The performance of artificial neural network (ANN) models in predicting pharmacological classification of structurally diverse drugs based on their theoretical chemical parameters was demonstrated. The classification coefficients for psychotropic agents, beta-adrenolytic drugs, histamine H(1) receptor antagonists and drugs binding to alpha-adrenoceptors were 100, 100, 95 and 86%, respectively. A set of easily accessible non-empirical molecular parameters describing the structure of xenobiotics can provide information allowing the prediction of some pharmacological properties of drugs and drug candidates employing ANN models. Since ANN analysis can help cluster as well as segregate drugs and drug candidates according to their known and expected pharmacological properties, the number of routine biological assays might be reduced. The results presented here might be used to improve the efficiency of high throughput screening programs for new drug hits by demonstrating a promising procedure for diverse combinatorial library design and evaluation.


Nasal natural killer T-cell lymphoma (NKTL) is a highly malignant tumor that is closely associated with EpsteinBarr virus (EBV) infection. Latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1) is encoded by EBV and plays an important role in EBV-induced cell transformation. Therefore, we assessed the function of LMP1 as a stimulant of NKTL progression and the underlying mechanism. A human EBV-positive NKTL cell line (SNK-6) was transfected with pcDNA3.1-LMP1, LV-LMP1 shRNA or LV-eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E)-shRNA. Then, 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was used to assess the proliferation of SNK-6 cells, and cell migration and invasion were analyzed by Transwell chamber assay. Flow cytometry was used to analyze the cell cycle and apoptosis. The results showed LMP1 was highly expressed in SNK-6 cells compared with control groups. Following pretreatment with LMP1 shRNA, the proliferation of SNK-6 cells was inhibited and resulted in a G0/G1 phase arrest. A reduction in invasion and migration was also observed. LMP1 silencing promoted cell apoptosis. Further mechanistic analysis suggested that LMP1 overexpression induced the expression of eIF4E, while eIF4E-shRNA dramatically attenuated the increase in cell proliferation, invasion, migration and the inhibition of apoptosis triggered by LMP-1 upregulation. Moreover, the effect of LMP1 on eIF4E expression was mediated by the NF-κB pathway. Therefore, this finding may provide a potential target against NKTL.


William Randolph Hearst (1863-1951) was one of the most famous men in America in the first half of the twentieth century. His life as a newspaper magnate and politician was caricatured in Orson Welles' "Citizen Kane" and his home in San Simeon, California, (known to the world as Hearst Castle but called by its owner La Cuesta Encantada, or the Enchanted Hill) is still one of the most visited house museums in America. During the 1920s and 1930s, his appetite for purchasing art accounted for fully one quarter of the world's market and his collection furnished no fewer than six separate residences."Hearst: The Collector" takes the reader inside each of these palatial residences, illustrating, for the first time, the most interesting pieces from Hearst's vast holdings, which were dispersed over the years among many museums throughout the world, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the J. Paul Getty Museum, the National Gallery of Art, the Louvre, the Rijksmueum, the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Tower of London.


Martin Wright and colleagues pioneered the measurement of peak expiratory flow in the late 1950s and produced small, mechanically based, hand held meters.1,2 The use of this measure of lung performance has recently come to the fore with the promotion of self management plans for asthma that base advice about treatment on changes in peak flow.*RF 3-5* This has focused attention on the meters' performance, and concern now exists about their accuracy.

The peak flow meters added to Britain's drug tariff in 1990 are robust and give consistent readings. The first evidence questioning their accuracy was presented to the British Thoracic Society more than three years ago,6 and these findings have subsequently been confirmed.7,8 Although the meters give reasonably accurate readings at low flows, they may overread by about 701/min in the middle of the range and underread by about 50 l/min in the high range. Some people may deem that an error of 15% is acceptable for such low cost meters, but the problem is that the inaccuracy varies across the range of the meters, so that assessing …


The domain of Embodied AI has recently witnessed substantial progress, particularly in navigating agents within their environments. These early successes have laid the building blocks for the community to tackle tasks that require agents to actively interact with objects in their environment. Object manipulation is an established research domain within the robotics community and poses several challenges including manipulator motion, grasping and long-horizon planning, particularly when dealing with oft-overlooked practical setups involving visually rich and complex scenes, manipulation using mobile agents (as opposed to tabletop manipulation), and generalization to unseen environments and objects. We propose a framework for object manipulation built upon the physics-enabled, visually rich AI2-THOR framework and present a new challenge to the Embodied AI community known as ArmPointNav. This task extends the popular point navigation task [2] to object manipulation and offers new challenges including 3D obstacle avoidance, manipulating objects in the presence of occlusion, and multi-object manipulation that necessitates long term planning. Popular learning paradigms that are successful on PointNav challenges show promise, but leave a large room for improvement.


Liver phosphorylase a is stimulated by adenosine monophosphate. It is inhibited by adenosine diphosphate, adenosine triphosphate and glucose. Using these effectors as well as other potential in vivo effectors at concentrations approximating those present in hepatocytes, we previously reported that the net effect was nil, i.e., at estimated in vivo concentration, the inhibitors neutralized the stimulatory effect of adenosine monophosphate in a phosphorylase a preparation. In addition, a concentration dependent inhibition by glucose was not present. Therefore, we were interested in determining if addition of caffeine, an inhibitor that synergizes with glucose, would result in a reduction in activity in the presence of the other effectors and restore regulation by physiological concentrations of glucose. The effect of xanthine and xanthine analogs also were studied. Purified liver phosphorylase a was used. Activity was measured in the direction of glycogenolysis at 37 degrees, pH 7.0 and under initial rate conditions. Caffeine (1 mM) was added to individual and various combinations of other effectors. The interactions among the potential in vivo effectors when caffeine was present were complex. However, when caffeine was present glucose again regulated activity. This most likely was due to a synergistically facilitated reduction in binding affinity for AMP by caffeine and glucose. Theophylline and adenosine did not inhibit activity but reduced AMP stimulation and facilitated glucose inhibition. Xanthine and the other xanthine derivatives all strongly inhibited activity and the inhibition was independent of other effectors.


There are many programs available for generating simulated metagenomic sequence reads. The data generated by these programs follow rigid models, which limits the use of a given program to the author's original intentions. For example, many popular simulator programs only generate reads that follow uniform or normal distributions. To our knowledge, there are no programs that allow a user to generate simulated data following non-parametric read-length distributions and quality profiles based on empirical next-generation sequencing (NGS) data. We present BEAR (Better Emulation for Artificial Reads), a program that uses a machine learning approach to generate reads with lengths and quality values mimicking empirically derived distributions. BEAR is able to emulate reads from various NGS platforms, including Illumina, 454 and Ion Torrent. BEAR requires minimal user input, as it automatically determines appropriate internal parameter settings.


The sound-pressure field of a rotating propeller in forward flight in free space is analyzed by replacing the normal-pressure distribution over the propeller associated with thrust and torque by a distribution of acoustic pressure doublets acting at the propeller disk and subject to uniform rectilinear motion. The basic element used to synthesize the field is the pressure field of a concentrated force moving uniformly at subsonic speeds, for which an expression generalizing one of Lamb's for the fixed concentrated force is given. The sound field is expressed by integration over the propeller disk, and also by integration over an effective ring, and is given both for the near pressure field and, in a simpler form, for the far field. Some illustrated examples are calculated and discussed.


Accepted, unedited article not yet assigned to an issue. The statements, opinions and data contained in this publication are solely those of the individual authors and contributors and not of the publisher and the editor(s). The publisher and the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to persons or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to the content.


Abstract. We advance the theory that the distribution of beliefs in the market is the most important propagation mechanism of economic volatility. Our model is based on the theory of Rational Beliefs (RB) and Rational Belief Equilibrium (RBE) developed by Kurz (1994, 1997). We argue that the diverse market puzzles which are examined, such as the equity premium puzzle, are all driven by the structure of market expectations. In support of our view, we present an RBE model with which we study financial markets. The model is able to simulate the correct order of magnitude of: (i) the long term mean and standard deviation of the price\dividend ratio; (ii) the long term mean and standard deviation of the risky rate of return on equities; (iii) the long term mean and standard deviation of the riskless rate; (iv) the long term mean equity premium. In addition, the model predicts (v) the GARCH property of risky asset returns; (vi) the observed pattern of the predictability of long returns on assets, and (vii) the Forward Discount Bias in foreign exchange markets. The common economic explanation for these phenomena is the existence of heterogenous agents with diverse but correlated beliefs such that some agents are optimistic and some pessimistic about future capital gains. The model has a unique parameterization under which the model makes all the above predictions simultaneously. The parameterization requires the optimists to be in the majority but the rationality of belief conditions of the RBE require the pessimists to have a higher intensity level. In simple terms, the large equity premium and the low equilibrium riskless rate are the result of the fact that at any moment of time there are agents who hold extreme pessimistic beliefs and they have a relatively stronger impact on the market. The paper also studies the effect of correlation of beliefs among investors. It shows that the main effect of such correlation is on the dynamic patterns of asset prices and returns and is hence important for studying such phenomena as stochastic volatility.


