I. INTRODUCTION [Abortions] are ... disastrous to a woman's mental moral, and physical wellbeing. (1) Traditionally, such discrimination [against women] was rationalized by an attitude of 'romantic paternalism' which, in practical effect, put women, not on a pedestal, but in a cage. (2) While we find no reliable data to measure the phenomenon, it seems unexceptionable to conclude some women come to regret their choice to abort the infant life they once created and sustained. Severe depression and loss of esteem can follow. (3) The Partial Birth Abortion Act of 2003 (4) is a sex-based classification that discriminates against women. Although the government's proclaimed interest in saving unborn life is certainly commendable, (5) the Act's use of a sex-based classification violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In place of the numerous non-discriminatory policies and programs that have proven effective in preventing the termination of unwanted pregnancies and in protecting unborn life, (6) the government has chosen to use a sex-based classification that requires only women to sacrifice their freedom, personal autonomy, liberty, health, and economic equality. (7) Even though unwanted pregnancies cannot be created without the reproductive organs of both a woman and a man, the Act does not require men to sacrifice any freedom, personal autonomy, liberty, health, or economic equality to prevent any abortions. Furthermore, extensive evidence indicates that the government's use of this sex-based classification in abortion regulation ultimately fails to achieve the government's compelling objective. (8) Consequently, the government cannot provide an "exceedingly persuasive justification" for its decision to selectively encumber the liberty and equality of women only. (9) Because the government cannot satisfy the exceedingly persuasive justification standard applied to all sex-based classifications, (10) the Act does not pass constitutional muster under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This is certainly not a new argument, as many constitutional law scholars have argued that abortion regulations violate the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. (11) The Court's recent decision in Gonzales v. Carhart, (12) however, provides compelling new evidence to reinforce the argument that abortion regulations, since their inception in the first half of the nineteenth century, have always discriminated on the basis of sex in violation of the Equal Protection Clause. Further, Gonzales signals the beginning of the now inevitable demise of Roe v. Wade's constitutional jurisprudence, (13) and consequently, the need to supplant Roe's substantive due process analysis with an Equal Protection Clause framework. Although the Court has successively narrowed the definition of the right Roe first defined, (14) the Gonzales Court went one step further when, in defiance of the Court's prior holding in Stenberg v. Carhart, (15) the Gonzales Court held that the absence of a health and safety exception for the woman did not render the Act "invalid on its face." (16) To justify this decision, the Gonzales Court invoked "ancient notions about women's place in the family and under the Constitution--ideas that have long since been discredited" as prejudicial and harmful to women's ability to participate equally and fully in society. (17) Gonzales highlights more than just the discriminatory rationale behind the government's use of abortion regulations. With its approval of an abortion ban that leaves out an exception for the health and safety of women, (18) Gonzales exemplifies the recent collapse of the Due Process Clause's privacy framework and its ultimate failure to protect women's rights adequately. Most scholars now agree: Roe was both wrong and constitutionally weak the day it was decided. (19) Although Roe's constitutional underpinnings were frail in 1973, today in 2009, it is questionable whether they still exist. …


From mammals to insects, acoustic communication is in many species crucial for successful reproduction. In the duetting bushcricket Ancylecha fenestrata, the mutual acoustic communication between males and females is asymmetrical. We investigated how those signalling disparities are reflected by sexual dimorphism of their ears. Both sexes have tympanic ears in their forelegs, but male ears possess a significantly longer crista acustica containing 35% more scolopidia. With more sensory cells to cover a similar hearing range, the male hearing organ shows a significantly expanded auditory fovea that is tuned to the dominant frequency of the female reply to facilitate phonotactic mate finding. This sex-specific auditory fovea is demonstrated in the mechanical and neuronal responses along the tonotopically organized crista acustica by laservibrometric and electrophysiological frequency mapping, respectively. Morphometric analysis of the crista acustica revealed an interrupted gradient in organ height solely within this auditory fovea region, whereas all other anatomical parameters decrease continuously from proximal to distal. Combining behavioural, anatomical, biomechanical and neurophysiological information, we demonstrate evidence of a pronounced auditory fovea as a sex-specific adaptation of an insect hearing organ for intraspecific acoustic communication.


Sliding block encoders operating within a statistically contaminated source environment are considered. Stationary analog sources are studied using the rho-bar distance as the measure of contamination. Sufficient constructive conditions are developed for the design of sliding block encoders that guarantee rho-bar stability of their output when operating within a statistically contaminated source environment. The relationship of this stability to the robustness of the encoding scheme is discussed, where robustness is a local stability property applied on the output entropy and the average distortion.


A group of 49 schizophrenic was compared to 40 non schizophrenic controls to verify the incidence of psychosocial factors and life events (in the 22 items and anamnestic cards of the AMDP) on the onset of mental dysfunction. Regardless of the period (less than 3 months, from 3 months to a year, more than one year before the disorder), couple, family problems, psychic and somatic stress and physical problems are significantly more frequent in control subjects than in schizophrenics.


Received: 26 Aug 2013 Revised: 30 Dec 2014 Abstract Combination of Adoptive Network based Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) and subtractive clustering (SC) has been used for estimation of deformation modulus (Em) and rock mass strength (UCSm) considering depth of measurement. To do this, learning of the ANFIS based subtractive clustering (ANFISBSC) was performed firstly on 125 measurements of 9 variables such as rock mass strength (UCSm), deformation modulus (Em), depth, spacing, persistence, aperture, intact rock strength (UCSi), geomechanical rating (RMR) and elastic modulus (Ei). Then, at second phase, testing the trained ANFISBSC structure has been perfomed on 40 data measurements. Therefore, predictive rock mass models have been developed for 2-6 variables


The aim of ensemble weather forecasting is to provide probability forecasts for the occurrence of meteorological events. The ensembles are constructed by assembling several forecast realisations, each member of the ensemble being constructed to sample the uncertainties in the forecast. These originate from uncertainties in the initial conditions (the analysis) and imperfections of the numerical model. In order to sample the initial uncertainties several techniques have been proposed. The singular-vector technique yields perturbations optimised to maximize the perturbation growth over a finite time interval, whereas the breeding method recycles the perturbations from the previous ensemble in order to sample growing modes. The ensemble-transform method represents a further development of the breeding method. Here, to create initial perturbations independent of the current flow situation of the atmosphere, random perturbations are introduced by using the difference between two randomly chosen atmospheric states (i.e. analyses). The method produces dynamically balanced perturbations denoted Random Field perturbations (RF). Our results show that the RF perturbations initially have the same dynamical properties as the variability of the atmosphere. After integration over a day the perturbations from all three methods (RF, singular vectors and ensemble transform perturbations) converge. The skill scores indicate a statistically significant advantage for the RF method during the first 2-3 days for most of the evaluated parameters. Over the medium range (3-8 days) the differences are very small. We also discuss the influence of the asymptotic variability of the forecasting model on the ensemble properties.


A wavelength-division multiplexing/time-division multiplexing (WDM/TDM) network exploiting the broad wavelength range of T-band (1000-1260 nm) is proposed. The network is based on different wavebands of downlink and uplink channels, with each transmitter consisting of a wavelength tunable laser utilized for more than one user through wavelength tuning. The downlink section of the network also introduces interconnecting optical lines and semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs), pairing up each of the downlink wavebands to provide structural redundancy by allowing transmitters to be shared between the paired wavebands through TDM. Quantum dot (QD)-based wavelength tunable lasers and SOAs were fabricated for a preliminary demonstration experiment. Error-free transmission with less than 1 dB of power penalty was obtained for a wavelength range of 24.2 nm (5.6 THz). The QD-SOAs exhibited a decent rise and fall time, as well as extinction ratios throughout the wavelength range, which enable it to be used as path switches.


The mechanical properties (e.g. stiffness) of the extracellular matrix (ECM) influence cell fate and tissue morphogenesis and contribute to disease progression. Nevertheless, our understanding of the mechanisms by which ECM rigidity modulates cell behavior and fate remains rudimentary. To address this issue, a number of two and three-dimensional (3D) hydrogel systems have been used to explore the effects of the mechanical properties of the ECM on cell behavior. Unfortunately, many of these systems have limited application because fiber architecture, adhesiveness and/or pore size often change in parallel when gel elasticity is varied. Here we describe the use of ECM-adsorbed, synthetic, self-assembling peptide (SAP) gels that are able to recapitulate normal epithelial acini morphogenesis and gene expression in a 3D context. By exploiting the range of viscoelasticity attainable with these SAP gels, and their ability to recreate native-like ECM fibril topology with minimal variability in ligand density and pore size, we were able to reconstitute normal and tumor-like phenotypes and gene expression patterns in nonmalignant mammary epithelial cells. Accordingly, this SAP hydrogel system presents the first tunable system capable of independently assessing the interplay between ECM stiffness and multi-cellular epithelial phenotype in a 3D context.


ABSTRACT A natural Bayesian approach for mixture models with an unknown number of components is to take the usual finite mixture model with symmetric Dirichlet weights, and put a prior on the number of components—that is, to use a mixture of finite mixtures (MFM). The most commonly used method of inference for MFMs is reversible jump Markov chain Monte Carlo, but it can be nontrivial to design good reversible jump moves, especially in high-dimensional spaces. Meanwhile, there are samplers for Dirichlet process mixture (DPM) models that are relatively simple and are easily adapted to new applications. It turns out that, in fact, many of the essential properties of DPMs are also exhibited by MFMs—an exchangeable partition distribution, restaurant process, random measure representation, and stick-breaking representation—and crucially, the MFM analogues are simple enough that they can be used much like the corresponding DPM properties. Consequently, many of the powerful methods developed for inference in DPMs can be directly applied to MFMs as well; this simplifies the implementation of MFMs and can substantially improve mixing. We illustrate with real and simulated data, including high-dimensional gene expression data used to discriminate cancer subtypes. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.


