A three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, in Donovan v. Coeur d'Alene Tribal Farm (1985) (Coeur d'Alene), applied the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) to tribal government employment, despite a total absence of statutory language or evidence of congressional intent supporting such an intrusion on tribal sovereignty. This Coeur d'Alene decision has emerged as a remarkably influential precedent over the last quarter century. Yet the Supreme Court has never endorsed it, and has indeed repeatedly rejected its fundamental premises. The Ninth Circuit claimed to find support for its approach in a passing statement in a 1960 Supreme Court opinion, Federal Power Commission v. Tuscarora Indian Nation, to the effect that there is a presumption that "a general [federal] statute in terms applying to all persons includes Indians and their property interests." Yet Tuscarora has long been viewed as a discarded relic of a now-discredited era of American Indian law.Coeur d'Alene set forth three elements (so-called "exceptions" to Tuscarora's alleged "rule") under which a general federal law "silent on the issue of applicability to Indian tribes will NOT apply to them" ONLY: "(1) [if] the law touches exclusive rights of self-governance in purely intramural matters; (2) [if] the application of the law to the tribe would abrogate rights guaranteed by Indian treaties; or (3) [if] there is proof by legislative history or some other means that Congress intended [the law] not to apply to Indians on their reservations...."By contrast, "longstanding principles" of American Indian law known as the "canons of construction" require, in relevant part, that "(1) ambiguities in a federal statute must be resolved in favor of Indians, and (2) a clear expression of Congressional intent is necessary before a court may construe a federal statute so as to impair tribal sovereignty." The Indian law canons thus embody a presumption that federal laws should not be construed to limit tribal sovereignty or tribal rights unless Congress clearly, intentionally, and unambiguously chooses to do so: a presumption diametrically opposed to the Coeur d'Alene approach.Part I of this article summarizes why Coeur d'Alene is such a strange and paradoxical opinion. Part II discusses its remarkable influence. Part III lambastes its demonstrable wrongness. In conclusion, the article considers what might explain this phenomenon and where we may be headed.This article grows out of a 2007 article by the same author dealing with the extension of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to cover the on-reservation employees of American Indian tribes. See Wildenthal, "Federal Labor Law, Indian Sovereignty, and the Canons of Construction," 86 Oregon L. Rev. 413 (2007) (available at http://ssrn.com/abstract=970590). That application of the NLRA in derogation of tribal sovereignty was accomplished by the administrative and judicial fiat of the National Labor Relations Board and the D.C. Circuit, in the San Manuel cases. It has never been approved by Congress or the Supreme Court. Indeed, it is contrary to Supreme Court precedents and statutory policy choices by Congress that have molded the field of American Indian law for the past century. And it was justified in primary and effective reliance on the Ninth Circuit's Coeur d'Alene doctrine.


Digital image collections in libraries and other curatorial institutions grow too rapidly to create new descriptive metadata for subject matter search or browsing. CLiMB (Computational Linguistics for Metadata Building) was a project designed to address this dilemma that involved computer scientists, linguists, librarians, and art librarians. The CLiMB project followed an iterative evaluation model: each next phase of the project emerged from the results of an evaluation. After assembling a suite of text processing tools to be used in extracting metada, we conducted a formative evaluation with thirteen participants, using a survey in which we varied the order and type of four conditions under which respondents would propose or select image search terms. Results of the formative evaluation led us to conclude that a CLiMB ToolKit would work best if its main function was to propose terms for users to review. After implementing a prototype ToolKit using a browser interface, we conducted an evaluation with ten experts. Users found the ToolKit very habitable, remained consistently satisfied throughout a lengthy evaluation, and selected a large number of terms per image.


For students in Years 1–10 in Queensland, Australia, The Arts (hereafter referred to as 'arts') is one of eight Key Learning Areas in the core curriculum. Yet, while arts – comprising five strands including music – is a mandatory component of the curriculum, implementation varies widely. This occurs for a range of reasons, one of which is the common practice that generalist teachers are allocated delivery of the arts programme in their teaching load. Furthermore, research reveals that music and the arts are frequently considered to be the 'frills subject' in a school's timetable, often the first to be removed from the timetable when time is short and the first to feel the impact of budget cuts, including the engagement of specialist arts educators (Russell-Bowie, 2004). This study highlights the gap between policy rhetoric for music and the arts and the pedagogical reality in generalist classrooms. Using a narrative informed case study methodology, a story constellation derived from a beginning generalist teacher and a school principal is revealed. The discussion which follows provides a focus, through the generation of key values statements derived from the data, on the tensions this beginning teacher has experienced in his practice as a teacher responsible for teaching music and the arts, juxtaposed with a similar narrative of the school principal.


The incidence of malaria in travelers returning to the United States has been increasing. Persons visiting areas where malaria is endemic should use insect repellent, wear clothing that covers the arms and legs, and remain in screened areas between dusk and dawn. Chemoprophylaxis for travelers consists of weekly doses of chloroquine; a new drug, mefloquine, should be used in the increasing number of countries where chloroquine-resistant malaria is found. Travelers to these areas should carry three tablets of pyrimethamine-sulfadoxine, which should be taken for presumptive treatment of malaria at the onset of chills and fever. It is essential that chemoprophylaxis be continued for four to five weeks after departure from endemic areas. In travelers who develop symptoms of malaria after returning from an endemic area, it is imperative that treatment be started even if blood smears are negative.


Exploration-exploitation of functions, that is learning and optimizing a mapping between inputs and expected outputs, is ubiquitous to many real world situations. These situations sometimes require us to avoid certain outcomes at all cost, for example because they are poisonous, harmful, or otherwise dangerous. We test participants' behavior in scenarios in which they have to find the optimum of a function while at the same time avoid outputs below a certain threshold. In two experiments, we find that Safe-Optimization, a Gaussian Process-based exploration-exploitation algorithm, describes participants' behavior well and that participants seem to care firstly whether a point is safe and then try to pick the optimal point from all such safe points. This means that their trade-off between exploration and exploitation can be seen as an intelligent, approximate, and homeostasis-driven strategy.


Background Hospital pharmacists play a key role in formulary decision-making. As a part of that role, it has become important to consider the assurance of drug supply for their institutions, as adequate drug availability is a growing global concern. With drug shortages, both physicians and pharmacists need to consider less desirable options including rationing drugs, delaying critical treatments, and utilising less efficacious medications. Regulatory agencies are striving to develop processes to address drug shortages, including rapid notifications. While this may aid healthcare providers in managing shortages, it does not address their ability to maintain continuous supply. Pharmaceutical and biotechnology manufacturers face operational efficiency challenges, placing stable supply to patients at risk. Purpose Utilising biologics as an example, this report highlights critical supply chain parameters that pharmacists should consider when evaluating a manufacturer's ability to maintain and deliver a continuous supply of medications. Materials and methods Through examples, key considerations for ensuring drug availability in the complex environment of manufacturing and distribution challenges are outlined. Results Key factors that can enable biologic manufacturers to ensure continuous supply of high quality products to patients include: 1) integration of global manufacturing and distribution information systems that link patient demand to production scheduling; 2) qualification of suppliers and dual sourcing of raw materials; 3) redundant manufacturing capabilities and strategic capacity management; 4) maintenance of strategic safety stocks to minimise impact of manufacturing delays/interruptions; and 5) active management of robust and secure cold chain distribution networks. These factors require leveraging resources, both financial and human, to ensure that approved drugs are available through normal operations, and during periods of supply shortages. Conclusions In conclusion, it should become an integral part of the hospital pharmacist's role to understand and take into consideration how a manufacturer manages drug supply when weighing formulary decisions.


The Kalman filter is a very interesting signal processing tool, which is widely used in many practical applications. In this paper, we study the Kalman filter in the context of echo cancellation. The contribution of this work is threefold. First, we derive a different form of the Kalman filter by considering, at each iteration, a block of time samples instead of one time sample as it is the case in the conventional approach. Second, we show how this general Kalman filter (GKF) is connected with some of the most popular adaptive filters for echo cancellation, i.e., the normalized least-mean-square (NLMS) algorithm, the affine projection algorithm (APA) and its proportionate version (PAPA). Third, a simplified Kalman filter is developed in order to reduce the computational load of the GKF; this algorithm behaves like a variable step-size adaptive filter. Simulation results indicate the good performance of the proposed algorithms, which can be attractive choices for echo cancellation.


Interaction and navigation in large geometric spaces typically require a sequence of pan and zoom actions. This strategy is often ineffective and cumbersome, especially when trying to study several distant objects. We propose a new distortion technique that folds the intervening space to guarantee visibility of multiple focus regions. The folds themselves show contextual information and support unfolding and paging interactions. Compared to previous work, our method provides more context and distance awareness. We conducted a study comparing the space-folding technique to existing approaches, and found that participants performed significantly better with the new technique.


Aspects are originally introduced to capture cross-cutting concerns among classes. Often this cross-cutting concerns ends up being non-functional requirements. We can use Softgoal Interdependency Graphs(SIG) to systematically analyze and design non-functional requirements. In this paper, we propose a set of rules that could be used to capture the information in SIGs as classpects. Then the classpects thus generated are integrated with the classes that encapsulate functional requirements. As a result, any further life cycle of the software development not only captures the functional but also the non-functional requirements.


