ABSTRACT Wave and current measurements in 3.4 and 5.0 m water depths on a sandy shoreface of the Canadian Beaufort Sea showed that a down-welling circulation, accompanied by strong offshore-flowing near-bottom currents, develops during storm surges induced by northwesterly winds. Because fine to medium sand prevails on the shoreface, a significant sediment load is probably moved down the shoreface by such currents during major storms. A sidescan sonar profile recorded in 4.4 m water depth, the day after a storm with seaward-directed currents with mean velocity. up to 0.49 ms-1, revealed the presence of narrow bands of large ripples (0.7-0.8 m wavelength) with crests almost parallel to shore. On the basis of theoretical calculations relating the wavelength of wave-formed ripples to w ve orbital diameter, the observed ripples were probably formed or reactivated during a storm in response to bed-orbital motion of surface gravity waves. On the sonograph, the ripple bands were separated by less reflective areas interpreted as current-parallel sand patches formed by seaward-flowing bottom currents. Cores taken on the shoreface at the end of the wave and current measurement period showed the presence of thick graded sand beds, which are thought to be the products of rapid deposition of sand from suspension during the waning phase of a recent storm. Such beds may he the modern analogues of graded sand beds in ancient wave-dominated sequences and could indicate waning storm sedimentation in shallow fetch-limited environments.


summary There has been an increased emphasis on the targeting efficiency of micro‐credit programmes. In general, recent studies find a much higher incidence of mis‐targeting (around 25‐30 per cent) than previous studies (3‐5 per cent). Household survey data from four villages in Madhupur Thana is used to test the hypothesis that rapid progressive lending in the study area since 1992 has affected the selection and participation incentives and worsened both the incidence and severity of mis‐targeting. The implication of this finding, if found to hold across other settings, is that loan size and the pace of progressive lending can be used as an indirect targeting instrument. In broader terms, experiments with contract design and service diversification could be useful in covering and benefiting a broader spectrum of the poor.


The path to commericializing a 4H-SiC power PiN diode has faced many difficult challenges. In this work, we report a 50 A, 10 kV 4H-SiC PiN diode technology where good crystalline quality and high carrier lifetime of the material has enabled a high yielding process with VF as low as 3.9 V @ 100 A/cm2. Furthermore, incorporation of two independent basal plane dislocation reduction processes (LBPD 1 and LBPD 2) have produced a large number of devices that exhibit a high degree of forward voltage stability with encouraging reverse blocking capability. This results in a total yield (forward, 10 kV blocking, and drift) of >20% for 8.7 mm x 8.7 mm power PiN diode chips—the largest SiC chip reported to date.


While online handwriting recognition is an area of long standing and ongoing research, the recent emergence of portable, pen based computers (personal digital assistants, or PDAs) has focused urgent attention on usable, practical solutions. Pen based PDAs depend wholly on fast and accurate handwriting recognition, because the pen serves as the primary means for inputting data to the devices. To meet this need, we have combined an artificial neural network (ANN) character classifier with context driven search over character segmentation, word segmentation, and word recognition hypotheses to provide robust recognition of hand printed English text in new models of Apple Computer's Newton MessagePad. Earlier attempts at handwriting recognition used strong, limited language models to maximize accuracy. However, this approach failed in real world applications, generating disturbing and seemingly random word substitutions known within Apple as "The Doonesbury Effect". We have taken an alternative approach, using bottom up classification techniques based on trainable ANNs, in combination with comprehensive but weakly applied language models. By simultaneously providing accurate character level recognition, via the ANN, with dictionaries exhibiting very wide coverage of the language, plus the ability to write entirely outside those dictionaries, we have produced a hand print recognizer that some have called the first usable handwriting recognition system.


Abstract  This study prospectively compared preoperative and postoperative (6 months after surgical release) clinical and electrophysiological evaluation and self‐administered Boston questionnaire (BQ) findings of a series of elderly carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) patients with those of young and adult patients. Three hundred twenty three consecutive hands (282 patients) underwent surgery between 1997 and 2000. Patients were divided into four age groups: group 1 (20–40 years), 49 hands; group 2 (41–54 years), 96 hands; group 3 (55–69 years), 106 hands; and group 4 (70–90 years), 72 hands. Sex ratio, education, duration and bilaterality of CTS, history of wrist and hand trauma, connective tissue and thyroid diseases, diabetes, polyneuropathy, renal failure, and other nerve entrapment syndromes were recorded. The elderly group (group 4) only had more cases of diabetes than groups 1 and 2 (young and adult patients). Before surgery, elderly patients showed more severe clinical objective and electrophysiological findings than young and adult patients. Preoperative subjective findings (BQ scores) were similar in all four groups. Although their absolute postoperative BQ scores and clinical objective and electrophysiological stages improved, elderly patients showed less improvement in all findings than the 20–54 age groups, presumably due to greater preoperative damage and less repair capacity of the compressed nerve. This, however, is not a contraindication for surgical release in elderly patients.


Aim of the study. Analysis of medical tourism's organizational features based on the example of the large medical organizations in the United Kingdom, South Korea, Italy and China.

Materials and methods. The data were collected by the authors by interviewing the heads of medical organizations and their deputies in the United Kingdom, South Korea, Italy and China (3–4 respondents per medical organization) using the developed questionnaire to identify the main mechanisms and tools for organizing the export of medical services. SWOT-analysis (Strengths; Weaknesses; Opportunities; Threats) was performed in order to comprehensively evaluate the received information.

Results. Along with weaknesses and threats that slow down the development of medical services exports, strengths (internal factors) and opportunities ( external factors) that contribute to the development of medical tourism were also identified: the widespread popularity of the brand of medical organizations abroad which is associated with the provision of premium medical services; versatility and ability to conduct high-tech surgical operations; the presence of a separate premium class building and an international department for working with foreign patients and promoting a medical organization in the world market; well-established business relationships with assistance companies; foreign medical personnel who speak foreign languages and possess necessary skills to treat foreign patients; developed electronic medical care system; developed system of quality control of medical care; the presence of branches in other countries; the presence of a medical visa in the system of legislation; established cooperation with many countries at the embassy level; state licensing and accreditation for the provision of medical services to foreign citzens; the availability of a state website on the provision of medical assistance to foreign citizens; the possibility of the age of value added tax.

Conclusion. We identified main patterns in the organization of export of medical services that can be applied to develop this direction in medical organizations of the Russian Federation during the analysis the strengths and weaknesses of four large medical organizations abroad, as well as external factors that affect the work of these medical organizations.


European Directives must be implemented in national legislation. Given the large amount of infringement procedures before the European Court of Justice, many mistakes are being made in this implementation process. Problems concerning the quality of Directives, such as a lack of coherence between Directives, unclear terms and definitions, questions concerning the scope of Directives et cetera, are not felt at the European level, but place the Member States in a difficult position when implementing the Directives. This article shows how these factors contribute to the occurrence of implementation problems in the field of environmental law. These problems cannot be solved by the Member States, but should be taken into account in the legislative process at the European level.


133I-cholesterol scanning of five patients with primary hyperaldosteronism due to adrenocortical adenoma, gave correct lateralization and localization in three, while in two cases lateralization was not definitively determined. In two patients with phaeochromocytoma unilateral localization was clear-cut in the scan. In two patients with hormone-producing adrenal carcinoma the adrenals were localized poorly or not at all on both sides, because of the size of the tumours and suppression of the healthy contralateral adrenal by the autonomous hormone production. In case of retroperitoneal tumour with destruction of the adrenal the scan demonstrated a hyperplastic but healthy adrenal on the other side. Because 133I-cholesterol scanning exposes the steroid-producing gonads to high radioactivity, the method should only be used for diagnosing which side a unilateral adrenal tumour is on. It should not be used to complement a diagnosis of bilateral adrenal disease achieved by other means.


Kai Hwang and Zhiwei Xu  McGraw-Hill, Boston, 1998, 802 pp. ISBN 0-07-031798-4, $97.30 This text is an in depth introduction to the concepts of Parallel Computing. Designed for use in university level computer science courses, the text covers scalable architecture and parallel programming of symmetric muli-processors, clusters of workstations, massively parallel processors, and Internet-based metacomputing platforms. Hwang and Xu give an excellent overview in these topics while keeping the text easily comprehensible. The text is organized into four parts. Part I covers scalability and clustering. Part II deals with the technology used to construct a parallel system. Part III pertains to the architecture of scalable systems. Finally, Part IV presents methods of parallel programming on various platforms and languages. The first chapter presents different models on scalability as divided into resources, applications, and technology. It defines three abstract models (PRAM, BSP, and phase parallel models) and five physical models (PVP, SMP, MPP, COW, and MPP systems). Chapter 2 introduces the ideas behind parallel programming including processes, tasks, threads and environments. Chapter 3 introduces performance issues and metrics. As an introduction to Part II, Chapter 4 introduces the history of microprocessor types and their applications in the architectures of current systems. Chapter 5 deals with the issues of distributed memory. It discusses several models such as UMA, NORMA, CC-NUMA, COMA, and DSM. Chapter 6 presents gigabit networks, switched interconnects, and other various high-speed networking architectures to construct clusters. Chapter 7 discusses the overheads created by parallel computing, such as threads, synchronization, and efficient communication between nodes. Part III, Chapter 8, 9 and 11, give comparisons between various types of scalable systems (SMP, CC-NUMA, Clusters, and MPP). The comparisons are based on hardware architecture, the system software, and special features that make each system unique. Chapter 10 compares various research and commercial clusters with an in depth study of the Berkeley NOW, IBM SP2, and Digital TruCluster systems. Chapter 12 introduces the concepts of Part IV with details into parallel programming paradigms. Chapter 13 discusses communications between the processors using message passing programming (such as MPI and PVM libraries). Chapter 14 studies the data parallel approach with an emphasis in Fortran 90 and HPF. With attention to detail through examples, Hwang and Xu have created a well-written introduction to Parallel Computing. The authors are distinguished for their contributions in this field. This text is based on cutting-edge research, providing the current theories that are in use in industry today. Bin Cong, Shawn Morrison and Michael Yorg, Department of Computer Science  California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo


In order to evaluate the allelopathic effects of intercropping with marigold and common rosemary on tomato early blight disease development Intercropped systems promote biological diversity, improve the use of natural resources, diminish the risk of crop losses and can provide barriers to the spread of plant diseases. Medicinal plants can grow in intercropping. Common Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) and Marigold (Tagetes erecta L.) are multipurpose crops with remedial, ornamental, medical and pharmaceutical uses, and reported antimicrobial properties. Tomato early blight, caused by Alternaria solani, is perhaps the most common leaf disease in this crop and is considered one of the main diseases affecting tomato production in Iran. In this experiment, we evaluated the effects of marigold intercropped with tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) and Common Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) on A. solani on tomato leaf damage in farm condition. Results showed that intercropping with marigold and common rosemary induced a significant (p < 0.05) reduction in tomato early blight caused by A. solani, by means of two different mechanisms. The first mechanism was the allelopathic effects of marigold and common rosemary on A. solani conidia germination. The second way was by altering the microclimatic conditions around the canopy, particularly by reducing the number of hours per day with relative humidity ≥92 %, thus diminishing conidial development. The third mechanism was to provide a physical barrier against conidia spreading. When intercropped with tomato, Common Rosemary plants worked also as a physical barrier and promoted reductions in the maximum relative humidity surrounding the canopy, but to a lesser extent than marigold.


Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is the most common neoplasm in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is, however, very rare for ophthalmic KS to present as an initial manifestation of AIDS. To date, there have been only two reported cases of KS of the eyelid in patients with no other AIDS-defining illnesses.1,2We report a unique case of KS involving the bulbar conjunctiva as an initial clinical manifestation of AIDS. Report of a Case. A 23-year-old bisexual black man who was human immunodeficiency virus-positive presented with complaints of redness, foreign body sensation, and a painless "growth" on the conjunctiva of his left eye. The lesion began as a small flat patch of redness on the inferior aspect of the left bulbar conjunctiva and progressed over an 8-month period to a size of 16×4 mm elevated to 4 mm at presentation (Figure 1). The patient also had a 4×5-mm flat


Abstract. This work proposes a daily high-resolution probabilistic reconstruction of precipitation and temperature fields in France over the 1871–2012 period built on the NOAA Twentieth Century global extended atmospheric reanalysis (20CR). The objective is to fill in the spatial and temporal data gaps in surface observations in order to improve our knowledge on the local-scale climate variability from the late nineteenth century onwards. The SANDHY (Stepwise ANalogue Downscaling method for HYdrology) statistical downscaling method, initially developed for quantitative precipitation forecast, is used here to bridge the scale gap between large-scale 20CR predictors and local-scale predictands from the Safran high-resolution near-surface reanalysis, available from 1958 onwards only. SANDHY provides a daily ensemble of 125 analogue dates over the 1871–2012 period for 608 climatically homogeneous zones paving France. Large precipitation biases in intermediary seasons are shown to occur in regions with high seasonal asymmetry like the Mediterranean. Moreover, winter and summer temperatures are respectively over- and under-estimated over the whole of France. Two analogue subselection methods are therefore developed with the aim of keeping the structure of the SANDHY method unchanged while reducing those seasonal biases. The calendar selection keeps the analogues closest to the target calendar day. The stepwise selection applies two new analogy steps based on similarity of the sea surface temperature (SST) and the large-scale 2 m temperature (T). Comparisons to the Safran reanalysis over 1959–2007 and to homogenized series over the whole twentieth century show that biases in the interannual cycle of precipitation and temperature are reduced with both methods. The stepwise subselection moreover leads to a large improvement of interannual correlation and reduction of errors in seasonal temperature time series. When the calendar subselection is an easily applicable method suitable in a quantitative precipitation forecast context, the stepwise subselection method allows for potential season shifts and SST trends and is therefore better suited for climate reconstructions and climate change studies. The probabilistic downscaling of 20CR over the period 1871–2012 with the SANDHY probabilistic downscaling method combined with the stepwise subselection thus constitutes a perfect framework for assessing the recent observed meteorological events but also future events projected by climate change impact studies and putting them in a historical perspective.


Lithium niobate (LN:LiNbO₃) is a compound of niobium, lithium and oxygen. The characteristics of LN are piezoelectricity, ferroelectricity and photoelectricity, and which is widely used in surface acoustic wave (SAW). To manufacture LN devices, the LN surface should be a smooth surface and defect-free because of optical property, but the LN material is processed difficult b traditional processes such as grinding and mechanical polishing (MP) because of its brittleness. To decrease defects, chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) was applied to the LN wafer. In this study, the suitable parameters such as down force and relative velocity, were investigated for the LN CMP process To improve roughness, the LN CMP was performed using the parameters that were the highest removal rate among process parameters. And, evaluation of optical property was performed by the optical reflectance.


Acetaminophen overdose is one of severe global health challenges. In this study, adsorption technique was used to reduce acetaminophen overdose. Carbo tablets derived by wet granulation technique, coded as formulated carbo tablet (FCT) and alginated formulated carbo tablets (FCT-Alg), were characterized using the pharmaceutical drug procedures (hardness, disintegration time, tablet strength, friability) and instrumental techniques including, FTIR, SEM, and DSC analysis. DSC thermogram revealed that, the excipients were compatible with the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API). Batch adsorption experiments were carried out in the simulated gastric fluid (SGF) to monitor the role of some parametric factors (pH, concentration, carbo dosages, and PCM dosages). The tablet displayed favorable hardness and disintegration time (3.40 min). Optimum adsorption was observed at pH 1.2 for FCT in SGF (RE of 92.80%); FCT-Alg in SGF (RE of 99.17%). The results depicted that, the adsorption of the acetaminophen in SGF gave up to 99.65% removal efficiency, and compared with the commercial carbo tablet (CCT) with adsorption efficiency of 96.44%.


Public HealthThe timing of a scientific report last fall that questioned the value of screening women routinely for breast cancer before age 50 was bad, coming just as Democrats were trying to push health reform through Congress. To opponents of the legislation, the report smacked of "medical rationing" by bureaucrats, the kind they claimed to see in the bills. It became a huge distraction, and in the end the Obama Administration quietly distanced itself from the findings. The flap continued, loud and angry, for days. Experts and nonexperts lobbed critiques and rebuttals, at times questioning one another's motives. Researchers who had worked on the guidelines were disappointed that their analysis was being dismissed out of hand.


An optimal power and rate scheduling problem for a single user transmitting to a base station on a fading wireless link with the objective of minimizing the mean delay subject to an average power constraint is considered. The base station acts as a controller which, depending upon the transmitter buffer lengths and the signal power to interference ratio (SIR) on the uplink pilot channel, allocates transmission rate and power to the user. We provide structural results for an average cost optimal stationary policy under a long run average transmitter power constraint. We obtain a closed form expression relating the optimal policy when the SIR is the best, to the optimal policy for any other SIR value. We also obtain lower and upper bounds for the optimal policy.


Objective: Mental defeat has been implicated in precipitating suicide with effects not explained by depression. It has also been found to be elevated in people who are most distressed and disabled by chronic pain. This study examined the role of mental defeat in predicting suicide intent among chronic pain patients and compared the predictive value of mental defeat with other established pain and psychological constructs. Methods: Sixty-two chronic pain patients attended a semi-structured interview to assess pain characteristics and suicidality (present and worst-ever) and completed self-report measures of anxiety, depression, hopelessness, self-efficacy, pain catastrophising and mental defeat. Results: A total of 22.6% of people reported a history of suicide attempt (1 attempt=12.9%; >2 attempts=9.7%). The wish to die was reportedly moderate to strong for 63.3% of those who attempted suicide. No significant correlations were found for hopelessness and self-efficacy with suicide intent in this sample. Hierarchical regression analyses suggested that pain intensity was a significant predictor of worst-ever suicidal intent (R=0.11), and mental defeat significantly improved the prediction even when the effect of pain intensity was accounted for (RΔ=0.12). Anxiety, depression and pain catastrophising were significant correlates of suicide intent, but they did not add to the prediction of worst-ever suicide intent after the effect of pain intensity was controlled for. Discussion: Mental defeat may be a key indicator for heightened suicide risk. Therapeutic interventions targeting mental defeat offer a novel avenue for reducing suicide risk in chronic pain patients.


A  return  to  economic  growth  and  higher  employment  requires  growth  in  the number  and  sustainability  of  Irish  enterprises.  Innovation  at  enterprise  level  is essential  for  sustainability  and  competitiveness  and  plays  a  major  role  in increasing  overall  productivity.  Understanding  the  determinants  of  enterprise innovation  and  how  it  affects  productivity  is  important  for  designing  effective innovation  policies.  The  tight  fiscal  constraints  and  the  urgency  of  achieving successful  outcomes  require  that  government  policies  aimed  at  enhancing enterprise  innovation  and  raising  productivity  need  to  be  very  effective.    This paper draws on recent international theoretical and empirical literature based on enterprise  level  data  to  explore  four  questions: Does  innovation  contribute  to higher  productivity?  Which  types  of  enterprises  invest  in  innovation?  Which enterprises have higher  innovation  expenditure per  employee? Which  types of enterprises are more likely to innovate successfully? We then look at what these findings  imply  for  policy  in  relation  to  indigenous  enterprises,  whether  the current policy mix is appropriate and how it might become more effective.


