Families of persons living with dementia provide varying levels and forms of support to their loved ones and experience changes in familial dynamics, roles, and responsibilities over time. Family-centered care can enable their successful adaptation and participation in meaningful occupations. This scoping review aimed to explore available familycentered interventions for persons living with dementia, with a focus on occupational therapy. Three databases were searched and 31 eligible studies were found. Thirteen family-centered interventions were identified that were mostly multicomponent in nature, of which three involved occupational therapy. These interventions were investigated using a range of study designs and addressed outcomes related to the person with dementia, primary caregiver, and extended social network. With respect to study context, most interventions were developed in the United States and other Western countries with a limited number located in other contexts. The review findings underline the need for developing more family-centered interventions within occupational therapy, particularly for different contexts and cultures, and for translating available interventions to practice.


This paper investigates the macroeconomic impact of uncertainty by using three recently constructed US economic uncertainty proxies. Emphasis is placed on examining the informational value of these indicators and their ability to better predict economic activity. We focus on the direct and/or indirect transmission chains of economic uncertainty on US macroeconomic aggregates, the magnitude of the forecast improvement induced by economic uncertainty and the strength of the observed dynamic relations. Our results show that macroeconomic uncertainty can help in forecasting key macroeconomic aggregates across multiple horizons, and this predictive power is economically and statistically significant. The two macroeconomic uncertainty measures anticipate industrial production and consumption directly, and investment and employment indirectly, with a time-delay. The transmission chains for investment include consumption and the stock market as intermediate variables, and for employment consumption and investment. No substantial evidence of feedback effects from real activity to macroeconomic uncertainty is found. Moreover, asymmetry in macroeconomic uncertainty is found to be important. Upside and downside uncertainty produce significant macroeconomic effects, yet downside uncertainty produces the strongest impact. Results from a "news-based" economic policy uncertainty measure are weaker.


Benign essential blepharospasm is a condition characterized by abnormal blinking or spasms of the eyelids. This condition is a type of dystonia, which is a group of movement disorders involving uncontrolled tensing of the muscles (muscle contractions), rhythmic shaking (tremors), and other involuntary movements. Benign essential blepharospasm is different from the common, temporary eyelid twitching that can be caused by fatigue, stress, or caffeine.


Energy-efficient processor design is becoming more and more important with technology scaling and with high performance requirements. Supply-voltage scaling is an efficient way to reduce energy by lowering the operating voltage and the clock frequency of processor simultaneously. We propose a variable supply-voltage (VSV) scaling technique based on the following key observation: upon an L2 miss, the pipeline performs some independent computations but almost always ends up stalling and waiting for data, despite out-of-order issue and other latency-hiding techniques. Therefore, during an L2 miss we scale down the supply voltage of certain sections of the processor in order to reduce power dissipation while it carries on the independent computations at a lower speed. However, operating at a lower speed may degrade performance, if there are sufficient independent computations to overlap with the L2 miss. Similarly, returning to high speed may degrade power savings, if there are multiple outstanding misses and insufficient independent computations to overlap with them. To avoid these problems, we introduce two state machines that track parallelism on-the-fly, and we scale the supply voltage depending on the level of parallelism. We also consider circuit-level complexity concerns which limit VSV to two supply voltages, stability and signal-propagation speed issues which limit how fast VSV may transition between the voltages, and energy overhead factors which disallow supply-voltage scaling of large RAM structures such as caches and register file. Our simulations show that VSV achieves an average of 7.7% total processor power reduction with 0.9% performance degradation in an eight-way, out-of-order-issue processor that implements deterministic clock gating and software prefetching, across all the SPEC2K benchmarks. For those benchmarks that have high L2 miss rates (more than 4 misses per 1000 instructions), VSV achieves 23.0% reduction in total processor power with 2.0% performance degradation on average.


New cosmogenic burial and published dates of Colorado and Green river terraces are used to infer variable incision rates along the rivers in the past 10 Ma. A knickpoint at Lees Ferry separates the lower and upper Colorado River basins. We obtained an isochron cosmogenic burial date of 1.5 ± 0.13 Ma on a 190-m-high strath terrace near Bullfrog Basin, Utah (upstream of Lees Ferry). This age yields an average incision rate of 126 +12/–10 m/Ma above the knickpoint and is three times older than a cosmogenic surface age on the same terrace, suggesting that surface dates inferred by exposure dating may be minimum ages. Incision rates below Lees Ferry are faster, ∼170 m/Ma–230 m/Ma, suggesting upstream knickpoint migration over the past several million years. A terrace at Hite (above Lees Ferry) yields an isochron burial age of 0.29 ± 0.17 Ma, and a rate of ∼300–900 m/Ma, corroborating incision acceleration in Glen Canyon. Within the upper basin, isochron cosmogenic burial dates of 1.48 ± 0.12 Ma on a 60 m terrace near the Green River in Desolation Canyon, Utah, and 1.2 ± 0.3 Ma on a 120 m terrace upstream of Flaming Gorge, Wyoming, give incision rates of 41± 3 m/Ma and 100 +33/–20 m/Ma, respectively. In contrast, incision rates along the upper Colorado River are 150 m/Ma over 0.64 and 10 Ma time frames. Higher incision rates, gradient, and discharge along the upper Colorado River relative to the Green River are consistent with differential rock uplift of the Colorado Rockies relative to the Colorado Plateau.


This paper reports the results from a statistical analysis of pharmaceutical price negotiations in Germany, where the pricing system was changed in 2011 in order to tie prices more to the benefits of the pharmaceuticals. A multiple linear regression of 187 pharmaceuticals which were assessed from 2011 to 2017 suggests that, despite the change, the manufacturers' launch strategy (freely chosen first year price) still has a major impact on pricing while the impact of the additional benefit remains comparably small. Moreover, the data suggest that the assessment of the Federal Joint Committee - while not yet existing at the point - best explains the manufacturer's launch strategy, indicating that manufacturers know more than they reveal.


This chapter analyses two of the six vital business model elements, explaining the functioning of peer-to-peer accommodation networks: value capture and dissemination. The other elements are discussed in detail in Chapter 4. We focus on Airbnb because it is the international market leader. Separate business analyses are necessary for other peer-to-peer accommodation networks given that each functions in a slightly different way. In this chapter the business model value capture and value dissemination are discussed in detail for Airbnb.


Smart City is an emerging and multidisciplinary domain. It has been recently defined as innovation, not necessarily but mainly through information and communications technologies (ICT), which enhance urban life in terms of people, living, economy, mobility and governance. Smart government is also an emerging topic, which attracts increasing attention from scholars who work in public administration, political and information sciences. There is no widely accepted definition for smart government, but it appears to be the next step of e-government with the use of technology and innovation by governments for better performance. However, it is not clear whether these two terms co-exist or concern different domains. The aim of this paper is to investigate the term smart government and to clarify its meaning in relationship to the smart city. In this respect this paper performed a comprehensive literature review analysis and concluded that smart government is shown not to be synonymous with smart city. Our findings show that smart city has a dimension of smart government, and smart government uses smart city as an area of practice. The authors conclude that smart city is complimentary, part of larger smart government movement.


The flame retardant mechanism of magnesium hydroxide sulfate whiskers(MHSH) is analysed and MHSH and magnesium hydroxide are used to fill high-density polyethylene(HDPE) respectively. The mechanical and flame resistance properties of composite material (HDPE) were also studied in this paper contrastively. The tensile strength and elongation of the compound are increased 2.5% and 36% severally, while MHSH content in weight reaches 20%;at the same time, the oxygen index (OI) of composite materials varies from 17 to 24.2. In contrast, the tensile strength and elongation of the HDPE/ Mg(OH)2 compound are decreased 6.4% and 48% respectively, OI being 19.6. To sum up, the results of tensile and flame tests of compound material showed the HDPE containing as-prepared whiskers had better overall properties,exceeding that of Mg(OH)2.


In recent years, public service motivation (PSM) research has grown substantially, but is still largely limited to the field of public administration. To be able to export the theory and measures of PSM to other disciplines, we need more conceptual clarity. Some suggest PSM is analogous to altruism, whereas others warn not to confound the two concepts. Is PSM separate from altruism? How does each motivational construct relate to prosocial behaviors? We use a nationally representative panel of respondents to the Cooperative Congressional Election Study (CCES) to measure both altruism and PSM among respondents before the 2016 election and measure respondents' participation in prosocial behaviors after the 2016 election. Using linear probability models with state fixed effects, we find that although PSM and altruism predict prosocial behaviors separately, altruism has no effect after controlling for PSM. PSM is a more consistent predictor of some prosocial behaviors than altruism, particularly in more formal contexts such as volunteering with an organization.