A multi-channel retail strategy is viewed by many academics and practitioners to be the success model for most retailers. Yet, while there are many drivers of, and advantages related to, using multiple channels to sell products and services to customers likewise there are numerous technology-related issues. Despite this, the multi-channel retailing literature provides little empirical insight into these technology-related constraints. Moreover, there is a lack of multi-channel retailing research which explores the impetuses behind retailers adding new channels to go multi-channel, especially in the context of the UK retail sector. To contribute to gaps in the literature this study utilises a case study research strategy to examine the key motivations behind, and technology-related issues associated with, multi-channel retail strategic implementation, in the setting of the UK retail sector. Three UK based retailers (Boots, Screwfix and Bettys) are used which have different approaches to, and are at different stages of, adopting a multi-channel retail strategy. In addition, they have different backgrounds such as size, product range, sector and type. Consequently, the use of these three different retailers enables exploration of the drivers behind, and technological problems associated with, implementing a multi-channel retail strategy in the context of store and Internet/catalogue retailers. Case analysis reveals novel themes which are not identified, or not clearly recognised, in the literature. These include that key drivers behind retailers going multi-channel are to increase sales, and, meet the needs of the multi-channel shopper. Indeed, customers want to shop via multiple channels and therefore, these retailers have no choice but to go multi-channel if they are to meet customer needs. However, while at a strategic level these motivations were similar across the case study retailers, they also differed. For example, Screwfix added a store channel to enable customers to purchase products and receive them instantly. In contrast, Boots added an Internet channel to drive footfall in-store and increase store sales. Boots were also adding an Internet channel since it provided them with a marketing channel, which, going forward, was likely to replace other communications channels. The findings from this study also reveal that retailers encounter major technology-related issues when adding new, and using multiple, channels. These problems stem from the need to re-design existing logistics and IT infrastructure to offer a seamless, integrated offer to the customer. For instance, to leverage the brand and marketing mix consistently across all channels, and, to implement 'click and collect' (i.e. where customers purchase a product in one channel and collect it in another). Also, due to the need to use innovative marketing techniques, in particular, social media. Importantly, this study highlights that these technology-related multi-channel retailing constraints often have a 'softer' side. Technology-related problems are frequently intertwined with cultural, engagement and financial/staff resource related issues. This suggests a need for retailers to find entwined solutions to both technology and non- technology related issues to effectively implement a multi-channel retail strategy.


Health and Suffering in America analyzes how we came to see various forms of suffering as "mental illness," and argues that social and historical dynamics, not scientific discovery, gave us this notion. Robert Fancher argues that the beliefs of mental health professionals have less to do with science than with the professions' own values and ideologies. The image we have of mental health care hides vast realms of unexamined assumptions. In effect, the author maintains that "mental health" consists of mental health professionals' ideas about how people ought to live and act, not discoveries about human nature. The body of the book consists of detailed analyses and critiques of four infl uential American cultures of therapy: psychoanalysis, behaviorism, cognitive therapy, and biological therapy. Fancher emphasizes how heavily their concepts and methods are determined by their cultures rather than by empirical data. Furthermore, our notions of mental health are not scientifi c discoveries, but moral ideals. Yet mental health workers often fail to understand this. As a result, they misunderstand their own authority and, worse, fail to subject their moral ideals to appropriate moral and cultural criticism. The new introduction by the author explores how the rise of managed health care coalesces with insistence on parity for mental health problems, supported by continuing claims that mental health care is science-based.


A simple way to reduce these costs is to cure patients when they present with de novo disease. Improving the cure rate is achieved by enrolling patients in clinical trials. Until cancer has 100% cure without toxicity, there is always a question to be asked by means of a randomised controlled trial. These trials may or may not include new drugs and interactions with industry (at arm's length to avoid any real or perceived conflicts of interest).


ABSTRACT Mid-Neoproterozoic rift-related Tadong amphibolites (TDA) are situated in the junction of the East Kunlun Orogen (EKO) and the West Qinling Orogen (WQO) in western China, and have important significance in the break-up of the Supercontinent Rodinia. The mineral assemblage of the TDA exhibits amphibolite facies metamorphism, and the protolith is basic volcanic rocks. Here, we present a detailed laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) zircon U–Pb age and geochemical data of TDA. LA-ICP-MS U–Pb zircon age determination indicates that the basic volcanics formed at ca. 743–711 Ma. Geochemically, TDAs are characterized by low SiO2 (46.06–50.18%), K2O (0.66–1.86%), and Mg# (40–45) and high TiO2 (1.9–3.5%), and are attributed to tholeiite basalts. Their chondrite-normalized REE patterns are characterized by moderate enrichments in LREEs (LREE/HREE = 4.98–5.51) with insignificant Eu anomalies (δEu = 0.99–1.12). The primitive mantle-normalized trace element diagrams are characterized by pronounced enrichment of high-field-strength elements (HFSEs, e.g. REE, Nb, Ta, Zr, Hf) with slightly positive anomalies of Ti, which is different from the subduction zone basalts and normal mid-ocean ridge basalts (NMORBs), but similar to the ocean-island basalts (OIBs) and Emeishan continental flood basalts (ECFBs), resembling the features of an OIB-like mantle source. Most samples exhibit high Nb/Ta (16.6–17.4), Nb/La (0.70–0.94), and positive ΔNb (ΔNb = 1.74 + log (Nb/Y) − 1.92*log (Zr/Y)) values. These geochemical features suggest that the Tadong basaltic rocks were most likely derived from an OIB-like mantle source and were the products of a lower degree partial melting of garnet lherzolite. Along with the tectonic discrimination diagrams, it is further inferred that these rocks were formed in a continental rifting setting. These results from our research confirm the existence of continental rifting in the junction of the EKO and the WQO in the mid-late Neoproterozoic, implying that the rifting is a response to the break-up of the Supercontinent Rodinia.


In the UK, Higher education (HE) has become subject to greater scrutiny, from Government, students and employers alike. Pressures to improve academic practice through teacher education are often linked to improved economic stability of the Higher Education Institutions (HEI); this culture of economic Higher education has challenged traditional teacher roles. Where there are additional external pressures and quality assurance criteria to be met, the teacher is expected to possess relevant skills and knowledge to meet the changing expectations within HE. This study explores the tensions between HE and Legal education policy and practices and how they affect the construction of the law teacher role. Using a pragmatic, critical realist perspective, which recognises the interaction of structure, culture and agency (Archer, 1996) a mixed methods approach was used to explore changing teacher roles, types and engagement with teacher education drawing conclusions as to the opportunities to develop excellence in teaching. Data collection over a three-year period included 61 job descriptions and 15 semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, deductive content analysis and a constant comparative method. Findings indicate that several factors were associated with the construction of the law teacher role. Data indicate that teaching and practice-focused legal experience were least likely to be sought, whereas networking and organisationally beneficial skills, such as management were preferred. Data from semi-structured interviews indicate that teachers felt let down by the HEI teacher education. Further, they felt that existing HEI practices did not provide relevant training, to support the development of excellence in academic and practice-focused teaching. Existing programmes of teacher development were described as ineffective, irrelevant and unsupported. This was particularly evident for part-time teachers, who were often those that delivered legal practice courses for students. At a time when quality assurance is an important feature of HE and the introduction of the TEF, this thesis suggests that HEIs are ill equipped to provide relevant disciplinary support to new law teachers. Therefore, improvement in quality and practice appears driven by individuals or collective groups of teachers, who will construct their own role within Legal education. To address this gap, this thesis puts forward practical recommendations to support change.


Leishmania are obligatory intracellular parasites in mammalian macrophages that gain entry by receptor-mediated phagocytosis. Their major cell surface glycoconjugate, lipophosphoglycan (LPG), has been implicated in this process. A monoclonal antibody specific for Leishmania major LPG (WIC 79.3), which has been shown to block promastigote attachment to macrophages, was used to identify a macrophage-binding determinant of LPG. WIC 79.3 bound exclusively to the phosphorylated repeats of LPG and not to the saccharide core or lipid anchor. Furthermore, the epitope recognized by WIC 79.3 mapped to the phosphorylated oligosaccharide P5b, PO4-6[Gal(beta 1-3)Gal(beta 1-3)Gal(beta 1-3)]Gal(beta 1-4)Man(alpha 1-, which is unique to the LPG of promastigotes of L.major. Phosphorylated oligosaccharides P3, PO4-6[Gal(beta 1-3)[Gal(beta 1-4) Man(alpha 1-, and P4b, PO4-6[Gal(beta 1-3)Gal(beta 1-3)] Gal(beta 1-4)Man(alpha 1-, were also recognized by WIC 79.3 but with considerably lower (approximately 100-fold) affinities. The phosphorylated oligosaccharide P5b inhibited attachment of promastigotes of L. major to the macrophage cell line J774 to the same degree as phosphoglycan (derived from LPG) and Fab fragments of WIC 79.3, suggesting that P5b is a site of L. major LPG that is recognized by macrophage receptor(s) and is an important determinant in the attachment of promastigotes to host macrophages and initiation of infection.


Objective To develop quality measures using a consensus-based, multistakeholder process to improve delivery of mental health services within primary healthcare settings. Methods A three-stage consensus model culminating in a two-round, modified Delphi postal survey ranking quality measures according to 'actionability,' relevance and overall importance. Participants More than 800 people from all 10 provinces and three territories in Canada participated in the study, representing consumers/advocates, clinicians, academics and government decision-makers from regional, provincial and federal levels. A small group with expertise in First Nations and rural-setting health issues was also included, as well as international experts. Results The top overall pan-Canadian measure was 'Education about Depression.' 'Actionability' was a key criterion for many of the top 30 measures. Fifty per cent of these measures focused on three major themes: depression, self-harm and access to a broader spectrum of treatment (such as outreach services and psychotherapy). Additional themes included the need for greater collaboration, respectful treatment of patients and families, and improved evaluation of patients. One-way ANOVA results indicated statistically significant differences (p <0.05) between academics, clinicians, consumers and decision-makers on approximately 5% of quality measure ratings. The majority (85% of the 5%) of these differences involved consumer stakeholders. Conclusion A small set of specific consensus measures were identified through a rigorous, evidence-informed process. These measures can be used for system-wide changes or at the individual practice level. Although these measures have been developed within a Canadian context, the methodology utilised and the measures selected can be adapted elsewhere.


