In the last three decades, the population of Amsterdam has been 'coloured' due to immigration flows from abroad and a low outflow rate among these immigrants and their descendants. The question is to what extent differences in spatial mobility behaviour of migrants and natives are generated by neighbourhood characteristics – among which the level of ethnic segregation – and family ties? This article examines spatial mobility process of Amsterdam population using administrative individual data covering the entire population of the city. The analysis shows that Caribbean (Surinamese and Antillean) migrants have a higher probability of moving to suburbs while Moroccans and Turks tend to rearrange themselves within the city. The estimates reveal that neighbourhood 'quality' has only a modest impact on the probability of moving while family ties significantly hamper the out-mobility of all individuals. The impact of family ties is the largest for Turkish and Moroccan migrants.


The Valhall chalk Field, located in the Southern North Sea, is unique in it's production history, reserves growth linked to technology and expected long future ahead. It was discovered in 1979 and put on production in 1982. Starting with estimated reserves of 250 mm bo, the field today has 2 billion barrels as its ambition and potential. Being a soft, high porosity and essentially uncemented and high pressure chalk, the reservoir has been on primary depletion producing from a strong compaction drive for more than 20 yrs. The crest, hidden under a gas cloud, was the primary target area. Due to drilling problems through the compacting and subsiding, soft overburden and unsuccessful extended-reach drilling two flank platforms were put in place in 2002 and 2003. This has significantly contributed to reserves growth and the reservoir limits are pushed deeper and outwards as we drill on the flanks. In the crest, a water injection program was sanctioned, to build up pressure and increase production through matrix sweep and pressure support. The IP platform was in place in 2003 and water injection started through two converted wells first in the northwest area of the field in 2004. Today a crestal monitoring well (measuring pressure and water induced rock compaction underneath crest installations) and a first crestal water injector are in place as the first parts of a planned water injection programme with a line drive patterns consisting of injectors and producers. A key element in the water injection programme is surveillance. An advanced surveillance program allowing for steering and detecting the pattern of water flow is planned and about to be implemented. Equally important perhaps even more, is the Life of Field Seismic (LoFS) installed at Valhall. Kilometres of cables are covering the field allowing for regular acquisition of seismic data across the field. Primarily installed for following the 4D changes in the field associated with the water injection programme, LoFS has shown to have impact on essentially the entire reservoir management: Well planning, Wells management and for 4D effect in the reservoir. There are challenges to overcome in that details are still hidden underneath the gas cloud and details are still to be unlocked I the images resulting from the successive surveys. However, we are unlocking more and more of the story of the chalk reservoir, changing essentially every day as oil is produced and water is injected.


An experimental campaign on long-term clear-water scour at bridge piers with different configurations was performed in a laboratory to investigate the effects of different countermeasures. Tests were performed in a flume with a movable sediment bed for an unprotected cylindrical pier, a cylindrical pier with a standard collar and a cylindrical pier with a bordered collar. The scoured beds at the equilibrium stage were acquired through the photogrammetry technique and the efficiencies of the tested countermeasures were measured. Results showed a reduction in the maximum scour depth as well as in the scour hole volume with respect to the unprotected pier. The maximum scour depth was reduced by 59.63% with the standard collar and by 63.51% with the bordered collar. The scoured volume was reduced by 43.80% with the standard collar and by 60.00% with the bordered collar. The three-dimensional Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations were solved numerically to reproduce the hydrodynamics of the experiments. The volume of fluid technique was used to reproduce the free surface. For each test, the results of the simulations were analysed to investigate the flow field around the pier both at the initial (flat-bed) and at the equilibrium stages, highlighting the changes in the velocity field owing to the presence of the standard collar and of the bordered collar.


Real-time visualization plays an important role in medical imaging applications such as image-guided surgery, surgical simulation and medical education. For the real-time visualization and the simultaneous overlay of 3D triangulated objects onto live recordings of patient data gathered with fast imaging devices (e.g. from the beating heart) it is essential that the number of triangles used for displaying the meshes are reasonably low. For this purpose, we developed a novel, optimized surface reconstruction algorithm for planar cross sections based on the non-constrained 3D Delaunay triangulation using pre-computed contour data. The proposed method generates 50% fewer triangles for the cardiac images used in our application domain in comparison to standard reconstruction methods from planar cross sections. Besides reducing the number of triangles, our method eliminates 'stair-case' artifacts that can occur between consecutive cross sections for non-uniformly sampled input image data often found in biomedical imaging applications.


ABNORMALITIES in magnesium metabolism have been reported in nutritional disorders as well as in human muscular dystrophy. Magnesium concentration is lowered in skeletal muscle and erythrocytes by feeding rabbits a vitamin E deficient diet. 1 Magnesium in serum is reported to be more tightly bound in dystrophic patients than in those in a normal state 2 Studies of magnesium metabolism in pseudohypertrophic muscular dystrophy are appropriate since magnesium can function as a metal cofactor in many reactions of muscle metabolism, 3 and optimum levels of magnesium are necessary for normal contraction and relaxation of muscle fibers. 4 The present paper reports magnesium levels determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry 5 in plasma and erythrocytes from normal subjects and patients with pseudohypertrophic muscular dystrophy. Materials and Methods Subject .—Twenty-three subjects with the clinical diagnosis of pseudohypertrophic muscular dystrophy (Duchenne type) were compared to 28 healthy controls. All subjects were white males


The dual-pixel (DP) sensor captures a two-view image pair in a single snapshot by splitting each pixel in half. The disparity occurs in defocus blurred regions between the two views of the DP pair, while the in-focus sharp regions have zero disparity. This motivates us to propose a K3DN framework for DP pair deblurring, and it has three modules: i) a disparity-aware deblur module. It estimates a disparity feature map, which is used to query a trainable kernel set to estimate a blur kernel that best describes the spatially-varying blur. The kernel is constrained to be symmetrical per the DP formulation. A simple Fourier transform is performed for deblurring that follows the blur model; ii) a reblurring regularization module. It reuses the blur kernel, performs a simple convolution for reblurring, and regularizes the estimated kernel and disparity feature unsupervisedly, in the training stage; iii) a sharp region preservation module. It identifies in-focus regions that correspond to areas with zero disparity between DP images, aims to avoid the introduction of noises during the deblurring process, and improves image restoration performance. Experiments on four standard DP datasets show that the proposed K3DN outperforms state-of-the-art methods, with fewer parameters and flops at the same time.