This thesis examines four questions in the field of executive stock option plans: the legal framework governing their use in Malaysia, their effects on firm performance, managerial turnover and the tax effects. The research presented in this thesis extends the literature on stock options in these directions. Owing to the dearth of studies that have examined the issue of stock option plans, as well as the uniqueness of the Malaysian corporate environment which is dominated by family controlled firms.
Using standard event study methodology, in the short-term, the results indicate a negative share price before announcement and a slight positive effect following the
announcement. The announcement, however, does not carry any surprise to the market and this seemingly confirms that early information releases before official
announcement could be ruled out. Over the long-term, the results indicate that stock option plans have no significant effect on the performance of Malaysian firms,
suggesting that executive stock option plans do not entirely improve the value of Malaysian firms. Further examinations over the incentive of stock option plans
indicate reductions in top executive turnover in Malaysia listed firms. The effects of executive stock option plans in mitigating unplanned turnover at the executive levels
take into account the mediating control variables at firm level such as ownership
structure, corporate governance, firm characteristics and level of pay. The consequences of executive turnover are focused on firm performance. Using accounting and market performance measures, the result indicates that poor firm
performance lead to high executive turnover. However, the study documents weak support for performance measures in the evaluation of executive turnover. The thesis
also examine other factors that are likely to influence executive turnover, of which the empirical results indicate that managerial ownership, board attributes and firm size do not lead to high executive turnover. However, mix payments are found to be influenced the management turnover. This thesis also exam ines and attempts to understand the effect of stock option and tax benefits between corporate taxpayer and personal taxpayer, which is found to be ambiguous. Although previous empirical results indicate that taxpayers may extend their tax liability usually for three to five
following the grant date, but it would seem that Malaysian stock option programs do not produce any tax preferential treatments in our sample. This is due to limitation in the Malaysia tax policy which makes no allowance for expenses-related to stock options. This appears that Malaysia taxation rules do not affect tax benefits. However when the data for tax groups were decomposed according to information disclosed in annual reports for executive and the firm, the result suggests that executive stock options are responsive to changes in personal income tax rate. For firm, awarding stock option is perhaps driven by a psychological contract between
executives, rather than tax incentives, which suggest that cash payment salary and bonus are significant component for executive payments in Malaysia.


The main purpose of this paper is to review and compare E-waste management systems operating in East Asian countries in efforts to identify future challenges facing the circulative economies in the region. The first topic of this paper is cost sharing (physical and financial) as applied to the various stakeholders, including producers, consumers, local governments and recyclers, in the E-waste management systems. The second topic is the environmental and economical impacts of these E-waste management systems on recycling technology, trans-boundary movement of E-wastes and Design for Environment (DfE). The final topic is the possibility for international cooperation in the region in terms of E-waste management systems. The authors' preliminary result is that the E-waste management systems operating in these East Asian countries have contributed to extended producer responsibility and DfE to some extent, but many challenges remain in their improvement through proper cost sharing among the stakeholders. It is also clear that the cross-border transfer of E-wastes cannot be resolved by one nation alone, and thus international cooperation will be indispensable in finding a suitable solution.


ABSTRACTThis experiment was conducted during November in 2000 and February in 2001 in Taichung, central Taiwan. The study used a TE-PUF sampler, Universal air sampler and MOUDI (Micro-Orifice Uniform Deposit Impactor) sampler to collect the ambient air suspended particles and analyzed their water-soluble ions (Cl-, NO3-, SO42-, Na+, NH4+, K+, Mg2+ and Ca2+). Analytical results indicate that the mean mass concentration for PM2.5, PM2.5-10 and TSP measured at the CCRT (traffic) sampling site are 54.5, 27.8 and 158 μm/m3, respectively. Additionally, the mean mass concentration for PM2.5, PM2.5-10 and TSP measured at the THUC sampling site are 23.6, 16.3 and 85.6 μm/m3, respectively. Furthermore, the major water-soluble ion of PM2.5 measured in this sampling region are SO42- and NH4+, while those of PM2.5-10 are Cl-, NO3- and SO42-, respectively. At the CCRT (traffic) sampling site, the mean size distributions of mass, SO42- and NH4+ exhibit a bimodal distribution whereas those of Cl-, NO3-, Na+, K+, Mg2+ and Ca2+ have a bimodal distribution. At the THUC (campus) sampling site, the mean size distributions of mass, Cl-, NO3-, SO42- and Ca2+ are bimodal whereas those of Na+, NH4+, K+ and Mg2+ have display a unimodal distribution.


STUDY OBJECTIVES
Quantitative EEG measures of sleep may identify vulnerability to obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) sequelae, however, small clinical studies of sleep microarchitecture in OSA show inconsistent alterations. We examined relationships between quantitative EEG measures during rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM (NREM) sleep and OSA severity among a large population-based sample of men while accounting for insomnia.

METHODS
All-night EEG (F4-M1) recordings from full in-home polysomnography (Embletta X100) in 664 men with no prior OSA diagnosis (age ≥40) were processed following exclusion of artefacts. Power spectral analysis included non-REM and REM sleep computed absolute EEG power for delta, theta, alpha, sigma and beta frequency ranges, total power (0.5-32 Hz) and EEG slowing ratio.

RESULTS
Apnea hypopnea index (AHI) ≥10/h was present in 51.2% (severe OSA [AHI ≥30/h] 11.6%). In mixed effects regressions, AHI was positively associated with EEG slowing ratio and EEG power across all frequency bands in REM sleep (all p<0.05); and with beta power during NREM sleep (p=0.04). Similar associations were observed with oxygen desaturation index (3%). Percentage total sleep time with oxygen saturation <90% was only significantly associated with increased delta, theta and alpha EEG power in REM sleep. No associations with subjective sleepiness were observed.

CONCLUSIONS
In a large sample of community-dwelling men, OSA was significantly associated with increased EEG power and EEG slowing predominantly in REM sleep, independent of insomnia. Further study is required to assess if REM EEG slowing related to nocturnal hypoxemia is more sensitive than standard PSG indices or sleepiness in predicting cognitive decline.


Geophysical granular flows, such as avalanches, debris flows, lahars and pyroclastic flows, are always strongly influenced by the basal topography that they flow over. In particular, localised bumps or obstacles can generate rapid changes in the flow thickness and velocity, or shock waves, which dissipate significant amounts of energy. Understanding how a granular material is affected by the underlying topography is therefore crucial for hazard mitigation purposes, for example to improve the design of deflecting or catching dams for snow avalanches. Moreover, the interactions with solid boundaries can also have important applications in industrial processes. In this paper, small-scale experiments are performed to investigate the flow of a granular avalanche over a two-dimensional smooth symmetrical bump. The experiments show that, depending on the initial conditions, two different steady-state regimes can be observed: either the formation of a detached jet downstream of the bump, or a shock upstream of it. The transition between the two cases can be controlled by adding varying amounts of erodible particles in front of the obstacle. A depth-averaged terrain-following avalanche theory that is formulated in curvilinear coordinates is used to model the system. The results show good agreement with the experiments for both regimes. For the case of a shock, time-dependent numerical simulations of the full system show the evolution to the equilibrium state, as well as the deposition of particles upstream of the bump when the inflow ceases. The terrain-following theory is compared to a standard depth-averaged avalanche model in an aligned Cartesian coordinate system. For this very sensitive problem, it is shown that the steady-shock regime is captured significantly better by the terrain-following avalanche model, and that the standard theory is unable to predict the take-off point of the jet. To retain the practical simplicity of using Cartesian coordinates, but have the improved predictive power of the terrain-following model, a coordinate mapping is used to transform the terrain-following equations from curvilinear to Cartesian coordinates. The terrain-following model, in Cartesian coordinates, makes identical predictions to the original curvilinear formulation, but is much simpler to implement.


The success of today's AI applications requires not only model training (Model-centric) but also data engineering (Data-centric). In data-centric AI, active learning (AL) plays a vital role, but current AL tools 1) require users to manually select AL strategies, and 2) can not perform AL tasks efficiently. To this end, this paper presents an automatic and efficient MLOps system for AL, named ALaaS (Active-Learning-as-a-Service). Specifically, 1) ALaaS implements an AL agent, including a performance predictor and a workflow controller, to decide the most suitable AL strategies given users' datasets and budgets. We call this a predictive-based successive halving early-stop (PSHEA) procedure. 2) ALaaS adopts a server-client architecture to support an AL pipeline and implements stage-level parallelism for high efficiency. Meanwhile, caching and batching techniques are employed to further accelerate the AL process. In addition to efficiency, ALaaS ensures accessibility with the help of the design philosophy of configuration-as-a-service. Extensive experiments show that ALaaS outperforms all other baselines in terms of latency and throughput. Also, guided by the AL agent, ALaaS can automatically select and run AL strategies for non-expert users under different datasets and budgets. Our code is available at \url{https://github.com/MLSysOps/Active-Learning-as-a-Service}.


Many proverbs are created through everyday experience. Although many of them are readily understood by ordinary people, the more detailed view generates many questions and doubts related to their credibility. Motivated by one of these proverbs, in the present paper, we analyse propagation of news in the network of electronic contacts (e-mails). More specifically, we propose transmission protocols intended to reproduce properties of real systems. These protocols are simulated in a real e-mail network and in the random network proposed by p. Erdos and a. Renyi prize. The results suggest that news spreads faster in the random network. The hubs in the real network tend to attract the news, in prejudice to the less connected nodes.


ABSTRACTExcess carbon dioxide emission was considered as the most important cause of increased trend of global warming. Significant amounts of research were devoted to the reduction of CO2 emission and CO2 sequestration. Sequestration of CO2 in empty oil reservoirs was considered as one of the most promising options. However, the effects of metal release and mobility as a result of CO2 injection were not studied in detail, particularly under super-critical CO2 (scCO2) conditions. In this study, the release of selected metals immersed in distilled water for varying amounts of time in the absence and presence of scCO2 was assessed in simulated conditions at 90°C and 24 MPa. Significant increases in dissolution of Fe, Sr, and Ba by 3, 8, and 24 times were found when the storage rock sandstone or caprock shale was immersed in DI water for different time period. However, in the presence of scCO2, the dissolution of these metals was reduced by 80% for Fe, suggesting permanent sequestration of scCO2 into carbonate minerals. The trend in changes of pore water chemistry in the sandstone and shale after being immersed in DI water showed dissolution of Sr-bearing mineral and precipitation of Ba-bearing mineral.


