The Minimalist Program (MP) has been around for about 25 years, and anecdotal evidence suggests that conventional wisdom thinks it a failure. This review argues that MP has been a tremendous success and has more than met the very high goals it had set for itself. This does not imply that there is not more to be done. There is, a lot more. But the problems are those characteristic of successful and ongoing research programs. Why the perception of failure? It arises from a misunderstanding concerning the aims of the minimalist project and what, given these aims, it is reasonable to expect. Once we clear up the nature of MP's goals, we will be better placed to judge (and appreciate) how far it has come.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the prevalence and causes of visual impairment and blindness among Kibera slum dwellers.

DESIGN
Population based Survey.

SETTING
Kibera Slums, Kibera Division, Nairobi, Kenya.

SUBJECTS
One thousand four hundred and thirty eight randomly selected slum dwellers.

RESULTS
The prevalence of blindness and visual impairment was 0.6% (95% CI: 0.21 to 1.0), and 6.2% (95% CI: 4.95 to 7.15) respectively. 37.5% of those found blind were due to cataract followed by refractive errors 25.0%. 58.1% of those with visual impairment had refractive errors while 35.5% had cataracts. Females had a higher prevalence of visual impairment compared to males but the difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.104).

CONCLUSIONS
Prevalence of blindness in Kibera slums is slightly lower than the estimated national average (0.7%) while that of visual impairment is almost three times higher. The leading causes of blindness are cataract followed by refractive errors. For visual impairment, refractive error was the leading cause followed by cataract.

RECOMMENDATION
Kibera slum dwellers are in need of comprehensive eye care services offering cataract surgery and low cost spectacles.


Special high-purity germanium photodiodes have been developed for the direct detection of vacuum ultraviolet scintillations in liquid helium. The photodiodes are immersed in the liquid helium, and scintillations are detected through one of the bare sides of the photodiodes. Test results with scintillation photons produced by 5.3MeV ¿ particles are presented. The use of these photodiodes as liquid helium scintillation detectors may offer substantial improvements over the alternate detection method requiring the use of wavelength shifters and photomultiplier tubes.


Abstract Carrara Marble, from Italy, probably one of the most famous dimension stones in the collective memory and in ordinary people, is here nominated as a suitable 'Global Heritage Stone Resource'. Quarried since pre-Roman times, the Carrara marble is the testimonial of an area/industry that was able – for a variety of reasons not easily repeatable in future stone history – from the dawn of the stone sector, to trigger a flywheel effect on a global scale. Suitable for any environment and cultural context, this versatile marble has been appreciated in almost any field of application – from building to architecture, from fine arts to urban landscape, from funerary art to modern 3D design – probably reaching its highest point in the eternal works of famous sculpturers, artists and architects such as Michelangelo, Donatello, Jacopo Della Quercia, Canova, Bernini, and many others. It is currently excavated in more than 100 quarries, processed almost everywhere and sold all over the world.


Introduction: Heptamethoxy flavones (HMF)isolated from Sphaeranthus amaranthoides can bring inhibitory result on the growth of lung adenocarcinoma cells. However, very few studies have demonstrated a relative effect of the HMF on A549 cells. This study aims to investigate the underlying molecular mechanisms involved in the therapeutic activity of HMF in human lung adenocarcinoma cells. Materials and Methods: HMF was isolated from S. amaranthoides using column chromatography, and the structure was elucidated using nuclear magnetic resonance studies. The cytotoxicity was assessed using MTT assay, and the morphological change was observed by performing dual staining (ethidium bromide/acridine orange). The integrity of nuclear membrane was investigated using propidium iodide staining, and the apoptosis proteome was also assessed. The levels of proliferative and apoptotic genes were quantified using quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Finally, apoptosis was confirmed with the cell cycle analysis using flow cytometry. Results: The cells were maintained in the exponential phase by optical cell count, and HMF showed the half maximal inhibitory concentration value of 83.67 μg/mL. Morphological changes of cell and the nucleus proved the apoptosis with evidence of blebbing and chromatin condensation. The cell cycle analysis includes an accumulation of the cells in G1–G0 and less number of cells at other stages of cell cycle. The enhanced levels of apoptotic gene (caspase-3 and Bax with GAPDH) expression and lowered levels of Bcl-2 (proliferative gene) expression were triggered through intrinsic and extrinsic pathways during apoptosis. Interpretation and Conclusion: It is concluded that the HMF isolated from S. amaranthoides was induced apoptosis through Bcl-2/Bax signaling pathways with the involvement of caspase-3 at G1–G0 cell cycle arrest.


Background With COVD-19 cases on the rise globally and two approved vaccines, determining vaccine acceptance is imperative to avoid low inoculation rates. The aim of this study was to evaluate the changes and determinants of vaccine acceptance among citizens and non-citizens, over time during the pandemic in Kuwait. Methods Data were obtained from the COVID-19 Snapshot Monitoring (COSMO Kuwait) study that was implemented according to the WHO tool for behavioral insights on COVID-19. Data was collected online, every two weeks throughout the pandemic. Individuals living in Kuwait during the pandemic were surveyed, representing an independent sample of the population during each data collection wave. Results A total of 7241 adults living in Kuwait participated. Sixty-seven percent of those participating agreed to take a vaccine if it was available and recommended. However, the proportion of vaccine acceptance drastically dropped overtime as COVID-19 related restrictions were eased, among citizens (73 to 47%) and noncitizens (80 to 60%). Some factors associated with increased odds of agreeing to take the COVID-19 vaccine, among citizens and non-citizens, included increased frequency of informing oneself about the virus (OR, 1.34–1.83; 95% confidence interval 1.16–2.55), having high versus low confidence in doctors (OR, 1.79–2.11; CI 1.17–3.80), increased agreement with containment policies (OR, 1.11–1.27; CI 1.05–1.41), expressing more fears and worries (OR, 1.05–1.12; 1.01–1.24), and the increased perceived likelihood of getting infected with influenza (OR, 1.3–1.4; CI 1.03–1.84). Decreased odds of agreement were associated with increased age (OR, 0.37–0.61; CI 0.26–0.95), being female (OR, 0.56–0.62; CI 0.43–0.73), and not taking the influenza vaccine in 2019 (OR, 0.61; CI 0.43–0.87). Conclusion Vaccine acceptance was multifactorial, heterogenous among citizens and non-citizens, and changed over time. While acceptance was relatively high, it decreased throughout the pandemic and as restrictions in the country loosened. This increase in vaccine hesitancy reveals a challenge in achieving high inoculation levels, and the need for effective vaccine-promotion campaigns and increased health education in the country.


Abstract. With the rise of web and online mapping technologies since the early 2000s, Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) has emerged as a significant resource for generating and disseminating diverse geographic data. VGI can be characterized in multiple ways, depending on factors such as data nature, contribution purpose, collection methods, and utilization approaches. However, specific strategies may only be applicable to certain situations, emphasizing the need for a comprehensive framework to examine the diverse challenges and solutions associated with various VGI types. Although numerous conceptual frameworks exist for specific VGI applications, such as disaster or crisis management, a more inclusive framework addressing the overall VGI landscape remains lacking. This study proposes a versatile conceptual framework that captures the multifaceted nature of VGI. The framework presents parameters and criteria for evaluating similarities and differences across the VGI spectrum, ultimately identifying major VGI types and their practical implications. The framework offers a valuable tool for systematic investigation and comparison of both static and dynamic contexts, fostering a deeper understanding of the VGI and its applications.


Many cellular signaling pathways are involved in the development of cancer. Depending on the tumor entity, the nature as well as the mode of activation can differ. Some signaling pathways frequently show changes as all tumor cells have to fulfill some basic requirements such as independence from growth factors or insensitivity against apoptosis. In this review, the possibilities of a tumor to manipulate signaling pathways to reach these goals are exemplified based on an archetypical melanoma cell. In addition, new therapeutic options based on the knowledge of signaling pathways will be discussed.


The farm level economic impacts of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (FAIR) on representative crop and livestock operations are projected in this report. For this report the FAIR Act will be referred to as the 1996 Farm Bill. The analysis was conducted over the 1996-2002 planning horizon using AFPC's whole farm simulation model. Data to simulate farming operations in the nation's major production regions came from two sources: - Producer panel cooperation to develop economic information to describe representative crop, livestock, and dairy farms. - Projected prices, policy variables, and input inflation rates from the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) January 1998 Baseline. The primary objective of the analysis is to determine the farms' economic viability by region and commodity over the remaining years of the 1996 Farm Bill.


This review is devoted to biotechnological methods and approaches used in eggplant selection. Using in-vitro techniques, micropropagation makes it possible to obtain Solanum melongena L. plants identical to the original ones. This article discusses various aspects of eggplant microcloning; draws conclusions about the successful induction of shoots, which is an important stage required for the regeneration of the callus; and describes the methodological issues of origin, explant treatment, cultivation features, composition of nutrient media, growth regulators, growing conditions and rooting algorithms, and adaptation of the resulting regenerant plants. The microclonal reproduction of Solanum melongena L. by organogenesis from cotyledon and hypocotyl explants is described. After explants were introduced into an in-vitro culture, significant differences in the nature of growth and development of the tissues in the nutrient media were observed on the 6-8th day. A comparative analysis of the stimulating effect of growth regulators revealed that thidiazuron with a concentration of 0.02 mg/l had the highest efficiency; its effect on the regenerative capacity of the explant depended on the concentration in the medium. The dependence of all stages of microclonal reproduction on the genotype is shown.