Micronutrients, which contain vitamins and minerals, are required in minute amounts for overall growth, development, and increased immunity against diseases. Because the body is unable to synthesize them, they must be obtained from external sources. Malnutrition causes poor physical and mental development, in susceptible populations such as young children, pregnant and lactating mothers, and the elderly. By supplying important nutrients in food, food fortification is a safe and effective strategy for increasing macronutrient consumption. The lack of micronutrients has an impact on long-term developmental goals. To teach about the benefits of food fortification, the educational program is necessary to create awareness among the mass population. This article gives a detailed overview of Bangladesh's present micronutrient deficiency status among children and women. The success and present problems of existing intervention programs are also discussed in this study. Anemia affects nearly half of all pregnant and lactating mothers. Some of the key dimensions linked to high levels of deficiencies are ignorance, inadequate nutrition, poor hygiene, illness, malabsorption, and infestation. Multiple interventions are being attempted, and some progress has been made. Problems remain like coverage, quality, and compliance. Micronutrient deficiencies in Bangladesh remain a significant concern, despite the fact that current intervention programs have made some success in addressing severe deficiencies. There is a need for a more well-integrated approach to boost existing intervention programs. Furthermore, new intervention techniques for addressing and preventing particular micronutrient deficits are suggested.


Editor's note: The water sector has an ongoing responsibility to provide safe, reliable drinking water. It is with this sentiment that AWWA has undertaken its landmark Water 2050 initiative (www.awwa.org/water2050), convening a series of topical think-tank gatherings to "collaboratively imagine the water future we want to create." To support this initiative, AWWA's Water Quality Technology Division is dedicating a series of Water Quality Matters columns to developing this vision through the respective lenses of each of the division's 15 committees.


Tubular members have become progressively more popular due to excellent structural properties, aesthetic appearance, corrosion and fire protection capability. However, a large number of such structures are found structurally deficient due to reduction of strength when they expose to severe environmental conditions such as marine environment, cold and hot weather. Hence strengthening and retrofitting of structural members are in high demands. In recent times Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymers (CFRP) composites appears to be an excellent solution to enhance the load carrying capacity and serviceability of steel structures because of its superior physical and mechanical properties. However, the durability of such strengthening system under cold environmental condition has not yet been well documented to guide the engineers. This paper presents the findings of a study conducted to enhance the bond durability of CFRP strengthened steel tubular members by treating steel surface using epoxy based adhesion promoter under cold weather subjected to bending. The experimental program consisted of six number of CFRP strengthened specimens and one bare specimen. The sand blasted surface of the three specimens to be strengthened was pre-treated with MBrace primer and other three were remained untreated and then cured under ambient temperature and cold weather (3oC) for three and six months period of time. The beams were then loaded to failure under four point bending. The structural response of each specimen was predicted in terms of failure mode, failure load and mid-span deflection. The research findings show that the cold weather immersion had an adverse effect on durability of CFRP strengthened structures. Moreover, the epoxy based adhesion promoter was found to enhance the bond durability in elastic range.


Activities included in the review Acas aims to reduce the level and impact of conflict in the workplace, and to promote good relations at work. In order to achieve this it undertakes a range of activities, both those required by statute, and those which aim to support these wider aims. The activities undertaken by Acas have an impact on the employers and employees involved, on other businesses and individuals and on taxpayers. Many Acas interventions are aimed at promoting better relationships in the longer term. This report focuses only on the immediate first year economic impact of six key areas of Acas activity: Individual conciliation Collective conciliation The Acas Helpline The website, publications and communications activities Workplace projects Open access training. For several reasons, it has only been possible to provide a partial estimate of the impact, so that overall, the impact is likely to be larger than that estimated here. This is because: Some of the Acas activities not included, either because of measurement difficulties, or because they are relatively small in scale. In addition central overhead costs have not been attributed to individual services. Overall around a quarter of Acas expenditure has been treated as having a zero impact, although it is likely that at least some of it, particularly workplace training, will also have an impact. As well as the positive impacts of Acas activities, there are some offsetting losses in the first year, most notably to employment lawyers and to competitors of organisations involved in industrial disputes. In the longer term these losses are eliminated as the economy adjusts and resources are shifted into new areas of activity. But the first year impact has to be reduced to take account of them. Only the initial impact on workplaces has been taken into account, whereas many outcomes (for example lower absenteeism or other indicators of improved relationships) are likely to continue into future years. In the case of some Acas services, most notably workplace training, there are some areas of likely impact where there are no current measures available Acas spends around £3_ million a year on workplace training, and an impact survey is due to take place in 2008/09. In the longer term there are likely to be dynamic impacts on the whole economy from the existence of more productive and harmonious workplaces, both through the potential it offers for a more relaxed macroeconomic policy, and through a greater level of confidence among investors, both domestic and international, in the UK as a place in which to risk their money. This higher investment in turn offers the potential for a higher growth rate, which provides benefits.


We concern the problem of learning a Mahalanobis distance metric for improving nearest neighbor classification. Our work is built upon the large margin nearest neighbor (LMNN) classification framework. Due to the semidefiniteness constraint in the optimization problem of LMNN, it is not scalable in terms of the dimensionality of the input data. The original LMNN solver partially alleviates this problem by adopting alternating projection methods instead of standard interior-point methods. Still, at each iteration, the computation complexity is at least O(D3) (D is the dimension of input data). In this work, we propose a column generation based algorithm to solve the LMNN optimization problem much more efficiently. Our algorithm is much more scalable in tha tat each iteration, it does not need full eigen-decomposition. Instead, we only need to find the leading eigen value and its corresponding eigen vector, which is of O(D2) complexity. Experiments show the efficiency and efficacy of our algorithms.


The study of lexical cohesion has been commonly done in relation to the issue of texture. However, lexical cohesion is also capable of revealing another textual property: the segmentability, that is, as a text is formed of several interconnected parts simultaneously. One lexical cohesion research technique that can be reused for segmentation investigation is 'bonding analysis'. In this type of analysis are described the various cohesive bonds that are formed throughout the text, with the possibility of manipulation of the degree of adhesion. In addition, the results of the adhesion analysis are shown in a numerical matrix, which makes it possible to visualize the distribution of the cohesive loops of the text. In this work, these properties of the adhesion analysis are channeled into the segmentation analysis through a procedure called 'vicinity strip'. The procedure is described, applied, and the results are discussed.


Pursuant to the Doctrine of Consumer Sovereignty, we believe that tobacco companies should be compelled to disclose their ingredients so that the public health community can make more informed recommendations in order to protect consumer autonomy and sovereignty. However, a recent decision by the First Circuit precludes such a disclosure since it would be unduly burdensome to the industry, while granting only minimal gains to the public. We argue that many of the Court's key claims rest on a misunderstanding of the science and chemistry of tobacco products. In our view, a mandatory disclosure of ingredients would more effectively protect the public interest, whilst posing minimal burdens on the tobacco industry.


Perazin is a piperazine derivative of phenothiazine with higher affinity for the D2 than the Dl receptor. We observed a 43-year-old woman who developed blepharospasm and oral hyperkinesia as a tardive dystonic syndrome after short-term treatment with perazin. She had never taken any other neuroleptic medication and all known forms of secondary dystonia were ruled out. We were unable to find any previous reports of perazin-induced tardive dystonia.


We found that dehydrated legume seeds (6 genera, 19 species and cultivated varieties) contained considerable amounts of vitamin C (VC). The average value of total VC content per 100 g of dry weight in dehydrated seeds varied from 0.24 mg (kidney beans) to 4.14 mg (green peas). Yard beans showed highest values among all legumes examined here in the both dehydrated and rehydrated forms (3.19 and 10.8 mg, respectively). By soaking for 16 h in the dark at 20(o)C, total VC contents of black grams and mung beans increased to 3.1- and 4.5-fold, respectively. However, three varieties of green peas (Hakuryu, Kurumeyutaka, and Nankaimidori) significantly lost their VC during the same soaking treatment. Total VC content of a rehydrated and cooked mung beans was higher than that of a dehydrated form. Appreciable amounts of total VC were detected in the immature seeds of six different genera such as yard beans, kidney beans, broad beans, green peas, soybeans and peanuts. Except for mung beans, 70-100% of VC in dehydrated seeds of adzuki beans, broad beans, green peas, black soybeans, and soybeans was lost by boiling. Total VC and L-ascorbic acid in mung beans, green peas, broad beans, black soybeans, and adzuki beans remained even after boiling, suggesting that it is possible to obtain VC from the cooked forms of these legume seeds.


The medial preoptic area (MPOA) is an important integrative site for male sexual behavior. We have reported an increase in dopamine (DA) release in the MPOA of male rats shortly before and during copulation. Postcastration loss of copulatory ability mirrored the loss of the precopulatory DA response to an estrous female. The present study investigated the time courses of restoration, rather than loss, of the MPOA DA response to a receptive female and of copulation in long-term castrates. Male rats were castrated and tested for loss of copulatory ability 21 days later. They then received 2, 5, or 10 daily subcutaneous injections of testosterone propionate (TP, 500 microg) or oil. Microdialysate samples were collected from the MPOA during baseline, exposure to a female behind a barrier, and copulation. Extracellular DA was measured using HPLC-EC. None of the six 2-day-TP-treated animals copulated, nor did they show elevated DA release in the MPOA in the presence of a receptive female. Five of the nine 5-day-TP-treated animals ejaculated; three intromitted without ejaculating; and one failed to copulate, with all but the noncopulating animal showing elevated DA release. All of the six 10-day-TP-treated animals copulated and also demonstrated an increase in MPOA DA. None of the oil controls copulated or showed an increase in DA release. Therefore, a consistent relationship between MPOA DA release during exposure to a receptive female and the subsequent ability of the male to copulate was observed.


