OBJECTIVECarotid endarterectomy with a patch graft (Patch CEA) has been our standard treatment for patients with carotid artery stenosis, but carotid artery stenting (CAS) has emerged as an alternative. The purpose of this study was to compare the postoperative changes in the configurations and the flow velocities of carotid arteries after CAS or Patch CEA. METHODSThirty-one patients undergoing CAS or Patch CEA were included. The pre- and postoperative shapes of the carotid arteries were evaluated by angiography and ultrasonography. Doppler waveforms were recorded in the middle portion of the common carotid artery and in the internal carotid artery bulb to measure flow velocities, including peak systolic, mean, and end-diastolic velocities. RESULTSEighteen patients were treated by CAS, and Patch CEA was performed for 13 patients. Preoperatively, there were no differences in the degrees of stenosis or the flow velocities between the 2 groups. The averages of the diameters of the postoperative internal carotid artery bulbs were 4.5 mm in the CAS group and 7.0 mm in the Patch CEA group (P < 0.01). The averages of peak systolic, mean, and end-diastolic velocities measured in the internal carotid artery were 80, 42, and 25 cm/s, respectively, in the CAS group, and were significantly greater than those (53, 28, and 16 cm/s, respectively) in the Patch CEA group (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONSignificant differences in postoperative morphological and hemodynamic conditions between CAS and Patch CEA were observed. The impact of these differences will be determined by further studies.


The needs for various forms of information systems relating to the European environment and ecosystem are reviewed, and limitations indicated. Existing information systems are reviewed and compared in terms of aims and functionalities. We consider TWO technical challenges involved in attempting to develop an IEEICS. First, there is the challenge of developing an Internet-based communication system which allows fluent access to information stored in a range of distributed databases. Some of the currently available solutions are considered, i.e. Web service federations. The second main challenge arises from the fact that there is general intra-national heterogeneity in the definitions adopted, and the measurement systems used throughout the nations of Europe. Integrated strategies are needed.


Subjectivity tagging is distinguishing sentences used to present opinions and evaluations from sentences used to objectively present factual information. There are numerous applications for which subjectivity tagging is relevant, including information extraction and information retrieval. This paper identifies strong clues of subjectivity using the results of a method for clustering words according to distributional similarity (Lin 1998), seeded by a small amount of detailed manual annotation. These features are then further refined with the addition of lexical semantic features of adjectives, specifically polarity and gradability (Hatzivassiloglou & McKeown 1997), which can be automatically learned from corpora. In 10-fold cross validation experiments, features based on both similarity clusters and the lexical semantic features are shown to have higher precision than features based on each alone.


Author(s): Klein, Sarah Ann | Advisor(s): Alac, Morana | Abstract: This dissertation examines and intervenes in cognitive scientific experimental practice as performance. It is structured around an ethnographic study of a cognitive neuroscience lab that uses electroencephalography (EEG) to study processes of language and meaning in the brain. Working from participant-observation, multimodal analysis of interaction, and performance-collaboration, I describe how experiments are designed, performed, and understood by their subjects and researchers, how unruly experimental subjects become competent data sources, and how experiments move through time and space as empirical structures. I describe experiments as complex performances of enfolded interdependency between scientists, human subjects, technologies, and cognitive phenomena. My account of how cognition is performed in the EEG lab bumps up against the descriptive limits of generalized and universalized accounts of performative entanglement. I argue that materializing cognition as a scientific object depends on a reflexive capacity to enact, inhabit and layer relations of inside and outside, subjectivity and objectivity. This dissertation makes an intervention into theories of material-semiotic performativity prevalent in Science and Technology Studies (STS) by developing a local specification of cognitive scientific entanglement as "folding". I trace this folded form of performative entanglement through different loci of experimental practice. Chapter 1 describes how the central research object of the laboratory, the Event-Related-Potential component, folds together the world and brain. Chapter 2 considers the embodied and intersubjective work of producing "clean" brainwave objects from unruly human subjects. Chapter 3 considers how scientists inhabit one another's experimental designs through a social practice of reading. Chapter 4 documents a methodological shift from participant observer to collaborator through an iterative experiment-performance that intervenes in the activity of experiment itself.


BACKGROUND
Alpha-tocopherol (αT), the bioactive constituent of vitamin E, is essential for fertility and neurological development. Synthetic αT (8 stereoisomers; all rac-αT) is added to infant formula at higher concentrations than natural αT (RRR-αT only) to adjust for bio-potency differences, but its effects on brain development are poorly understood.

OBJECTIVES
The objective was to determine the impact of bio-potency-adjusted dietary all rac-αT versus RRR-αT, fed to dams, on the hippocampal gene expression in weanling mice.

METHODS
Male/female pairs of C57BL/6J mice were fed AIN 93-G containing RRR-αT (NAT) or all rac-αT (SYN) at 37.5 or 75 IU/kg (n = 10/group) throughout gestation and lactation. Male pups were euthanized at 21 days. Half the brain was evaluated for the αT concentration and stereoisomer distribution. The hippocampus was dissected from the other half, and RNA was extracted and sequenced. Milk αT was analyzed in separate dams.

RESULTS
A total of 797 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in the hippocampi across the 4 dietary groups, at a false discovery rate of 10%. Comparing the NAT-37.5 group to the NAT-75 group or the SYN-37.5 group to the SYN-75 group, small differences in brain αT concentrations (10%; P < 0.05) led to subtle changes (<10%) in gene expression of 600 (NAT) or 487 genes (SYN), which were statistically significant. Marked differences in brain αT stereoisomer profiles (P < 0.0001) had a small effect on fewer genes (NAT-37.5 vs. SYN-37.5, 179; NAT-75 vs. SYN-75, 182). Most of the DEGs were involved in transcription regulation and synapse formation. A network analysis constructed around known vitamin E interacting proteins (VIPs) revealed a group of 32 DEGs between NAT-37.5 vs. SYN-37.5, explained by expression of the gene for the VIP, protein kinase C zeta (Pkcz).

CONCLUSIONS
In weanling mouse hippocampi, a network of genes involved in transcription regulation and synapse formation was differentially affected by dam diet αT concentration and source: all rac-αT or RRR-αT.


A method for modal parameter identification of time-varying structures based on Hilbert- Huang transform (HHT) is presented. Theoretical formulas for identifying the modal frequency and damping radio using the displacement response of a time-varying SDOF structure are deduced. Taking advantage of modal filtering characteristics of empirical mode decomposition (EMD), the presented method is expanded to identify the modal parameters of MDOF structures. Numerical simulation of a three degrees of freedom structure with time-varying stiffness and damping show the validity of the method. Finally, a time-varying structure experiment is designed to further study the method. The experimental device is a cantilever beam. By adjusting the adjunctive mass and stiffness, two kinds of time-varying structures with continuous mass change and stiffness change is realized respectively. Modal parameters are identified from the free acceleration response of the beam.


Asia's middle classes are in the news. The story is bewitching. Not only are their numbers said to be shooting up towards half the total population, they are democratic and market-friendly. Indonesia's middle class too, according to this story, has exploded in the ten years from 1999–2009. An Asian Development Bank (hereafter: ADB) study of consumption patterns concluded it had grown from 25% to 43% in that period.The present book examines this expanding Indonesian middle class up close. Instead of statistics, it contains ethnographic studies conducted in provincial towns, where most of its members live. Less than by changing consumption patterns, we were driven to radically expand our idea of the Indonesian middle class by political events over the last twenty years. Whereas the ADB is mainly interested in consumption, our ideas on the middle class have been shaped by more relational, political questions. Class is not essentially a question of income or expenditure categories; it is a political concept, intended to explain why differences remain between the behaviour of rich and poor people over matters of the common good. By watching how they behave, we have come to know a very different middle class than the one the ADB saw in the statistics. In our experience, the booming provincial middle class favours economic protectionism, wants more state and not less, and practises a flawed patronage democracy.


The paper will address the theme of 'scenographic histories' by posing the question: How have theatre design pedagogies shaped approaches to scenographic practice?

The Motley Theatre Design Course, established in 1966 at Sadler's Wells Theatre by Margaret 'Percy' Harris emerged from practices at the London Theatre Studio (LTS) (1936 − 1939) and the Old Vic Theatre Centre (1946-1951) (Saint-Denis, 1960, pp 44-45). Analysis of primary source material of interviews with Harris (British Library, 1992) provided the basis for an initial exploration of the pedagogic philosophy of the Motley course (Richmond, 2012). In this analysis, five key principles were identified and it was suggested that these emerged from a particular theatre-making environment and period, which emphasised a mutually dependent and inter-related approach to theatre production. However, in the interviews with Harris, reference to the teaching practices adopted on the course is limited and the learner's account is absent.

To address this gap, a focus group of Motley alumni was held in March 2014. The paper will highlight the use of an adapted narrative research technique in the focus group (Bell & Bell, 2012) that is concerned with the relationship of objects to biography and identity. Focus group participants were invited to bring objects to the focus group that they associated with the Motley course. The paper will identify why this method was selected (and adapted) and the perceived impact of the method on the type and nature of participant narratives.

The paper will present the outcomes of the focus group, presenting a case study analysis of the teaching, learning and assessment culture implicitly and explicitly embedded in the Motley Course.


This study investigates the air pollutant interactions and emission source contributions to ozone (O_3) formation within a complex terrain. Air quality simulations using the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) Model focused on vertical distributions of O_3 for the July 14-18, 2005 episode in the South Coast Air Basin (SoCAB). The Zero-Out method was applied in sensitivity tests for seven emission source categories. Elevated O_3 concentrations were found near the top of the planetary boundary layer (PBL, ~1200 m) and in the free troposphere (~3500 m) over the eastern SoCAB. Low O_3 concentrations were found near the surface at the center of the basin due to nitrogen oxide (NO) titration by fresh vehicle exhaust. Sea and land breezes, enhanced by up-slope flows (the "mountain chimney effect") transported O_3 upward. Formation of O_3 is sensitive to the H_2O_2/HNO_3 ratio, depending on fresh vs. aged pollutant mixtures. Biogenic emissions were important contributors to O_3 formation, both in the SoCAB and at the top of the PBL. In contrast, the highest vehicle contributions to O_3 were found far from urban areas and in the lower free troposphere. Vertical cross-sectional analysis provided some insights into the O_3 formation and mixing processes present in the SoCAB.