Author(s): Stremfel, Jacob William | Advisor(s): Yang, Jenn-Ming | Abstract: Magnesium has the potential to become an indispensable structural material alongside aluminum due to its low density. However, magnesium is currently held back in its use as a result of its low strength and poor ductility with relatively limited structural applications. This dissertation presents the results for a processing route that was used to achieve a high-strength and thermally stable magnesium-based bulk nanocomposite in order to increase the applicability of magnesium-based alloys. This processing route included the gas atomization of Mg-4Y-3RE (WE43) powders which were treated by cryomilling (mechanical ball milling in liquid nitrogen) followed by consolidation by spark plasma sintering (SPS) in order to obtain a bulk material. The resulting bulk nanocomposite consisted of approximately 15-20% by volume fraction of extremely fine MgO nanoparticles/grains (l 10 nm) with a bimodally distributed Mg matrix consisting of nanocrystalline (~10 nm) and coarse grains (~1 i?½m). Besides Mg and MgO, no other phases were detected suggesting that the rare earth elements were elementally segregated to the grain boundaries. The microstructure contained a quasi-duplex structure consisting of two distinct regions with one of these regions containing only the coarse Mg grains with the other region containing all of the nanocrystalline Mg grains, MgO nanoparticles, and rare earth elements. Focused ion beam (FIB) was used to prepare 4 i?½m micropillars in order to determine the bulk compressive yield strength along with nanoindentation to evaluate the elastic modulus and hardness. Micropillar compression revealed a compressive yield strength of 325 MPa (compared to 190 MPa for traditional processing consisting of casting and a T6 heat-treatment) with nanoindentation demonstrating an elastic modulus of about 60 GPa and a hardness of 1.25 GPa. The nanocomposite also showed remarkable thermal stability with no observable differences in both its microstructure as well as in its mechanical properties even up to an extremely severe heat-treatment at 450 i?½C (0.9Tm) for 100 hours. The thermal stability was attributed to a combination of the MgO nanoparticles as well as the rare earth elements segregated to the grain boundaries acting as grain boundary pinning sites with the thermal stability of the nanocrystalline regions confining the growth of the discontinuous coarse-grained Mg regions.


BACKGROUND
Parents consult with schools on how to help their children succeed, but schools rarely consult with parents, even though most parents have considerable expertise concerning their children's thoughts, feelings, and abilities.

AIMS
This study compares the prediction of academic achievement from self- and parent-ratings of feelings towards school (both positive and negative), life satisfaction, and the conscientiousness facet of industriousness for 357 adolescents.

SAMPLE
The student sample consisted of 383 participants (194 boys) mostly aged between 12 and 14. The parent sample consisted of 374 participants, 83% of whom were mothers.

METHOD
Self-report and other-report scales measuring the above-mentioned constructs were administered to students and parents. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to test hypotheses concerning the incremental validity of parent-ratings.

RESULTS
Self-ratings explained 28.6% of the variance in grade point average (GPA) with parent-ratings explaining an additional 12.1%. The incremental effect was strongest for industriousness.

CONCLUSION
These results suggest that parent-reports are often more accurate than adolescent self-reports, but that both methods of assessment make unique contributions to the explanation of variance in school grades. Parental understanding constitutes a relatively untapped reservoir of knowledge available to teachers, school counsellors and administrators, education policy makers, and beyond. It makes sense to ask parents about their children when assessing those individual differences that contribute to better educational outcomes.


In this article, we propose a cooperative edge caching scheme, a new paradigm to jointly optimize the content placement and content delivery in the vehicular edge computing and networks, with the aid of the flexible trilateral cooperations among a macro-cell station, roadside units, and smart vehicles. We formulate the joint optimization problem as a double time-scale Markov decision process (DTS-MDP), based on the fact that the time-scale of content timeliness changes less frequently as compared to the vehicle mobility and network states during the content delivery process. At the beginning of the large time-scale, the content placement/updating decision can be obtained according to the content popularity, vehicle driving paths, and resource availability. On the small time-scale, the joint vehicle scheduling and bandwidth allocation scheme is designed to minimize the content access cost while satisfying the constraint on content delivery latency. To solve the long-term mixed integer linear programming (LT-MILP) problem, we propose a nature-inspired method based on the deep deterministic policy gradient (DDPG) framework to obtain a suboptimal solution with a low computation complexity. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed cooperative caching system can reduce the system cost, as well as the content delivery latency, and improve content hit ratio, as compared to the noncooperative and random edge caching schemes.


As nanotechnology is emerging, (1) there is a strong need for well-educated nanoscale systems engineers by industry, and (2) research and education efforts are also called to overcome numerous nanoscale systems issues. This paper is to identify necessary teaching elements for nanotechnology and to propose a way to teach nanotechnology by introducing emerging technologies: Crossbar-based Nano-Architecture and Carbon Nanotube FETS. By investigating read-out scheme of the crossbar memory architectures with students, a set of teaching items have been identified for undergraduate nanotechnology curriculum. The simulation of the student shows that the CNTFET-based crossbar memory achieves improvements in both sensing voltages on/off ratio and noise margin compared to the molecular memory implementation.