Phosphorus (P) is a limiting nutrient in many freshwater ecosystems and increases in its availability can lead to eutrophication. Effective management of P in freshwaters requires quantitative estimates of P supply from all significant sources. A simple GIS-based model, capable of predicting total diffuse source phosphorus export from catchments using readily available data, has been developed. The model is based on the idea of export coefficients but includes the effects of topography (slope and cumulative area), soil type (using the U.K. Hydrology of Soil Types (HOST) classification) and climate (hydrologically effective rainfall) as well as land use. Uncertainty in key model parameters is accounted for using Monte Carlo simulation which involves random sampling from probability density functions in a large number of iterations. This reduces the need for subjective optimisation of export coefficients. The model has been applied to the Greens Burn catchment, Scotland and predicts P exports within the confidence limits of the measured values.


Wasp venom is mixture of complex proteins that have several physical and pharmacological properties. The photochemical detoxification of Vespa orientalis venom is expected to generate photooxidized venom sac extract (PVSE). Antigenically active PVSE is obtained by exposing the venom sac extract (VSE) of Vespa orientalis to ultraviolet radiation in the presence of methylene blue. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the effect of PVSE on learning and memory of rats. Detoxification of PVSE was evident since treated mice had longer survival time than the group of mice treated with VSE. Photooxidized VSE of V. orientalis revealed enhancement on learning and memory by shortening the time to reach food (TRF) in T-maze. In a 28-day study with rats, we observed that PVSE significantly decreased transfer latency (TL) in elevated plus maze (EPM), significantly increased step down latency (SDL), diminished step down errors (SDE) and time spent in shock zone (TSS) in step down avoidance test. Thus, we concluded that although there is a possibility of employing PVSE in the treatment of Alzheimer, dementia or neurodegenerative illness as a non-herbal and non-synthetic alternative for patients who do not respond to available therapy, further investigation is still required.


This paper examines the appropriate treatment in the cost-of-living index of the appearance of new varieties of old goods. Existing theory here applies to individual households. Thus, we first show in what sense Laspeyres and Paasche indices for groups of households can be considered approximations to theoretically desirable group indices and then go on to the case of new goods. We apply our results to the case of the introduction of generics in pharmaceuticals and show that proper treatment can make a considerable difference.


Abstract It is well established that acetylation of wood by the use of acetic anhydride is able to impart a significant degree of decay resistance. The aim of this work was to study how a standardized leaching procedure with water (EN 84) affected the degradation of acetic anhydride modified samples by the brown rot fungi Postia placenta compared to no leaching prior to incubation. Three different levels (low, medium, and high) of acetic anhydride modified Southern yellow pine (SYP; Pinus spp.) were tested. The samples were harvested after 4 and 28 weeks. We compared changes in mass loss, wood moisture content, fungal DNA, and gene expression from five genes. If leaching changes the acetylated samples and makes them more susceptible for fungal deterioration, the expected effect would be higher levels of these parameters. Generally, leaching resulted in few differences between leached and nonleached samples at low levels of acetylation, while no changes were found for the highest acetylation level. No differences were found in gene expressions after 28 weeks. The possible protection of acetylated wood against oxidative fungal degradation is suggested to be interpreted in combination with the lowered wood moisture content.


Carbon fibers were used to lay lengthways into three lays in jute fiber needled mat and the same fiber volume content of jute fiber needled mat were fabricated. Those two mats and the lengthways carbon fibers reinforced vinyl resin composites were made by VARTM. We made a comparison of the hybrid reinforced composites between the test value and the theoretical value which was predicted by establishing tensile and bending math-model and their mechanical properties were analyzed. The results show that there was a certain line between the theoretical value and the test value of the hybrid composites, so we can establish the mixing ratio between jute fiber and carbon fiber during the engineering application. Although the use of carbon fibers had greatly enhanced the tensile properties of hybrid composite, whose tensile strength and tensile modulus increased by 85.94% and 30.99% respectively than that without carbons, the bending model can't be changed a lot.


Abstract In Argentinean crop fields, weed control is mainly achieved by intense use of glyphosate as a nonselective and/or selective herbicide. Glyphosate use is very high as more than 95% of the 16 million ha soybean crop consists of glyphosate-resistant cultivars, always treated with this herbicide. From initial success, inconsistent glyphosate control of Johnsongrass, an invading C4 perennial grass of soybean crops, has become evident to producers from northern Argentina over the last 3 yr. Prior to this, glyphosate provided good control. This study evaluated the nature of these recurrent glyphosate failures in Johnsongrass. Experiments conducted with Johnsongrass plants obtained from seed and rhizome phytomers collected from fields with intense glyphosate use history showed that these populations showed differential survival and biomass productivity when glyphosate treated than Johnsongrass plants obtained from similar propagules collected from field sites with no history of glyphosate use. This empirical evidence establishes that the Johnsongrass survival in glyphosate-treated transgenic soybean fields from northern Argentina is due to evolved glyphosate resistance. Nomenclature: Glyphosate; Johnsongrass, Sorghum halepense L. Pers. SORHA; soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr


According to the embedded liberalism thesis, governments committed to free trade provide insurance and other transfers to compensate those who lose economically from expanded trade. The goal of this spending is to maintain public support for trade liberalization. We provide a micro-level test of the critical assumption behind the embedded liberalism thesis that government programs designed to protect individuals harmed by imports reduce opposition to free trade. Our micro results have important implications for the macro relationship between trade and government spending, which we also test. We find empirical support for the embedded liberalism thesis in both our micro- and macro-level analyses.Earlier versions of this article were presented at the Midwest Political Science Association's 2002 Meeting and at the University of Illinois during summer 2003. We thank the respective panel and seminar participants for their feedback. In addition, we want to acknowledge valuable comments from William Bernhard, Rebecca Blank, Kerwin Charles, Alan Deardorff, John DiNardo, John Freeman, Brian Gaines, Jim Granato, Nathan Jensen, William Keech, Layna Mosley, Robert Pahre, Ken Scheve, Marina Whitman, two anonymous reviewers, and Lisa Martin. They, of course, are not responsible for any errors.


Abstract
Since coccidioidal granulomas are histologically indistinguishable from tuberculous granulomas, a long course of isonicotinic acid hydrazide therapy was tried experimentally in three cases of coccidioidomycosis, with good results. In two cases the disease was far advanced and prognosis poor before INH therapy was begun. In one case the disease was mild and symptoms abated after a short course of small doses of INH. It recurred when INH therapy was discontinued, and again resolved when larger doses of INH were given over a longer period.

INH seemed to have an effect on appetite also, although the patients were taking B-complex vitamins both before and during INH treatment. The three patients ill with coccidioidomycosis averaged a weight gain of four and a half pounds a month during the period of INH therapy. Six well persons who were underweight and lacked appetite were given INH without other drugs, and they then had an increase in appetite and in weight.


The authors study the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on business performance with special reference to small business owners at nagaon district, assam. By this the author is trying to know the current situation of small business owners during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper will help to figure out small business owners performance after the nationwide lockdown. Author is also trying to analyze whether the small business owners adopted any kind promotional program to scale up their business after the nationwide lockdown. The study is a very minor contribution to the world as it is only restricted to the nagaon district. The study would only be a drop in the ocean, can help the small business owners to get some light after COVID-19 situation in this area.

The study can be conducted on a national basic too with a large sample size and interviewing many numbers of respondents.


The first nucleophilic perfluoroalkylation of arenes is based on the arene π-system activation via (η6-arene)tricarbonylchromium complexes. Perfluoroalkyl anions generated from Me3SiRF and a fluoride ion source [Me4N]F exclusively attack the arene ligand under mild conditions. The formed negatively charged analogs of Meisenheimer adducts readily undergo a one-pot oxidation to perfluoroalkyl arenes.


Quantum-dynamical simulations are used to investigate the interplay of exciton delocalization and vibronically induced internal conversion processes in the elementary charge separation steps at regioregular donor-acceptor heterojunctions. Ultrafast internal conversion leads to efficient deexcitation within the excitonic and charge transfer manifolds, thus modifying the charge separation dynamics. We address a model donor-acceptor junction representative of regioregular P3HT-PCBM, using high-dimensional quantum dynamics simulations by multiconfigurational methods. While partial trapping into an interfacial charge separated state occurs, long-range charge-separated states are accessed as previously demonstrated in the work of Tamura and Burghardt [J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2013, 135, 16364]. For an H-aggregate type, stacked donor species, the initial bright state undergoes ultrafast internal conversion within the excitonic manifold, creating multiple charge transfer pathways before reaching the lowest-energy dark exciton, which is uncoupled from the charge transfer manifold. This process profoundly affects the charge separation mechanism and efficiency. For small energetic offsets between the interfacial excitonic and charge transfer states, a delocalized initial bright state proves less prone to electron-hole capture by the interfacial trap than a localized, vibronic wavepacket close to the interface. For both delocalized and localized initial states, a comparable yield of free carriers is obtained, which is found to be optimal for energetic offsets of the order of the Coulomb barrier to charge separation. Interfacial trapping is significantly reduced as the barrier height decreases with fullerene aggregation. Despite the high-dimensional nature of the system, charge separation is an ultrafast coherent quantum process exhibiting oscillatory features as observed in recent experiments.