The need to answer new scientific questions can be satisfied by an increased knowledge of physiological mechanisms which, in turn, can be used for improving the accuracy of simulations of process-based models. In this context, this report highlights areas that need to be further improved to facilitate the operational use of simulation models. It describes missing approaches within simulation models which, if implemented, would likely improve the representation of the dynamics of processes underlying different compartments of crop and grassland systems (e.g. plant growth and development, yield production, GHG emissions), as well as of the livestock production systems.  The following rationale has been used in the organization of this report. We first briefly introduced the need to improve the reliability of existing models. Then, we indicated climate change and its influence on the global carbon balance as the main issue to be addressed by existing crop and grassland (section 2), and livestock (section 3) models. In section 2, among the major aspects that if implemented may reduce the uncertainty inherent to model outputs, we suggested: i) quantifying the effects of climate extremes on biological systems; ii) modelling of multi-species sward; iii) coupling of pest and disease sub-models; iv) improvement of the carry-over effect. In section 3, as the most important aspects to consider in livestock models we indicated: i) impacts and dynamics of pathogens and disease; ii) heat stress effects on livestock; iii) effects on grassland productivity and nutritional values; iv) improvement of GHG emissions dynamics .  In Section 4, remarks are made concerning the need to implement the suggested aspects into the existing models.


A labeled magnitude scale (LMS) in spanish language was developed and validated to assess sweetness. The LMS allows assessors to make their estimates with respect to the greatest imaginable sweetness. LMS offers a continuum, anchored in verbal descriptors ranging from slightly detectable/"ligeramente detectable" to the greatest imaginable/"lo más grande imaginable". The analysis showed that five descriptors: weakly sweet ("WE"/"débilmente dulce"), moderately sweet ("MO"/"moderadamente dulce"), fairly sweet ("FA"/"bastante dulce"), very sweet ("VE"/"muy dulce") and greatest imaginable sweetness ("GI"/"dulzor más grande imaginable") were the main contributors to make this scale. The average values assigned to these descriptors indicate that "WE," "MO," "FA" and "VE" represent 5, 18, 31 and 43% of the sweetness scale, and finally "GI" was to be placed at the top, at 100% of the scale. This LMS scale was applied to measure sweetness of sucrose and Stevia rebaudiana extracts which were also evaluated by magnitude estimation (ME) and another general LMS (gLMS) in the context of evoked oral sensation. Significant differences in the rate of growth of sweetness appears for both compounds, where sucrose showed more steeper functions than S. rebaudiana extract. Comparying with ME, sweetness ratings with LMS show a steepness concentration-response function. Finally, rates of growth of sweetness functions obtained with ME and gLMS, were similar, yielding ratio-level data.


In multiproduct manufacturing systems, it is difficult to assure that an optimised setting of a pull production control strategy will be able to maintain its service level and inventory control performances. This is because the competition for resources among products is liable to make them affect the service levels of one another.
By comparing different pull strategies, this research has observed that tightly coupled strategies are able to maintain lower amount of inventory than decoupled strategies, but they do so at the detriment of service level robustness. As a result, tightly coupled strategies are better suited to manufacturing environments with low variability, while decoupled strategies are more robust in high variability environments. Here, robustness is a measure of how well a strategy is able to minimise the drop below its original optimised service level when the initial system conditions change.
Furthermore, the Kanban allocation policy applied under a strategy plays a major role in its ability to manage the performances of multiple products. Experimental results show that the Shared Kanban Allocation Policy (SKAP) keeps a lower amount of inventory than the Dedicated Kanban Allocation Policy (DKAP), but it is more susceptible to the variability in the demand or processing times of one product impacting the service level of another. Therefore, a Hybrid Kanban allocation policy (HKAP) that combines both the DKAP and the SKAP has been implemented. This approach considers products' demand and processing time attributes before categorising them into the same Kanban sharing group. The results of the implementation of the HKAP show that it can keep as low inventory as the SKAP and avoid products impacting the service levels of one another. Additionally, it offers a better approach to managing large multiproduct systems, as the performances of product groups can be differentially managed through the combination of Kanban sharing and dedication policies.
Lastly, the observations on the performances of strategies and policies under different system conditions can be used as a framework through which line designers select strategies and policies to suit their manufacturing system.


Drastic urbanization has resulted in numerous problems worldwide, and many studies were devoted to individual cities. There is an urgent need to quantify urbanization patterns and illustrate their driving forces in the regional area on a large scale over a longer time period. This study produced a land cover dataset to characterize sequential urban land expansion in Northeast China from 1990 to 2015 using object-based backdating classification and calculating the expansion index. The drivers were investigated using Pearson correlation analysis and the multiple linear stepwise regression model. The results revealed that the total area of urban land increased by 43.15% from 1990 to 2015, mainly in the middle part of the study area, and especially in the coastal area of Liaoning. Liaoning had the fastest growth rate, while Heilongjiang showed a decrease in growth rate rankings. Urban land expanded northward and southward within Harbin City, towards the west and east within Changchun City, and relatively equally in all directions within Shenyang City. Expansion patterns changed from edge expansion (42%) to outlying expansion (47%). Urban land of Liaoning and the Eastern Inner Mongolia Autonomous region expanded with similar patterns as the entire area, but that of Heilongjiang grew in an opposite pattern, and Jilin maintained outlying major expansion. The influence of factors on urban land sprawl varied temporally. Tertiary industry product, gross domestic product, secondary industry product, total population and urban population were driving factors of urban land sprawl in Northeast China from 1990 to 2015. This research provides quantitative methods for better understanding urban land dynamics and devising feasible strategies for sustainable urban development.


BACKGROUND & AIMS
Enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis has been associated with diarrheal disease, and the enterotoxin has a cytopathic effect on cultured HT-29 enterocytes. Experiments were designed to determine the effect of B. fragilis enterotoxin on bacteria-enterocyte interactions.

METHODS
Confluent HT-29 enterocytes were incubated for 1 hour with B. fragilis enterotoxin, followed by 1 hour of incubation with pure cultures of enteric bacteria, namely, Salmonella typhimurium (two strains), Listeria monocytogenes (three strains), Proteus mirabilis, Escherichia coli (three strains), and Enterococcus faecalis. Enterocyte viability was assessed using vital dyes, epithelial permeability was measured using transepithelial electrical resistance, enterocyte morphology and bacteria-enterocyte interactions were visualized using light and electron microscopy, and bacterial internalization was assessed using a quantitative culture of lysed enterocytes.

RESULTS
B. fragilis enterotoxin did not affect enterocyte viability but decreased transepithelial electrical resistance, and individual enterocytes pulled apart. Enterotoxin pretreatment decreased internalization of L. monocytogenes (P < 0.01) but increased (P < 0.01) internalization of the other strains of enteric bacteria. Augmented bacterial internalization was associated with preferential bacterial adherence on the exposed lateral surface of enterotoxin-treated enterocytes.

CONCLUSIONS
B. fragilis enterotoxin was associated with HT-29 cell rounding and with augmented internalization of selected strains of enteric bacteria that were preferentially adherent on the exposed enterocyte lateral surface.


Current design methods in transportation engineering do not simultaneously address the levels of risk and service associated with the design and use of various highway geometric elements. Passing sight distance (PSD) is an example of a geometric element designed with no risk measures. PSD is provided to ensure the safety of passing maneuvers on two-lane roads. Many variables decide the minimum length required for a safe passing maneuver. These are random variables and represent a wide range of human and vehicle characteristics. Also, current PSD design practices replace these random variables by single-value means in the calculation process, disregarding their inherent variations. The research focuses on three main objectives. The first goal is to derive a PSD distribution that accounts for the variations in the contributing parameters. Two models are devised for this purpose, a Monte-Carlo simulation model and a closed form analytical estimation model. The results of both models verify each other and differ by less than 5 percent. Using the PSD distribution, the reliability index of the current PSD criteria are assessed. The second goal is to attach risk indices to the various PSD lengths of the obtained distribution. A unique microscopic simulation is devised to replicate passing maneuvers on twolane roads. Using the simulation results, the author is able to assess the risk of various PSD lengths for a specific design speed. The risk index of the AASHTO Green Book and the MUTCD PSD standards are also obtained using simulation. With risk measures attached to the PSD lengths, a trade-off analysis between the level of service and risk is feasible to accomplish. The last task is concerned with applying the Highway Capacity Manual concepts to assessing the service measures of the different PSD lengths. The results of the final trade-off analysis show that for a design speed of 50 mph, the AASHTO Green Book and the MUTCD standards overestimate the PSD requirements. The criteria can be reduced to 725 ft and still be within an acceptable risk level.


The experimental study of the ultra wideband (UWB) antenna performance with laptop computers in an indoor channel are analyzed at 3.1 GHz to 10.6 GHz frequency band. The characteristics of indoor propagation channel are very complicated and difficult to predict. Therefore, the performances of UWB antenna signal shall be considered. This paper present the UWB antenna performance. The rectangular passband waveform, which satisfied the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) definition of UWB signal and FCC spectral masks for the indoor limits, are considered. In addition, we considered the matched filter for the receiver side to maximize the signal to noise ratio (SNR). The UWB antenna transfer function, the UWB signal waveform of the UWB systems are evaluated. The transmission gain, the correlation coefficient are presented and discussed.


Bianchi type-IX cosmological model with variable equation of state (EoS) parameter have been investigated in general scalar-tensor theory of gravitation proposed by Sen and Dunn (J. Math. Phys. 12:578, 1971) when universe is filled with Dark Energy. The field equations have been solved by considering the scale factors in two different forms (i) ( )l t r e t R 1 = , where r and l are positive constants and (ii) ( ) ( )n t R 1 sinh ξ = , where ξ and n are positive constants, which render time dependent deceleration parameter. The physical and geometrical properties of the models are also discussed.