The Integrated Status and Effectiveness Monitoring Program (ISEMP-BPA project No.2003-0017) has been created as a cost effective means of developing protocols and new technologies, novel indicators, sample designs, analytical, data management and communication tools and skills, and restoration experiments that support the development of a region-wide Research, Monitoring and Evaluation (RME) program to assess the status of anadromous salmonid populations, their tributary habitat and restoration and management actions. The most straightforward approach to developing a regional-scale monitoring and evaluation program would be to increase standardization among status and trend monitoring programs. However, the diversity of species and their habitat, as well as the overwhelming uncertainty surrounding indicators, metrics, and data interpretation methods, requires the testing of multiple approaches. Thus, the approach ISEMP has adopted is to develop a broad template that may differ in the details among subbasins, but one that will ultimately lead to the formation of a unified RME process for the management of anadromous salmonid populations and habitat across the Columbia River Basin. ISEMP has been initiated in three pilot subbasins, the Wenatchee/Entiat, John Day, and Salmon. To balance replicating experimental approaches with the goal of developing monitoring and evaluation tools that apply as broadly as possible across the Pacific Northwest, these subbasins were chosen as representative of a wide range of potential challenges and conditions, e.g., differing fish species composition and life histories, ecoregions, institutional settings, and existing data. ISEMP has constructed a framework that builds on current status and trend monitoring infrastructures in these pilot subbasins, but challenges current programs by testing alternative monitoring approaches. In addition, the ISEMP is: (1) Collecting information over a hierarchy of spatial scales, allowing for a greater flexibility of data aggregation for multi-scale recovery planning assessments, and (2) Designing methods that: (a) Identify factors limiting fish production in watersheds; (b) Determine restoration actions to address these problems; (c) Implement actions as a large-scale experiment (e.g. Before After Control Impact, or BACI design), and (d) Implement intensive monitoring and research to evaluate the action's success. The intent of the ISEMP project is to design monitoring programs that can efficiently collect information to address multiple management objectives over a broad range of scales. This includes: Evaluating the status of anadromous salmonids and their habitat; Identifying opportunities to restore habitat function and fish performance; and Evaluating the benefits of the actions to the fish populations across the Columbia River Basin. The multi-scale nature of this goal requires the standardization of protocols and sampling designs that are statistically valid and powerful, properties that are currently inconsistent across the multiple monitoring programs in the region. Other aspects of the program will aid in the ability to extrapolate information beyond the study area, such as research to elucidate causal mechanisms, and a classification of watersheds throughout the Columbia River Basin. Obviously, the scale of the problem is immense and the ISEMP does not claim to be the only program working towards this goal. As such, ISEMP relies heavily on the basin's current monitoring infrastructure to test and develop monitoring strategies, while acting as a coordinating body and providing support for key elements such as data management and technical analyses. The ISEMP also ensures that monitoring programs can address large-scale management objectives (resulting largely from the ESA) through these local efforts. While the ISEMP maintains a regional focus it also returns the necessary information to aid in management at the smaller spatial scales (individual projects) where manipulations (e.g., habitat restoration actions) actually occur. The work captured in this report is a component of the overall Integrated Status and Effectiveness Monitoring Program, and while it stands alone as an important contribution to the management of anadromous salmonids and their habitat, it also plays a key role within ISEMP. Each component of work within ISEMP is reported on individually, as is done so here, and in annual and triennial summary reports that present all of the overall project components in their programmatic context and shows how the data and tools developed can be applied to the development of regionally consistent, efficient and effective Research, Monitoring and Evaluation.


After the euphoria of the first waves of the Arab uprisings that toppled two heads of state in Tunisia and Egypt, the woman's body became the frontline of the protest scene. The unitary mass-revolutionary body that marked the visual memories of the first weeks of the uprisings ceded the ground to the "micro-rebellious body" of the naked, tortured, and sexually harassed female protestor. Nevertheless, this article discusses, the individual assertive body reproduced through these images is usually defined through the paradigm of gender oppression versus sexual liberation and self-realization. Other bodies remain marginal to this historiography of a revolution crystallized around the middle-class urban cosmopolitan bodies. In what language did "other" bodies of "ordinary" women speak in the context of the uprisings? Through what kind of representational regimes are these "other" bodies allowed to speak or be made silent?


Bipolar junction transistors (BJTs) with relatively large feature sizes, typical of older technologies and high-voltage devices, are susceptible to recombination in the neutral base region when they are damaged by atomic displacement. This results in gain degradation, which, as originally described by Messenger and Spratt, can be modeled as an increase in the ratio of BJT base to collector current ( $1/\beta $ ) when the device is exposed to high energy particles (e.g., neutrons). While this also occurs in smaller devices and in those intended for operation at lower voltages, recombination in the emitter-base depletion region typically dominates the radiation-induced gain degradation in these devices. This is a consequence of the recombination rate being highest in regions where the electron and hole concentrations are approximately equal. Recombination in the neutral base and emitter-base depletion region exhibit different dependences on applied voltage, base doping and neutral base width. These dependences result in inaccuracies in the standard Messenger-Spratt equation, even for devices with base widths as large as  $\sim 10~\mu \text {m}$ . This paper presents a physics-based modification of the equation which provides a much better fit to experimental data, particularly at low voltages.


When using a willingness-to-pay (WTP) format in contingent valuation (CV) to value watershed restoration, respondents may protest by questioning why they should pay to clean up a pollution problem that someone else created. Using a sample selection interval data model based on Bhat (1994) and Brox, Kumar, and Stollery (2003), we found that the decision to protest and WTP values were correlated. Protest sample selection bias resulted in a 300 percent overestimate of mean WTP per respondent. Using different ad hoc treatments of protesters, protest bias resulted in moderate effects (−10 percent to +14 percent) after controlling for sample selection bias.


Household and international debt (cross-border or in foreign currency) are a potential source of vulnerabilities that could eventually lead to banking crises. We explore this issue formally by assessing the performance of these debt categories as early warning indicators (EWIs) for systemic banking crises. We find that they do contain useful information. In fact, over the more recent subsample, for household and cross-border debt indicators the information is similar to that of the more commonly used aggregate credit variables regularly monitored by the BIS. Confirming previous work, combining these indicators with property prices improves performance. An analysis of current global conditions based on this richer information set points to the build-up of vulnerabilities in several countries.


Background Transplacental transfer of maternal immunoglobulin G (IgG) to the fetus helps to protect against malaria and other infections in infancy. Recent studies have emphasized the important role of malaria-specific IgG3 in malaria immunity, and its transfer may reduce the risk of malaria in infancy. Human IgGs are actively transferred across the placenta by binding the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) expressed within the endosomes of the syncytiotrophoblastic membrane. Histidine at position 435 (H435) provides for optimal Fc–IgG binding. In contrast to other IgG subclasses, IgG3 is highly polymorphic and usually contains an arginine at position 435, which reduces its binding affinity to FcRn in vitro. The reduced binding to FcRn is associated with reduced transplacental transfer and reduced half-life of IgG3 in vivo. Some haplotypes of IgG3 have histidine at position 435. This study examines the hypotheses that the IgG3-H435 variant promotes increased transplacental transfer of malaria-specific antibodies and a prolonged IgG3 half-life in infants and that its presence correlates with protection against clinical malaria during infancy. Methods and findings In Benin, 497 mother–infant pairs were included in a longitudinal birth cohort. Both maternal and cord serum samples were assayed for levels of IgG1 and IgG3 specific for MSP119, MSP2 (both allelic families, 3D7 and FC27), MSP3, GLURP (both regions, R0 and R2), and AMA1 antigens of Plasmodium falciparum. Cord:maternal ratios were calculated. The maternal IgG3 gene was sequenced to identify the IgG3-H435 polymorphism. A multivariate logistic regression was used to examine the association between maternal IgG3-H435 polymorphism and transplacental transfer of IgG3, adjusting for hypergammaglobulinemia, maternal malaria, and infant malaria exposure. Twenty-four percent of Beninese women living in an area highly endemic for malaria had the IgG3-H435 allele (377 women homozygous for the IgG3-R435 allele, 117 women heterozygous for the IgG3-R/H alleles, and 3 women homozygous for the IgG3-H435 allele). Women with the IgG3-H435 allele had a 78% (95% CI 17%, 170%, p = 0.007) increased transplacental transfer of GLURP-R2 IgG3 compared to those without the IgG3-H435 allele. Furthermore, in infants born to mothers with the IgG3-H435 variant, a 28% longer IgG3 half-life was noted (95% CI 4%, 59%, p = 0.02) compared to infants born to mothers homozygous for the IgG3-R435 allele. Similar findings were observed for AMA1, MSP2-3D7, MSP3, GLURP-R0, and GLURP-R2 but not for MSP119 and MSP2-FC27. Infants born to women with IgG3-H435 had a 32% lower risk of symptomatic malaria during infancy (incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 0.68 [95% CI 0.51, 0.91], p = 0.01) compared to infants born to mothers homozygous for IgG3-R435. We did not find a lower risk of asymptomatic malaria in infants born to women with or without IgG3-H435. Limitations of the study were the inability to determine (i) the actual amount of IgG3-H435 relative to IgG-R435 in serum samples and (ii) the proportion of malaria-specific IgG produced by infants versus acquired from their mothers. Conclusions An arginine-to-histidine replacement at residue 435 in the binding domain of IgG3 to FcRn increases the transplacental transfer and half-life of malaria-specific IgG3 in young infants and is associated with reduced risk of clinical malaria during infancy. The IgG3-H435 allele may be under positive selection, given its relatively high frequency in malaria endemic areas.


