients. All patient developed PHG during follow up endoscopy.
Conclusion: Band ligation eradicates esophageal varices with less complications and a lower re-bleeding rate, but at the same time eradication is associated with more frequent development of PHG and fundal varices.
Birdem Med J 2019; 9(1): 63-69


We describe the polarization properties of a long Nd(3+)-doped optical fiber laser. An intracavity prism acts as a dichroic element and fixes the polarization of the laser beam essentially in its plane of incidence. The slight birefringence of the fiber makes a wavelength-dependent phase plate that modifies the state of the polarization. In the laser output spectrum, the azimuth for the elliptically polarized field can thus rotate by several times pi/2 if the fiber is long enough. This gives a channeled spectrum when observed through a polarizer.


Ethanol is a principle ingredient of alcoholic beverages with potential neurotoxicity and genotoxicity, and the ethanol-associated oxidative DNA damage in the central nervous system is well documented. Natural source compounds may offer new options to protect the brain against ethanol-induced genotoxicity. Veratrum maackii Regel is a toxic rangeland plant linked to teratogenicity which is also used in traditional Chinese medicine as "Lilu" and is reported to contain a family of compounds called stilbenes that can have positive biological activity. In this study, nine stilbenes were isolated from the aerial parts of V. maackii Regel, and their structures were identified as cis-mulberroside A (1), resveratrol-4,3'- O-β-d-diglucopyranoside (2), mulberroside A (3), gentifolin K (4), resveratrol-3,5- O-β-d-diglucopyranoside (5), oxyresveratrol- 4'- O-β-d-glucopyranoside (6), oxyresveratrol-3- O-β-d-glucopyranoside (7), oxyresveratrol (8), and resveratrol (9) using ESI-MS and NMR techniques. The total concentration of extracted compounds 2-9 was 2.04 mg/g, suggesting that V. maackii Regel is a novel viable source of these compounds. In an in vivo comet assay, compounds 1-9 were observed to decrease DNA damage in mouse cerebellum and cerebral cortex caused by acute ethanol administration. Histological observation also revealed decreased brain injury in mice administered with compounds 1-9 after acute ethanol administration. The protective effects of compound 6 were associated with increasing T-SOD and GSH-PX activities and a decrease in NO and MDA concentrations. These findings suggest that these compounds are potent inhibitors of ethanol-induced brain injury possibly via the inhibition of oxidative stress and may be valuable leads for future therapeutic development.


Introduction
The World Health Organization (WHO) released the Global Leprosy Strategy 2016–2020 towards a leprosy-free world. The author described the progress made towards the elimination of leprosy and suggested recommendations for the acceleration towards a Leprosy-free country according to WHO laid out criterion.

Methodology
Case record review of Leprosy patients managed between the years 1992 to 2015 were registered and analyzed. Data were collected from annual reports of the Ministry of Health including demographics, classification of leprosy new cases, relapse, childhood, grades of disability (GD) and multidrug therapy (MDT) completion rates.

Results
Leprosy prevalence rate declined from 1.64 to 0.09 per 10,000 population during the period 1992 and 2015 (p<0.0001). Between 2005 and 2015, 77 patients were diagnosed with Leprosy as per definition and 75/77 (98%) had smear or biopsy positive. Of these, 53 (69%) cases were among foreign-born (non-national) (p<0.003) and 19 (25%) were among women. Most of the leprosy cases were notified in Muscat governorate 29 (38%) and among patients between 25–44 years of age 41 (53%), followed by ≥45 years 29 (38%) and 6 (8%) were children age ≤ 14 years. Multi-bacillary (MB) cases reported 60 versus 17 for Pauci-bacillary (PB) (p< 0.01), while MB was highest among both nationals (83%) and foreign-born (75%).

MDT completion rate was 100% and no relapse cases were notified among nationals. The rate of new patients diagnosed with leprosy related disability was 2.3 per million population, and grade 2 disability (G2D) rate among nationals was 0.9 per million population. No disability was recorded among women or children less than 14 years within the nationals group from 2013. Almost all the foreign-born patients didn't complete their treatment in Oman as they left the country shortly after diagnosis of leprosy due to a very short term contract, discretionary employment practices by the employers and prefer to go home to complete their treatment.

Conclusion
Oman has met the elimination goals and made great strides towards becoming a leprosy-free country. However, challenges such as improving surveillance system efficiency and sensitivity for detecting timely leprosy cases, as well as foreign-born workers are still a major concerns.


