Measurements show that new particles are formed by homogenous nucleation over a wide range of conditions in the remote troposphere. In our studies, large nucleation events are found exclusively in regions of enhanced sulfuric acid vapor (H2SO4g) concentrations, with maximum concentrations never exceeding 5×107 molecules cm−3. Although these data suggest that H2SO4g participated, comparisons between ambient conditions in regions of nucleation to conditions necessary for binary H2SO4 water (H2O) nucleation indicate that the mechanism may vary with elevation. In remote marine regions, at altitudes greater than ∼4 km above sea level, observations of nucleation in clear air along cloud perimeters are in fair agreement with current classical binary nucleation models. In these regions, the low temperatures associated with high altitudes may produce sufficiently saturated H2SO4 for the production of new H2SO4/H2O particles. However, uncertainties with current binary nucleation models limit decisive comparisons. In warmer regions, closer to the earth's surface, measured H2SO4 concentrations are clearly insufficient for binary nucleation. Conditions at these sites are similar to those observed in an earlier study where there was circumstantial evidence for a ternary mechanism involving H2SO4, H2O, and ammonia (NH3) [Weber et al., 1998], suggesting that this may be a significant route for particle production at lower altitudes where surface‐derived species, like NH3, are more apt to participate.


Aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) is an efficient, cost effective, fast, simple and ecofriendly method for the recovery of biomolecules. In the present study, an ATPS composed of polyethylene glycol and ammonium sulphate (NH4)2SO4 was used for the partial purification of proteases from microbial source. The effects of different parameters such as molecular weight of PEG (4000, 6000 and 10000), concentration of PEG (15, 17.5 and 20 %) and concentration of (NH4)2SO4 (7.5, 8.3, 9.1 and 9.9 %) on the partitioning behavior of proteases at room temperature were investigated. Generally, increasing the concentration of PEG and (NH4)2SO4 moved the protease to the top i.e., polymer-rich phase. Increasing the molecular weight of PEG from 4000 to 10000 the partition coefficient decreased subsequently. The highest partition coefficient i.e., 3.32 and maximum activity i.e., 16.06 soxhlet unit was found in an optimum system composed of 20 % PEG 4000 and 9.9 % (NH4)2SO4.


A novel approach for obtaining globally optimal solutions to design of networks with nonlinear resistances and potential driven flows is proposed. The approach is applicable to networks where the potential loss on an edge in the network is governed by a convex and strictly monotonically increasing function of flow rate. We introduce a relaxation of the potential loss constraint and formulate the design problem as a mixed-integer nonlinear program. A linearization-based approach with tailored cuts is proposed that improves the computational efficiency over a standard implementation. We have also implemented a simple heuristic approach for finding feasible solutions at the root node and during the search process. The algorithm has been implemented with IBM-ILOG CPLEX and is shown to be computationally effective on a number of examples from the literature.


Simultaneous blockade of the CD40 and CD28 T cell costimulatory pathways effectively promotes skin allograft survival in C3H/HeJ mice, extending median survival times (MSTs) beyond 100 days. This strategy is markedly less effective in C57BL/6 mice, with MSTs ranging between 20 and 30 days. In this study, we investigate the underlying genetic causes of these distinct phenotypes. Using H-2 congenic mice, we show that the genetic basis for the varied responses between these two strains is independent of the H-2 locus and T cell precursor frequency. C57BL/6 mice treated with costimulation blockade are able to generate allospecific CTL- and IFN-γ-producing T cells within 3–4 wk posttransplant, whereas mice with a C3H background generate neither CTL- nor IFN-γ-producing cells. Thus, differences appear to be in the generation of the immune response and not T cell homing. Strain differences in costimulation blockade-induced hyporesponsiveness persist in the absence of CD4+ T cells, implying a direct effect on CD8+ T cells. We demonstrate that genetic differences are important in cells of hemopoietic origin and that the costimulation blockade-resistant phenotype is dominant. Analysis of BXH recombinant inbred strains indicates that multiple loci contribute to the phenotype, and that the blockade resistance loci are preliminarily linked to 17 markers on four chromosomes. We conclude that strain variation in allograft MSTs following CD40/CD28 blockade results from the ability of CD8+ T cells in some strains to use alternative modes of costimulation to mount an effective alloresponse.


In this impressive first collection of short stories, Hazel Simmons-McDonald presents a deft exploration of class, of how values are shaped by religion, and of the tensions that undergird family life. She makes a place for voices hitherto not heard and creates characters who closely guard the secrets of their hearts but who through her narrative dexterity come to experience moments of truth and clarity of memory. Simmons-McDonald's energetic prose not only captures the polylinguistic character of St Lucian society but it also creates a space for the exploration of an Eastern Caribbean brand of magical realism. With polished assurance, she weaves folk beliefs into the fabric of her stories, creating memorable tales marked by notes of sadness yet balanced by tenderness and joy. Simmons-McDonald takes the reader on a journey where the familiar and the unfamiliar sit side by side, where the spirit world is always present, and where at all times we are reminded of the universal reach of love and hope. "I cannot think of a single work with such a wide and complex appeal. While many West Indian writers . . . explore the same worlds as Hazel Simmons-McDonald, none of them bring out the issues of childhood and family intertwined with religious, environmental, and social conditions with such surgical grace. The calmness of the style leads the reader into worlds of joy, or pain and horror made visible and bearable by the calculated moderation, exactitude, and poignancy of the diction."—Jean D'Costa, Leavenworth Professor of English Emerita, Hamilton College


This paper describes a rebreathing method for the simultaneous measurement of oxygen consumption (VO2) and effective pulmonary blood flow (QP. eff) at rest and during exercise. Subjects rebreathed a test gas consisting of 35% oxygen, 3.5% chlorodifluoromethane (freon-22), and 10% argon in nitrogen for 30 seconds or until the respired oxygen tension fell to below 13.3 kPa. Sixty normal subjects were studied on a motorized treadmill, the Bruce protocol being used. The rebreathing manoeuvre was performed at three minute intervals, and was initially practised sitting down. Measurements were then made with the subjects standing at rest, and subsequently during the last minute of each stage of the Bruce exercise protocol until the subjects were exhausted. Heart rate was recorded from the electrocardiogram. Oxygen uptake plotted against calculated power (watts) showed a discontinuity between resting and exercise values, probably because power output during treadmill exercise is underestimated. The arbitrary addition of 30 watts to the exercise power output abolished this discontinuity. There was good agreement between rebreathing estimates of oxygen consumption and values measured during a second exercise test by the conventional open circuit argon dilution method. Coefficients of variation of oxygen consumption and effective pulmonary blood flow measured by rebreathing were usually less than 10% even during maximal exertion. At rest mean (SD) effective pulmonary blood flow corrected for body surface area was 2.2 (0.46) l/min/m2. Effective pulmonary blood flow rose linearly with oxygen consumption. At rest the arteriovenous oxygen content difference for pulmonary blood (VO2/QP eff) was 9.1 (1.6) ml/dl, rising to a maximum of 16.4 (1.8) ml/dl. The stroke volume index was 27.5 (6.8) ml/m2, rising to a maximum of 46.5 (7.1) ml/m2 during exertion.


This paper presents a model for discovering emergent shapes based on the concept of shape hiding and data-driven search. It is founded on representing polyline bounded shapes using infinite maximal lines, an extension of the concept of maximal lines. A process model of shape emergence is presented and a number of examples given which demonstrate the utility of both the representation and the model.


In 45 physically active men (ages 35-67 yr) who underwent hydrostatic weighing to determine body composition, multiple regression equations were developed for the prediction of body density (D), lean body weight (LBW), fat body weight (FBW), and % fat using selected anthropometric measurements. The prediction accuracy for these parameters using several previously generated anthropometric regression equations was also determined. With equations developed from the present data a substantially higher correlation was obtained between measured and predicted LBW (r = 0.95) than between measured and predicted D (r = 0.85), FBW (r = 0.88), or % fat (r = 0.84). When previously developed equations were applied to the present sample, correlations between measured and predicted values were considerably lower (4-42%) than in the original studies; this reduction was least in the case of LBW. Analysis of previous data indicated that in selected populations total body weight can account for a relatively large fraction of the variance in LBW. LBW may be estimated quite accurately (r greater than or equal to 0.90) in physically active men with one of several regression equations which include total body weight as an independent variable.


Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality globally. Among various forms of cardiovascular disease, heart failure (HF) affects 5.7 million patients in the United States1. Despite optimal treatment, some patients still do not improve and the available therapies fail to control their symptoms; for them, cardiac transplantation may be the only option. However, only around 2200 transplants are performed in the US each year1, or only about 6% of the estimated 35,000 US patients who would benefit actually receive a heart. To address the need to support the circulation in patients with end-stage HF a wide variety of mechanical circulatory support devices (MCSDs) have been developed over the past four decades.Copyright © 2011 by ASME


Financing drug development has a particular set of challenges including long development times, high chance of failure, significant market valuation uncertainty, and high costs of development. The earliest stages of translational research pose the greatest risks, which have been termed the "valley of death" as a result of a lack of funding. This thesis focuses on an exploration of financial engineering techniques aimed at addressing these concerns. Despite the recent financial crisis, many suggest that securitization is an appropriate tool for financing such large social challenges. Although securitization has been demonstrated effectively at later stages of drug development for drug royalties of approved drugs, it has yet to be utilized at earlier stages. This thesis starts by extending the model of drug development proposed by Fernandez et al. (2012). These extensions significantly influence the resulting performance and optimal securitization structures. Budget-constrained venture firms targeting high financial returns are incentivized to fund only the best projects, thereby potentially stranding less-attractive projects. Instead, such projects have the potential to be combined in larger portfolios through techniques such as securitization which reduce the cost of capital. In addition to modeling extensions, we provide examples of a model calibrated to orphan drugs, which we argue are particularly suited to financial engineering techniques. Using this model, we highlight the impact of our extensions on financial performance and compare with previously published results. We then illustrate the impact of incorporating a credit enhancement or guarantee, which allows for added flexibility of the capital structure and therefore greater access to lower costing capital. As an alternative to securitization, we provide some examples of a structured equity approach, which may allow for increased access to or efficiency of capital by matching investor objectives. Finally, we provide examples of optimizing the Sortino ratio through constrained Bayesian optimization. Thesis Supervisor: Andrew W. Lo Title: Charles E. and Susan T. Harris Professor Director of Laboratory for Financial Engineering


This paper critically reviews the ontological debates over the nature of ethnicity and the different ways in which it is operationalized and "measured" for quantitative research. It is argued that while moving away from a "primordealist" position on ethnicity renders measurement of the social diversity more difficult, conceptually and practically it does not invalidate this exercise. A second problem, however, is also identified with the measurement of ethnicity: when information on ethnic diversity is incorporated with other socio-economic information, a range of measures can be derived that purport to pick up very different distributions, but that are in reality often very highly correlated. These two problems combined present a significant challenge for the quantitative study of the relationship between ethnic diversity and political and economic outcomes such as conflict and growth patterns. The authors do not assert that these problems invalidate the exercise of investigating these relationships econometrically entirely, but they suggest the problems do warn us to be more guarded and modest in the claims made on the basis of such analyses.