The field of Very High Energy (VHE) γ-ray emitting extragalactic sources has considerably evolved since the new generation of atmospheric Čerenkov telescopes (ACT) of improved sensitivity, such as H.E.S.S. array and the MAGIC ACT, have started operating. This has led to a wealth of new clues about emission mechanisms at high energy through the discovery of new sources, more accurate spectra and temporal studies of sources known previously, and simultaneous multi-wavelength (MWL) campaigns since broadband variability is a key phenomenon to the underlying physical mechanisms at play. The fact that some of these new sources are located at redshifts close to z ∼ 0.2 makes them powerful probes of the Extragalactic Background Light (EBL) through the attenuation of γ-rays above 100 GeV.


Volume I: Method and Theory 1. Conducting Accounting History Research 2. Development of Accounting Thought Volume II: Recording and Reporting 1. Record Keeping and Bookkeeping 2. Financial Reporting Volume III: Cost and Management Accounting Volume IV: Professionalisation of Accounting


Clinical scores are a widely discussed topic in health as part of modern clinical practice. In general, these tools predict clinical outcomes, perform risk stratification, aid in clinical decision making, assess disease severity or assist diagnosis. However, the problem is that clinical scores data are traditionally obtained manually, which can lead to incorrect data and result. In addition, by collecting biological/health data in real time from humans, the current mobile health (mHealth) solutions that computationally solve that problem are limited because those systems are developed considering the specificities of a single clinical score. This work is part of the MDD4ClinicalScores project that addresses the productivity in developing mHealth solutions for clinical scores through the use of Model Driven Development concepts. This paper focus in describing DSML4ClinicalScore, a high-level domain-specific modeling language that uses the Ecore metamodel to describe a clinical score specification. To propose the DSML4ClinicalScore we analysed 89 clinical scores to define the artifacts of this proposed Metamodel. In the end, a practical case study using this DSML is provided to validate the DSML4ClinicalScore Metamodel, and to show how to use the proposal in a clinical situation scenario.


Background: Cancer cells, unlike normal cells, principally use aerobic glycolysis with reduced mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation for glucose metabolism, a phenomenon referred to as the Warburg effect. Glioblastoma, one of the most aggressive, lethal and incurable human tumors with a survival rate of 12-15 months in patients undergoing standard of care treatment involving surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy, has been shown to have a preferential metabolism of glucose through aerobic glycolysis. The cytotoxic effects of a previously described supercritical CO extract of 2 mango ginger (Curcuma amada-CA) with two glycolytic inhibitors [2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) and sodium oxamate (SO)] was investigated in the U-87MG human glioblastoma cell line. Methods: Cytotoxicity assay was performed with increasing concentrations of CA, 2-DG and SO as single agents and in combinations in U-87MG glioblastoma cells by the MTT assay. The cytotoxicity data was analyzed using CompuSyn software to determine the synergism/additive effect/antagonism between drugs. The effect of CA and glycolytic inhibitors on ATP and lactate synthesis was analyzed to establish the inhibitory effects of individual drugs as well as their combinations on glycolysis pathway. The modulatory effect of CA, 2-DG and SO as single agents or combinations on mRNA and protein expression of apoptotic and metastasis genes were also analyzed by RT-PCR and western blot hybridization, respectively. Results: The hexokinase inhibitor 2-DG and the lactate dehydrogenase-A inhibitor SO, both inhibiting the glycolysis pathway, showed synergistic cytotoxic effects with CA in the glioblastoma cell line with combination index values of <1 in the CompuSyn analysis. CA inhibits cellular ATP synthesis in a dosedependent manner and it has better inhibition profile than 2-DG and SO. CA inhibits cellular lactate synthesis significantly better than 2-DG and SO at low concentrations, and CA+2-DG combination appears to be better than single agents at low doses for lactate inhibition in glioblastoma cells. Gene expression analysis by RT-PCR and western blot hybridization showed that CA, 2-DG and SO as well as their combinations up regulate the ratio of Bax/Bcl-2, p21, TIMP1 and caspase-3 expression and down regulate mutant p53 and MMP2 expression that may increase apoptosis and inhibit cell proliferation as well as metastasis of tumor cells. Conclusion: The combination of CA with glycolytic inhibitors like 2-DG and SO is beneficial for inhibition of growth, proliferation and migration of glioblastoma cells. These in vitro results support the rationale for conducting in vivo studies combining CA with 2-DG and SO in human glioblastomas. Glycolys is , Mango Ginger, ATP, Lactate, G e n e E x p r e s s i o n , Glioblastoma


This paper analyses the performance of equalizers for unknown fading channels. We compare two versions of a delay processing equalizer, with a per-survivor equalizer, and with a Viterbi algorithm with known channel information. New adaptive algorithms are developed which adjust the decision delay based on the trellis path metric ratios and the path merging lag. The analysis focuses on the trade-off between computational complexity and achievable bit error rate. The crucial factors include fading rate, noise, equalization trellis size, and accuracy of channel estimates. Simulations are used to determine the effect of each of these factors on algorithm performance.


Rarefaction is a statistical technique useful in both pollution and evolutionary ecology. It can be used to infer whether samples are drawn from the same community and also to estimate minimum feasible sample size. In this setting it essentially tells the investigator what would have been found had sample size been smaller, but some surprising uses arise if questions are phrased properly. Rarefaction is most powerful in pollution ecology when entire curves, and not just single values, are calculated. In evolutionary ecology, species/genus and related ratios have been examined as an indicator of both competition and adaptive radiation, but rarefaction demonstrates that the former, at least, is rarely evidenced by such ratios. The ratios are largely determined by the number of species, and claimed relationships between the ratios and area are primarily artifacts of the high correlation between the ratios and species number. The analytic expressions for expectation and variance in rarefied samples and a FORTRAN IV program for their calculation are given.


Mycobacterium microti walls contained three types of mycolic acids, very similar to those found in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. An a-mycolate with two cyclopropane rings, a methoxymycolate with one cyclopropane ring and a methoxyl group, and a ketomycolate with one cyclopropane ring and a keto group were partially characterized. The mycolates made up 34 % (by weight) of the peptidoglycan-arabinogalactan-mycolate wall skeleton. Young exponential phase cultures and organisms harvested from mouse lungs contained high proportions of ketomycolates; older cultures had roughly equal proportions of ketoand methoxymycolates. The proportion of a-mycolates increased slightly with age of culture, but was always less than one-third of the total.


In this paper, TiO2 beads were deposited on Ag nanowires to create necklace-like Ag nanowire@TiO2 (Ag NW@TiO2) heterostructures for the first time. They were fabricated via a two-step synthetic method, including the preparation of uniform Ag NWs and the deposition of TiO2 on the Ag surface. Thioglycolic acid (TGA) molecules were used as binding agents to solve the tricky issue of substantial lattice mismatch between the Ag NW core and the TiO2 shell. The amount of water and the permittivity of the solvents are found to be important factors for the formation of the necklace-like heterostructures. Moreover, by varying the amount of titanium butoxide (TBT), the diameter of the TiO2 beads can be feasibly changed. The photocatalytic performance of necklace-like Ag NW@TiO2 was evaluated via degradation of methyl orange (MO) under ultraviolet (UV) light. The results reveal that the molar ratio of TiO2 to Ag contributes to the synergistic effect on the photocatalytic activity, and the best Ti/Ag ratio is found to be 2.8 for the highest photocatalytic performance of the Ag NW@TiO2 heterostructures.


This paper reports on the design, utilisation and evaluation of a 'virtual fieldwork' package to support and enhance student learning on a well established overseas field course for level 5 Geography undergraduates (GE0146, BSc Spain Fieldwork). In addition to the virtual fieldwork resource, which operates via the module Blackboard site on the Northumbria University electronic learning platform (elp), the one week residential fieldwork programme is supported by a series of lectures in advance of the trip. Assessment comprises two group presentations, reporting on research projects undertaken in the field (50%), and an individual field notebook recording observations, results and reflections whilst in the field (50%). The multimedia content of the virtual fieldwork resource is designed to be engaging to the modern undergraduate who is often multimedia literate, has a diversity of learning styles, often preferring interactive, student-centred and self-paced rather than more traditional approaches, and flexibility of access. The resource will have longevity beyond the field trip and will be useful for preparation in advance and for assessment and review purposes afterwards. This approach also goes some way to addressing the e-learning agenda as well as catering for those students who, for personal reasons, or reasons of restricted physical ability, are unable to participate in part or all of the field work activity. It should be stressed, however, that the resource aims to compliment rather than replace the fieldwork activity. Student evaluation of the virtual fieldwork resource will take place at the end of the module later this semester (May) and will be conducted via questionnaire analysis, informal, semi-structured interviews and contributions to a blog facilitated via the module Blackboard site.


A Mobile Ad-hoc Network (MANET) is a self configuring network composed of mobile nodes without any fixed infrastructure. A very important and necessary issue for mobile ad-hoc networks is to find the route between source and destination that is a major technical challenge due to the dynamic topology of the network. Routing protocols for MANETs could be differing depending on the application and network architecture. This paper presents a survey on energy efficient routing protocols for wireless Ad-Hoc networks. Survey focus on recent development and modifications in this widely used field. This discussion is centered on proposed power saving algorithms. Besides it we will discuss about the conventional protocols and also see how these are modified to make these protocols


While food is an exceedingly rich area for environmental education, I caution environmental educators and researchers from moving too quickly into messaging about what people should eat, given the many complexities around food and identity. Eating, as an inherently identity-laden practice, is fraught with complicated meanings, dilemmas, and predicaments. Far too often in environmental discourse, we focus on the eating choices of individuals, but fail to acknowledge the extent to which eating is influenced by larger social and cultural contexts. This paper will explore some tensions between eating as an identity practice and eating as a sustainable practice through an exploration of a phenomenological autobiographic account and through literature on food, identity, race, and class.