The basic strategy behind our approach to estimating the cost of a paid leave program in Massachusetts was to, as much as possible, base estimates of program costs on actual known leave-taking behavior, and where this was not possible, to estimate a range of program costs reflecting a range of reasonable assumptions about unknown aspects of behavior in the presence of a paid leave program. We wanted to be able to estimate the sensitivity of program costs estimates to these assumptions. We also wanted to be able to analyze the distribution of program benefits by demographic characteristics. Furthermore, we wanted users to be able to estimate the costs of similarly structured paid leave benefit programs in other states, to be able to have some control over the assumptions about behavior that affect program cost estimates, and to be able to undertake their own distributional analyses. We chose a simulation strategy as the best way to accomplish these goals. To obtain the best estimates possible about known leave-taking behavior, we use the Public Use Family and Medical Leave survey data collected by Abt Associates in 2012 for the Department Labor (referred to here as the DOL Survey) (McGarry, et al, 2013) to estimate behavioral models of leave-taking behavior conditional on the demographic characteristics of individuals, and use the Census Bureau's American Community Survey Public Use Microdata Sample (hereinafter referred to as the ACS or ACS PUMS) to predict leave-taking behavior conditional on the demographic characteristics of individuals.


Background Intimate partner violence (IPV) is recognized as a global health problem. Women with low education and limited resources are more vulnerable, as are immigrant women. There is a lack of evidence on how health care professionals should communicate about and intervene against IPV during pregnancy. Earlier research has shown that when women manage digital questionnaires, they are more likely to disclose IPV. However, little is known about how women experience eHealth interventions with safety behaviors to prevent IPV. Objective The aim of this study was to explore pregnant women's attitudes toward and experiences with a tablet intervention to promote safety behaviors in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) in antenatal care. Methods Individual semistructured interviews were conducted with 10 women who participated in the Safe Pregnancy Study. The Safe Pregnancy Study was a randomized controlled trial (RCT) using a tablet intervention containing IPV questions and a film to promote safety behaviors. Six women from the intervention group and four women from the control group were recruited. The content was available in Norwegian, Somali, and Urdu. Five of the women participating in the interviews spoke Norwegian at home and five spoke another language. The majority of the women who did not speak Norwegian at home perceived themselves as relatively well integrated. The interviews were conducted at different maternal and child health centers (MCHCs) in Norway between March 2020 and June 2020. The analysis was guided by thematic analysis. Results Women who participated in the tablet intervention appreciated being asked questions about IPV on a tablet. However, it was important to supplement the tablet intervention with face-to-face communication with a midwife. The MCHC was regarded as a suitable place to answer questions and watch a film about safety behaviors. Women suggested making the tablet intervention available in other settings where women meet health care professionals. Some women expressed uncertainty about their anonymity regarding their answers in the questionnaire. We found no real differences between ethnic Norwegian and immigrant women's attitudes toward and experiences with the tablet intervention. Conclusions Questions about IPV and a film about safety behaviors on a tablet, as a supplement to face-to-face communication, might initiate and facilitate communication about IPV in antenatal care. Uncertainty regarding anonymity has to be addressed when questions about IPV are being asked on a tablet. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03397277; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03397277


The quinoprotein methanol dehydrogenase (MDH) of Acetobacter methanolicus has an alpha 2 beta 2 structure. By contrast with other MDHs, the beta-subunit (approx. 8.5 kDa) does not contain the five lysine residues previously proposed to be involved in ionic interactions with the electron acceptor cytochrome cL. That electrostatic interactions are involved was confirmed by the demonstration that methanol:cytochrome cL oxidoreductase activity was inhibited by high ionic strength (I), the strength of interaction being inversely related to the square root of I. Specific modifiers of arginine residues on MDH inhibited this reaction but not the dye-linked MDH activity. Modification of lysine residues on MDH that altered its charge had no effect on the dye-linked activity but inhibited reaction with cytochrome cL. When the charge was retained on modification of lysine residues, little effect on either activity was observed. Cross-linking experiments confirmed that lysine residues on the alpha-subunit, but not the beta-subunit, are involved in the 'docking' process between the proteins.