markdownabstractThis report compares father involvement with their children in Bulgaria and the Netherlands by examining country differences in family formation patterns, policy context, and cultural prescriptions regarding family life. In studying the time fathers spend with their children, it is important to distinguish between time-structuring and time-flexible tasks because these tasks tend to be divided along gendered lines. Time-structuring tasks are those tasks that take a longer time to complete or have to be performed at a certain time of the day, such as bathing or feeding the child, and often fall to mothers to perform. Time-flexible tasks, on the other hand, are commonly performed by fathers. These are the tasks that can be performed at any time of the day and include reading to and playing with the child.
Major conclusions are as follows:
 With regard to family formation patterns, the two-child family model is persistent in both Bulgaria and the Netherlands, despite the Netherlands being farther along the individualisation process than Bulgaria.
 The policy context in Bulgaria can be characterised by continuity with the country's socialist past. Maternity, paternity, and parental leave remain long by international standards, and both mothers and fathers are expected to participate full-time in the labour market. Policy recommendations include:
- Fathers in Bulgaria may benefit from more flexible work arrangements that allow them to combine work and childcare,
- whilst mothers may benefit from shorter maternity leave which helps prevent discrimination on the labour market.
- High quality childcare services for all children would benefit both mothers and fathers
- as would policy supporting grandparental care.


The Zurich woodcut illustrations of the early Reformation show a typical spectrum for the use of images in book printing. Unlike in centres such as Wittenberg or Basel, Zurich's early book illustrations have not been influenced by dominant artists of the period such as Lukas Cranach the Elder or Hans Holbein the Younger. Although Christoph Froschauer occasionally commissioned Holbein to create illustrations for prints made in Zurich, most of the early woodblocks used in Zurich are created by anonymous artists. Nevertheless, the printers in Zurich, above all Christoph Froschauer and Hans Hager, convincingly used the available woodblocks to illustrate their broadsheets, pamphlets and books. They drew on local traditions of the 15th century and often used incunabula illustrations. Among the various text genres of the time, a group of polemical prints stand out, in which woodcuts are effectively employed to fight for the cause of the Reformation. In Zurich, a simple but particularly convincing layout was developed to create a typical local appearance for the title pages of Zwingli's publications that had a high and marketable recognition potential.


The variance, which has many advantages as a measure of inequality, is a quadratic form in incomes. In this paper we develop a characterization of the variance by showing that among all quadratic forms in incomes, it is the only one that satisfies absolute inequality invariance, symmetry, the principle of transfers and the principle of population. A numerical illustration of several inequality indices, including the variance, is also presented in the paper.


In the following paper is given a first survey of the phenomenology and psychosomatics of the period of awakening of patients having attempted suicide. The findings of the first period were compared to those elicited one or two days later with the same methods but under different somato-psychic circumsatnces. We found that soon after awakening patients gain some distance from events connected with their suicide. From this observation it is concluded that therapeutic intervention with these patients should begin right during the awakening period.


Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness in the world and may affect about 30-50 million people. Due to prevalence of this disease and the progressive population aging in recent years, in addition to conventional methods of treatment of AMD, there are more preventive and treatment support factors that can be used. An adequate diet, especially rich in antioxidant compounds, seems to play an important role in this case. Available scientific data suggest that an important role in AMD prevention and / or delay may play the appropriate selection of macronutrients, in particular fats and carbohydrates. In this work, based on the available data, the study reviews the relationship between the intake of selected nutrients and age-related macular degeneration.


This paper provides an overview of research developments toward nanometer-scale electronic switching devices for use in building ultra-densely integrated electronic computers. Specifically, two classes of alternatives to the field-effect transistor are considered: (1) quantum-effect and single-electron solid-state devices and (2) molecular electronic devices. A taxonomy of devices in each class is provided, operational principles are described and compared for the various types of devices, and the literature about each is surveyed. This information is presented in nonmathematical terms intended for a general, technically interested readership.


Adsorption, contact angle and flotation of anionic Atrac and non-ionic ethaloxylated nonylphenol surfactant, and their mixture on apatite and magnetite were studied. The effect of calcium ions and sodium silicate on Atrac adsorp- tion was investigated. The effect of Atrac adsorption on the contact angle data of apatite and magnetite in the presence and absence of sodium silicate was also examined. Wettability of solids depends on solids surface free energy and the surface energies of apatite and magnetite powders were calculated from polar and non-polar liquid contact angle data. A decrease in particle size increased the polar contribution to surface free energy due to unsaturated broken bonds on the surface. Atrac is seen to adsorb equally on apatite and magnetite, and the adsorption increased in the presence of calcium ions. The presence of water glass decreased the Atrac contact angle data on magnetite and also the flotation response demonstrating its role as magnetite depressant in flotation. The presence of non-ionic surfactant enhanced the Atrac flota- tion of apatite with no flotation of magnetite. Bench-scale flotation tests showed that 50% of Atrac can be replaced with non-ionic collector without impairing the flotation results. Results also illustrate that the non-ionic adsorbs on apatite in equal amount of Atrac collector signifying 1:1 composition of anionic and non-ionic collector on apatite surface. Non- ionic head group sitting in between anionic head groups screens the electrostatic repulsion and forms compact adsorbed layer on apatite surface thereby increasing the hydrophobicity and flotation.


Once-weekly (QW), subcutaneous efpeglenatide (efpeg) is a long-acting GLP–1 RA in development for type 2 diabetes (T2D). In vitro studies have shown that efpeg is a superagonist: an agent that can achieve a greater maximal effect than that of the endogenous ligand. Exploratory analyses of preclinical, modeling, and clinical data investigated the effects of efpeg on glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and body weight (BW) vs. dulaglutide (dula), liraglutide (lira), and semaglutide (sema) (Table). In preclinical studies, efpeg significantly reduced the increment of HbA1c vs. lira and dula in db/db mice, and reduced BW vs. dula in diet-induced obesity mice. Predictive treatment effects of GLP–1 RAs over 30 weeks (based on modeled data) suggest that efpeg 6 mg QW has a high probability of superiority vs. dula on HbA1c and BW, and similar effects on HbA1c vs. sema; 4 mg QW has a high probability of non-inferiority and superiority vs. dula on HbA1c and BW endpoints, respectively. Analyses of the EXCEED 203 dose-ranging study in T2D suggest that efpeg 4 mg QW is at least non-inferior to lira on HbA1c reduction; safety profiles and effects on BW were comparable. In conclusion, the efficacy of efpeg in reducing HbA1c and BW is supported by preclinical, modeling, and clinical studies, providing the basis for long-term randomized trials to compare these effects vs. other GLP-1 RAs. Disclosure J. Rosenstock: Advisory Panel; Self; Eli Lilly and Company. Consultant; Self; Eli Lilly and Company. Research Support; Self; Novo Nordisk Inc.. Consultant; Self; Novo Nordisk Inc.. Advisory Panel; Self; Sanofi. Consultant; Self; Sanofi. Advisory Panel; Self; Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.. Consultant; Self; Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.. Advisory Panel; Self; Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.. Consultant; Self; Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.. Advisory Panel; Self; Intarcia Therapeutics, Inc.. Consultant; Self; Intarcia Therapeutics, Inc.. Research Support; Self; Merck & Co., Inc., Pfizer Inc., Sanofi, Novo Nordisk Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Eli Lilly and Company, Intarcia Therapeutics, Inc., Genentech, Inc. M.E. Trautmann: Consultant; Self; ProSciento. Stock/Shareholder; Self; Eli Lilly and Company. Consultant; Self; Hanmi Pharmaceutical, CeQur Corporation, Intarcia Therapeutics, Inc., Servier. M. Hompesch: Other Relationship; Self; Hanmi Pharmaceutical. I. Choi: Employee; Self; Hanmi Pharmaceutical. Stock/Shareholder; Self; Hanmi Pharmaceutical. J. Kang: Employee; Self; Hanmi Pharmaceutical. K. Yoon: None. C.H. Sorli: Employee; Self; Sanofi.


A new fire history for south-western Australian sclerophyll forests was proposed recently based on grasstree (Xanthorrhoea preissii) records that were interpreted to show a high frequency (3-5 years) 'pre-European burning regime'. Such a fire regime appears incompatible with the long-term survival of many fire-killed woody taxa. We investigated the local fire history in a small area of the northern sand-plain shrub-lands of south-western Australia using 15 grasstrees, examining individual grasstree records in detail and comparing this with the decadal or averaged approach used in the original research, and with fire histories reconstructed from satellite images for the period since 1975. Results lead us to question the utility of the proposed grasstree fire history record as a tool for understanding past fire regimes for two reasons: First, inconsistencies in fire histories among individual grasstrees were considerable - some individuals were not burnt by known fires, while some apparently were burned many times during periods when others were not burned at all. Second, the grasstree record indicates a possible increase in patchiness of fires since 1930, while contemporary evidence and interpretations of the nature of Aboriginal (pre-European) fire regimes would suggest the opposite. We believe that further research is needed to identify to what extent the grasstree method for reconstruction of fire histories can be used to re-interpret how fire operated in many highly diverse ecosystems prior to European settlement of Australia.