conception of the invention. To explain this important distinction, the Enlarged Board applied its approach to a hypothetical invention concerning an improved copying machine. 124 The Enlarged Board explained that article 53(a) would not necessarily preclude patentability merely because one embodiment contained unclaimed features that would enable counterfeiting money.1 In particular, it stated that there is "no reason to consider the copying machine as claimed to be excluded since its improved properties could be used for many acceptable purposes.' 126 While the clarification that claims should be the focus of analysis for applying article 53(a) is undoubtedly valuable, the brief discussion by the Enlarged Board on this issue is unlikely to resolve all future difficulties with applying article 53(a). For example, the opinion left several obvious open questions such as whether article 53(a) would bar patentability if an arguably immoral embodiment of an invention were actually disclosed in the patent application itself along with non-objectionable embodiments. 2 7 The focus on the 122. Id. Furthermore, the Enlarged Board stated that the potential of using a patent to restrict access to important breeding material was very limited. Id. at *3 1. 123. Id. at *30-31 (citation omitted). 124. Novartisf1, supra note 118, at *21-22. 125. Id. at *22. 126. Id. 127. See id. at 22 (addressing only the case where counterfeiting would be "apparent" to a [Vol. 2:247 272 HeinOnline -2 Wash. U. J.L. & Pol'y 272 2000 http://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_journal_law_policy/vol2/iss1/9 Splicing Morality and Patent Law claimed invention would seem to suggest that so long as only the unobjectionable matter were claimed, the application would be deemed patentable under article 53(a). However, even a claims-based focus may require an exclusion of the objectionable use to avoid an article 53(a) issue. Additionally, a more difficult question not addressed in Novartis is whether article 53(a) would preclude patentability where an invention has solely objectionable or illegal uses in one or more of the EPC countries. Regardless of these unresolved issues, the Novartis approach is likely to be heartily applied by courts who heretofore had no real standard to apply. Although courts repeatedly emphasized that article 53(a) should be narrowly interpreted, they seemed to struggle with how to do so. However, the Novartis case now presents a framework with which the EPO and its courts are much more familiar-the claimed invention. Accordingly, it would not be surprising for the EPO to use the Novartis case to limit application of article 53(a). However, even though it may do so, there may still be some inconsistency, depending on how the claims are interpreted. As noted above, the Novartis case does leave some open issues. In addition, the EPO has previously struggled with attempting to narrowly apply exclusions from patentability even when it is utilizing a claims-based focus. 128 Moreover, a fundamental problem remains even after the Novartis case since the approach articulated in Novartis appears to gloss over the language in article 53(a) that requires that patents be skilled person and accordingly perhaps excluding situations where counterfeiting was actually not just apparent, but explicitly disclosed in the application). 128. For example, the EPO has struggled with application of the EPC bar to patenting methods of medical treatment, which are precluded as per se lacking industrial application under EPC article 52(4). Although the language of the exclusion is clear, the EPO has nonetheless allowed some patents in this area by narrowly interpreting the claims and interpreting what conditions constitute illness and therapy within this rule. See, e.g., T 329/94, Blood Extraction Method, 1998 O.J. EPO 241, reprinted in 29 INT'L REV. INDUS. PROP. & COPYWRIGT L. 694 (1998) (finding that blood extraction method was not precluded from patentability under article 52(4) because there was no therapeutic purpose or effect where the purpose was to improve the "efficiency of taking blood from a donor"); Trigonelline, T 143/9433.2, 1996 O.J. EPO 430, reprinted in 28 I.I.C. 95 (1997) (finding no prohibition from patentability under article 52(4) for a claim directed to the use of a composition in the production of a compound, even if the compound would have a therapeutic use); Contraceptive Method/British Technology Group, T 74/93-3.3.1, 1995 O.J. EPO 712, reprinted in 27 I.I.C. 99 (1996) (finding patent on a method of contraception not excluded under article 52(4) because pregnancy is not an illness, and its prevention is not therapy). 20001 HeinOnline -2 Wash. U. J.L. & Pol'y 273 2000 Washington University Open Scholarship Re-Engineering Patent Law barred for the commercial exploitation of an invention that violates ordre public or morality. Because the claimed invention may not be equivalent to commercial exploitation, it could be argued that the Novartis approach is inadequate, albeit tempting to apply. III. FUTURE FRAMEWORKS FOR CONSIDERING MORALITY


we review the state-of-the-art in worldwide regulation of cognitive radio-based secondary access to radio spectrum. Emerging regulatory trends with regards to incumbent protection and detection, operation parameters of cognitive radio and secondary licensing models in the United States, UK, Europe and the Asia Pacific region are reviewed and compared. Particular emphasis is given to cognitive radio operation in spatially unused portions of TV bands, the so-called TV White Spaces. Initial views on regulatory feasibility of secondary access to civilian radar and military bands are presented.


Graph algorithms are easy to visualize and indeed there already exists a variety of packages and programs to animate the dynamics when solving problems from graph theory. Still, and somewhat surprisingly, it can be difficult to understand the ideas behind the algorithm from the dynamic display alone. CATBox consists of a software system for animating graph algorithms and a course book which we developed simultaneously. The software system presents both the algorithm and the graph and puts the user always in control of the actual code that is executed. He or she can set breakpoints, proceed in single steps and trace into subroutines. The graph, and additional auxiliary graphs like residual networks, are displayed and provide visual feedback. The course book, intended for readers at advanced undergraduate or graduate level, introduces the ideas and discusses the mathematical background necessary for understanding and verifying the correctness of the algorithms and their complexity. Computer exercises and examples replace the usual static pictures of algorithm dynamics. For this volume we have chosen solely algorithms for classical problems from combinatorial optimization, such as minimum spanning trees, shortest paths, maximum flows, minimum cost flows as well as weighted and unweighted matchings both for bipartite and non-bipartite graphs. We consider non-bipartite weighted matching, in particular in the geometrical case, a highlight of combinatorial optimization. In order to enable the reader to fully enjoy the beauty of the primal-dual solution algorithm for weighted matching, we present all mathematical material not only from the point of view of graph theory, but also with an emphasis on linear programming and its duality. This yields insightful and aesthetically pleasing pictures for matchings, but also for minimum spanning trees. You can find more information at http://schliep.org/CATBox/.