The motivation for this study arises from the opportunity to gasify renewable sources of biomass (e.g. forestry and farming residue, municipal waste), to obtain biogas (H2, CO, CO2, N2, HCs) which can be used as a fuel in gas engines. A major challenge is to develop appropriate catalytic technology for the treatment of exhaust gases from the engine, to meet the new European Waste Incineration Directive (WID) for this type of a process. So called structured reactors based on metallic short channel structures with enhanced mass and heat transport [ ], are able to considerably shorten the reactor length and combat issues experienced with current DeNOx technology, namely ammonia-selective catalytic reduction (SCR), including the size of the cleaning installation and ammonia slip. In line with the requirements stated by the structured reactors and the NH3-SCR process are copper-exchanged zeolites, which are known for their remarkable activity in the reduction of nitrogen oxides [ ] (Figure 1). Use of the steamed form of zeolite Y as a matrix for the copper cations should lead to the active catalyst having both Cu+ and H+ cations acting as active centres in the DeNOx process. Additionally, the steaming process should form mesopores facilitating reagents transport, and should stabilize existing acidic centres, protecting them from further decomposition under the harsh conditions of the catalytic reaction. The catalyst was examined by XRD and the types of active centres present within the zeolite structure were checked by in situ FTIR adsorption and desorption measurements using pyridine, NO and CO as probe molecules. The surface of the deposited catalysts was analysed with the standard SEM/EDX method, to verify the distribution of the material, and the coupled system of AFM and confocal Raman microscope to investigate the structure and dispersion of the material. The catalysts were tested in the reduction of NO and NO2 with ammonia in a gradientless reactor to derive kinetic parameters. The results allowed for the advanced correlations of the catalyst to establish fundamental structure-performance relationships. 1. A. Kolodziej and J. Lojewska, Catalysis Today, 2009, 147, S120-S124. 2. P. Pietrzyk, B. Gil and Z. Sojka, Catalysis Today, 2007, 126, 103-111.


The fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe is auxotrophic for biotin (vitamin H) and growth depends on biotin uptake over the plasma membrane. Here a biotin transport mutant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is used to identify the vht1+ gene encoding the Schizosaccharomyces pombe plasma membrane transport protein for biotin. SpVht1p belongs to the family of allantoate transporters and has only little sequence homology to the S. cerevisiae biotin transporter. Although having dissimilar primary structures, the biotin transporters in Sz. pombe and S. cerevisiae share similar biochemical properties and regulation. Like in S. cerevisiae, biotin uptake in Sz. pombe is a high‐affinity process, is optimal at acidic pH values and inhibited by protonophores, indicating that SpVht1p acts as a proton–biotin symporter. Desthiobiotin, the metabolic precursor of biotin, is also imported by SpVht1p. Deletion of vht1+ abolishes growth on low external concentrations of the vitamin, showing that vht1+ encodes the only protein that mediates biotin uptake in Sz. pombe. Expression of vht1+ is maximal at low external biotin concentrations, indicating that Sz. pombe can adjust the rate of biotin uptake to meet the requirement for the vitamin. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


This study presents a generalised single-equation load flow (GSELF) method for the analysis of unbalanced distribution systems. The proposed method is derived from a recently formulation published in the technical literature, which is based on the impedance matrix and nodal currents injections. The major drawback of this type of method, however, is that the impedance matrix must remain constant throughout the process to guarantee efficiency, thus not allowing the modelling of some of the common components present in distribution networks. This proposal introduces a GSELF method which can overcome this limitation and allow the inclusion of distribution transformers and voltage regulators, in different types of connections, without sacrificing accuracy. Models of distribution system devices such as shunt capacitors and distributed generators, as well as three phase lines and various types of loads can be included. The proposed method is then tested with two benchmark IEEE distribution systems. Results show that the proposed method is effective, computationally robust and faster than the forward/backward sweep method.


Majocchi's granuloma or dermatophytic granuloma is a mycosis observed among immunocompetent and immunocompromised patients caused by dermatophytes, particularly Trichophyton rubrum, which may be responsible for 50% of cases. The mechanism by which it occurs is yet unknown although reports suggest it may occur after localized trauma that alters the hair follicle and enables the entrance of the microorganism. Diabetes and the use of topical steroids are among some of the predispEl cuadro 1 no está acotado. Favor de hacerloEl cuadro 1 no está acotado. Favor de hacerloosing factors. Majocchi's granuloma has two clinical presentations, among immunocompetent patients it displays follicular papules and among immunocom-promised patients a subcutaneous nodular type is observed. Diagnosis is confirmed through histopathology, where granulomas and dermatophytes in the form of filaments or spores are observed in the mid and deep dermis. Treatment includes systemic antimycotics. We reviewed the etiopathogenic, clinical, histopathological and therapeutic aspects of Majocchi's granuloma.


Policy makers have embraced financial education as a necessary antidote to the increasing complexity of consumers' financial decisions over the last generation. We conduct a meta-analysis of the relationship of financial literacy and of financial education to financial behaviors in 168 papers covering 201 prior studies. We find that interventions to improve financial literacy explain only 0.1% of the variance in financial behaviors studied, with weaker effects in low-income samples. Like other education, financial education decays over time; even large interventions with many hours of instruction have negligible effects on behavior 20 months or more from the time of intervention. Correlational studies that measure financial literacy find stronger associations with financial behaviors. We conduct three empirical studies, and we find that the partial effects of financial literacy diminish dramatically when one controls for psychological traits that have been omitted in prior research or when one uses an instrument for financial literacy to control for omitted variables. Financial education as studied to date has serious limitations that have been masked by the apparently larger effects in correlational studies. We envisage a reduced role for financial education that is not elaborated or acted upon soon afterward. We suggest a real but narrower role for "just-in-time" financial education tied to specific behaviors it intends to help. We conclude with a discussion of the characteristics of behaviors that might affect the policy maker's mix of financial education, choice architecture, and regulation as tools to help consumer financial behavior.

This paper was accepted by Uri Gneezy, behavioral economics.


Three ceramic fibres VK-60, ABK and Nextel/VK-80 produced by the steam blowing and nozzle dissemination methods have been investigated for the effect of press load per unit area and temperatures using the advantageous transient plane source (ATPS) method in air. It was noticed that, with the increase of the aluminium content in the composition of the ceramic fibres, the thermal conductivity of the material decreases and the isolation properties improved. The Nextel/VK-80 fibre has the lowest and VK-60 the highest value of thermal conductivity at room temperature. The application of a press load results in an increase in the value of the thermal conductivity for all the fibres analysed. ABK fibres showed the least increase and Nextel/VK-80 registered an increase of about 10% in the value of thermal conductivity within the load increase from 0.6 to 6.6 kN m−2. However, above 6.6 kN m−2 the thermal conductivity of all the samples increased almost linearly. The thermal conductivity measurements as a function of temperature indicated the same trend for an increase in thermal conductivity for all the samples.


This chapter reviews historical and technical issues, achievements to date, and future possibilities with respect to transformation of Plasmodium falciparum blood stages. Despite the relatively low efficiency of the P. falciparum transfection system, it was sufficient for both gene targeting and transgene expression approaches to be developed and utilized to analyze gene function in this organism. Given the inability to transfect linear DNA and achieve fast integration into the P. falciparum genome, a key to the success of P. falciparum transfection is the somewhat mysterious ability of transfected plasmids to replicate episomally in parasites. Transfection of P. falciparum blood stages, using transient transfection with the reporter genes chloramphenicol acetyl transferase and luciferase, has been an important tool in the identification of functional characterization of a number of transcriptional control elements from this organism. Plasmid transfection vectors designed to express transgenes have been used extensively in P. falciparum, and this has been useful in a wide variety of studies. A major advance in understanding the molecular dynamics of cellular systems has derived from elegant studies in which the gene encoding green fluorescent protein (GFP) is appended to a gene encoding a protein of interest and transfected into a living cell. Since the development of transfection for Plasmodium berghei and P. falciparum, the need for an inducible expression/conditional knockout system was recognized as a crucial next step to allow the functional analysis of many blood stage genes.


The late Neogene to Quaternary of Cyprus is considered to be a tectonically active period coeval with major climatic change. Uplift, associated with the activities of the supra-subduction zone to south of island was concomitant with global cooling, the expansion of the Northern Hemisphere Ice Sheets and the Middle Pleistocene Transition. Despite the globally significant climatic events during the period of deposition, the Plio-Pleistocene climatic record in Cyprus is largely unknown and for the most part ignored. The objective of this study was therefore to investigate the stratigraphical record of the 'fore-arc', with the intention of elucidating the mechanisms controlling the cyclicity on sedimentation, in an attempt to understand the uplift history.

Sequence stratigraphical, palaeohydraulic, micropalaeontological and architectural analyses were conducted to provide an understanding of the sedimentary cyclicity, at key stratigraphical intervals. Correlation of the results to global patterns provided a robust method for deducing climatic controls on sedimentary deposition, thus leaving the residual record of tectonic uplift.

Cyprus is critically located in a region sensitive to climatic perturbations and is positioned between two major oscillatory atmospheric cells (Hadley and Ferrel Cells). The position of the boundaries of these cells is governed by the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone, which is controlled by latitudinal temperature gradients and ice volume. The effect of the Northern Hemisphere Ice Sheets and its influence on the climate belts over the eastern Mediterranean has been examined and has allowed the recognition of distinct climatic and oceanographic conditions.