This paper investigates the evolution ability of Tierra-based Asynchronous Genetic Programming (TAGP) as GP using an asynchronous evaluation. We compare TAGP with two simple GP methods, steady-state GP and GP using (µ + �)selection as GP using a synchronous evaluation. Three GP methods are compared in experiment to minimize the size of an actual assembly language program in several computational problems, two arithmetic and two boolean problems. The intensive comparisons have revealed the following implications: (1) TAGP has higher evolution ability than GP using synchronous evaluation, i.e., TAGP can evolve smaller size programs which cannot be evolved by GPs using synchronous evaluation; and (2) the diversity of the programs evolved by TAGP can derive a high evolution ability in comparison with GP using synchronous evaluation.


We present an effective algorithm to partition a circuit into k layers under power density constraints for 3D IC designs. Our algorithm utilizes a multilevel structure and a successive 3D aware two-way partition method to minimize the number of signal TS Vs and area overhead. A layer swapping technique is used to improve total number of signal TSVs and power TSVs. Finally, a zero-gain cell move technique is used to refine the area overhead. Our test cases are 4 industrial circuits provided in the IC/CAD 2011 contest in Taiwan [1]. Experimental results show that our results are better than those of all teams in the contest. In addition, we study the impact on signal TSVs of an extended hMetics method, simultaneous k-way partition, and successive two-way partition for k layer 3D ICs. The results show that the successive two-way partition method is superior to the other methods both in number of TSVs and run time.


A central theme of the flood of literature in recent years in "evolutionary psychology" and "behavioral genetics" is that much or even most human behavior has been programmed into the human genome by natural selection. We show that this conclusion is without basis. Evolutionary psychology is a series of "just-so" stories rooted in part in the erroneous notion that human beings during the Pleistocene all lived in the same environment of evolutionary adaptation. Behavioral genetics is based on a confusion of the information contained in a technical statistic called "heritability" with the colloquial meaning of the term, exacerbated by oversimplification of statistical models for the behavioral similarity of twins. In fact, information from twin studies, cross-fostering, sexual behavior, and the Human Genome Project makes it abundantly clear that most interesting aspects of the human behavioral phenome are programmed into the brain by the environment. The general confusion created by the genetic determinists has had and will continue to have unfortunate effects on public policy.


It is still unclear whether allergen‐specific immunotherapy (AIT) with birch pollen improves birch pollen‐related food allergy. One reason for this may be the lack of standardized tests to assess clinical reactions to birch pollen‐related foods, for example apple. We tested the applicability of recombinant (r) Mal d 1, the Bet v 1‐homolog in apple, for oral challenge tests. Increasing concentrations of rMal d 1 in 0.9% NaCl were sublingually administered to 72 birch pollen‐allergic patients with apple allergy. The dose of 1.6 μg induced oral allergy syndromes in 26.4%, 3.2 μg in 15.3%, 6.3 μg in 27.8%, 12.5 μg in 8.3%, 25 μg in 11.1%, and 50 μg in 4.2% of the patients. No severe reactions occurred. None of the patients reacted to 0.9% NaCl alone. Sublingual administration of 50 μg of rMal d 1 induced no reactions in three nonallergic individuals. Our approach allows straight forward, dose‐defined sublingual challenge tests in a high number of birch pollen‐allergic patients that inter alia can be applied to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of birch pollen AIT on birch pollen‐related food allergy.


Overexpression of cyclin D1 and disruption of cell cycle control in G1 occur frequently in human esophageal cancer. Transgenic (TG) mice with cyclin D1 overexpression targeted to the oral-esophageal tissue by the EBV ED-L2 promoter showed increased severity in esophageal dysplasia without cancer development, after multiple doses of N-nitrosomethylbenzylamine (NMBA). Dietary zinc deficiency (ZD) in mice enhances cellularproliferationinesophagus/forestomachandsusceptibilitytoNMBAinduced carcinogenesis. We investigated whether cyclin D1 overexpression in TG mice, together with ZD, might lead to unchecked cell proliferation and accelerated NMBA-induced tumorigenesis. Five-week-old TG and wild-type (WT) mice were fed a ZDor -sufficient (ZS) diet, forming four groups: ZD:TG; ZS:TG; ZD:WT; and ZS:WT. After 4 weeks, animals were given a single intragastric NMBA dose and were sacrificed 25 and 77 days later. Without NMBA, cell proliferation was greatest in ZD:TG esophagus/forestomach, followed by ZD:WT, and then ZS:TG>ZS:WT. The high rate of cell proliferation was accompanied by overexpression of cell cycle progression and tumorigenesis biomarkers, including proliferating cell nuclear antigen, cyclin D1, cyclin-dependent kinase 4, p53, cytokeratin 14, epidermal growth factor receptor, and by a reduced rate of apoptosis. ZD substantially increased forestomach tumor incidence in TG mice: 85% of ZD:TG versus 14% of ZS:TG mice had forestomach tumors (P < 0.001), with progression to malignancy occurring only in ZD:TG tumors. Additionally, 14% of ZD:TG mice developed esophageal tumors and esophageal intestinal metaplasia at 77 days. Thus, cyclin D1 overexpression, in cooperation with ZD, decontrols cell proliferation, ensuring cell expansion, a prerequisite for cancer development.