For road markings, there is a performance requirement regarding friction, which is given in units obtained with handheld instruments. Such instruments are not suitable for assessment of friction on longer stretches of road, since it would be too time consuming and expensive. In order to be able to monitor a large road network and to assess whether the performance requirements are fulfilled, mobile measurement methods are needed, i.e. methods based on instruments mounted on vehicles. Besides, the friction that occurs between the tyres of a vehicle and the road surface is speed dependent. Handheld instruments reflect the friction that occurs in low speeds, while from a traffic safety perspective, friction in higher speeds is most relevant.The present report describes the results from two studies about methods for mobile assessment or estimation of road marking friction. In the first study, three different mobile methods, Road Friction Tester (RFT), Traction Watcher One (TWO) and Road Marking Tester (RMT), were compared to the handheld method Portable Friction Tester (PFT). In the second study, a prediction model for friction in higher speeds was developed, based on measurements of the coefficient of retroreflected luminance and the texture of the road marking.The first study showed that the different methods give different results, which is expected since the physical quantity coefficient of friction does not have a unique definition but is dependent on the properties of the instrument. In lower speeds, there were significant relationships between PFT and RFT, and between PFT and TWO (correlation coefficient 0,89 and 0,86, respectively). The relationships between PFT and RMT were somewhat weaker, although significant (correlation coefficients 0,65–0,71). In higher speeds, there was a significant relationship between RFT and TWO (correlation coefficient 0,80). The relationships between RMT and RFT, and between RMT and TWO, were weaker but significant (correlation coefficients 0,86–0,89). TWO gave lower friction values than the other methods. Measurement speed had an influence on the results obtained with RFT and TWO.In the second study, TWO was used as a reference when developing a prediction model for friction in higher speeds. The results showed that friction to some extent can be predicted from the coefficient of retroreflected luminance and the texture of the marking, but that the relationship is not strong enough for the model to be applicable. A limitation of the study is that there is no standardized method for measurement of road marking friction in higher speeds available. The reference method used, TWO, is developed for friction assessment of road surfaces and not for road markings, which implies that the ability of the instrument to assess road marking friction is somewhat uncertain.


: There are wide variations of surgical common trunk training programmes among European countries. Variations are also found in entry criteria to training programmes, in training evaluation methods and final certification, and also in accreditation of training institutions. Finally manpower control should be applied to secure production of an adequate number of competent surgeons and consequently high quality of health care.


Gravitational waves are travelling distortions in the curvature of space-time. They are a prediction of most relativistic theories of gravity, including general relativity. Their coupling to matter is extremely weak and the only sources likely to be detectable are violent astrophysical events where huge amounts of matter are accelerated very rapidly. Gravitational radiation is quadrupole in nature. It causes a tidal strain in space. With the prototype detector at Glasgow we aim to detect this strain by measuring the differential length change induced in two orthogonal reference arms. This is done using optical interferometry. Chapter 1 is a general introduction to gravitational radiation. The first part is a short review of the sources likely to be detectable by terrestrial interferometric detectors and bar detectors. This is followed by a review of the main features of both resonant bar detectors and interferometric detectors, including a discussion of the main noise sources in both types of detector. The frequency of the illuminating laser needs to be stabilised in interferometric gravitational wave detectors and this is dealt with in the next three chapters. Chapter 2 is a review of the methods used to improve the frequency stability of lasers. It concentrates on continuous, single mode gas lasers such as the argon ion laser used to illuminate the detector at Glasgow. In our prototype detector the laser is frequency locked to one of the 10m long Fabry-Perot cavities. To achieve the desired sensitivity the residual frequency noise must be 2 x 10e7 at 1kHz. Chapter 3 describes a new frequency stabilisation system which acheives this performance. The system is narrow band, as would be required for a large scale detector. It employs two nested servo loops to achieve the desired gain. Chapter 4 is an analysis of the gain and stability of the nested servo loop system described in the previous chapter. The next two chapters concern a 100 hour data run with the prototype detector. Chapter 5 describes the preparation for the run. It includes details of the timing system used and a description of each of the signals that were recorded. Chapter 6 describes the preliminary analysis of the data taken during the run. This analysis was carried out to look at the behaviour of the detector rather than to look for signals from astrophysical sources. The variation of the noise level with time, noise statistics of the data and possible contamination of the data by acoustic and seismic noise were investigated. Chapter 7 starts with a discussion of the results of some calculations of the seismic isolation and thermal noise in some single and double pendulum suspension systems. These show that thermal noise in the lowest stage of the suspension system is likely to be dominant. Measurements of the Q of the suspension of the test masses and of the test masses themselves are then described. Appendix A contains diagrams of the circuits used in the frequency stabilisation system described in chapters 3 and 4, some of their special features are commented on. In appendix B the results of intensity noise measurements in three large frame argon ion lasers are given. These show that the level of high frequency intensity noise varies widely depending on the type of plasma tube used. The measurements were taken in the range 0-7MHz. Appendix C contains two of the data analysis programs.


This article proposes that legitimating agencies such as accreditation organizations face selection pressures to both maintain their legitimacy among their constituents, but also to expand the domain of their activities. We argue that domain expansion raises three important research questions: first, the factors that lead legitimating agencies to expand their domain; second, the need to maintain legitimacy among existing constituents; and third, the establishment of legitimacy in the new domain. We use the domain expansion of the AACSB to develop propositions relevant to these three research issues. Quality concerns, process vs. content strategy, and institutional entrepreneurship are the main factors that impact the legitimation of legitimating agencies.


Quality control and performance improvement in the US health care system are based on several pillars: external review is performed by either government agencies, insurance companies, or public media. In cardiac surgery the STS database forms the backbone of most of these reviews. Internal review is based on providing outcome data, establishing benchmarks for performance, and root-cause analysis of adverse events. Peer review is used to analyze major issues in providing care. Transparency of the process and of outcome numbers generated is key for the success of measurements to improve performance. Finally, education of all health care providers in the hospital is needed to provide quality care and good outcomes. Maintaining proficiency of physicians and hospital personal in pathways and procedures requires constant educational efforts and clear pathways and guidelines. Growing resources have to be dedicated to quality management. As outcome data become essential in obtaining insurance contracts and government certification the investing into a comprehensive quality assurance program will pay off.