Abstract
This study was undertaken to evaluate the ability of intracerebral skin grafts transplanted across different genetic disparities in the major histocompatibility complex (RT1) to elicit an immune response in inbred rats, as determined by histologic examination and by the ability of the grafts to sensitize the recipients to subsequent orthotopic skin grafts. The ability of intracerebral skin allografts to sensitize rats to transplantation antigens is related to the specific genetic disparity between the graft and the host: sensitization appears to occur more consistently across an A region barrier than across a B region barrier. Histologic changes of intracerebral graft rejection are more severe in rats with two intracerebral grafts than in those with one. The degree of histologic change attributable to intracerebral allograft rejection correlates with the ability of these grafts to sensitize the recipient. In certain strains intracerebral sensitization is accomplished with two grafts but not with one, indicating an antigenic dose requirement for intracerebral sensitization.


Abstract In this paper, we study N -player Colonel Blotto games with incomplete information about battlefield valuations. Such games arise in job markets, research and development, electoral competition, security analysis, and conflict resolution. For M ≥ N + 1 battlefields, we identify a Bayes-Nash equilibrium in which the resource allocation to a given battlefield is strictly monotone in the valuation of that battlefield. We also explore extensions such as heterogeneous budgets, the case M ≤ N , full-support type distributions, and network games.


The paper formulates the car-specific metro train crowding prediction problem based on real-time load data and evaluates the performance of several prediction methods (stepwise regression, lasso, and boosted tree ensembles). The problem is studied for multiple stations along a metro line in Stockholm, Sweden. Prediction accuracy is evaluated with respect to absolute passenger loads and predefined discrete crowding levels. When available, predictions with real-time load data significantly outperform historical averages, with accuracy improvements varying in magnitude across target stations and prediction horizons.


The private village shops are the backbone of rural retail marketing. Private retail shops are ideal agencies for village distribution. There are around 2 million sales outlets at the retail level in rural India. One retail shop is serving around 600 families in the rural retail marketing. The retailer to consumer ratio has been very low with many such shops often located close to people residence, near to home and at the corner of the street, thus making location and convenience a major factor for their popularity. Kirana shop is one of the easiest ways to generate self- employment as it requires limited investment in land, capital and human resource. Kirana shops are unique business models in India especially in rural areas which are offering personal services and quality products as per demand of customers. A Kirana shop normally a range from 25 to 400 square feet with a various range of products which are daily requirement of customers. The total area of Sangli district is 8,572 sq. Mt. and there are 10 talukas and 734 towns in Sangli district and registered kirana shops are 5,741. The researcher has collected required information and data from Kirana shopkeepers in Sangli district. The primary data is collected through questionnaire. Discussion, interviews, observation and necessary field work. The sample selection of kirana shops have been selected on the basis of 'Stratified Sampling Method'. While selecting villages, factors considered are the geographical location of taluka, such as East, West, North, South and Middle, and one village from each direction has selected Therefore, researcher has used ' Proportionate Sampling Method' for selecting taluka- wise kirana shops. Researcher has found that the kirana shops are competing with local bazaars which are to be started by big traders and wholesalers in the sample study area. Competition is the major factor for existence of Kirana shops. Recovery of dues from customers is another challenging problem of the existence of Kirana shops, The consumer behavior is changing because of new technology. Fashions, life styles etc. However, changing consumer behavior is affecting rural based kirana shops. So, now a day, they are suffering for their existence.


A 22S human γM-globulin component has been subjected to various study. It appears to be a dimer of 19S proteins and can undergo reversible molecular transitions which are both pH and temperature dependent. The 22S material regenerated from its 8S subunits no longer undergo similar transformations. Efforts to demonstrate that the 22S material was an antigen-antibody complex of 19S molecules were unsuccessful. Complex precipitin reactions in gels are given by macroglobulins containing this component with antibody to L chains.


We use electron-beam nanofabrication to create sub-nanometer (sub-nm) pores in 2D monolayer MoS2 with fine control over the pore size down to 0.6 nm, corresponding to the loss of a single Mo atom and surrounding S atoms. The sub-nm pores are created in situ with 1 nm spatial precision in the MoS2 lattice by control of the angstrom sized probe in an aberration corrected scanning transmission electron microscope with real time tracking of the pore creation. Dynamics of the sub-nm pore creation are captured at the atomic scale and reveal the mechanism of nanopore formation at accelerating voltages of 60 and 80 kV to be due to displacing a Mo atom from the lattice site onto the surface of the MoS2. This process is enabled by the destabilization of the Mo bonding from localized electron beam induced S atom loss. DFT calculations confirm the energetic advantage of having the ejected Mo atom attach on the sheet surface rather than being expelled into vacuum, and indicate sensitivity of the nanopore potential as a function of the adsorption position of the ejected Mo atom. These results provide detailed atomic level insights into the initial process of single Mo loss that underpins the nucleation of a nanopore and explains the formation mechanism of sub-nm pores in MoS2.


The highest recorded rates of recreational SCUBA diving occur on coral reefs at Eilat in the northern Red Sea, where many scleractinian corals are damaged by physical contact with divers. We compared coral skeletal growth and damage at sites that were protected vs unprotected from diving tourism, and identified tissue mortality through monthly monitoring of the branching stony coral Acropora hemprichii (Ehrenberg, 1834). We also monitored several genera of branching stony corals at sites that varied in levels of recreational diving. Major causes of tissue mortality in A. hemprichii were unknown (possibly bleaching and disease) and predation by the corallivorous snail Drupella cornus (Roding, 1798), both of which were much more frequent at heavily-dived than at undived sites. High frequencies of coral damage led to significantly slower coral growth at heavily-dived than undived sites. Annual rates of damage to branching corals were approximately twice as high at a site open to divers than at a closed site, and were intermediate at a site with restricted diving. The proportions of colonies infested by D. cornus increased significantly during the study year at sites open to divers but not at closed and restricted sites. We conclude that frequent mechanical injury by divers to coral colonies leads to enhanced susceptibility to predation and possibly to coral disease. Current levels of recreational diving at Eilat severely compromise the growth and survival of major reef-building corals, not only via direct mechanical damage, but also through a positive feedback loop of indirect effects on coral predators.


BACKGROUND
Despite the fact that granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) are increasingly used in clinical practice, little is known of their endogenous production, especially in myeloproliferative disorders such as chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML).

METHODS
In order to define serum levels of GM-CSF and G-CSF in subjects affected by CML, the sera of 17 patients with CML in chronic phase treated either with hydroxyurea or interferon-alpha were tested by specific enzyme immunoassays. Fifteen age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers were used as normal controls.

RESULTS
Eight out of the 17 patients (44%) with CML showed detectable (> 3 pg/mL) serum levels of GM-CSF (range 3.9-55 pg/mL). Detectable levels (> 50 pg/mL) of G-CSF were observed in 9 of these patients (52%) (range 150-2,830 pg/mL). On the contrary, among the normal controls only one had detectable GM-CSF concentrations, and none had detectable G-CSF concentrations. The highest concentrations of both GM-CSF and G-CSF were seen in patients with the highest white blood cell counts, although a linear correlation between the levels of these growth factors and the number of circulating leukocytes was not demonstrated.

CONCLUSIONS
Our data indicate that significant amounts of both endogenous GM-CSF and G-CSF are detectable in the serum of a substantial percentage of patients with CML in chronic phase. The pathophysiological meaning of this finding remains to be determined.


OBJECTIVE
To describe functional ability among people with dementia when admitted to group-dwelling (GD) during different time periods, and the probability of their remaining in these units for the rest of their lives.

DESIGN
Retrospective study of functional ability and likelihood of staying in GD.

SETTING
Thirteen GD units in the Sundsvall region, Sweden.

SUBJECTS
One-hundred-and-forty-two demented people admitted to GD in the period 1986-1996.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Ability to manage personal care and somatic and psychiatric status were measured with the use of a rating scale.

RESULT
On comparing people over the years, a significant increase was found in the need of assistance to manage everyday life on admission to GD. The likelihood of living the rest of life in GD has increased over time.

CONCLUSIONS
Increasing dependency and increasing probability of remaining in GD may influence the intention of GD as a unique way of caring for people with dementia. It is crucial to consider these changes in order to encourage the development of GD.