Noor Hadi: The Implementation of "SBI" Program in Islamic Boarding School
Assalaam Surakarta,
Thesis, Surakarta: English Education Department, Graduate School,
Sebelas Maret University, 2008.
In carrying out this research, he wants to describe the implementation of
"SBI" Program in MTs Islamic Boarding School As-Salaam Surakarta. Next, he
wants to describe the goal, core of syllabus, teaching-learning process, motivation,
and response of the students toward "SBI" Program in MTs Islamic Boarding
School As-Salaam Surakarta. Finally, he tries to interpret the effectiveness of the
"SBI" Program in MTs Islamic Boarding School Assalaam Surakarta.
It is the qualitative research which is carried out in the "SBI" Program of
the third grade of MTs, Islamic Boarding School Assalaam Surakarta and it uses
naturalistic inquiry by using observation, interviews, documents, and
questionnaires. The students of "SBI" Program consist of two classes are 64
students. He divided the students into 10 groups, each group is interviewed to
cross-check the teachers' interviews. The students were also given questionnaire
to make triangulation of the data from teachers, headmaster, and administration
staffs. In carrying out the observation, interview, and questionnaire, he used the
guideline having relevance to the problem of the research. The data finding show
that the students get a great chance of learning English and materials
simultaneously. Besides, the "SBI" Program encourages the teachers and students
to study autonomously and seriously. Therefore, it becomes closer to reach the
goals of the "SBI" Program successfully, though, English proficiency is still one
of the main barriers for the teachers and students.
Based on the research finding related to the problem statement, he finds
that the goals of "SBI" Program are to create excellent students in the
international quality level and give a special service to those who have high
interest and gift; and to create the excellent school in the international quality
level. These goals are in line with the teachers' and students' perception which
can arouse the students' motivation. It shows that the students' motivation is so
high that they take part in the teaching and learning process enthusiastically and
they enjoy and are satisfied. Next, based on the data presentation and analysis, the
implementation of "SBI" Program in MTs Assalaam Surakarta can improve the
students' foreign language acquisition through the learning content materials,
implemented related to the goals and the concept of the "SBI" Program that is
adopted. However, this program is not fully implemented, and it is appropriately
called "Rintisan" (initial). This is such a big effort that this institution improves
and produces the quality of education at the international level, since the students
and teachers in the teaching and learning process use English. Then, the
researcher finds that this program is effective. The teachers teaching in this
program enjoy and are satisfied because the students' achievement is good. The
ii
data of State Final Examination shows that there is an improvement of the foreign
language acquisition from the average score of their input score improves from
seven to eight and a half (8,5). Further, mastering the foreign langauge skills is the
one of the main barriers of the students and teachers.
Having done this research, he suggests that the teachers should increase
and update their English ability and subject matter mastery, in order to widen their
perception and future prospect of the students. Next, the students should improve
their English ability by having additional English course and keep their spirits to
reach their goals. Finally, the institution should increase their capabilities to
support and fulfil the software and hardware needed by the "SBI" Program.


In this panel we seek to reflect upon the theme "internet rules" by drawing on the notion of standards, developed in Science and Technology Studies. The work of Susan Leigh Star lays a foundation for considering the relationships between rules, standards and algorithms as forms of infrastructure. In the panel, we explore the production of standards as they become transparent infrastructures, heeding Star and Lampland's call to restore these standards' "historical development, their political consequences, and the smoke-filled rooms always attached to decisions made about them" (2009:13). Standards – and algorithms – are rarely queried, as they promise and embody efficiency and order. Indeed, modernity may be described as a concentrated, relentless effort to contain the accidental, the arbitrary, the residual; to categorize, order, and routinize the unexpected; and to preclude the exceptional and unpredictable (Bauman, 1991) – in a word: to standardize. As Larkin writes, it is difficult to separate an analysis of infrastructures such as standards from the modernist belief that by promoting order, "infrastructures bring about change, and through change they enact progress, and through progress we gain freedom" (2013:332). It is ironic, then, that standards are distributed unevenly across the sociocultural landscape, that they are increasingly linked and integrated with one another, and that they codify, embody or prescribe social values that often carry great consequences for individuals and groups (Star and Lampland, 2009:5). In this context, the four papers and the moderator of this panel explore the meaning of contemporary standardization practices in such diverse fields as memory applications, crowd funding, biometric identification and national archiving, and internet literacy – viewing them as empirically distinct yet theoretically interrelated attempts to impose order in times of growing uncertainly. Together, they address two tensions that inform contemporary standardization efforts, regarding standards as an encounter between analogue and digital objects and practices; and as dialectic of invisibility and transparency, a pragmatic and symbolic endeavor.