The paper assesses the communication strategies of the Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the European Central Bank and their effectiveness. We find that the effectiveness of communication is not independent from the decisionmaking process in the committee. The paper shows that the Federal Reserve has been pursuing a rather individualistic communication strategy amid a collegial approach to decision-making, while the Bank of England is using a collegial communication strategy and highly individualistic decision-making. The ECB has chosen a collegial approach both in its communication and in its decisionmaking. Assessing these strategies, we find that predictability of policy decisions and the responsiveness of financial markets to communication are equally good for the Federal Reserve and the ECB. This suggests that there may not be a single best approach to designing a central bank communication and decisionmaking strategy. JEL Classification: E43, E52, E58, G12


Mapping the pedagogical process of learning in biology has shown that fieldwork and laboratory practicals require students to use quantitative skills in a high-level learning context. These tasks include creating graphical representations of data and performing statistical analyses, and are major areas of student disengagement and poor performance. Biology educators face a challenge: how to keep students engaged in mastering new techniques and methodology to develop the 'thinking of a biologist', while developing confidence using quantitative mathematical skills. Here we investigate the use of an online learning module in molecular biology to simplify this complex process of learning in biology. The module emphasised the links between the concept (gene regulation), experiments (growing Escherichia coli in the presence of different effector molecules and substrates) and the data recorded. An audit of student assignments and surveys before and after the introduction of the module indicated that students improved their data presentation skills. Results highlight the cognitive and practical complexity of the task. The usefulness of consolidating information by providing extra time using a blended approach to laboratory practicals is discussed. Finally, the relationship between the practical activity and threshold concepts, thinking dispositions and mindfulness is made to better understand how we can assist students to become quantitatively confident and competent in their practice as biologists.


The study of policy instruments dates from the early seventies, though there has been written a lot before especially in economics about government intervention in relation to market imperfections. A policy instrument refers the means of government intervention in markets or, in broader perspective, society in order to accomplish goals or to solve problems. The behavioral assumption underlying a policy instrument is that it attempts to get people do things that they might not otherwise have done. In the last fifty years we featured a transformation not just in the scope and scale of the role of the government, but also in the proliferation of tools that it has to its disposal for public action. In retrospect a distinction can made between three partly overlapping stadiums in the study of policy instruments.


Objectives. To describe postoperative self-reported physical activity (PA) level and assess the effects of 2 weeks of postoperative inspiratory muscle training (IMT) in patients at high risk for postoperative pulmonary complications following lung resection. Methods. This is a descriptive study reporting supplementary data from a randomized controlled trial that included 68 patients (mean age = 70 ± 8 years), randomized to an intervention group (IG; n = 34) or a control group (CG; n = 34). The IG underwent 2 weeks of postoperative IMT added to a standard postoperative physiotherapy given to both groups. The standard physiotherapy consisted of breathing exercises, coughing techniques, and early mobilization. We evaluated self-reported physical activity (Physical Activity Scale 2.1 questionnaire) and health status (EuroQol EQ-5D-5L questionnaire), assessed the day before surgery and 2 weeks postoperatively. Results. A significant percentage of the patients in the IG reported less sedentary activity 2 weeks postoperatively when compared with the CG (sedentary 6% vs 22%, low activity 56% vs 66%, moderate activity 38% vs 12%, respectively; P = .006). The mean difference in EQ-5D-5L between the IG and CG 2 weeks postoperatively was nonsignificant (P = .80). The overall preoperative EQ-5D-5L index score for the study population was comparable to a reference population. Conclusion. Postoperative IMT seems to prevent a decline in PA level 2 weeks postoperatively in high-risk patients undergoing lung resection. More research is needed to confirm these findings.


We investigate the relationship between the monthly averaged maximal speeds of coronal mass ejections (CMEs), international sunspot number (ISSN), and the geomagnetic Dst and Ap indices covering the 1996–2008 time interval (solar cycle 23). Our new findings are as follows. (1) There is a noteworthy relationship between monthly averaged maximum CME speeds and sunspot numbers, Ap and Dst indices. Various peculiarities in the monthly Dst index are correlated better with the fine structures in the CME speed profile than that in the ISSN data. (2) Unlike the sunspot numbers, the CME speed index does not exhibit a double peak maximum. Instead, the CME speed profile peaks during the declining phase of solar cycle 23. Similar to the Ap index, both CME speed and the Dst indices lag behind the sunspot numbers by several months. (3) The CME number shows a double peak similar to that seen in the sunspot numbers. The CME occurrence rate remained very high even near the minimum of the solar cycle 23, when both the sunspot number and the CME average maximum speed were reaching their minimum values. (4) A well-defined peak of the Ap index between 2002 May and 2004 August was co-temporal with the excess of the mid-latitude coronal holes during solar cycle 23. The above findings suggest that the CME speed index may be a useful indicator of both solar and geomagnetic activities. It may have advantages over the sunspot numbers, because it better reflects the intensity of Earth-directed solar eruptions.


Objective. For over two decades, Hudgins' set of time domain features have extensively been applied for classification of hand motions. The calculation of slope sign change and zero crossing features uses a threshold to attenuate the effect of background noise. However, there is no consensus on the optimum threshold value. In this study, we investigate for the first time the effect of threshold selection on the feature space and classification accuracy using multiple datasets. Approach. In the first part, four datasets were used, and classification error (CE), separability index, scatter matrix separability criterion, and cardinality of the features were used as performance measures. In the second part, data from eight classes were collected during two separate days with two days in between from eight able-bodied subjects. The threshold for each feature was computed as a factor (R = 0:0.01:4) times the average root mean square of data during rest. For each day, we quantified CE for R = 0 (CEr0) and minimum error (CEbest). Moreover, a cross day threshold validation was applied where, for example, CE of day two (CEodt) is computed based on optimum threshold from day one and vice versa. Finally, we quantified the effect of the threshold when using training data from one day and test data of the other. Main results. All performance metrics generally degraded with increasing threshold values. On average, CEbest (5.26 ± 2.42%) was significantly better than CEr0 (7.51 ± 2.41%, P = 0.018), and CEodt (7.50 ± 2.50%, P = 0.021). During the two-fold validation between days, CEbest performed similar to CEr0. Interestingly, when using the threshold values optimized per subject from day one and day two respectively, on the cross-days classification, the performance decreased. Significance. We have demonstrated that threshold value has a strong impact on the feature space and that an optimum threshold can be quantified. However, this optimum threshold is highly data and subject driven and thus do not generalize well. There is a strong evidence that R = 0 provides a good trade-off between system performance and generalization. These findings are important for practical use of pattern recognition based myoelectric control.


Influenza A virus (IAV) neuraminidase (NA) receptor-destroying activity and hemagglutinin (HA) receptor-binding affinity need to be balanced with the host receptor repertoire for optimal viral fitness. NAs of avian, but not human viruses, contain a functional 2nd sialic acid (SIA)-binding site (2SBS) adjacent to the catalytic site, which contributes to sialidase activity against multivalent substrates. The receptor-binding specificity and potentially crucial contribution of the 2SBS to the HA-NA balance of virus particles is, however, poorly characterized. Here, we elucidated the receptor-binding specificity of the 2SBS of N2 NA and established an important role for this site in the virion HA-NA-receptor balance. NAs of H2N2/1957 pandemic virus with or without a functional 2SBS and viruses containing this NA were analysed. Avian-like N2, with a restored 2SBS due to an amino acid substitution at position 367, was more active than human N2 on multivalent substrates containing α2,3-linked SIAs, corresponding with the pronounced binding-specificity of avian-like N2 for these receptors. When introduced into human viruses, avian-like N2 gave rise to altered plaque morphology and decreased replication compared to human N2. An opposite replication phenotype was observed when N2 was combined with avian-like HA. Specific bio-layer interferometry assays revealed a clear effect of the 2SBS on the dynamic interaction of virus particles with receptors. The absence or presence of a functional 2SBS affected virion-receptor binding and receptor cleavage required for particle movement on a receptor-coated surface and subsequent NA-dependent self-elution. The contribution of the 2SBS to virus-receptor interactions depended on the receptor-binding properties of HA and the identity of the receptors used. We conclude that the 2SBS is an important and underappreciated determinant of the HA-NA-receptor balance. The rapid loss of a functional 2SBS in pandemic viruses may have served to balance the novel host receptor-repertoire and altered receptor-binding properties of the corresponding HA protein.


This essay begins with a comparison of Mumbai and Shanghai, using the recent 2012 book on slum conditions in Mumbai by Katherine Boo, but suggesting that an analysis of public administration (PA) in essential in this regard. Unfortunately, PA is a neglected field in the social sciences. Partly this may be due to doubts about the usefulness of PA, along the lines suggested by a 2004 book by Francis Fukuyama: why, for example, what works in one place and time does not work in another. Political Elasticity (PE) theory is put forward as a way of overcoming these doubts. In so doing, the author attempts to do for the political science what Darwin did for the biology. Case studies (e.g., solid waste management failure in Lagos, as against achievement in Tokyo; the inability of Ghana to improve agricultural outputs, despite its progressive and democratic government) are used to illustrate PE theory. At the conclusion, the impor-tance of motivation is emphasized, using Vietnam (in comparison to Bangladesh) as an example of a country that has been able to link PA to economic development.


Background. Guidance is limited on best measures and time periods to reference when measuring pain in order to predict future function. Objective. To examine how different measures of pain predict functional limitations a year later in a sample of rheumatoid arthritis patients. Methods. Logistic regression analyses were conducted using baseline and one-year data (n = 262). Pain intensity in the last 24 hours was measured on a 0–10 numerical rating scale and in the last month using an item from the Arthritis Impact Measurement Scale 2 (AIMS2). AIMS2 also provided frequency of severe pain, pain composite scores, and patient-reported limitations. Physician-rated function was also examined. Results. Composite AIMS2 pain scale performed best, predicting every functional outcome with the greatest magnitude, a one-point increase in pain score predicting 21% increased odds of limitations (combined patient and physician report). However, its constituent item—frequency of severe pain in the last month—performed nearly as well (19% increased odds). Pain intensity measures in last month and last 24 hours yielded inconsistent findings. Conclusion. Although all measures of pain predicted some functional limitations, predictive consistency varied by measure. Frequency of severe pain in the last month provided a good balance of brevity and predictive power.