Financial Sector Reform in China, edited by Yasheng Huang, Tony Saich and Edward Steinfeld. Cambridge: Harvard University Asia Centre, 2005. xi + 250 pp. (Online publication: http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~asiactr/publications/pdfs/ Huang%20et%20al.pdf, accessed 16 May 2006). This edited volume is a collection of papers from a conference on China's financial sector reform held in 2001. The time interval between the conference and publication of these papers has partly undermined the pertinence of some of the analyses and policy recommendations. This volume could have also been improved by better coordination between the editors and chapter contributors, since many of the breathtaking conceptual ideas brilliantly articulated at the beginning of the volume were not well-evidenced in the chapters. That said, I still recommend it to any reader interested in the political economy of financial sector reforms in China. The editors' introduction is exceptionally well written. It reads like a sequel to Nicholas Lardy's China's Unfinished Economic Revolution (Washington: Brookings Institution Press, 1998), and could excite researchers who want to understand better the political economy complexities of financial sector reforms. While Lardy's work has largely focused on the linkage between financial sector reforms and restructuring of state-owned enterprises, this volume goes one step further by tracing the inefficiency of the financial system to a deficient fiscal system. By provisioning the state-owned banks to finance the ailing state-owned enterprises, which are major providers of social welfare benefits to state-sector workers, the central authority has in fact used the banking system to "substitute for a weak fiscal apparatus". This volume has contributed to the literature on the political economy of financial sector reform in the following aspects. By examining the resolution of nonperforming loans of the state-owned banks since 1999, Steinfeld argues that inefficiencies in the financial sector stems not only from "government failure", that is, excessive government control, but also from "market failure", as a result of information asymmetries between the government (and its agents) and the enterprise employees. Despite debt-equity swaps by which the government sets up asset management companies to enable the exchange of enterprises' existing debt for equity in the company, corporate governance in the SOEs remains fundamentally unchanged; the asset management companies have neither the power nor the incentive to implement any concrete changes in the companies. According to Steinfeld, this is due to shortcomings in government regulations in tackling the problems of "market failure" typical in most credit markets. His analysis has a powerful normative implication: "the real question is not whether the Chinese state has the willingness to retreat, but rather whether it has the capacity to govern" (p. …


In this paper, multiple input multiple output (MIMO) channel estimation formulated as a chance constrained problem is investigated. The chance constraint is based on the presumption that the estimated channel can be used in an application to achieve a given performance level with a prescribed probability. The aforementioned performance level is dictated by the particular application of interest. The resulting optimization problem is known to be nonconvex in most cases. To this end, convexification is attempted by employing a Chernoff inequality. As an application, we focus on the estimation of MIMO wireless channels based on a general L-optimality type of performance measure.


We consider the extended superconformal algebras of the Knizhnik-Bershadsky type with $W$-algebra like composite operators occurring in the commutation relations, but with generators of conformal dimension 1,$\frac{3}{2}$ and 2, only. These have recently been neatly classified by several groups, and we emphasize the classification based on hamiltonian reduction of affine Lie superalgebras with even subalgebras $G\oplus sl(2)$. We reveiw the situation and improve on previous formulations by presenting generic and very compact expressions valid for all algebras, classical and quantum. Similarly generic and compact free field realizations are presented as are corresponding screening charges. Based on these a discussion of singular vectors is presented. (Based on talk by J.L. Petersen at the Int. Workshop on "String Theory, Quantum Gravity and the Unification of the Fundamental Interactions", Rome Sep. 21-26, 1992)


Abstract

Effective use of multimedia (MM) in instructional design is critical for student learning, especially for large lecture introductory courses. This study used a mixed-method approach to explore the effect of food science supporting course materials that utilized different MM formats, designed with Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning (CTML) methods, on cognitive load as explained by perceived mental effort (PME) scores combined with students' perceptions. College students (n = 182) were randomized into 1 of 3 MM groups: audio + text + graphics (Group 1-ATG); text + graphics (Group 2-TG); or video + audio + text + graphics (Group 3-VATG). Participants answered a demographic survey and prior knowledge questionnaire before viewing 3 food science supporting course materials (that is, food laws, quality assurance, and sensory tests) and completed the PME instrument and open-ended questions online in a noncontrolled setting. For quantitative data, PME scores were compared among MM groups and content types using analysis of variance (ANOVA). For qualitative data, content analysis was applied to identify extraneous cognitive load (ECL)-related descriptors from students' open-ended question responses, which were used to explain quantitative survey findings. Overall, students in Group 2-TG had lower PME scores than Groups 1-ATG and 3-VATG (P < 0.05) and participants in Group 2-TG provided less ECL-related comments than those in the other 2 groups. Across MM groups, students showed higher PME scores after reviewing the quality assurance course material (P < 0.05). Additionally, despite higher PME scores, students from Groups 1-ATG and 3-VATG would take another course with these MM formats.

Practical Implications

This study investigated the appropriate use of CTML methods when designing supporting course materials with various MM formats for asynchronous learning. The findings showed that instructors should consider different effects of MM formats when designing online course materials. In addition, instructors should apply mixed-method approach to evaluate effects of MM design on students' perceived cognitive load levels that cannot be fully understood with only quantitative survey data.


Eğerci village is located 16 km southwest of Yerköy (Yozgat) area which has a ferromanganese deposit that formed at the contact between basalt and limestone and shows that a banded stockwork structure occurs occasionally within the limestone. The mineralization consists of pyrolusite, goethite, and ramsdellite, together with a lesser quantity of magnetite. Gangue minerals are determined as calcite and quartz. REE data from the mineral samples demonstrate a range from 2.70 - 63.70 ppm and the average value is 28.00. These results permit a comparison to be made with mineralization in hydrothermal deposits. Moreover, mineral samples show a positive Eu anomaly 0.88-48.10 ppm (ave. 9.94 ppm). The Ce anomaly values vary between 0.02 and 0.88 ppm (ave. 0.58 ppm). It is possible that the mineralization may be affected by the mixing of seawater and hydrothermal fluids. The value of the positive Eu anomaly is evidence of modern oceanic hydrothermal manganese deposits. Insight of previous fluid inclusion, studies can be easily inferred that mineralization can occur at three different stages. The temperature of the first stage ranged from 338 oC to 428 oC and other stages vary from 269 oC - 317 oC and 143 oC - 236 oC, respectively. As a comparison, calculated salinity is higher in Type I fluid inclusions (1.9-14.7 wt.% NaCl equiv.) than Type II and III fluid inclusions (1.9-5.1 wt.%NaCl (equiv.) It is possible that the mineralization was formed by the mixing of magmatic and meteoric waters.