In this paper, a single-neuron sensor was developed for chemical agent sensing. Single neurons were positioned over individual microelectrodes using positive dielectrophoretic traps. This enables the continuous extracellular electrophysiological measurements from individual neurons. A remarkably stable recording environment was obtained under the noninvasive conditions. The magnitude and temporal characteristics of an action potential recorded depended on sealing conditions. Then, consecutive sensing experiments were done to testify the stability and repeatability of this kind of single-neuron-based sensor. The responses of neuron-electrode sensor to chemical agent concentration change and to the consecutive experiments were also explored. This sensor exhibits a faster response with the increase of concentration and responds slowly during the consecutive experiments.


Background Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is characterised by the activation of auto-reactive T-cells and the development of auto-antibodies. Importantly, T-cells may additionally respond to non-TCR mediated signals, which are essential in driving their effector functions. Pathways leading to the modulation of both innate and adaptive signals are therefore of marked interest to study in arthritis. The paracaspase MALT1 is a key player in the activation of lymphoid, myeloid and mast cells, indicating MALT1's crucial role in innate and adaptive signalling. Therefore, MALT1 is regarded a promising target for the treatment of autoimmune diseases and defining its role in the pathogenesis of RA is a critical first step. Methods To unravel MALT1's role in RA, we initially assessed MALT1-activation in mice challenged with collagen-induced arthritis (CIA), the prototype model for RA. We then sought to address MALT1's role in the pathogenesis of RA by subjecting MALT1-deficient mice to distinct models of arthritis (CIA and CAIA). To determine the importance of MALT1 in T-cells, CIA was additionally induced in CD4-specific MALT1-deficient mice. Finally, the effect of MALT1-deletion on bone homeostasis was assessed by measuring bone density by µCT-analysis of the tibiae and by a three-point bending test of the femurs. Results We provide evidence that MALT1 is activated in RA and plays a crucial role in its pathogenesis since MALT1-deficent mice were completely protected against CIA. This protection was additionally observed in CD4-specific MALT1-deficient mice, indicating that the selective ablation of MALT1 in CD4-positive cells is sufficient for the observed resistance. CAIA on the other hand, which is a T-cell independent model of RA, did not depend on MALT1 since both MALT1+/+ and MALT1-/- mice showed comparable arthritis symptoms. Paradoxically to the protective effect of MALT1-deletion on inflammation, we show that MALT1-deficiency negatively influences bone density at steady state. More specifically, both the tibiae and femurs of MALT1-/- mice had a significantly reduced bone density and strength compared to MALT1+/+ mice. Conclusion Altogether, our data provide evidence for a dual role of MALT1 in arthritis, showing a protective effect of its deletion on the inflammatory aspect and a negative effect on bone homeostasis.


Land carbon dynamics in temperate and boreal ecosystems are sensitive to environmental change. Accurately simulating gross primary productivity (GPP) and its seasonality is key for reliable carbon cycle projections. However, significant biases have been found in early spring GPP simulations of northern forests, where observations often suggest a later resumption of photosynthetic activity than predicted by models. Here, we used eddy covariance-based GPP estimates from 39 forest sites that differ by their climate and dominant plant functional types. We used a mechanistic and an empirical light use efficiency (LUE) model to investigate the magnitude and environmental controls of delayed springtime photosynthesis resumption (DSPR) across sites. We found DSPR reduced ecosystem LUE by 30-70% at many, but not all site-years during spring. A significant depression of LUE was found not only in coniferous but also at deciduous forests and was related to combined high radiation and low minimum temperatures. By embedding cold-acclimation effects on LUE that considers the delayed effects of minimum temperatures, initial model bias in simulated springtime GPP was effectively resolved. This provides an approach to improve GPP estimates by considering physiological acclimation and enables more reliable simulations of photosynthesis in northern forests and projections in a warming climate.


The development process of aircraft structures requires many fatigue tests. During these tests, engineers have to inspect the aircraft structure continually to avoid final fracture of any component. Structural health monitoring may reduce time and cost associated with these inspections. Evaluating applied strain sensors is one possibility to monitor the structure. As applied strain sensors do not contribute sufficient information in every location for crack monitoring, test engineers have to position them carefully. Only in appropriate positions, strain sensors provide data that may be analyzed to detect crack growth before criticality, including scenarios with multiple cracks and different lengths. This paper presents a method to compute and maximize regions of appropriate positions for strain sensors on a test structure. The resulting detection regions may be used for appropriate positioning and minimizing the number of required strain sensors, while ensuring detection before criticality. The proposed method exploits the fact that growing fatigue cracks change the strain field in the structure. Therefore, the relative change of strain amplitude under periodic loading will serve as detection measure. Once it exceeds a specified critical threshold value that is linked to sensor sensitivity, final fracture is assumed to occur. Appropriate detection regions for strain measurement are computed in three steps: First, the space of crack configurations, each represented by a crack length vector, is probed by a Monte- Carlo sampling scheme. For every configuration, criticality is assessed based on stress intensity factors using a linear Finite Element Analysis. Second, a mathematical substitute model is trained using the sampling data. The result is a fast mapping from the crack configuration space onto the space of stress intensity factors. Third, for all critical crack configurations, the regions of critical detection measures are assembled into a global detection map. This map includes regions where detection is possible before a critical crack configuration occurs. The approach is applied to a demonstrator that resembles the section of an aircraft structure exhibiting two fatigue cracks. An extension to many cracks is discussed.


ABSTRACT We examine young people's testimonies about their capacity to make important decisions and their livelihood experiences from agricultural communities that span Pakistan's countryside. Our analysis is guided by theories of agency that focus on how a young person's capacity to identify and act on goals is mediated by their local opportunity structure – shaping their household relations, livelihood choices, and prevailing social norms. We apply comparative and contextual qualitative analysis methods to our dataset of 12 village cases, which include 24 sex-specific youth focus groups. We also present a secondary survey analysis. We find high rural employment levels among young men in recent years, and a decline in rural young women's employment from already low levels. The young study participants mainly observe limited capacity to make important decisions. They repeatedly attribute this to expectations of strict deference to elders and other norms about their gender, young age, junior household position, marital status, and socio-economic standing. They also report negotiating and resisting confining norms; however, young women's agency appears especially constrained by norms that discourage their physical mobility and visible economic roles. We examine two villages where some youth express healthier levels of agency and more desirable economic opportunities than others, and the significance of kinship relations and fluid norms in this environment. We call for models of young people's agency that register more effectively the importance of household relations, the gatekeeper role of elders, and the contextual and fluid properties of norms, as these dynamics both constrain and enable young people's agency.


Social insects provide promising new avenues for aging research. Within a colony, individuals that share the same genetic background can differ in lifespan by up to two orders of magnitude. Reproducing queens (and in termites also kings) can live for more than 20 years, extraordinary lifespans for insects. We studied aging in a termite species, Cryptotermes secundus, which lives in less socially complex societies with a few hundred colony members. Reproductives develop from workers which are totipotent immatures. Comparing transcriptomes of young and old individuals, we found evidence for aging in reproductives that was especially associated with DNA and protein damage and the activity of transposable elements. By contrast, workers seemed to be better protected against aging. Thus our results differed from those obtained for social insects that live in more complex societies. Yet, they are in agreement with lifespan estimates for the study species. Our data are also in line with expectations from evolutionary theory. For individuals that are able to reproduce, it predicts that aging should only start after reaching maturity. As C. secundus workers are immatures with full reproductive options we expect them to invest into anti-aging processes. Our study illustrates that the degree of aging can differ between social insects and that it may be associated with caste-specific opportunities for reproduction.


Development of employees by the Human Resources (HR) department in any organization is crucial to implementing its strategy, processes and procedures for success. The same principle applies to Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in which academic Middle Managers (MMs) are the balancing drivers who execute organization's vision and mission and contribute towards its goals. At faculty level, academic MMs roles include Deans, Head of Departments, Subject leaders and Principal lecturers/Programme leaders. However, emergent from contemporary literature studies shows that HEIs structures and systems are rapidly changing and highly impacting academic MMs in their roles. Thus, the changes and challenges transpiring in the HEIs sector are inducing and creating colossal pressures and workloads for academic MMs to work effectively and efficiently in their respective roles. Contributing to this burden, are factors such as; an increase in student numbers and retention, bureaucracy, accountability and reporting, policies, skills, management and leadership development and practice, globalisation and international outlook, competition and league tables, resources, technological advances, quality teaching, learning and research, providing value and creating balance. Based on these notions, the research aim is to create conceptual models for developmental needs of academic MMs in HEIs via a mixed methodology implemented in three phases. The findings of this research through qualitative enquiry identified fifteen factors during semi-structured interviews, six main categories using grounded theory approach, and eight main themes in case studies. In quantitative approach, seventeen factors using univariate analysis and sixteen factors using factor analysis were identified. The originality of this study contributed to the theory, practice and research of academic MMs developmental needs by; new interpretations of the authors in the field, testing and adding to theories, synthesizing work and offering work perspectives, carrying out innovative research in UK and detailed work across methods.


The nucleon-nucleon J-matrix Inverse Scattering Potential JISP16 is applied to elastic nucleon-deuteron (Nd) scattering at the lab. nucleon energies up to 135 MeV. The formalism of the Faddeev equations is used to obtain three-nucleon scattering states. We compare predictions based on the JISP16 force with data and with results based on various NN interactions, including the CD Bonn, the Argonne AV18, the chiral force with the semi-local regularization at the 5th order of the chiral expansion and with low-momentum interactions obtained from the CD Bonn force as well as with the predictions from the combination of the AV18 NN interaction and the Urbana IX 3N force. JISP16 provides a satisfactory description of some observables at low energies but strong deviations from data as well as from standard and chiral potential predictions with increasing energy. However, there are also polarization observables at low energies for which the JISP16 predictions differ from those based on the other forces by a factor of two. The reason for such a behavior can be traced back to the P-wave components of the JISP16 force. At higher energies the deviations can be enhanced by an interference with higher partial waves and the properties of the JISP16 deuteron wave function. In addition, we compare the energy and angular dependence of predictions based on the JISP16 force with the results of the low-momentum interactions obtained with different values of the momentum cutoff parameter. We found that such low-momentum forces can be employed to interpret the Nd elastic scattering data only below some specific energy which depends on the cutoff parameter. Since JISP16 is defined in a finite oscillator basis, it has properties similar to low momentum interactions and its application to the description of Nd scattering data is limited to a low momentum transfer region.