Conversion of CO2 in a scalable technology has the potential for enormous energy and environmental impact but remains a challenge. We present several stable, earth abundant perovskite oxide materials for the reverse water gas shift chemical looping (RWGS-CL) process as a potential solution for this CO2 mitigation problem. This material and process combination circumvents issues plaguing other emerging technologies, viz. poor rates of CO2 conversion, high operation temperatures, use of precious metal catalysts, or combinations thereof. Using DFT-calculated oxygen vacancy formation energy, a key descriptor for the RWGS-CL process, we have successfully predicted several earth abundant perovskite oxides with high CO2 conversion capability. We simultaneously achieved 100% selective CO generation from CO2 at the highest known rates (∼160 μmoles per min per gram perovskite oxide) at record low process temperatures of 450–500 °C using lanthanum and calcium based perovskite oxides. These materials are stable over several RWGS-CL cycles, enabling industrial implementation.


We study the problem of estimating a rank-1 signal in the presence of rotationally invariant noise—a class of perturbations more general than Gaussian noise. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) provides a natural estimator, and sharp results on its performance have been obtained in the high-dimensional regime. Recently, an Approximate Message Passing (AMP) algorithm has been proposed as an alternative estimator with the potential to improve the accuracy of PCA. However, the existing analysis of AMP requires an initialization that is both correlated with the signal and independent of the noise, which is often unrealistic in practice. In this work, we combine the two methods, and propose to initialize AMP with PCA. Our main result is a rigorous asymptotic characterization of the performance of this estimator. Both the AMP algorithm and its analysis differ from those previously derived in the Gaussian setting: at every iteration, our AMP algorithm requires a specific term to account for PCA initialization, while in the Gaussian case, PCA initialization affects only the first iteration of AMP. The proof is based on a twophase artificial AMP that first approximates the PCA estimator and then mimics the true AMP. Our numerical simulations show an excellent agreement between AMP results and theoretical predictions, and suggest an interesting open direction on achieving Bayes-optimal performance.


The present study assessed the effects of rope training and weighted rope training on muscle damage sustained by basketball players. The study group comprised  36 male basketball players, all of whom have a minimum of 4 years experience of basketball.  Participants were aged between 17 and 19 years, and played in the junior league.  The Rope Group (n = 12) and Weighted Rope Group (n = 12) received one week preparatory rope training, in addition to technical training. They then  trained three days per week for eight weeks. A control group (n = 12) received only technical training for three days per week for eight weeks. In the first and last training sessions, venous blood samples were obtained from subjects before and after the training. The samples were tested for creatine kinase (CK), leukocyte and erythrocyte levels. Statistical analysis of the data was conducted with SPSS (Version 10.0). T-test and ANOVA were used to test for normality level and multi comparison tests, at the 0.05 and 0.01 levels. The results indicated that creatine kinase and leukocyte levels, which are the indicators of muscle damage,  increased  following high-intensity physical activity ; furthermore, erythrocyte level increased in line with exercise in order to transport oxygen to tissues. The findings suggest that intensive weighted rope training causes damages to muscles.

 Key words: Basketball, weighted rope training, muscle damage.


Remnant extraterrestrial chrome spinels from terrestrial sediments provide information on how the mixture of meteoritic materials falling to Earth has changed over Earth's history. The parent meteorite type of each grain can be identified by characteristic elemental and oxygen‐isotope abundances. Some meteorite types can be difficult to classify because their chrome‐spinel compositional ranges overlap. Silicate inclusions within chrome spinels of modern ordinary chondrites have been shown to have discriminating power among meteorite subclasses. We employed energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy in a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and in a (scanning) transmission electron microscope (S/TEM) to investigate inclusions in chrome‐spinel grains from Ordovician and Jurassic sediments. Unaltered Ordovician inclusions allowed us to establish the size limits for reliable SEM analysis of inclusions. The Jurassic grains were more altered, but the use of STEM techniques on small inclusions (<3 μm diameter at their polished surfaces) allowed us to determine chemical compositions and mineral structures of inclusions in three chrome spinels. The parent meteorite type was determined for one Jurassic grain based on its inclusion compositions. Our study confirms that silicate inclusions can be used to classify parent meteorite types of chrome‐spinel grains, but the size of the inclusions and the complex effects of terrestrial alteration must be taken into account. During our study, we also found some interesting exsolution phenomena in the host chrome‐spinel grains.


The present study aimed to investigate the effect of allyl isothiocyanate (AITC) on the viability and apoptosis of the human cervical cancer HeLa cell line in vitro, and to explore the potential underlying mechanisms of this. HeLa cells were treated with varying concentrations of AITC for different durations. The cell viability was then measured using a Cell Counting kit-8 assay and the apoptosis rate of the cells was detected using flow cytometry. Additionally, the B cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) and Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax) mRNA expression levels were determined by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction, while the Bax and Bcl-2 protein expression levels in cells were detected by western blot analysis. AITC was revealed to inhibit the viability of HeLa cells. AITC was revealed to induce the apoptosis of HeLa cells, as the apoptosis rate increased gradually with an increase in the dose. As the concentration of AITC increased, the Bax mRNA expression level increased, whilst the Bcl-2 mRNA expression level decreased. Furthermore, the Bax protein expression intensity increased whilst Bcl-2 protein expression intensity decreased, thereby resulting in a decrease in the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax proteins. AITC may inhibit cell viability by inducing the apoptosis of HeLa cells and this may be accounted for by the imbalance in the Bcl-2/Bax expression ratio.


Past analysis using EBRI's proprietary Retirement Security Projection Model® (RSPM) has found that roughly 44 percent of Baby Boomer and Gen X households are projected to be at-risk of running short of money in retirement, assuming they retire at age 65 and retain any net housing equity in retirement until other financial resources are depleted. However, that includes a wide range of personal circumstances, from individuals projected to run short by as little as a dollar to those projected to fall short by tens of thousands of dollars. This paper takes a closer look at where different types of people are likely to fall within the range of retirement income adequacy. Looking specifically at Gen X households (those born between 1965-1978, currently ages 34-47), EBRI's RSPM analysis finds that (1) nearly one-half (49.1 percent) will have substantially more (at least 20 percent more) than the income threshold deemed adequate to afford basic retirement expenses and uninsured health care costs; (2) approximately one-third (31.4 percent) will be close to the threshold for retirement adequacy (between 80-120 percent) of the financial resources necessary to cover basic retirement expenses and uninsured health care costs; (3) about 1 in 5 (19.4 percent) are projected to be substantially below (less than 80 percent) of what is needed. EBRI also finds that a worker's future years of eligibility in a defined contribution retirement plan makes a huge difference in his or her likelihood of having enough money to cover basic retirement expenses and uninsured health care costs. Among Gen Xer single females simulated to have no future years of defined-contribution-plan eligibility, nearly two-fifths (39 percent) are in the most vulnerable (less than 80 percent) category, although this shrinks to only 8 percent for those with 20 or more years of future eligibility in a defined contribution plan. The PDF for the above title, published in the November 2012 issue of EBRI Notes, also contains the fulltext of another November 2012 EBRI Notes article abstracted on SSRN: "Self-Insured Health Plans: State Variation and Recent Trends by Firm Size."


Because the machining of ultrasonic vibration assisted electro-discharge machining (UEDM) is a very complex process and it is too difficult to describe precisely every influencing factor with an accurate mathematics model, the study of parameters selection system is necessary and important for the practical application of machining method, the improvement of machining efficiency and minimizing the tool wear ratio (TWR). In this paper, the model and the corresponding database are built for UEDM based on the back propagation (BP) algorithm artificial neural network (ANN) to optimize machining parameters. Through learning and training, this system realizes the intelligent selection of machining parameters. As shown by the experiment results, the predictions accord with the test results, which shows that the reasonable and reliable project of UEDM can be provided by the system. With the increase of the machining sample, the machining database can be enriched and the application range will be expanded, so this system has the excellent fault-tolerance and extensible quality.


Background: Incivility has negative consequences in the workplace and remains a prevalent issue in nursing. Research has consistently linked incivility to nurse burnout and, in turn, to poor mental health and turnover intentions. To retain high quality nurses it is important to understand what factors might protect nurses from the negative effects of workplace mistreatment. Purpose: This study investigated the role of relational occupational coping self-efficacy in protecting nurses from workplace incivility and related burnout and turnover intentions. Methodology: A two-wave national sample of 596 Canadian nurses completed mail surveys both at Time 1 and one year later at Time 2. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesized model. Results: The model showed a good fit and most of the hypothesized paths were significant. Overall, the results supported the hypothesized protective effect of relational occupational coping self-efficacy against incivility and later burnout, mental health, and turnover intentions. Conclusion: Relational occupational coping self-efficacy is an important protective factor against negative work behavior. Practice Implications: Organizations should provide nurses with opportunities to build their coping strategies for managing job demands and difficult interpersonal interactions. Similarly, providing exposure to effective role models and providing meaningful verbal encouragement are other sources of efficacy information for building nurses' relational coping self-efficacy.