A case of an infant with aplasia cutis congenita, a fetus papyraceus, abnormal maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (MSAFP), elevated amniotic alpha-fetoprotein, and positive amniotic acetylcholinesterase activity represents an uncommon abnormality. Such a case came to our attention as a result of MSAFP screening. The delivery of a neurologically intact infant in the presence of amniotic acetylcholinesterase activity is described.


Android malware scanning services (e.g., VirusTotal) are websites that users submit suspicious Android programs and get an array of malware detection results. With the growing popularity of such websites, we suspect that, these services are not only used by innocent users, but also, malware writers for testing the evasion capability of their malware samples. May this hypothesis be true, it not only provides interesting insight on Android malware development (AMD), but also provides opportunities for important security applications such as zero-day sample detection. In this work, we first validate this hypothesis with massive data; then design a system AMDHunter to hunt for AMDs on VirusTotal that reveals new threats for Android that has never been revealed before. This is the first systematic study of the malware development phenomenon on VirusTotal, and the first system to automatically detect such malware development cases. AMDHunter has been used in a leading security company for months. Our study is driven by the large amount of data on VirusTotal— We analyzed 153 million submissions collected on VirusTotal during 102 days. Our system identifies 1,623 AMDs with 13,855 samples from 83 countries. We also performed case studies on 890 malware samples selected from the identified AMDs, which revealed lots of new threats, e.g., the development cases of fake system/banking phishing malware, new rooting exploits and etc.


The work in this thesis investigates the use of a novel concentrated feed supplement (LS) which contains urea, calcium, 'phosphorus, sodium, trace elements and vitamins in a fully soluble liquid form vri.th principally 1100 g crude protein, 30 g Ca and 15 g P/kg. Such a concentrated liquid supplement night have advantages over a solid in that it could have a wide range of possible means of application to feeds for both large and small farm units. Considerable reliance is presently placed on providing supplementary nutrients in the form of free-access blocks or liquids in an effort to save labour on farms. Experimental studies are discussed that show that for these materials intake by ruminants in groups is far from uniform, many consume none of the materials offered. Methods of incorporating the liquid supplement into ruminant diets are examined in relation to the voluntary intake of oat straw, digestibility and animal performance and their subsequent use in production trials are investigated. In Section 1, LS supplementation was assessed in conjunction with alkali treatment of straw. Recent work has indicated that the addition- of alkali to straw increases its digestibility. However, when alkali treatment is used to improve the energy value of straw to allow a greater consumption there should in turn be a reduced requirement for cereals. This results in a reduced protein and mineral content in the diet and therefore the need for additional protein, mineral and vitamin supplementation. It was shown that LS supplementation ox straw (at chopping) was both practical and nutritionally advantageous and when the straw was simultaneously treated with NaCH the effect was additive, in terms of improved intake rather than improved digestibility. However, because on-farm treatment of straw with NaCH using existing machinery and equipment currently available is relatively expensive and presents some safety hazards to the operator, Ca(OH)2 treatments were investigated as an alternative. Ca(CH)2 treatment had no effect on straw digestibility, probably as a consequence of its relatively low solubility. Subsequently the ensiling of Ca(CH)2 treated straw was examined. The results were not promising and the treated materials were completely unsuited for animal feeding. In Section 2 various methods of presenting LS to ruminants were studied in relation to the voluntary intake and digestibility of straw-based diets (these included : LS in the drinking water; in a barley cube; in a molasses lick and sprayed on to oat straw). All methods of supplementation except LS via the water were found to be satisfactory in increasing intake or improving the digestibility of oat straw. In terms of animal acceptance, response and practical application the most practicable method of giving LS to ruminants was on the straw. In Section 3 the effect of LS supplementation on given production parameters was examined. LS supplementation of whole oats given to lactating ewes (suckling twin lambs) produced equivalent growth rates of lambs to that recorded when soya bean meal was the supplementary nitrogen source. The rate of use of LS was governed by the amount of supplementary nitrogen required in a given particular circumstance. Therefore the diet plus the LS addition may not provide the full amounts of calcium and phosphorus to meet current A.R.C. (1965) recommendations. The adequacy of LS was examined when given to ruminants receiving less Ca and/or P than the recommended intakes. It was found that LS was a convenient and adequate method of supplementation, when given on bruised barley and sugar beet pulp and that in general, although mineral intakes were lower than the current A.R.C. (1965) recommendations no deleterious affects were noted in the given production parameters that were investigated over extended periods with both pregnant and lactating and growing ruminants. It is concluded that the use of this fully soluble liquid containing urea, minerals and vitamins is a convenient and adequate method of supplementing ruminant diets and has wide range of uses with regard to both nutrient content and method of incorporation.


A shrinkage estimation method, herein named the CCC method, for multiplicative models has been shown to improve predictions of cell means in multienvironment cultivar trials; however, better estimations of shrinkage factors are needed. Objectives of this study were (i) to develop shrinkage factors for AMMI (Additive Main effect and Multiplicative Interaction) multiplicative terms based on the eigenvalue partition (EVP) method and (ii) to compare AMMI models fitted by EVP and CCC shrinkage methods, unshrunken AMMI models chosen by cross validation, and best linear unbiased prediction (BLUP) based on a fixed main effects and random genotype × environment interaction (GEI) model. The prediction methods were applied to three multienvironment cultivar trials, and also to simulated data. The four alternative prediction methods were compared by cross validation with the root mean squared predictive difference (RMSPD). According to the RMSPD cross validation criterion, the EVP shrinkage estimation method produced the most accurate predictions in almost all cases. When error variance was of a small to moderately large magnitude, results for EVP and CCC methods were in close agreement, CCC being slightly worse; EVP became better as error variance became very large, probably because of the unreliability of Gollobs degrees of freedom as a measure of error variance absorption by the principal components (PC) when data are extremely noisy. Shrunken EVP models were generally more predictively accurate than truncated least squares-fitted AMMI models and BLUPs, which was also true for CCC except when error variance was large. The EVP shrinkage method appears to be promising for obtaining improved predictions of cultivar performance in multienvironment cultivar trials.


Cascaded H-bridge multilevel inverters have gained a significant popularity in medium to high power motor drive applications and grid-connected renewable energy systems in recent years. Under equal DC voltages, cascaded H-bridge multilevel inverters use phase-shifted pulse width modulation (PS-PWM) technique to generate the output voltage. However, under unequal DC voltages which may happen because of the renewable energy sources connected to front-end of the multilevel inverter, traditional PS-PWM method fails to achieve good output harmonics. In this paper, a frequency domain analysis of PS-PWM is presented. By using the analysis, a phase angle modification of traditional PS-PWM is introduced. The proposed method helps eliminate first order harmonics of triangular carrier frequency and its sidebands under randomly selected DC voltages and DC voltage fault conditions. Finally, simulation results for single phase seven- level cascaded H-bridge multilevel inverter are presented to validate the good performance of the proposed method.


The interaction between deformable drops or bubbles encompasses a number of distinguishing characteristics not present in the interaction between solid bodies. The drops can entrap a thin liquid film of the continuous phase that can lead to a stable film or coalescence. But before leading to either of these outcomes, the film must drain under the influence of an external driving force. This drainage process exhibits all the characteristic features of dynamic interactions between soft materials. For example, the spatial and temporal variations of forces and geometric deformations, arising from hydrodynamic flow, surface forces and variations in material properties, are all inextricably interconnected. Recent measurements of time-varying deformations and forces between interacting drops and bubbles confirmed that dynamic forces and geometric deformations are coupled and provide the key to understand novel phenomena such as the "wimple" in mechanically perturbed films. The counter-intuitive phenomenon of coalescence triggered by separating proximal drops or bubbles can also be elucidated using the same theoretical framework. One approach to modelling such systems is to use a fluid mechanics formulation of two-phase flow for which a number of parametric numerical studies have been made. Another popular approach focuses on describing the thin film between the interacting drops or bubbles with a flat film model upon which a phenomenological film drainage and rupture mechanism has been developed. While both models have a similar genesis, their predictions of the fate of the draining film are quite different. Furthermore, there have been few quantitative comparisons between results obtained from many different experimental approaches with either theory. One reason for this is perhaps due to difficulties in matching experimental parameters to model conditions. A direct attempt to model dynamic behaviour in many experimental studies is challenging as the model needs to be able to describe phenomena spanning six orders of magnitude in length scales. However, with the recent availability of accurate experimental studies concerning dynamic interaction between drops and bubbles that use very different, but complementary approaches, it is timely to conduct a critical review to compare such results with long-accepted paradigms of film stability and coalescence. This topic involves the coupling of behaviour on the millimetre–micrometre scale familiar to readers with an engineering and fluid mechanics background to phenomena on the micrometre–nanometre scale that is the domain of the interfacial science and nanotechnology community.


Young Black men who have sex with men (YBMSM) are disproportionately impacted by violence, including violence rooted in anti-Black racism, sexual identity bullying, and neighborhood violence rooted in structural racism and inequities. These multiple forms of violence are frequently co-occurring and interactive creating syndemic conditions that can negatively impact HIV care. This qualitative study is based on in-depth interviews with 31 YBMSM, aged 16–30 years, living with HIV in Chicago, IL, to examine how violence has impacted their lives. Using thematic analysis, we identified five themes that reflect how YBMSM experience violence at the intersection of racism, homonegativity, socioeconomic status, and HIV status: (a) the experience of intersectional violence; (b) long histories of violence contributed to hypervigilance, lack of safety, and lack of trust; (c) making meaning of violence and the importance of strength; (d) normalizing violence for survival; and (e) the cyclical nature of violence. Our study highlights how multiple forms of violence can accumulate across an individual's life and contribute to social and contextual situations that further contribute to violence and negatively impact mental health and HIV care.