ABSTRACT Serapias vomeracea is an economically valuable plant belonging to the Orchidaceae family; particularly, its tubers are consumed as hot drinks. Past studies on S. vomeracea have focused on volatile components only in the aerial parts of this orchid. This study is the first to investigate the volatile compounds present in S. vomeracea tubers, which have a high commercial value. Additionally, we determined the effect of harvest time and drying method on the volatile compound profile. The tubers were harvested on two different days (May 17, 2022, and June 6, 2022) and subjected to four different drying conditions (shade drying, oven drying, shade drying after boiling, and lyophilizer drying). To determine the volatile compound profile, sample extracts were prepared by solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Overall, 22 volatile compounds were identified: 3 esters, 3 aldehydes, 3 alcohols, 3 terpenes, 3 alkanes, 3 carboxylic acids, 1 phenol, 1 ketone, 1 lactone, and 1 furan. The results revealed that p-cresol was the main compound. During harvesting and subsequent drying, some compounds were lost, and some new compounds were formed. Moreover, harvest time had quite limited effects on volatile compounds in the lyophilizer method. Cluster analysis revealed that the combination of harvest time and drying was effective in the distribution of volatile compounds in salep powder.


This study explored speech intelligibility and free recall of word lists heard under different signal-to-noise (S/N) ratios. Pre-experimental measures of working memory capacity (WMC) were taken to explore individual susceptibility to the disruptive effects of noise. The thirty-five participants first completed a WMC-operation span task in quiet and later listened to spoken word lists containing 11 one-syllable phonetically balanced words presented at four different S/N ratios (+12, +9, +6, and +3). Participants repeated (shadowed) each word aloud immediately after its presentation and performed a free recall task of the words after the end of the list. The speech intelligibility function decreased linearly with increasing S/N levels for both the high-WMC and low-WMC groups. Recall and memory of the words decreased with increasing S/N levels only for the low-WMC group. Recall and memory for the high-WMC individuals was not affected by increased S/N levels. Our results suggest that impoverished acoustical conditions impair speech intelligibility and memory, but also that a high WMC may counteract some of the negative effects of speech noise.


The lifestyle of past populations can be reconstructed with help of several skeletal indicators. One such indicator is trauma. Trauma can be used for inferring about daily activities, subsistence strategy, division of labor, occupational hazards as well as warfare. Paleoepidemiology aimed at the evaluation of pathologies in populations provides a tool; however, since the tool is inferential and the living population does not exist anymore, it also brings some problems in the interpretation. This paper discusses these problem areas on a specific example of fracture frequency interpretations in skeletal populations. There are two main sources of interpretation confusion: methods and biology. Methodological problems are preservation, estimates of number of individuals, age, and sex, fracture recognition and diagnosis, and chronology of burial sites. Biological problems arise from processes of senescence, healing, and bone remodeling. Key Words—fracture frequencies, trauma, paleoepidemiology, skeletal populations, methodology, biology


Photosynthetic activity of individual leaves of Zantedeschia Spreng. 'Best Gold' aff. Z. pentlandii (Wats.) Wittm. (syn. Richardia pentlandii Wats.) ('Best Gold'), were quantified with leaf expansion and diurnally, under a range of temperature and photosynthetic photon flux (PPF) regimes. Predictive models incorporating PPF, day temperature, and percentage leaf area expansion accounted for 78% and 81% of variation in net photosynthetic rate (Pn) before, and postattainment of, 75% maximum leaf area, respectively. Minimal changes in Pn occurred during the photoperiod when environmental conditions were stable. Maximum Pn (10.9 µmol·m -2 ·s -1 or 13.3 µmol·g -1 ·s -1 ) occurred for plants grown under high PPF (694 µmol·m -2 ·s -1 ) and day temperature (28 °C). Acclimation of Pn was less than complete, with any gain through a greater light-saturated photosynthetic rate (Pmax) at high PPF also resulting in a reduction in quantum yield. Similarly, any gain in acclimation through increased quantum yield under low PPF occurred concurrently with reduced Pmax. It was concluded that Zantedeschia 'Best Gold' is a shade tolerant selection, adapted to optimize photosynthetic rate under the climate of its natural habitat, by not having obligate adaptation to sun or shade habitats.


Activation of the innate immune system in the distal lung is a hallmark of COPD. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) trigger innate immune responses to pathogens. Although COPD patients are susceptible to infections, the distribution patterns of TLRs at different stages of disease have remained poorly studied. The present study characterizes TLR5 and TLR7 in the distal lung of COPD patients.

Methods: GOLD I (n=6), GOLD II-III (n=13), GOLD IV patients (n=8), and controls (never smokers and smokers) (n=13) were enrolled in this study. Immunohistochemical staining was used to identify TLR5 and TLR7 positive cells.

Results: TLR5 immunoreactivity was identified in sub-epithelial glands, airway smooth muscle, CD68+ macrophages, CD138+ plasma cells, CD208+ type II pneumocytes and the small airway epithelium. In control subjects and mild COPD epithelial TLR5 had a foremost apical distribution. In contrast, in advanced COPD the distribution of epithelial TLR5 shifted into a distinct basolateral expression that was higher in GOLD IV (p=0.002) compared to controls. TLR7 displayed a peri-nuclear expression in the small airway epithelium irrespective of the study group. However, the total epithelial TLR7-immunoreactivity was upregulated in GOLD IV-patients compared to never smokers (p=0.009). TLR7 expression was also detected in S100B+ nerve cells, CD68+ macrophages, B- and T-lymphocytes, and CD56+ NK cells.

Conclusion: Both epithelial TLR5 and TLR7 are upregulated in advanced COPD. Whether the altered expression reflects a natural adaption to the increased pathogen burden in advanced COPD or is part of a dysfunctional immune-regulation in COPD remains to be determined.


Using mean-variance utility function analysis with various degrees of risk aversion, this research examines the impact of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) in creating optimal portfolios. It also examines and develops a sensitivity analysis for differential risk premiums in REIT stocks and the effect in determining an optimal portfolio mix by applying mean variance analysis. When the combined risk premium of REITs and stocks is 1.5%, we find investors with risk aversion between 1 and 6 are better off investing almost entirely in REITs, short selling the bond and investing very little in stocks. Investors can benefit in the same way even when the risk premium of REITs and stock is fixed at 2.0% with risk aversion equal to between 1 and 9. However, when the risk premium of REITs and stock is fixed at 2.5%, the investor's risk aversion factor is irrelevant, and it suggests investors should short sell the bond and invest mostly in REITs. The marginal effect of changes in (portfolio returns) rR on the optimal portfolio weights in REITs is observed to have a sharp decline when risk aversion is increased. However, the impact of that change in the REIT-Stock correlation is non-existent as the optimal weight in REITs is increased. In addition, there is little obvious change when the risk aversion is increased. Therefore, the change of weights in REITs in the optimal portfolio is more significant than the correlation between REITs and stock performance. Results also indicate that the investor should consider how to maximize their return using various levels of risk aversion and not by using the correlation between stock and REITs.


Pesticide exposure has long been a cause for concern, and with good reason. Studies have shown that all persons, but especially children, pregnant women, farmers, farmworkers, and the elderly, may experience negative health effects from pesticide exposure. These effects may include acute poisoning, cancer, neurological damage, birth defects, reduced sperm count, suppressed immune systems, and reproductive and developmental harm. This book is a comprehensive examination of pesticide use, pesticide harm, and alternatives to harmful pesticides. Levine highlights the role of farming, because a substantial majority-70 percent or more annually-of pesticides are applied in agricultural uses, thereby making their way into the food chain and into the water supply. More than 20 types of pesticides have been detected in U.S. groundwater, and it is believed that nearly 100 have the potential to invade our municipal water systems. Some level of pesticide contamination has been detected in every state, in both urban and agricultural areas. Outside of agriculture, people are exposed to pesticides primarily in the home. Approximately 90 percent of all households in the nation use pesticides, and the number and concentration of these agents indoors has been shown to be greater than outdoors. Given that Americans now spend nearly 90 percent of each day indoors, this is an issue of real concern. In addition to homes, suburban and rural corporate parks are also affected. Schools are another worrisome venue. In too many of our 110,000 school districts, untrained persons are making critical decisions about the use of pesticides in school buildings and on school grounds. No other book currently examines this issue in such breadth and depth.