The entropy principle yields, for a given set of moments, a density that involves the smallest amount of prior information. We first show how entropy densities may be constructed in a numerically efficient way as the minimization of a potential. Next, for the case where the first four moments are given, we characterize the skewness-kurtosis domain for which densities are defined. This domain is found to be much larger that for Hermite or Edgeworth expansions. Last, we show how this technique can be used to estimate a GARCH model where wkewness and kurtosis are time varying. Entropy, Semi-nonparametric estimation, Time-Varying skewness and Kurtosis, Garch Model


I present a finite-difference method for modeling P-SV wave propagation in heterogeneous media. This is an extension of the method I previously proposed for modeling SH-wave propagation by using velocity and stress in a discrete grid. The two components of the velocity cannot be defined at the same node for a complete staggered grid: the stability condition and the P-wave phase velocity dispersion curve do not depend on the Poisson's ratio, while the S-wave phase velocity dispersion curve behavior is rather insensitive to the Poisson's ratio. Therefore, the same code used for elastic media can be used for liquid media, where S-wave velocity goes to zero, and no special treatment is needed for a liquid-solid interface. Typical physical phenomena arising with P-SV modeling, such as surface waves, are in agreement with analytical results. The weathered-layer and corner-edge models show in seismograms the same converted phases obtained by previous authors. This method gives stable results for step discontinuities, as shown for a liquid layer above an elastic half-space. The head wave preserves the correct amplitude. Finally, the corner-edge model illustrates a more complex geometry for the liquid-solid interface. As the Poisson's ratio v increases from 0.25 to 0.5, the shear converted phases are removed from seismograms and from the time section of the wave field.


We have used whole-cell and perforated patches to study ionic currents induced by hypotonic extracellular solutions (HTS, 185 mOsm instead of 290 mOsm) in endothelial cells from human umbilical veins. These currents activated within 30-50 s after application of HTS, reached a maximum value after approximately 50-150 s and recovered completely after re-exposing the cells to normal osmolarity. They slowly inactivated at potentials positive to +50 mV. The same current was also activated by breaking into endothelial cells with a hypertonic pipette solution (377 mOsm instead of 290 mOsm). The reversal potential of these volume-induced currents using different extracellular and intracellular Cl- concentrations was always close to the Cl(-)- equilibrium potential. These currents are therefore mainly carried by Cl-. DIDS only weakly blocked the current (KI = 120 microM), while another Cl(-)-channel blocker, DCDPC (20 microM) was ineffective. We were unable to record single channel activity in cell-attached patches but we always observed an increased current variance during HTS. From the mean current-variance relation of the whole-cell current records, we determined a single channel conductance of 1.1 pS. The size and kinetics of the current were not correlated with the concomitant changes in intracellular calcium. Furthermore, the currents could still be activated in the presence of 10 mmol/liter intracellular EGTA and are thus Ca2+ independent. A similar current was also activated with iso-osmotic pipette solutions containing 300 mumol/liter GTP gamma S. Neomycin (1 mmol/liter), a blocker of PLC, did not prevent activation of this current. TPA (4 mumol/liter) was also ineffective in modulation of this current. The HTS-induced current was completely blocked by 10 mumol/liter pBPB, a PLA2 inhibitor. NDGA (4 mumol/liter) and indomethacin (5 mumol/liter), blockers of lipoxygenase and cyclo- oxygenase respectively, did however not affect the current induced by hypotonic solutions. The effects of arachidonic acid (10 mumol/liter) were variable. In 12 out of 40 cells it either directly activated a Cl- current or potentiated the current activated by HTS. The membrane current was decreased at all potentials in 18 cells, and was not affected in 10 cells. The HTS-induced currents may therefore be modulated by cleavage products of PLA2, but not by messengers downstream of arachidonic acid. Loading the cells with a segment of the heat stable protein kinase A inhibitor PKI (5-24) did not prevent activation of the HTS-induced current.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


Three protein kinases of 48, 44 and 40 kDa are activated at different stages in tobacco cells treated with fungal elicitins. Previously we demonstrated that the rapidly activated 48 kDa protein kinase is encoded by SIPK. Here we report that the elicitin-activated 44 kDa kinase is encoded by WIPK. Activation of this kinase occurred 2-4 h after elicitin treatment and was preceded by dramatic increases in WIPK mRNA and protein levels. Studies using actinomycin D and cycloheximide demonstrated that de novo transcription and translation were required for this activation of the kinase activity. Strikingly, the kinetics of WIPK activation following elicitin treatment correlated with the onset of hypersensitive response (HR)-like cell death. Moreover, staurosporine and K-252a, two Ser/Thr protein kinase inhibitors that blocked WIPK activation, suppressed cell death. The timing for elicitin-treated cells to commit to a death program correlated with the appearance of high levels of WIPK activity. These correlative data suggest that WIPK may play a role during HR development in tobacco. Interestingly, a fungal cell-wall elicitor that does not cause cell death induced WIPK mRNA and protein to similar levels as those observed with the elicitins. However, no corresponding increase in WIPK activity was detected. Thus WIPK appears to be controlled at multiple levels.


Defatted kernel flour of oil palm, grounded to 60 mesh, was taken as raw material to produce protein concentrates (70.8%) protein) which were succinylated at different levels (0.05; 0.2 and 0.6). The extent of acylation was measured as percentage of lysine modification reaching values from 18.4% to 48.6%. Protein concentrate functional properties were determined: Water solubility (pH 2-10); water absorption (320%); oil absorption (2.2 ml oil/g), emulsion activity and emulsion stability (28-46%). The functional properties were enhanced by succinylation if compared with the untreated protein concentrate, however, "in vitro" digestibility was not affected, by succinylation. In summary, the results of this study indicate that acylation using succinyl anhydride can improve the functional properties of oil palm protein concentrate over those without such treatment.


Time Frames provides a reconnaissance on the conservation rules and current protection policies of more than 100 countries, with particular attention to the emerging nations and twentieth-century architecture. The contributions illustrate the critical issues related to architectural listings, with a brief history of national approaches, a linkography and a short bibliography. The book also provides a short critical lexicography, with 12 papers written by scholars and experts including topics on identities, heritages, conservation, memories and the economy. By examining the methods used to designate building as heritage sites across the continents, this book provides a comprehensive overview of current protection policies of twentieth-century architecture as well as the role of architectural history.


Purpose - – Understanding of social values is emerging, particularly as the phrases "social impact" and "social value" and the measurement thereof, are ubiquitous in both practitioner and academic discourse today. These terms are particularly relevant to those involved in social initiatives that are required at some stage to demonstrate to stakeholders, investors, funders, or simply themselves that they have the capability to deliver. The purpose of this paper is to link the evaluation of social enterprise outcomes to individual efficacy beliefs. Design/methodology/approach - – The study is survey based (165 respondents) and conducted in two major cities in South Africa, where social entrepreneurship (SE) has unequivocal application. Social outcomes and self-efficacy are operationalized and measured along multi-dimensional scales. After checking the instruments for validity and reliability, correlational and multiple regression analyses are performed to determine the predicted relationship between the specified variables. Findings - – Empirical findings reveal that evaluation of social enterprise outcomes is associated with higher levels of self-efficacy. Significant results support the propositions that perceptions of capability are positively related to implementing a social vision, sustainability, social networking, innovativeness and financial returns. Research limitations/implications - – The main implications of this study are that measuring SE efficacy in advance of funding may indicate probability of venture success. Originality/value - – The study is one of the first to provide a much needed account of the evaluation of social enterprises in relation to self-efficacy in an emerging market context.


Background. Scottish antimicrobial prescribing in the community has fallen since 2012, but this could have unintended consequences. The aim was to examine associations between changes in antibiotic prescribing in primary care and hospital admissions and patient satisfaction. Methods. Data for 877 Scottish general practices with 5.1 million patients were provided by NHS National Services Scotland. Practices were classified into four equal groups (quartiles) in terms of change in total antibiotic prescribing (rate/1000 registered patients in each quarter) 2012-2018. Changes in hospital admission with infection were examined comparing the four groups. Multivariate regression examined associations between change in antibiotic prescribing and patient satisfaction with the practice using national survey data. Results. Across Scotland, primary care antibiotic prescribing decreased by 15% from 194.1 (95%CI 193.8-194.4) in Q1 2012 to 165.3 (95%CI 165.0-165.6 ) in Q2 2012, with considerable variation between practices (non-significant increase of 0.22 prescriptions/1000/quarter [p=0.49] for the quartile of practices with least reduction in antibiotic prescribing, vs reduction of -2.95 prescriptions/1000/quarter [p<0.001] for quartile with the largest reduction). Rates of hospital admissions with infection increased over the time period but there were no significant association with changes in antibiotic prescribing. Patient satisfaction decreased over the period, but change in antibiotic prescribing was not associated with patient satisfaction. Conclusion. There have been clinically significant reductions in Scottish primary care antibiotic use since 2012, varying considerably between practices. Longitudinal analysis of Scotland-wide practice level data found no associations between practice-level reductions in primary care antibiotic prescribing and hospital admissions or patient satisfaction.