Pro-social rule breaking (PSRB), as one form of constructive deviance, is receiving increasing attention from researchers, yet surprisingly our knowledge of the antecedents of PSRB is fairly limited. Although the effects of personal traits on PSRB are well discussed in the literature, we know little about how contextual factors in the work environment, such as leadership style, shape PSRB. The current study aims to address this research gap by examining the relationship between ethical leadership and PSRB. Specifically, drawing from the social information processing theory, we propose a dual process model that ethical leadership enhances employees' PSRB via psychological safety and job autonomy. We further investigate the moderating effect of employees' risk taking propensity in the model. The participants were recruited from four organizations in three cities of China (i.e., Beijing, Shanghai, and Dalian). The data was collected at two time points to avoid the common method bias. At Time 1, ethical leadership, psychological safety, job autonomy, and risk taking propensity were measured. At Time 2, that is, one month later, participants' PSRB behavior was assessed. The final sample size was 241. We used SPSS 22.0 and Mplus 6.12 to analyse the data. First, we assessed the discriminant validity of the key variables through a series of confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) and examined the common method variance. Afterwards, we used the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and bias-corrected bootstrap to test our hypotheses. The results showed a significantly positive relationship between ethical leadership and PSRB, and the relationship was mediated by psychological safety and job autonomy. Furthermore, individual risk taking propensity moderated the relationship between job autonomy and PSRB, such that the positive relationship was stronger for those employees with higher, rather than lower, levels of risk taking propensity. Our study contributes to the PSRB literature in several ways. Frist, we investigate the effects of ethical leadership on employees' PSRB, which broadens our understanding of how contextual factors influences PSRB. Second, we reveal the theoretical black-box of why ethical leadership facilitates PSRB by identifying psychological safety and job autonomy as two underlying mechanisms. Finally, we extend the ethical leadership and PSRB research by demonstrating risk taking propensity as a crucial contingency that moderates the effects of ethical leadership and autonomy on PSRB.


Exercise intolerance and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction are common in females. Recently, arterial stiffness has been suggested to be a significant contributor in the development of heart failure. How gender difference affects arterial stiffening and its response to exercise is not well known. We hypothesized that arterial elastance index during exercise would be more abnormal in females with hypertension than males. Arterial elastance index was estimated as arterial end systolic pressure/stroke volume controlled for body surface area and was measured at rest and during graded supine bicycle exercise (25 watts, 3-minute increments) in 298 patients with hypertension (149 males; 149 females; mean age, 59). The subjects were divided into 2 groups by gender. Exercise duration was significantly shorter in females compared to males (692±222 versus 483±128 seconds, P<0.001). Although arterial elastance index at baseline was significantly higher in males, the magnitude of increase was steeper in females with the magnitude of change at 75 W of exercise being significantly higher in females compared to males (0.69±0.83 versus 0.43±0.69, P=0.018). Arterial elastance index at each stage of exercise up to 75 W was independently associated with decreased exercise duration. In conclusion, despite lower arterial elastance index at rest, the increase during exercise was steeper in women with hypertension, suggesting a gender-related difference in dynamic arterial stiffness. The arterial elastance index during exercise was significantly associated with exercise duration in patients with hypertension.


In this study, a yeast-like fungus strain wk1 isolated from water kefir grains was identified as Galactomyces geotrichum, which had great adhesion ability with Lactobacillus kefir. Exposure to lithium chloride aroused the marked loss of attached bacteria, while acetic acid treatment led to a thicker adhesion. Heat and sodium hydroxide treatment had nonsignificant effect on the interaction. Furthermore, G. geotrichum wk1 showed its hydrophobic and basic phenotype with strong electron donor property, contributing to the extremely strong auto-aggregation ability. These properties were greatly weakened after all pretreatments, except LiCl treatment, coincided with the low auto/co-aggregation ability. The results in this study may be helpful to understand the interactions of participating bacteria and fungi in the kefir grains and its role for the grain formation.


Abstract Along most particle paths in polar ice sheets, ice experiences a slowly changing local deviatoric-stress pattern, and develops a fabric characteristic of its current stress state, in which there is generally a correspondence between non-zero strain-rate components and non-zero deviatoric-stress components. Where the stress pattern changes rapidly in special transition zones, fabric may evolve more slowly than the local stress field, and unusual or unexpected deformation patterns can result. The degree to which fabric tracks the local stress is determined by the relative characteristic times for changes in stress, given by the transition-zone width and ice velocity, and for changes in crystal orientation, given, in the absence of recrystallization, by the inverse of the local strain rate due to the principal stress. Recrystallization can significantly reduce the time-scale of fabric adjustment. We examine transition zones where ice (a) enters ice-stream margins, (b) is overrun by a migrating divide, and (c) flows through a strong saddle. Stress and fabric tend to be significantly misaligned in ice-stream margins and in flow through a saddle. When stresses that are markedly different from in situ stresses are applied to ice specimens during creep tests, deformation may be difficult to interpret.


Grain for Green Program or Sloping Land Conversion Program was launched in China as a national measure to control erosion and increase vegetation cover in 1999. With a budget of 40 billion USD dollars, the program that targets cropland and barren land has today converted over 20 million hectares of land into primarily tree-based plantations. Even though the design of the program includes a category of energy forest only a negligible part is planted as such (0.61%). The majority of the land converted is for protection (78%). The use of these plantations in the future is however unclear and a hypothesis of energy substitution is valid.
In this paper, we try to estimate the overall carbon that has been sequestered due to the program by using official statistics from the program and by calculating it according to mainly three different approaches; calculations made on I) net primary production, II) figures from IPCC's greenhouse gas inventory guidelines, and III) mean annual increment. We also highlight several of the uncertainties that are associated with the program and the estimations.
The result shows that conversion of cropland and barren land generated carbon sequestration over its 10 first years ranging from 222 to 468 million tonnes of carbon, with the IPCC approach yielding the highest estimate whereas the other two approaches had more similar outcome (around 250 million tonnes of carbon). Uncertainties associated with the assessment lies within the use of growth curves not designed for the particular species and their different locations, actual survival rate of the plantations, and discrepancies in figures concerning the program (e.g. area, type, survival rates) at different levels of authority (from national to local). The carbon sequestered in the biomass (above and below ground) from this program is equivalent to 14% (based on median of all three approaches) of China's carbon dioxide emissions due to fossil-fuel use and cement production.