For more than three decades, School-Based Management (SBM) has become a global movement towards the quality of education. The ultimate goal of implementing SBM was to enhance quality of education in general and more particularly for better school improvement and increased student achievement. Numerous previous studies have indicated the association of SBM policies and programs with school improvement and student achievement. However, only limited research findings are available about the association of communication functions and styles in SBM schools which can result to school improvement. This article highlights the views of school stakeholders in relation to the functions and roles of communication as well as the communication styles of school leaders for better school improvement. The paper is on the basis of an empirical survey involving 318 respondents from 18 urban and sub-urban schools of Ngada, Flores, Indonesia. In addition to the survey, face to face semistructured interviews and focus group discussions were conducted.


best-known of Loomis 60) that any <o-complete Boolean lattice o-representable. connections between a-representability and infinite distributive laws the American Mathe matical 522-523), Sikorski and others. This paper deals with a-representability of lattices in general. The main result is Theorem 4 in §2 giving necessary and sufficient conditions for a lattice to be isomorphic to a ^-complete sub-lattice of an a-ring of sets modulo an a-ideal. The condition requires the existence of certain prime ideals. To further emphasize the difference between a-representability of Boolean lattices and lattices, in §3 the authors investigate a-representability of chains. In particular they find a complete chain which is not a-representable for any a S 2 m . Two main kinds of algebraic versions of predicate logic are currently known: cylindric algebras introduced by Tarski about 1952, and polyadic algebras subsequently introduced by Halmos (based on informal knowledge of Tarski's work). Both kinds of algebraic logics give rise to algebraic structures corresponding to ordinary finitary logic as well as logic with in finitely long expressions. The present article establishes the complete equivalence of the two when only locally finite, infinite dimensional algebras are considered. (This is the subclass corresponding to finitary logic.) Examples are known showing that this equivalence does not hold in general. The proof is direct, and for this reason highly computational. general model theory as well of (metamathematics of) geometry.


This article examines the role of the National Election Security Task Force (NESTF) in the 2012 elections in Ghana. It traces the history of electoral politics in Ghana's Fourth Republic, highlighting significant developments and security challenges from 1992, with a particular focus on the 2012 elections. The structure, composition and powers as well as the functions of the NESTF are discussed. The article further examines the performance of the NESTF during all three phases of the elections relative to security challenges, responses and emerging issues that require urgent policy reforms. Based on face-to-face interviews and participant observations, the article concludes that the 2012 elections were not only keenly contested but all three phases were marred by extreme violence, particularly because of the novelty of the biometric voter registration and verification system. While commending various election stakeholders such as the Electoral Commission of Ghana, we argue that although the election results were contested in court, the NESTF, in particular, played an exemplary role in averting possible conflict after the declaration of the results. We recommend, however, that in subsequent elections the security forces should be seen to be neutral and government should also ensure adequate provision of logistics, transport and communication devices to ensure free, fair and violence-free elections.


To understand how specific interventions affect a process observed over time, we need to control for the other factors that influence outcomes. Such a model that captures all factors other than the one of interest is generally known as a baseline. In our study of how different pricing schemes affect residential electricity consumption, the baseline would need to capture the impact of outdoor temperature along with many other factors. In this work, we examine a number of different data mining techniques and demonstrate Gradient Tree Boosting (GTB) to be an effective method to build the baseline. We train GTB on data prior to the introduction of new pricing schemes, and apply the known temperature following the introduction of new pricing schemes to predict electricity usage with the expected temperature correction. Our experiments and analyses show that the baseline models generated by GTB capture the core characteristics over the two years with the new pricing schemes. In contrast to the majority of regression based techniques which fail to capture the lag between the peak of daily temperature and the peak of electricity usage, the GTB generated baselines are able to correctly capture the delay between the temperature peak and the electricity peak. Furthermore, subtracting this temperature-adjusted baseline from the observed electricity usage, we find that the resulting values are more amenable to interpretation, which demonstrates that the temperature-adjusted baseline is indeed effective.


The content of IgA, IgM, IgG and IgE was measured in 55 male patients with uncomplicated essential hypertension (EH) running a labile course (25 patients) and a stable course (30 patients). Analyzing the material, account was taken of aggravated heredity factor as regards arterial hypertension, established according to the anamnesis in relatives of the first degree kinship. A group of patients with the aggravated familial anamnesis as regards arterial hypertension were distinguished. They suffered from labile hypertension with a tendency to hyperreninemia and IgE overproduction, which may be unfavourable in terms of EH progression and development of cardiovascular complications.


Aims. Molecular outflows provide an alternative method of identifying protostellar cores, complementary to recent mid-infrared studies. Continuing our studies of Perseus, we investigate whether all Spitzer-identified protostars, and particularly those with low luminosities, drive outflows and if any new protostellar cores (perhaps harbouring low-mass sources) can be identified via their outflows alone. Methods. We have used the heterodyne array receiver HARP on JCMT to make deep 12 CO 3–2 maps of submm cores in Perseus, extending and deepening our earlier study with R$\times$B and bringing the total number of SCUBA cores studied up to 83. Our survey includes 23/25 of the Spitzer low-luminosity objects believed to be embedded protostars, including three VeLLOs. Results. All but one of the cores identified as harbouring embedded YSOs have outflows, confirming outflow detections as a good method for identifying protostars. We detect outflows from 20 Spitzer low-luminosity objects. We do not conclusively detect any outflows from IR-quiet cores, though confusion in clustered regions such as NGC1333 makes it impossible to identify all the individual driving sources. This similarity in detection rates despite the difference in search methods and detection limits suggests either that the sample of protostars in Perseus is now complete or that the existence of an outflow contributes to the Spitzer detectability, perhaps through the contribution of shocked H 2 emission in the IRAC bands. For five of the low-luminosity sources (including two previously believed to be embedded), there is no protostellar envelope detected at 350  μ m and the Spitzer emission is entirely due to shocks. Additionally, we detect the outflow from IRAS 03282+3035 at 850  μ m with SCUBA with 20–30% of the submm flux due to CO line contamination in the continuum passband.


A leading exponent of the nouveau roman, Nathalia Sarraute (1900–1999) was also one of France's most cosmopolitan literary figures, and her life was bound up with the intellectual and political ferment of twentieth-century Europe. This book is the authoritative biography of this major writer. Sarraute's life spanned a century and a continent. Born in tsarist Russia to Jewish parents, she was soon uprooted and brought to the city that became her lifelong home, Paris. This dislocation presaged a life marked by ambiguity and ambivalence. A stepchild in two families, a Russian émigré in Paris, a Jew in bourgeois French society, and a woman in a man's literary world, Sarraute was educated at Oxford, Berlin, and the Sorbonne. She embarked on a career in law that was ended by the Nazi occupation of France, and she spent much of the war in hiding, under constant threat of exposure. Rising to literary eminence after the Liberation, she was initially associated with the existentialist circle of Beauvoir and Sartre, before becoming the principal theorist and practitioner of the avant-garde French novel of the 1950s and 1960s. Her tireless exploration of the deepest parts of our inner psychological life produced an oeuvre that remains daringly modern and resolutely unclassifiable. The book explores Sarraute's work and the intellectual, social, and political context from which it emerged. Drawing on newly available archival material and Sarraute's letters, this biography is the definitive account of a life lived between countries, families, languages, literary movements, and more.


Background:
 Although variables associated with mortality in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) are well known, there are few data about which factors are related to functional prognosis in these patients. Therefore, the aim of our study was to study the factors that determine poor functional outcome at three months in patients with ICH.

 Material and methods:
 We prospectively studied 241 patients consecutively admitted to our stroke unit due to a primary ICH within 12 hours of symptom onset. Clinical, radiological, and analytical data during hospitalisation were collected. Patients were also evaluated at three months. We defined as good outcome if modified Rankin scale (mRS) at three months was ≤2 and bad outcome if mRS was between 3 and 5.

 Results:
 At three months, 36.1% of patients presented good outcome (group A), 38.2% of patients poor outcome (group B) and 25.7% had died (85.5% of them during hospitalization). Patients of group B were significantly older (67 years vs 63), had a higher NIHSS at admission (15 vs 6), greater basal hematoma volume (23.8 cc vs 6.2 cc) and basal edema volume (10.9 cc vs 3.2 cc), a higher proportion of women (31.4% vs 14.9%), early neurological deterioration (END) (19.8% vs 3.4%), lobar localization of the hematoma (18.6% vs 11.4%), frontal lobe impairment (34.9% vs 9.1%) and insular ribbon (30.2% vs 6.8%), higher mass effect (26.9% vs 16.9%), relevant hematoma growth at 24 hours (78.4% vs 50%) and a greater frequency of more than 2 spot sings on neuroimage (47.8% vs 12.9%).

 In the logistic regression analysis, baseline NIHSS, END, lobar localization of the hematoma, frontal lobe and insular ribbon impairment, the presence of mass effect, hematoma and edema volume on baseline CT and a number of spot signs > 2 were significantly associated with poor outcome of patients.

 Conclusions:
 New radiological variables have to be considered for predicting poor outcome in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage in addition to classical factors.


The terrestrial glacial record reflects past snowline variability and atmospheric temperature changes. When combined with secure chronologies, these data can be used to test models of ice-age climate. We present new in situ cosmogenic 1 0 Be, 2 6 Al, and 3 He exposure ages, supported by limiting 4 0 Ar/ 3 9 Ar and 1 4 C ages, for seven of the youngest moraines east of Lago Buenos Aires, Argentina, 46.5°S, that were deposited by a large outlet glacier of the Patagonian Ice Cap. Following a major glaciation that deposited extensive moraines prior to 109 ka, paired 1 0 Be- 2 6 Al ages indicate that the next youngest complex of moraines was deposited from 23.0 ′ 1.2 to 15.6 ′ 1.1 ka (1σ). During the last glaciation, ice was at its maximum extent prior to 22 ka and at least five moraines were deposited in less than 10 k.y. These data are in good agreement with three 1 4 C ages of ca. 16 ka from varved sediment banked on top of the youngest of these five moraines and limiting 3 He ages, which range from ca. 33 to 19 ka. The most extensive ice marginal deposits preserved within the last 109 k.y. were formed during marine oxygen isotope stage 2; no moraines dating to stage 4 were found. For stage 2, the distribution of ages at Lago Buenos Aires is similar to cosmogenic nuclide-based glacial chronologies from western North America. In fact, the structure of the last mid-latitude South American ice age-specifically, the overall timing, a maximum ice extent prior to 22 ka, and deglaciation after 16 ka-is indistinguishable from that of the last major glaciation in the Northern Hemisphere, despite a maximum in Southern Hemisphere insolation during this period. The similar mid-latitude glacial history in both hemispheres implies that a global climate forcing mechanism, such as atmospheric cooling, as opposed to oceanic redistribution of heat, synchronizes the ice age climate on orbital time scales.