Photoplethysmography (PPG) is a non-invasive photometric technique which measures changes in the volume of blood in the biological tissue. PPG is well-known for its application in pulse oximetry used for the continuous monitoring of arterial blood oxygen saturation (SpO2). Over the past decade, there has been a plethora of research in the field of PPG, with potential applications beyond pulse oximetry and heart rate monitoring. Such applications explore the utilisation of PPG for the assessment of various bio-markers relating to vascular mechanics, haemodynamics and many others. With the growing research interest in the field of PPG, a comprehensive understanding of the light-tissue interaction-based working principle underlying the technique is essential. This thesis is focussed on the investigation of the fundamental light-tissue interactions in PPG using the Monte Carlo method. Tissue models have been developed in this thesis which were characterised by the optical properties (e.g., wavelength- dependent coefficients of scattering and absorption etc.), the anatomical features (e.g., stratification and dimension of tissue layers and sublayers etc.), and the physiological parameters (water and blood content in tissue layers etc.). The Monte Carlo strategy was verified, and was initially implemented to model the light propagation through a monolayer perfused dermal tissue volume in a reflective mode PPG at the red and near-infrared wavelengths, usually used in pulse oximetry. Results illustrated the distribution of the scattering-absorption interaction events, and quantified the optical pathlength, penetration depth and detected reflectance with the variable sensor geometry (i.e., source-detector separation) and physiological states (i.e., the volume of blood and oxygen saturation) of the tissue. The monolayer model was also employed to produce the plot resembling the 'calibration curve' used in pulse oximetry. With the knowledge gained from the monolayer-model study, a similar investigation was performed on a heterogeneous tissue structure of a human finger which was executed in both reflective and transmissive geometrical settings. The calibration curves produced from the detected reflectance and transmittance exhibited a high correlation. The absorbances of red and near-infrared light by individual layers of the finger were quantified at systole and diastole. To the relative absorbance, the contributions of dermis and bone were the maximum and the minimum, respectively. The dependence of the optical pathlength on the source-detector separation and the operating wavelength was quantified by the Differential Pathlength Factor (DPF), which was assessed for the reflective mode PPG by simulating light propagation through a human forearm tissue volume. The DPF values were used in experimentally obtained PPG signal in order to determine the time-change in the concentration of oxyhaemoglobin and deoxyhaemoglobin. Cross-talk and absolute errors were calculated between the simulated and approximated DPFs. The results presented in the thesis contribute greatly to the understanding on PPG light-tissue interaction. Such knowledge could also greatly contribute to the development of the new generation PPG sensors for various applications.


OF DOCTORAL DISSERTATION AALTO UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY P.O. BOX 11000, FI-00076 AALTO http://www.aalto.fi Author Anton Anisimov Name of the dissertation Aerosol synthesis of carbon nanotubes and nanobuds Manuscript submitted 15.12.2009 Manuscript revised 12.03.2010 Date of the defence 09.04.2010 Monograph Article dissertation (summary + original articles) Faculty Department Field of research Opponent(s) Supervisor Instructor Faculty of Information and Natural Sciences Department of Applied Physics Nanotechnology Professor Yoshikazu Homma Professor Esko I. Kauppinen Docent Albert G. Nasibulin Abstract This thesis presents the results of experimental investigations of single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) and nanobud synthesis. These carbon nanomaterials were synthesized by two different methods based on CO disproportionation on the surface of iron particles produced by hot-wire generator and ferrocene decomposition methods. Studies of CO disproportionation in the presence of etching molecules (H2O and CO2) led to the discovery of a novel hybrid carbon material  SWCNTs covered by covalently bonded fullerenes  carbon nanobuds. The reagent concentrations required for nanobud synthesis were found to be between 45 and 245 ppm for H2O and between 2000 and 6000 ppm for CO2. The growth mechanism of the nanobuds and their properties were examined. On the basis of in situ sampling investigations, the kinetics of the SWCNT growth was studied. For temperatures of 804, 836, 851, and 915 °C, the average growth rates were found to be 0.67, 1.11, 1.01, and 2.70 μm/s, respectively. It was found that the growth rate constant complies with the Arrhenius dependence with an activation energy of Ea = 1.39 eV, which can be attributed to the diffusion of carbon atoms in the solid iron catalyst. A new method for separating bundles and individual SWCNTs is proposed. This method is based on the fact that bundled SWCNTs coming from the reactor are charged, while individual SWCNTs remain electrically neutral. Studies of the charging phenomenon revealed that SWCNT bundles were charged (up to 99%) and could carry up to 5 elementary charges. It is proposed that SWCNT bundles were positively charged due to electron emissions and negatively charged due to the emission of impurities from the surface. As a potential SWCNT application, a simple and direct thermo-compression method for integrating SWCNT films with adjustable thicknesses, transparency, and conductivity into polymer films is demonstrated. The produced SWCNT/polyethylene composite films exhibited good optical transparency and conductivity as well as high mechanical flexibility. SWCNT/polyethylene thin films demonstrated excellent cold electron field emission properties.


Recent discoveries of young exoplanets within their natal disks offer exciting opportunities to study ongoing planet formation. In particular, a planet's mass accretion rate can be constrained by observing the accretion-induced excess emission. So far, planetary accretion is only probed by the Hα line, which is then converted to a total accretion luminosity using correlations derived for stars. However, the majority of the accretion luminosity is expected to emerge from hydrogen continuum emission, and is best measured in the ultraviolet (UV). In this paper, we present HST/WFC3/UVIS F336W (UV) and F656N (Hα) high-contrast imaging observations of PDS 70. Applying a suite of novel observational techniques, we detect the planet PDS 70 b with signal-to-noise ratios of 5.3 and 7.8 in the F336W and F656N bands, respectively. This is the first time that an exoplanet has been directly imaged in the UV. Our observed Hα flux of PDS 70 b is higher by than the most recent published result. However, the light curve retrieved from our observations does not support greater than 30% variability in the planet's Hα emission in six epochs over a five month timescale. We estimate a mass accretion rate of . Hα accounts for 36% of the total accretion luminosity. Such a high proportion of energy released in line emission suggests efficient production of Hα emission in planetary accretion, and motivates using the Hα band for searches of accreting planets. These results demonstrate HST/WFC3/UVIS's excellent high-contrast imaging performance and highlight its potential for planet formation studies.


A 59-year-old Laotian male with a past medical history of multiple myeloma on peritoneal dialysis (PD) presented with abdominal pain and peritoneal eosinophilia. He was treated empirically for bacterial peritonitis and discharged although his PD fluid did not isolate any pathogens. He soon developed a partial small bowel obstruction and his serum Strongyloides IgG was positive. After treatment with ivermectin, stool microscopic examination showed Strongyloides stercoralis larvae. This case illustrates that the differential diagnosis of peritoneal eosinophilia should include typical and atypical infections in addition to an allergic or hypersensitivity type reaction.


This study aimed to elicit the meanings refugees attach to their post-migration psychosocial experiences and to explore whether these are aligned with experts' conceptualisations of refugees' problems. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 15 highly-educated refugees in the UK to elicit their subjective theories regarding experienced stressors, resources activated, and psychological health. The participants used the notions of stress, coping, and psychological health in all their richness and did not create necessarily negative meanings. In contrast to stereotypes often implied in experts' theories, the participants did not emerge as "vulnerable" and "passive". In their subjective theories they talked about problems but also how they tackled these. At the same time the resources and psychological outcomes they discussed varied. The findings of the study suggest that experts should consider refugees' subjective theories when planning psychosocial interventions.


Many companies have recently digitized a substantial number of their business processes. It is often the case that some companies store their data on a digital medium and that this data is can be captured and stored in real-time or in a batch process. Measuring the time it takes a system to traverse and process information is of the utmost importance to internal and external stakeholders of the organization. However, it is often difficult for companies to identify information flow and process bottlenecks. In this paper we develop an approach for evaluating the level of companies? digitization. We formalize and provide an illustrative example for a model that can facilitate the measurement of information flow latency within organizations and discuss
the benefits associated with the model.

The proposed latency measure is unique in that it facilitates the measurement of information flow and process latency. The measure is a very important in that it can assist management in improving the most critical business processes in their company. Moreover, an assurance service can be developed in order to increase the trust in the digitization level of business partners. Using the proposed latency measurement model a future assurance service can provide supply chain partners the confidence that their business partners can meet delivery and production schedules accurately and on a timely basis.


Real-time traffic awareness applications are playing an ever increasing role understanding and tackling traffic congestion in cities. First-hand accounts from drivers witnessing an incident is an invaluable source of information for traffic managers. Nowadays, drivers increasingly contact control rooms through social media to report on journey times, accidents or road weather conditions. These new interactions allow traffic controllers to engage users, and in particular to query them for information rather than passively collecting it. Querying participants presents the challenge of which users to probe for updates about a specific situation. In order to maximise the probability of a user responding and the accuracy of the information, we propose a strategy which takes into account the engagement levels of the user, the mobility profile and the reputation of the user. We provide an analysis of a real-world user corpus of Twitter users contributing updates to LiveDrive, a Dublin based traffic radio station.


The integration of the Accelerometer and Magnetometer (AM) provides continuous, stable and accurate attitude information for land-vehicle navigation without magnetic distortion and external acceleration. However, magnetic disturbance and linear acceleration strongly degrade the overall system performance. As an important complement, the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) produces the heading estimates, thus it can potentially benefit the AM system. Such a GNSS/AM system for attitude estimation is mathematically converted to a multi-observation vector pairs matching problem in this paper. The optimal and sub-optimal attitude determination and their time-varying recursive variants are all comprehensively investigated and discussed. The developed methods are named as the Optimal Linear Estimator of Quaternion (OLEQ), Suboptimal-OLEQ (SOLEQ) and Recursive-OLEQ (ROLEQ) for different application scenarios. The theory is established based on our previous contributions, and the multi-vector matrix multiplications are decomposed with the eigenvalue factorization. Some analytical results are proven and given, which provides the reader with a brand new viewpoint of the attitude determination and its evolution. With the derivations of the two-vector case, the n-vector case is then naturally formed. Simulations are carried out showing the advantages of the accuracy, robustness and time consumption of the proposed OLEQs, compared with representative methods. The algorithms are then implemented using the C++ programming language on the designed hardware with a GNSS module, three-axis accelerometer and three-axis magnetometer, giving an effective validation of them in real-world applications. The designed schemes have proven their fast speed and good accuracy in these verification scenarios.