This study was conducted to observethe profile of DNA Adduct (8-OHdG) formation as DNA damage indicators, by using calf thymus DNA incubated with toxic and carcinogenic compounds. The compounds which could trigger free radicals in this research were PAH(Benzo[a]Pyrene), TiO2, and CuCl2. Calf thymus DNA was incubated with Benzo[a]Pyrene and CuCl2 compounds under pH and temperature variations. The incubation of calf thymus DNA with TiO2-UV radiation (254 nm) wasused to induce the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the process of oxidative DNA damage. From this research, all of compounds have potency to trigger the formation of DNA Adduct (8-OHdG). The ratio of absorbance to assess the purity of DNA at 260 nm and 280 nm (λ260/ λ280 ) was measured at ~1.9. The shifted peaks at λmax were indicating changes on structures of DNA as a result of calf thymus DNA incubation with B[a]P and CuCl2. The highest level of 8-OHdG results in calf thymus DNA incubation with B[a]P and CuCl2 under pH 8.5 and incubation temperature at 60°C, was about 120.856 μg/L. Calf thymus DNA incubation with TiO2-UV radiation (254 nm) under pH 8.5 resulting 8-OHdG level at 57.025 μg/L.


Resveratrol (Res) or trans-3,4',5-trihydroxystilbene, has been proven to exert neuroprotective effects in cerebral ischemia. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether Res has neuroprotective effects in primary cortical neurons subjected to transient oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) via inhibiting the expression of the gene encoding stromelysin-1, also known as matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3), and via inhibiting cell apoptosis. Primary cortical cells were exposed to OGD, followed by reoxygenation to induce transient ischemia. Res (50 µM) was added into the culture medium during transient ischemia in the presence or absence of the nuclear factor (NF)-κB inhibitor pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC; 10 µM) or 500 µM of the nitric oxide (NO) donor NOC-18. Cell viability was assessed using the tetrazolium reduction (MTT) assay. Cell apoptosis was evaluated by flow cytometry. MMP-3 expression was analyzed by western blot and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), while the levels of inducible NO synthase (iNOS), NF-κB, caspase-3, cleaved caspase-3, B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) and Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax) were assayed by western blot. NO was detected using a spectrophotometric method. We found that the cellular viability was significantly reduced by transient OGD and that this effect was reversed by Res treatment. In addition, OGD was shown to induce cell apoptosis, the expression of Bax and the activation of caspase-3, and inhibit the expression of Bcl-2, and these effects were also reversed by Res treatment. Res treatment significantly reduced the level of MMP-3 that was induced by transient OGD, via inhibition of NF-κB expression. In addition, Res inhibited iNOS expression and NO synthesis that were induced by OGD. MMP-3 expression induced by NO was attenuated by Res treatment and was partially restored by exogenous NO using NOC-18. Taken together, these findings indicate that OGD induces apoptosis through canonical apoptosis signaling and by modulating the expression of MMP-3; Res can reverse the OGD-induced MMP-3 expression and cell apoptosis via the NF-κB-iNOS/NO pathway. Therefore, Res may be a promising agent for the treatment of neuronal injury associated with stroke.


Between July and September 2011, Israel was swept by unprecedented social protests against escalating housing prices, rising cost of living, the yawning social inequality and the deep neo-liberalization of the last decades. What started with a couple of protest tents on the Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv, became in just two weeks a mass movement. While the Israeli Social Protest has propelled an important shift in public discourse, it did however not trigger any restructuring of the neoliberal rule regime entrenched since 1985. To explain why the J14-protest was not able to destabilize the existing power relations and to push forward a post-neoliberal mode of regulation, the article analyzes both the movement's own failures and the dynamics of cooptation and repression that silenced and pacified the social struggles – at least for the time being.


Although the Late Cretaceous lizard fauna of China and Mongolia is relatively well-known, information on Paleocene lizards from the same region is currently limited. Several species of lizards have been reported from the Paleocene Wanghudun and Doumu formations of Qianshan Basin on the basis of fragmentary specimens, namely Agama sinensis Hou, 1974, Anhuisaurus huainanensis Hou, 1974, Anqingosaurus brevicephalus Hou, 1976, Changjiangosaurus huananensis Hou, 1976, Qianshanosaurus huangpuensis Hou, 1974, and Tinosaurus doumuensis Hou, 1974. In this paper, we review all the reported material of these taxa with the aid of new technology, including CT scanning, and according to current views of squamate relationships and classification. Revised descriptions and classifications are given for each taxon, leading to changes in our understanding of faunal composition. This, in turn, reveals greater morphological and ecological diversity among the Paleocene lizards of the Qianshan
Basin, including the occurrence of a varaniform (IVPP V 22767), and the reinterpretation of Anqingosaurus as a possible burrower. Further work on the Paleocene Qianshan lizards is ongoing and the discovery of new specimens may help to solve the puzzles these strange lizards have posed.


We report a single-crystal neutron diffraction and inelastic neutron scattering study on the spin 1/2 cuprate Cu3Bi(SeO3)(2)O2Cl, complemented by dielectric and electric polarization measurements. The study clarifies a number of open issues concerning this complex material, whose frustrated interactions on a kagomelike lattice, combined with Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions, are expected to stabilize an exotic canted antiferromagnetic order. In particular, we determine the nature of the structural transition occurring at 115 K, the magnetic structure below 25 K resolved in the updated space group, and the microscopic ingredients at the origin of this magnetic arrangement. This was achieved by an analysis of the measured gapped spin waves, which signifies the need for an unexpected and significant anisotropic exchange beyond the proposed Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions. Finally, we discuss the multiferroic properties of this material with respect to the space group symmetries.


I. INTRODUCTION Though the problem of obtaining secure and adequate compensation for judges, rightly deemed indispensable to maintaining an independent and qualified judiciary, has plagued our constitutional system since its inception, (1) the issue in New York has now reached the level of a "constitutional crisis." (2) In this year and the last, three separate lawsuits have been commenced in New York State Supreme Court by New York judges, including one brought by Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye on behalf of the judges and New York's Unified Court System, against the coordinate branches of government and their leaders, regarding the constitutionality of the near decade-long failure to provide judicial pay increases. (3) The actions present important yet novel New York State constitutional questions regarding separation of powers and judicial compensation, and the controversy in general has the potential to leave deleterious, lasting effects on New York's government and citizenry. (4) New York's constitutional history contains scant legislative or decisional guidance on either the Constitution's judicial compensation clause or the separation of powers doctrine as it relates to judicial compensation. (5) Yet considering what can be gleaned from state constitutional developments since the founding, the Federal Constitution and its origins, and what few cases do exist, the article reaches two primary conclusions. First, it concludes that the plaintiffs in the several judicial compensation suits have not made out a violation of the New York State Constitution's article VI, section 25 no-diminution clause. (6) Furthermore, the article concludes, reluctantly, that absent a demonstration of an actual usurpation of judicial prerogative or a purposeful or punitive attack on the judiciary's independence of will and function in fulfillment of its constitutional duties, there is likewise no cognizable separation of powers violation. (7) Part II examines the background of New York's current judicial pay crisis and provides comparative information regarding New York's judicial salaries. Part III reviews the three cases currently winding their way through New York's court system, the arguments of the parties, and the decisions thus far. Part IV studies the issue of judicial compensation in New York's constitutional history, and concludes, as have the courts, that legislative inaction in this instance does not constitute a violation. Part V does the same regarding separation of powers in New York's government, and concludes that it is unlikely the plaintiff judges will be able to demonstrate a violation based upon the facts as alleged. While the no-diminution clause and the doctrine of separation of powers as it relates to judicial compensation do not lend themselves to perfectly neat partition, the article treats them as separately as possible for analytical purposes. Part VI briefly discusses the question of what remedy--save for a declaration of unconstitutionality--could be ordered by the courts in a case such as this, without the remedy itself being a separation of powers violation. II. PRELUDE TO A CRISIS Judges in New York State have not received a pay raise in nearly a decade, the most recent taking effect in 1999. (8) Of all the states, the compensation of New York's judges ranks forty-eighth when adjusted for cost of living, and no other judges have gone longer without a pay adjustment. (9) Since the most recent pay increase, the real "purchasing power" value of these salaries has declined by approximately twenty-seven percent due to inflation. (10) This situation has resulted in a severely demoralizing environment for New York's judicial officers, with a corresponding risk of losing judicial talent and experience to employment arenas such as academia and the private sector. (11) A 2007 study of the National Center for State Courts on the issue of judicial compensation, described more fully hereafter, contains numerous quotations from New York's judges, provided anonymously, regarding the ongoing pay struggle. …


Low soil phosphorus availability is a primary constraint for plant growth in many terrestrial ecosystems. Lateral root initiation and elongation may play an important role in the uptake of immobile nutrients, such as phosphorus, by increasing soil exploration and phosphorus solubilisation. The overall objective of this study was to assess the value of lateral rooting for phosphorus acquisition through assessment of the 'benefit' of lateral rooting for phosphorus uptake and the 'cost' of lateral roots in terms of root respiration and phosphorus investment at low and high phosphorus availability. Five recombinant inbred lines (RILs) of maize derived from a cross between B73 and Mo17 with contrasting lateral rooting were grown in sand culture in a controlled environment. Genotypes with enhanced or sustained lateral rooting at low phosphorus availability had greater phosphorus acquisition, biomass accumulation, and relative growth rate (RGR) than genotypes with reduced lateral rooting at low phosphorus availability. The association of lateral root development and plant biomass accumulation under phosphorus stress was not caused by allometry. Genotypes varied in the phosphorus investment required for lateral root elongation, owing to genetic differences in specific root length (SRL, which was correlated with root diameter) and phosphorus concentration of lateral roots. Lateral root extension required less biomass and phosphorus investment than the extension of other root types. Relative growth rate was negatively correlated with specific root respiration, supporting the hypothesis that root carbon costs are an important aspect of adaptation to low phosphorus availability. Two distinct cost-benefit analyses, one with phosphorus acquisition rate as a benefit and root respiration as a cost, the other with plant phosphorus accumulation as a benefit and phosphorus allocation to lateral roots as a cost, both showed that lateral rooting was advantageous under conditions of low phosphorus availability. Our data suggest that enhanced lateral rooting under phosphorus stress may be harnessed as a useful trait for the selection and breeding of more phosphorus-efficient maize genotypes.