The diagnosis of knee laxity is essentially clinical. Sometimes, the diagnosis is difficult requiring additional tests, especially MRI and dynamic X-rays like TELOS. This latter technique is expensive and requires specialized equipment and a skilled staff. The aim of this study is to validate the use of the lateral view of the X-ray of the knee with the quadriceps contracted as an alternative to the TELOS technique in the diagnosis of the anterior knee laxity. We conducted a prospective, inter- and intra-observer,  comparative study on 40 acute ruptures of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), comparing the gathered data with the TELOS technique to those obtained from the knee radiography technique with and without quadriceps contraction. Performed by two different observers, the measurement of the anterior tibial translation on dynamic X-ray switch and without quadriceps contraction and the one with the TELOS was reliable and reproducible (ICC> 0.85). The differential values make possible to overcome measurement errors and also individual laxity. The value of the anterior tibial translation in the "intact ACL" group was  significantly lower than the "ruptured ACL" group whether in absolute or differential values, and whatever the technique that has been used. For X-rays that are with and without quadriceps contraction, the differential average between the two knees was 10 millimeters (between 4 and 18mm), and this value was above or equal to 4 mm in 100% of cases. Cases were compared to other controls; the differential tibial translation on radiographs with and without quadriceps contraction was significant starting from 2 millimeters and very significant starting from 3 millimeters. The study of these data showed similar results and concluded that the X-ray of the knee with and without quadriceps contraction is a reliable and reproducible technique to objectify and quantify the degree of the anterior translation in ACL tears.

 Keywords: Knee, ACL (Anterior cruciate ligament), Magnetic resonance imaging, Quadriceps muscle, dynamic radiography.


ENGLISH as the world's lingua franca has become a focus of attention for many scholars. Since China joined the World Trade Organization (WTO), the motivation to learn English has dramatically increased. This paper questions the need for English in China to conform to any of the existing standard varieties, arguing that this objective is both undesirable and virtually unattainable, especially in respect to pronunciation, and that Chinese learners should therefore be learning 'China English'. In an investigation with over 1,200 Chinese students at her university, the writer discovered that the vast majority had never heard of either World English or China English, believing instead that proficiency in standard American or British English should be their goal. She proposes both a reorientation of English language learning in China and a radical revision of the materials used there for both practical and cultural reasons.


Debris flows are a natural hazard which looks like a combination of flood, land and rock slide. Large rainfall in July 2006 produced several large scale debris flows and many small debris flows that resulted in loss of life and considerable property and railway damage, as was widely reported in the national media. The hazard "debris flow" is still insufficiently researched. Furthermore debris flows are very hard to predict. Flexible Ring net barriers are multi-functional mitigation devices commonly applied to rock fall or floating wood protection in floods, snow avalanches and also mud flows or granular debris flows, if properly dimensioned for the process or processes for which they are intended. Overtopping of the barriers by debris flows and sediment transport is possible, supporting the design concept that a series of barriers may be used to stop volumes of debris larger than are possible using only one barrier. The future for these barrier concepts looks promising because these barriers represent the state of art for such applications and are superior to many other available options.


In this paper it is shown how the Robin iteration procedure, already proposed by the authors for the solution of electromagnetic scattering problems, can be easily adapted to scattering from cavities embedded in a perfectly-conducting wedge. The procedure couples a differential equation for the interior problem with an integral equation for the exterior one. A suitable choice of the Robin (mixed) boundary condition on the fictitious boundary dividing the interior and exterior domains avoids resonances.


Hibonite-(Fe), (Fe,Mg)Al12O19, is the Fe2+-dominant analog of hibonite CaAl12O19, discovered in a highly altered Ca-,Al-rich refractory inclusion from the Allende meteorite. It occurs as scattered micrometer-sized single crystals within an aggregate of hercynite (Fe,Mg)Al2O4, adjacent to nepheline, ilmenite, ferroan spinel, perovskite, and hibonite. The mean chemical composition determined by electron microprobe analysis of hibonite-(Fe) is Al2O3 90.05 wt%, FeO 3.60, SiO2 2.09, MgO 1.61, Na2O 0.55, CaO 0.28, TiO2 0.04, V2O3 0.02, sum 98.25, corresponding to an empirical formula of (Fe2+ 0.34Mg0.27Na0.12Al0.11Ca0.03)Σ0.87 (Al11.77Si0.23)Σ12.00O19. Hibonite-(Fe) is hexagonal, P63/mmc; a = 5.613 Å, c = 22.285 Å, V = 608.0 Å3 and Z = 2. Its electron backscatter diffraction pattern is a good match to that of the hibonite structure. Hibonite-(Fe) is apparently a secondary alteration product formed by iron-alkali-halogen metasomatism, whereas hibonite is a primary refractory phase.


We consider an underlay coexistence scenario where secondary users (SUs) must keep their interference to the primary users (PUs) under control. However, the channel gains from the PUs to the SUs are uncertain due to a lack of cooperation between the PUs and the SUs. Under this circumstance, it is preferable to allow the interference threshold of each PU to be violated occasionally as long as such violation stays below a probability. In this article, we employ Chance-Constrained Programming (CCP) to exploit this idea of occasional interference threshold violation. We assume the uncertain channel gains are only known by their mean and covariance. These quantities are slow-changing and easy to estimate. Our main contribution is to introduce a novel and powerful mathematical tool called Exact Conic Reformulation (ECR), which reformulates the intractable chance constraints into tractable convex constraints. Further, ECR guarantees an equivalent reformulation from linear chance constraints into deterministic conic constraints without the limitations associated with Bernstein Approximation, on which our research community has been fixated on for years. Through extensive simulations, we show that our proposed solution offers a significant improvement over existing approaches in terms of performance and ability to handle channel correlations (where Bernstein Approximation is no longer applicable).


Abstract Dose the blackened lubrication oil needs to be replaced for flying safety? Since there is very limited room for inaccurate assessment of oil quality due to strict flying safety standards, much aviation lubrication oil is disposed in advance long before their service life. More important, aircrafts still face the fatal challenges from unpredictable lubrication oil deterioration. Color change is surely a significant signal to diagnose the quality of lubrication oils. Based on the colorimeter, the color numbers of the testing lubrication oils are measured in this paper to identify the color variation degree of the oxidized lubrication oils. Then the molecular structures of the oxidized lubrication oils are investigated to find the intrinsic relationship between the oxidation products and color numbers. Based on key performances of the oxidized oil samples, the oil quality is undoubtfully deteriorated which is coincident with the variation of color number. The color numbers of the used aviation lubrication oils could provide an alternative way to readily and quickly measure the decline degree and residual lifetime.


Mining has become a controversial business everywhere. Issues of mining are in the wake because of the increasing demands for mineral products and diminishing nature of such minerals in the West. This seemingly opportunity for developing countries like Ghana which have mineral deposits comes with its accompanying repercussions. This paper looks at the general mining environment as a whole, narrowed down to developing countries with emphasis in the Ghanaian context. The impact and contributions of the sector to the economy, as well as the emerging trends of the industry in Ghana in terms of law enforcement are touched on. This conceptual paper identifies that with the international mining industry becoming more cosmopolitan, developing countries will have to develop a competitive mining regime based on greater economic equality, mutual benefit and in accordance with generally accepted notions of fairness.


This paper outlines nursing management of the patient undergoing an office- or clinic-based surgical procedure. It identifies key nursing responsibilities in caring for a patient receiving conscious sedation as well as providing examples of pre- and post procedure instructions, and documentation guidelines currently in use in the Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery Clinic at University of North Carolina (UNC) Hospitals, as well as pictures of a typical otolaryngology procedure and recovery room.


The growing demand and increasing fresh-water scarcity urgently require effective and sustainable management of water for irrigation to assure future requirements of food and fiber production. The sustainable management uses advanced technologies to improve water use efficiency. The computer-based irrigation models are globally accepted as most consistent management tools for efficiently using irrigation water on field.
An irrigation scheduling computer model (Mehran) is developed basically as an irrigation research and management tool. The Mehran Model is an integrated decision support system (DSS), which is designed using Visual Basic-6.0 platform to compute Reference Evapotranspiration (ETo) by FAO-56 Penman-Monteith method. Crop Evapotranspiration (ETc) and irrigation schedules are computed by the model using daily soil-water balance and dual crop coefficients approaches. The model distinguishes soil texture classes and different irrigation methods, and also considers 66 regional and international crop types. The model computes soil-water profiles variation with respect to the time and existing root depth of the crop. The model interface provides multiple choices to user for designing irrigation schedules by (a) Real-time daily water balance, (b) Planning on demand system, (c) Planning rotational system, and (d) Synchronizing on demand and rotational (warabandi) systems.
The model has been field tested and validated on planning and management of various irrigation schedules for cotton and wheat crops in Lower Indus Basin of Pakistan. The field experiments at management allowed depletion (MAD) level of 55, 65 and 75% were carried out for cotton crop, and at MAD level of 45, 55 and 65% for wheat crop. The daily actual crop evapotranspiration (ETca) was observed through gypsum block readings and a drainage lysimeter. The observed seasonal cotton crop actual Evapotranspirations (ETca) in the experiments were 486, 413, and 397 mm and those computed by the model were 504, 421, and 404 mm. Similarly the observed seasonal wheat crop ETc was 363, 359, and 332 mm, and those computed were 383, 369, and 355 mm. The crop water use efficiency (WUE) determined in terms of seed-cotton yield per unit of land and per unit of seasonal ETc were computed to be 6.0, 6.5, and 5.8 kg (ha mm) −1. The corresponding water use efficiencies (WUEs) for the wheat crops were obtained 14.1, 15.0 and 13.4 kg (ha mm) −1. The highest crop WUE was achieved with MAD at 65% for cotton crop and at 55% for wheat crop's experiments. The model averagely overestimated seasonal ETc of cotton crop merely by 2.41% and 4.31% for wheat crop.
Weekly root depth and daily soil-moisture measurements were carried out, which assisted in carefully monitoring effective root zone depth during experiments. When practicing either scientific or traditional irrigation scheduling in the country, a seasonal water amount of 370 mm is suggested for wheat crop, and 450 – 500 mm for cotton crop to achieve optimum yield and WUE.
Statistical analysis (R2 = 93%, T–test = 2.6, and F–test = 1481) showed good correlation between the computed and actual seasonal ETc of the crops. The sensitivity analysis on weather input parameters revealed that the model is most sensitive to temperature variations on output of crop transpiration, soil evaporation and irrigation water allocation. The Mehran Model is found to be quite versatile, flexible, user–friendly, and can be successfully used as a decision support system for irrigation scheduling and management for general crops, specifically for cotton and wheat crops in the Lower Indus Basin of Pakistan.