Climate change may lead to an increased risk of river floods in the Netherlands. However, the impacts of changes in water management are even larger, whether enhancing or reducing flood risks. Therefore, the abilities of water management authorities to learn that climate and river flows are changing, and to recognise and act upon the implications are of crucial importance. At the same time, water management authorities respond to other trends, such as the democratisation of decision making, which alter their ability to react to climate change. This complex of interactions is illustrated with changes in river flood risk management for the Rhine and the Meuse in the Netherlands over the last 50 years. A scenario study is used to seek insight into the question whether current water management institutions and their likely successors are capable of dealing with plausible future flood risks. Structural solutions to future flood risks are feasible, but require considerable political will and institutional reform.


I was the Deputy Director of the FCC Y2K Task Force at the time. I am uploading the paper because it is not longer available at the FCC.GOV website. We are pleased to report on the status of Y2K remediation in the communications industry. This report covers five industry sectors: wireline telephone, wireless telephone, cable television, broadcast television and radio, and satellite. In addition, we have special sections dedicated to the international telephone network and emergency services. Perhaps of all of these networks, the most critical to the nation is the wireline telephone network. Telephone companies around the world provide critical services to their customers.Whether it is completing an emergency phone call or transferring trillions of dollars in electronic fund transactions, we rely upon the telephone network to operate smoothly and seamlessly. As we approach the millennium, it is imperative that all aspects of the telephone network, as well as all communications systems upon which we rely, are reviewed for problems stemming from the "date-rollover�? problem or "Y2K.�? The goal of this Report is to help define the problems posed to communications companies and consumers by the Year 2000 date rollover, to explore how pervasive those problems are, and to identify industry progress in addressing those problems. Simply put, the Y2K problem is caused by a "shortcut�? used in many computers and microchips to conserve memory space. In order to conserve scarce memory, programmers used two digits to reflect the year. For example, the year 1972 would be stored as "72.�? As a result, computers, microchips, and software that use a twodigit year are at risk of recognizing "00�? as the year 1900 and not the year 2000. If a program is set to act in a certain way, at a certain time, and it thinks that it is the year 1900, it may perform incorrectly or stop working altogether. The telephone network is vast and complex. Many different companies own and operate different parts of the network and must work together to complete a call from point A to point B. Any single call could employ telephone, wireless telephone and satellite services. To transmit each and every call, automated and intelligent machines and systems make calculations for the most efficient path to take, out of seemingly limitless combination of services and operators. To provide this robustness the network necessarily consists of millions of interconnected parts and hundreds of million of lines of computer code. Each of these must be checked for possible Year 2000 problems. . . . . .


Summary:  Data from the International Lamotrigine Pregnancy Registry were analyzed to examine the effect of maximal first‐trimester maternal dose of lamotrigine monotherapy on the risk of major birth defects (MBDs). Among 802 exposures, the frequency of MBDs was 2.7% (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.8–4.2%). The distribution of dose did not differ between infants with and those without MBDs (mean 248.3 milligrams per day [mg/day] and 278.9 mg/day, respectively, median 200 mg/day for both groups). A logistic regression analysis showed no difference in the risk of MBDs as a continuous function of dose (summary odds ratio [OR] per 100 mg increase =0.999, 95% CI 0.996–1.001). There was also no effect of dose, up to 400 mg/day, on the frequency of MBDs.


The single screw refrigeration compressor (SSRC) is widely used in refrigeration and air conditioning systems due to the advantages of simple structure, balanced forces on the rotor, small vibration, low noise level, high volumetric efficiency and so on. In the SSRC, working medium is an important factor influencing the thermal dynamic performance of the compressor. Restricted by the application environment and the requirements of environmental protection, the types of the working medium used in the SSRC will change gradually in future, this to a certain extent, affect the compressor adaptability for medium and the operation stability and reliability of compressor. Thus the effects of the working medium on the geometric characteristics and dynamic performance of the SSRC must be studied. In this paper, the geometric model of the exhaust port and the fluid flow calculation model of the exhaust process were established for analyzing the influence of the working medium on the exhaust port opening position and the flow resistance loss during exhaust process in the SSRC. A dynamic characteristic analysis model was proposed to calculate the force act on the meshing pairs and the bearings under the working condition as well as the load conditions of the shaft system under the shutdown-starting condition. All analysis results obtained in this paper can be useful for optimum design of the SSRC to improve the operation stability and reliability and the energy efficiency of the compressor with different working medium. The first major section of the manuscript is an abstract. The abstract should describe the contents of the paper, discuss the contribution to the field as well as present the most important results. Authors are responsible for typing accuracy and proofreading the manuscript. If accepted, the manuscript must be submitted for reproduction without being edited or retyped by the staff before printing. The manuscript must look professional and be technically correct in order to be accepted.


Traumatic brain injury is a major public health problem both in developed economies and developing countries contribute to a substantial number of deaths and cases of permanent disability. This translates into a societal cost of billions of USD per year for medical care and lost productivity. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has been called a silent epidemic. In developing countries the incidence of TBI is high and rapidly increasing. TBI has not attracted the attention of policy makers and researchers for decades until war injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan and also sports injuries affected large number of young adults. The World Health Organization predicts that TBI and road traffic accidents will be the third greatest cause of disease and injury worldwide by 2020. TBI is a heterogeneous condition in terms of etiology, severity, and outcome. TBI occurs mainly due to vehicle accidents, sudden falls and hits to brain; this includes both primary and subsequent secondary injuries. The severity of a TBI may range from "mild," i.e., a brief change in mental status or consciousness to "severe," i.e., an extended period of unconsciousness or amnesia after the injury. Currently, no effective TBI therapy exists, with patients treated through a combination of surgery, rehabilitation and pharmacological agents managing post-trauma conditions such as depression. Despite the availability of evidence-based guidelines for the management of head-injured patients, considerable variations in care remain. Continuous attempts have been made worldwide to discover the best possible treatment, but an effective treatment method is not yet available. Evidence-based intensive care management strategies improves outcome. The most definite benefits in terms of survival after TBI come from admission to a specialist neurosurgical centre, with goal-targeted therapy and intensive care services. Early detection and objective characterization of abnormalities in TBI are important objectives of modern neuroimaging. Improved treatment will come through understanding the physical changes in the brain that occur at the microscopic and molecular levels when the brain is subject to trauma. Novel achievements in neuroprotection are now expected from developing antiapoptotic agents, from more potent antioxidants, cholinergic agents, alpha blockers, from researching various physiological substances, advances in molecular medicine including stem cell and gene therapy. A more analytical approach to understanding the complex array of factors that influence the incidence, severity, and outcome of TBI is essential. Appropriate targeting of prevention and improving outcome requires a detailed understanding of incidence, causes of injury, treatment approaches and outcome results. Improved patient outcomes will depend on organised trauma response systems, particularly to prevent the potentially reversible effects of secondary brain injury strategies.


The alpha-skew normal (ASN) distribution has been proposed recently in the literature by using standard normal distribution and a skewing approach. Although ASN distribution is able to model both skew and bimodal data, it is shortcoming when data has thinner or thicker tails than normal. Therefore, we propose an alpha-skew generalized t (ASGT) by using the generalized t (GT) distribution and a new skewing procedure. From this point of view, ASGT can be seen as an alternative skew version of GT distribution. However, ASGT differs from the previous skew versions of GT distribution since it is able to model bimodal data sest as well as it nests most commonly used density functions. In this paper, moments and maximum likelihood estimation of the parameters of ASGT distribution are given. Skewness and kurtosis measures are derived based on the first four noncentral moments. The cumulative distribution function (cdf) of ASGT distribution is also obtained. In the application part of the study, two real life problems taken from the literature are modeled by using ASGT distribution.


This essay will use Plato's Republic as a model of leadership that is fundamentally situated on lying to subordinates. Socrates founds a hypothetical city that would be the epitome of virtuosity, but at its core would be a system of oppression of the masses based on a lie that would segregate the citizens into a hierarchical caste system with no possibility of changing their circumstances. I will use the work done by Michel Foucault in Discipline and Punish, Friedrich Nietzsche in Thus Spoke Zarathustra and The Gay Science, and Simone de Beauvoir in The Ethics of Ambiguity to develop a critical analysis of the ethics of using a lie as a foundation of any leadership capacity.