The urban landscape is characterized by altered climate, water relations and soil conditions. Governments spent millions of dollars in maintaining such landscapes. A landscape developed with sustainable practices can reduce this cost and improve the environment. In this context native plants can play a major role as they survive in local environments and easily adapted to local conditions with a minimum maintenance cost. Further, the landscape industry is continuously in need of novel and exciting material to maintain the viability. As a solution, floristic wealth of Sri Lankan flora can be successfully tapped to introduce native plants to urban landscapes. Based on field experience Osbeckia octandra was identified as a potential landscape plant. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the objective of identifying the landscape potential and a method to propagate O. octandra in order to popularize it as a landscape plant and to introduce into the landscape industry. Morphological characters and flowering phenology were observed and a propagation experiment was conducted using three types of cuttings (softwood, semi hardwood and hardwood) vs. two types of media (sand, sand 1: coir dust 1) arranged in a randomized complete block design. Osbeckia octandra is a fine textured small shrub with spreading habit and it tolerate pruning and it can be ideally used in a border. Flowers are attractive, purple in colour (purple group 77A, RHS color chart) and produce flowers at least four times a year which attract insects. A significantly high (P<0.05) growth performance was recorded in hardwood cuttings. However, a significant difference (P<0.05) was not recorded among potting media. Therefore, hardwood cuttings grown either in sand or sand with coir dust media can be recommended as the potential propagule and potting media to propagate this plant.


The Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) on the International Space Station (ISS) observed strong photospheric expansion of the neutron star in 4U 1820–30 during a Type I X-ray burst. A thermonuclear helium flash in the star's envelope powered a burst that reached the Eddington limit. Radiation pressure pushed the photosphere out to ∼200 km, while the blackbody temperature dropped to 0.45 keV. Previous observations of similar bursts were performed with instruments that are sensitive only above 3 keV, and the burst signal was weak at low temperatures. NICER's 0.2–12 keV passband enables the first complete detailed observation of strong expansion bursts. The strong expansion lasted only 0.6 s, and was followed by moderate expansion with a 20 km apparent radius, before the photosphere finally settled back down at 3 s after the burst onset. In addition to thermal emission from the neutron star, the NICER spectra reveal a second component that is well fit by optically thick Comptonization. During the strong expansion, this component is six times brighter than prior to the burst, and it accounts for 71% of the flux. In the moderate expansion phase, the Comptonization flux drops, while the thermal component brightens, and the total flux remains constant at the Eddington limit. We speculate that the thermal emission is reprocessed in the accretion environment to form the Comptonization component, and that changes in the covering fraction of the star explain the evolution of the relative contributions to the total flux.


Context. Variability is a general property of active galactic nuclei (AGN). The way in which these changes occur at X-rays is not yet clearly understood. In the particular case of low-ionization nuclear emission line region (LINER) nuclei, variations on the timescales from months to years have been found for some objects, but the main driver of these changes is still debated. Aims. The main purpose of this work is to investigate the X-ray variability in LINERs, including the main driver of these variations, and to search for possible differences between type 1 and 2 objects. Methods. We examined the 18 LINERs in the Palomar sample with data retrieved from the Chandra and/or XMM-Newton archives that correspond to observations gathered at different epochs. All the spectra for the same object were fitted simultaneously to study long-term variations. The nature of the variability patterns were studied by allowing different parameters to vary during the spectral fit. Whenever possible, short-term variations from the analysis of the light curves and long-term UV variability were studied. Results. Short-term variations are not reported in X-rays. Three LINERs are classified as non-AGN candidates in X-rays, all of them are Compton-thick candidates; none of them show variations at these frequencies, and two of them vary in the UV. Long-term X-ray variations were analyzed in 12 out of 15 AGN candidates; about half of them showed variability (7 out of the 12). At UV frequencies, most of the AGN candidates with available data are variable (five out of six). Thus, 13 AGN candidates are analyzed at UV and/or X-rays, ten of which are variable at least in one energy band. None of the three objects that do not vary in X-rays have available UV data. This means that variability on long-timescales is very common in LINERs. These X-ray variations are mainly driven by changes in the nuclear power, while changes in absorptions are found only for NGC 1052. We do not find any difference between type 1 and 2 LINERs, neither in the number of variable cases (three out of five type 1 and four out of seven type 2 LINERs), nor in the nature of the variability pattern. We find indications of an anticorrelation between the slope of the power law, Γ, and the Eddington ratio. Conclusions. LINERs are definitely variable sources irrespective of whether they are classified as optical type 1 or 2. Their BH masses, accretion rates, and variability timescales place them in the same plane as more powerful AGN at X-rays. However, our results suggest that the accretion mechanism in LINERs may be different. UV variations of some type 2 LINERs were found, this could support the hypothesis of a torus that disappears at low luminosities.


We have investigated an original motion estimation method that exploits several frequency subbands of wavelet pyramids using a multigrid-multiconstraint strategy. A recursive and iterative solution based on the Wiener approach allows to take into account the reconstruction quality criterion that is crucial to image coding. Experiments show its performances in terms of compression ratio, reconstruction quality, and reduction of implementation complexity compared to a monoresolution case.


In recent years, IC3 has enjoyed wide adoption by academia and industry as an unbounded model checking engine. The core algorithm works by learning lemmas that, given a safe property, eventually converge to an inductive proof. As such, its runtime performance is heavily dependent upon "pushing" (or "promoting") important lemmas, possibly by discovering additional supporting lemmas. More recently, Quip has emerged to be a complementary extension behind the reasoning capabilities of IC3 as it allows it to target particular lemmas for pushing. This also raises the following question: which lemmas should be promoted? To that end, this paper extends the reasoning capabilities of IC3 and Quip using special SAT queries to find support sets that represent fine-grained information on which lemmas are required to push other lemmas. Further, this paper presents an IC3-based algorithm called Truss (Testing Reachability Using Support Sets) that uses support sets to identify sets of lemmas that may be close to forming an inductive proof. The set is targeted for promotion as a cohesive unit. If any of the lemmas cannot be promoted, the entire set is abandoned and a new set excluding that lemma is found. In the presented framework, there are two reasons why a lemma cannot be promoted: either because it blocks a known reachable state (in which case, the lemma is permanently marked as bad), or because lemma promotion exceeds a specified amount of effort (in which case the lemma is temporarily marked as ugly). Intuitively, the proposed approach allows the algorithm to construct a proof more quickly by focusing on the important yet easily-pushed lemmas. Experiments on the HWMCC'15 benchmark set show a significant improvement against existing practices. Compared to Quip, our algorithm solves 17 more problem instances and it offers an impressive 1.77× speedup.


The aim of the current paper is to study the effect of different amounts of nitrogen applied in bands of corn hybrids on variables related to corn plant growth and its yield components. The experiment was carried out under no-tillage system at Guarapuava, PR, Brazil, throughout the period of October 1st 2009 to March 20th 2010. The treatments resulted in the combination of two simple hybrids of corn (P30R50 and AG8025) and six doses of nitrogen applied in bands (0; 75; 150; 225; 300 and 375 kg N ha-1 in urea form). The treatments were 12 arranged in a 2x6 factorial design of randomized blocks in four replications. The corn hybrid AG8025 had a small number of leaves, smaller rows of grains per stalk and insertion height of primary stalk compared to the hybrid P30R50. However, with a greater plant height, higher overall dry phytomass and productivity point out the influence of genetic variability on the crop. Nitrogen doses influenced significantly biological variables, such as plant height at the phenological stages V9 and R1, insertion height of the primary stalk, branch diameter, number of photosynthetically active leaves at R1, stalk diameter, one thousand grains weight and productivity. 295 kg de N ha-1 dose provided estimated yield of 13,032.93 kg ha-1. Factors, such as hybrids and N doses, did not affect harvest index, whose average value corresponded to 0.52. Yield was positively correlated to most of the variables in the study, outstanding yield components, such as dry phytomass of grains per stalk and overall phytomass of the aerial part per plant. It is concluded that knowing the effect of N on corn plant physiology makes the characterization of yield possible and helps in the selection of corn plant as a parameter for N management in bands.

 Key words: Zea mays L., yield component, nitrogen, harvest index.


AIM: To assess universal neonatal screening for bilateral hearing impairments averaging 40 dBHL or worse in the better ear, using transient evoked otoacoustic emission screening (TEOAE) testing. METHODS: A three year cohort (14,353 infants born from January 1992 to 1995) was screened and subsequently followed up by hearing surveillance methods, including a distraction test screen from 7 months of age. The entire cohort was used to evaluate the outcome of the screen. A subcohort of 8172 district residents was used to evaluate the continuing worth of the distraction test programme. RESULTS: Nineteen infants (1.3/1000) with a targeted hearing impairment failed the neonatal TEOAE test. Six profoundly deaf infants identified by the TEOAE screen, were fitted with hearing aids at a median age of 16 weeks. One remained without an aid. Of 12 infants with a moderate impairment, only seven accepted hearing aid fitting and the median age of being fitted with an aid increased to 42 weeks. By the time of the analysis 22 children with a targeted hearing impairment (1.5/1000) had been identified from the cohort. Of the three missed neonatally, one was cared for elsewhere, another had a progressive loss, and the third had central deafness. Twenty children were ascertained with a congenital peripheral deafness. Of these, eight (40%) had risk factors identifiable neonatally. Only the child with central deafness was missed by TEOAE screening and subsequently identified by behavioural tests in infancy. The TEOAE screen outperformed the distraction test in terms of processes and yield and was 25% less expensive. CONCLUSIONS: The analysis confirmed the worth within the district of the TEOAE hearing screen. It will thus be continued as a universal neonatal screen with the distraction test being retained as a selective screen in the latter half of infancy.