The paper analyzes monetary and fiscal policy efficiency and coordination in a stochastic new open economy macroeconomics (NOEM) model with three production sectors. Some or all of these sectors can be affected by unanticipated productivity shocks which can trigger monetary and fiscal policy reactions. The uncertainty over the shocks can be symmetric or asymmetric across the two countries. The paper first aims to assess the capacity of fiscal and monetary policy to reduce or eliminate the negative effects of unanticipated productivity shocks. Second, it evaluates the possible gains from international monetary cooperation as well as the impact of active fiscal policy on monetary policy efficiency. The results show that monetary and fiscal policies are efficient tools of stabilization and under several conditions they can replicate the flexible-price equilibrium. However, their efficiency is not necessarily increased when both monetary and fiscal policies react to shocks at the national level. The existence of bilateral gains from monetary cooperation depends on the degree of asymmetry concerning the uncertainty over the shocks. In case of high asymmetry, monetary cooperation can be counter-productive either for the home or for the foreign country.


To the Editor: Adult-onset Still's disease (AOSD) is a rare systemic inflammatory disease characterized by arthralgias, transient cutaneous eruption, and high fluctuating fever1. No pathognomonic biological marker has yet been identified, making diagnosis difficult. Recent pathophysiological findings showed thatAOSD is characterized by a particular cytokine profile, suggesting implication of Th1 immune response. The overwhelming implication of interleukin 1 (IL-1) in the systemic inflammatory reaction seen during the course of AOSD has justified the administration of agents blocking IL-1 receptor (anakinra), which gave some good results3,4. We describe a case of AOSD with an activated macrophage syndrome that responded to anakinra.…


The purpose of this study was to look for causes of women's fear of crime. It was hypothesised that experiences of sexual harassment, which usually are not serious but could occur relatively often, can lead women to be fearful and restrict themselves to their homes. A distinction was made between victimisation inside the family and outside the family. The results showed a strong relation between fear/anticipation and victimisation for situations inside the family frame. However, there appeared to be a weaker relation between victimisation and fear/anticipation outside the family; a low educational level was the best predictor of higher fear/anticipation scores. Techniques of neutralisation can explain the difference in results for situations inside and outside the family frame. Finally it is suggested that women differ in their ability to handle potentially dangerous situations (by neutralising feelings of insecurity). This means that there are two "explanations" for women's high scores on fear and anticipation scales: they have experiences of sexual harassment, which men usually do not have to confront; and they score higher on factors which influence people's ability to handle potentially dangerous situations.


The topology descriptions used at Internet2 are provided in an XML format for use in the Dynamic Circuit Network suite. The topology descriptions developed by the University of Amsterdam is the Network Description Language. In August and September 2009 Jeroen van der Ham worked at Internet2 on the translation of topology descriptions. This report describes some of the findings in creating this translation.


A simulation method is employed to simulate elastic moduli of porous materials, including error estimation. The ratio of porous elastic moduli to their non-porous counterparts is obtained for isotropic skeletal materials with a Poisson's ratio of ¼. Three cases are modeled: 1). The spherical pores are non-overlapping but otherwise randomly distributed spheres, 2) the spherical pores are randomly distributed (overlapping) spheres, and 3) the pores are exclusions created from randomly distributed, overlapping spheres of matrix material. In all cases the pores are empty and the spheres are uniform in size. The results show that Norris' differential effective medium theory describes overlapping spheres well, particularly compressional properties, and the Kuster-Toksoz model is moderately accurate for non-overlapping spheres. The CPA gives the closest description of the spherical exclusions, but it is still poor.


Periodically, I work with classroom teachers to try out new books, techniques, and strategies. I discovered two important things while working with Kate Hunnicutt's class over a period of several weeks in Grand Prairie, Texas. We worked on several poems together, and the students asked to perform some of them again and again. I'm not sure whether it was the poems themselves or their unorthodox formats, or whether it was the way we performed them as a class. But it was a good example of two things: Number one, poetry has a place in social studies; number two, poetry reading should be active and involve students in the reading as much as possible. The brevity, conceptual focus, and rich vocabulary of poetry make it a natural teaching tool for social studies. However, even the word poetry can put many people off. It reminds them of forced memorization, of searching for hidden symbolism, or of counting meter for iambic pentameter. Many teachers have had negative experiences that keep them from sharing poetry with their students. Students then develop a similar dislike or apathy for poetry. Yet every reader can find poems that speak to him or her, given the proper introduction. That is the key: providing open access to poetry without roadblocks of formal analysis. Opportunity for in-depth responding and understanding can follow when teachers create an environment for spontaneous pleasure in poetry. Poet and teacher Georgia Heard puts it this way: "Kids need to become friends with poetry as well. They need to know that poems can comfort them, make them laugh, help them remember, [and] nurture them to know and understand themselves more completely." (1) Poetry offers several practical benefits. Brevity of form is one. Poetry has the advantage of coming "packaged" in very few words, relatively speaking. Poems can be read and reread in very little time. And each rereading can be approached in a slightly different way, through choral reading or poetry performance. The length is less intimidating to students who might be overwhelmed by longer prose and streams of new vocabulary. Although poetry may also present new words and concepts, this shorter appearance provides a motivating advantage. The short format of poetry also means it can be added to a pre-existing social studies lesson without drastic readjustment. The strong oral quality of poetry is another pedagogical plus. Poetry is meant to be read aloud. A poem's meaning is more clearly communicated when both read and heard. As poet Brod Bagert has said, just as songs are not just sheet music, poetry is not just text. (2) This helps students acquire correct word pronunciations and aids with their overall listening comprehension. In addition, the rhythm and/or rhyme of poetry can help students begin to get a sense of the sound of words and phrases using artful, yet natural language, especially for English as a Second Language (ESL) students. (3) Learning the vocabulary of social studies is a constant challenge for students, but when students participate in choral reading, they have the opportunity to develop their own oral fluency, making the new words their own. Experimenting with various arrangements can also help with expression and builds student confidence. Also, poems tend to be about one subject. This crystallized focus can aid students as they use their word knowledge to make sense of new content. A poem's context can help the reader or listener incorporate new vocabulary. When students read the poem, hear the poem read aloud, and participate in a choral reading of the poem, they have had multiple modes of reinforcement for meaningful language learning. As Sharon Gill found in her classroom use of poetry, "Poetry is written to be read again and again ... Repeated readings allow children to gain fluency and build sight vocabulary while having successful reading experiences. Poetry also contains elements of predictability such as rhyme, rhythm and repetition which make reading easier. …


We have found that the presence of a Tinel's sign is often pervasive in subjects with peripheral neuropathy and/or risk factors for developing it. There is a paucity of research dealing with the usefulness of Tinel's sign as it relates to peripheral neuropathy (PN). The following investigation was carried out to determine if multiple Tinel's sign or MTS can be used to identify patients with an underlying PN or with risk factors for developing a PN. A total of 102 subjects were enrolled in the study prospectively. We found MTS to have a sensitivity of 79% with a specificity of 42% in detecting peripheral neuropathy and a sensitivity of 76% with a specificity of 44% in determining the presence of risk factors for developing a peripheral neuropathy. We conclude that MTS can be a fairly sensitive indicator of PN or risk factors.


The temporomandibular joint is critical for jaw movements and allows for mastication, digestion of food, and speech. Temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease that is marked by permanent cartilage destruction and loss of extracellular matrix (ECM). To understand how the ECM regulates mandibular condylar chondrocyte (MCC) differentiation and function, we used a genetic mouse model of temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis that is deficient in two ECM proteins, biglycan and fibromodulin (Bgn(-/0)Fmod(-/-)). Given the unavailability of cell lines, we first isolated primary MCCs and found that they were phenotypically unique from hyaline articular chondrocytes isolated from the knee joint. Using Bgn(-/0) Fmod(-/-) MCCs, we discovered the early basis for temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis arises from abnormal and accelerated chondrogenesis. Transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta1 is a growth factor that is critical for chondrogenesis and binds to both biglycan and fibromodulin. Our studies revealed the sequestration of TGF-beta1 was decreased within the ECM of Bgn(-/0) Fmod(-/-) MCCs, leading to overactive TGF-beta1 signal transduction. Using an explant culture system, we found that overactive TGF-beta1 signals induced chondrogenesis and ECM turnover in this model. We demonstrated for the first time a comprehensive study revealing the importance of the ECM in maintaining the mandibular condylar cartilage integrity and identified biglycan and fibromodulin as novel key players in regulating chondrogenesis and ECM turnover during temoporomandibular joint osteoarthritis pathology.