BACKGROUND
Both hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) penetrate the central nervous system. HIV-associated neuroretinal disorder (HIV-NRD), a visual impairment of reduced contrast sensitivity and reading ability, is associated with cytokine dysregulation and genetic polymorphisms in the anti-inflammatory interleukin 10 (IL-10) signaling pathway. We investigated associations between HCV and HIV-NRD and between HCV and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the IL-10 receptor 1 (IL10R1) gene.

METHODS
Logistic and Cox regression analysis were used to analyze risk factors for HIV-NRD in 1576 HIV-positive patients who did not have an ocular opportunistic infection at enrollment. Median follow-up was 4.9 years (interquartile range, 2.4-8.8 years). Four IL10R1 SNPs were examined in a subset of 902 patients.

RESULTS
The group included 290 patients with chronic HCV infection, 74 with prior infection, and 1212 with no HCV markers. There were 244 prevalent cases of HIV-NRD and 263 incident cases (rate = 3.9/100 person-years). In models adjusted for demographics, HIV treatment and status, liver function, and immune status, both the prevalence and incidence of HIV-NRD were significantly higher in patients with chronic HCV infection (odds ratio = 1.54; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03-2.31 and hazard ratio = 1.62; 95% CI, 1.13-2.34, respectively), compared to patients with no HCV markers. Chronic HCV was associated with rs2228055 and 2 additional IL-10R1 SNPs expected to reduce IL-10 signaling. HIV-NRD was not significantly associated with these SNPs.

CONCLUSIONS
HCV is a possible risk factor for HIV-NRD. Genetic analysis suggests that alterations in the IL-10 signaling pathway may increase susceptibility to HIV-NRD and HCV infection. Inflammation may link HCV and HIV-NRD.


Classically-activated (M1) macrophages are known to play a role in the development of chronic inflammation associated with impaired wound healing in Type 2 diabetes (T2D); however, the mechanism responsible for the dominant pro-inflammatory (M1) macrophage phenotype in T2D wounds is unknown. Since epigenetic enzymes can direct macrophage phenotypes, we assessed the role of histone methylation in bone marrow (BM) stem/progenitor cells in the programming of macrophages towards a pro-inflammatory phenotype. We have found that a repressive histone methylation mark, H3K27me3, is decreased at the promoter of the IL12 gene in BM progenitors and this epigenetic signature is passed down to wound macrophages in a murine model of glucose intolerance (diet-induced obese [DIO]). These epigenetically 'pre-programmed' macrophages result in poised macrophages in peripheral tissue and negatively impact wound repair. We found that in diabetic conditions, the H3K27 demethylase, Jmjd3, drives IL12 production in macrophages and that IL12 production can be modulated by inhibiting Jmjd3. Using human T2D tissue and murine models, we have identified a previously unrecognized mechanism by which macrophages are programmed towards a pro-inflammatory phenotype, establishing a pattern of unrestrained inflammation associated with non-healing wounds. Hence, histone demethylase inhibitor-based therapy may represent a novel treatment option for diabetic wounds. Page 2 of 39 Diabetes


The advent of the Internet of Things (IoT) has led to embedding wireless transceivers into a wide range of devices, in order to implement context-aware scenarios, in which a massive amount of transceivers is foreseen. In this framework, cost-effective electronic and Radio Frequency (RF) front-end integration is desirable, in order to enable straightforward inclusion of communication capabilities within objects and devices in general. In this work, flexible antenna prototypes, based on screen-printing techniques, with conductive inks on flexible low-cost plastic substrates is proposed. Different parameters such as substrate/ink characteristics are considered, as well as variations in fabrication process or substrate angular deflection in device performance. Simulation and measurement results are presented, as well as system validation results in a real test environment in wireless sensor network communications. The results show the feasibility of using screen-printing antenna elements on flexible low-cost substrates, which can be embedded in a wide array of IoT scenarios.


Background and Aim: The effects on body weight and exploratory behavior following acute administration of the leaves of Nymphaea lotus were determined using mice as experimental animals. Methods: Thirty Swiss white mice were randomly divided into group A, B and C. All the mice had access to clean drinking water ad libitum. Before the neurobehavioral parameters were assessed, the LD50 and the phytochemical screening of the leaves of the plant were determined. The open field maze and the light/dark transition box apparatus were used to determine the level of exploratory behaviors in mice. Results: In the open field maze, the line crosses and rearing frequency were significantly different when compared to control (P<0.01). Stretch Attend Posture frequency (SAP) was significantly higher in the test groups when compared to control (P<0.01). It was also observed that the frequency of grooming in the light/dark transition box decreased in the treated groups when compared to the control group (P<0.05 and at P<0.01). Frequency of transition were significantly higher (P<0.01 and at P<0.001) compared to control. The body weight was significantly higher in the mice treated groups when compared to control (P<0.01). Conclusion: Thus, the leaves of Nymphaea lotus enhances exploratory behavior and increases body weight in mice.


Security is a priority to most, but studies show that users commonly fail to adopt recommended cybersecurity behavior. Researchers have looked to user factors for explanations of this gap, finding security and convenience to be common considerations, along with perceptions of risks and past experiences. Some have tried to alter user behavior, but are targeted at specific advice and focused on rational motivations to persuade users. In this thesis, three expertly recommended cybersecurity advice (i.e., updating software regularly, using two-factor authentication, using a secure password manager) are deeply explored. These results inform the design of videos in a systematic study of novel cybersecurity interventions aimed at altering users' behavior around these advices. First, users' rational motivations around each, including social motivations are studied, and then each advice is studied with more in-depth instruments, including those that gathered users' emotions in the varying contexts, which can influence decision-making. These studies found that those who do not follow expert recommendations commonly see the risks in their decision as lower than those who do follow. Additionally, users rarely make social considerations in these contexts. Finally, negative emotions are found to be prevalent across many specific cases. These emotions may influence and trigger perceptions of negative past experiences, which in-turn hinders adoption. With these leads, novel video-based interventions are developed that incorporate appeals which address social motivations and emotions around cybersecurity advice. Awareness, perceptions, emotions, and behavior were Michael Fagan – University of Connecticut, 2017 measured before, immediately, two weeks, and one month after an intervention was delivered aimed at altering their behavior around one of the three test advices. This study finds that the emotion-based techniques may have merit since the groups which saw videos that used this approach had the largest and most sustained increases on variables that measured awareness and perceptions of benefits, costs, and risks. Also, the data demonstrates the role social motivations may have in cybersecurity behavior, showing the importance of both of these alternative approaches in this field.