Background Speech entrainment (SE), the online mimicking of an audio-visual speech model, has been shown to increase speech fluency in individuals with non-fluent aphasia. One theory that may explain why SE improves speech output is that it synchronizes functional connectivity between anterior and posterior language regions to be more similar to that of neurotypical speakers. Objectives The present study tested this by measuring functional connectivity between 2 regions shown to be necessary for speech production, and their right hemisphere homologues, in 24 persons with aphasia compared to 20 controls during both free (spontaneous) speech and SE. Methods Regional functional connectivity in participants with aphasia were normalized to the control data. Two analyses were then carried out: (1) normalized functional connectivity was compared between persons with aphasia and controls during free speech and SE and (2) stepwise linear models with leave-one-out cross-validation including normed functional connectivity during both tasks and proportion damage to the left hemisphere as independent variables were created for each language score. Results Left anterior–posterior functional connectivity and left posterior to right anterior functional connectivity were significantly more similar to connectivity of the control group during SE compared to free speech. Additionally, connectivity during free speech was more associated with language measures than connectivity during SE. Conclusions Overall, these results suggest that SE promotes normalization of functional connectivity (i.e., return to patterns observed in neurotypical controls), which may explain why individuals with non-fluent aphasia produce more fluent speech during SE compared to spontaneous speech.


BACKGROUND
Delivering requisite and minimal anesthesia for endovascular treatment (EVT) of dysfunctional arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs) under the target nerve block can achieve reasonable analgesia. We evaluated the anesthetic efficacy of ultrasound (US)-guided selective block of the musculocutaneous nerve (MCN) during the EVT of runoff venous strictures in the forearm through the radiocephalic (RC)-AVF at the wrist or the anatomical snuff box and analyzed the factors inhibiting the analgesia achieved under the MCN block.

METHODS
We enrolled 30 adult patients undergoing hemodialysis who had received 78 EVT sessions in an outpatient clinic mainly for long and/or multiple outflow-venous strictures in the forearm under US-guided blocks of the MCN, which provides sensory innervation to the anterolateral forearm where the cephalic vein courses. We assessed patients' pain during balloon dilations using the Wong-Baker FACES® Pain Rating Scale (WBFRS) and evaluated the factors increasing the pain (WBFRS score ⩾4), including patient characteristics, dilated strictures, additional nerve blocks, and types of balloon catheters.

RESULTS
In 25 EVT sessions (32.1%) out of 78 sessions, patients complained of stronger pain (WBFRS score ⩾4), while in the other 53 sessions (67.9%), presented with no pain and slight pain (WBFRS score = 0 or 2). Univariate analysis clarified that dilation of the AVF anastomosis, presence of dilated stenosis >4 cm, and a single block of the MCN or its sensory terminal significantly triggered more pain (p < 0.05). Consequently, multivariate analysis of all the factors with p < 0.1 in the univariate analysis, including multiple dilated stenosis sites, demonstrated that dilation of the AVF anastomosis significantly caused severe pain despite the anesthesia of the MCN block (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION
US-guided selective block of the MCN could be a leading anesthetic option for EVT for multiple long stenoses of the cephalic vein draining through the RC-AVF in the wrist or anatomical snuff box.


We report a technology for supporting gold nanoparticles (GNPS) with preserved SERS activity in substrates capable of sustaining temperatures as high as the melting point of gold. The material processing involved dispersion of citrate-capped GNPS in colloidal pseudoboehmite. The suspension was dried at 100 °C followed by annealing in air at temperatures of up to 1000 °C. Thus prepared substrates crystallized in γ-Al2O3 or θ-Al2O3 phases depending on the annealing temperature. XRD, TEM, and Raman spectroscopy characterizations show that GNPS remain nano-crystalline with preserved SERS activity and no apparent changes in size or shape after being treated at high temperatures. These results were also corroborated by the substrate UV-Vis absorption spectra. The SERS enhancement factor for Rhodamine 6G remained stable across the samples and showed no dependence on exposure to harsh environments.