There exists a huge amount of vertical applications that are developed for isolated computing environments. Due to increasing demand for additional resources there is a clear need to adapt these applications to the distributed environments. However, this is not an easy task and numerous variants are possible. Moreover, in this transition a new quality requirements become important, such as application elasticity. Application elasticity has to be built into a software system to enable smooth cost optimization at the run-time. In this paper, we provide a framework for evaluating different transformation variants of vertical Java EE multi-tiered applications into elastic cloud applications. With support of this framework the software developer is guided how to transform its application achieving optimal elasticity strategy. The framework is evaluated on slicing and evaluating elasticity of existing SaaS multi-tiered Java application used in Croatian market.


Definition of digital signatures. Recall that we had the following picture: Private Key Public Key Secrecy Private Key Encryption Public key Encryption Integrity Message Authentication Codes (MAC) ?? Digital signatures complete this picture by giving a public key analog of message authentication codes. Digital signatures were suggested by Diffie and Hellman in their seminal paper, but unlike the case of public key encryption schemes (where they had a key exchange protocol that could be made into a probabilistic encryption scheme) they did not have a reasonable candidate for such signatures until the RSA system was invented a year later by Rivest, Shamir and Adelman. However, even the RSA system was quickly seen not to have sufficient security and only later Goldwasser, Micali and Rivest gave what is now considered to be the "right" definition for digital signatures, and also a factoring-based construction meeting this definition. This definition is called existential forgery under chosen-message attack but we'll simply call it secure signature schemes.


At Little Oakley, near Harwich, an interglacial deposit has been identified and mapped over a distance of ca. 1 km by means of boreholes and from temporary sections. The interglacial sediments are chiefly silts and sands, which occupy a large river channel (150-175 m wide) trending W.S.W.-E.N.E. The channel sediments are variously underlain by London Clay, Red Crag and another fluvial deposit, the `Oakley Gravel' (one of 15 newly defined lithostratigraphic units), against which they also abut on their northern margin. The channel occurs at an elevation of between 18 and 24 m O.D. and is thought, on the basis of clast lithology, to have been occupied by the pre-diversion Thames at a point immediately upstream of its confluence with the Medway. The interglacial deposits are rich in fossils, which indicate accumulation during the pre- and early temperate substages of an early Middle Pleistocene interglacial stage. Pollen spectra from the base of one borehole may possibly relate to the terminal phase of the preceding late-glacial period. The balance of the palaeontological evidence suggests correlation of the main sequence with the Cromerian sensu stricto. The essential facts leading to this conclusion are given here, but detailed discussions of the palaeobotany, vertebrates, molluscs and ostracods are given in a series of separate papers. This correlation gains some support from amino acid epimerization data from the shells of certain aquatic molluscs. Palaeomagnetic measurements, indicating normal geomagnetic polarity, are also consistent with this correlation. The relation of the Little Oakley sequence to the regional geology is discussed, and the palaeogeographic history of the ThamesMedway river systems in this area is briefly reviewed.


A unified full-wave characterization of massive number of vias with or without circular pads is formulated analytically by means of equivalent magnetic frill array model and Galerkin's procedure. The proposed method takes advantage of the parallel-plate structure and employs image theory and Fourier transform to simplify the problem from 3-D configuration into 2-D frame. Based on the cylindrical symmetry with Bessel's functions and addition theorem, the final matrix equation is formulated analytically which can be used immediately for sensitivity analysis in both via dimensions and pad size. As a result, the new method is simple, efficient, and accurate. Numerical examples demonstrate good agreement between our analytical solution and the results obtained by commercial software (high frequency structure simulator) over a frequency range up to 20 GHz.


The existence of a carrier-mediated Na+-H+ exchange has been described recently in many epithelial and nonepithelial tissues including the diluting segment of the amphibian kidney. In this preparation the Na+-H+ exchanger is dramatically stimulated by so-called K+ adaptation (chronic exposure of animals to high potassium) and completely inhibited by the diuretic drug amiloride. We performed electrophysiological experiments in diluting segments of the isolated perfused frog kidney to investigate whether amiloride affects the conductance properties of this epithelium. Amiloride dramatically increased the transepithelial resistance and the ratio of lumen over peritubular cell membrane resistance. Cell membrane potential changes, induced by luminal K+ concentration steps, were blunted by luminal application of amiloride, by luminal Na+-free perfusates, or by acidification of the kidney perfusion solution. K+ secretory net flux, measured by K+-sensitive microelectrodes, decreased by half in presence of the diuretic. The experiments reveal that amiloride reduces the K+ conductance of the luminal cell membrane of frog diluting segment via inhibition of the luminal Na+-H+ exchanger. This decreases transepithelial K+ net secretion in this nephron segment.


Mark Twain's letters for 1874 and 1875 encompass one of his most productive and rewarding periods as author, husband and father, and man of property. He completed the writing of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, published the major collection Sketches, New and Old, became a leading contributor to the Atlantic Monthly, and turned The Gilded Age, the novel he had previously coauthored with Charles Dudley Warner, into one of the most popular comedies of the nineteenth-century American stage. His personal life also was gratifying, unmarred by the family tragedies that had darkened the earlier years of the decade. He and his wife welcomed a second healthy daughter and moved into the showplace home in Hartford, Connecticut, that they occupied happily for the next sixteen years. All of these accomplishments and events are vividly captured, in Mark Twain's inimitable language and with his unmatched humor, in letters to family and friends, among them some of the leading writers of the day. The comprehensive editorial annotation supplies the historical and social context that helps make these letters as fresh and immediate to a modern audience as they were to their original readers. This volume is the sixth in the only complete edition of Mark Twain's letters ever attempted. The 348 letters it contains, many of them never before published, have been meticulously transcribed, either from the original manuscripts (when extant) or from the most reliable sources now available. They have been thoroughly annotated and indexed and are supplemented by genealogical charts, contemporary notices of Mark Twain and his works, and photographs of him, his family, and his friends.


We theoretically analyze a scheme for fast stabilization of arbitrary qubit states with high fidelities, extending a protocol recently demonstrated experimentally [Lu et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 150502 (2017)]. That experiment utilized red and blue sideband transitions in a system composed of a fluxonium qubit, a low-Q LC-oscillator, and a coupler enabling us to tune the interaction between them. Under parametric modulations of the coupling strength, the qubit can be steered into any desired pure or mixed single-qubit state. For realistic circuit parameters, we predict that stabilization can be achieved within 100 ns. By varying the ratio between the oscillator's damping rate and the effective qubit-oscillator coupling strength, we can switch between under-damped, critically-damped, and over-damped stabilization and find optimal working points. We further analyze the effect of thermal fluctuations and show that the stabilization scheme remains robust for realistic temperatures.


At least half of all employees have quit a job at some point because of their supervisor. People complain of bosses who bully them, micromanage, steal credit, hoard information, and otherwise make them unhappy—which threatens their productivity and the organization's success. But don't despair if you don't get along with your boss. This article lays out steps you can take to improve the situation: Practice empathy. Behavioral research and neuroscience suggest that being mindful of the pressures on your boss and responding empathetically can trigger reciprocal support. Examine your role. Consider how you might be contributing to a negative dynamic, and seek training or advice to help you change your behavior. Talk to your boss. Start by asking how you can improve your performance and the relationship. If that isn't fruitful, launch a frank conversation about the dysfunction in your interactions. Go to HR. As a last resort—and only if you have evidence to show that your boss is unfit—file a formal complaint. Leave. If you see no potential for change, it's probably time to start job hunting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]


Information about genetic variation has been collected for some 20 years into registries, known as locus specific databases (LSDBs), which nowadays often contain information in addition to the actual genetic variation. Several issues have to be taken into account when considering establishing and maintaining LSDBs and these have been discussed previously in a number of articles describing guidelines and recommendations. This information is widely scattered and, for a newcomer, it would be difficult to obtain the latest information and guidance. Here, a sequence of steps essential for establishing an LSDB is discussed together with guidelines for each step. Curators need to collect information from various sources, code it in systematic way, and distribute to the research and clinical communities. In doing this, ethical issues have to be taken into account. To facilitate integration of information to, for example, analyze genotype–phenotype correlations, systematic data representation using established nomenclatures, data models, and ontologies is essential. LSDB curation and maintenance comprises a number of tasks that can be managed by following logical steps. These resources are becoming ever more important and new curators are essential to ensure that we will have expertly curated databases for all disease‐related genes in the near future. Hum Mutat 33:298–305, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


Carbonate blocks with silicified fossils were recovered from a newly recognized cold seep deposit, the Satsop Weatherwax site, in the basal Humptulips Formation, along the West Fork of Satsop River in Washington State, USA. The petrography and the stable carbon isotope signature of the carbonate, with values as low as -43.5‰, indicate that these carbonate blocks formed at an ancient methane seep. The fossils recovered from this block include five vesicomyid specimens, two fragments of a thyasirid, five specimens of the peltospirid Depressigyra , two specimens of the hyalogyrinid Hyalogyrina , 25 specimens of the neritimorph Thalassonerita eocenica, and three limpet specimens of two different species. Five species can be described as new: Nuculana acutilineata (Nuculanoidea), Desbruyeresia belliatus (Provannidae), Provanna fortis (Provannidae), Orbitestella dioi (Orbitestellidae), and Leptochiton terryiverseni (Polyplacophora). Other fossils recovered from this site are numerous serpulid tubes, echinoid spines, one brachiopod fragment and two neogastropods. Almost all species recovered belong to extant genera and the fauna has a modern character, but are different from species found in younger seeps in Washington State. This is the first record of an orbitestellid from an ancient cold seep deposit, the first fossil provannids from the Humptulips Formation, and the first fossil record of Desbruyeresia from North America.