Extensive research over the past decade has indicated that there are more boys than girls who are struggling readers, but the degree to which there are more boys remains a point of contention. The focus of this article is to review the various definitions of reading disability, to examine how these different definitions translate into different methods of identifying reading disability and to determine the effects on observed gender ratios for reading disability. The most frequently used methods of identifying reading disability are discrepancy formulae, Response-To-Intervention (RTI) and low achievement methods. Gender ratios clearly fluctuate among, and even within, these methods. Inconsistencies in reported gender ratios of reading disability are a result of inconsistencies in the definition and measurement of reading disability, sampling issues and the overall distributions of reading scores for boys and girls. Future research might consider reporting gender ratios for reading disability based on consistent measures of reading performance in population samples, using consistent cut off points, over a significant period of time.


The aim of this work is to evaluate the possible use of Nexar™ polymer, a sulfonated pentablock copolymer (s-PBC), whose structure is formed by tert-butyl styrene, hydrogenated isoprene, sulfonated styrene, hydrogenated isoprene, and tert-butyl styrene (tBS-HI-SS-HI-tBS), as a more economical and efficient alternative to Nafion® membrane for proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis cells. Furthermore, we have studied a new methodology for modification of gas diffusion layers (GDL) by depositing Pt and TiO2 nanoparticles at the cathode and anode side, respectively, and a protective polymeric layer on their surface, allowing the improvement of the contact with the membrane. Morphological, structural, and electrical characterization were performed on the Nexar™ membrane and on the modified GDLs. The use of modified GDLs positively affects the efficiency of the water electrolysis process. Furthermore, Nexar™ showed higher water uptake and conductivity with respect to Nafion®, resulting in an increased amount of current generated during water electrolysis. In conclusion, we show that Nexar™ is an efficient and cheaper alternative to Nafion® as the proton exchange membrane in water splitting applications and we suggest a possible methodology for improving GDLs' properties. These results meet the urgent need for low-cost materials and processes for hydrogen production.


We investigate the evolution of scalar metric perturbations across a sudden cosmological transition, allowing for an inhomogeneous surface stress at the transition leading to a discontinuity in the local expansion rate, such as might be expected in a big crunch/big bang event. We assume that the transition occurs when some function of local matter variables reaches a critical value, and that the surface stress is also a function of local matter variables. In particular we consider the case of a single scalar field and show that a necessary condition for the surface stress tensor to be perturbed at the transition is the presence of a non-zero intrinsic entropy perturbation of the scalar field. We present the matching conditions in terms of gauge-invariant variables assuming a sudden transition to a fluid-dominated universe with barotropic equation of state. For adiabatic perturbations the comoving curvature perturbation is continuous at the transition, while the Newtonian potential may be discontinuous if there is a discontinuity in the background Hubble expansion.


The Peloponnesian War, which destroyed imperial Athens and ultimately Sparta as well, continues to fascinate students of history, politics, and human nature. Thucydides' account of the twenty-seven-year conflict charts the opposition between the two great powers of the classical Greek world and the ways of life they represented. Paula Debnar explores the collapse of these powers from a new perspective, examining the ways discourse changed under the strain of a long and costly war."Speaking the Same Language" seeks to recover the role played by the audiences within the "History." By restoring the internal audiences to a more prominent place, Debnar emphasizes the perspective of the participants in the war and heightens the dramatic immediacy of the debates. She thoroughly analyzes twelve speeches delivered by or to the Spartans, demonstrating how the earlier speeches illustrate the role of discourse in the construction of Sparta's identity and the unification of her Dorian allies in the face of their primarily Ionian adversaries.Combining close textual analysis with an examination of narrative and historical context, Debnar bridges the gap between literary and historical studies of Thucydides. Accessible to specialists and nonspecialists alike, her work will interest those working in the fields of Greek literature, ancient historiography, rhetoric, political science, and ethnic studies.Paula Debnar is Associate Professor of Classics, Mount Holyoke College.


We have studied the effects of IL-4 (B cell stimulatory factor 1) on the expression of MHC gene products in normal bone marrow-derived macrophages, peritoneal macrophages, and the myelomonocytic cell line WEHI-3. Using both IL-4-containing T cell supernatant and rIL-4, we have observed significant induction of both class I and class II MHC surface expression (about 1.5- to 4-fold increase) in 2-, 3-, and 4-day cultures of bone marrow-derived macrophages. This induction was also apparent at the mRNA level as assessed by Northern blot analysis using A beta, E alpha, and class I probes. Kinetic analysis revealed that induction of class II mRNA by IL-4 was slower than induction by IFN-gamma, requiring 48 h before a significant increase was noted. The magnitude of MHC induction by IL-4 was not as great as that seen with IFN-gamma, which was found to increase surface expression of MHC antigens two- to eightfold. IL-4 also differs from IFN-gamma in the repertoire of macrophages responsive to it. IL-4 was unable to induce class I or class II expression in either thioglycolate-elicited peritoneal macrophages or WEHI-3 cells whereas IFN-gamma induced MHC antigen expression on both cell types under the same conditions. These data demonstrate that IL-4 is capable of inducing both class I and class II MHC gene products in some, but not all, macrophages.


The process of technological progress is one of creative destruction, where some occupations, skills, products and firms become obsolete and are replaced by technologically superior alternatives. This process, facilitated by trade, improves overall economic growth and raises living standards in the long run. In the short run, however, it risks igniting economic and political tensions as some businesses fail and some people lose their jobs. At the same time, new jobs are created and the skills required to perform others might change dramatically. Given historical trends of employment, it seems unlikely that all occupations that are highly susceptible to automation will be replaced by smart machines over the next few years. As the demand for skills in the labour market continues to grow, however, there is room for public policy to moderate the effect of technological change on the labour market in a number of ways. Each province faces slightly different challenges when developing policy to confront a technologically advanced and uncertain future. Some provinces, with more economic diversification or a concentration of workers in areas that are not very susceptible to automation, appear to be better situated for technological change than others. In developing policies to facilitate the transition to a high-tech future, provinces that face a higher risk of labour market disruption might require a broad-based approach, while those facing a lower risk of disruption might be able leverage existing policies and expand educational or unemployment support where necessary. Differences in the composition of employment and skills levels across the country highlight priority areas that provincial governments should consider in developing education and employment policy responses to adapt to current and future technological change. Disruption as a result of technological change is not a uniform process, so the policies to tackle it similarly should be not be uniform, but should take into account each region's strengths and weaknesses.


Aims: Following a traumatic experience, nightmares can maintain psychological distress. Interventions that include the treatment of trauma-related nightmares contribute to increasing psychological and physical well-being. This study examined the efficacy of treating trauma-related nightmares independently, using a cognitive-behavioural rescripting intervention. The influence of metacognitive beliefs about the power and meaning of nightmares was also addressed. Method: The study employed a mixed quantitative and qualitative design reporting on ten participants suffering with chronic trauma-related nightmares. Participants completed a six-hour group treatment of Exposure, Relaxation and Rescripting Therapy (ERRT: Davis & Wright, 2005). Treatment effects were examined using sleep diaries, measures of anxiety and depression and the Nightmare Belief Questionnaire. Qualitative interviews were held with participants at follow-up and thematic analysis was used to analyse the transcripts. Results: Medium to large treatment effect sizes were noted for nightmare frequency, distress, sleep efficiencies, cognitive beliefs, depression and anxiety. Qualitative interviews identified six themes relating to the participant experience. Overall, participants found the intervention successful to help them eliminate or reduce their trauma-related nightmares citing important factors of new learning, gaining a sense of mastery and control and the engagement with others in a group treatment. Conclusion: ERRT appears to be an effective intervention for treating the frequency and distress of trauma-related nightmares whilst improving sleep efficiency and mood. It is proposed that establishing a sense of mastery is among the predominant mechanisms of change and improvements in metacognitive beliefs around the power and meaning of nightmares are a contributory factor to sustainability.


This brief was filed on behalf of fifteen procedural and jurisdictional scholars desiring to promote an approach to personal jurisdiction that reflects fundamental principles of due process and respects precedent. Amici believe the car accidents prompting the underlying products-liability suits against Ford are so centered in Montana and Minnesota that requiring plaintiffs to litigate elsewhere would contradict traditional principles of state sovereignty and undermine the due-process interests at stake in the Fourteenth Amendment. Ford's argument that specific personal jurisdiction requires a causal connection between its forum activities and the plaintiffs' claim — such that it can only be sued where it designed, manufactured, or originally sold an allegedly defective vehicle — is not supported by any traditional due-process interest. Ford sought to induce Montana and Minnesota citizens to buy and trust Ford products, and the specific vehicles at issue were purchased second-hand in Montana and Minnesota before accidents on the States' roadways involving State citizens. Ford's conduct thus implicates the sovereign authority of Montana and Minnesota, as "every State owes protection to its own citizens," Pennoyer v. Neff, and each State possesses a "significant interest in redressing injuries" within its borders to regulate and deter wrongful conduct. Keeton v. Hustler Magazine, Inc.

Ford suggests that exercising jurisdiction would violate its substantive due-process interest because it would be unable to predict or control its jurisdictional exposure. But the exercise of jurisdiction in these cases neither violates historical limits on the "contacts, ties, or relations" necessary to subject nonresident defendants to binding judgments, nor contravenes Ford's expectations about amenability to suit. Courts, including the Supreme Court, have long acknowledged and upheld State sovereign judicial power to protect citizens from allegedly dangerous products by compelling product manufacturers conducting extensive in-state marketing and sales to answer claims for their products causing in-state injuries, irrespective of where the products were originally designed, manufactured, or sold. See Asahi Metal Industry Co. v. Superior Court; World-Wide Volkswagen Corp. v. Woodson.