Ozone concentrations rise to phytotoxic levels from spring to autumn at western Mediterranean basin coastal sites, where artichoke is one of the most important crops. Simultaneously, from year to year and especially since the early 1980s, resprouting of the stumps has been decreasing in Valencian Community artichoke plantations. To see if ozone might be playing a role in this decrease, a number of plants were exposed to different levels of ozone. Results of the ozone treatments showed reduced biomass in the offshoots of plants exposed to the highest ozone treatment. The exposure to ambient ozone during the stump-establishment period, when compared to filtered-air conditions, resulted in a reduction in yield when plants were transplanted in the field under ambient ozone concentrations. And when plants were exposed to acute short picks, typical ozone visual injury appeared in the older leaves.


The following case reports describe the use of computer-assisted image-guided surgery to plan and place craniofacial bone-anchored implants (CBAI) for facial prosthetic reconstructions. During virtual planning, the soft tissue and bone visualizations are segmented from spiral computed tomography data and the patient's normal anatomy is mirrored onto the skull of the defect side, thus providing the ability to visualize the future prosthetic form. CBAI are planned in the anatomical area that leads to the best cosmetic results. Bone quantity is directly assessed at the surgical sites with the integrated instrumentation while the clinician navigates within the images and virtual planning scheme in real time. The aim of this report is to show a technique that incorporates computer-assisted image-guided surgery into the preoperative planning and surgical placement of CBAI. The use of this technology to plan and place implants in the most ideal location for facial prosthetic treatment eliminated the need for a conventional or prototyped surgical guide.


Infants in newborn intensive and convalescent care units are exposed to large amounts of sensory stimulation of various sorts. Although infants in these units do not lack visual, auditory, and tactile stimulation, they receive relatively infrequent coordinated sensory experiences. Furthermore, there is no diurnal rhythmicity in physical and social stimulation across days.


Ray equations are derived for microwave multipath propagation in a two-layer atmosphere, and the connection between the different solutions is demonstrated by numerical examples. Analytical expressions are developed to characterize the condition for multiple rays, the variation in angle-of-arrival (AOA), and the delay spread. The results suggest that more than three rays will be rare in practice and that the three-ray model (obtained from the zero-order rays defined in the paper) may provide a good representation of selective fading on microwave links.


It is increasingly recognized that species distributions are driven by both abiotic factors and biotic interactions. Despite much recent work incorporating competition, predation, and mutualism into species distribution models (SDMs), the focus has been confined to aboveground macroscopic interactions. Biotic interactions between plants and soil microbial communities are understudied as potentially important drivers of plant distributions. Some soil bacteria promote plant growth by cycling nutrients, while others are pathogenic; thus they have a high potential for influencing plant occurrence. We investigated the influence of soil bacterial clades on the distributions of bryophytes and 12 vascular plant species in a high elevation talus-field ecosystem in the Rocky Mountain Front Range, Colorado, USA. We used an information-theoretic criterion (AICc) modeling approach to compare SDMs with the following different sets of predictors: abiotic variables, abiotic variables and other plant abundances, abiotic variables and soil bacteria clade relative abundances, and a full model with abiotic factors, plant abundances, and bacteria relative abundances. We predicted that bacteria would influence plant distributions both positively and negatively, and that these interactions would improve prediction of plant species distributions. We found that inclusion of either plant or bacteria biotic predictors generally improved the fit, deviance explained, and predictive power of the SDMs, and for the majority of the species, adding information on both other plants and bacteria yielded the best model. Interactions between the modeled species and biotic predictors were both positive and negative, suggesting the presence of competition, parasitism, and facilitation. While our results indicate that plant–plant co-occurrences are a stronger driver of plant distributions than plant–bacteria co-occurrences, they also show that bacteria can explain parts of plant distributions that remain unexplained by abiotic and plant predictors. Our results provide further support for including biotic factors in SDMs, and suggest that belowground factors be considered as well.