In family studies, we are interested in estimating the penetrance function of the event of interest in the presence of competing risks. Failure to account for competing risks may lead to bias in the estimation of the penetrance function. In this thesis, three statistical challenges are addressed: clustering, missing data, and competing risks. We proposed the cause-specific model with shared frailty and ascertainment correction to account for clustering and competing risks along with ascertainment of families into study. Multiple imputation is used to account for missing data. The simulation study showed good performance of our proposed model in estimating the penetrance function under high familial correlation. However the competing risks model without frailty provided a good alternative under low familial correlation. We illustrate the proposed model using Colon Cancer Family Registry data.


Background: IL-10 is an anti-inflammatory cytokine which is involved in tumorigenesis. Over production of IL-10 and elevated number of IL-10 generating mononuclear cells in breast tumor tissue has already been shown. Objective: To determine the association of IL-10 promoter polymorphisms with increased risk of breast cancer and its association with breast cancer prognostic factors. Methods: Peripheral blood samples from 275 female breast cancer patients and 320 cancer free controls were used to detect three single nucleotide polymorphisms in IL-10 promoter region ( -1082, -819, -592 ) by PCR method. Results: The frequency of genotypes and alleles of three mentioned regions of IL-10 promoter and their haplotypes (GCC, ATA, and ACC) showed no statistically significant difference between patients and controls. In the case of prognostic factors, progesterone receptor (PR) status exhibited significant relation with -1082 genotypes (P=0.03) and haplotypes (P=0.02). -1082 AA genotype was associated with negative PR expression whereas AG and GG genotypes of this site were positively associated with PR expression. Similarly GCC haplotype correlated with positive PR expression and ATA and ACC with negative PR expression. Conclusion: The data of this study showed that IL-10 promoter gene polymorphisms may not be considered as one of the risk factors for breast cancer in Iranian patients.


Islam is the religion of peace. Islamic law describe a complete and comprehensive law of punishment for the eradication of crimes and maintenance of peace. According to Islamic law, the punishments can be classified under three main categories: Al-Hudud (fixed punishments), Al-qisas (Retaliation), and Al-Taazir (discretionary). Hudud means the punishment which has been specified in the Holy Quran and Sunnah and no individual or group has the right to amend or abrogate it. The second is Qisas, which means the equal retaliation of an aggression committed against the body of a person. The third Kind of Islamic legal punishment is Taazir, it means, a crime for which The Holy Quran and Sunnah have not fixed any punishment, instead, have left it to the discretion of the judges. But in the recent era, many of the Muslim countries don't leave the punishments of the penal crimes (Taaziraat) to the discretion of the Judges, each Muslim state restrict the rights of the Judge to give punishment at his own's discretion, and legislating for the punishments of penal crimes (Taaziraat), and make the Judges abide by a particular measure of punishment for penal crimes (Taaziraat). In this articles, we will analyze the above mentioned issue in the light of Islamic principles, that what, it is lawful for any Muslim state to legislate for the punishment of penal crimes or not?


SUMMARY: A medium for the isolation of heterotrophic aerobic bacteria from marine fish has been developed. The medium contains inorganic ions with a total concentration equal to about half that of sea water. The ionic ratio of sodium and potassium in the medium is nearly 1:1, and the concentration of the organic nutrients is higher than in media that have been generally used for the isolation of bacteria from sea water.


This essay examines complexities that attend digitizing a cultural heritage artifact that is sacred to a contemporary community. It argues that scholars must first determine how the artifact participates in the life of its community. If this participation is integral, scholars should treat the artifact as a present-day cultural phenomenon, inseparable from its community. To explain the implications of this shift, the author turns to ethnography, which has a lengthy tradition of interacting with communities for generating research. Photographing a sacred artifact is not unlike other ethnographic research, whether tape recording stories, collecting documents, or gathering information about social practices. To guide digital work, the essay proposes ethnographic ethical principles, demonstrating their value in digitizing the 8th-century St Chad Gospels at Lichfield Cathedral, England — supporting Jamie Bianco's recent call for an "ethical turn" in the digital humanities.


In order to know about the rheological properties of typical biotite granitic gneiss in Xiaowan Hydropower Project, triaxial rheological experiments with biotite granitic gneiss were carried out on the rock servo-controlling rheological testing machine. As a result the typical complete rheological curve of the biotite granitic gneiss indicates that when the stress level is low, the rheological deformation of rock specimen is not obvious; when in high stress conditions, the rock mass rheological properties are very significant with large rheological deformation, including three typical rheological phases. The rheological deformation decreases with the increase of the confining pressure, and at the same time the rheological rate of rock specimen changes with the change of stress level. In low stress state, the corresponding rheological rate of the rock specimen incarnated as the rheological rate attenuation stage and the rheological rate uniform stage, while once the stress level exceeds the long-term strength of rock specimen, the rheological rate would first decreases and then keep at a constant value, and finally it will trend to follow the non-linear acceleration law. The rupture form of the low-intensity biotite granitic gneiss specimen is the main crack surface which causes the damage of rock specimen, and finally generated by the expansion and transfixion of the crack in the initial cavern flaw. The rheological deformation and rupture form of rock specimen in different confining pressures are not exactly the same.


Early modern study of plants blossomed in a network of observation, exchanges, collaborations, and epistolary discussions. Following Baconian methodology, Dutch scholars combined the labor of listing and describing plants with botanical experimentation. This empirical approach was a suitable context for Descartes, who exchanged information and performed observations on plants in collaboration with Dutch experimenters. In this article, I focus on (1) the reception of a few botanical experiments of Bacon's Sylva Sylvarum in Huygens and Reneri, with whom Descartes was in contact, and (2) Descartes' collaboration with Reneri. While performing observations on plants together, Reneri acquired Descartes' theoretical framework (as it arises in his disputations) and influenced the latter with a Baconian approach to the study of living nature. This combination of experimental knowledge and a theoretical framework shaped a Cartesian study of plants, as it later surfaced in Regius and ultimately paved the way to a modern science of plants.


A large body of evidence has revealed that the microbiome serves a role in all aspects of cancer, particularly cancer treatment. To date, studies investigating the relationship between the microbiome and systemic therapy for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) are lacking. PDAC is a high-mortality malignancy (5-year survival rate; <9% for all stages). Systemic therapy is one of the most important treatment choices for all patients; however, resistance or toxicity can affect its efficacy. Studies have supported the hypothesis that the microbiome is closely associated with the response to systemic therapy in PDAC, including the induction of drug resistance, or toxicity and therapy-related changes in microbiota composition. The present review comprehensively summarized the role of the microbiome in systemic therapy for PDAC and the associated molecular mechanisms in an attempt to provide a novel direction for the improvement of treatment response and proposed potential directions for in-depth research.


Salinity stress is one of the major factors which reduce crop plants growth and productivity resulting in significant economic losses worldwide. Therefore, it would be fruitful to isolate and functionally identify new salinity stress-induced genes for understanding the mechanism and developing salinity stress tolerant plants. Based on functional gene screening assay, we have isolated three salinity tolerant genes out of one million Escherichia coli (SOLR) transformants containing pea cDNAs. Sequence analysis of three of these genes revealed homology to Ribosomal-L30E (RPL30E), Chlorophyll-a/b-binding protein (Chla/bBP) and FIDDLEHEAD (FDH). The salinity tolerance of these genes in bacteria was further confirmed by using another strain of E. coli (DH5α) transformants. The homology based computational modeling of these proteins suggested the high degree of conservation with the conserved domains of their homologous partners. The reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis showed that the expression of these cDNAs (except the FDH) was upregulated in pea plants in response to NaCl stress. We observed that there was no significant effect of Li+ ion on the expression level of these genes, while an increase in response to K+ ion was observed. Overall, this study provides an evidence for a novel function of these genes in high salinity stress tolerance. The PsFDH showed constitutive expression in planta suggesting that it can be used as constitutively expressed marker gene for salinity stress tolerance in plants. This study brings new direction in identifying novel function of unidentified genes in abiotic stress tolerance without previous knowledge of the genome sequence.


This paper addresses OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) transmission over optical links with high spectral efficiency, i.e. by using high-order QAM-modulation schemes as a mapping method prior to the OFDM multicarrier representation. Here we address especially coherent optical OFDM modem in long distance which is affected by nonlinear distortion caused by fiber nonlinearity. Fiber nonlinearity is a major performance-limiting factor in advanced optical communication systems. We proposed a nonlinear electrical equalization scheme based on the Volterra model. To Compare with other popular linear compensation technique such as the LMS (least Mean Square), simulation results are presented to demonstrate the capability of a Volterra model based electrical equalizer used in a coherent optical orthogonal frequency division multiplexing system. It is shown that the Volterra model based equalizer can significantly reduce nonlinear distortion. Keywords— Equalizers, optical fiber communication, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), Volterra model.


In Franco's totalitarian state, censorship became from the start an efficient mechanism to control artistic production — and by extension, ideas — which was conceived to maintain and enhance the values of Francoist regime. But its violent and ruthless measures did not prevent it from being considered by some as arbitrary and inconsistent. The present article argues that Francoist censorship was a rigid and normalised system with fixed criteria that guided and determined censors' decisions. The study carried out here compares three novels sharing the theme of sexuality, which were originally written in English and French and translated into Spanish under Franco's dictatorship: The last of the wine, by Mary Renault (1961); Safo, by Alphonse Daudet (1964); and The anti-death league, by Kingsley Amis (1967). It aims to identify examples of censorship manipulation and establish translational patterns by analysing — both quantitatively and qualitatively — the strategies or censorship mechanisms detected in the translated texts. The results of the study illustrate the influence that Francoist censorship exerted upon the translation of novels with sexual content, contributing to unveiling the reasons behind their alterations.