Dairies utilize copper sulfate (CuSO4) foot baths to control hoof infections. Typical
solutions are 5 or 10% CuSO4 (pH ~6), equal to 12,500 or 25,000 ppm Cu, respectively. When
spent, hoof bath solutions are usually disposed of in waste lagoons and subsequently utilized for
irrigation. In the Magic Valley, this practice appears to be causing soil Cu concentrations to
increase. The goal of our research was to use local waste products to sequester Cu from a
simulated hoof bath solution and to use waste products to adsorb excessive Cu from Cu-affected
soils.

We utilized lime waste and fly ash from the Amalgamated Sugar Company, LLC (Twin
Falls, ID) to identify Cu sorption maximum as a function of pH. In triplicate, solutions
containing one gram of material and increasing Cu concentrations (0, 2500, 5000, 12500, 25000
ppm Cu) were shaken for one month buffered at either pH 6, 7, 8, or 9. Materials shaken at pH 6
adsorbed the greatest amount of Cu, but concentrations up to 25000 ppm did not maximize all
adsorption sites. Thus, additional solutions containing waste materials and Cu concentrations of
75000 and 100000 ppm Cu were shaken for one month at pH 6. Results showed that at pH 6
lime waste and fly ash adsorbed a maximum of ~ 45000 and 26000 ppm of Cu. The use of lime
waste to sequester Cu from spent dairy CuSO4 hoof baths appears to be a viable option.

Because lime waste adsorbed a greater quantity of Cu as compared to fly ash, we
investigated the ability of lime waste to sequester Cu from Cu-affected soils. A soil from the
Logan Soil Series (Typic Calciaquoll; pH 8.0; CEC = 14 meq/100g; % lime = 50%) which had
received 0, 250, 500, or 1000 ppm Cu approximately one year earlier was utilized. Using a
completely randomized design with four replicates, lime waste was applied at 0, 0.5, 1, and 2%
by weight (~0, 10, 20, and 40 tons/acre), thoroughly incorporated, and allowed to incubate at
90% of field capacity for 3 months, after which 15 alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) seeds were
planted in each pot. Plants were allowed to grow for 2.5 months, and then were harvested at ½"
above the soil surface, oven dried at 60oC for 72 hours, ground, weighed, and analyzed for total
Cu content. Soils were air-dried, ground to pass a 1/16" screen, and then
diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA; a measure of plant-availability) extractable Cu was
measured. Soils were also subjected to a sequential metal extraction procedure which identified
Cu associated with a) soluble species, carbonates, and cation exchange sites, b) iron and
manganese oxyhydroxides, c) organic matter and sulfides, and d) residual phases. Increasing soil
Cu application rate decreased alfalfa yield, but increasing lime waste application rate had no
effect on improving alfalfa yield. Increasing soil Cu application also increased plant Cu
concentration, while increasing lime application rate caused a decrease in plant Cu concentration.
Increasing soil Cu application increased DTPA extractable Cu content, while increasing lime
application rate did not affect extractable soil Cu content. Increasing Cu application rate
increased Cu bound in all soil phases. Lime waste significantly affected Cu associated with most
soil metal phases, but the changes were not large enough to help decrease soil Cu concentrations
to below levels that would affect alfalfa growth and Cu accumulation. The use of lime waste to sequester Cu from Cu-affected soils, unlike from solution, does not appear to be a viable treatment process. Results of these studies will be published in a peer reviewed journal later this
year.


The objective of this study was to compare the effect of curative 3-dimensional (3D) conformal radio-chemotherapy and intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) modalities on swallowing function in patients with nasopharyngeal cancer. Ten patients receiving 3D conformal radiotherapy and 10 patients receiving curative radiotherapy with IMRT, who were admitted for malignancy control for nasopharyngeal cancer, were included in the study. Swallowing functions were determined by flexible fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation. Premature spillage, retention pooling, penetration, aspiration, and reflex cough were evaluated. No statistically significant difference was found between patients receiving 3D conformal radiotherapy and IMRT regarding the scores of premature spillage, retention pooling, penetration, and aspiration with 3, 5, and 10 mL water and 5 mL yoghurt and fish crackers (P > .05). Velopharyngeal insufficiency or delayed onset of swallowing reflex was not found in any of the patients (P > .05). No significant difference was found between the groups in terms of the symptoms regarding subjective evaluation of swallowing (P > .05). Swallowing function did not differ among patients receiving IMRT and 3D conformal radiotherapy. Further studies with a larger sample size are warranted in order to verify the results.


Electrochemical machining involves three couplings between electric field, flow field and thermal field. The precipitation of hydrogen on the surface of the cathode will affect the entire electrochemical machining process and the final machining quality of the workpiece. Finite element software is used to analyze the effects of different voltages, electrolyte inlet pressure and interelectrode gap on current density, hydrogen volume fraction, conductivity and temperature distribution in this article. The research results show that the increase of processing voltage will increase the current density, hydrogen volume fraction and temperature, and decrease the conductivity of the solution. As the pressure of the electrolyte increases, the current density and conductivity increase, but the hydrogen volume fraction and temperature decrease. The current density, hydrogen volume fraction and temperature decrease, and the conductivity increases when the gap between electrodes increases. At the inlet, the current density and conductivity are relatively large, and gradually decrease along the electrolyte flow direction, while the hydrogen volume fraction and temperature are the smallest at the inlet, and gradually accumulate along the electrolyte flow direction, and reach the maximum at the outlet. Through multi-physics coupling simulation, the current density, temperature, conductivity and bubble distribution in electrochemical machining can be predicted, which can provide a theoretical basis for actual electrochemical machining process parameter selection.


It is often assumed that rehabilitation is limited to helping schizophrenic patients compensate for deficits that are either immutable or altered only by specific medical treatment. However, recent advances in knowledge require that this basic, constricting, and poorly founded assumption about the limitations of rehabilitation be challenged. Data now exist to suggest that for severe mental disorders like schizophrenia rehabilitation may not be just palliative or help compensate for deficits, but may contribute in important ways to basic recovery processes.


Amino-modified tetrapod-like ZnO nanostructures were tried as novel carriers for mammalian cell transfections. The nanostructures consisted of four needle-shaped tetrahedrally arranged legs connected at the center. After silica coating and amino modification, ZnO nanostructures complexes bound plasmid DNA through electrostatic interactions in aqueous solution. When mixed with cells, DNA-nanostructures attached easily onto cell membranes and entered the cells for gene expressions. Due to high positive charge densities on surfaces and needle-shaped tetrahedral structures, functionalized ZnO used as carriers for cell transfections with both high transfection efficiency and little cytotoxicity. And a possible transfection machamism was proposed in this report.


Abstract. Volunteered citizens have the potential to be used as social and distributed sensors, monitoring their surroundings and producing and sharing massive amounts of geographic data. The degree of spatial similarities in Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) somehow indicates an index for the accuracy and precision of user-generated spatial data. In other words, the spatial similarities in VGI refer to how close a citizen-generated spatial feature is to the true (or accepted one) or how close the citizen-generated spatial features of the same geographic phenomenon are to each other. The present study aims at developing a Web-based GIS tool to collect VGI and extract the spatial similarity indexes. To this end, a case study involving the identification of optimal areas for restaurants in Babolsar, Mazandaran province was used. The degree of similarity between the areas (polygons) proposed by citizens was then investigated using spatial indicators of intersection and minimum central distance. The results show that with the increase in the frequency of citizen-generated polygons, the geometric dispersion of the polygons decreases, and the similarity of citizens' polygons to establish a restaurant increases. With the increasing agreement, the amount of standard deviation in the area, perimeter, and minimum central distance of intersection areas reduces from 4645 to 15.4, 134.5 to 21.6, and 42.4 to 4.2, respectively.


Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease characterized by abnormal proliferation and differentiation of keratinocytes. Since curcumol exhibits anti-inflammatory properties in various diseases, we investigated its anti-inflammatory potential in stimulated human keratinocytes. Our data show that curcumol significantly inhibits proliferation and induces cell cycle arrest in NHEK cells stimulated with proinflammatory cytokines (IL-1α, IL-17A, IL-22, oncostatin M, and TNF-α; mix M5). In addition, curcumol markedly ameliorates inflammatory response and promotes differentiation of M5-stimulated NHEK cells. Curcumol inhibits activity of JAK1, resulting in the inhibition of STAT3, downregulation of cyclin D2, and cell cycle arrest in stimulated NHEK cells. Together, our data show that curcumol reduces proliferation and inflammatory gene expression in stimulated keratinocytes by inhibiting the JAK1/STAT3 signaling, suggesting that it might serve as a potential therapeutic option for the treatment of psoriasis.


Diabetic nephropathy is one of the most severe diabetic microangiopathies and accounting for approximately one‐third of all cases of end‐stage renal disease. In the present study, we investigated the effect of mangiferin, a polyphenol from Anemarrhena asphodeloides Bge. or Mangifera indica L., on diabetic nephropathy and the possible mechanisms by using a developed diabetic nephropathy rat model and cultured rat mesangial cells. Serum‐advanced glycation end‐products level, malonaldehyde level, sorbitol concentration of red blood cell, 24 h albuminuria excretion were significantly decreased, whereas activity of serum superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase and creatinine clearance rate were increased by mangiferin. Blood glucose level remained unaffected. Mangiferin significantly inhibited glomerular extracellular matrix expansion and accumulation and transforming growth factor‐beta 1 overexpression in glomeruli of diabetic nephropathy rats. Moreover, mangiferin was observed to inhibit proliferation of mesangial cells induced by high glucose and the overexpression of collagen type IV of mesangial cells induced by advanced glycation end products. In summary, mangiferin could significantly prevent progression of diabetic nephropathy and improve renal function. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Herein, a bent-core dihydrazide derivative (BP8-C) showed unusual solvent-induced optional self-assembly behaviour, e.g. crystalline gels obtained from ethanol (EtOH) and liquid crystalline gels obtained from chloroform (CHL) and toluene (Tol). Packing models in crystalline and liquid crystalline states are confirmed by the XRD method. It was demonstrated by fluorescence spectroscopy that gelators aggregate in EtOH in a way n = 2.13 (Avrami parameter). Interestingly, liquid crystalline gels obtained in CHL display better elastic property with 200% cross-over strain and act as Newtonian fluid at low shearing rate regions, whereas the crystalline gels show better viscidity with low cross-over strain (3%). Moreover, BP8-C xerogels obtained from CHL exhibit Tg transition followed by cold crystallization upon the first heating run, whereas an unknown mesophase, Colh phase, and a broadened and super-cooled crystallization were observed during cooling. In contrast, xerogels obtained from EtOH show enantiotropic Colh mesophase, and sharp crystallization transition. The different gelation behaviour and the liquid crystalline properties of the xerogels obtained from CHL and ethanol were attributed to different molecular aggregates due to interaction between ethanol and the gelators, as confirmed by 1H NMR and FTIR spectroscopy. We emphasize the role of solvent on the self-assembly degree of gelators, which can further influence the properties of gels and the corresponding xerogels.