The content of adenylic system components and creatine phosphate was determined in skeletal muscles and myocardium after intraperitoneal injection and short-term action of myorelaxin and arduan. The injected myorelaxin causes no significant changes in macroergic phosphates in skeletal muscles, whereas arduan lowers the ATP amount by 39%. The both myorelaxants have the same effect on the adenylic system components of the myocardium: they lower significantly the level of ATP and enhance that of ADP and AMP. Different variational tendences of variation in the content of creatine phosphate in skeletal muscles (a certain rise) and in the myocardium (a decrease more than by 30%) are observed.


Big data analytics is an indispensable tool in transforming science, engineering, medicine, healthcare, finance and ultimately business itself. With the explosion of data sizes and need for shorter time-to-solution, in-memory platforms such as Apache Spark gain increasing popularity. However, this introduces important challenges, among which data shuffling is particularly difficult: on one hand it is a key part of the computation that has a major impact on the overall performance and scalability so its efficiency is paramount, while on the other hand it needs to operate with scarce memory in order to leave as much memory available for data caching. In this context, efficient scheduling of data transfers such that it addresses both dimensions of the problem simultaneously is non-trivial. State-of-the-art solutions often rely on simple approaches that yield sub optimal performance and resource usage. This paper contributes a novel shuffle data transfer strategy that dynamically adapts to the computation with minimal memory utilization, which we briefly underline as a series of design principles.


Fluctuations in body size of orthoconic cephalopods are reported from late Silurian to Late Devonian sediments at several locations in the Tafilalt and in the Dra-Valley (Anti-Atlas, Morocco). The combination of measurements of diameters and apical angles allows the reconstruction of their total conch size (length and volume), which revealed a strongly right-skewed size distribution with an average length of 278 mm, while the largest Devonian actinocerids exceeded 2 m. Within the examined groups (Actinocerida, Orthocerida, Pseudorthocerida), there is no uniform trend, but rather frequent fluctuations with maximum sizes in the late Lochkovian and early Emsian. Body size decreased in times of extinction events, while stable periods are mostly associated with a size increase. Additionally, conch size correlates well with gamma diversityand global d13C values. Furthermore, the apical angle and septal diameter of orthocones appear to correlate, but only when their mean values are compared across beds. Anti-Atlas, body size, Cephalopoda, Devonian, extinction events, Morocco, orthocones.


Cefaclor, among the oral cephalosporins tested, showed the largest inoculum effect with respect to MIC values for 61 clinical isolates of methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus, including 39 beta-lactamase producing strains. These 39 strains were divided into eight type A, 29 type B or C, and two type D producers, by comparisons of specific activities to three substrates. Two producers, one each of types A and C, were further studied to investigate the effect of beta-lactamase on staphylococcal resistance to several beta-lactams. Concentrations of cefaclor and cephalexin in cultures of these strains decreased rapidly, whereas hydrolysis of these drugs by the purified beta-lactamases was moderate to low as detected by spectrophotometric assay. Cefaclor showed high affinities for penicillin-binding proteins 1, 2, and 3 of both beta-lactamase producers and their respective penicillinase-non-producing mutants. In experimental intraperitoneal infections in mice, cefaclor was therapeutically effective against both mutants, showing 50% effective doses of less than 10 mg/kg/dose. In contrast, it was not satisfactory against the parent strains, requiring greater-than-10-fold increases in concentration for the same degree of survival. We concluded that resistance to first-generation oral cephems seen both in vitro and in vivo was due mainly to the beta-lactamase production.


A fluorimetric procedure for determining urinary adrenaline is described. This procedure eliminates the nonspecific blank occurring in the older methods to the extent that the levels obtained for urines collected under well defined physiologic states, such as sleep, moderate exercise and rest approach values obtained by bioassay as reported in the literature. The salient features of the method include a rigid control of pH at two critical steps, the addition of the standard to an aliquot of urine to correct for loss in processing and quenching, dilution of the sample to a point where quenching is minimal, and an optimal oxidation with MnO 2 which destroys nonspecific fluorescent compounds without influencing the conversion of adrenaline to adrenochrome. Submitted on July 7, 1958


We conducted a case-control study of cigarette smoking and dysplasia and carcinoma in situ of the uterine cervix. Cases were black women 17 to 55 years of age who were attending a dysplasia clinic and had biopsy-confirmed cervical pathologic conditions. Controls were women who were attending the family planning clinic at the same hospital and who had at least two normal Papanicolaou smears. Results were adjusted for age, number of sexual partners, age at first intercourse, socioeconomic status, and oral contraceptive use. Cigarette smoking was significantly associated with carcinoma in situ, severe dysplasia, and mild-moderate dysplasia (relative risks, 3.6, 3.3, and 2.4, respectively). Cumulative exposure to cigarette smoking (as measured by pack-years smoked) was strongly related to the risk of these conditions; women with 12 or more pack-years of exposure had relative risks of 12.7, 10.2, and 4.3, respectively, for the three conditions. There was some evidence that the risk was greatest in women who began smoking in their early teenage years. A reduction in the risk of cervical cancer appears to be another inducement for young women not to smoke.


We offer a rhetorical distinction between certain de jure and de facto forms of U.S. capital punishment rhetoric. From this distinction, we argue for building a space conducive to critical analysis of state-institutional legal language within the field of transgender communication studies. We hold together: the absence and unrealizability of named trans life in the official language of capital punishment law and the unofficial deadly consequences of articulations of transgender life-in-prison by judicial and administrative rhetors. We view this critical combination as an opportunity to turn these archives of erasure, absence, and failure toward a productive and hopeful end. By mapping the discursive structure of cisnormative punishment institutions, trans rhetorical study can provide useful resources to the effort to abolish those very institutions.


Abstract The key magmatic processes that lead to the formation of large magmatic-hydrothermal porphyry copper mineral deposits remain uncertain, and a particular question is why a few of these deposits, such as the Pebble porphyry Cu-Au-Mo deposit, are strongly enriched in both gold and molybdenum. This study investigated the igneous rocks of the Pebble district and obtained major and trace element compositions, Sr and Nd isotopic compositions, and zircon age and trace element data to model the origin of the ore-forming magmas. The Pebble porphyry Cu-Au-Mo deposit, one of the world's largest Cu-Au resources, formed during the final stages of regional Late Cretaceous arc magmatism (101–88 Ma) in the Southwest Alaska Range. Local pre-mineral intrusions (99–95 Ma) are dominated by alkaline compositions including monzodiorite stocks, shoshonite dikes, and monzonite porphyries, but also include lesser volumes of high-K calc-alkaline diorite and granodiorite sills. The occurrence of early alkaline magmas has been noted at other gold-rich porphyry systems, including Bingham and Kerr-Sulfurets-Mitchell. Mineralization at Pebble is associated with granodiorite to granite porphyry dikes related to the >165 km2 high-K calc-alkaline Kaskanak granodiorite batholith (91–89 Ma). Over a period of 10 m.y., Late Cretaceous melts evolved from high temperatures (930–730 °C) and modestly hydrous and oxidized conditions to relatively low temperatures (760–680 °C) and very hydrous and oxidized conditions. Collectively, all Late Cretaceous igneous rocks at Pebble contain magnetite and little or no ilmenite, are metaluminous to weakly peraluminous, and have typical arc trace element enrichments and depletions. They have moderate Sr/Y ratios (20–55) and gently sloped REE profiles (La/Yb = 5–20) that are not adakitic, which supports a source area lacking garnet that is consistent with a thin crust in southwest Alaska. Radiogenic isotopes for Late Cretaceous intrusions at Pebble have a restricted range of primitive Sr and Nd isotopic compositions (87Sr/86Sri = 0.70329–0.70424; εNdi = 4.9–6.1), which overlap with volcanic and plutonic basement rocks of the Jurassic Talkeetna Arc along the Alaska Peninsula. The Kaskanak batholith intrudes the Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous Kahiltna flysch, and mixing models using Sr and Nd isotopes indicate that the Kaskanak batholith assimilated ≤10 wt% Kahiltna flysch in amounts that did not likely affect magma fertility. Xenocrystic zircon samples are abundant in Cretaceous pre-mineral intrusions and have U-Pb ages similar to detrital zircon samples in the Kahiltna flysch. These data support some assimilation of upper crustal Kahiltna flysch, but the dominance of Devonian–Mississippian xenocrystic zircon populations in some intrusions suggests derivation from unexposed older basement. The extraordinary endowment of Cu and Au at Pebble is inferred to result from primitive calc-alkaline and alkaline arc magmas and the hydrous and strongly oxidized conditions that suppressed the formation and fractionation of Cu- and Au-enriched sulfide melts. Furthermore, differentiation to silicic compositions was a product of extensive crystal fractionation of parental melts accompanied by minor crustal assimilation. The trace element content of the intermediate composition intrusions indicates that both hornblende and titanite fractionation processes in the mid- to shallow-crust were both required to produce the more evolved granodiorite and granite porphyry compositions. Despite the apparent lack of Mo-enriched continental crust in the region, primitive hydrous melts were produced by protracted arc magmatism and were modified by minor crustal assimilation including early alkaline magmatism, periodic recharge of mafic hydrous basalts and hybrid andesites, and fractional crystallization, which was apparently sufficient to enrich Mo in late stage felsic melts.


As Christian educators how should we view social media? Friend or enemy? Embrace or ignore? Encourage or discourage it? How does social media affect relationships, especially relationships in terms of community and discipleship? Can social media be used as part of a discipleship strategy? The uses of social media are evident in many congregations today. This article explores the philosophical, theological, and practical questions about the uses of social media as part of a discipleship strategy. Who are the people using social media and how does their use affect the church's discipleship strategy? The article concludes by recommending some key questions that ministry leaders must ask if they are to consider using social media as part of their discipleship strategy.