In this paper, we propose a framework for the study of power consumption and bit error rate (BER) performance of non-coherent impulse radio ultra wideband (IR-UWB) correlation receivers in the IEEE 802.15.3a channel. Using this framework, transmitted reference (TR) and energy detection (ED) correlation receivers are studied and compared. The receivers are assumed to operate in the 3.1-5GHz band targeting low-power consumption, where the correlation is performed in the analog domain. The BER performance is based on the channel averaged signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Moreover, the framework addresses and compares different power consumption and performance parameters, namely the signal bandwidth, integration window, number of pulses per bit, and analog delay-lines. Then, we use the proposed framework for studying the fundamental design components of a wireless wearable human locomotion tracking and health-monitoring system based on UWB sensors. Ultimately, this system should provide high accuracy while consuming ultralow power. The study includes the link and power budgets of the system under investigation in addition to simulation results for the knee velocity. The accuracy provided by this system outperforms the accuracy of the current commercially available systems while preserving ultra-low power consumption.


Every few years it is appropriate to review our knowledge of the phonetic structures of the world's languages and try to assess how many different speech sounds there are. Problems arise because it is not easy to say whether two sounds occurring in different languages are the same or not. Two sounds are definitely different if they distinguish words within a language. But if they occur in different languages this test cannot be used. This is the basis of the IPA problem. The International Phonetic Association tries to provide a way of symbolizing every distinct speech sound, but it cannot tell whether two sounds are potentially distinct when they have been observed only in different languages. The data from recent phonetic studies indicate that there are limitless ways in which the sounds of one language can differ from another, but that the number of parameters along which sounds can vary is fairly small. In most cases the variation in the sounds that occur in different languages is the result of the use...


: Previous research suggested that both demand stimulation and extrusion effects appeared at an e-commerce platform due to the intense competition for sellers. On the one hand, market competition implies more market opportunities. On the other hand, it also attracts more customers (such as through low price and promoting) and creates network effect obviously on the demand side, which stimulates more products to enter the platform. The seemingly contradictory views were rarely observed and examined from time series analysis in previous studies. In this paper, both the long-term and short-term effects of product competition on the abundance of product supply were tested by using 140,000 outbound tour packaged products from Ctrip.com. FGLS was used to test the econometric model. The result shows that product competition will have a positive stimulating effect on the abundance of product supply in a short-term time window (about one month), but then there is a mixed effect of positive stimulus and negative extrusion, and finally, the effect gradually disappears. This paper provides an important policy implication for the e-commerce platforms to improve governance of product competition and effectively manage complementors and product categories.


Learn the intricacies of APA Citation Style. APA is the citation style used by the Health Professions, Sciences, and Social Sciences.


Value added tax remains the single most important source of state finance in many European economies. Focusing on consumption, it is also a type of tax that is less detrimental to growth, which is essential for the EU's strategy to exit the crisis. Despite its' enormous upside potential – in particular during times of economic hardship – the collection of VAT in the EU is not maximized: only 52 per cent of consumption is taxed. Ine Lejeune, partner in charge of Tax policy, dispute resolution and litigation at Law Square, scrutinizes in Chapter 9 how the Barroso Commission has, with its VAT Strategy, been addressing the three principal causes of the increasing VAT gap: non-compliance due to overly complex VAT legislation, differences in the tax authorities' and taxpayers' interpretations of the law and, most importantly, criminal fraud. The Chapter includes analyses of the Barroso Commission's announced efforts in re-designing the EU VAT System by broadening the base, by reducing the costs of enforcement and compliance as well as by removing 'the red tape' for the parties collecting the taxes, the businesses. Have the Commission's efforts been effective, and have they been hampered or promoted by the economic crisis? The analysis also touches upon the development of EU's global collaboration on VAT, such as the interactions with the OECD. The Chapter finishes off by highlighting a number of crucial VAT issues, where much could still be achieved by the upcoming Juncker Commission in leading the EU definitively out of the crisis.


OBJECTIVE
To study the role of fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) in the diagnosis of tuberculous lymphadenitis and find a place for FNAC as laboratory diagnostic method in tuberculosis (TB) control programmes.

DESIGN
Prospective laboratory study.

METHOD
Duplicate smears from 127 lymph node aspiration were prepared. Both slides were air-dried. Giemsa stain for cytological examination and Ziehl-Neelsen stain for demonstration of acid fast bacillus(AFB) were used and examined by a pathologist and laboratory technologist respectively.

SETTING
Tigrai Regional Health Research and Laboratory Centre which is the only unit with microbiological and cytopathological service in the region.

SUBJECTS
Patients with one or more enlarged lymph nodes who were sent for FNAC were included.

RESULTS
The AFB positivity among the cytologically diagnosed cases of TB lymphadenitis was 56.77%. If we had used culture media for Mycobacterium spp, the positivity would have probably been higher. The positivity rate varied depending on the type of the aspirate. Caseous aspirate showed a higher positivity rate of 60.47% whereas no AFBs were detected in haemorrhagic aspirates.

CONCLUSION
This study has demonstrated the usefulness of FNAC in the diagnosis of TB lymphadenitis and the national TB and leprosy control programmes should encompass FNAC as a diagnostic means instead of biopsy which is more invasive and costly.


A number of Palaeogene to Early Neogene gypsum units are located along the southern margins of the Ebro Basin (North‐east Spain). These marginal units, of Eocene to Lower Miocene age, formed and accumulated deposits of Ca sulphates (gypsum and anhydrite) in small, shallow saline lakes of low ionic concentration. The lakes were fed mainly by ground water from deep regional aquifers whose recharge areas were located in the mountain chains bounding the basin, and these aquifers recycled and delivered Ca sulphate and Na chloride from Mesozoic evaporites (Triassic and Lower Jurassic). In outcrop, the marginal sulphate units are largely secondary gypsum after anhydrite and exhibit meganodules (from 0·5 to >5 m across) and large irregular masses. In the sub‐surface these meganodules and masses are mostly made of anhydrite, which replaced the original primary gypsum. The isotopic composition (11·1 to 17·4‰ for δ18OVSMOW; 10·7 to 15·3‰ for δ34SVCDT) of secondary gypsum in this meganodular facies indicates that the precursor anhydrite derived from in situ replacement of an initial primary gypsum. As a result of ascending circulation of deep regional fluid flows through the gypsum units near the basin margins, the gypsum was partly altered to anhydrite within burial conditions from shallow to moderate depths (from some metres to a few hundred metres?). At such depths, the temperatures and solute contents of these regional flows exceeded those of the ground water today. These palaeoflows became anhydritizing solutions and partly altered the subsiding gypsum units before they became totally transformed by deep burial anhydritization. The characteristics of the meganodular anhydritization (for example, size and geometry of the meganodules and irregular masses, spatial arrangement, relations with the associated lithologies and the depositional cycles, presence of an enterolithic vein complex and palaeogeographic distribution) are compared with those of the anhydritization generated both in a sabkha setting or under deep burial conditions, and a number of fundamental differences are highlighted.


Drawing upon a comprehensive list of political writings by Americans published between 1760 and 1805, the study uses a citation count drawn from these 916 items as a surrogate measure of the relative influence of European writers upon American political thought during the era. Contrary to the general tendencies in the recent literature, the results here indicate that there was no one European writer, or one tradition of writers, that dominated American political thought. There is evidence for moving beyond the Whig-Enlightenment dichotomy as the basis for textual analysis, and for expanding the set of individual European authors considered to have had an important effect on American thinking. Montesquieu, Blackstone, and Hume are most in need of upgrading in this regard. The patterns of influence apparently varied over the time period from 1760 to 1805, and future research on the relative influence of European thinkers must be more sensitive to this possibility.


Red-eared sliders (Trachemys scripta elegans) are champion anaerobes that can survive approximately three months of absolute anoxia at 3 °C and recover with minimal cellular injury. Although various physiological and biochemical adaptations are involved in anoxia tolerance, metabolic rate depression (MRD) is considered to be the most useful response. T.s. elegans can reduce their metabolic rate to 10% of normoxic values by reducing all energy expensive cellular processes including gene expression. However, adaptations of alternate transcriptional regulatory processes are mostly unknown. In the thesis, epigenetic regulation of anoxia tolerance was investigated by exploring the dynamic changes in DNA methylation/demethylation, histone acetylation/deacetylation, and histone lysine methylation during short-term (5 h) anoxia and long-term (20 h) anoxia in several tissues of red-eared sliders. DNA methylation significantly increased in the liver and white skeletal muscle. An increase in DNA methylation could indicate a potential decrease in global gene expression in response to oxygen deprivation in red-eared sliders. Correspondingly, a genomic mark of active transcription, DNA demethylation, decreased in the liver and white skeletal muscle. Establishing a unique balance between global and localized DNA methylation could be an important component of anoxia tolerance. Histone lysine methylation was also anoxia responsive in the liver of red-eared sliders, and suggested a target-specific regulation that could potentially aid in the selective upregulation of genes that are necessary for anoxia survival, while suppressing others. Histone acetylation and deacetylation, implicated in MRD of other stress-tolerant animals, illustrated a strong suppression in the liver of red-eared sliders. A strong suppression in histone H3 acetylation may also indicate an overall decrease in gene expression. Overall, this thesis may enhance our understanding of alternate modes of transcriptional regulation during anoxia tolerance and report several epigenetic mechanisms that are involved the hypometabolic response in T.s. elegans.