The results indicate that the sedimentary evolution of the Cyprus 'fore-arc' responded to the progressive development of the Northern Hemisphere Ice Sheets and the orbitally controlled meridional movements of the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone. Tectonics created the relief and source necessary for deposition, whilst climate provided the overriding control on internal architecture within the depositional systems.


Abstract : Symptoms and signs of space motion sickness and fluid shift were observed by 4 specially trained crewmembers on the physically demanding 10 day flight of Space Shuttle/Spacelab 1 launched on 11/28/83. Anonymous but detailed firsthand reports are presented. Three crewmen experienced persistent overall discomfort, and vomited repeatedly. Symptom pattern was generally similar to that seen in the individuals preflight, except that: prodromal nausea was brief or absent in some cases; facial pallor and cold sweating were usually absent; one subject experienced uncomfortable stomach elevation. However, symptoms were clearly modulated by head movement, were exacerbated by unfamiliar visual cues, and could be reduced by physical restraint providing contact cues around the body. Drugs known to be effective in preventing motion sickness were judged helpful in limiting symptoms, including vomiting. Results support the view that space sickness is a form of motion sickness.


Pervasive computing environments bring new challenges for client/service interactions due to the heterogeneity of both the interconnected networks and the middleware platforms used. In order for clients to truly benefit from all the networked services embedded into the environment, an innovative solution is required that overcomes both the lack of interoperability of the existing discovery and access protocols, and the limited interconnectivity between the different networks available at a location. This paper introduces the MUSDAC middleware platform that interoperates with existing middleware protocols, and manages the dissemination of service information in dynamic multi-network environments. A generic service is thus provided that enables clients to discover and interact with services in the entire environment. A prototype implementation of our platform is further presented, enabling us to demonstrate the flexibility of our approach


Learning today has shifted from face-to-face curriculum to distance learning. Recent advances in distance learning bring major changes in education and educators take different roles in teaching courses. As technology offers a great potential for distance learning, many schools have been adopting this innovative approach. This paper explores a project undertaken by a large US university. We examine a security course that employs a distance learning environment and investigate how this environment affects learners and educators. Our findings indicate that distance learning is not considered a superior teaching method; on the contrary, in many cases, students reported on technical difficulties working with an on-line system. We conclude that further study and research of this method is warranted in order to determine the long-term benefits of using distance learning and to address its many challenges.


The completion of suicide is permanent and tragic with long term repercussions affecting everyone who knew the victim. Suicidal ideations and behaviors can occur across all genders, ages, ethnicities, and nationalities. A recent increase in the suicide rates of active duty United States military personnel has raised alarm. A comprehensive review of the literature published between 1990 to present was conducted and a comparison of the United States military and other nations' militaries was done in three main areas: suicide rates, risk and resiliency factors, and suicide prevention protocols. An evaluation of these three areas across militaries has provided a multicultural discussion on the topic of suicide and prevention among military populations. Future research implications are also discussed.


Mechanical shelling and dehulling methods were tested to evaluate their impact on Fusarium infection and fumonisin contamination in maize. All shelling methods which were tested were found to damage the grains. The IITA® sheller caused the highest level (up to 3.5%) of damage. Fusarium populations were higher on damaged grains, the highest being recorded from grains damaged by the IITA® sheller (2533.3 cfu g−1). Fumonisin levels were higher in damaged grains, the highest being in maize shelled with the IITA® sheller (2.2 mg kg−1). Fumonisin levels were positively and significantly correlated with the percentage of damage caused by the shelling methods, and with the number of Fusarium colonies in maize. Mechanical dehulling methods significantly reduced fumonisin levels in maize, resulting in a mean reduction of 62% for Mini-PRL, 65% for Engelberg, and 57% for the attrition disc mill. It is important for farmers to choose appropriate shelling methods to reduce mycotoxin contamination. Dehulling should be widely promoted for the reduction of mycotoxins in maize.


Background: There are relatively rich uranium mines in regions of Saghand and Bafgh in Yazd province. This survey was carried out to provide a map of ambient gamma radiation of Yazd province and the probable effects of the existence of these mines on background radiation dose rates. Materials and Methods: The measurements of the outdoor and indoor–environmental exposures (including cosmic and terrestrial components) were accomplished by a portable Geiger Muller detector in the five areas in each of eight big cities of Yazd province. Results: The average exposure rates of indoor and outdoor ambient of Yazd province were 13.9 ± 0.7 µRh-1 and 11.6 ± 0.8 µRh-1 respectively. The average dose rates in air, resulting from gamma background radiation of indoor and outdoor were 122 ± 6.8 nSvh-1 and 101.4 ± 7.4 nSvh-1 respectively. The annual average of equivalent dose in air was found to be 1.03 ± 0.05 mSv, and the annual average of effective dose was 0.72 mSv. Conclusion: The results of this study in comparison with the same measurements in some other cities in Iran such as Isfahan and Tabriz, proves that the existence of uranium mines doesn't affect gamma background radiation of Yazd province. Iran. J. Radiat. Res., 2005; 3 (1):


Although the contribution of B-cell derived autoreactive antibodies to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been studied extensively, the autoantibody-independent roles of B cells in the progression of the disease is not well-defined. Here we present the first comprehensive transcriptome profile of human autoreactive B cells in an autoimmune disease by performing RNA-sequencing of citrulline-specific B cells from RA patients. In order to facilitate a comprehensive understanding of the profile of these citrulline-specific (RA-CCPPOS) B cells, we performed comparative analyses to both citrulline-negative (RA-CCPNEG) B cells from the same donors, and identified 431 differentially expressed genes (DEGs); and hemagglutinin-specific (HA) B cells from healthy individuals and identified 1658 DEGs. Three-way comparisons of these B cell populations demonstrated that RA-CCPPOS B cells, in comparison to the RA-CCPNEG B cells, demonstrate a potential role in protein citrullination and inflammation; RA-CCPPOS B cells in comparison to HA-specific B cells demonstrate RA-specific signatures like the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, costimulatory molecules and B-cell activation cascades; and all B cells from RA patients demonstrated a significant impact of the multitude of TNF signaling pathways. Furthermore, transcription factor profiling suggested that cyclic AMP (cAMP) related pathways and downstream signaling molecules are selectively enriched in RA-CCPPOS cells in comparison to the other two B cell subsets. We advanced the understanding of the citrulline reactive B cells in RA pathophysiology by documenting and validating two novel observations in independent cohorts of patients: (1) the expression of IL15Rα is restricted to citrulline-specific cells within RA patients and the concentration of soluble IL15Rα is elevated in the sera of RA patients, (2) B cells from RA patients are capable of producing epidermal growth factor ligand, amphiregulin (AREG) which in turn has a direct impact on the mechanistic effectors of RA, osteoclasts and fibroblastlike synoviocytes (FLS). Overall, our comprehensive dataset identifies several existing FDA-approved drugs that can potentially be repurposed for RA and can serve as a foundation for studying the multi-faceted roles of B cells in other autoimmune diseases.


Throughfall and soil solution chemistry were studied for 1 y in a tropical montane forest in the Luquillo Mountains of Puerto Rico. Passage of precipitation through the forest canopy resulted in an increase in the concentration and flux of all solutes except H+ and NO3−. Throughfall chemistry showed no strong seasonal patterns, but concentrations of many solutes declined during weeks of high rainfall. Enrichment in throughfall relative to precipitation was similar to values reported recently for several other tropical sites, with the exception of NH4+, which was particularly high at this site. Based on net throughfall deposition of Cl−, dry deposition of marine aerosols appears to be a relatively minor component (c. 15%) of total deposition. In soil solution, no seasonal patterns in concentration were evident and variability was highest for elements with high biological activity (especially N). Concentrations and fluxes of K+ and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) showed the largest declines as throughfall passed through the soil profile; concentrations of most other elements increased or were relatively constant. Declining DOC flux through the soil profile appears to be due to sorption processes similar to those observed in many temperate forests. Concentrations and fluxes of HCO3− and SiO2 increased substantially in soil solution, but never approached those observed in the stream. This suggests that additional weathering must occur as groundwater moves from this ridgetop site to the stream.


There is an increasing market for locally grown malting barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) in the Northeast US. Malting barley must meet certain quality standards for acceptability in the brewing market. Up-to-date recommendations are needed regionally for adaptation to ongoing climate change. A two-year field experiment was conducted to assess the interactive influence of three dates of planting (5 September, 15 September, and 25 September), two levels of fall N (0 or 28 kg ha−1), and three levels of spring N (28, 50.5, and 73 kg ha−1). No significant difference was detected in grain yield amongst the treatments. The date of planting and fall N application mainly affected crop growth while spring N impacted grain quality. Delayed planting led to better winter survival and reduced lodging and foliar disease. Fall N application reduced winter survival for the early September planting but had minimal other agronomic impacts. An increased spring N application rate increased grain protein and lowered falling number, but there were no treatment differences in other quality parameters. Results indicated that late September planting, application of no fall N, and moderate spring N (28 kg ha−1) resulted in the highest agronomic N efficiency and grain quality for malting barley in Northeast.