Understanding the dispersivity and migration of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) in porous media is important for exploring their potential for soil and water remediation. In this study, a series of saturated column experiments were conducted to investigate the coupled effects of ionic strength, iron oxides (hematite), and soil colloids on the transport of CNCs through quartz sand and natural soils (red earth and brown earth). Results showed that CNCs had high mobility in oxide-free sand and that iron oxide coating reduced the mobility of CNCs. An analysis of Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek interactions indicated that CNCs exhibited a deep primary minimum, nonexistent maximum repulsion and secondary minimum on hematite-coated sand, favorable for the attachment of CNCs. The maximum effluent percentage of CNCs was 96% in natural soils at 5 mM, but this value decreased to 4% at 50 mM. Soil colloids facilitated the transport of CNCs in brown earth with larger effect at higher ionic strength. The ionic strength effect was larger in natural soils than sand and in red earth than brown earth. The study showed that CNCs can travel 0.2 m to 72 m in porous media, depending on soil properties, solution chemistry, and soil colloids.


In this review, we take a look at the current status in the development of a vaccine against the human pathogenic bacterium, Helicobacter pylori, a major aetiological factor in peptic ulcer disease and gastric adenocarcinoma. Various animal models are now in use from mice infected with H. pylori, through gnotobiotic pigs and primates to ferrets naturally infected with their own Helicobacter, H. mustelae. A significant problem remains the requirement for a suitable mucosal adjuvant. Detoxification or the use of low doses of adjuvants already available may provide a solution and new immune stimulating compounds have been tested with some success. New approaches include the delivery of Helicobacter antigens by DNA immunization, microparticles or live vectors such as attenuated salmonella and the examination of alternative routes of vaccine administration. The phenomenon of post‐immunization gastritis and improvements in vaccine efficacy are also discussed. A major area of interest is the mechanism by which immunization actually influences Helicobacter colonization. This remains a mystery: antibodies appear to be unimportant whereas CD4+ T‐cells essential. Finally, a viewpoint is given on whom should be immunized when a final vaccine becomes available.


We tested whether urban middle-school students from mostly low-income homes had improved academic vocabulary when they participated in a freely available vocabulary program, Word Generation (WG). To understand how this program may support students at risk for long-term reading difficulty, we examined treatment interactions with baseline achievement on a state standardized test and also differential effects for students with (n = 398) and without (n = 1,395) individualized education plans (IEPs). Students in this unmatched quasi-experiment (5 WG and 4 comparison schools) completed pre- and postvocabulary assessments during the intervention year. We also retested student vocabulary knowledge after summer vacation and the following spring on 11 target words to construct a longitudinally consistent scaled score across 4 waves of data. Growth models show that students experienced summer setback. Although there were no average underlying differences in growth or differences in summer setback for students by baseline achievement, better readers improved more from program participation. IEP status did not predict differential benefits of program participation, and students with IEPs maintained gains associated with participation in WG; however, participation in the program did not change underlying growth trajectories favoring students who did not have IEPs.


Purpose: Inventory management systems in health-care supply chains (HCSC) have been pushed to breaking point by the COVID-19 pandemic Unanticipated demand shocks due to stockpiling of medical supplies caused stockouts, and the stockouts triggered systematic supply chain (SC) disruptions inconceivable for risk managers working individually with limited information about the pandemic The purpose of this paper is to respond to calls from the United Nations (UN) and World Health Organization (WHO) for coordinated global action by proposing a research agenda based on a review of current knowledge and knowledge gaps on the role of collaboration in HCSCs in maintaining optimal stock levels and reinforcing resilience against stockout disruptions during pandemics Design/methodology/approach: A systematic review was conducted, and a total of 752 articles were analyzed Findings: Collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment practices are under-researched in the HCSC literature Similarly, a fragmented application of extant SC collaborative risk management capabilities undermines efforts to enhance resilience against systematic disruptions from medical stockouts The paucity of HCSC articles in humanitarian logistics and SC journals indicates a need for more research interlinking two interdependent yet critical fields in responding to pandemics Research limitations/implications: Although based on an exhaustive search of academic articles addressing HCSCs, there is a possibility of having overlooked other studies due to search variations in language controls, differences in publication cycle time and database search engines Originality/value: The paper relies on COVID-19's uniqueness to highlight the limitations in optimization and individualistic approaches to managing medical inventory and stockout risks in HCSCs The paper proposes a shift from a fragmented to holistic application of relevant collaboration practices and capabilities to enhance the resilience of HCSCs against stockout ripple effects during future pandemics The study propositions and suggestion for an SC learning curve provide an interdisciplinary research agenda to trigger early preparation of a coordinated HCSC and humanitarian logistics response to future pandemics © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited


OF DISSERTATION WHITENESS IN AFRICA: AMERICO-LIBERIANS AND THE TRANSFORMATIVE GEOGRAPHIES OF RACE This dissertation examines the constructed racial identities of African American settlers in colonial Liberia as they traversed the Atlantic between the United States and West Africa during the first half of the nineteenth century. In one of the great testaments that race is a social construction, the West African neighbors and inhabitants of Liberia, who conceived of themselves as "black," recognized the significant cultural differences between themselves and these newly-arrived Americans and racially categorized the newcomers as "white." This project examines the ramifications for these African American settlers of becoming simultaneously white and black through their Atlantic mobility. This is not to suggest that those African Americans who relocated to Liberia somehow desired to be white or hoped to "pass" as white after their arrival in Africa. Instead, the Americo-Liberians utilized their African whiteness to lay claim to an exotic, foreign identity that also escaped associations of primitivism. This project makes several significant contributions to scholarship on the colonization movement, whiteness, and Atlantic world. Importantly for scholarship on Liberia, it reestablishes the colony as but one evolving point within the Atlantic world instead of its usual interpretative place as the end of a transatlantic journey. Whether as disgruntled former settlers, or paid spokesmen for the American Colonization Society (ACS), or visitors returning to childhood abodes, or emancipators looking to free families from the chains of slavery, or students seeking medical degrees, Liberian settlers returned to the United States and they were remarkably uninterested in returning to their formerly downtrodden place in American society. This project examines the "tools" provided to Americo-Liberians by their African residence to negotiate a new relationship with the white inhabitants of the United States. These were not just metaphorical arguments shouted across the Atlantic Ocean and focusing on the experiences of Americo-Liberians in the United States highlights that these "negotiations" had practical applications for the lives of settlers in both the United States and Africa. The African whiteness of the settlers would function as a bargaining chip when they approached that rhetorical bargaining table.


Clinical Scenario: Increasing hamstring flexibility through clinical stretching interventions may be an effective means to prevent hamstring injuries. However the most effective method to increase hamstring flexibility has yet to be determined.

CLINICAL QUESTION
For a healthy individual, are proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) stretching programs more effective in immediately improving hamstring flexibility when compared with static stretching programs? Summary of Key Findings: A thorough literature search returned 195 possible studies; 5 studies met the inclusion criteria and were included. Current evidence supports the use of PNF stretching or static stretching programs for increasing hamstring flexibility. However, neither program demonstrated superior effectiveness when examining immediate increases in hamstring flexibility. Clinical Bottom Line: There were consistent findings from multiple low-quality studies that indicate there is no difference in the immediate improvements in hamstring flexibility when comparing PNF stretching programs to static stretching programs in physically active adults. Strength of Recommendation: Grade B evidence exists that PNF and static stretching programs equally increase hamstring flexibility immediately following the stretching program.


We analyze the one-dimensional potential barrier scattering problem of two-mode squeezed vacuum state and entangled coherent state. We show that the entanglement of both the scattering states exhibits a parabolic relation with the transmission coefficient of the barrier, and valley of the parabola corresponds with a semi-anti-semi-permeable barrier. In addition, the entanglement of the former has a similar parabolic relation with the incident squeezed factor, and the entanglement of the latter has a linear relation with the incident entanglement. The fidelities of both the scattering states increase as the transmission coefficient increases, but the former decreases as the incident squeezed factor increases and the latter decreases as the incident module of coherent state increases.