This article focuses on the development of a holistic competence framework
that highlights the relationship between knowledge, attitude, skill and
capability within the field of design management and design led innovation.
Whilst individual expertise in the aforementioned attributes are important to
individual performance, it is argued that becoming an expert in design ultimately originates from a combination of these attributes and the ability to
apply them in any given context.
The article derives a framework through a systematic review of the design
competence literature, before applying this framework to a case study based
on a postgraduate design project. The case study provides an insight into the
competence held and developed by individuals at a postgraduate level multidisciplinary design-led innovation practice course, providing a
foundation for future study in the area. The framework is capable of mapping
the transition of competence from the novice designer to an expert who has
mastered the ability to apply competence to any given context and as such
offers a unique insight into design competence, given that current models
primarily focus on education alone with little discussion of transition into
design management, design-led innovation and its practice.


We prepared an imprinted hydrogel-adsorbent, which consists of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAm)) and poly(sodium acrylate (NaAAc)) gel. We used an inter-penetrating polymer network (IPN) system in the preparation of thermosensitive hydrogel in order to overcome the fundamental defect that the PNIPAm hydrogel loses the thermosensitive volume-phase transition behavior in the presence of polyelectrolyte. Our imprinting strategy of the hydrogel-adsorbent is the following two-step procedure; (1) Firstly, we prepared a soft PNaAAc gel that can bind a guest molecule and change its conformation in accordance with the guest molecule, and then the hydrogel was incubated in heavy metal ion solution to bind the template molecules. (2) Secondly, we tightly fasten the metal bound hydrogel with a secondary gel-network of NIPAm by means of IPN system in order to memorize the coordination structure for the metal ions on the PNaAAc gel. The imprinted hydrogel-adsorbent selectively bound the template ion above a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of PNIPAm. The memory was fixed by shrinking above the LCST, and was deleted by swelling below the LCST.


Coupling beams are essential structural elements of reinforced concrete coupled shear wall to resist earthquakes and other lateral loads. But many current reinforced concrete coupling beams are insufficient in resisting lateral loads due to their bad ductility. So a test of retrofitting methods of deep coupling beams with steel plates since their good performance in the ductility and deformation was made to find ways of improving the ductility of the beams, and the results of this retrofitting method prove good because of the incensement of the ductility, deformation and strength of the beams.


BACKGROUND
When interviewing alleged victims of crime, it is important to obtain reports that are as accurate and complete as possible. This can be especially difficult when the alleged victims have intellectual disabilities (ID). This study explored how alleged victims with ID are interviewed by police officers in Sweden and how this may affect their ability to report information as accurately as possible.

METHODS
Twelve interviews with 11 alleged victims were selected from a larger sample. The complainants were interviewed when their chronological ages ranged from 6.1 to 22 years. A quantitative analysis examined the type of questions asked and the numbers of words and details they elicited in response.

RESULTS
Instead of open-ended questions, the interviewers relied heavily on focused questions, which are more likely to elicit inaccurate information. When given the opportunity, the witnesses were able to answer directive questions informatively.

CONCLUSIONS
Interviewers need special skills in order to interview alleged victims who have ID. In addition to using more open-ended questions, interviewers should speak in shorter sentences.


We here investigate the model of interacting dark energy in the context of five dimensional brane cosmology. The effective equations of state of dark energy are evaluated for various choices of the variable time dependent cosmological constant. We have found that the interacting dark energy obeys the phantom divide/crossing scenario in this generalized model. It is also shown that interacting dark energy in this generalized model also resolves the cosmic coincidence problem.


Abstract Objectives There has been a plethora of studies conducted on different aspects of parenting and how it affects children. However, assessment of parenting style and dimension is untouched in Bangladesh. The Parenting Style and Dimension Questionnaire (PSDQ) is a self-reporting questionnaire responded by parents regarding their parenting practices, which assesses the three categories of parenting styles, namely, authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive. It was aimed to adapt and validate PSDQ in Bangla which is the mother tongue of the people of Bangladesh. Methods The validation study was conducted from January 2017 to June 2018 in three schools of Dhaka city with the self-reporting semi-structured Bangla version of PSDQ. The adaptation of PSDQ to Bangla was performed according to the state-of-the-art procedure of forward–backward translation. Parents having children aged 6–16 years were approached through schools to participate in the study. Data were collected from 349 parents and analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Science version 16.0 software. Results Cronbach's alpha of PSDQ Bangla was 0.84, which signifies a good internal consistency. Cronbach's alpha of authoritative domain was 0.95, authoritarian domain 0.88, and permissive domain 0.78. A total of three factors were extracted using exploratory factor analysis with varimax rotation after discarding four items that had poor correlation and factor loading values. The three extracted factors were authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive; these are similar with the initial three dimensions of PSDQ. Conclusions Current study resulted in PSDQ Bangla, which retains 35 items in 3 domains with distribution of 20 items in authoritative domain, 9 items in authoritarian domain, and 6 items in permissive domain. The 35-item PSDQ Bangla can be a psychometrically reliable and valid tool to use in clinical setting of psychiatric practices in Bangladesh, especially to deal with child psychiatric disorders.


As one of typical multilevel fuzzy comprehensive evaluation, the key step for the evaluation of operation quality of urban taxi transportation system is to converse a series of membership degrees from membership degrees of bottom indexes. However, the existing converse algorithms of membership degrees are questionable because of redundant data of membership degrees of indexes, which are useless to objective classification, are involved in calculation of it of the objectives. Therefore, in order to classify the objects properly, a filtering algorithm, which can filter redundant data firstly in membership degrees of indexes that are useless for objective classification, is proposed to extract the valid values to converse membership degrees. Without the redundant data, a general algorithm for conversing membership degrees is given to evaluate the operation quality of urban taxi transportation system.


Plastic wastes can play the significant role of reductants for iron oxides by supplying reducing gases, e.g., H2 and CO, through pyrolysis. However, there is a problem that the thermal degradation temperature of plastics is significantly lower than the reduction temperature of iron oxide. If a large temperature difference can be formed within the composite granule, the reducing gases thus released can be used as reductants. Therefore, in this paper, the reduction behavior of the composites prepared by using hematite, graphite, and polyethylene regents with different compositions and structures was examined in order to understand the reduction behavior and to attain a high utilized ratio of polyethylene to reduction. Reduction experiments of the composites were carried out under an inert gas flow, and gases formed during reduction were continuously analyzed. The reduction degree of hematite was calculated using the concentration of these gases. Further, micro- and macrostructures of the reduced composite were observed. The addition of polyethylene to a hematite composite containing polyethylene and graphite led to a decrease in the final reduction degree, under the same ratio of carbon to oxygen in the composite. This indicates that the contribution of polyethylene to the reduction reaction was limited. This is because the crack formation enhanced the direct outward flow of the composite without contributing to the reduction reaction. In contrast, the double-layer composite, in which the polyethylene content in the inner layer is larger than that in the outer, shows an effective utilization of polyethylene as compared to the homogeneous composite.


Discussion of Indo-European origins and dispersal focuses on two hypotheses. Qualitative evidence from reconstructed vocabulary and correlations with archaeological data suggest that Indo-European languages originated in the Pontic-Caspian steppe and spread together with cultural innovations associated with pastoralism, beginning c. 6500–5500 bp . An alternative hypothesis, according to which Indo-European languages spread with the diffusion of farming from Anatolia, beginning c. 9500–8000 bp , is supported by statistical phylogenetic and phylogeographic analyses of lexical traits. The time and place of the Indo-European ancestor language therefore remain disputed. Here we present a phylogenetic analysis in which ancestry constraints permit more accurate inference of rates of change, based on observed changes between ancient or medieval languages and their modern descendants, and we show that the result strongly supports the steppe hypothesis. Positing ancestry constraints also reveals that homoplasy is common in lexical traits, contrary to the assumptions of previous work. We show that lexical traits undergo recurrent evolution due to recurring patterns of semantic and morphological change.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to verify the safety and accuracy of the Neuromate stereotactic robot for use in deep brain stimulation (DBS) electrode implantation for the treatment of hyperkinetic movement disorders in childhood and describe the authors' initial clinical results.

METHODS
A prospective evaluation of pediatric patients with dystonia and other hyperkinetic movement disorders was carried out during the 1st year after the start-up of a pediatric DBS unit in Barcelona. Electrodes were implanted bilaterally in the globus pallidus internus (GPi) using the Neuromate robot without the stereotactic frame. The authors calculated the distances between the electrodes and their respective planned trajectories, merging the postoperative CT with the preoperative plan using VoXim software. Clinical outcome was monitored using validated scales for dystonia and myoclonus preoperatively and at 1 month and 6 months postoperatively and by means of a quality-of-life questionnaire for children, administered before surgery and at 6 months' follow-up. We also recorded complications derived from the implantation technique, "hardware," and stimulation.

RESULTS
Six patients aged 7 to 16 years and diagnosed with isolated dystonia ( DYT1 negative) (3 patients), choreo-dystonia related to PDE2A mutation (1 patient), or myoclonus-dystonia syndrome SGCE mutations (2 patients) were evaluated during a period of 6 to 19 months. The average accuracy in the placement of the electrodes was 1.24 mm at the target point. At the 6-month follow-up, patients showed an improvement in the motor (65%) and functional (48%) components of the Burke-Fahn-Marsden Dystonia Rating Scale. Patients with myoclonus and SGCE mutations also showed an improvement in action myoclonus (95%-100%) and in functional tests (50%-75%) according to the Unified Motor-Rating Scale. The Neuro-QOL score revealed inconsistent results, with improvement in motor function and social relationships but worsening in anxiety, cognitive function, and pain. The only surgical complication was medial displacement of the first electrode, which limited intensity of stimulation in the lower contacts, in one case.