This paper implements an artificial neural network (ANN) model able to estimate the internal temperatures in stator winding of a squirrel-cage three-phase induction motor fed by a voltage inverter. A sinusoidal pulse-width modulation (SPWM) inverter feeding three-phase induction motors were tested up to over load. The temperatures are measured in a node of stator winding. The results show that the ANN model produces reliable estimates of interior temperature of stator winding. Through this model, it is possible to determine the temperatures in the tested motors and to analyze the influence of the fundamental frequency voltage on steady state temperatures and motor performance limitation, specifically the maximum acceptable load, so that the motor does not exceed its normal steady state temperature when is supplied by an inverter. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Enzyme-substrate interaction under the presence of high concentration of salts is of great interest for biotechnology applications and basic enzymology. In our previous work, the salt effect on halophilic subtilase SR5-3 was evaluated with Suc-AAPF-MCA and with the FRET peptide Abz-AAPFSSKQ-EDDnp. It was demonstrated that the magnitude of catalytic activity enhancement was affected by the presence of the prime site residues (Okamoto et al., 2009). In this work, a detailed analysis of the salt effect on SR5-3 protease substrate specificity was performed using chromogenic and coumarin substrates as well as FRET peptides derived from Abz-KLRSSKQ-EDDnp. The followings were demonstrated: 1) Preference of amino acid of SR5-3 protease at the P(3), P(2), P(1), P(1)' or P(2)' position of FRET substrates was almost similar with that of subtilisin. 2) Under the presence of the salts (3M NaCl or 1M Na(2)SO(4)), SR5-3 protease showed higher kcat values, lower Km values and totally 2-6 times higher kcat/Km values compared with those of control for FRET substrates, and salts did not significantly affect the preference of amino acid residues at the primary positions (P1 and P1'), but it affected the preference at the P(2) and P(2)' position. In contrast, for smaller substrates with only non-prime sites, SR5-3 protease showed 20-75 times higher kcat/Km values compared with those of control. These findings are in agreement with the notion that increases in enzyme-substrate interactions in subtilases alter the rate-determining step in peptide hydrolysis.


The SMAD4 (DPC4) gene was initially isolated as a candidate tumor suppressor from the convergent site of homozygous deletions on 18q in a panel of pancreatic carcinoma cell lines. It encodes a common cytoplasmic signaling molecule shared by the transforming growth factorb, activin, and bone morphogenic pathways. We recently inactivated its mouse homologueSmad4and demonstrated its role in the malignant progression of benign adenomas to invasive adenocarcinomas by analyzing mice with Apc and Smad4compound mutations. Although simpleSmad4homozygotes were embryonically lethal, the heterozygotes were fertile and appeared normal up to the age of 1 year. Upon further investigation, however, they have developed inflammatory polyps in the glandular stomach and duodenum. By PCR genotyping and immunohistochemical staining, the wild-type Smad4allele has been lost in the polyp epithelial cells, i.e., loss of heterozygosity. On the other hand, we have not found any mutations in such genes as K-Ras, H-Ras, N-Ras, p53, or PTEN. Histologically, the polyps are similar to human juvenile polyps showing moderate stromal cell proliferation and infiltrations by eosinophils and plasma cells. In addition, foci of adenocarcinoma with signet ring cells are also found. These results are consistent with a recent report that germ-line SMAD4 mutations are found in a subset of familial juvenile polyposis.


This paper studies robust variants of an extended model of the classical heterogeneous vehicle routing problem (HVRP), where a mixed fleet of vehicles with different capacities, availabilities, fixed costs, and routing costs is used to serve customers with uncertain demand. This model includes, as special cases, all variants of the HVRP studied in the literature with fixed and unlimited fleet sizes, accessibility restrictions at customer locations, and multiple depots. Contrary to its deterministic counterpart, the goal of the robust HVRP is to determine a minimum cost set of routes and fleet composition that remains feasible for all demand realizations from a prespecified uncertainty set. To solve this problem, we develop robust versions of classical node and edge exchange neighborhoods that are commonly used in local search and establish that efficient evaluation of the local moves can be achieved for five popular classes of uncertainty sets. The proposed local search is then incorporated in a modular fashion within two metaheuristic algorithms to determine robust HVRP solutions. The quality of the metaheuristic solutions is quantified using an integer programming model that provides lower bounds on the optimal solution. An extensive computational study on literature benchmarks shows that the proposed methods allow us to obtain high-quality robust solutions for different uncertainty sets and with minor additional effort compared with deterministic solutions.