Ford also argues that allowing Montana and Minnesota to exercise jurisdiction would violate horizontal-federalism interests. But a State's sovereign power within its borders necessarily includes some ability to regulate conduct outside its borders. The question, then, is not whether the State's regulatory authority reached out-of-state conduct, but whether regulating out-of-state conduct encroaches on the interest of a sister State more tightly connected to the conduct at issue. In these cases, the vehicles were purchased second-hand in the forum, registered in the forum, and the plaintiffs suffered injury in the forum. No other State has a greater interest in regulating these incidents. The plaintiffs thereby established the necessary "connection between the forum and the specific claims at issue" to satisfy the traditional demands of the Due Process Clause.


Objective:To guide resource utilization, we aimed to determine the impact of routine surveillance imaging for the detection of melanoma recurrences amenable to surgical resection with curative intent. Background:The National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines for melanoma surveillance are largely consensus based. Methods:Using single-institution, patient-level data (n = 1600), transition probabilities were calculated for a Markov model simulating the natural history of patients with stage I–III melanoma. As a base estimate, imaging was assumed to detect regional and distant recurrences of which 80% and 20% could be surgically treated with curative intent, respectively. Sensitivity analyses were conducted for all point estimates. For each disease stage, we calculated the number of surgically treatable regional or distant recurrence detected during 5 years per 10,000 patients undergoing computed tomography (CT) or positron emission tomography (PET)/CT scans at 6- or 12-month intervals. The associated positive and negative predictive values and life expectancy were also calculated and compared with clinical examination alone. Results:At 5-year follow-up, CT or PET/CT at 6-month intervals detected surgically treatable regional or distant recurrence in 6.4% of patients with stage I, 18.5% of stage II, and 33.1% of stage III disease; 12-month intervals decreased the rates to 3.0%, 7.9%, and 13.0%, respectively. The high false-positive rates of CT (20%) and PET/CT (9%) resulted in overall low positive predictive values. However, both CT and PET/CT effectively predicted absence of disease. Life-expectancy gains were minimal (⩽2 months) for all groups. Conclusions:The effectiveness of routine surveillance imaging for detecting treatable melanoma recurrences is limited. Even in patients with stage III disease, only minimal gains in life expectancy were achieved.


INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE
Studies in patients and experimental animals have shown that percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) can acutely impair glomerular filtration and renal perfusion, but the factors contributing to this decline in renal function are unknown. The present study assessed the contribution of needle puncture of the kidney vs dilation of the needle tract to the acute decline in renal hemodynamic and tubular transport function associated with PCNL surgery.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Acute experiments were performed in three groups of anesthetized adult farm pigs: sham-percutaneous access (PERC), that is, no surgical procedure (n = 7); a single-needle stick to access the renal collecting system (n = 8); expansion of the single-needle access tract with a 30F NephroMax balloon dilator and insertion of a nephrostomy sheath (n = 10). The glomerular filtration rate (GFR), effective renal plasma flow (ERPF), and renal extraction of para-amino hippurate (EPAH, estimates tubular organic anion transporter [OAT] activity) were assessed before and 1 to 4.5 hours after sham-PERC or PERC surgical procedures.

RESULTS
Overall, GFR responses were similar in all three groups. Sham-treated PERC pigs showed no significant change in ERPF over the experimental observation period, whereas a single-needle stick to access the renal collecting system resulted in renal vasoconstriction (∼30% reduction in ERPF, p < 0.05). Dilation of the single-needle access tract to create the nephrostomy did not lead to a further decline in ERPF. PERC surgical procedure-mediated renal vasoconstriction was most evident at the 1-hour posttreatment time point. A reduction in EPAH was only observed in pig kidneys with a nephrostomy.

CONCLUSIONS
Needle puncture of the kidney for percutaneous access to the renal collecting system is the major driving force for the renal vasoconstriction observed after PCNL surgery, whereas creation of the nephrostomy appears to be largely responsible for decreasing tubular OAT activity.


Evidence of health benefits and longer average life-span following low-dose irradiation should replace fear, "all radiation is harmful," and "the perception of harm" as the basis for action in the 21 century. Hormesis is the excitation, or stimulation, by small doses of any agent in any system. Large doses inhibit. "Low dose" is defined as any dose between ambient levels of radiation and the threshold that marks the boundary between biopositive and bionegative effects. That threshold negates the "linear no threshold" (LNT) paradigm. This overview summarizes almost 3,000 reports on stimulation by low-dose irradiation. "Hormesis with Ionizing Radiation" presented evidence of increased vigor in plants, bacteria, invertebrates and vertebrates. Most physiologic reactions in living cells are stimulated by low doses of ionizing radiation. This evidence of radiogenic metabolism (metabolism promoted by ionizing radiation) includes enzyme induction, photosynthesis, respiration and growth. Radiation hormesis in immunity decreases infection and premature death in radiation exposed populations. Increased immune competence is a major factor in the increased average life-span of populations exposed to low-dose irradiation. "Radiation Hormesis" presented evidence for radiation hormesis in major physiologic functions of vertebrates. Evidence of radiation hormesis in reproduction emphasizes the safety of low-dose irradiation. "Low-Level Radiation Health Effects: Compiling the Data" summarizes recent papers on radiation hormesis. *Taken from a lecture given at ICONE-7, Tokyo, April, 1999. The author acknowledges with thanks the critical reading of this manuscript by Pauline Luckey and Dan Crockett. During the previous decades, statistically significant evidence showed that whole body exposures of humans to low doses of ionizing radiation decreased total cancer mortality rates. This is based on information compiled from 7 million person-years of exposed and control workers in nuclear shipyard and atomic bomb plants in Canada, Great Britain and the United States. Other human experiences with unusual exposures confirm radiation hormesis in cancer mortality. A variety of external sources are beneficial. Internal sources (plutonium, radium and radon) are also effective. The conclusions have both personal and national significance. Ionizing radiation is a benign environmental agent at background levels. We live with a subclinical deficiency of ionizing radiation. Low doses of ionizing radiation significantly decrease premature cancer death. Health benefits should replace risk and death as the guide for safe exposures to ionizing radiation. Safe supplementation with ionizing radiation would provide a new plateau of health.


Communicating sustainable initiatives in higher education institutions presents a challenge, given that few to no universities possess or maintain a strategic communication plan that addresses the need to share this information effectively to stakeholders (students, faculty, staff, administrators, and community advocates). Drawing on secondary and primary research across universities in three countries, each representing distinct regional and national orientations – Canada, Ecuador, and Ukraine – the authors explain a sustainability/environmental communication model designed to be flexible enough for universal application, while providing strategic guidelines tailored to higher education institutions in each of its four described steps. The strategic communication model is informed by the critical synthesis of secondary research into two main areas of literature: (1) strategic communication theory and best practice; and (2) the organizational dissemination of sustainability initiatives, particularly within post-secondary institutions. Such secondary literature informs, and is in turn contributed to by, the authors' primary research that was conducted, which consists of three parts: (1) discourse analysis of relevant institutional documents and promotional materials; (2) interviews about current practices in sustainability-related communication, conducted with higher education sustainability administrators; and, (3) focus groups with students, examining participant awareness and assessment of their institution's sustainability communications. Based on such study, the authors advance a strategic communication model for sustainable initiatives, which comprises a four-step process based on a series of eight questions, with the first step providing comprehensive explication of a seven-component strategic planning framework that scales downward from the most abstract considerations to concrete tactics. In summary, the primaryand secondary-research data suggests that most universities, even if they implement sustainability initiatives or officially incorporate environmentalism into their institutional identity statements (mission, vision, etc.), fail to communicate these actions informatively and persuasively, thereby establishing widespread need for this paper's offered strategic guidance.


This article examines the reception of Western corporate governance models and standards into the Chinese system of corporate governance. It investigates how China has adapted these models to fit in with its political, economic, and cultural norms in relation to its state owned enterprises (SOEs), a large number of which are now listed in onthe Fortune Global 500 list. Overall, the study highlights that firstly, the importance of culture in the shaping and functioning of human behavior as well as that of institutions, and in their subsequent path dependence; and secondly the limited impact of property rights, minority shareholder rights, and financial markets as arbiters of the destination of investment funds.


THE LOCAL use of streptokinase-streptodornase (Varidase) offers the surgeon an efficient biologic agent for the treatment of a wide variety of infections. Pus, which contains fibrin and deoxyribonucleoprotein, must be removed to promote healing. Streptokinase is a catalytic agent which activates plasminogen in the euglobulin fraction of the blood. This causes a liquefaction of fibrin and inhibits the conversion of fibrinogen to fibrin. Streptodornase is a group of enzymes which requires catalytic activation by magnesium or manganese ion and which digests deoxyribonucleoprotein. Sherry, Johnson, and Tillett 8 showed that streptodornase, acting on purified deoxyribonucleic acid and deoxyribonucleic acid in purulent exudates, produced a great fall in viscosity. Varidase also contains an hyaluronidase,* aproteinase, 1 a ribonuclease, 4 and several nucleotidases and nucleosidases.† The function of these enzymes in the spread of the compounds in the pus and in the digestion of the various substrates is not well known at the


High field magnetization measurements in pulsed fields up to 65 T have been performed on FePS3, which is nominally a good example of a two-dimensional Ising-like antiferromagnet on a honeycomb lattice. Measurements with the field parallel to the moment direction confirm the presence of two first-order transitions above 35 T, to M/Msat = 1/2 and M/Msat = 1, respectively, at 4 K. The measurements are in contradiction with published estimates for the magnetic exchange parameters, but the contradiction can be resolved by allowing for anisotropic exchange parameters in the Hamiltonian. The magnetization with the field perpendicular to the moment direction is anisotropic, with no transitions observed for fields along the a axis while a cascade of first-order transitions is observed for fields above 50 T along the b axis, the latter case also showing a strong degradation of the sample after repeated pulses. The results indicate a strong magnetolattice coupling in FePS3. Temperature-dependent measurements hint at a possible tricritical point.