Within a decade or so insufficient fish oil (FO) will be available to meet the requirements for aquaculture growth. Consequently, alternative sources are being investigated to reduce reliance on wild fish as a source of FO. Vegetable oils (VO) are a feasible alternative to FO. However, it is important to establish that alternative dietary lipids are not only supplied in the correct quantities and balance for optimal growth, but can maintain immune function and prevent infection, since it is known that the nutritional state of the fish can influence their immune function and disease resistance. A way of maintaining immune function, while replacing dietary FO, is by using a blend of VO rather than a single oil. In this study, juvenile European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) were fed diets with a 60 % substitution of FO with a blend of rapeseed, linseed and palm oils. Two oil blends were used to achieve a fatty acid composition similar to FO, in terms of energy content, and provide a similar balance of SFA, MUFA and PUFA. Fish were fed the diets for 64 weeks, after which time growth and fatty acid compositions of liver and blood leucocytes were monitored. The impact of the dietary blends on selected innate immune responses and histopathology were also assessed, together with levels of plasma prostaglandin E2. The results suggest that potential exists for replacing FO with a VO blend in farmed sea bass feeds without compromising growth, non-specific immune function or histology.


"Arab Spring" has revealed shortcomings of the French school of Arabic studies and demonstrated the need for the younger generation of Arabists produce truly scientific product and not politicized research... Clearly, the logic of the Arab spring development has once again demonstrated the importance of the region for the US, Russia and European states, which have their interests in the Arab world. But it also revealed the gaps in Arab studies of different countries and the failure to comprehend the complex socioeconomic and political processes that are unfolding in the Middle East and North Africa today. At the same time, the current state of the Russian and French schools of Arab studies, which are traditionally among the most developed in the world, may be described as critical and demands drastic measures to avoid their decay. As Mansouria Mokhefi, a French expert in Arab studies, points out, the whole concept of the Middle East and North Africa studies needs to be revised, and the younger researchers have to be taught to produce a high quality scientific work.


Sulfate transporters (SULTRs), also known as H+/SO42− symporters, play a key role in sulfate transport, plant growth and stress responses. However, the evolutionary relationships and functional differentiation of SULTRs in Gramineae crops are rarely reported. Here, 111 SULTRs were retrieved from the genomes of 10 Gramineae species, including Brachypodium disachyon, Hordeum vulgare, Setaria italica, Sorghum bicolor, Zea mays, Oryza barthii, Oryza rufipogon, Oryza glabbermia and Oryza sativa (Oryza sativa ssp. indica and Oryza sativa ssp. japonica). The SULTRs were clustered into five clades based on a phylogenetic analysis. Syntheny analysis indicates that whole-genome duplication/segmental duplication and tandem duplication events were essential in the SULTRs family expansion. We further found that different clades and orthologous groups of SULTRs were under a strong purifying selective force. Expression analysis showed that rice SULTRs with high-affinity transporters are associated with the functions of sulfate uptake and transport during rice seedling development. Furthermore, using Oryza sativa ssp. indica as a model species, we found that OsiSULTR10 was significantly upregulated under salt stress, while OsiSULTR3 and OsiSULTR12 showed remarkable upregulation under high temperature, low-selenium and drought stresses. OsiSULTR3 and OsiSULTR9 were upregulated under both low-selenium and high-selenium stresses. This study illustrates the expression and evolutionary patterns of the SULTRs family in Gramineae species, which will facilitate further studies of SULTR in other Gramineae species.


This paper discusses the evaluation of automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems developed for practical applications, suggesting a set of criteria for application-oriented performance measures. The commonly used word error rate (WER), which poses ASR evaluation as a string editing process, is shown to have a number of limitations with respect to these criteria, motivating alternative or additional measures. This paper suggests that posing speech recognition evaluation as an information retrieval problem, where each word is one unit of information, offers a flexible framework for application-oriented performance analysis based on the concepts of recall and precision.


Complementary to conventional X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) and Fourier transformed (FT) extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) analysis, the systematic application of wavelet transformed (WT) XAS is shown to disclose the physicochemical mechanisms governing Pt-In catalyst formation. The simultaneous kand R-space resolution of the WT XAS signal allows for the efficient allocation of the elemental nature to each Rspace peak. Because of its elemental discrimination capacity, the technique delivers structural models which can subsequently serve as an input for quantitative FT EXAFS modeling. The advantages and limitations of applying WT XAS are demonstrated (1) before and (2) after calcination to 650 °C of a Pt(acac)2 impregnated Mg(In)(Al)Ox support, and (3) after subsequent H2 reduction to 650 °C. Combined XANES, FT and WT XAS analysis shows that the acac ligands of the Pt precursor decompose during calcination, leading to atomically dispersed Pt 4+ cations on the Mg(In)(Al)Ox support. H2 reduction treatment eventually results in the formation of 1.5 nm Pt-In alloyed nanoparticles. Wide-spread use and systematic application of wavelet-based XAS can potentially reveal in greater details the intricate mechanisms involved in catalysis, chemistry and related fields.


OBJECTIVE
This study aims to examine the effects of persuasive messages focused on the labeling of previous blood donation behavior on subsequent donation among experienced blood donors.

METHOD
Participants (N = 410) received blood drive invitations by mail that were categorized with the labeling of the previous donation. They were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: functional labeling (which underlines the utility of their donation), social labeling (which underlines their own social value), and no label of previous donation (control condition). Dependent Variable: Number of participants who made a new blood donation.

RESULTS
Donors are more likely to make a new blood donation when they have received a message labeling their previous donation (26.7%), whether it be social or functional, compared with a nonlabeled message (17.5%). Moreover, labeling condition interacted with age parameter indicating that the older the donor, the more sensitive the donor to the labeling technique. Labeling condition also interacted with gender, revealing that women were almost three times more likely to come back to give their blood in labeling conditions compared with the no-label condition.

CONCLUSION
Our findings highlight the interest in using strategies based on the recall of previous donation, that is a labeling technique, to help blood centers to stimulate repeat donation. Labeling the previous donation increases the likelihood of a new donation among experienced donors, especially among older people and women, the latter being a part of the most reluctant profiles to repeat blood donation.


The study examines the effect of inflation on domestic credit to private sector in Ethiopia using inflation and Gross National Savings as regressors. From the Autoregressive Distributed Lag model, we confirmed presence of a unique co-integrating equation among the variables. Our long run results show a significant negative effect of inflation (proxied by consumer price index) on domestic credit to private sector, whereas gross national saving has strong positive impact. The dynamic results from Error Correction Model suggest that inflation substantially depresses availability of domestic credit to private sector in the short run too. Given the usually high and volatile inflation in Ethiopia, this result is highly anticipated. On the other hand, from the short run dynamic results, a strong positive causation is evidenced between domestic credit to private sector and its lagged values. Our findings imply that maintaining reasonable level of inflation and boosting national savings are requisite in expanding and sustaining domestic credit to private sector in Ethiopia.


Cancers arise when cells evade homeostatic mechanisms that restrain their growth. A variety of homeostatic mechanisms, such as apoptosis, proliferation arrest, and senescence, maintain appropriate cell numbers in multicellular organisms and limit the formation of tumors. Acting in concert with these programs is autophagy. Autophagy is a regulated cellular degradative pathway, which may be tumor suppressive in some contexts by promoting cell death or inhibiting genomic instability, but may also promote tumor growth by enhancing cell survival. Recently we described a new cellular mechanism called entosis that, like autophagy, may influence human cancers in complex, context-dependent ways. Entosis underlies the formation of cell-in-cell structures, where live cells are engulfed inside of their neighbors. These cell structures are reported in a variety of human cancers, but their significance is unknown. The majority of engulfed cells undergo cell death, suggesting that entosis could be a novel mechanism of tumor suppression. Paradoxically, cell-in-cell structures also promote the development of aneuploidy by disrupting cell division. Aneuploidy is thought to drive tumor progression and is a hallmark of aggressive cancers. Thus, like autophagy, entosis has two potential influences on human tumors – tumor suppression or tumor promotion. Detachment of cells from extracellular matrix is one major mechanism that induces entosis. Within secretory glands such as the mammary gland, epithelial cells are normally organized into a single polarized layer that is adherent to a basement membrane and surrounds a hollow lumen. In early-stage tumors, such as ductal carinoma in-situ (DCIS), cells detach from the basement membrane, and populate the luminal space inside the mammary duct. As epithelial cells require attachment to matrix for survival, a common gain-of-function for breast tumor cells is the ability to survive in the absence of anchorage to the basement membrane. Indeed, one hallmark of many cancer types is the ability of cells to grow in an anchorage-independent fashion. In breast tumors, cell-in-cell structures are found in DCIS tumors, and also late-stage invasive tumors, in matrix-deprived regions. In cultured cells, cell-in-cell structures are prevalent under anchorage-independent conditions, such as growth in soft agar, where entosis may act as a barrier to transformed growth. Interestingly, although cell-in-cell structures are found in human tumors, most tumor cell lines do not exhibit a high rate of entosis compared to non-tumor cells, suggesting that this program is generally suppressed in most cancers. Cell-in-cell formation occurs by an unusual mechanism involving the formation of adherens junctions between host cells and their targets, followed by engulfment that is driven by Rho-dependent contractile force in internalizing cells, which invade into their hosts. Tumor cells likely do not exhibit entosis owing to compromised cell adhesion, as many breast tumor cell lines, for example, do not express epithelial (E- and P-) cadherins, or α-catenin. We have shown previously that epithelial cadherins, as well as contractile force mediated by Rho, are required for entosis in epithelial cell lines. Here we demonstrate that restoration of epithelial adhesion in tumor cells, by re-expression of E- or P-cadherin, is sufficient to activate entosis, and entotic cell death. As restoration of epithelial adhesion is known to block tumor formation, entosis may be a new mechanism whereby cell adhesion can inhibit transformed growth. Because entotic cells are engulfed alive, they actually exhibit multiple fates. Whereas the majority undergo a nonapoptotic form of cell death, a smaller percentage are able to survive for extended periods inside of their hosts, and some manage to escape from host cells altogether, emerging unharmed. Cell death involves conversion of the entotic vacuole into a lysosomal compartment, but the cellular pathways that control cell fate are not known. Here we demonstrate that the fate of entotic cells is controlled by the autophagy pathway. Autophagy proteins are normally involved in the formation of double-membrane autophagosomes that mediate bulk cytoplasmic and organelle degradation in cells under conditions of starvation. In epithelial cell lines and tumor cells with restored cell adhesion, we find that autophagy proteins modify entotic vacuole membranes, by a sequence of events including PtdIns(3)P formation and recruitment of Light Chain 3 (LC3). LC3 is lipidated at the entotic vacuole membrane in a manner dependent on core autophagy machinery including ATG5 and ATG7, but not on the mTor-regulated ULK-ATG13-FIP200 complex that is required for autophagy. LC3 lipidation facilitates lysosome fusion to the entotic vacuole, leading to necrotic-like death and degradation of internalized cells, which are murdered by their hosts. Importantly, disruption of autophagy machinery within host cells rescues internalized cells from death, demonstrating a non-cell-autonomous killing activity. Conversely, depletion of autophagic proteins within internalized cells induces apoptosis, due to a cell-autonomous requirement for autophagy in the nutrient deprived environment of the host cell vacuole. The complete rescue of cells from entotic cell death therefore requires the simultaneous inhibition of autophagy and apoptosis, a situation commonly found in human tumors. Accordingly, suppression of entotic cell death promotes the anchorage independent growth of cells in soft agar, a model of tumorgenicity. Together, these data define a non-cell-autonomous mechanism of cell death, resembling a cell murder, involving autophagy machinery. As entosis is controlled by epithelial adhesion and autophagy, it represents a novel mechanism of cell death that may suppress tumor growth by using known tumor suppressive machinery. Alternatively, while entosis may suppress tumor growth by eliminating detached cells, it is also a strong inducer of aneuploidy, and this feature could be positively selected in some cancers. Our data define a novel cellular mechanism, entosis, that like autophagy, may have multiple, even opposing, influences on tumor growth. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr SY09-03. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-SY09-03