In the age of biofuel innovation, bioenergy crop sustainability assessment has determined how candidate systems alter the carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycle. These research efforts revealed how perennial crops, such as switchgrass, increase belowground soil organic carbon (SOC) and lose less N than annual crops, like maize. As demand for bioenergy increases, land managers will need to choose whether to invest in food or fuel cropping systems. However, little research has focused on the C and N cycle impacts of reverting purpose‐grown perennial bioenergy crops back to annual cropping systems. We investigated this knowledge gap by measuring C and N pools and fluxes over 2 years following reversion of a mature switchgrass stand to an annual maize rotation. The most striking treatment difference was in ecosystem respiration (ER), with the maize‐converted treatment showing the highest respiration flux of 2,073.63 (± 367.20) g C m−2 year−1 compared to the switchgrass 1,412.70 (± 28.72) g C m−2 year−1 and maize‐control treatments 1,699.16 (± 234.79) g C m−2 year−1. This difference was likely driven by increased heterotrophic respiration of belowground switchgrass necromass in the maize‐converted treatment. Predictions from the DayCent model showed it would take approximately 5 years for SOC dynamics in the converted treatment to return to conditions of the maize‐control treatment. N losses were highest from the maize‐converted treatment when compared to undisturbed switchgrass and maize‐control, particularly during the first conversion year. These results show substantial C and N losses occur within the first 2 years after reversion of switchgrass to maize. Given farmers are likely to rotate between perennial and annual crops in the future to meet market demands, our results indicate that improvements to the land conversion approach are needed to preserve SOC built up by perennial crops to maintain the long‐term ecological sustainability of bioenergy cropping systems.


This paper describes integrated multi-axis MEMS capacitive accelerometer by using a set of vertical and horizontal electrodes. The proposed device has only one silicon proof mass which all detecting electrodes were located on it. 3-axis acceleration was detected by using a set of newly proposed movable and fixed, vertical and horizontal comb electrodes of different lengths. The structure employs capacitive transduction mechanism which provides high reliability, low temperature sensitivity, low drift, and low power consumption. It is introduced a new technique to eliminate the cross-axis sensitivity based on orientation and location of the electrodes. The proposed method is suitable for multi axis, acceleration detection systems such as automotive. The total sensing area for sensing all axis acceleration was 1.85 mm2. The ranges of measurable acceleration for in-plane (X and Y directions) and out plane (Z direction) are ±67g and ±18 g respectively. The resolution of all directions is 1g.


Adult chondrocranial morphology is poorly documented in modern lamniform sharks. Here it is described for the two extant species of Lamna, L. nasus and L. ditropis. Several features are noted and discussed, including hypercalcification of the rostral cartilages, the ethmoidal region associated with ligamentous jaw attachments, and the configuration of the postorbital region. The small polygonal blocks of calcified cartilage (tesserae) that typically line the chondrichthyan endoskeleton are greatly thickened in the rostral bars of Lamna, forming radial columns; furthermore, concentric banding of the columnar calcification in the rostrum of L. ditropis suggests periodic accretion of new calcified tissue below the perichondrium. The postorbital region in Lamna is notable for lacking a postorbital process, and in having the supraorbital shelf continuing posteriorly as a supra-otical shelf, which extends as far as the hyomandibular fossa. The orbit in Lamna is apparently not drained in the usual elasmobranch manner (i.e., via a lateral head vein, located lateral and dorsal to the hyomandibula). Instead, the vein passes ventral and medial to the hyomandibula, via a large suborbital fenestra which also houses the orbital artery. This arrangement may be phylogenetically informative because it also occurs in other lamnids, although its wider distribution among lamniforms has yet to be determined.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the effectiveness and safety of asparaginase administered s.c. versus i.m. for treatment of multicentric lymphoma in dogs receiving doxorubicin.

DESIGN
Prospective study.

ANIMALS
49 dogs with multicentric lymphoma.

PROCEDURE
Dogs were treated with doxorubicin every 3 weeks, for a total of 5 treatments, and were given 3 weekly treatments of asparaginase, s.c. or i.m. Using high-performance liquid chromatography, mean plasma asparagine, aspartic acid, glutamine, and glutamic acid concentrations were determined in dogs before and during treatment with asparaginase (10,000 U/m2 of body surface area, once a week for 3 weeks). Asparaginase was administered s.c. in 23 dogs and i.m. in 26 dogs. Variables evaluated included time to response to chemotherapy, remission and survival times, and clinical and serum biochemical indicators of toxicoses.

RESULTS
Using the World Health Organization's staging system for lymphoma, 30 dogs were in clinical stage III and 19 were in clinical stage IV. One week after asparaginase treatment, plasma asparagine concentrations were low and plasma aspartic acid, glutamine, and glutamic acid concentrations were high. Differences in plasma amino acid concentrations were not found between s.c. and i.m. groups. For dogs in clinical stage IV, i.m. administration of asparaginase significantly decreased the number of days to complete remission, compared with s.c. administration (8 vs 17 days, respectively). For dogs in clinical stage III, i.m. administration favorably increased the duration of first remission (191 vs 103 days) and survival time (289 vs 209 days). Overall, dogs treated i.m. had a faster response to chemotherapy (9 vs 15 days), a longer remission (191 vs 109 days), and a longer survival time (286 vs 198 days), compared with all dogs treated s.c. Asparaginase toxicoses were not observed regardless of the route of administration.

CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS
For dogs with multicentric lymphoma that are receiving doxorubicin, i.m. treatment with asparaginase is more effective than s.c. treatment.


Sclerotinia drop of lettuce, caused by the pathogenic fungi Sclerotinia minor and S. sclerotiorum, is a serious disease in most regions where this crop is grown. Conventional fungicides, such as Rovral (iprodione) and Endura (boscalid), are usually applied after lettuce is thinned and once more 2 to 3 weeks later. Two biological products, Contans (Coniothyrium minitans) and Serenade (Bacillus subtilis), are also available. In earlier field trials conducted from 2001 to 2003 in the presence of S. sclerotiorum, the mean reduction in disease by Contans, Serenade and Endura was 69, 18 and 41%, respectively. The objective of the current study was to determine the efficacy of the biological products Contans and Serenade, applied alone or in combination with each other or the conventional fungicide Endura, within a biologically intensive integrated pest management system for Sclerotinia drop on lettuce. The study was conducted at The University of Arizona, Yuma Valley Agricultural Center. Sclerotia of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum were produced in the laboratory. Lettuce 'Winterhaven' was seeded and sclerotia were applied to the plots on November 8, 2004. Disease assessment was performed three times, including plant maturity (February 24), by recording the number of dead plants in each plot. Lettuce drop caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum was significantly reduced by the biofungicides Contans and Serenade as well as the conventional fungicide Endura. At plant maturity, the highest level of disease control among all treatments was provided by one or two applications of the biofungicide Contans as well as application of Contans at seeding following by either Serenade or Endura after thinning. Also, two applications of the other tested biofungicide, Serenade, controlled Sclerotinia drop as well as two applications of the conventional fungicide, Endura. The results of this study suggest that the biological products Contans and Serenade, used either alone or with the conventional fungicide Endura, can provide effective levels of control of lettuce drop caused by S. sclerotiorum. Although encouraging, the results from this initial field trial will need to be confirmed by additional studies. Funding for this research project was provided, in part, by the IR-4 project under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.


In this work, high compression strength silicon hybrid material was prepared through a sol-gel process. Structure of high compression strength hybrid material was characterized through FTIR spectra. The molar ratios of MTES to TEOS, mass ratio of siloxane to modified silicate sand were optimized to enhance compression strength. The results showed that linear Si-O-Si network and fourfold siloxane rings were produced in the sol-gel process which were necessary to obtain high compression strength material. When the volume ratio of MTES to TEOS was 3.0 and mass ratio of siloxane to sand was in the range of 0.64~0.70, the hybrid material showed high compression strength of 5.49 MPa.


We report on experimental studies of coherence and fluctuations in noise-like pulse trains generated by ultrafast fiber oscillators. By measuring the degree of first-order coherence using a Young's-type interference experiment, we prove the lack of phase coherence across the seemingly regular array of pulses. We further quantify the pulse-to-pulse fluctuations by recording the single-shot spectra of the megahertz pulse train, and experimentally demonstrate the existence of spectral fluctuations that remain unresolved in conventional time-averaged ensemble measurements. Phase incoherence and spectral fluctuations are contrasted with quantified coherence and spectral stability when the laser is soliton mode-locked.


Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a subpopulation of tumor cells with unlimited self-renewal capability, multilineage differentiation potential and long-term tumor repopulation capacity. CSCs reside in anatomically distinct regions within the tumor microenvironment, called niches, and this favors the maintenance of CSC properties and preserves their phenotypic plasticity. Indeed, CSCs are characterized by a flexible state based on their capacity to interconvert between a differentiated and a stem-like phenotype, and this depends on the activation of adaptive mechanisms in response to different environmental conditions. Heat Shock Proteins (HSPs) are molecular chaperones, upregulated upon cell exposure to several stress conditions and are responsible for normal maturation, localization and activity of intra and extracellular proteins. Noteworthy, HSPs play a central role in several cellular processes involved in tumor initiation and progression (i.e. cell viability, resistance to apoptosis, stress conditions and drug therapy, EMT, bioenergetics, invasiveness, metastasis formation) and, thus, are widely considered potential molecular targets. Furthermore, much evidence suggests a key regulatory function for HSPs in CSC maintenance and their upregulation has been proposed as a mechanism used by CSCs to adapt to unfavorable environmental conditions, such as nutrient deprivation, hypoxia, inflammation. This review discusses the relevance of HSPs in CSC biology, highlighting their role as novel potential molecular targets to develop anticancer strategies aimed at CSC targeting.