Experiments were done in the anesthetized rat to identify the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) and the spinal cord segments that contain neurons activated by either renal venous occlusion (RVO) or by renal arterial occlusion (RAO). Fos induction, detected immunohistochemically in DRG and the spinal cord neurons, was used as a marker for neuronal activation. RVO induced Fos immunoreactivity in neurons in the DRG of spinal segments T8-L2 on the side ipsilateral to that of occlusion. The largest number of Fos-labeled neurons was found in the T11 DRG. In the spinal cord the largest number of Fos-labeled neurons was found in the ipsilateral dorsal horn of spinal segments T11-T12, predominantly in a cluster near the dorsomedial edge of laminae I-II. A few additional Fos-labeled neurons were observed in laminae IV and V. After RAO Fos-labeled neurons were found in the ipsilateral DRG of spinal segments similar to those observed to contain neurons after RVO. However, most of the Fos-labeled neurons were observed within the T12-L1 DRG. In the spinal cord Fos-labeled neurons were scattered throughout lamina I-II of the ipsilateral dorsal horn of spinal segments T8-L2, although the largest number was observed at the T13 level. Additionally, a distinct cluster of Fos-labeled neurons was observed predominantly in the region of the ipsilateral intermediolateral cell column, although a few neurons were found scattered throughout the nucleus intercalatus, central autonomic areas, and laminae IV and V of the cord bilaterally. No Fos labeling was observed in the complementary contralateral DRG or dorsal horns after either RVO or RAO. In addition, renal nerve transection prevented Fos labeling in the ipsilateral DRG and dorsal horns after RVO or RAO. Taken together, these data suggest that functionally different renal afferent fibers activate DRG neurons that may have distinct projections in the spinal cord.


Multiple primary tumors of the spinal cord and its meninges are rare and, like those of the brain, are most frequently found accidentally at necropsy. In most instances the largest of the tumors produces the predominant symptoms, which mask those produced by the smaller new growths. In other cases the multiple growths may be asymptomatic, or the clinical picture may be that of a disseminated lesion of the spinal cord similar to that produced by multiple sclerosis or diffuse adhesive spinal arachnoiditis. In a study of 100 cases of glioma of the spinal cord by Foerster and Bailey 1 only 2 cases of multiple tumors were encountered, and in only 1 of Elsberg's 2 series of 81 cases of tumor of the spinal cord were multiple growths observed. Because of the infrequency of reports in the literature on multiple tumors of the spinal cord, a study of 2 cases and


This paper examines the problem of statutory foreign affairs preemption. There are two related interpretive issues. One concerns the proper interpretive default presumption. Should preemption analysis indulge a presumption in favor of the federal government's strong national interest in conducting foreign affairs? Should it instead be biased to protect traditional state prerogatives? Or should no presumption attach in either direction? I argue that neither an interpretive canon favoring federal foreign affairs interests, nor one favoring state interests, is warranted in this context. Considered separately, each canon rests on implausible institutional and empirical assumptions. When a foreign relations statute touches on traditional state prerogatives, both canons are implicated, and both lose coherence. The prudent course is for courts to apply "ordinary" principles of preemption without any presumption in favor of state or federal law, even when they think the statute concerns foreign affairs. Of course, courts have an array of "ordinary" preemption doctrines at their disposal even after they have resolved the default presumption issue. The second issue, therefore, is: Which preemption doctrine(s) should they apply in the foreign relations context? When a case involves a state law that appears to implicate foreign relations, options for preemption include express preemption, conflict preemption, obstacle preemption, field preemption, dormant commerce clause preemption, dormant foreign affairs preemption, and the federal common law of foreign relations. These doctrines can be compared along two dimensions: (a) the degree to which the political branches have spoken to the preemption issue, and (b) the extent to which preemption doctrines require courts to engage in an independent assessment of the state law's effect on U.S. foreign relations. I argue that, for reasons of institutional competence and political process, and because of the waning of the domestic-foreign affairs distinction, courts should engage in minimalist statutory foreign affairs preemption. They should eschew independent judicial foreign policy analysis, and preempt state law only on the basis of policy choices traceable to the political branches in enacted law. This, I argue in the last Section of the paper, is precisely what the Supreme Court did in its recent decision in Crosby v. National Foreign Trade Council, 120 S Ct 2298 (2000).


Survey evidence from U.S. organic farmers is evaluated to identify the factors influencing effectiveness ratings of cooperative extension advisors by organic farmers. A nonlinear logit model is specified for the ratings provided by organic producers, and critical demographic and management factors that influence the ratings are identified. The impact of the organic farmers' status in transitioning to organic production is highlighted. The results indicate that part-time, newer adopters of organic farming methods are more likely to rate extension service providers as effective providers of information. Scenarios to predict extension effectiveness when interacting with specific groups of organic farmers are developed.


Purpose
Virtual reality (VR) technologies have expanded their application domains towards education with pedagogical benefits including fully immersive learning environment and in-depth user engagement through scenario-based virtual simulations. Motion sickness (MS), however, has become one of the long-standing key challenges of the VR utilisation, even in gaming industries. Thus, this paper aims to present a preliminary study on understanding the VR MS, referred as cybersickness, in the teaching and learning (T&L) context at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China.

Design/methodology/approach
A VR-based virtual classroom content was developed and tested for 60 undergraduate students having equal access to the same VR equipment. A two-step data collection, comprising qualitative and quantitative measures, was conducted for the participants. The aspects of how gender influences the cybersickness severity and how academic background affects the learning experience were investigated and analysed using analysis of variance F-test statistical approach.

Findings
The results demonstrated approximately 47% of the participants had experienced cybersickness, where 64% of them were females. With confidence level of 95% (a = 5%), the obtained p-value and F-statistical value for the respective gender and study discipline categories against the cybersickness symptoms confirmed the significance level between the two compared variables. Moreover, it is worth highlighting that the virtual movement speed, perspective angle and visual properties of the virtual environment were selected as the top three factors that caused the cybersickness.

Originality/value
The study is hoped to provide valuable pointers to current and future VR developers in minimising the cybersickness symptoms that would enable an effective T&L environment in higher education.


Abstract Purpose: Family caregivers are important to facilitating the rehabilitation of individuals with brain injury. However, research shows spousal carers often reporting poorer health and well-being with psychosocial challenges including increased marital dissatisfaction. This study explores the accounts of participants caring for a spouse with brain injury. Materials and methods: This study used semi-structured interviewing and interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results: One theme, "Living in and beyond the loop of fear", with two subheadings is reported. Participants' attempts to manage their fears prominently defined their early caregiving. Fears were aggravated by the vulnerability of their spouse's health which partially owed to brain injury sometimes having no symptoms prior to its onset. Consequently, participants anxiously strove to prevent further harm to their spouse's health due to what they perceived as the continued "hidden" threat of brain injury. Therefore, participants became hypervigilant, leaving themselves vulnerable to burnout. Over time, some participants modified care practices and managed fears using beliefs accepting their limits to protect their spouses' health. Conclusions: Findings suggest that beliefs conducive to acceptance helped carers to develop more sustainable, less over-protective, care. Interventions to help carers develop similar beliefs could be provided in therapeutic settings. Recommendations for future research are made. Implications for Rehabilitation Caring for a long-term partner with acquired brain injury has considerable challenges which can threaten an individual's health and well-being. Our research reports on carers' experiences of anxiety which they managed through hypervigilant and overprotective practices which put them at risk of burnout. Consequently, we recommend the promotion of care beliefs that reframe caregiving: recognising the carer's limitations to safeguard a spouse, whilst accepting the vulnerability of the spouse's health. We propose that promoting such principles in therapeutic settings may better equip carers emotionally to provide sustainable care, something which could benefit the carer and spouse's rehabilitation alike.


To whom reprint requests should be addressed. 1. Recta of Schistocerca gregaria possess a high-affinity ( K t = 10 mmol 1 −1 ) and high-capacity ( V max = 4.2 μequiv cm −2 h −1 ) active absorptive mechanism for proline second in magnitude only to stimulated Cl − transport. 2. Transcellular and paracellular pathways have extremely low passive permeability to proline, resulting in very high flux ratios (40:1) compared with those for other.solutes (less than 6:1). 3. Net epithelial transport of proline is largely independent of luminal Na + , K + and Cl − . Sodium influx does not change when proline net fluxes are varied 14-fold. Therefore Na + cotransport is not a principal mechanism of proline uptake in this tissue. 4. Prolonged absence of Na + and K + from the haemocoel side partially inhibits proline transport, probably indirectly, by affecting the general transport capacity of the rectum. Inhibition is irreversible. 5. A component of the net proline flux (J net pro ) is electrogenic, located in the apical membrane, and may be due to proline/proton cotransport.


Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to determine the effectiveness of web-based video lectures on demand for the deaf in comparison to the traditional method of teaching using a sign language interpreter. The web-based lectures presented are specifically designed for the deaf in education and in rehabilitation. Method: Sixty-three deaf students and adults were divided into four groups. All of the groups were made up of users who shared similar knowledge in the field of computers, but with different abilities in using computers, from beginners to advanced users. All of the groups were of mixed gender. The first two groups (consisting of 23 test users) graded the usability of the user interface for web-based lecture on demand with the help of the standardized SUMI questionnaire. After that, two groups (20 students from high school and 20 adults) joined in a 45-min informational program on the history of the deaf. Both groups were then divided into two smaller subgroups of 10 participants. The first subgroup in the first part of the learning program followed a traditional teaching style with the help of a teacher and an interpreter for Slovenian sign language. Meanwhile, the second group observed a 12-min web-based video lecture on demand and still had available an additional 18 min for a more detailed observation of the video. At the end of the lecture, the teacher used the questionnaire to review the participants' understanding of the content of the lecture in both of the groups. During the entire testing period, the interpreter used Slovenian sign language. Results: By using the SUMI questionnaire, we determined the usability of the user interface for comprehension and gathering of knowledge. We discovered that the system was usable according to the standards. The global Median results (Global Median = 51) were in the range of 50. In the second part of testing, we determined the level of significance between the traditional and web-based lectures. The results were statistically evaluated using the t-tests and the ANOVA test. From the t-tests we established the hypothesis that the number of correct answers for both groups (group 1: web-based, group 2: traditional) differed. The t-test used for the age groups rejected the hypothesis that the number of correct answers for both groups differed, where group 1 was comprised of adults and group 2 was comprised of students. Additionally, the ANOVA test showed that the number of correct answers for adults using traditional lectures differed significantly from the number of correct answers for both adult and student web-based users. The ANOVA test showed no differences between any of the remaining groups. Conclusions: We can conclude that for deaf people it is extremely important to introduce the use of information and communications technology on all levels of education and rehabilitation. This increases their ability to learn and improves their understanding of learning materials, especially if the applications are designed specifically for their needs. Through daily exposure to a larger number of such materials, we can positively influence the literacy (reading and writing skills) of the deaf. With increased literacy, the deaf would be able to read literature, and subtitles, enabling them to receive information through written sources. Therefore, we can expect them to have a higher self-esteem, more easily integrate into society and have more opportunities for employment.