ABSTRACT We propose a competing risks approach to analyse customer behaviours in freemium products and services. The event of interest is when a customer starts to pay for additional features or functionalities. The observation of such an event may be preempted by an event where the customer quits using the product before paying and consuming the additional features or functionalities. One such freemium service is the online game category. The Fine-Gray regression model was implemented for an online game player activity data to study how covariates affect the paying hazard. Some covariates are hypothesized to have different discrete effects at multiple change points. We extend the model to allow for possible change points in the analysis.


We discuss the justification of the Ginzburg-Landau equation with
 real coefficients as an amplitude equation for the weakly unstable
 one-dimensional Swift-Hohenberg equation. In contrast to classical
 justification approaches we employ the method of evolutionary
 $\Gamma$-convergence by reformulating both equations as gradient
 systems. Using a suitable linear transformation we show
 $\Gamma$-convergence of the associated energies in suitable function
 spaces.

 The limit passage of the time-dependent problem relies on the recent
 theory of evolutionary variational inequalities for families of
 uniformly convex functionals as developed by Daneri and Savare
 2010. In the case of a cubic energy it suffices that the initial
 conditions converge strongly in $L^2$, while for the case of a
 quadratic nonlinearity we need to impose weak convergence in
 $H^1$. However, we do not need well-preparedness of the initial
 conditions.


The effect of 1,000 mg of tetracycline hydrochloride and 200 mg of minocycline hydrochloride on Propionibacterium acnes levels and skin-surface lipid levels was measured in 15 patients with acne. Minocycline produced a significantly greater reduction in the P acnes counts that persisted even up to three weeks after discontinuation of the minocycline therapy, in contrast to the return of P acnes to baseline counts within three weeks after discontinuation of tetracycline therapy. A similar persistence of effect for reduction of skin-surface free fatty acid levels and clinical lesions was also seen with minocycline therapy.


The article 'South Caucasus as a Region of Strategic Importance' provides a detailed analysis of the geopolitical characteristics of South Caucasus as a region with unique position on the world map. It justifies the topicality of the subject and the strong interest in the region populated by diverse ethnicities and religious denominations, exposed to a high concentration of frozen and active conflicts, many border problems, internationally unrecognised and partially recognised states. Revealed are the geographic, ethnic, geo-economic and political characteristics of the region. A focus is placed on the instability in the region and on the existing frozen conflicts on the territory of Azerbaijan and Georgia. Reviewed is the diverging foreign policy orientation of the individual states. The article underscores the geopolitical symbol of South Caucasus as a clashing and conflicting centre of the interests of the big players: Russia, the US, the European Union, Turkey and Iran. Their influence is juxtaposed and the key role of Russia and the USA is highlighted. A special attention is paid to the relationships of the US and NATO with the three South Caucasus republics. The issue of energy security and transportation of energy resources through South Caucasus is seen as central to the conflict of interests of the big geopolitical players . Justified is the understanding that the security environment in South Caucasus is strongly affected by and has lastingly deteriorated as a result of the Ukrainian crisis , the annexation of Crimea and the conflict in Donbas . Another factor behind the complex relationships among the South Caucasus states is their multi-vector foreign policy orientation and mutually exclusive interests. Georgia appears to be a clear enemy of Russia and makes efforts, by all means, to come closer to the time when it will accomplish its national goals for membership in NATO and the European Union . Armenia in turn is a strategic ally of Russia and a diligent member of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, dominated by Moscow. Azerbaijan pursues a balanced foreign policy, striving to maintain equally good relations with Russia and with the US and neighbouring Turkey. In summary it is difficult to find clear positive signs of stability in South Caucasus in the current situation. Russia will continue its efforts to assert its political influence , where this is possible. Against the ongoing situation with the conflicts in the Middle East, in the Black Sea region, in Afghanistan and the complex set-up in the relationships between the US and Iran, the US and NATO policies are expected to intensify further. A conclusion is drawn that the existing status-quo in the relationships of the global geopolitical players would probably develop negatively in the foreseeable future and confrontation will continue for a long period of time .


There is a growing demand for service access through heterogeneous devices attached to diverse networks. For ease of deployment, it is crucial to provide application-level support for transparent roaming and ubiquitous service access. We discuss how to develop such a service infrastructure integrating a variety of telephony arid data services spanning diverse access networks reaching heterogeneous end devices. We describe our techniques for achieving goals of transparent network- and device-independent service access, as well as scalable and fault-tolerant access to composed service entities across the wide area using self-adaptive data paths. We evaluate our implementation through applications that require adaptation to end devices and resource variations. The applications include Universal Inbox, Interactive Voice Room Control, MP3 Jukebox access using a cell phone, and real-time video delivery to wireless clients.


Family company has a considerable role in economic growth, but a lot of problems in the family company so as to make the family company was not able to survive until the third generation. Conflict is a problem that often occurs in the family company, and a lot of things that trigger conflict as a conflict between business and family, conflict between family relationships and conflicts between the family and employees. The purpose of this study is to describe the conflict that comes from family relationships are distinguished from sources such as generational conflict, succession, gender and communication. It also discussed how the solution in case of conflict. This study uses literature study approach, which means reviewing some previous research and analysis. Generational conflict arising from the relationship between the predecessor to the successor generation, where generations of predecessors like to always be in control and take decisions in the company and does not give space to the next generation. Succession is also an issue that made the company the family can not last long, for determining the successor companies have the ability as well as a challenge. It would also be a dilemma if gender issues arise as a result of having to choose between men and women in continuing the family business. Communication can be a critical point in the relationship between the family, because of a lack of communication can effectively triggering a conflict that resulted in the company broken homes.


This paper examines how the individual and country-level factors affect the childcare financing attitudes, particularly the effect of socialization in a particular welfare regime. This area of research is fraught with methodological and conceptual issues, including the over-reliance on Esping-Andersen's regime typology. Therefore, the authors also investigate whether a more family-policy-nuanced categorization of welfare regimes better accounts for the cross-country variations in childcare attitudes. Using the 2012 ISSP data, the authors conducted the multilevel analysis of 24 European countries, and while the effect of most predictors is generally consistent with the previous research, this study's most important finding is that the alternative Leitner's "Varieties of Familialism" typology better accounts for the cross-national variations in childcare attitudes than the classical Esping-Anderson's typology. This speaks of the importance of a programmatic approach in the welfare state attitudes analysis which links the public support for specific social programs to its unique characteristics.


Abstract. Airborne Lidar Bathymetry (ALB) is a technology for characterizing the depths of shallow-water bodies in relatively transparent waters from an airborne platform using a scanning and pulsed light beam. A bathymetric LiDAR usually uses wo laser pulses: one is a near-infrared (NIR) laser pulse for land topography and the other is a green laser pulse for submarine topography. In recent years, ALB has become more popular in river and coastal surveying in Japan. The accuracy of ALB has been verified by comparison with the results of acoustic sounding or levelling. However, since the comparison with either acoustic sounding or levelling is limited to a partial comparison at a point or on a line such as a cross section, it is not suitable for overall verification for detailed terrain features. In addition, accuracy verification by comparison between the results of ALB's green laser scanning and those of NIR laser scanning has been performed in the past only on land, but not in water. As scattering of the green laser occurs when measuring in water, it is possible to affirm that the verification under actual operating conditions has not been sufficiently investigated. In this study, we conducted NIR laser scanning in a natural pond and an artificial pool when they had no water, and conducted green laser scanning when they were filled with water. Thus, the NIR laser scanning and the green laser scanning could be compared in terms of surface measurement for the same bottom of the water body. It was confirmed that the green laser in water has sufficient accuracy compared to the NIR laser in actual operation conditions.


The present study had two aims. Firstly to create an understanding of how a Finnish retailer can move into a data driven customer centric marketing model. The research comprised of literature studies and expert interviews of relevant marketing theories, best practices and legislative restrictions regarding personally identifiable data. And secondly to develop a first model for Hobby Hall based on the research. The model was evaluated by a focus group and further developed based on the feedback. The research focused on marketing strategies, Data driven marketing, and personalized marketing. Additionally the researcher studied the legislative perspective on personally identifiable data usage. The research did not include social media or banner advertising as marketing channels, but concentrated on Hobby Halls traditional channels; catalogue and e-mail. The research further out scoped technical aspects of the solutions. As a result a model was developed for Hobby Hall that creates a good base for the commissioner to plan for the future.


In the absence of formal financial markets, many poor households rely on risk sharing networks to protect themselves against adverse events. In this paper we present a model that explains the impact of formal insurance on informal risk sharing and, subsequently, the dynamics of other-regarding preferences. We use a field experiment to test the predictions of the model with rural households in Mexico. Consistent with the model predictions, we find that when shocks are collective, there is a crowding-out effect on transfers and a decrease in trust on insured participants. However, when shocks are idiosyncratic, we fail to confirm the predictions of the model. Transfers to non-insured members are significantly higher when insurance is available to some of the network members than in a control treatment when insurance is not available. This unexpected crowding-in effect on transfers leads to an increase in trust among non-insured participants. These findings suggest that there is a need to find optimal insurance designs that minimizes the crowding-out effect of formal insurance on informal risk sharing and other-regarding preferences.


The advent of endoscopic and laporoscopic techniques changed surgery in many regards. A number of options exist in the management of cholelithiasis and secondary choledocholithiasis. Among them, laparoscopic common bile duct (CBD) exploration with the choledocotomy followed by laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) has gained popularity. However, efforts should be made for minimally invasive or non-invasive to the CBD. For this purpose, we modified the surgical modality by laparoscopic transcystic approach with dilatation of the cystic duct confluence in CBD exploration (LTD-CBDE). The aim of this work was to assess the feasibility, safety and effectivity of LTD-CBDE based on our preliminary experience. LTD-CBDE: laparoscopic by dilating the cystic duct confluence in exploration; LCBDE: duct with followed by laparoscopic US:


Summary
CI-564, a 1:1 mixture of cycloguanil pamoate (CI-501) and 4,4′-diacetylaminodiphenyl sulfone (CI-556), was evaluated as a therapeutic agent against blood-induced infections of the Chesson strain of Plasmodium vivax. With a dose of 5 mg per kg of body weight given intramuscularly, cure was effected in each of two volunteers infected with the chlorguanide-sensitive strain. Clearance of patent parasitemia required 3 to 4 days. In two other volunteers infected with the chlorguanide-resistant strain, the clinical and parasitologic courses were modified, but parasitemia was not cleared after 14 and 28 days.