Name-face learning is an important social function. The more name-face pairings there is to learn, the more difficult they are to remember. The aim of this research was to introduce mnemonic strategies designed to facilitate the memory of nameface pairs. Testing has been found to be a powerful tool in aiding recall of name-face pairings (Weinstein, McDermott & Szpunar, 2011) and is the first variable investigated in this study. The present study consists of two experiments, in both experiments participants were presented with 48 trials of name-face pairings which were split into four lists of 12. Participants were required to attempt to correctly recall the name of each face when tested. Experiment 1: Participants were 48 undergraduate students who were randomly split into one of three conditions; tested (tested after the presentation of each list), untested (tested after list four only) and restudy (restudied lists 1-3 and were then tested at list four). All participants were then required to complete a cumulative test on all of the faces form all of the lists they had seen. The results suggested that participants who were tested recalled significantly more name-face pairings than those who restudied and who were untested at the list four test and at the cumulative test. Vocalisation has been shown to improve memory of items (Gathercole & Conway, 1988), experiment 2 therefore included a further variable of vocalisation to assess whether vocalising names would improve recall of name-face pairings. Here, participants were 60 undergraduate students who were randomly assigned to one of three conditions; tested vocalise (tested after the presentation of each list and vocalised each name), tested not vocalise (tested after the presentation of each list and read each name silently) and restudy (restudied lists 1-3, tested at list four and read each name silently), all participants then completed a cumulative test on all of the name-face pairings they had seen from all four lists. Results from the second experiment suggested that there was no significant difference in the number of correctly recalled name-face pairings between vocalise and not vocalise participants at the list four test and the cumulative test.


: Leucine zipper-functionalized liposomes are promising drug carriers for cancer treatment because of their unique thermosensitivity. The leucine zippers, which consist of two α -helical polypeptides that dimerize in parallel, have characteristic heptad repeats (represented by [abcdefg] n ). A leucine residue was observed periodically at site "d" to stabilize the dimerization of the two polypeptides through inter-chain hydrophobic interactions. As the temperature increased, the inter-chain hydrophobic interactions became weaker, eventually triggering the dissociation of the leucine zippers. Due to the unique nature of the temperature response, leucine zippers are useful for developing novel lipid-peptide vesicles for drug delivery because they allow for better control and optimization of drug release under mild hyperthermia. The base sequence of the leucine zipper peptides used in our lab for the functionalize liposomal carrier is [VAQLEVK-VAQLESK-VSKLESK-VSSLESK]. Our recent experiments revealed that modifying this peptide at the N-terminus with distinct functional groups can change the physicochemical properties of the lipopeptides, and eventually affect the liposomes' phase transition behaviors. Four leucine zipper-structured lipopeptides with distinct head groups, viz . ALA, C3CO, C5CO, and POCH, were studied computationally to examine the influence of the molecular structures on the phase transition behaviors of lipopeptides. A series of computational techniques including quantum mechanics (QM) calculations, implicit solvation replica exchange molecular dynamics (REMD) simulations, dihedral principal component analysis (dPCA), and dictionary of protein secondary structure (DSSP) methods, and the conventional explicit solvation molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were applied in this work. First, QM calculations were conducted to obtain the partial charges of some modified head groups. Implicit-solvent REMD simulations were then performed to study the effect of temperature on the folded conformations of the leucine zipper peptides. The dPCA method was used to simulate trajectories to identify representative structures of the peptides at various temperatures, and the DSSP method was used to determine conformation transitions of the four lipopeptides ALA, C3CO, C5CO, and POCH at 324.8, 312.1, 319.1, and 319.4 K, respectively. The thermostability of the lipopeptide dimers in the lipid DPPC bilayer was studied in the conventional explicit solvent MD simulations. Finally, we conducted a deep analysis on the area per lipid and the electron-density profile for the DPPC bilayer to explore the folding and unfolding processes of the lipopeptides in the liposomes to better understand the underlying phase transition mechanisms of the thermosensitive liposomes. On this basis, we could further improve the thermosensitivity of the leucine zipper-structured lipopeptides, thereby facilitating the development of liposomal drug delivery techniques in the future.


Dementia is defined as significant acquired cognitive impairment in one or more cognitive domains that represents a significant decline from previous baseline and interferes with independence in daily activities. Autoimmune dementia is a term that has been used to describe a steroid-responsive autoimmune disorder characterized by a rapidly progressive dementia with a fluctuating course. Even compelling evidence suggests that the immune system plays a critical role in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer disease, the most common type of neurodegenerative dementia. According to literature, autoimmune dementia can be due to these disorders: Paraneoplastic and autoimmune limbic encephalitis, encephalopathy associated with systemic autoimmune, and multiple sclerosis. Paraneoplastic limbic encephalitis is characterized by acute or subacute mood and behavioral changes, short-term memory problems, complex-partial seizures, and cognitive dysfunction. The subacute memory loss is a hallmark of the disorder but it can be overlooked easily because of the presence of other symptoms. Hashimoto's encephalitis or encephalopathy (HE) is a rare autoimmune disease often under diagnosed. It can present as rapidly progressive dementia which is treatable with high dose steroids. Early diagnosis and prompt initiation of steroid therapy are associated with good prognosis. Progressive cognitive impairment has been also described in association with systemic lupus erythematosis, Sjogren syndrome, and Behcet disease. These conditions typically produce nonvasculitic encephalitis. In summary, a high clinical suspicious is essential to make an appropriate diagnosis of autoimmune dementia.


The freezing-point temperatures of two samples of 99.9999% pure indium in cells constructed such that the indium was in contact only with Teflon were measured with four standard platinum resistance thermometers and two resistance bridges, one bridge operating at 400 Hz and the other with square-wave dc. Although nominally of the same purity, one sample was purer than the other, with a difference in freezing-point temperature of 0.2 to 0.4 mK, the value depending on the bridge used for the measurements. The temperature, t68, of the purer sample as determined from dc measurements is (156.6342 ± 0.0004) °C and as determined from ac measurements is (156.6345 ± 0.0004) °C. The pressure dependence was determined to be (4.92 ± 0.05) mK/(std. atm). Consequently, the triple-point temperatures are (4.92 ± 0.05) mK lower than the freezing-point values. The indium freezing-point temperature would be a suitable defining fixed point for a temperature scale.


Abstract Introduction The role of explosions and patient transport vehicles as sources and vectors of Gram-negative, multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) that predominate infections following lengthy evacuations after disasters due to natural hazards and in current war-trauma patients is unknown. Hypothesis/Problem Damaged or heavily-used vehicles could be sources of the MDROs subsequently linked to nosocomial infections. Methods From January through May 2008 in Iraq, inside surfaces of heavily-used, tactical vehicles (Experimental Group) were sampled with sterile, pre-moistened swabs. Swabs, along with positive and negative controls, were shipped to the reference laboratory in Washington, DC, where they underwent culture, identification and susceptibility testing, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Multidrug-resistant organisms were defined according to the standard Centers for Disease Control and Prevention definitions. High risk organisms (HROs) were defined as susceptible E. coli, A. baumannii, P. aeruginosa, Enterobacter spp, or Klebsiella spp. Concurrently, new counterparts (Control Group) were similarly surveyed in a storage lot in Georgia, USA. Groups were compared using the Chi-squared test. Results One hundred thirty-nine consecutive vehicles including all available ambulances were sampled, yielding 153 swabs. Nineteen were lost or damaged during shipping. Seventy-nine swabs yielded growth of one or more Gram-negative bacteria. The amount and genotype of MDROs in heavily-used vehicles, including those involved in roadside bombings, were compared to control vehicles and to strains isolated from wounds and environmental surfaces at the base hospital. Predominant organisms included P. agglomerans (34%), S. flexneri (8%), E. vulneris (6%), Pseudomonas sp. (6%), and K. pneumonia (6%). No MDROs were isolated. Thirteen vehicles (eight of 94 experimental and five of 45 control) yielded HRO. There was no difference in contamination rates (P = .63). No HROs were isolated from ambulances. No clonal association existed between vehicle and hospital strains. Conclusion Given the implications that this knowledge gap has on military and civilian prehospital reservoirs of infection, further study is warranted to confirm these findings and identify targets for preventive intervention throughout civilian disaster and military casualty evacuation chains. LeshoE, AkeJ, HuangX, CashDM, NikolichM, BarberM, RobensK, GarnettE, LindlerL, ScottP. Amount of usage and involvement in explosions not associated with increased contamination of prehospital vehicles with multi-drug-resistant organisms. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2013;28(2):1-3..


The purpose of this project is to outline a Kantian form of cosmopolitan theory in relation to the normative requirements necessary for a constitutional global order and to provide a comprehensive defense of cosmopolitan ethics against realist, pluralist and communitarian critiques. The project consists in a theoretical exploration of Kantian cosmopolitanism and the normative requirements consistent with, and necessary to, a Kantian based cosmopolitan constitution. The project addresses such topics as Kantian cosmopolitanism, the principle of cosmopolitan law, cosmopolitan right, the laws of hospitality, the normative principles behind the idea of a federation of states, a cosmopolitan epistemology of culture and a possible normative basis for a Kantian form of global distributive justice. Contrary to many historical conceptions of cosmopolitanism, the project interprets Kantian cosmopolitan thought as a form of international constitutional jurisprudence that requires minimal ethical / legal demands versus the more rigorous demand of establishing a world state or a utopian moral order. By viewing Kantian cosmopolitan theory as a form of international jurisprudence, it has better promise to satisfy communitarian, realist and pluralist concerns without surrendering cosmopolitan principles of human worth and global ethical order. In contrast to an extreme form of cosmopolitanism, this project provides an alternative Kantian version of cosmopolitanism that allows for various ethical perspectives on a culturally local and state level, while providing a minimal global ethical umbrella for international cooperation and cosmopolitan principles. However, this thesis does not represent a strict interpretation of Kant or of his political theory. What this project provides is a Kantian based form of cosmopolitanism, which not only pulls from Kant, but also from contemporary cosmopolitan arguments found throughout political philosophy. In this regard, it provides a more comprehensive understanding of Kantian cosmopolitanism and what normative implications this vision has for contemporary international political theory.