CONCLUSIONS
The Neuromate stereotactic robot is an accurate and safe tool for the placement of GPi electrodes in children with hyperkinetic movement disorders.


This book is an oral history of the auditing profession in Britain from 1920s to the present day based on extended extracts from interviews with 77 past and present practitioners. Those interviewed ranged from a nonagenarian who qualified in the 1920s, to active contemporaries, from sole practitioners to the present day heads of the Big Five accounting firms. The often candid interviews uncover a surprising variety of experience and opinions and allow a group of often fascinating individuals to tell their own stories.


Quantitative determinations of the cell membrane potential of lymphocytes (Wilson et al., J Cell Physiol 1985;125:72–81) and thymocytes (Krasznai et al., J Photochem Photobiol B 1995;28:93–99) using the anionic dye DiBAC4(3) proved that dye depletion in the extracellular medium as a result of cellular uptake can be negligible over a wide range of cell densities. In contrast, most flow cytometric studies have not verified this condition but rather assumed it from the start. Consequently, the initially prepared extracellular dye concentration has usually been used for the calculation of the Nernst potential of the dye. In this study, however, external dye depletion could be observed in both large IGR‐1 and small LCL‐HO cells under experimental conditions, which have often been applied routinely in spectrofluorimetry and flow cytometry. The maximum cell density at which dye depletion could be virtually avoided was dependent on cell size and membrane potential and definitely needed to be taken into account to ensure reliable results. In addition, accepted calibration procedures based on the partition of sodium and potassium (Goldman‐Hodgkin‐Katz equation) or potassium alone (Nernst equation) were performed by flow cytometry on cell suspensions with an appropriately low cell density. The observed extensive lack of concordance between the correspondingly calculated membrane potential and the equilibrium potential of DiBAC4(3) revealed that these methods require the additional measurement of cation parameters (membrane permeability and/or intracellular concentration). In contrast, due to the linear relation between fluorescence and low DiBAC4(3) concentrations, the Nernst potential of the dye for totally depolarized cells can be reliably used for calibration with an essentially lower effort and expense. © 2013 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry


The orthodox interpretation of trade union development in New Zealand (and Australia) holds that the unique antipodal systems of compulsory arbitration produced dependent union movements. This article assesses the structure and character of New Zealand unions under state intervention from three vastly different regimes. The paper examines how trade unions developed during the long era of compulsory arbitration from 1894-1991. It then considers the fate of trade unions during the hostile employment contracts era of the 1990s. The paper finally considers the recent fortunes of unions since union protections were reintroduced under the Employment Relations Act 2000. Although the structure of the union movement has changed across the three regimes, the paper finds that the union movement has retained its traditional character despite the introduction of renewal initiatives and despite the marked differences in protections afforded unions under these regimes of state intervention.


The correct balance between
hydrophobic London dispersion (LD) and peptide hydrogen bonding interactions
must be attained for proteins to fold correctly. To investigate these important
contributors we sought a comparison of the influenza A transmembrane M2 protein (M2TM) 25-residues monomer and
the 25-Ala (Ala25)
peptide, used as reference since alanine is the only amino acid forming a
standard peptide helix which is stabilized by the backbone peptide hydrogen bonding interactions. Folding molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were performed ing the AMBER99SB-STAR-ILDN force field
in trifluoroethanol (TFE) as a
membrane mimetic, to study the α-helical stability of M2TM and Ala25
peptides. It was shown that M2TM
peptide did not form a single stable α-helix compared to Ala25. Instead
appears to be dynamic in nature and quickly inter-converts between an ensemble
of various folded helical structures having the highest thermal stability to
the N-terminal compared to Ala25. Circular dichroism (CD) experiments confirm
the stability of the α-helical M2TM. DFT
calculations results revealed an extra stabilization for the folding of M2TM from
b-strand to the α-helix compared to Ala25, due to forces that can't be
described from a force field. On a technical level, calculations using D95(d,p)
single point at a ONIOM (6-31G,3-21G) minimized geometry, in which the backbone
is calculated with 6-31G and alkyl side chains with 3-21G, produced an energy
differential for M2TM comparable with full D95(d,p). Natural bond orbital (NBO)
and quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM)
calculations were applied to investigate the relative contribution of N-H∙∙∙O as
compared to C-H∙∙∙O hydrogen bonding interactions in the M2TM which included 17
lipophilic residues; 26 CH∙∙∙O interactions were identified, as compared to 22
NH∙∙∙O H-bonds. The calculations suggested that CH∙∙∙O hydrogen bonds, although
individually weaker, have a cumulative effect that cannot be ignored and may contribute
as much as half of the total interaction energy when compared to NH∙∙∙O to the
stabilization of the folded α-helix in M2TM compared to Ala25.


Recently in the Robot technological laboratory of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Mechatronics (EEM) of the Faculty of Engineering, University of Debrecen there have been several researches concerning the KUKA and SONY Scara robots. Various diploma works have already been made in the laboratory and students have informed me that the running of their program was interrupted because of an unknown error. The error could be unanimously led back to the ambiguity of robots. Meanwhile, industrial partners also contacted the laboratory asking for advice to solve similar problems. To solve the aforementioned problem of this two-way inquiry I began to be engaged in the problems of singularities and ambiguities. The first part of the paper is a theoretical summary deducing the notions concerning robots from the general system technique. I tried to draft all the definitions as precisely as possible to be able rely on them, only to find out the complexity of the required mathematical apparatus necessary for getting to know the nature of this problem, albeit knowing the mathematics of the Denavit–Hartenberg  transformation and the use of the Jacobi-matrix. This paper summarizes the singularity of robot positions and their uncertainty by analyzing the KR5 industrial robot in the Robot Technological Laboratory in the EEM. This paper regards the definition of the ISO 8373:2012 standard as a base and deduces all ideas and relations from this standard. ISO 8373 was prepared by the Technical Committee ISO/TC 184, Automation Systems and Integration, Subcommittee SC 2, Robots and Robotic Devices.


More sophisticated inter-organizational interactions have generated changes in the way in which organizations make business. Advanced forms of collaborations, such as Business Process as a Service (BPaaS), allow different partners to leverage business intelligence within organizations. However, although it presents powerfull economical and technical benefits, it also arrises some pitfalls about data security, especially when it is mediated by the cloud. In this article, current aspects which have been tackled in the literature related to data risks and accountability are presented. In addition, some open issues are also presented from the analysis of the existing methodologies and techniques proposed in the literature. A final point is made by proposing an approach, which aims at preventive, detective and corrective accountability and data risk management, based on usage control policies and model driven engineering.


In this paper, based on two-dimensional difference- histogram modification, a novel reversible data hiding (RDH) scheme is proposed by using difference-pair-mapping (DPM). First, by considering each pixel-pair and its context, a sequence consisting of pairs of difference values is computed. Then, a two-dimensional difference-histogram is generated by counting the frequency of the resulting difference-pairs. Finally, reversible data embedding is implemented according to a specifically designed DPM. Here, the DPM is an injective mapping defined on difference-pairs. It is a natural extension of expansion embedding and shifting techniques used in current histogram-based RDH methods. By the proposed approach, compared with the conventional one-dimensional difference-histogram and one-dimensional prediction-error-histogram-based RDH methods, the image redundancy can be better exploited and an improved embedding performance is achieved. Moreover, a pixel-pair-selection strategy is also adopted to priorly use the pixel-pairs located in smooth image regions to embed data. This can further enhance the embedding performance. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed scheme outperforms some state-of-the-art RDH works.


Complexation of Pa(V) with nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) in aqueous solution (1 M (Na,H)ClO4) was studied by solvent extraction at different acidities (pcH = 0.6; 1.0; 2.0 and 2.5) with the element at the tracer scale (CPa < 10−10 M). Two types of metal–ligand complexes were identified in solution: (1 : 1) and (1 : 2) complexes. The mean charge of the two successive complexes formed in aqueous phase was deduced from the variations of Pa distribution coefficient as a function of acidity. The apparent formation constants of PaO(NTA) and PaO(NTA)23− were also determined from the solvent extraction experiments. Capillary electrophoresis coupled with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (CE-ICP-MS) experiments confirmed the charge −3 of the complex of maximum stoichiometry.


High resolution maps of sandy seafloors are valuable to understand seafloor dynamics, plan engineering projects, and create detailed benthic habitat maps. This paper presents multibeam echosounder backscatter classification results of the Brown Bank area of the North Sea. We apply the Bayesian classification method in a megaripple and sand wave area with significant slopes. Prior to the classification, corrections are implemented to account for the slopes. This includes corrections on the backscatter value and its corresponding incident angle. A trade-off in classification resolutions is found. A higher geo-acoustic resolution is obtained at the price of losing spatial resolution, however, the Bayesian classification method remains robust with respect to these trade-off decisions. The classification results are compared to grab sample particle size analysis and classified video footage. In non-distinctive sedimentary environments, the acoustic classes are not attributed to only the mean grain size of the grab samples but to the full spectrum of the grain sizes. Finally, we show the Bayesian classification results can be used to characterize the sedimentary composition of megaripples. Coarser sediments were found in the troughs and on the crests, finer sediments on the stoss slopes and a mixture of sediments on the lee slopes.