In recent years, tremendous efforts from both the industrial and the academic research communities have been put into bringing forth quantum computing technologies. With the potential proliferation of universal quantum computers on the horizon, quantum computing, however, is still severely grounded by numerous grave barriers, which lead to its low accessibility and practicality. For example, the vastly different underlying computing models, combined with the steep background knowledge requirements, makes it extremely difficult, if possible at all, for most software engineering researchers and practitioners to even begin to design or implement quantum algorithms or softwares in practice. To overcome this problem, we, in this paper, propose a design that largely circumvents said accessibility and practicality barriers, by providing an end-to-end quantum computing framework for solving NP-complete problems via reduction. We fully implemented a toolkit under our design framework. With this toolkit, software engineering researchers and practitioners would be able to enjoy the speedup and scalability benefits of universal quantum computers without necessarily having to have prior knowledge on quantum computing.


An organism may use misinformation, knowingly (through deception) or unknowingly (as in the case of camouflage), to gain advantage in a competitive environment. From an evolutionary perspective, greater tactical deception occurs among primates closer to humans, with larger neocortices. In humans, the onset of deceptive behaviours in childhood exhibits a developmental trajectory, which may be regarded as 'normal' in the majority and deficient among a minority with certain neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g. autism). In the human adult, deception and lying exhibit features consistent with their use of 'higher' or 'executive' brain systems. Accurate detection of deception in humans may be of particular importance in forensic practice, while an understanding of its cognitive neurobiology may have implications for models of 'theory of mind' and social cognition, and societal notions of responsibility, guilt and mitigation. In recent years, functional neuroimaging techniques (especially functional magnetic resonance imaging) have been used to study deception. Though few in number, and using very different experimental protocols, studies published in the peer-reviewed literature exhibit certain consistencies. Attempted deception is associated with activation of executive brain regions (particularly prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortices), while truthful responding has not been shown to be associated with any areas of increased activation (relative to deception). Hence, truthful responding may comprise a relative 'baseline' in human cognition and communication. The subject who lies may necessarily engage 'higher' brain centres, consistent with a purpose or intention (to deceive). While the principle of executive control during deception remains plausible, its precise anatomy awaits elucidation.


ABSTRACT Black, K.P.; Baba, M.; Mathew, J.; Kurian, N.P., and Ilic, A., 2021. Guidelines to prepare India's coast for climate change. Journal of Coastal Research, 37(6), 1117–1129. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. India's first coastal protection guidelines for climate-change adaptation are described. The guidelines are holistic, recognizing the links between engineering, economic, physical, legal, social, environmental, and governmental intricacies. Robust protection solutions under climate change for millions of coastal residents may occur only when all these facets are improved within the complex regulatory, budgetary, and practical circumstances in India. Fifty-seven specific guidelines are presented in nine categories ranging from administrative to best-practice coastal protection. An "environmental softness ladder" that ranks coastal protection methods was developed as a scientific tool to guide policy development and project implementation. "Minimum floor level" for safe building was defined for each Indian coastal state using climate-change data produced for the study by Indian and international institutes. Beaches are more stable when the net sediment transport fluxes are close to neutral. "Grand schemes," which make large-scale changes to the coast rather than continuing with piecemeal localised works, are recommended. With diverse dynamics over a long coastline in India, the 4-year study engaged an exceptionally large number of experts, agencies, government bodies, development partners, and other stakeholders.


The Heydarabad bauxite-laterite deposit is located in 63 km southeast of Urmia city. This ore deposit occurs as a concordant layer within the boundaries of Upper Permian and Lower Triassic carbonate units (limestone and dolomite), although it has been suffered some tectonic displacements along its direction. The studied horizon varies from 15-20 m in thickness and has an east-west trend with a length of 3.5 km. This deposit consists primarily of two parts of dark and light in color. The former is rich in hematite and corundum, (upper horizon) and the latter in phyllo-aluminosilicates (lower horizon) with an gradual boundary, respectively. Common textures are mostly pisolitic, nodular, oolitic and massive. Based on the microscopic studies and XRD analysis, the main mineral components are hematite, diaspore, chloritoid, and corundum. On the other hand, chlorite, rutile, magnetite and pyrite are found as accessory phases. The Heydarabad bauxite-laterite horizon is different from those occurred into the Iran-Himalayan belt based on the absence of boehmite, kaolinite and other clay minerals, and the abundance of corundum, chloritoid and chlorite. The geological and mineralogical evidences indicated that a thermal metamorphic event was responsible for the formation of this special mineralogical composition after bauxitization processes. Based on geological, mineralogical, and chemical characteristics, it can be proposed that the probable parent rocks for the Heydarabad bauxite are mafic sills and diabasic dykes. Due to considerable accumulation of minerals which their hardness is greater than 6, this ore deposit can be presented as a potential for abrasive applications.


The elastic properties of processing related inhomogeneities, such as filler settling and voids, are characterized using the acoustic microscope. A procedure to calculate the acoustic impedance of materials, and hence the elastic properties, at internal interfaces is proposed. The acoustic impedance of the silica filled polymer material under the die is measured at different locations corresponding to areas of different brightness in the acoustic image. Correlating the acoustic impedance measurements with the HS-model indicated that a) darker areas are regions where the underfill has a homogeneous distribution of filler; b) lighter areas are regions characterized by filler settling. Destructive cross sectioning and microscopy confirmed the above predictions. Further, the elastic properties of the different areas adjacent to the die are estimated using the model. The relatively quick, nondestructive technique presented in this paper could be useful in advanced process control, rapid yield management and in providing input into package reliability studies (such as finite element analysis).


A scrapie-positive ewe was found in a flock that had been scrapie-free for 13 years, but housed adjacent to scrapie-positive animals, separated by a wire fence. Live animal testing of the entire flock of 24 animals revealed seven more subclinical scrapie-positive ewes. We hypothesized that they may have contracted the disease from scrapie-positive rams used for breeding 4 months prior, possibly through the semen. The genotypes of the ewe flock were highly scrapie-susceptible and the rams were infected with the 'Caine' scrapie strain having a short incubation time of 4.3-14.6 months in sheep with 136/171 VQ/VQ and AQ/VQ genotypes. PrP(Sc) accumulates in a variety of tissues in addition to the central nervous system. Although transmission of prion diseases, or transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, has been achieved via peripheral organ or tissue homogenates as well as by blood transfusion, neither infectivity nor PrP(Sc) have been found in semen from scrapie-infected animals. Using serial protein misfolding cyclic amplification followed by a surround optical fibre immunoassay, we demonstrate that semen from rams infected with a short-incubation-time scrapie strain contains prion disease-associated-seeding activity that generated PrP(Sc) in sPMCA (serial protein misfolding cyclic amplification). Injection of the ovinized transgenic mouse line TgSShpPrP with semen from scrapie-infected sheep resulted in PrP(Sc)-seeding activity in clinical and, probably as a result of the low titre, non-clinical mouse brain. These results suggest that the transmissible agent, or at least the seeding activity, for sheep scrapie is present in semen. This may be a strain-specific phenomenon.


Middle Ordovician bentonites in the central and southeastern United States have been correlated on the basis of rare-earth element (REE) concentrations of primary apatite phenocrysts. Ratios of light to heavy REE, such as La/Tb or Ce/Yb, produce the best separation of the four studied bentonites. The Deicke bentonite has been correlated over a distance of more than 1000 km, from southern Minnesota to central Tennessee, and the Millbrig bentonite has been correlated over 750 km, from central Minnesota to central Missouri.

The successful discrimination of closely spaced bentonites over a long distance demonstrates that apatite chemistry is a powerful correlation tool on a continental scale.


The New Zealand Teaching Council's Leadership Strategy vision is:To enable every teacher, regardless of their role or setting, to have the opportunity to develop their own leadership capability so that through principled and inspirational leadership, a culturally capable, competent and connected teaching profession achieves educational equity and excellence for all children and young people in Aotearoa New Zealand (Education Council, 2018b, p. 4).
There is however a lack of clarity about how this vision can be achieved. While there is a growing range of literature concerning ECE leadership emerging from New Zealand, highlighting shared or distributed approaches (Hill, 2018), the role of the positional leader and distributed leadership (Denee & Thornton, 2017), and leadership dispositions within leadership development (Davitt & Ryder, 2018), there is limited literature exploring the practices of educational leadership within New Zealand ECE services.
This study explores how educational leadership is practised through internal evaluation processes in New Zealand ECE services and how these practices support the professional capabilities and capacities of teachers. Previous research has highlighted that a practice approach to leadership removes the focus on the individual leader and allows leadership to emerge from collective action. The objectives of this research were: to develop a better understanding of how educational leadership is practised through internal evaluation processes; explore what challenges or enables teachers to become involved and practise educational leadership through internal evaluation processes; and to understand how services monitor the impact of changes on teaching practice, made as a result of an internal evaluation.
This qualitative research, which took the form of an interpretive case study, was framed around a single case design with multiple units of analysis. Data were gathered from three participating ECE services through interviews, focus groups and observations, and drew on the perspectives of both teachers and positional leaders. A reflexive thematic data analysis approach was employed, and four key themes were developed: identification with leadership; supportive workplace culture; continuous improvement; and effective leadership practices in ECE services.
This case study concludes that there is a complexity in the ways ECE teachers identify with leadership, restricted by a belief that leadership requires a formal title, with teachers often unaware of their own leadership practices. A supportive workplace culture can encourage and promote leadership, while a cycle of continuous improvement can promote quality teaching practices. Finally, seven effective leadership practices were identified: relational leadership; creating the conditions for teamwork; engagement; knowledge expertise and sharing opinions; shared decision making; facilitating and guiding and accountability and organisation. This study contributes to our further understanding of educational leadership in New Zealand ECE services, in particular the practices of leadership.