One hundred forty-six pregnant women were enrolled in a prospective double-blind study to assess the effectiveness and side-effects of antenatal administration of betamethasone in the prevention of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) in potentially premature infants. On admission to the study, the women were given, at random, either 12 mg of betamethasone or placebo. The same dose was repeated 24 hours later and then weekly up to 34 weeks of gestation. Gestational age of the infants ranged from 25 to 34 weeks, and birth weights ranged between 730 and 2,650 gm. Statistically significant differences in favor of the infants in the betamethasone group were found in the incidence of RDS, 20.7% in the betamethasone group compared with 59.5% in the control group (P less than .005); in the severity of RDS (P less than .05); and in the death rate (P less than .05). A higher incidence of hypoglycemia was found among infants in the betamethasone group (P less than .05). Prolonged rupture of the membranes played no protective role against RDS, and the incidence of infection was similar in both groups.


This monograph describes the principal factors that affect the learning process of Reading to develop English skills in the students of 9th grade of the National Institute Eliseo Picado in the afternoon shift, BY identifying the main techniques and strategies used by the teachers and students in the teaching and learning process.
The purpose of this monograph is to determine the principal factors that affect the learning process of Reading skills in the students of 9th grade of the National Institute Eliseo Picado in the afternoon shift and share with the teachers some activities which can be apply in the classroom and students can enjoy. These activities make students practice their oral skills with more interesting topics that allow them to read and talk about themselves and others and to express their points of view.
In this research relevant elements and actions to improve the learning level in the students are defined. Also there are didactic strategies that support the educational process where the quality will be the most important.
In addition in this monograph, there are several strategies and actions to be developed in the educational environment with social and cultural behavior pattern based on the person as a center of the formative and educational process.
To get the goal of this research and answer the questions to this monograph the instruments applied were class observation of two English teachers, interview for teachers and students to determine the factors that affect the acquisition of English reading skills.
The results demonstrate that the teacher´s motivation along with the best strategies improve all formative and Educational process; teacher and students considered and they agreed that motivation is the main element in the teaching and learning process.
The principal recommendation is referred to provide valuable information to determine possible gaps in the reading skills. Also, if the students face problems in reading the teacher will need to intervene with an effective lesson plan according to the student's necessities.
5
This monograph will help us as a reference point for the educational community and it will consider the best elements that can help in the teaching and learning process of the English Language in secondary school.
Another purpose of this research is to increase the students` independence by having them take greater responsibility for their learning also to encourage them to cooperate and respect each other.
The use of reading activities has a definite place in the classroom. Such activities provide meaningful and enjoyable language practice, and the students encourage learners to explore the wonderful world of the English language through the reading process. Reading is a vital skill required to develop students' understanding of the English language, it is very important to develop in our students reading ability as soon as possible, when we live in an environment where they practiced daily the English language, this process takes place easily.


Risk allocation games are cooperative games that are used to attribute the risk of a financial entity to its divisions. In this paper, we extend the literature on risk allocation games by incorporating liquidity considerations. A liquidity policy specifies state-dependent liquidity requirements that a portfolio should obey. To comply with the liquidity policy, a financial entity may have to liquidate part of its assets, which is costly. The definition of a risk allocation game under liquidity constraints is not straight- forward, since the presence of a liquidity policy leads to externalities. We argue that the standard worst case approach should not be used here and present an alternative definition. We show that the resulting class of transferable utility games coincides with the class of totally balanced games. It follows from our results that also when taking liquidity considerations into account there is always a stable way to allocate risk.


Service Gap's relationship of Sellers and Buyers in Supply Chain Management (SCM) and its Impacts on Aceh's Potatoes Agribusiness ABSTRACT. The purpose of this study is to analyze the fulfillment of services between potato agribusiness development's actors in Aceh. By using Supply Chain Management in Buyer-Seller Relationship, the results showed that there were three measurements of success between the actors in the Aceh Province. Those were: the level of satisfaction, the level of trust and the level of dependency. The analysis showed that the satisfaction of downstream actors (district merchants and retailers) was greater than the upstream actors (potato farmers and traders). Upstream offender was in a weak position shown by the trust and the high dependence on downstream actors. Traders and merchants across the city experienced the level of trust, satisfaction and a low dependency. The result indicated development of potato agribusiness was slow and was not dominant as a source of farmers' income.


Radio interferometers have been used for highaccuracy, high-precision source location of radio stars and radio satellites. These systems are generally optimized for a fixed frequency and have efficient means for resolving any and all ambiguities which are inherent in the particular interferometer system. Application of the radio-interferometer principle to wide-band, high-frequency radio direction finding practice by its very nature poses a severe problem of ambiguity resolution, i.e., unique determination of the bearing and elevation angles of arrival of an incident ray having any frequency within the band. A wide-band, high-frequency radio direction finder incorporating sum-and-difference interferometer techniques is described. A salient and novel feature is an analog computer-type calibrator which permits unique determination of the bearing and elevation angles of arrival from data supplied by three two-element interferometers and a central crossed Adcock array. A theoretical analysis is given along with supporting experimental data.


1. Kibbe AH. Handbook of Pharmaceutical Excipients. 3rd ed. Washington, DC: American Pharmaceutical Association; 2000. 2. Baxter AJ, Krenzelok EP. Pediatric fatality secondary to EDTA chelation. Clin Toxicol (Phila). 2008;46(10):1083-1084. 3. Why does Fisher's exact test disagree with the confidence interval for the odds ratio? Stata Web site. http://www.stata.com/support/faqs/stat/disagree.html. Accessed February 23, 2009. 4. Agresti A. Categorical Data Analysis. 2nd ed. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons Ltd; 2002. 5. Macassey EA, Baguley C, Dawes P, Gray A. 15-year audit of post-tonsillectomy haemorrhage at Dunedin Hospital. ANZ J Surg. 2007;77(7):579-582.


We present multi‐instrument Juno observations on day‐of‐year 86, 2017 that link particles and fields in Jupiter's polar magnetosphere to transient UV emissions in Jupiter's northern auroral region known as dawn storms. Juno ranged from 42°N to 51°N in magnetic latitude and 5.8–7.8 Jovian radii (1 RJ = 71,492 km) during this period. These dawn storm emissions consisted of two separate, elongated structures which extended into the nightside, rotated with the planet, had enhanced brightness (up to at least 1.4 megaRayleigh) and high color ratios. The color ratio is a proxy for the atmospheric penetration depth and therefore the energy of the electrons that produce the UV emissions. Juno observed electrons and ions on magnetic field lines mapping to these emissions. The electrons were primarily field‐aligned, bidirectional, and, at times, exhibited sudden intensity decreases below ∼10 keV coincident with intensity enhancements up to energies of ∼1,000 keV, consistent with the high color ratio observations. The more energetic electron distributions had characteristic energies of ∼160–280 keV and downward energy fluxes (∼70–135 mW m−2) that were a significant fraction needed to produce the UV emissions for this event. Magnetic field perturbations up to ∼0.7% of the local magnetic field showing evidence of upward and downward field‐aligned currents, whistler mode waves, and broadband kilometric radio emissions were also observed along Juno's trajectory during this time frame. These high‐latitude observations show similarities to those in the equatorial magnetosphere associated with dynamics processes such as interchange events, plasma injections, and/or tail reconnection.


Implementation of integrated wiring system (IWS) architectures is advantageous due to weight savings, ease of automated manufacturing and centralization of component location. An IWS harness comprises layers of conductors separated by foils. Within a layer the position of each set of multiple conductors with respect to the other sets is unchanged over the harness length. Immunity from crosstalk is achieved by organization of the respective set locations. An overbraid supplies additional mitigation with respect to the external environment. This paper reports on determination of parameter values based on measured data for established models in the characterization of the crosstalk performance and of IWS harnesses. The model parameter values are validated by successful prediction of harness response.


Sediment yield is the most important environmental issues in watershed basins which greatly affects human and animal life. Therefore, soil conservation and sediment control is one of the most important measures that should be paid attention. As various factors such as land use change can affect sediment yield, this study was performed to investigate the effect of land use change on sediment yield of Kouhdasht basin, located in the west of Lorestan province. For this purpose firstly, land use changes were investigated using satellite imagery and then sediment discharge was estimated using discharge and sediment concentration data of Kashkan Afrine station located at the basin outlet. Finally, the contribution of land use in sediment yield was estimated using the fingerprinting technique based on the Bayesian uncertainty model. The results showed that the change in land use from grazing land and forest to agriculture was significant. So that during 1361-1395, 49 and 24.8% of the grazing and forest lands were reduced, respectively and agricultural lands increased by 47.5%. Also the results obtained from Kashkan Afrine station data showed that the average sediment discharge increased from 5.954 ton/day in 1361 to 7.079 ton/day in 1395. The results of fingerprinting sediment model indicated that the agricultural lands have the most contribution in sediment yield. The contribution (uncertainty of 5 to 95%) of agriculture, grazing land and forest in sediment yield were calculated to be 95 (86-99), 3.1 (0-12) and 0.9 (0-3) percent, respectively and the relative importance of each resources was calculated to be 1.5, 0.28 and 0.03, respectively. These results indicated that the most important factor increasing sediment discharge is the land use change from forest and rangeland to agriculture. Kay word: Sediment sources, Uncertainty model, Sediment discharge, Lorestan


We present first results from 19 months of semicontinuous concentration measurements of biogeochemical trace gases (CO2, CO, and CH4) and O2, measured at the Zotino Tall Tower Observatory (ZOTTO) in the boreal forest of central Siberia. We estimated CO2 and O2 seasonal cycle amplitudes of 26.6 ppm and 134 per meg, respectively. An observed west‐east gradient of about −7 ppm (in July 2006) between Shetland Islands, Scotland, and ZOTTO reflects summertime continental uptake of CO2 and is consistent with regional modeling studies. We found the oceanic component of the O2 seasonal amplitude (Atmospheric Potential Oxygen, or APO) to be 51 per meg, significantly smaller than the 95 per meg observed at Shetlands, illustrating a strong attenuation of the oceanic O2 signal in the continental interior. Comparison with the Tracer Model 3 (TM3) atmospheric transport model showed good agreement with the observed phasing and seasonal amplitude in CO2; however, the model exhibited greater O2 (43 per meg, 32%) and smaller APO (9 per meg, 18%) amplitudes. This seeming inconsistency in model comparisons between O2 and APO appears to be the result of phasing differences in land and ocean signals observed at ZOTTO, where ocean signals have a significant lag. In the first 2 months of measurements on the fully constructed tower (November and December 2006), we observed several events with clear vertical concentration gradients in all measured species except CO. During "cold events" (below −30°C) in November 2006, we observed large vertical gradients in CO2 (up to 22 ppm), suggesting a strong local source. The same pattern was observed in CH4 concentrations for the same events. Diurnal vertical CO2 gradients in April to May 2007 gave estimates for average nighttime respiration fluxes of 0.04 ± 0.02 mol C m−2 d−1, consistent with earlier eddy covariance measurements in 1999–2000 in the vicinity of the tower.