Image processing is widely used method for representation and extraction of information. To get the information from the areas and objects which are not possible to be physically contact directly remote sensing image processing is used. While extracting the information from the remote sensed images the major issues that affect the accuracy of the classification is the presence of mixed pixels (reflecting more than one spectral signature) in image. In this study, we have summarized the various eras of image processing from its origin and also give the various techniques and methods used to solve the problem of mixed pixels. In this study, a new algorithm is proposed to solve the mixed pixel problem by using PSO based Fuzzy C-mean and Biogeographical Based Optimization (BBO). This proposed algorithm will improve the classification of mixed pixels as compared to the literature.


The handbook for the Bering Region provides the necessary input data to run the MMS-sponsored coastal zone oil spill model (called Cozoil or Smear). Data are included on (1) shoreline characteristics, (2) oceanographic conditions, (3) meteorologic conditions, and (4) ice conditions. All data were derived from previous studies. In addition to the hard-copy of the data base, a complete set is provided in digital format using a database called R:base.


Recent improvements in Web and mobile technology, along with the widespread use of handheld devices in radiology education, provide unique opportunities for creating scalable, universally accessible, portable image-rich radiology case files. A cloud database and a Web-based application for radiologic images were developed to create a mobile case file with reasonable usability, download performance, and image quality for teaching purposes. A total of 75 radiology cases related to breast, thoracic, gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, and neuroimaging subspecialties were included in the database. Breast imaging cases are the focus of this article, as they best demonstrate handheld display capabilities across a wide variety of modalities. This case subset also illustrates methods for adapting radiologic content to cloud platforms and mobile devices. Readers will gain practical knowledge about storage and retrieval of cloud-based imaging data, an awareness of techniques used to adapt scrollable and high-resolution imaging content for the Web, and an appreciation for optimizing images for handheld devices. The evaluation of this software demonstrates the feasibility of adapting images from most imaging modalities to mobile devices, even in cases of full-field digital mammograms, where high resolution is required to represent subtle pathologic features. The cloud platform allows cases to be added and modified in real time by using only a standard Web browser with no application-specific software. Challenges remain in developing efficient ways to generate, modify, and upload radiologic and supplementary teaching content to this cloud-based platform. Online supplemental material is available for this article.


ABT-639 is a selective T-type calcium channel blocker with efficacy in a wide range of preclinical models of nociceptive and neuropathic pain. In the current first-in-human (FIH) study, the pharmacokinetics, tolerability, and safety of ABT-639 after single- (up to 170 mg) and multiple doses (up to 160 mg BID) were evaluated in healthy volunteers in a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled manner. ABT-639 demonstrated acceptable safety and pharmacokinetic profiles in human. Results from assessment of the routine laboratory variables showed an unexpected statistically significant and clinically relevant decrease in blood uric acid with the increase in ABT-639 dose, which is possibly due to inhibition in URAT1 transporter. Pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic models were constructed to characterize the relationship between ABT-639 exposure and uric acid response. The final model was a mechanism-based indirect response pharmacodynamic model with the stimulation of uric acid elimination by ABT-639. The model estimated Kin values in males and females were 10.2 and 7.13 μmol/h, respectively. The model estimated Kout was 0.033 1/h. ABT-639 concentration that can produce 50% stimulation in uric acid elimination was estimated to be 8,070 ng/mL. Based on the final model, further simulations were conducted to predict the effect of ABT-639 on uric acid in gout patients. The simulation results indicated that, if the urate-lowering response to ABT-639 in gout patients is similar to that in healthy subjects, ABT-639 BID doses of 140 mg or higher would be expected to provide clinically meaningful lowering of blood uric acid levels below the 380 μmol/L solubility limit of monosodium urate.


Labetalol is a unique antihypertensive agent which is a competitive peripheral antagonist at both alpha- and beta-adrenoceptor sites. Clinically, it possesses about one fourth of the beta-adrenoceptor blocking activity of propranolol and one half of the alpha-adrenoceptor blocking activity of phentolamine with a beta- to alpha-blocking ratio of approximately 7:1. Nowadays, the clinical profile of labetalol is clearly defined. Perorally, it has often been used in the treatment of mild, moderate and severe hypertension and intravenously in the management of hypertensive emergencies. It offers many advantages over beta-blockers with no prominent side-effects. Hemodynamically, labetalol reduces blood pressure, heart rate and, first of all, peripheral resistance with almost no change in resting cardiac output or stroke volume. Labetalol appears to be useful particularly in patients whose blood pressure is not adequately controlled by beta-blockers alone or combined with a diuretic, but sometimes at the expense of postural hypotensive side-effects. It has proved to be safe in patients with coronary artery disease or after acute myocardial infarction and in pregnant patients, but in phaechromocytoma further clinical experience is needed. In induced hypotension during anesthesia and surgery no invasive blood pressure measurements are needed. The most frequent adverse effects include fatigue, postural hypotension, headache and gastrointestinal complaints. On the whole, labetalol expands the armamentarium of the practising physician in the treatment of hypertension of different origin.


Objective: To analyze the frequency of neurologic events during commercial airline flights and to assess whether onboard emergency medical kits are adequate for in-flight neurologic emergencies. Methods: Collaboration of the Mayo Clinic's Departments of Emergency Medicine and Medical Transportation Service and the Division of Aerospace Medicine to provide real-time in-flight consultation to a major US airline that flies ≈10% of all US passengers. We analyzed all medical events reported from 1995 to 2000 in a database that catalogs the air-to-ground medical consultations. All cases with potential neurologic symptoms were reviewed and classified into various neurologic symptom categories. The cost of diversion for each neurologic symptom was calculated and then extrapolated to assess the cost of neurologic symptoms to the US airline industry. Results: A total of 2,042 medical incidents led to 312 diversions. Neurologic symptoms were the single largest category of medical incidents, prompting 626 air-to-ground medical calls (31%). They caused 34% of all diversions. Dizziness/vertigo was the most common neurologic symptom followed by seizures, headaches, pain, and cerebrovascular symptoms. Whereas seizures and dizziness/vertigo were the most common reasons for diversion, loss of consciousness/syncope was the complaint most likely to lead to a diversion. The estimated annual cost of diversions due to neurologic events is almost $9,000,000. Conclusion: Neurologic symptoms are the most common medical complaint requiring air-to-ground medical support and are second only to cardiovascular problems for emergency diversions and their resultant costs to the US airline industry. Adding antiepileptic drugs to the onboard medical kit and greater emergency medical training for in-flight personnel could potentially reduce the number of diversions for in-flight neurologic incidents.


Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are characterized by chronic inflammation of the intestinal tract associated with an imbalance of the intestinal microbiota. Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are the most widely known types of IBD and have been the focus of attention due to their increasing incidence. Recent studies have pointed out genes associated with IBD susceptibility that, together with environment factors, may contribute to the outcome of the disease. In ulcerative colitis, there are several therapies available, depending on the stage of the disease. Aminosalicylates, corticosteroids, and cyclosporine are used to treat mild, moderate, and severe disease, respectively. In Crohn's disease, drug choices are dependent on both location and behavior of the disease. Nowadays, advances in treatments for IBD have included biological therapies, based mainly on monoclonal antibodies or fusion proteins, such as anti-TNF drugs. Notwithstanding the high cost involved, these biological therapies show a high index of remission, enabling a significant reduction in cases of surgery and hospitalization. Furthermore, migration inhibitors and new cytokine blockers are also a promising alternative for treating patients with IBD. In this review, an analysis of literature data on biological treatments for IBD is approached, with the main focus on therapies based on emerging recombinant biomolecules.


The Liberia Baptist Theological Seminary (LBTS), opened on March 4, 1976, exists to train men and women for Christian ministry. It offers four-year degree programs leading to bachelor of arts in theology, bachelor of arts in religious education, and bachelor of divinity. Three major periods characterized its growth and development. the first, from 1976 to 1989, was a period of growth and prosperity. the second, from 1990-2003, was a time of immense challenge for the seminary because of the Liberian Civil War. the final period, from 2003 to the present, shows the seminary attempting to re-position itself for the future as a premier Christian higher education institution in Liberia. One of the challenges remaining, however, is the lack of historical documentation on factors impacting the growth of the seminary. This historical case study research sought to provide a comprehensive overview of the LBTS within the context of theological higher education in Liberia and the Liberian Civil War. the four major purposes guiding this research were: 1. Historical—to document and evaluate the rise, survival, developments and achievements of LBTS; 2. Institutional—to gain insight into how the seminary operates; 3. to document the effects of the 13-year civil war on the seminary; and 4. to identify the perceived challenges and needs of the seminary. Study participants included administrators, faculty, staff, students, graduates, and trustees, both past and present. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews and document analysis. with thorough analysis of all data, seven major themes surfaced: 1.The lack of funding and qualified national faculty; 2.The relationship between missionaries and nationals; 3. the need for partnership development nationally and internationally; 4. the strong impact of the civil war on the seminary; 5. Realignment of seminary mission; and 6. the need for Bible training center and seminary perseverance during the war. As the seminary positions itself for the future, it continues to experience need in the areas of financial and educational resources, Internet technology, and the acquisition of qualified national faculty.


The Global Environment Facility recently completed an evaluation of Experience with Conservation Trust Funds. Trust funds have been set up in many developing countries during the past decade as a way to provide long-term funding for conservation of biological diversity. The majority were established as non-governmental organizations capitalized by grants from governments and donor agencies, proceeds of debts-for-nature swaps, or taxes and fees specifically designated for conservation. The funds examined in the evaluation seeks to provide more stable funding for national parks and other protected areas, or small grants to private organizations and community groups for projects to conserve biodiversity by using resources more sustainably. Some also finance projects to expand understanding of conservation. One of the outstanding funds analyzed in the evaluation was the Mexican Nature Conservation Fund (FMCN). This Note features the Fund's experience.