Serialization frameworks are a fundamental component of scale-out systems, but introduce significant compute overheads. However, they are amenable to acceleration with specialized hardware. To understand the trade-offs involved in architecting such an accelerator, we present the first in-depth study of serialization framework usage at scale by profiling Protocol Buffers ("protobuf") usage across Google's datacenter fleet. We use this data to build HyperProtoBench, an open-source benchmark representative of key serialization-framework user services at scale. In doing so, we identify key insights that challenge prevailing assumptions about serialization framework usage. We use these insights to develop a novel hardware accelerator for protobufs, implemented in RTL and integrated into a RISC-V SoC. Applications can easily harness the accelerator, as it integrates with a modified version of the open-source protobuf library and is wire-compatible with standard protobufs. We have fully open-sourced our RTL, which, to the best of our knowledge, is the only such implementation currently available to the community. We also present a first-of-its-kind, end-to-end evaluation of our entire RTL-based system running hyperscale-derived benchmarks and microbenchmarks. We boot Linux on the system using FireSim to run these benchmarks and implement the design in a commercial 22nm FinFET process to obtain area and frequency metrics. We demonstrate an average 6.2 × to 11.2 × performance improvement vs. our baseline RISC-V SoC with BOOM OoO cores and despite the RISC-V SoC's weaker uncore/supporting components, an average 3.8 × improvement vs. a Xeon-based server.


Plant volatiles comprise thousands of molecules from multiple metabolic pathways, distinguished by sufficient vapor pressure to evaporate into the headspace under normal environmental conditions. Many are implicated as ecological signals, but what is the evidence-and how do they work? Volatiles diffuse, are carried by wind, and may be taken up by other organisms or degrade with exposure to atmospheric ozone, radicals, and UV light; visual signals such as color are not subject to these complications (but require a line of sight). Distantly related plants-and nonplants-produce many of the same volatiles, yet specific compounds and blends may be distinct. Here, I present a quantitative review of the literature on plant volatiles as ecological signals, illustrating a field that has focused on developing ideas as much as reporting primary data. I discuss advantages and constraints, review recent advances, and propose considerations for primary studies to elucidate particular functions of plant volatiles. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Plant Biology, Volume 74 is May 2023. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.


Argentina, which is a major producer of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), represents the southern most limit of the Andean diversification center of the species. The diverse environmental conditions of these places and human selection favored the development of a great variability of wild beans and landraces, which is endangered due to the destruction of habitats by forest exploitation and agriculture. Information on the variability of these resources is essential to set conservation strategies and design breeding programs aimed at enlarging the genetic base of commercial beans. This work is an overview of the marker-based studies on landraces and wild bean genetic diversity, with special emphasis on Argentinean beans, as a first step for the optimal exploitation of the naturally available bean genetic resources, to generate new traits and improve crop performance. The identification of diversity and hybridization between populations is enhanced by the application of the new tools and the information generated by bean genomic research. Gene flow, which appears to occur fairly frequently in bean, has to be studied in more detail in this region in order to facilitate the transfer of useful alleles from the unexploited germplasm to improved lines, broadening the genetic diversity available for breeding. Some resistance gene analogs (RGAs) have been described within the Andean gene pool and only a few have been functionally characterized or linked to a phenotype. Therefore, a strategy for the exploitation of bean germplasm variability based on the detection of RGAs is also mentioned, though more work should be devoted at identifying these sequences in Andean landraces and wild beans. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________


BONN, Germany — After marathon talks, diplomats from 178 nations drafted a compromise Monday that preserved a landmark global-warming treaty from near-collapse. Negotiators argued through the night Sunday and early Monday about the detailed rule book governing the treaty, which is designed to cut emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases linked to global warming. Despite appeals from allies at an economic summit in Genoa, Italy, this weekend, President Bush refused to reconsider his rejection of the Kyoto Protocol, which he has called "fatally flawed.""Almost every single country stayed in the protocol," said Olivier Deleuze, the chief negotiator for the European Union. "There was one that said the Kyoto Protocol was flawed. Do you see the Kyoto Protocol flawed?" Undersecretary of State Paula Dobriansky, who led the U.S. delegation through four days of grueling negotiations in Bonn, said the deal will not require the United States to fund any part of the treaty — one of Bush's chief concerns. "Although the United States does not intend to ratify that agreement, we have not sought to stop others from moving ahead, so long as legitimate U.S. interests were protected," she said. "This does not change our view the Kyoto Protocol is not sound policy." Dobriansky drew boos from the gallery when she said the Bush administration was committed to tackling climate change. The negotiations in Bonn worked out rules to govern the Kyoto pact, which would commit industrialized nations to cut emissions of greenhouse gases, chiefly carbon dioxide from cars, power plants and factories. Every nation at the talks had some objections to the compromise version of the rules. But many countries, including most developing nations, said they could accept the text as it was. The major exceptions were Japan and Russia. They opposed provisions that would have given the force of law to the treaty's rules on compliance. The rules called for countries to pay penalties if they didn't make their emission cuts on time. Negotiators solved the problem by delaying the date when the compliance system would become legally binding. Now that much of the fine print of the treaty has been written, nations can start thinking in earnest about whether to approve the protocol. Most nations say they would like to see the treaty take effect in 2002, the 10th anniversary of the United Nations Earth Summit. Officials at the conference were optimistic that countries would agree to sign on. "The Bonn agreement will make it possible to ratify the Kyoto Protocol," said Michael Zammit Cutajar, head of the U.N. agency for global warming. But obstacles remain. To take effect, the treaty must be ratified by 55 nations responsible for 55% of industrialized nations' carbon-dioxide emissions in 1990. (Koleksi Perpustakaan Pelangi)


The experiment was conducted on 20 post-weaned, male Crossbred Dorper lambs (Ovis aries, Linnaeus, 1758). Castration was performed before weaning using the rubber ring method, nine (9) weeks prior to the start of the experiment. Age at the beginning of the trial for all lambs was 12 weeks and average live weights were 17.7 kg (castrated) and 16.9 kg (intact). Following the grow-out period, lambs were slaughtered at 6 and 8 months old. Carcass quality traits measured were, carcass weight, dressing percentage, loin eye area, internal organ mass, mesenteric fat deposits and the mass of offal. There was no significant difference in initial live weight between the castrated and intact lambs (P > 0.05). Average daily weight gain, at week 7 of the trial, was significantly higher for intact lambs (P 0.05). Slaughter time and castration also significantly impacted carcass quality traits such as loin eye muscle area and rack, shoulder and leg weights. Initial body weight was significantly correlated (P 0.05) slaughtered at 6 and 8 months respectively. Carcass analysis revealed significantly heavier lungs and gastro-intestinal tracts in animals slaughtered at 8 months (P 0.05). Skin and head weights were significantly larger (P<0.05) for intact males slaughtered at 8 months. The study revealed that pre-weaning castration negatively impacted growth performance as well as the carcass traits in Crossbred Dorper lambs. The combination of intact animals slaughtered at 8 months proved to be most favorable based on growth and carcass quality traits that were measured. Hence further investigations into optimal castration age and slaughtering time are required to maximize output from Crossbred Dorper lambs grown in Jamaica.


AIM Injuries of the atlas are always a challenge in diagnostics and therapy. Different clinical manifestations, inconspicuous neurological results, uncertain findings of radiological diagnostics and possible accompanying injuries require individual therapeutic concepts. METHODS Patients with injuries of C1 and C2 seen between 2001-2007 were evaluated and especially the morbidity and treatment of the C1-injured patients were verified. To systematise the injuries, a subdivision in isolated and combined trauma took place. Furthermore, the post-traumatic as well as post-therapeutic accompanying neurological deficits were evaluated. RESULTS Altogether 121 fractures/injuries of the upper cervical spine (C1/C2) were counted, 22 (18.2 %) concerning the atlas. There were 11 fractures of type Gehweiler I, 9 of type III and 1 each of types II and IV. Isolated fractures of type I (5/11) were treated conservatively, combined injuries (6/11), depending on the stability and location of the attendant injuries, were treated with semi-rigid collars, anterior or posterior fusions. Stable fractures of type III (2/9) were primarily treated in Halo extension. Because of an attending dens fracture type Anderson II in 1 case, a spondylodesis of the dens was additionally performed in the conservative treatment of the atlas. The therapy of isolated unstable atlas fractures of type III (4/9) ranged, depending on the general conditions, from Halo extension, transoral C1 stabilisation, anterior transarticular C1/C2 fusion to posterior occipitocervical fusions. The therapeutic regime of combined unstable type III injuries (2/9) depended on the additional trauma: anterior fusion in C6/7 luxation fracture combined with Halo extension for C1, posterior C0/C3 fusion in unstable dens fractures of type Anderson II. CONCLUSION The therapy for atlas fractures orientates on the type of the C1 fracture, the accompanying injuries and the general condition of the patient. Isolated stable C1 fractures without dislocation can be treated conservatively (cervical collar), unstable fractures, depending on the general condition, should be referred to surgical therapy or halo extension. In combined atlas fractures the strategy of treatment has to take the stability of the C1 fractures into consideration, but also the additional injuries of the rest of the cervical spine and the attendant circumstances.