Abstract The goal of achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) can generally be realized only in stages. Moreover, resource, capacity, and political constraints mean governments often face difficult trade-offs on the path to UHC. In a 2014 report, Making fair choices on the path to UHC, the WHO Consultative Group on Equity and Universal Health Coverage articulated principles for making such trade-offs in an equitable manner. We present three case studies which illustrate how these principles can guide practical decision-making. These case studies show how progressive realization of the right to health can be effectively guided by priority-setting principles, including generating the greatest total health gain, priority for those who are worse off in a number of dimensions (including health, access to health services, and social and economic status), and financial risk protection. They also demonstrate the value of a fair and accountable process of priority setting.


In this paper we present an intelligent, personalised TV recommender system with an agent based infrastructure that provides the user both with content based and collaborative recommendations based on the user's viewing profile, which is our model of the user. We represent the viewing profile using separate categories of interest such as dramas and game shows, where each category in turn is made up of programs that the user liked and disliked. The profile is continuously updated via feedback to the viewers agent. The liked and disliked programs are then distilled into a weighted tuple of key words produced from their descriptions. This weighted tuple is then used to make recommendations based on the descriptions of new programs. Programs whose descriptions are 'close' to the user's liked profile for some category are recommended.


This study aimed to determine the perception of the Grade 12 TVL students on the school learning environment and scheme for employability during the academic year 2021-2022. This study further aimed to determine the preparedness of the students in terms of employability considering their learning environment during the new normal situation. The researcher employed descriptive method and random sampling technique in choosing the 100 respondents who are the Grade 12 Technical Vocational and Livelihood students of Atimonan National Comprehensive High School in Atimonan, Quezon. The study made use of a researcher-made questionnaire in assessing the perception of the respondents on variables under study. Frequency counts and percent distribution were employed to describe the respondents' profiles. Mean and standard deviation was utilized to determine the perceptions of the respondents regarding the school learning environment and the employability scheme for TVL students. Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient was used to test whether there is a significant relationship between the independent and dependent variables at 0.01 and 0.05 levels of significance. Based on the findings of the study, there is a significant relationship between the strand and the attitude of the respondents. Therefore, the null hypothesis posited in the study is not sustained. However, there is no significant relationship between the remaining profile of the respondents and the employability scheme. Thus, the null hypothesis of the study is sustained. There is a significant relationship between the respondent's learning environment in terms of human practices and material systems and the scheme for their employability in terms of cognitive relationship, hands-on practical skills, ha,bits and attitude. Thus, the null hypothesis formulated is rejected. It is recommended that the school administrators may organize seminars and training workshops for hands-on practical skills enrichment of Grade 12 Technical Vocational Livelihood (TVL) students even during the new normal situation. Strengthening the school learning environment, curriculum, and the Grade 12 student's employability through online platforms is also suggested. It is also recommended to organize yearly job fairs and skill demonstration activities for student's engagement and preparation for employability. Since this study has a limited locale, it is suggested that future researchers may conduct a comparative study in a different research setting with a bigger population and with a much broader and wider scope of employability. Keywords: Learning Environment, Employability Scheme, Technical Vocational Livelihood (TVL) track, Cognitive Apprenticeship


STAT6 plays an important role in IL-4-mediated B cell activation and differentiation. To identify primary and secondary target genes of STAT6, gene expression profiles of IL-4-stimulated B cells from STAT6+/+ vs STAT6−/− mice were compared. Statistical analysis revealed that 106 distinct probe sets including 70 known genes were differentially expressed between the 2 genotypes. These genes include transcription factors, kinases, and other enzymes, cell surface receptors, and Ig H chains. Surprisingly, although 31 genes were expressed at higher levels in STAT6+/+ B cells, 39 genes were expressed at higher abundance in STAT6−/− B cells. This result implies both positive and negative regulatory functions of STAT6 in IL-4-mediated gene expression. Furthermore, IL-4 induces expression of the transcription factor Krox20, which is required for maximal IL-4-induced transcription.


The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the Homemaker Service course in the major cities of Western Montana. These would include Great Falls, Helena, Bozeman, Butte, Kalispell and Missoula. The existing courses were evaluated. Evaluation depended on: (1) the extent of the program offerings in these cities; (2) the need of the program or requests for assistance and (3) the effectiveness of the program by the attitudes of the employers who hired the visiting home-makers and the interest of the trained graduates in working as visiting homemakers. In order to evaluate the program the following people were interviewed: (1) the School Administrators and Directors of Adult Education Programs in Great Falls, Helena, Butte, Kalispell and Bozeman; (2) the Director of the Montana State Employment Service Office for each of the six cities for the period from January 1, 1967 through September 30, 1967; and (3) the women who had taken the course. In addition to the interviews, the job opportunities were investigated in the classified section, Jobs Of Interest, Female, in The Missoulian and The Bozeman Daily Chronicle. It was found that the Homemaker Service courses as offered were not adequately filling a serious need in the six major cities of Western Montana. It was also found that the Homemaker Service course had effectively trained women who are interested in working in the homes in time of stress and crisis; however, many graduates did not understand the purpose of the course and took the training for their own benefit. The employers were very satisfied with the work of the visiting homemakers. AN EVALUATION OF THE HOMEMAKER SERVICE COURSE IN THE. MAJOR CITIES OF WESTERN-MONTANA A thesis submitted to the Graduate, Faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE Home .Economics by MARY ELIZABETH BARTH


Chitosan was modified chemically with N-(5-(4-methoxy-phenyl)-furan-2-ylmethylene)-N′-phenyl-hydrazine (NMPF). The nanofibers of chitosan were obtained by in situ electrospinning and quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) methods. The structure of the modified chitosan was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL) analysis. The morphology and diameter of the fibers were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Adhesion of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) on a nanofiber-coated electrode surface was examined as a function of time using flow-through QCM. QCM results indicate that pchito-NMPF fiber significantly decreases biofilm formation, with possibly greater contributions of NMPF. Adhesion, growth, and detachment of P. aeruginosa were substantially different on pchito-NMPF coatings as compared with those on uncoated quartz crystal electrode. Inhibition of cells on the surface coated with p...


This paper describes the architecture of a time-multiplexed Programmable Array Logic (PLA) designed for structured ASIC technology. Time multiplexing is realized by storing sixteen PLA configurations in on-chip memory. This inactive an-chip memory is distributed around the chip allowing single cycle configuration change and it can be accessed either from off-chip or from internal logic. Functional testing proves that the structure can be used to emulate multiple independent, communicating designs in virtual hardware environment. Implementation results on structured ASIC validated the solution from both area and timing perspective.


Introduction: Mongolian spots (Congenital Dermal Melanocytosis) are the most frequently encountered pigmented lesions in newborns. The spots typically appear as congenital blue-grey macules. These lesions vary in size and color. The most common location is the sacro- gluteal area. Its prevalence varies from 10% in Caucasians to more than 90% in Mongolians. Only a limited number of studies were carried out to investigate the frequency of these spots in Iran. This study was conducted to study Mongolian spots prevalence and their common sites in newborns at Lolagar hospital Methods: This descriptive-Analytic study was carried out for two years (2004-2006) at Lolagar hospital in Tehran. During this period, 1706 newborns were examined by pediatricians for Mongolian spots prevalence and their common sites in newborns. Results: Mongolian spots were observed in 37.3% (637 Neonates) neonates. The most frequent site of involvement was the sacral, followed by the gluteal area. Mongolian spots prevalence did not show any significant statistical relationship to sex, gestational age, mother's age, birth weight and delivery type (P>0.05). Conclusion: The prevalence of Mongolian spots at Lolagar hospital was similar to the prevalence reported in previous studies in Tehran and Yazd. However it was different from the prevalence reported in studies done in Ahvaz and Bosher. A complementary genealogical study on a representative Iranian sample is necessary.