Research concerning the effects of leadership on work safety is characterized by two biases: a) in spite of its potential negative impact, passive leadership is understudied; b) general rather than specific measures of leadership are typically used, with the risk of not fully capturing the effects of superiors' behaviors on safety. Two studies examined the reliability and validity of an Italian version of two scales measuring safety-specific transformational and passive leadership, as proposed by Kelloway, Mullen, and Francis (2006). In Study 1, 340 workers from the manufacturing sector completed a questionnaire with the original items previously translated into Italian. Exploratory factor analysis revealed content ambiguity in one item and led to its reformulation. In Study 2, 216 construction workers completed a questionnaire with the adapted scales and a measure of safety climate. Results provided evidence of reliability as well as convergent and concurrent validity of the adapted scales.


It has long been argued that the possibility to interact in and with a virtual environment (VE) enhances the sense of presence. On the basis of a three-component model of presence, we specify this hypothesis and argue that the mental representation of possible actions should especially enhance spatial presence, and to a lesser extent the involvement and realness of a VE. We support this hypothesis in three studies. A correlative study showed that self-reported interaction possibilities correlated significantly with spatial presence, but not with the other two factors. A first experimental study showed that possible self-movement significantly increased spatial presence and realness. A second experimental study showed that even the illusion of interaction, with no actual interaction taking place, significantly increased spatial presence.


The present study aimed at describing the impact of a deoxynivalenol (DON) contaminated diet on microbiota composition. A total of 147 (Large White x Landrace) x Piétrain pigs from two replicates were affected to four different experimental treatments. Pigs in the control group (CC) received a control diet from 99 to 154 days of age. Groups DC, CD, and DD were given the DON-contaminated diet (3.02 mg DON/kg feed) for 7 days at 113, at 134, and at 113 and 134 days of age, respectively. The DON-contaminated diet was formulated with a naturally contaminated corn. The body weight gain and the feed intake were daily recorded from day 99 to 154. Fecal samples were collected at the beginning of the experiment (d99), immediately after the end of the 7-days DON challenges (d119 and 140), and at the end of the experiment (d154) for further 16S rRNA sequencing. During challenge periods, ADFI was decreased by 26% to 32% (P < 0.05) and ADG by 40% to 60% (P < 0.05). Short-term DON challenges induced transient changes in microbiota composition. Two weeks after the end of the DON challenges, this composition went back to control state. Whatever the age, DON challenged pigs could be discriminated from controls in a sparse PLS discriminant analysis based on 88 operational taxonomic units or 27 functional pathways with 16% error-rate. The main predictors raised by this discrimination belonged to Streptococcaceae, Lachnospiraceae and Clostridiaceae families. In our experimental conditions, changes in microbiota composition observed during DON challenges were poorly correlated to changes in ADG and ADFI. This experiment revealed a transient modification of the microbiota composition following the exposition to DON-contaminated diet, with no long-term impact on pigs' performance. This study is part of the Feed-a-Gene Project funded from the European Union's H2020 Program (grant 633531).


This paper investigates conditions under which the core of a TU cooperative game is stable. In particular the author extends the idea of extendability to find new conditions under which the core is stable. It is also shown that these new conditions are not necessary for core stability.


PurposeAlthough East Asia and South East Asia have seen growth in mobile commerce activities, the uptake of such activities in Central Asia has been relatively low. For insight, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of culture, innovation characteristics and concerns about order fulfillment on mobile commerce (shopping) intention in Central Asia.Design/methodology/approachIn total, 779 questionnaires were collected (via mall-intercept method) from cities in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. The data were then subjected to two-step structural equation modeling procedures (using SPSS AMOS V.25) for hypothesis testing.FindingsThis study revealed that innovation characteristics, system-based trust (trust in mobile technology), and concerns about order fulfillment affected mobile commerce intention in Central Asia. The strong uncertainty avoidance characteristics of societies in the region mean potential adoptee place great emphasis on trialability and security of mobile commerce. Uncertainty avoidance correlated strongly with concerns about order fulfillment, thereby significantly impacting mobile commerce intention. Power distance and collectivism correlated with observability as factors affecting mobile commerce intention. The innovation characteristics of compatibility, complexity and relative advantage directly impact mobile commerce intention in Central Asia.Research limitations/implicationsThere are several limitations in this paper. First, the data in this study are limited to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. This might affect the generalization of this study's findings across the whole Central Asia region. Second, the respondents in this study are exposed to mobile shopping for less than 30 min before been asked to complete the survey. This might affect respondent's confidence in mobile commerce. Future study might involve the rest of Central Asia (Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan). Future study might also want to investigate the impact of Web assurance seal on mobile commerce intention in Central Asia.Practical implicationsManagerial/marketing implications and recommended strategies in this study would be useful for businesses (aspirant e-vendors) in Central Asia.Originality/valueThere is limited study about mobile commerce in Central Asia. Furthermore, extant literature on mobile commerce in the region lacked age varieties or lacked multi-national and logistical perspective. This is important given the wide geographical spread of the region. This study addressed these gaps by collecting data from all segments of society in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan to test propositions regarding innovation characteristics, culture, and concerns about order fulfillment as factors impacting mobile commerce intention in Central Asia.


Anecdotal reports of paranormal experiences abound. In addition to the numerous books, films and media articles, there is a growing body of personal narratives which is readily accessed through online websites, blogs and chatrooms. By comparison, there is a paucity of documented research on spontaneous parapsychological phenomena in the academic literature. The current exploratory study sought to redress this imbalance by addressing the research problem: what types of paranormal phenomena do people spontaneously encounter, and are there unifying themes µi the reports of these experiences? This research followed the Mixed Methods Research model. Qualitative and quantitative data were gathered via an online survey instrument, which was written in English. Over three thousand (N=3194) self-selecting respondents completed the questionnaire and in total, 59 countries were represented. The majority of the paranormal experients were from the United States of America (N=l979), Australia (N=485), United Kingdom (N=252), and Canada (N=228). More women (62%) than men participated in the survey, and while the dominant age group was the 18-35 year olds (45%), this was closely followed by the 36-55 year olds (43%). The survey gathered information on ten categories of paranormal experience, namely deja vu, apparitions, near-death episodes, out-of-body experiences, psychokinesis, premonitions, auras, mediumship, reincarnation, and telepathy. The survey gathered statistical data on the type, frequency, and age at onset of each type of experience. Respondents were also invited to reflect on the possible causes and the personal impact of their own parapsychological experiences.


We formalize new decision procedures for WS1S, M2L(Str), and Presburger Arithmetics. Formulas of these logics denote regular languages. Unlike traditional decision procedures, we do not translate formulas into automata (nor into regular expressions), at least not explicitly. Instead we devise notions of derivatives (inspired by Brzozowski derivatives for regular expressions) that operate on formulas directly and compute a syntactic bisimulation using these derivatives. The treatment of Boolean connectives and quantifiers is uniform for all mentioned logics and is abstracted into a locale. This locale is then instantiated by different atomic formulas and their derivatives (which may differ even for the same logic under different encodings of interpretations as formal words). The WS1S instance is described in the draft paper A Coalgebraic Decision Procedure for WS1S 1 by the author.


In this paper, we have developed an adaptive fuzzy fault tolerant control approach for a class of MIMO unknown nonlinear systems based on the idea of a corrective control law which activated in the presence of a fault. Online approximators, in the forms of fuzzy logic systems, are used to learn the unknown dynamics and the unknown fault functions on-line and provide the fault tolerant control law. The closed-loop stability of the proposed fault tolerant control scheme is rigorously proved using Lyapunov theory and illustrated based on a simulation example.


The extraction technique of flavonoids from the tender leaves and fruits of medlar (Lycium chinense Miller) were investigated, and the flavonoids content from both was compared. Through single-factor and the L9 (34) orthogonal design, the optimal extraction parameters were determined. The results showed that the content of flavonoids in the tender leaves was significantly higher than in the fruits. There were four important factors influencing the yield of flavonoids, including ethanol concentration, extraction time, solid-liquid ratio and extraction temperature. As for leaves, the optimum extraction parameters were 80% ethanol concent, solid-liquid ratio 1:50, two times per 40min, and 60°С . In order to extract flavonoids from fruits, the optimum parameters of ethanol content, solid-liquid ratio, extract times, and temperature were 80%, 1:50, 2 per 30min and 60С respectively. Under the optimum condition, the yield of flavonoids from leaves and fruits were 47.371 and 9.593 mg.g-1 respectively.


OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to compare body fat distribution in subjects with type 2 diabetes by indexes of the waist-hip, waist-height, and body mass indices, as well as its association with cardiovascular disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a comparative cross-sectional study with 1,144 persons > 30 years of age with type 2 diabetes at their assigned unit during the period of December 1996 through February 1997. We carried out measurement standardization and a pilot test. Studied variables included sex, age, sedentary lifestyle, smoking, time of diagnosis of diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and obesity. RESULTS: Of the studied population, 81% were > 50 years of age, 63% were women; 47% were sedentary, 41% had smoking antecedent, 45% had high blood pressure, and an equal number of persons had a diagnosis of diabetes during the previous 10 years; 13% had some cardiovascular disease. Prevalence of obesity and the cardiovascular risk detected changed in each of the following indices: body mass 72% and 1.3; waist-hip 81% and 1.6, and waist-height, 93.7% and 3.0. CONCLUSION: Body fat distribution measured by waist indices detected more prevalence of obesity and cardiovascular risk than body mass index, which does not consider the waist measurement.


We present a novel neural implicit representation for articulated human bodies. Compared to explicit template meshes, neural implicit body representations provide an efficient mechanism for modeling interactions with the environment, which is essential for human motion reconstruction and synthesis in 3D scenes. However, existing neural implicit bodies suffer from either poor generalization on highly articulated poses or slow inference time. In this work, we observe that prior knowledge about the human body's shape and kinematic structure can be leveraged to improve generalization and efficiency. We decompose the full-body geometry into local body parts and employ a part-aware encoder-decoder architecture to learn neural articulated occupancy that models complex deformations locally. Our local shape encoder represents the body deformation of not only the corresponding body part but also the neighboring body parts. The decoder incorporates the geometric constraints of local body shape which significantly improves pose generalization. We demonstrate that our model is suitable for resolving self-intersections and collisions with 3D environments. Quantitative and qualitative experiments show that our method largely outperforms existing solutions in terms of both efficiency and accuracy.


In the near future, Wireless Sensor
Networks (WSNs) are expected to play an important role for sensing
applications, in the civilian as well as in the military sector.
WSNs are autonomous, distributed, self-organised networks
consisting of multiple sensor nodes. Usually, the limited radio
range of the nodes, arising from energy constrains, is overcome by
the cooperation of nodes. As the Combinatorial Optimisation Problem
(COP) of routing is computationally hard, often approximation
algorithms are preferred, which are capable of finding near optimal
solutions within polynomial time. A simple but robust way of
solving the routing COP is the application of Ant Colony
Optimisation (ACO)-based routing algorithms. When multiple
(conflicting) objectives should be considered, ACO algorithms can
be extended to Multi-objective Ant Colony Optimisation (MOACO)
algorithms that are capable of considering multiple objectives at
the same time within the optimisation process. Normally, the
routing in WSNs is susceptible to adversaries due to their
deployment in unattended or in hostile environments. Particularly,
attacks from compromised nodes (insider attacks) are a severe
problem in WSNs. As insider attacks cannot be alleviated by
classical security measures, often soft security measures (trust
and reputation) are applied to mitigate the impact of these
attacks. In this thesis, the idea of using trust as security
measure against insider attacks is seized and interweaved with an
MOACO-based routing approach. The Multi-objective Ant Colony
Optimisation Routing Framework for WSNs (MARFWSN) is developed, a
routing framework for WSNs that provides an interface for the
docking of MOACO-based algorithms that can be used for the routing.
Different MOACO-based algorithms


We study a system of weakly interacting electrons described by the energy dispersion $\xi(\mathbf{k}) = k_x^2 - k_y^2 - \mu$ in two dimensions within a renormalization group approach. This energy dispersion exhibits a neck-narrowing Lifshitz transition at the critical chemical potential $\mu_c=0$ where a van Hove singularity develops. Implementing a systematic renormalization group analysis of this system has long been hampered by the appearance of non-local terms in the Wilsonian effective action. We demonstrate that non-locality at the critical point is intrinsic, and the locality of the effective action can be maintained only away from the critical point. We also point out that it is crucial to introduce a large momentum cutoff to keep locality even away from the critical point. Based on a local renormalization group scheme employed near the critical point, we show that, as the energy scale $E$ is lowered, an attractive four-fermion interaction grows as $\log^2 E$ for $E > \mu$, whereas it retains the usual BCS growth, $-\log E$, for $E < \mu$. Starting away from the critical point, this fast growth of the pairing interaction suggests that the system becomes unstable toward a superconducting state well before the critical point is reached.


The mammalian olfactory epithelium (OE) has a unique stem cell or progenitor niche, which is responsible for the constant peripheral neurogenesis throughout the lifespan of the animal. However, neither the signals that regulate the behavior of these cells nor the lineage properties of the OE stem cells are well understood. Multiple Wnt signaling components exhibit dynamic expression patterns in the developing OE. We generated Wnt signaling reporter TOPeGFP transgenic mice and found TOPeGFP activation predominantly in proliferating Sox2+ OE basal cells during early postnatal development. FACS-isolated TOPeGFP+ OE basal cells are required, but are not sufficient, for formation of spheres. Wnt3a significantly promotes the proliferation of the Sox2+ OE sphere cells. Wnt-stimulated OE sphere cells maintain their multipotency and can differentiate into most types of neuronal and non-neuronal epithelial cells. Also, Wnt activators shift the production of differentiated cells toward olfactory sensory neurons. Moreover, TOPeGFP+ cells are robustly increased in the adult OE after injury. In vivo administration of Wnt modulators significantly alters the regeneration potential. This study demonstrates the role of the canonical Wnt signaling pathway in the regulation of OE stem cells or progenitors during development and regeneration.


This work studies distributed primal-dual strategies for adaptation and learning over networks from streaming data. Two first-order methods are considered based on the Arrow-Hurwicz (AH) and augmented Lagrangian (AL) techniques. Several results are revealed in relation to the performance and stability of these strategies when employed over adaptive networks. It is found that these methods have worse steady-state mean-square-error performance than primal methods of the consensus and diffusion type. It is also found that the AH technique can become unstable under a partial observation model, while the other techniques are able to recover the unknown under this scenario. It is further shown that AL techniques are stable over a narrower range of step-sizes than primal strategies.


Based on the results of examination of 157 patients with neurotic depression (ICD-10 items F43.20, F43.21, F43.22), electroencephalographic criteria of transpersonal psychotherapy efficacy have been specified as following: the increase of alpha-3 activity in the frontotemporal region and the decrease of a spectral index of theta-activity in parietal, central, occipital and prefrontal regions; some changes in beta-band (the increase of spectral index of beta-1 in frontotemporal and prefrontal regions and the decrease of beta-2 in parietal and occipital regions). The direction of these changes is objectively supported by the clinical dynamics, data of correlation analysis of neurophysiological parameters and psychometric scales used for assessment of the presence and severity of emotional and personality disorders.


" ...a rich, complex, authoritative, scholarly survey of Germany's socialist heritage." - The Midwest Book Review "Can twenty-three essays present the history of German socialism and communism, as well as those movements' members, supporters, and policies in the context of social history? This fine collection comes close to achieving that difficult task ...A very high quality work." - Central European History "Certainly the best collection of essays on the SPD and KPD ...The editors and contributors ...have provided fresh intrepretations ...and have set a high standard for present and future scholars." - H-Net Reviews The powerful impact of Socialism and Communism on modern German history is the theme which is explored by the contributors to this volume. Whereas previous investigations have tended to focus on political, intellectual and biographical aspects, this book captures, for the first time, the methodological and thematic diversity and richness of current work on the history of the German working class and the political movements that emerged from it. Based on original contributions from US, British, and German scholars, this collection address a wide range of themes and problems. David E. Barclay is Professor of History and Director of the Center for Western European Studies, Kalamazoo College. Eric D. Weitz is Professor of History at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.


This guide is a research aid for students enrolled in Philosophy courses here at Prairie State College. It is designed to help students navigate the many resources provided by the library.


Mast cells are tissue-dwelling cells that are predominantly located at the interfaces of the organism and the exterior, such as skin, gut mucosal membranes and lung. They contain cytoplasmic granules: an organelle that contains highly bioactive mediators and that can be rapidly released upon stimulation. Nevertheless, it is often observed that mast cells secrete bioactive compounds, including cytokines, without full degranulation. The mechanisms responsible for selective release of granule cargo without the full degranulation remain largely unclear. Investigating TNF trafficking in mast cells we employed a strategy of expression of constructs coding for TNF-EGFP fusion protein transiently expressed in rat and human mast cells. The protein containing the full TNF was sorted into cytoplasmic secretory granules with the use of the ER/Golgi secretory pathway. Ectopically expressed TNF-EGFP fusion protein was not only sorted to mast cell granules, but also efficiently released. In rodent cells TNF is retrieved from the secretory pathway at the late Golgi. This retrieval seems to be mediated by a mannose-6-phosphate receptor system. Mutation of N-glycosylated residue (N86S) resulted in abrogation of granular sorting. In human mast cells, however, carbohydrate-dependent trafficking does not seem important: N86 is not conserved and TNF is not sialylated in these cells. We showed that residues 21-46 are critical for ER entry of human TNF and its sorting, while majority of its cytoplasmic tail is expendable for these processes. Surface biotinylation showed that TNF is exposed on the outer membrane and re-endocytosed on its way to the granules in a process dependent on the extracellular part of the molecule. These important differences in modes of TNF trafficking between rodent and human systems stress potential weaknesses of rodent models when TNF biology in mast cells is considered. Until recently mast cells were considered the cells that, when activated, will augment the development of inflammatory state. Recent reports, however, indicate that mast cells may also contribute to the resolution of an inflammatory state. This prompted our research concerning the regulation of IL-4, a potentially anti-inflammatory cytokine expression in mast cells. We show that in hypoxic conditions IL-4 (and IL-13) expression and release is induced, as opposed to IL-6, TNF and IFN-gamma. This induction does not correlate with stabilization of HIF-1 alpha, a major transducer of hypoxic signalling. We show that regulation of IL-4 promoter activity in hypoxia is mediated by Akt/GSK-3 and calcineurin pathways that converge at the level of NFAT. Treatment with mercuric ions is used as a model system for systemic autoimmune inflammation including arthritis, vasculitis and glomerulonephritis. The involvement of mast cell-derived IL-4 in elicitation of these conditions has been suggested but the molecular mechanism underlying mercury-induced IL-4 expression is not known. We show that in murine mast cells Hg activates IL-4 production and this effect is dose-dependent, additive to IgE/antigen stimulation and critically depends on P1 NFAT binding site in IL-4 promoter. We also demonstrate that calcineurin is involved in the regulation of mercury-induced IL-4 expression.