Recently, the number of foreign tourists visiting Japan has been rapidly increasing, and the overseas travel balance has drastically changed. By using micro panel data, this study empirically analyzes the effects of this increase on productivity in the accommodation industry. The novelty of this study is represented by the use of a physical productivity measure to document an unexplored channel through which service trade contributes to increasing the productivity in the domestic service industry. The estimation results show that an increase in the number of foreign guests significantly improves the measured total factor productivity (TFP) of the accommodation facilities, although the effect of foreign presence is quite heterogeneous across facilities.


COSIT 2017 is the latest edition of the conference series on spatial information theory that has been bringing together leading researchers of the field for more than twenty years now. On its trajectory through time and space, the conference has returned to where it started: Italy. This year, it is held at L'Aquila, the capital city of the Abruzzo region, in Central Italy. The beauty of the city and the region is matched by the diversity and quality of the paper selected for presentation. In total, we received 51 submissions that were then reviewed by at least three members of the program committee. Based on the reviews, 22 papers were selected to be presented at the main conference and are included in this volume.

A quick look at the table of contents is enough to appreciate the breadth and diversity of the topics covered by the articles included in the proceedings. In addition to well-established topics, such as qualitative reasoning, spatial semantics, and wayfinding, the trend towards tackling the fundamental theoretical issues inherent to crowd-sourced spatial information continues from previous COSIT conferences. As it happens at COSIT, there are atypical topics being discussed, such as the interesting foray into a quantum theory applied to geographic fields. Overall, the program provides rich contributions for researchers in the key sub-domains of spatial information theory while at the same time extending the scientific scope of the field.

As in previous years, the main single-track program is complemented by satellite events. First of all, an intensive poster session gives the opportunity especially to young researchers to present their work to the community in a designated session. Preceding the single-track program, COSIT 2017 offers five workshops covering hot and emerging topics in spatial information theory, such as 'rethinking wayfinding support systems' and 'future directions in geospatial natural language research'. In addition, two tutorials are offered as well as the doctoral colloquium. The proceedings of the satellite events are available as a separate publication. Three keynotes complement the technical program: by Sang Ah Lee on a neuroscientist point of view on spatial cognition, by Stefano Borgo on the formalization of spatial environments of artificial agents, and by Bin Jiang on scaling and order in geographic space. Last but not least, COSIT 2017 also hosts several social events facilitating informal exchanges. Organizing an event such as COSIT and making it a success is only possible with the help and commitment of many people. The program committee plays a pivotal role in ensuring a quality program, and we would like to thank all reviewers for their time and for the thorough reviews they produced. We would like to thank the University of L'Aquila that hosts the conference, offering the location and technical and logistic support, in addition to a financial contribution. For the first time, this year COSIT is an IFIP (International Federation for Information Processing) supported conference and an AICA (Italian Association for Informatics and Automatic Calculus) supported conference with no financial involvement of IFIP and AICA. Finally, we would like to thank all who attended COSIT 2017 to present their work, to discuss the work showcased at the conference and beyond, and to advance the state of the art in the field of spatial information theory.


For more than a thousand years, Buddhism has dominated Japanese death rituals and concepts of the afterlife. The nine essays in this volume, ranging chronologically from the tenth century to the present, bring to light both continuity and change in death practices over time. They also explore the interrelated issues of how Buddhist death rites have addressed individual concerns about the afterlife while also filling social and institutional needs and how Buddhist death-related practices have assimilated and refigured elements from other traditions, bringing together disparate, even conflicting, ideas about the dead, their postmortem fate, and what constitutes normative Buddhist practice.The idea that death, ritually managed, can mediate an escape from deluded rebirth is treated in the first two essays, followed by explorations of Buddhist death rites that worked to encourage the maintenance of emotional bonds with the deceased and, in so doing, helped structure the social world of the living. The rise of standardized funerals in Japan's early modern period forms the subject of a chapter that shows how the Soto Zen sect established itself in rural communities by incorporating local religious culture into its death rites. The final three chapters deal with contemporary funerary and mortuary practices and the controversies surrounding them.


The celebrated minimax principle of Yao (1977) says that for any Boolean-valued function $f$ with finite domain, there is a distribution $\mu$ over the domain of $f$ such that computing $f$ to error $\epsilon$ against inputs from $\mu$ is just as hard as computing $f$ to error $\epsilon$ on worst-case inputs. Notably, however, the distribution $\mu$ depends on the target error level $\epsilon$: the hard distribution which is tight for bounded error might be trivial to solve to small bias, and the hard distribution which is tight for a small bias level might be far from tight for bounded error levels. In this work, we introduce a new type of minimax theorem which can provide a hard distribution $\mu$ that works for all bias levels at once. We show that this works for randomized query complexity, randomized communication complexity, some randomized circuit models, quantum query and communication complexities, approximate polynomial degree, and approximate logrank. We also prove an improved version of Impagliazzo's hardcore lemma. Our proofs rely on two innovations over the classical approach of using Von Neumann's minimax theorem or linear programming duality. First, we use Sion's minimax theorem to prove a minimax theorem for ratios of bilinear functions representing the cost and score of algorithms. Second, we introduce a new way to analyze low-bias randomized algorithms by viewing them as "forecasting algorithms" evaluated by a certain proper scoring rule. The expected score of the forecasting version of a randomized algorithm appears to be a more fine-grained way of analyzing the bias of the algorithm. We show that such expected scores have many elegant mathematical properties: for example, they can be amplified linearly instead of quadratically. We anticipate forecasting algorithms will find use in future work in which a fine-grained analysis of small-bias algorithms is required.


Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is the focus of a great deal of
attention, both in terrns of, policy, its implementation and research. It could be considered
the most highly scrutinised of all subjects. For more than 30 years there have been many
statements made about its impact on everyday life. Just as ICT has subtly transformed the
working practices and communication system of the world, so it has been assured to
make an equal, and more obviously positive, impact on the world of education.

This thesis explores the impact of ICT on the attitudes, habits and thoughts of pupils in
secondary school. Acknowledging the potential, and interest in different programmes, it
looks at ICT not as an isolated phenomenon, nor in terms of potential programmes and
the efficacy of distance learning, but in the context in which it is used in schools. The
thesis is based on exploring the ways in which pupils experience ICT in school rather
than in their homes, and how they experience ICT as part of their daily school
expenence.

The first part of the thesis outlines the history of the impact of Technology, in the context
of earlier media, and examines the many assertions of its power and the hopes of the
impact of IT. It also traces the many complex ways in which the Information Technology
can be used and have an impact, and the various theories that underly its potential. It
makes it clear that there is comparatively little empirical research on the impact of ICT in
the school context. Research on particular programmes and lessons abounds but not
research on the secondary pupils' attitudes and experience as a whole.

The methodology used is a mixture of observation, questionnaire and interviews. In such
a complex subject it was considered important to use triangulation to explore the impact
of ICT; from its uses as part of the school curriculum, to its relationship with, other
subjects. The most significant evidence is perhaps, derived from lengthy semi-structures
interviews (as well as the questionnaire). Secondary school pupils in years 9 and 10 in six
schools (with contrasting socio economic catchments) completed questionnaires and
interviews.

Whilst the thesis explores many aspects of the pupils' experience of ICT it does so in the
context of day-to-day school life. The central point is however, the ways in which pupils
think of school life generally, and the impact of ICT within this context. Any
disappointment with any lack of fulfilment of the great hopes of ICT is perhaps explained
by of how schools are run as institutions. They perhaps have not changed in any radical
way to accommodate the new technology. The acceptance of the inevitability of
computers, and their use in systems of communication (and the pleasure at home) is
matched by the acceptance that school is an experience demonstrated by its social rather
than academic aspects, in which ICT is just another lesson.


AIMS
To investigate the prevalence of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) in the 46-year-old cohort subjects from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 (NFBC 1966).

METHODS
Altogether, 1,962 subjects (1,050 women, 912 men) participated in a clinical medical and dental examination and responded to questionnaires in 2012 to 2013. The stomatognathic examination was performed according to a modified protocol of the Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (DC/TMD). Pearson's chi-square test and Fisher's exact test were used to analyze the signs of TMD between genders, and logistic regression models were used to analyze the relationship between self-reported pain associated with TMD and modified DC/TMD protocol (P < .05).

RESULTS
Of the subjects available for analyses, 18.5% responded positively to the self-reported screening question for pain related to TMD. The most common signs of TMD were clicking in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) (26.2%) and palpation pain in the masticatory muscles (11.2%). Women had signs of TMD more often than men (P < .05). The most common diagnosis was disc displacement with reduction (7.0%). Myalgia, arthralgia, disc displacement with reduction, and degenerative joint disease diagnoses were statistically significantly more common in women than in men (P < .05). The prevalence of TMD signs among the cohort subjects was 34.2%.

CONCLUSION
The most common sign of TMD was clicking in the TMJ and the most common TMD diagnosis was disc displacement with reduction. The prevalence of TMD signs among the examined cohort subjects was 34.2%. TMD was diagnosed in women more often than in men. The results are comparable with other corresponding population-based studies in adults.


BACKGROUND
Medical imaging is to assume greater and greater significance in an efficient and precise diagnosis process.

DISCUSSION
It is a set of various methodologies which are used to capture internal or external images of the human body and organs for clinical and diagnosis needs to examine human form for various kind of ailments. Computationally intelligent machine learning techniques and their application in medical imaging can play a significant role in expediting the diagnosis process and making it more precise.

CONCLUSION
This review presents an up-to-date coverage about research topics which include recent literature in the areas of MRI imaging, comparison with other modalities, noise in MRI and machine learning techniques to remove the noise.


Over the past decade, this magazine has focused on a wide variety of important issues, each of which contributes not only to our understanding of security but also to innovative and effective solutions to security problems. Measurement has frequently held star and supporting roles in many of these articles. The author describes the past, present, and future for measurement's role in security.