The first book to chart the development of the field of evolutionary economics, this book provides an integrated generic framework to define the rules of an economic system; how they are coordinated and the causes and consequences of their change. Packed with pedagogical features including essay and tutorial questions, case studies and an extensive bibliography, this book: proposes a new analytic framework for the study of the nature and causes of long run economic growth and development in market systems, analyzes the foundations of the neoclassical tradition, before developing a thesis through micro, meso and macro domains drawing conclusions as to what can be learned from the point of view of policy analysis, focuses on an open-systems analytical framework and successfully formulates and refines the analytical foundations of a new general theory of economic evolution. This volume is essential reading for scholars and students of economic evolution and as well as for anyone who seeks to better understand the complex evolutionary nature of the structure and dynamics of the knowledge-based economy in today's society.


This article argues that the transplantation of the modern Western mediation model,1 if to be successfully applied to an Asian context, must be accompanied by cultural adaptations to make mediation effective in the local context. The historical roots of mediation in Asia will be outlined first before analysing of the Western-centric modern developments in alternate dispute resolution. This article then questions whether the Western-oriented model of mediation is suitable in the context of Asian values and highlights several potential points of culture clashes. Practitioners mediating in a cross-cultural setting may wish to consider adaptations to the Western-oriented model proposed in this article. Finally, the article points out the positive progress made regionally and internationally in recognising cross-cultural competency in mediation accreditation standards, but argues that further development is required to adequately recognise cross-cultural competency in mediation.


This research demonstrates the adverse implications of using non-robust statistical methods for detecting anomalies in hyperspectral image data, and proposes the use of multivariate outlier detection methods as an alternative detection strategy. Existing outlier detection methods are adapted for use in a hyperspectral image context, and their performance is compared to the benchmark RX detector and a cluster-based anomaly detector. Tests conducted using both simulated data and actual hyperspectral imagery indicate that multivariate outlier detection methods can achieve superior detection performance relative to current non-robust detection methods.


Signaling by fibroblast growth factor (FGF) 18 and FGF receptor 3 (FGFR3) have been shown to regulate proliferation, differentiation, and matrix production of articular and growth plate chondrocytes in vivo and in vitro. Notably, the congenital absence of either FGF18 or FGFR3 resulted in similar expansion of the growth plates of fetal mice and the addition of FGF18 to human articular chondrocytes in culture enhanced proliferation and matrix production. Based on these and other experiments it has been proposed that FGF18 signals through FGFR3 to promote cartilage production by chondrocytes. Its role in chondrogenesis remains to be defined. In the current work we used the limb buds of FGFR3+/+ and FGFR3–/– embryonic mice as a source of mesenchymal cells to determine how FGF18 signaling affects chondrogenesis. Confocal laser-scanning microscopy demonstrated impaired cartilage nodule formation in the FGFR3–/– cultures. Potential contributing factors to the phenotype were identified as impaired mitogenic response to FGF18, decreased production of type II collagen and proteoglycan in response to FGF18 stimulation, impaired interactions with the extracellular matrix resulting from altered integrin receptor expression, and altered expression of FGFR1 and FGFR2. The data identified FGF18 as a selective ligand for FGFR3 in limb bud mesenchymal cells, which suppressed proliferation and promoted their differentiation and production of cartilage matrix. This work, thus, identifies FGF18 and FGFR3 as potential molecular targets for intervention in tissue engineering aimed at cartilage repair and regeneration of damaged cartilage.


Community and voluntary organisations harness and develop network ties and
resources, volunteerism and civic participation. Organisations contribute to society's
social capital stock and play a role in maintaining social cohesion, supporting civil
society and generating social renewal. National community and voluntary organisations
can operate at a macro (national), meso (regional) and micro (local) level. In doing so,
different forms and mixtures of bonding, bridging and linking social capital can be
created at these various levels. This research examines different forms of social capital
within the various levels of a national community and voluntary organisation and
explores how this social capital is mobilised in achieving organisational aims and
objectives. This research utilised a case study framework, centred on the structure,
activities and operation of the Federation of Active Retirement Associations, whose
aims are to address issues relating to isolation and loneliness. This research employed a
triangulated-methodology, which included both quantitative and qualitative data
gathered through nine semi-structured interviews; observations at both a regional and
national level; and 31 self-administered survey questionnaires, together with a
secondary quantitative analysis of the organisation's archives.
This research demonstrates that the Federation has tapped into a changing societal
profile by establishing a network to address issues important to older people, through a
process of active participation. The continued increase in membership affiliations,
together with the changing profile of local associations to smaller, more close-knit and
parish-based organisations, has enabled the development of large reservoirs of strong
ties and mobilised bonded social capital at the local level. The research identifies the
importance of meso (regional) structures, supported by development officers, in the
development and mobilisation of the Federation's social capital as a whole and bridging
social capital in particular. However, this research provides evidence of a lack of
mobilisation of the organisation's reservoir of social capital at a national level, in
achieving organisational goals such as supporting collective participative activity. By
examining how the differing forms of social capital within this case study are mobilised,
this research may assist practitioners within the community and voluntary sector in
mobilising their own organisation's social capital.


This paper outlines the sampling methodology used by Young Lives in Andhra Pradesh (India). The Andhra Pradesh team selected study sites with a pro-poor bias using purposive and random sampling approaches. This paper assessed this sampling methodology by comparing baseline data collected in 2002 with data from a nationally representative survey. Examination of the common variables in the different surveys – household characteristics and assets, access to electricity and drinking water – indicates that the Young Lives sample includes households with better access to basic services and more ownership of assets and thus includes some biases. A comparison of wealth index scores reveals that the Young Lives households seem to be slightly wealthier than the average household in Andhra Pradesh. Nevertheless, households in the Young Lives sample are less likely to own their house. These differences could be partly accounted for by the earlier collection year of the nationally representative survey. Despite these biases, it is shown that the Young Lives sample in Andhra Pradesh covers the diversity of children in the country. Therefore, while not suited for simple monitoring of child outcome indicators, the Young Lives sample will be an appropriate and valuable instrument for analysing causal relations, modelling child welfare, and its longitudinal dynamics in Andhra Pradesh.


New Zealand seeks to increase the diversity of its police organisation and this research provides an insight into perspectives of bilingual police learners. Learning to become a police officer challenges any recruit to develop academic, physical and social skills. This study examined the cultural and linguistic adaptations reported by bilingual recruits as they developed the necessary repertoire of skills to join the police community.  Through a phenomenological methodology, this research considers the rich, individual perspectives provided by three recruits about their lived experience as bilingual learners during their 19 week initial police training. Data were gathered through interviews and on-going personal journals. Two major themes emerged. The first relates to learning to be a New Zealand Police officer by envisioning themselves as a member of the professional community of the police, and also identifying with the wider culture of being a New Zealander. The second theme is personal reflection, as the participants learnt about themselves and reflected on their backgrounds through undertaking a range of activities, interacting with people, and managing emotions. These themes were further analysed against dimensions from a community of practice framework.  Participants in this study valued the support of other recruits and especially of the supervising staff. However, it appears that engagement in the police community might be further enhanced if college staff were fully aware of the linguistic and cultural demands faced by bilingual recruits who must come to terms with multiple cultures while developing their police identity.  This study highlights the need for further research on the changing identity of bilingual police officers both under training at the college and immediately after starting full-time employment.


We consider critical curves — conformally invariant curves that appear at critical points of two-dimensional statistical mechanical systems. We show how to describe these curves in terms of the Coulomb gas formalism of conformal field theory (CFT). We also provide links between this description and the stochastic (Schramm-) Loewner evolution (SLE). The connection appears in the long-time limit of stochas-tic evolution of various SLE observables related to CFT primary fields. We show how the multifractal spectrum of harmonic measure and other fractal characteristics of critical curves can be obtained.