Summary High von Willebrand factor (VWF) plasma levels are associated with an increased risk of coronary artery disease. It has been suggested that the increase of VWF levels is partly due to endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis. Our aim was to investigate the association between coronary plaque burden, the presence of high-risk coronary lesions as measured by intravascular ultrasound virtual histology (IVUS-VH) and VWF levels. In addition, we studied the association between VWF levels and one-year cardiovascular outcome. Between 2008 and 2011, IVUS-VH imaging of a non-culprit coronary artery was performed in 581 patients undergoing coronary angiography for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) (n= 318) or stable angina pectoris (SAP) (n= 263). Arterial blood was sampled prior to the coronary angiography. VWF antigen (VWF:Ag) levels were measured using ELISA (n= 577). Patients with ACS had significantly higher VWF:Ag levels than SAP patients (median 1.73 IU/ml [IQR 1.27–2.31] vs 1.26 IU/ml [0.93–1.63], p < 0.001). High coronary plaque burden was associated with higher VWF:Ag levels (β= 0.12, p=0.027) in SAP patients, but not in ACS patients. In ACS patients, VWF:Ag levels were associated with 1-year MACE (HR 4.14 per SD increase of lnVWF:Ag, 95 % CI 1.47–11.6), whereas in SAP patients VWF:Ag levels predicted 1-year all-cause death and hospitalisation for ACS (HR 7.07 95 % CI 1.40–35.6). In conclusion, coronary plaque burden was associated with VWF:Ag levels in SAP patients undergoing coronary angiography. In ACS and SAP patients, high VWF levels are predictive of adverse cardiovascular outcome and death during one-year follow-up.


Overweight and obesity as measured by the body mass index (BMI) is an
increasing problem worldwide according to the World Health Organization (WHO)
[1]. Women having a body mass index greater than or equal to30 kg/m2 are considered to be
obese and they run a greater risk of complications when they are pregnant. Complications
such as high blood pressure, gestational diabetes, risk of intrauterine fetal
death and slower delivery when giving birth to the baby are risks that can
affect the well being of the woman and the child. According to the study on the
women, the midwife's most important role when
meeting with the pregnant obese woman is to inform them about potential risks
during pregnancy. The midwife must withhold judgment. For many women living
with obesity means that they are not seen as the person they actually are. Obese
women feel that they do not conform to the societal ideal of an attractive woman
because of their size and because of other people's prejudices regarding their
obesity. When an obese woman becomes pregnant they may feel more comfortable
with their standing in society because there is a happy explanation for the
size of their abdomen. They experience that they are happy and proud about
their stomach and this gives them a sense of relief and belonging.


The sharing economy is a regulatory-disruptive business model in transportation, accommodation, household services, and other service sectors. In this article, we examine the ethical issues in the sharing-economy business model that depends on trust and reputation. We draw from the stakeholder, trust, and institutional theory literature to explore ways to encourage conformity of practices in the relatively infant marketing channel of the sharing economy.


This study examines the impact of attaining permanent resident status on the employment integration of migrant caregivers in Canada. The authors use survey data from 631 caregivers who arrived as migrants under a temporary foreign worker program before transitioning to permanent residency, as well as data from 47 focus group discussions. The authors find that although most caregivers do switch out of caregiving work over time, they often remain within a few, lower-skilled occupations. Postsecondary education acquired before migration has no impact on occupational mobility. Caregivers' lack of financial stability and the stigmatization of their employment experience often constrain their labor market options; moreover, an emotional bond and sense of obligation toward employers often hinder their ability to move out into other occupations, even after receiving legal permanent resident status. From the empirical results, the authors provide theoretical insights into the complex relationship between immigration patterns and labor markets.


There is growing evidence on the importance of psychological safety, or how comfortable participants feel in sharing their opinions and ideas in a team, in engineering team performance. However, how to support it in engineering student teams has yet to be explored. The goal of this study was to investigate whether a video intervention with assigned roles could foster psychological safety in student engineering teams. In addition, we sought to explore the impact of the frequency of the videos and the utility of the roles on the self-efficacy of students and the perceived psychological safety of the team. Specifically, this study introduces video interventions and the four lenses of psychological safety (Turn-Taking Equalizer, Point of View Shifter, Affirmation Advocate, and Creativity Promoter), and seeks to determine their effectiveness at increasing psychological safety self-efficacy and individual levels of psychological safety. A pilot study was completed with 54 participants (36 males, 17 females, 1 non-binary/third gender) enrolled in a cornerstone engineering design course. Over 10 weeks, data was collected at 5 time points. The results present four key findings. Most notably, 1) a video educating all students about psychological safety in general was effective in improving psychological safety self-efficacy and students retained this information to the end of the project;2) intervention groups taught to use the four lenses did not have a statistically significant higher level of psychological safety than nonintervention groups; and 3) intervention groups perceived the use of the lenses to increase psychological safety. These results provide a baseline understanding that is needed to support psychological safety including: when to intervene, how to intervene, and how frequently to intervene.


In some recent papers, Chomsky has suggested some non-trivial analogies between the biolinguistic approach and evolutionary developmental biology (Evo-Devo). In this paper, the point is made that those analogies should be handled with caution. The reason is that the Evo-Devo version chosen by Chomsky in order to build the analogies fully assumes a gene-centric perspective. Although providing genes with a special power fits in well with the Principles-and-Parameters model, it does not agree at all with the reduction of the power attributed to genes that the Minimalist Program has placed on the agenda. Nevertheless, other Evo-Devo approaches exist that seem more accurate than the particular version adopted by Chomsky — approaches therefore which are more promising for fulfilling the minimalist biolinguistic approach.


Most of the existing studies have described the characteristics of live streaming and the participation motivation of consumers using surveys. However, the relationship between consumer judgment of live streamer morality and their purchase intention has been largely ignored. Based on identity theory, this study constructs a theoretical framework for the influence of live streamers morality on consumer purchase intentions. The results show that the morality of live streamers influences consumer purchase intentions by influencing their identity. Furthermore, the entertainment value of live streaming content has a positive moderating effect on live streamers morality while the information value of live streaming content has no moderating effect. The purpose of this study is to focus on the psychological mechanism and boundary conditions of the influence of live streamer morality on consumer decision making and expand the research on live streaming, which will have important significance for consumer decision making and enterprise marketing strategy formulation.


Human IFN-gamma-inducible protein 10 (IP-10), a C-X-C chemokine secreted by IFN-gamma-stimulated keratinocytes, is chemotactic for normal CD4-positive lymphocytes and inhibits the proliferation of early subsets of normal and of leukemic hemopoietic progenitors. Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) is an indolent lymphoproliferative disorder of CD4-positive lymphocytes that remain confined to the skin for many years before visceral dissemination. Because IFN-gamma mRNA was detected in the epidermis of CTCL lesions, we decided to investigate the role of IP-10 in the epidermotropism of CTCL by determining its expression in normal skin and in CTCL lesions. Using purified recombinant IP-10 (rIP-10) or a recombinant fusion protein between IP-10 and the straight phi10 protein of phage T7, we generated rabbit antisera that recognized and neutralized rIP-10. Immunoperoxidase staining of normal epidermis demonstrated that IP-10 was expressed by basal keratinocytes but not by the more differentiated cells. In the often hyperplastic epidermis overlying CTCL lesions, IP-10 immunostaining was enhanced compared to normal skin and extended to the suprabasal keratinocytes in 28 of 29 patients for a frequency of 97% and a 95% confidence interval of 82-100%. However, IP-10 was detectable in the dermal or epidermal lymphoid infiltrates in only 3 of 29 patients (10%; 95% confidence interval, 2-29%). Skin clinically free of CTCL demonstrated normal IP-10 immunostaining. In one patient who had matching biopsies performed before and after treatment, IP-10 was overexpressed before treatment but was normally expressed at remission. The in vitro proliferation of primary normal human keratinocytes was inhibited in a dose-dependent manner by rIP-10. These results suggest that IP-10 plays a role in the epidermotropism of CTCL. Additional work is needed to determine whether IP-10 stimulates or inhibits CTCL proliferation. A better understanding of the growth controls operating in CTCL may be useful in the development of curative strategies for this disorder.


OBJECTIVE
The Anorexia Nervosa Stages of Change Questionnaire (ANSOCQ) was developed to assess patients' readiness to recover from anorexia nervosa. In this article we present additional findings supporting the psychometric properties of the ANSOCQ.

METHOD
Forty-four inpatients with anorexia nervosa participated in the study. At the time of admission, patients were requested to complete the ANSOCQ as well as several other self-report questionnaires assessing constructs related to readiness to change.

RESULTS
The ANSOCQ demonstrated good construct-related validity in that significant correlations emerged between the ANSOCQ and instruments assessing the theoretically related constructs of decisional balance and self-efficacy.

DISCUSSION
Having developed a reliable and valid self-report questionnaire for the assessment of readiness to change in anorexia nervosa, the ANSOCQ provides a means of addressing motivational hypotheses which have been advanced in the context of eating disorders.