Authigenic K-feldspar occurs in alteration profiles in uppermost Precambrian igneous and metamorphic basement rocks of the midcontinent. The K-feldspar is widespread and has been identified in six states. The profiles occur directly below the Cambrian-Precambrian unconformity and range from about <1 to 8 m in thickness. Authigenic K-feldspar occurs throughout the profile. The K-feldspar is monoclinic or triclinic by X-ray diffraction, of end-member composition, and may compose 63% of rock volume. Much of the K-feldspar formed by replacement of primary feldspar. A sample of wholly authigenic K-feldspar from altered basement in southern Illinois gives a K/Ar data of 549 {plus minus} 18 Ma (Early Cambrian). This data is in agreement with Early Cambrian Rb/Sr dates for potassic alteration of uppermost Precambrian basement in Ohio. Dated authigenic K-feldspars from both Ohio and Illinois give identical {delta}{sup 18}O values of 17.5, suggesting formation from a very similar fluid. Concordancy of both dates and {delta}{sup 18}O values suggests that the K-feldspar formed during an episode of potassic alteration during Early Cambrian time that affected much of midcontinent North America. The dates and {delta}{sup 18}O values for K-feldspar, when considered together, do not fit any of the hypotheses presented here.


: The single port surgery with glove technique is a novel process, suitable to the present day economic and technological moment. Colostomies are surgical interventions suitable to its application. We describe the surgical method and outcome of patients who underwent colostomy by single port glove technique within the years 2011 and 2012, in two hospitals in Asturias, Spain. We carried out six sigmoid colostomies. Four patients had tumoral pathology, another a perineal necrotizing fasciitis, and the sixth, a patient with Crohn's disease and complex perianal fistulas. The average age of the patients, four men and two women, was 54 years (range 42-67 years). The average intervention time was 42 minutes (range 30-65 minutes). There were no complications during the surgery or in the postoperative period. In our facilities material expenditure was reduced to half as regards other conventional single port devices. The glove technique represents the most economic and least invasive approach for the surgical procedure of stomas, in our experience considered a simple, safe and easily reproducible technique.


Rainfall in the maize cropping season (Oct-Apr) in the four northern districts of Malawi was examined in terms of seasonal fluctuation and spatial distribution, and data spanning 11 years were analyzed. Rainfall fluctuations in the 11-year period differed considerably among the four districts and the Extension Planning Areas (EPAs) showed high coefficients of variance (CVs) (16.9-93.7). The equation with the three-month rainfall (October, February, and April), i.e., Maize yield (kg/ha) in SH = 2.29 + 0.0042 × Oct rainfall – 0.0009 × Feb rainfall + 0.00045 × Apr rainfall (r 2 = 0.41), better explained maize yield in the 2013/14 season than the equation with total rainfall in the cropping season. Rainfall accounted for more than 41% of the total variation in maize yields of smallholder farmers (SHs). Rainfall in April was the most critical factor influencing maize and other crop yields. After the Farm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP) was implemented in 2005/06, maize yield became more dependent on rainfall. CV was higher in maize than in groundnut and sweet potato, indicating that maize is susceptible to rainfall fluctuations, and groundnut and sweet potato should be incorporated in farming as a countermeasure against unpredictable rainfall.


Since the 1990s, local democracy and representation in Japan have been changing. Political reforms at the national level, decentralization, reduced clientelism, and broader socio-economic challenges such as depopulation have transformed the roles of local legislatures and executives. These changes have not least affected important national policies.

The talk will analyze overall trends in the "quality" of local democracy in terms of some indicators of responsiveness, accountability and participation in local representation at municipal and prefectural level. It will further discuss how changes in local representation and local party organizations have affected national processes regarding public works, energy, and security. The talk concludes with reflections on how aggravated regional inequality will affect decentralization and the quality of local and national democracy in the near future.

Professor Yamada Kyohei will comment on Dr. Hijino's latest research and amend the discussion by analyzing how changes in institutions and patterns of political competition at the local level affect political competition at the national level. A particular focus lies on how the increased volatility in national elections affects calculations and decisions of majority-seeking political parties. He will further discuss how political competition at national level affects the central government's willingness and capacity to change or not to change the population size of local governments.


We thank Zhao et al.1 for presenting an interesting case of a longitudinally extensive spinal cord lesion in a patient with a mitochondrial sequence variant. The authors suggest that the neuroimaging mimics spinal cord infarction (SCI). However, the initial MRI shows a swollen, expanded, and enhancing spinal cord lesion. This appearance is typical for neuromyelitis optic spectrum disorders or other inflammatory myelopathies, rather than SCI. While acute snake eye appearance suggests SCI, it is usually nonenhancing, and an early MRI could be normal.2 In addition, evidence for the efficacy of idebenone for the treatment of optic neuropathy in Leber Hereditary Optic neuropathy (LHON) is modest at best,3 making it difficult to attribute this patient's recovery to idebenone. Was the patient treated with steroids or another immunotherapy acutely? In our opinion, it is likely that this patient, who harbors a familial mitochondrial sequence variant, presented with inflammatory myelopathy. Association of LHON and multiple sclerosis or antiaquaporin-4 disease is known and likely responsible for the aggressive presentation here4,5; however, causality is not proven. While we agree with the authors that consideration of underlying mitochondrial disorders in the right clinical scenario is important, ongoing neuroimmunology surveillance is prudent, and on relapse, the case may warrant immunotherapy.


Background Recently published NICE guidance has outlined an increasing role for CT coronary angiogram (CTCA) in the assessment of patients with chest pain. This is likely to result in an exponential increase in the number of CTCAs. We report a model for undertaking CTCA with low contrast dose providing excellent image quality and correlation with invasive coronary angiography. Method Over 800 CTCAs have been undertaken at our centre in the last year. We have refined our protocol to deliver an average contrast volume of 30mL (range 22–38 mL), providing excellent image quality and invasive angiographic correlation, using: 1. Prospective ECG-gating for all acquisitions, with software based motion correction where necessary. 2.?Smart monitoring protocol for image acquisition. 3.4–6 sec contrast bolus injection at 4.5–6.5 mL/sec injection. Results 200 consecutive scans were acquired for a range of indications, using 22–38 mL iodine based contrast (Omnipaque 350). Contrast was injected for 4–6 seconds, at 4.5–6.5 mL/sec based on BMI, calcium score, previous coronary stents or coronary artery bypass grafts. 40% patients subsequently underwent invasive coronary angiography +/- pressure wire studies for functional assessment and percutaneous intervention. Image quality and invasive angiographic correlation was excellent (>98% anatomical correlation). Conclusion Using our model excellent image quality and accuracy comparable to conventional coronary angiography can be achieved, using low contrast volume. Our protocol can be used in patients with impaired renal function and provides limited cost saving compared to conventional protocols.


I. INTRODUCTION Although South Carolina has perennially been considered one of the nation's most rebellious states, the South Carolina Supreme Court has historically been extremely deferential to precedent. (1) However, in 1997, the South Carolina judicial system experienced a reform that significantly changed the South Carolina Supreme Court's traditional deference to past precedent. (2) As a result of a South Carolina Constitutional amendment, jurists are no longer solely elected by the General Assembly. Rather, a Judicial Merit Selection Commission reviews the qualifications of all applicants and nominates the three most qualified candidates. (3) These three nominees are then voted on by the General Assembly, and the nominee with the highest number of votes is appointed to the bench. (4) While some scholars argue that this change has done little to eliminate the highly political system that the previous method of judicial selection legislative election--promoted, a look at the court's decisions since the implementation of the new selection system tells a different story. (5) In contrast to the decade prior to the amendment where the court only overruled its own precedent twice, in the period between 1997 and 2003, the South Carolina Supreme Court has overruled its own precedent thirty-six times and defied the United States Supreme Court twice. (6) These numbers attest to the fact that the current bench now decides cases with a sense of independence from the General Assembly, resulting in decisions based upon their individual ideologies, rather than the political tides of the General Assembly. The willingness of the new bench to overrule past precedent indicates that, at least to some degree, the justices are shielded from the political backlash which can result from challenging the status quo in South Carolina. By examining criminal cases from 1997 through 2003 in which the majority chose to overturn previous case law, as well as discussing the rationale behind the court's decisions to disobey the United States Supreme Court, this study seeks to demonstrate the new trend toward judicial independence, while also identifying the underlying ideology of each jurist. Ultimately, it will be apparent that although the change to the judicial selection system resulted in greater independence for the justices, this independence came at the cost of accountability to the public or the General Assembly: arguably the only two bodies through which jurists are forced to consider the principles of majoritarianism. II. JUDICIAL SELECTION: SOUTH CAROLINA'S 1996 MERIT SELECTION AMENDMENT Prior to 1997, the South Carolina General Assembly had statutory authority to elect and re-elect the state's judges and justices. (7) Through a joint committee, members of both houses of the legislature reviewed the qualifications of all applicants. (8) However, the statutes enabling the committee to review the candidates did not define the qualifications to be reviewed or how they were to be weighed. (9) Moreover, the committee lacked authority to remove an applicant's name from consideration. (10) Therefore, unqualified applicants remained eligible for appointment. This process at times resulted in unqualified applicants being elected to the bench because members of the General Assembly--provided with little external guidance on the qualifications of the candidates--often elected sitting or former legislators, with whom they had experience. (11) In fact, from 1995 until 2000, all five South Carolina Supreme Court justices had previously served in the General Assembly. (12) Moreover, all of the current justices, with the exception of Justice Pleicones, were elected very shortly after ending their service in the legislature. (13) Although most of the justices first sat on the Circuit Court, current Chief Justice Jean Hoefer Toal was elected directly to the Supreme Court from the legislature. (14) While this connection did not go unnoticed, the General Assembly was unwilling to add credibility to the selection process and thereby relinquish its power through public elections. …