In many scientific and engineering researches, Bayesian surrogate models are utilized to handle nonlinear data for regression and classification tasks. In this thesis, we consider a real-life problem, functional response modeling of metamaterial and its rapid design, to which we establish and test such models. To familiarize with this subject, some fundamental electromagnetic physics are provided. Noticing that the dispersive data are usually in rational form, a two-stage modeling approach is proposed, where in the first stage, a universal link function is formulated to rationally approximate the data with a few discrete parameters, namely poles and residues. Then they are used to synthesize equivalent circuits, and surrogate models are applied to circuit elements in the second stage. To start with a regression scheme, the classical Gaussian process (GP) is introduced, which proceeds by parameterizing a covariance function of any continuous inputs, and infers hyperparameters given the training data. Two metamaterial prototypes are illustrated to demonstrate the methodology of model building, whose results are shown to prove the e ciency and precision of probabilistic predictions. One well-known problem with metamaterial functionality is its great variability in resonance identities, which shows discrepancy in approximation orders required to fit the data with rational functions. In order to give accurate prediction, both approximation order and the presenting circuit elements should be inferred, by classification and regression, respectively. An augmented Bayesian surrogate model, which integrates GP multiclass classification, Bayesian treed GP regression, is formulated to provide a systematic dealing to such unique physical phenomenon. Meanwhile, the nonstationarity and computational complexity are well scaled with such model. Finally, as one of the most advantageous property of Bayesian perspective, probabilistic assessment to underlying uncertainties is also discussed and demonstrated with detailed formulation and examples.


Perylene diimide (PDI) based semiconductors with high mobility are promising electron-transporting materials (ETMs), which are used to fabricate polymer solar cells (PSCs) using roll-to-roll (R2R) processing. However, PDI-based molecular semiconductors have a strong tendency to aggregate, which hinders their use as ETMs in the fabrication of high-performance thin-film devices. Additionally, multi-layer organic opto-electronic devices require that the materials for different layers should possess orthogonal solubility. Here, we develop an in situ polymerisation method to successfully prepare ion-containing PDI-based polyelectrolytes with good water/alcohol solubility, which can enable high-performance PSCs. The doping behaviour, self-assembling and charge-transporting properties of these polyelectrolytes can be fine-tuned by their anions, which allows the fabrication of high-quality and high-mobility electron-transporting thin films for PSCs. PSCs with these polyelectrolytes can maintain high power conversion efficiencies of over 8% when the thickness of the polyelectrolyte is up to 50 nm, which offers a remarkable processing window for the mass-fabrication of PSCs using R2R techniques. Our findings on the structure–property–performance relationships of these polyelectrolytes provide insights and guidelines for the design of high-performance n-type polyelectrolytes for organic opto-electronic devices.


Polymeric vectors for gene delivery are a promising alternative for clinical applications, as they are generally safer than viral counterparts. Our objective was to further our mechanistic understanding of polymer structure-function relationships to allow the rational design of new biomaterials. Utilizing poly(β-amino ester)s (PBAEs), we investigated polymer-DNA binding by systematically varying the polymer molecular weight, adding single carbons to the backbone and side chain of the monomers that constitute the polymers, and varying the type of polymer end group. We then sought to correlate how PBAE binding affects the polyplex diameter and ζ potential, the transfection efficacy, and its associated cytotoxicity in human breast and brain cancer cells in vitro. Among other trends, we observed in both cell lines that the PBAE-DNA binding constant is biphasic with the transfection efficacy and that the optimal values of the binding constant with respect to the transfection efficacy are in the range (1-6) × 10(4) M(-1). A binding constant in this range is necessary but not sufficient for effective transfection.


Background
Diseases of the brain are difficult to study because this organ is relatively inaccessible. Only one part of the central nervous system is available to direct, non-invasive observation – the retina. The concept of the retina as a window to the brain has created much interest in the retina as a source of potential markers of brain disease. Paediatric cerebral malaria is a severe neurological complication of infection with the parasite Plasmodium falciparum, which is responsible for death and disability in a significant number of children in sub-Saharan Africa. As with many neurological diseases, the precise mechanisms by which this infection causes damage to the brain remain unclear, and this hampers efforts to develop effective treatments. It may be that studying the retina in paediatric cerebral malaria could both illuminate pathogenesis specific to this disease, and also provide an illustration of how to approach retinal biomarkers in a new, and potentially more effective way.

Methods
I approached the aim of developing retinal features as markers of brain disease in paediatric cerebral malaria via several objectives. I made use of an existing clinical study to collect new retinal data from ophthalmoscopic examinations and fundus fluorescein angiograms from patients over three successive malaria seasons in Malawi, and added these to historical data obtained previously at the same site. I devised a new method for grading retinal images. I reviewed the biological plausibility of associations between retina and brain in cerebral malaria, and then considered analytical methods to interpret my retinal data effectively. Finally I estimated associations between retinal features, outcomes, and a radiological measure of brain swelling using combinations of regression models.

Results
My review of retinal and cerebral histopathology, vascular anatomy and physiology indicated that certain retinal and brain regions may be similarly prone to damage from sequestration as a result of interactions between aberrant rheology and microvascular geometry, such as branching patterns and arteriole to venule ratios. My review of evaluations of analogy and surrogacy suggested that biological similarities between retina and brain could be used to justify statistical evaluation of the amount of information the subject and object of the inference share about a common outcome, as used to assess surrogate end points for clinical trials. This kind of approach is able to address questions about whether a particular retinal feature is effectively equivalent to an analogous disease manifestation in the brain. I report analyses on three overlapping groups of subjects, all of whom had retinopathy positive cerebral malaria: children with admission ophthalmoscopy (n=817), children with admission fluorescein angiography (n=260), and children with admission angiography and MRI of the brain (n=134). Several retinal features are associated with death and longer time to recover consciousness in paediatric cerebral malaria. Broadly speaking, these features appear to reflect two processes: neurovascular sequestration (e.g. orange vessel discolouration and death), and neurovascular leakage (e.g. >5 sites of punctate leak and death). Respective adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for these particular associations are: 2.88 (1.64-5.05); and 6.90 (1.52-31.3). Other related processes may also be important, such as ischaemia, which can be extensive. Associations between retina and brain are less clear, in part because of selection bias in the samples.

Conclusions
Neurovascular leak is important in fatal paediatric cerebral malaria, suggesting that fatal brain swelling may occur primarily as a result of vasogenic oedema. Other processes are also likely to be involved, particularly neurovascular sequestration, which is visible on retinal imaging as orange vessels or intravascular filling defects. Sequestration may plausibly cause leak through direct damage to tight junctions and by increasing transmural pressure secondary to venous congestion. Several types of retinal leakage are seen and some of these may represent re-perfusion rather than acute injury. Future work to investigate temporal changes in retinal signs may find clearer associations with radiological and clinical outcomes. The steps taken to evaluate retinal markers in cerebral malaria illustrate a more rigorous approach to retinal biomarkers in general, which can be applied to other neurological diseases


Not quite a few enterprise architecture (EA) management endeavors start with the design of an information model covering the EA-related interests of the various stakeholders. In the design of this model, the enterprise architects resort to prominent frameworks, but often create what would be called an "ivory tower" model. This model at best case misses if not ignores the knowledge of the people that are responsible for business processes, applications, services etc. In this paper, we describe how the wisdom of the crowds can be used to develop information models. Making use of Web 2.0 techniques, wikis, and an open templating mechanism, our approach ties together the EA relevant information in a way, which is accessible to both humans and applications. We demonstrate how the ivory tower syndrome can be cured, typical pitfalls can be avoided, and employees can be empowered to contribute their expert knowledge to EA modeling and documentation.


A new broadband wide-azimuth towed-streamer (WATS) survey was acquired to better resolve reservoir compartments in a shallow-water region of the East China Sea. To offset the shortcomings of narrow-azimuth acquisition along the strike direction, two vessels were added side-by-side as additional source vessels to form the WATS acquisition geometry for this survey. This WATS acquisition was much sparser than typical WATS surveys used in deepwater environments due to its one-sided configuration. The combination of sparse acquisition, shallow water, and deep targets set the challenge of how to optimally reveal the potential of side-gun data to improve the final image. Three-dimensional effects and severe aliasing in the crossline direction pose significant challenges for side-gun data processing. We present a comprehensive workflow to resolve these challenges consisting of 3D deghosting, 3D model-based water-layer demultiple, 3D surface-related multiple elimination, and 4D regularization for sparse and shallow-water wide-azimuth data. A tilted orthorhombic velocity model is built with better constraints from the wide-azimuth data, leading to improved fault positioning and imaging. Side-gun data clearly enhance the final target reservoir image and tie better with well data due to improved illumination. A new channel is discovered based on interpretation from the inverted VP/VS, explaining the previous incorrect prediction for one failed well that was drilled into a thinner and shallower channel unconnected to the main reservoir. An analysis of the impact of side-gun data from different offsets and azimuths shows that better azimuthal distribution within middle offset ranges had a more significant impact than far offsets in the final image of this survey. This information provides valuable reference in similar geologic conditions for future acquisition designs.