Social support can significantly improve health outcomes for individuals living with disease, and online forums have emerged as an important vehicle for social support. Whereas research has focused on the delivery and use of social support, little is known about how these communities are sustained. We describe one sociotechnical mechanism that enables sustainable communities to provide social support to a large number of people. We focus upon thirteen disease-specific discussion forums hosted by the WebMD online health community. In these forums, small, densely connected cores of members who maintain strong relationships generate the majority of support for others. Through content analysis we find they provide informational support to a large number of more itinerant members, but provide one another with community support. Based on these observations, we describe a sociotechnical mechanism of online support that is distinct from non-support oriented communities, and has implications for the design of self-sustaining online support systems.


This study examined whether patients who have periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD), with or without comorbid restless legs syndrome (RLS), display the sleep-disruptive cognitive and behavioral anomalies found among primary insomnia sufferers. Archival data from a Sleep History Questionnaire, home-based polysomnography, and a sleep log were obtained for matched RLS/PLMD, primary insomnia, and noncomplaining volunteer samples. Statistical comparisons showed that the RLS/PLMD and primary insomnia samples differed significantly from the normal sleepers in regard to their propensities for certain sleep disruptive habits, perceived difficulties controlling pre-sleep cognitive activity, and their subjective sleep appraisals. These findings suggest RLS/PLMD patients display many of the cognitive and behavioral anomalies thought to perpetuate primary insomnia. Hence, behavioral interventions may be warranted for RLS/PLMD patients.


This paper analyzes whether workplace employee representation (ER) affects the design of firm hierarchies. We rationalize the role of ER within a knowledge-based model of hierarchies, where the firm's choice of hierarchical layers depends on the trade-off between communication and knowledge acquisition costs. Using a sample of more than 20000 private-sector workplaces in 32 countries, we document conditional correlations between ER and the depth of hierarchy that are consistent with our framework. The presence of ER is positively associated with the number of organizational layers, though the relationship is tempered by firm size. Additional instrumental variable estimates reinforce our main result. ER positively correlates with job training and skill development, suggesting that the effect of ER (if any) is to reduce knowledge costs. Moreover, ER is associated with enhanced internal communication via staff meetings. The analysis of managers' perceptions suggests the higher frequency of meetings in firms with ER does not lead to more delays in the implementation of organizational changes. Taken together, our findings suggest that ER increases the depth of firm hierarchy by facilitating the flow of information to top decision makers, possibly through skip-level reporting, and hence reducing communication costs.


Abstract: Six hundred and thirty‐eight patients who presented with clinical symptoms and/or electrocardiographic findings suggestive of stable angina pectoris were studied; they were also investigated by coronary arteriography. Hemoglobin electrophoresis was performed on all patients to detect the presence of the β‐thalassemia trait. Results were analyzed by logistic regression analysis to determine whether the latter confers any protective effect against advanced coronary artery disease (aCAD; defined as the presence of atheromas in coronary arteries, resulting in stenosis at least 70%). WeThe role of the currently accepted risk factors (smoking, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and diabetes) in developing aCAD were reconfirmed, while at the same time it was found that β‐thalassemia heterozygosity is associated with a reduced risk against aCAD (odds ratio 0.39, 95% confidence interval 0.16‐0.98). The lipoprotein and blood rheology profile of these individuals may be the underlying causes of this protective effect.


Twenty-one human embryos or fetuses from four to twenty-one weeks in gestation age were submitted to light and electron microscopic observations of the notochord and its related structures. The notochord cells were found to have densely developed rER and Golgi areas, which were correlated with an activity to secrete into their surroundings specific ground substance probably containing proteoglycan. The highest differentiation of this cell as estimated by the peak secretory activity was reached at about ten weeks, while signs of degeneration emerged shortly thereafter and became increasingly apparent with the advancing gestation. The synthesis and secretion of matrices were likely to be taken over by the fibrocartilage cells surrounding the notochord by about 20 weeks when the notochord cells had undergone severe degenerative changes. Another characteristic feature of the notochord cells at their fully differentiated stage was abundance in intracytoplasmic glycogen that coexisted with striking paucity of mitochondria. This was interpreted as suggesting the metabolic dependence of these cells upon anaerobic glycolysis even at the peak of their secretory performance.


We study several lattice random walk models with stochastic resetting to previously visited sites which exhibit a phase transition between an anomalous diffusive regime and a localization regime where diffusion is suppressed. The localized phase settles above a critical resetting rate, or rate of memory use, and the probability density asymptotically adopts in this regime a non-equilibrium steady state similar to that of the well known problem of diffusion with resetting to the origin. The transition occurs because of the presence of a single impurity site where the resetting rate is lower than on other sites, and around which the walker spontaneously localizes. Near criticality, the localization length diverges with a critical exponent that falls in the same class as the self-consistent theory of Anderson localization of waves in random media. The critical dimensions are also the same in both problems. Our study provides analytically tractable examples of localization transitions in path-dependent, reinforced stochastic processes, which can also be useful for understanding spatial learning by living organisms.


According to the conditions of supercavitating vehicle stable control problems, the massive uncertain factors caused by reactions between the vehicle and cavity, and the control system real-time request, the paper presents a supercavitating vehicle stable navigation least squares support vector multiple intelligent control scheme. The scheme makes full use of the nonlinear mapping ability, self-learning adaptability and parallel information processing of the least squares support vector machine. Combining with fuzzy control method, complementary advantages, the closed-loop control has been formed. The simulation shows that the control system has good adaptive ability and robustness. The supercavitating movement stability and precise control realizes even in the situation that difficult to obtain an accurate model.


In Dahl salt sensitive (S) rats, sympatho-excitatory and pressor responses to CSF Na + are enhanced. Salt-inducible kinase 1 (SIK1) increases Na + /K + -ATPase activity in kidney cells. We tested the possible role of SIK1 in regulation of sympatho-excitatory and pressor responses to Na + in the brain. Icv injection of the protein kinase inhibitor staurosporine (staur, 5ng) to inhibit SIK1 similarly enhanced renal sympathetic nerve activity (RSNA), BP and HR responses to icv infusion of Na + -rich aCSF in Wistar and salt-resistant Dahl SS.BN13. The enhancement in Dahl S rats was only 1/3 of that in other strains. Staur had no effect on BP responses to icv Ang II or carbachol, whereas the specific protein kinase C inhibitor GF109203X attenuated pressor responses to icv Na + -rich aCSF or Ang II. Hypothalamic SIK1 protein and activity, measured by Western blot and phosphocellulose binding technique, were lower in Dahl S vs SS.BN13 rats after high salt diet for 2 weeks. Staur at 5-50 nM inhibited SIK1 activity in a dose-related manner. These data suggest that the SIK1 -Na + /K + -ATPase network in neurons acts as a feedback mechanism to attenuate sympatho-excitatory and pressor responses to increases in brain [Na + ]. Lower neuronal SIK1 protein expression and activity in Dahl S rats may contribute to enhanced responses to CSF Na + and thereby to their salt-induced hypertension. Data= means±SE (n=4-7). * p


ABSTRACT This paper presents a case study of the Earth Liberation Front (ELF), based on interviews of the group's former affiliates. It examines the role of credit claims in organizing this underground leaderless resistance group's activity. In addition to the external signaling functions of credit claims—demonstrating capability, issuing demands, and soliciting public support—credit claims serve a movement-building role in the ELF. By issuing credit claims in "aboveground" fora that other cells are known to read, ELF cells with no direct links are able to communicate information to one another. Credit-claiming communiqués serve four organizing functions for the ELF. They constitute the ELF underground as an imagined community, recruit new cells, set agendas for future actions, and enforce operational standards of behavior via an informal "peer review" process. This study of the ELF suggests broader insights, including possible organizing techniques that may be observed in white supremacist and Islamist cases.


In this work, three D–A–π–A stereoscopic phenothiazine dyes JA0, JA6 and JA7 were prepared and applied in dye-sensitized solar cells. Spirobifluorene and long carbon chain units were introduced onto the donors of phenothiazine dyes to construct stereoscopic structures, this strategy can effectively suppress dye charge recombination by decreasing back reaction of the injected electrons with triiodide species in the electrolyte, the results show that the Voc values of the DSSCs based on JA0 and JA6 were both over 800 mV. To improve the spectral responsiveness of these dyes, the strongly electron-withdrawing benzothiadiazole unit (BTD) was introduced, and the spectral response of JA6 reached about 770 nm. In addition, it is very important for sensitizers to have suitable anchors, this determines the efficiency of charge injection and the degree of bonding between the sensitizer and semiconductor surface. In order to further improve the performance of DSSCs, carboxylic acid, cyanoacrylic acid and pyridine are all used as anchors in this work, and we investigated the optical properties, electrochemical properties, and photovoltaic performance of these dyes to analyze the influence of different anchors on dyes. The results show that cyanoacrylic acid is the best anchor for this series of dyes, which is very helpful to improve the light-harvesting ability of dyes; the DSSC based on JA6 with a cyanoacrylic acid anchor exhibited the highest PCE of 7.34%. In contrast, the PCE of the DSSC based on JA7 with a pyridine anchor was only 3.05%, this should be mainly due to its poor dye adsorption properties.