The technical efficiency of Himachal farmers, studied using the frontier production function, has been found to vary widely across cereal crops in the state. It has been found that the average yield of all the major cereal crops is below the national average, except the maize crop, which has been found in surplus in the state. Maize → wheat and paddy → wheat have been noted as the major crop rotations being followed in the study area. The analysis of cross sectional data has revealed inefficiency in terms of inputs application. The mean technical efficiencies have revealed that a considerable portion of frontier output is left untapped, it is 35-42 per cent in maize, 44-50 per cent in paddy and 61-67 per cent in wheat. The ratio of marginal value productivity (MVP) and marginal factor cost (MFC) has been found to be more than one in case of 50 per cent inputs for all the crops. However, the female labour for most of the crops has values less than one and with negative signs as most of the work (agricultural operations) in the hills is being performed by women. The results have indicated that there is a scope to increase the returns from wheat production by using more farmyard manure, chemical fertilizers, male labour, female labour and bullock labour in zone I. Similarly, in the case of maize (local) in zone I, the yield could be increased by increasing the use of more of farmyard manure, chemical fertilizers, male labour and seeds. The analysis has also revealed that a majority of the farmers operate at low level of efficiency due to practising of traditional cultivation methods. It is felt that there is a need to educate females in resource management, preferably through female extension workers.


This paper presents the influence of electron elastic scattering models, electron thermalization models, and chemical parameters on Geant4-DNA simulations of liquid water radiolysis under mega-electron-volt electron irradiation. The radiochemical yields are simulated using a new Geant4-DNA example. In particular, the influence of the new elastic scattering model recently developed is presented as well as the influence of improved electron thermalization models. The influence of a new chemistry constructor using parameters of another Monte Carlo track structure code is also described. The results calculated using these different models are compared with each other and with experimental data. For sub-mega-electron-volt electron simulations, the combination of the "G4EmDNAPhysics_option2" physics constructor with the recently developed elastic scattering model, the Meesungnoen electron thermalization model, and the "G4EmDNAChemistry_option1" chemistry constructor is recommended.This paper presents the influence of electron elastic scattering models, electron thermalization models, and chemical parameters on Geant4-DNA simulations of liquid water radiolysis under mega-electron-volt electron irradiation. The radiochemical yields are simulated using a new Geant4-DNA example. In particular, the influence of the new elastic scattering model recently developed is presented as well as the influence of improved electron thermalization models. The influence of a new chemistry constructor using parameters of another Monte Carlo track structure code is also described. The results calculated using these different models are compared with each other and with experimental data. For sub-mega-electron-volt electron simulations, the combination of the "G4EmDNAPhysics_option2" physics constructor with the recently developed elastic scattering model, the Meesungnoen electron thermalization model, and the "G4EmDNAChemistry_option1" chemistry constructor is recommended.


This paper presents the results of an exploratory study on the fault-proneness of aspect-oriented programs. We analysed the faults collected from three evolving aspect-oriented systems, all from different application domains. The analysis develops from two different angles. Firstly, we measured the impact of the obliviousness property on the fault-proneness of the evaluated systems. The results show that 40% of reported faults were due to the lack of awareness among base code and aspects. The second analysis regarded the fault-proneness of the main aspect-oriented programming (AOP) mechanisms, namely pointcuts, advices and intertype declarations. The results indicate that these mechanisms present similar fault-proneness when we consider both the overall system and concern-specific implementations. Our findings are reinforced by means of statistical tests. In general, this result contradicts the common intuition stating that the use of pointcut languages is the main source of faults in AOP.


We tackle the problem of predicting future links in dynamic networks. For this, we work with the Debian Mailing Lists. In this dataset, a user can post a question to the debian list and other users can reply it by email forming a thread. We show that the number of threads shared in the past between users is a better feature to predict future email exchanges than classical features, like the number of common neighbors. We also show that the structure of a thread do not match the traditional definition of a community, particularly a thread does not have many triangles and has many outgoing connections. While the number of shared (detected) communities is also a better feature to predict future email exchanges than traditional features, is not as good as the number of shared threads. We believe our work should raise interests in characterizing and detecting thread-like structures in dynamic networks.


Recognition and retrieval are typically viewed as two cascaded independent modules for spoken term detection (STD). Retrieval techniques are assumed to be applied on top of automatic speech recognition (ASR) output, with performance depending on ASR accuracy. We propose a framework that integrates recognition and retrieval and consider them jointly in order to yield better STD performance. This can be achieved either by adjusting the acoustic model parameters (model-based) or by considering detected examples (example-based) using relevance information provided by the user (user relevance feedback) or inferred by the system (pseudo-relevance feedback), either for a given query (short-term context) or by taking into account many previous queries (long-term context). Such relevance feedback approaches have long been used in text information retrieval, but are rarely considered and cannot be directly applied to the retrieval of spoken content. The proposed relevance feedback approaches are specific to spoken content retrieval and are hence very different from those developed for text retrieval, which are applied only to text symbols. We present not only these relevance feedback scenarios and approaches for STD, but also propose a framework to integrate them all together. Preliminary experiments showed significant improvements in each case.


Recent data shows that more than £440 billion in cash has been piling up in the accounts of UK companies. At the same time, the investment outlays and corporate payouts have reached a 60-year low. What makes firms hold such enormous cash stocks instead of spending them on investment or returning them to shareholders? To what extent has the rising degree of uncertainty about macroeconomic conditions affected companies' decisions?

In this thesis we try to address these questions and, controlling for cyclical changes and financial factors, quantify the extent to which macroeconomic uncertainty has affected investments, cash holdings and equity payouts of UK companies.

In the first substantive chapter we describe how information about macroeconomic uncertainty can be obtained from surveys of professional forecasters by applying a method initially proposed by Lucas (1972). We construct a theoretical model in which professional forecasters combine predictions based on public information with private beliefs which are defined as predictions based solely on private information sets. In the model, the combination of predictions produced on the basis of public and private information sets leads to a combined forecast which is reported by forecasters in their regular statements. We extract private beliefs from reported forecasts and then use them to construct our measure of macroeconomic uncertainty. The use of predictions based on private knowledge instead of reported forecasts makes our measure of macroeconomic uncertainty distinct from other uncertainty proxies and highlights the important role of beliefs as the driving force of uncertainty. Based on the measure constructed here we conclude that macroeconomic uncertainty increases either when the overall volatility of the underlying economic processes increases or when economic conditions are perceived as more changeable. We then take the model to the data using outcomes of surveys of economic forecasters and compute a measure of macroeconomic uncertainty for the UK and the US. The results point to an interesting phenomenon. In both countries the most variation in macroeconomic uncertainty comes from changes in the perceived volatility, and not from changes in the volatility of underlying economic processes. Moreover, a comparison of our measure of macroeconomic uncertainty with other uncertainty proxies reveals that in the US our uncertainty measure is most similar to an uncertainty proxy based on disagreement among forecasters, while in the UK it is most similar to an uncertainty proxy based on average variance reported by professional forecasters. Furthermore, it appears that the period of elevated uncertainty in the UK was more prolonged than it has been believed so far.

In the second substantive chapter we examine the effects of uncertainty on corporate investments of a large panel of UK companies between 1998–2012 using the measure described earlier. Our regression equation is based on an extended version of a Tobin's Q model and is estimated by the system GMM estimator. Apart from including the value of Tobin's Q, which captures the ratio of the market value of capital to its book value, we also control for cash flow ratios, sales dynamic, individual uncertainty, business cycle and macroeconomic uncertainty. Our hypothesis is that macroeconomic uncertainty, defined as the expected volatility of the purely unforecastable component of the GDP growth rate conditional on information available at time t, negatively affects corporate investment ratios. We find indeed that a surge in macroeconomic uncertainty measured in this way is linked to a significant fall in investment ratios even after controlling for cyclical changes and a range of other factors. We also show that the effect of macroeconomic uncertainty on corporate investment is mainly driven by companies that are averagely financially constrained. These results are consistent with theories suggesting that the asymmetry of information is an important channel in the investment-uncertainty relationship and validate our measure of uncertainty.

In the third substantive chapter we analyse the effects of changes in the degree of macroeconomic uncertainty on corporate cash management practices. Our analysis indicates that an increase in the degree of uncertainty about macroeconomic conditions leads to an increase in corporate cash holdings even after controlling for a range of factors. We also find that the effects of macroeconomic uncertainty are particularly strong among the most financially constrained companies. Such companies increase cash holdings significantly more than the less financially constrained companies. To complete the analysis of cash management practices we show that in uncertain times firms pay out lower dividends and reduce share buybacks. These results suggest that when uncertainty is rising firms adjust payout policy to obtain additional cash which they use to hedge unpredictable future cash flows. Our empirical results are consistent with the theoretical findings made by Almeida et al. (2004) and Han and Qiu (2007).

Two important policy implications can be drawn from these results. First, if policy makers want to encourage companies to reduce their excessive cash holdings, which are sometimes referred to as "dead money", they need to address sources of uncertainty which induces companies to accumulate cash in order to hedge unpredictable future cash flows. Second, smaller, less mature companies tend to be particularly affected by uncertain economic conditions. Well-designed policy needs to be developed that would address the problem of credit tightness and asymmetry of information between lenders and borrowers which may lead to suboptimal level of investment and excessive cash stocks in years when macroeconomic uncertainty is particularly high.


Seismic reservoir characterization is usually based on the interp retation of seismic attributes that relate to the geological feature or reservoir property of interest. If we are interested in fault geometries, a variety of geometric attributes can be used to map the details of fault distributions and constrain discontinuities and flow barriers in geological and flow-simulation models. If we are interested in reservoir properties, however, the usual approach is to estimate seismic attributes that are qualitatively related to such properties. The interpretation of the attribute focuses on the identification of "good" and "bad" areas depending on how the attribute relates to the property of interest.