Halogen bonds, the formally noncovalent interactions where the halogen acts as a Lewis acid, have brought several controversies to the theoretical world regarding its nature and components, e.g., charge transfer (CT), electrostatics, dispersion, and polarization. The debate on whether all characteristics are accounted for by electrostatics is examined, highlighting the importance of the CT and repulsive interactions. A number of strongly halogen‐bonded complexes are as covalent as metal–ligand coordination bonds. Different levels of computational methods are reviewed with the objective of finding the best accuracy/cost ratios. The unusual electronic anisotropy of the halogen donor and its interaction with a Lewis base demand specific calculation schemes. From the wave‐function theory methods, only the ones with empirical corrections (spin‐component‐scaled MP2 or CCSD, and MP2.5) are suitable when CCSD(T) is unattainable. Density functional theory functionals with a high amount of exact exchange are fast and reliable methods for halogen bonds, but double hybrids are more robust if other types of interactions are involved. Molecular mechanics methods can be useful, but only when specific corrections are added to compensate for the inability of such methods to describe CT. The most common method introduces a virtual site with a partial positive charge to account for the quantum chemical effect of the halogen bond. This methodology has been successfully applied to study protein–ligand interactions for drug design. WIREs Comput Mol Sci 2014, 4:523–540. doi: 10.1002/wcms.1189


Luminal epithelial surfaces of our body are covered by a secreted layer of mucus consisting chiefly of water (95%), high molecular weight polymeric glycoproteins known as mucins (3%), and other small molecules (2%). If this layer infected by bacterial alginate it will cause the mucus being sticky. Cystic fibrosis is a complex, incurable, chronic, hereditary disease involving several body organs systems, which affects the body glands that produce mucus and sweat. Although multiple microbial species can colonize the CF lung, CF patients are particularly have infected by an alginate secreting bacteria, which is called Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, it can be one of the major cause of decline in lung function and death. Alginate can significantly increase the elasticity and viscosity of the mucus. Alginates are relatively abundant in nature because they arise both as a structural component in marine brown algae (Phaeophyceae), comprising up to 40% of the dry matter, and as capsular polysaccharides in soil bacteria. Alginates are naturally occurring polysaccharides synthesized in brown algae and certain types of bacteria and have been extensively used as hydrogel synthetic ECMs. In this study interactions of different concentration of Mucin and different alginates are considered, their force jumps of single molecule interactions collected and analysed by Lifetime analysis and Bell Evans analysis. Presence of Ca 2+ and its significant influence on mucin-alginate bonds are studied as well.


Electrochemical water splitting is greatly hindered by the kinetically sluggish oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The development of economical and efficient catalysts with precisely modulated active sites is crucial for exploring the reaction mechanism and promoting the water oxidation process. Herein, we present isolated Au atom-decorated CoSe2 (Au1–CoSe2) nanobelts with precisely engineered active sites for an enhanced OER. Theoretical investigations showed that the decoration of isolated Au atoms could shift up the d-band center and thus lower the H2O adsorption energy of Co active sites. Moreover, the trace amount of Au atoms (0.1 wt%) also ensures the effective exposure of Co active sites and minimizes the use of Au. Both the intrinsically enhanced H2O adsorption and the sufficient exposure of active sites contributed to the remarkable electrocatalytic performance of the Au1–CoSe2 nanobelts. The as-prepared Au1–CoSe2 nanobelts exhibited a 21.1-fold, 5.7-fold, and 1.9-fold higher OER activity relative to pure CoSe2 nanobelts, Au nanoparticle-deposited CoSe2 (AuN–CoSe2) nanobelts, and commercial Ir/C, respectively. This study demonstrates the validity of atomic-scale control of active sites in Co-based catalysts, which could also be extended to the design of highly efficient catalysts for other energy-related processes.


North Korea tested its first nuclear weapon in October 2006, after more than three years of sporadic multilateral diplomacy and negotiations aimed at forestalling its emergence as a new nuclear state in Northeast Asia. Convincing North Korea it would be better off without such weapons and related programs is fraught with challenges, but the situation has mobilized North Korea's neighbors and the United States to begin to create a regional security and economic framework that can reconcile their conflicting priorities and threat perceptions. A nuclear North Korea is now a catalyst in Northeast Asia, but it is not yet clear whether it will spark a regional arms race that could pit the United States and Japan against the East Asian mainland or instead foster new trends of security cooperation and institution building. With North Korea's test the nuclear endgame has begun, but the region is ill prepared to manage this dilemma. For three years the Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis has been studying appropriate ways to build regional capacity for such activities as monitoring nuclear dismantlement, developing mutual confidence-building measures, and coordinating economic engagement with North Korea. Based on more than a hundred interviews, comparative research in other regions, and three multilateral workshops involving leading scholars and policy makers from East Asia and the United States, the authors present a practical approach to achieve these goals.


This essay examines some of the threads linking textiles, late medieval vernacular romance, and the manuscripts in which they survive. The metaphor of the fabric fold or gathering for the composition of romance evokes the shared Latin etymology of text and textile so familiar to medieval writers. What I here call the "textile logic" of romance opens out onto two further, related considerations. First, romances are themselves replete with textile objects (gloves, cloths, clothing) that form an important part of their fabric of reality. The fourteenth-century romances Sir Degaré, Sir Degrevant, and Emaré all exemplify the importance of various textile objects in romance networks of agency. Second, in the various forms of stitching and fabric required to produce and maintain a manuscript, these objects emerge as "systems of fabric" in both material and figurative senses. I argue, therefore, for the importance of understanding romance textuality as fabricated or woven in a number of senses. The work of Bruno Latour, Michel Serres, and Tim Ingold — replete with recourse to textile figures and metaphors — forms a central theoretical thread for the discussion.


Few studies adequately document adverse events in patients receiving long, slow, and overnight hemodialysis (NHD). Concerns about high rates of dialysis access complications have been raised. This is an observational cohort study comparing hospital admission rates for vascular access complications between alternate nightly NHD (n=63) and conventional hemodialysis (n=172) patients established on chronic hemodialysis for at least 3 months. Overall, hospital admission rates and hospital admission rates for cardiac and all infective events are also reported. The NHD cohort was younger and less likely to be female, diabetic, or have ischemic heart disease than the conventional hemodialysis cohort. When NHD and buttonhole cannulation technique were used simultaneously, there was a demonstrated increased risk of septic dialysis access events: incidence rate ratio 3.0 (95% confidence interval 1.04–8.66) (P=0.04). The majority of blood culture isolates in NHD patients were gram‐positive organisms, particularly Staphylococcus aureus. Alternate nightly NHD did not significantly change total hospital admissions or hospital admissions for indications other than dialysis access complications, compared with conventional hemodialysis. Our data suggest that buttonhole cannulation technique should be used with caution in patients performing extended‐hours hemodialysis as this combination appears to increase the risk of septic access complications. Randomized‐controlled trials are needed to confirm these findings.


An explanation is provided for the disruptive instability in diverted tokamaks when the safety factor $q$ at the 95 % poloidal flux surface, $q_{95}$ , is driven below 2.0. The instability is a resistive kink counterpart to the current-driven ideal mode that traditionally explained the corresponding disruption in limited cross-sections (Shafranov, Sov. Phys. Tech. Phys., vol. 15, 1970, p. 175) when $q_{edge}$ , the safety factor at the outermost closed flux surface, lies just below a rational value $m/n$ . Experimentally, external kink modes are observed in limiter configurations as the current in a tokamak is ramped up and $q_{edge}$ decreases through successive rational surfaces. For $q_{edge}<2$ , the instability is always encountered and is highly disruptive. However, diverted plasmas, in which $q_{edge}$ is formally infinite in the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model, have presented a longstanding difficulty since the theory would predict stability, yet, the disruptive limit occurs in practice when $q_{95}$ , reaches 2. It is shown from numerical calculations that a resistive kink mode is linearly destabilized by the rapidly increasing resistivity at the plasma edge when $q_{95}<2$ , but $q_{edge}\gg 2$ . The resistive kink behaves much like the ideal kink with predominantly kink or interchange parity and no real sign of a tearing component. However, the growth rates scale with a fractional power of the resistivity near the $q=2$ surface. The results have a direct bearing on the conventional edge cutoff procedures used in most ideal MHD codes, as well as implications for ITER and for future reactor options.


: To gain insight into the long-term effect of interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) therapy on hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA-positive hemodialysis patients, 23 subjects were given 3 MU of IFN-alpha 3 times a week for 6 (n = 12) or 12 months (n = 11). They were followed for 19 months after cessation of therapy. Sustained serum HCV RNA clearance occurred in 42% of patients treated for 6 months and in 64% of those treated for 12 months. HCV was eradicated from 6 of 13 patients infected with HCV genotype 1b and from 2 of 6 patients also infected with hepatitis G virus. HCV RNA remained undetectable in both serum and a liver biopsy of 2 patients who were given cadaveric kidney transplants after IFN-alpha treatment. These data suggest that HCV RNA-positive dialysis patients can be considered for treatment while receiving dialysis, particularly those awaiting transplant.


Abstract The accumulation dynamics of extracellular proteinases with plasmin-like and activatory mechanisms of action (belonging to the subtilisin family of the class of serine proteases and to the class of metallo-proteinases, respectively) were followed during the course of growth of Nocardia minima, strain 1. The sequence of the appearance of extracellular proteinases and their activity at various growth phases of the producer suggest their participation in the processes of the morphophysiological transformations accompanying the transition from mycelium to rods and from rods to cocci. The proteinases produced by Nocardia showed specificity to either human or bovine blood fibrin. The specific pattern of Nocardia minima proteinases (absence of chymotrypsin-like enzymes typical of streptomycetes, presence of metalloproteinases typical of bacilli) and the distinctive features of Nocardia minima subtilisins distinguishing them from subtilisins of bacilli and streptomycetes agree well with the intermediate taxonomic position of N. minima.