Identifying population structure and boundaries among communities of wildlife exposed to anthropogenic threats is key to successful conservation management. Previous studies on the demography, social and spatial structure of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) suggested four nearly discrete behavioral communities in Perth metropolitan waters, Western Australia. We investigated the genetic structure of these four communities using highly polymorphic microsatellite markers and part of the hypervariable segment of the mitochondrial control region. Overall, there was no evidence of spatial genetic structure. We found significant, yet very small genetic differentiation between some communities, most likely due to the presence of highly related individuals within these communities. Our findings of high levels of contemporary migration and highly related individuals among communities point toward a panmictic genetic population with continuous gene flow among each of the communities. In species with slow life histories and fission-fusion dynamics, such as Tursiops spp., genetic and socio-spatial structures may reflect different timescales. Thus, despite genetic similarity, each social community should be considered as a distinct ecological unit to be conserved because they are exposed to different anthropogenic threats and occur in different ecological habitats, social structure being as important as genetic information for immediate conservation management. The estuarine community, in particular, is highly vulnerable and appropriate conservation measures are needed in order to maintain its connectivity with the adjacent, semi-enclosed coastal communities.


The molecular mechanisms underlying phenotypic plasticity are not well understood. Identifying mechanisms underlying alternative reproductive tactics (ARTs) in species for which the behavioural and fitness consequences of this variation are well characterized provides an opportunity to integrate evolutionary and mechanistic understanding of the maintenance of variation within populations. In the ocellated wrasse Symphodus ocellatus, the behavioural phenotypes of three distinct male morphs (sneakers, satellites and nesting males), which arise from a single genome, have been thoroughly characterized. To determine the neuroendocrine and genomic mechanisms associated with discrete phenotypic variation and ARTs in S. ocellatus in their natural environment, we constructed a whole‐brain de novo transcriptome and compared global patterns of gene expression between sexes and male morphs. Next, we quantified circulating cortisol and 11‐ketotestosterone (11‐kt), mediators of male reproductive behaviours, as well as stress and gonadal steroid hormone receptor expression in the preoptic area, ventral subpallial division of the telencephalon and dorsolateral telencephalon, critical brain regions for social and reproductive behaviours. We found higher levels of 11‐kt in nesting males and higher levels of cortisol in sneaker males relative to other male morphs and females. We also identified distinct patterns of brain region‐specific hormone receptor expression between males such that most hormone receptors are more highly expressed in satellites and nesting males relative to sneakers and females. Our results establish the neuroendocrine and molecular mechanisms that underlie ARTs in the wild and provide a foundation for experimentally testing hypotheses about the relationship between neuromolecular processes and reproductive success.


Accessibility research aims to aid humans that experience minor or major disabilities and conditions. However, researchers might have limited exposure to certain disabilities, therefore, focus on those prevalent in their own lives. This work presents a script-based meta-analysis on addressed populations in accessibility research published on top Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) venues (3617 full papers). We categorize the publications regarding the involved people and their disabilities. We found that work on vision disability makes up for almost one third (28.85%) of the work published in general HCI. In light of these findings, we present possible conference- and funding-related explanatory approaches and argue that disability research could more reflect the prevalence of disabilities in the world.


Citizens consider certain public (and private) services as essential services and therefore to be shielded from the full extent of market forces. Little is known about why some services are considered essential public services while other sometimes very similar services are not. In this article, we analyze public opinion using Eurobarometer data to test models exploring what factors determine whether citizens in 15 EU countries consider certain services as essential services and therefore to be provided to all. Despite the variety in public opinion, political orientations and geographic factors do little to explain why citizens have different opinions about the provision of public services. The article ends by outlining a research agenda for the further analysis of this underexplored research topic. Copyright © 2009 The Author Journal compilation © CIRIEC 2009.


Currently, determination of body composition is the most useful method for distinguishing between certain diseases. The prompt-gamma in vivo neutron activation analysis (IVNAA) facility for non-destructive elemental analysis of the human body is the gold standard method for this type of analysis. In order to obtain accurate measurements using the IVNAA system, the activation probability in the body must be uniform. This can be difficult to achieve, as body shape and body composition affect the rate of activation. The aim of this study was to determine the optimum pre-moderator, in terms of material for attaining uniform activation probability with a CV value of about 10% and changing the collimator role to increase activation rate within the body. Such uniformity was obtained with a high thickness of paraffin pre-moderator, however, because of increasing secondary photon flux received by the detectors it was not an appropriate choice. Our final calculations indicated that using two paraffin slabs with a thickness of 3 cm as a pre-moderator, in the presence of 2 cm Bi on the collimator, achieves a satisfactory distribution of activation rate in the body.