LingSync is a suite of open source web-based tools that facilitate a) collaborative linguistic fieldwork and language documentation and b) theoretical analysis and revitalization efforts. It enables and entices fieldworkers and documenters with diverse goals to work together to mutual advantage.
 Linguistic fieldwork and language documentation are the foundation that sustains theoretical linguistics and language revitalization. While academics, educators, and language activists may spend considerable time and energy in documenting endangered languages, the fruits of these labours are largely inaccessible. In the context of endangered languages, missed opportunities for data-sharing and collaboration are particularly problematic.
 LingSync strives to improve this state of affairs, primarily by building the infrastructure necessary for fieldworkers and documenters to collaborate and reuse one another's data ethically and efficiently. LingSync is a set of web services and cross-platform user interfaces that facilitate the creation of multi-authored corpora that are searchable, accessible, consistent, and richly annotated.
 LingSync advances the state of the art in fieldwork and documentation methodology by virtue of the following: (i) its application programming interfaces (APIs) facilitate the repurposing of data; (ii) its browser-based graphical user interfaces (GUIs) are user-friendly and function across all major platforms; (iii) its import/export features allow for interoperability with other tools and representations; (iv) its advanced and domain-relevant search interfaces allow for timely retrieval of relevant data and discovery of novel patterns; (v) its inventory-based input validation, orthography conversion, and morpho-lexical cross-referencing features promote representational consistency; (vi) its authentication, authorization, and encryption features allow for conscientious and highly configurable control over data access; (vii) its audio/video integration and attendant feature set assist in the parsing and alignment of audio and textual representations; and, finally, (vii) its morpho-phonological model implementation features allow for the empirical testing of grammatical components and the creation of analyzers to automate and expedite various data-creation tasks.
 The presentation will review three examples of how this software has been used for pedagogy, theory building, and revitalization: a collaborative research project on Blackfoot (Algonquian, Alberta, Canada and Montana, USA), another on Mi'gmaq (Algonquian, Quebec, Canada) conducted by the Mi'gmaq Research Partnership, and a third involving the construction of a Chuj (Mayan) database. Collectively, these case studies evince the benefits of LingSync in the following respects: the computational implementation of theoretical analyses, the advancement of academic research, the creation of second-language teaching materials, and the building of substantial databases on under-documented languages, even by relatively inexperienced student fieldworkers.


Eukaryotes have hundreds of nearly identical 45S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, each encoding the 18S, 5.8S, and 25S catalytic rRNAs. Because cellular demands for ribosomes and protein synthesis vary during development, the number of active rRNA genes is subject to dosage control. In genetic hybrids, one manifestation of dosage control is nucleolar dominance, an epigenetic phenomenon in which the rRNA genes of one progenitor are repressed. For instance, in Arabidopsis suecica, the allotetraploid hybrid of Arabidopsis thaliana and Arabidopsis arenosa, the A. thaliana-derived rRNA genes are selectively silenced. An analogous phenomenon occurs in nonhybrid A. thaliana, in which specific classes of rRNA gene variants are inactivated. An RNA-mediated knockdown screen identified SUVR4 {SUPPRESSOR OF VARIEGATION 3-9 [SU(VAR)3-9]-RELATED 4} as a histone H3 Lys 9 (H3K9) methyltransferase required for nucleolar dominance in A. suecica. H3K9 methyltransferases are also required for variant-specific silencing in A. thaliana, but SUVH5 [SU(VAR)3-9 HOMOLOG 5] and SUVH6, rather than SUVR4, are the key activities in this genomic context. Mutations disrupting the H3K27 methyltransferases ATXR5 or ATXR6 affect which rRNA gene variants are expressed or silenced, and in atxr5 atxr6 double mutants, dominance relationships among variants are reversed relative to wild type. Interestingly, these changes in gene expression are accompanied by changes in the relative abundance of the rRNA gene variants at the DNA level, including overreplication of the normally silenced class and decreased abundance of the normally dominant class. Collectively, our results indicate that histone methylation can affect both the doses of different variants and their differential silencing through the choice mechanisms that achieve dosage control.


The statistics presented in these documents reflect operations under the Investment Canada Act, specifically the number and value of notifications and reviewed applications.


. The present work on the cultivation of winter vegetable species, which was carried out in the perimeters of development of the six communes of the region of Ouargla. We found that the biodiversity recorded is 16 species and 09 botanical families, during the study period. The most frequent botanical families are : Liliaceae (Allium cepa L.), Chenopodiaceae (Spinacia oleracea.), Asteraceae (Lactuca sativa) and Apiaceae (Daucus carota .). Many local cultivars have been identified; their identification is mainly based on: the origin of the seeds, the shape and color of the fruits. According to the average richness and diversity index calculations, we found that the stations of Sidi Khouiled and Hassi Ben Abdallah have a great diversity, unlike Rouissat and Ouargla where the diversity is low. The local diversity seems to be threatened, this is due to several causes among others the non-reasoned selection of local cultivars and the introduction of hybrid seeds which allows us to validate the first hypothesis that says (the development projects have favored the introduction of many new vegetable species, not traditionally cultivated in the areas and have favored the use of hybrid varieties, with high production potential. This policy induces a genetic erosion, especially for local cultivars) and to reject the second hypothesis that says (the development perimeters participate in the preservation of local cultivars, which ensures their sustainability in the medium and long term).


The study investigated the employment creation capabilities of the informal sector in Zimbabwe using street vendors of Harare Metropolitan. The investigation relied extensively on qualitative research since we recognized that we did not intend to take a neutral or objective stand but rather a stand in favour of the informal sector or not and what it offered to the economy. The study showed that there was a shortage of formal employment at an alarming scale in Zimbabwe while an increasing number of workers were found in the informal sector. Although the informal sector was the fastest growing sector and the largest employer in the country, lack of recognition, for the majority of the entrepreneurs, low levels of organisation and poor coordination, lack of infrastructure and technology and assistance from the government hindered the small entrepreneurs from attaining their full potential. The jobs in the informal economy were merely survivalist and were characterised by subsistence activities and the businesses were short-term and transitory in nature. The absence of legal and regulatory frameworks and collective representation meant that informal workers remained extremely vulnerable. The dilemma of the informal sector in Zimbabwe remained thus just a dilemma-a false dilemma indeed. The high unemployment in the country should be met with decent jobs and not with a job at any price. The informal sector, with all its decent work deficits, could not provide the solution to the national under-and/or unemployment. Instead, the government should provide conducive macroeconomic, social, legal and political frameworks for the large-scale creation of sustainable, decent jobs as well as business opportunities.


Focus on Financial Management by Ivan Cohen offers a concise, enthusiastic and highly focused approach to introducing finance to both undergraduates and MBAs. It closely integrates practical applications and the underlying financial concepts so that the reader gets a clear picture of theory and how it can be applied in practice. The book has been carefully crafted and classroom-tested to provide an easy-to-read textbook that will engage the student and instructor alike. It has been designed to be used by students of business, finance and economics, and is equally accessible to students in other areas, such as engineering. It requires no preliminary knowledge of finance.


Two new mixed-valence manganese-carboxylate clusters, [MnIII9MnIV6(O2CPh)12(micro3-O)13(micro-O)4(micro-OMe)5(MeOH)4(H2O)5]2.1.5PhCO2H.MeOH.6H2O (1, PhCO2H = benzoic acid) and [MnIII9MnIV6(O2CCh)12(micro3-O)13(micro-O)4(micro-OMe)5(MeOH)3(H2O)6].0.5MeOH.2.5H2O (2, ChCO2H= cyclohexanecarboxylic acid) contain new disklike Mn15 cores. Both 1 and 2 can be synthesized by the conventional manganese redox reaction (MnO4- oxidizing Mn2+) in methanol solution. 2 can be also synthesized via the site-specific ligand substitution reaction from 1. 1 crystallizes in the triclinic space group P, whereas 2 crystallizes in the trigonal space group P. Magnetic study shows that both 1 and 2 have the same ground spin states ST = 2. Compared to the silence of the out-of-phase ac susceptibility of 1, 2 shows clearly slow magnetic relaxation behavior above 1.8 K due to the dramatically enhanced axial magnetic anisotropy (D = -0.89 and -1.58 cm-1 for 1 and 2, respectively, which was obtained by fitting the plots of M vs H/T with the program ANISOFIT 2.0).


The investigation described in this thesis is a study
of instantaneous heat fluxes (total and radiative) and their variation with operating conditions in a high-swirl direct-injection diesel engine. The problem is approached experimentally
and methods for prediction of convective and radiative components
are suggested. Total heat fluxes were measured using a thin-film
type thermocouple developed in the course of the work, while the
radiant flux was measured by a pyroelectric infrared detector.
The experimental observations demonstrate variations in
local heat fluxes which are moderate under motored conditions but
large in the fired engine. Some of the observed features of flux
variation with time and with location have been shown to be
qualitatively explicable in terms of probable local events during
the cycle. [Continues.]