The conditions for extracting polysaccharides from tea (Camellia sinensis L.) fruit peel (TFPPs) were studied. Three parameters (temperature, time, and liquid/solid ratio) affecting the extraction of TFPP were optimized using response surface methodology (RSM). Under the optimized conditions, the yield of TFPP was predicted to be 4.98%. The physicochemical properties, in vitro antioxidant activities, and inhibitory effects on α-glucosidase of fractionated TFPPs (TFPP-0, TFPP-20, TFPP-40, and TFPP-60) were investigated. We found that the TFPPs were all acid protein-bound heteropolysaccharides, although with different chemical compositions. They had not only remarkable scavenging activity on 2,2'-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS) and reducing activity, but also excellent inhibitory potential against α-glucosidase in vitro. Our results suggest that tea fruit peel could be treated as a potential bioresource for the development of polysaccharide antioxidants.


Social development in Sabah includes the construction and upgrading of roads and is important for the state's economic activities. Further, the daily activities of the people of Sabah has direct relationship with the system of transportation, especially roads. After the British gained control of Sabah in 1946 roads were given much attention, and this was particularly evident under the Malaysia plan starts from 1963 until 1975. The economic and social needs prompted the administrators to improve the roads facilities. This study will discuss the development of roads in Sabah under the British colonial administration and after the state joined the federation of Malaysia in the period between 1946 and 1975. This study seeks to explain if the roads in Sabah involves the building of new roads or merely the upgrading of existing roads. This study is based on the examination of primary sources such as the Colonial Office record, Dominion Office record, ministry and department Files, Annual Reports and newspapers. The study also examines secondary source such a books, magazine and journals. This dissertation has found that the road development is evident under the British colonial government and then rose slowly but continuously when Sabah joined the federation. This is obvious from an examination of the building of roads in the state. The length of roads increased considerably based on the construction of new roads and the upgrading of others by the state in cooperation with the federal government. The study shows that construction of roads was more progressive when Sabah was part of the Malaysia federation than when the state was under the British. This is because the road construction linked a large part of Sabah, including the West Coast, East Coast and the Interior areas. The development of roads contributed to socioeconomic change in Sabah which was visible in the increased agricultural productivity and improvements in the industrial sector. The building of roads also contributed towards economic growth as evident in the increase in new settlement areas, employment opportunities and demographic change in Sabah.


BACKGROUND
During the winter of 2002-2003, the Israeli health authorities launched a campaign to vaccinate first responders against smallpox.

METHODS
In an open study, 159 healthy, preimmunized adults, 24-52 years old, who participated in the campaign were vaccinated with the Lister strain of vaccinia virus by the multipuncture technique. The safety, immunogenicity, and reactogenicity of the vaccine were assessed.

RESULTS
Successful vaccination rates were 61% and 56%, on the basis of clinical take and seroconversion, respectively. Adverse events among the vaccinees were minor. Seventy-nine (88%) of the 90 vaccinees with clinical take also seroconverted ( kappa =0.779). The level of preexisting antibodies inversely correlated with the rates of clinical take and seroconversion (P</=.0098). In the group of vaccinees with the lowest preexisting levels of antibodies, 89% and 86% developed clinical take or seroconverted, respectively. The time since last vaccination was significantly associated with the rates of clinical take and seroconversion (P</=0.001).

CONCLUSIONS
These rates of successful vaccination in previously immunized individuals are consistent with the historical experience of use of this vaccine in Israel. The rate of occurrence and the severity of local and other reactions in the vaccinees were within the expected range. Levels of preexisting antibodies and the time since last vaccination played a major role in determining success rates.


Researchers investigating certain limit theorems in probability have discovered a multivariable analogue to Karamata's theory of regularly varying functions. The method uses elements of real analysis and Lie groups to analyze the asymptotic behavior of functions and measures on Rfc. We present an account here which is independent of probabilistic considerations.


In this paper possibility of synchronous generator dynamic parameters estimation via On-Line Field Tests using Genetic Algorithm in a 400MVA synchronous generator in BISOTUN power plant in IRAN has been presented and simulated. On-Line (RTDR) time domain data are acquired by generator disturbance simulation. The direct and quadrature-axis dynamic parameters are found by processing the step response of the synchronous machine at rotating state. Genetic algorithm approach is employed to identify the desired parameters. This test procedure increases the required power and the testing time; but presents a good and reliable precision because of the high flux level and rotating condition.


Background: Women who experience pregnancy complications have an increased risk of future cardiovascular disease when compared to their healthy counterparts. Despite recommendations, there is no standardized cardiovascular follow-up in the postpartum period for these women, and the Australian follow-up protocols that have been previously described are research-based. This study proposes a new model of care for a nurse practitioner-led postpartum intervention clinic for women who experience severe hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, gestational diabetes mellitus requiring medication, severe intrauterine growth restriction, idiopathic preterm delivery, or placental abruption, in a socioeconomically disadvantaged population. Methods: All women receiving antenatal care or who deliver at the Lyell McEwin Hospital, a tertiary acute care facility located in the northern Adelaide metropolitan area, following a severe complication of pregnancy are referred to the intervention clinic for review at 6 months postpartum. A comprehensive assessment is conducted from demographics, medical history, diet and exercise habits, psychosocial information, health literacy, pathology results, and physical measurements. Subsequently, patient-specific education and clinical counseling are provided by a specialized nurse practitioner. Clinic appointments are repeated at 18 months and 5 years postpartum. All data is also collated into a registry, which aims to assess the efficacy of the intervention at improving modifiable cardiovascular risk factors and reducing cardiovascular risk. Discussion: There is limited information on the efficacy of postpartum intervention clinics in reducing cardiovascular risk in women who have experienced pregnancy complications. Analyses of the data collected in the registry will provide essential information about how best to reduce cardiovascular risk in women in socioeconomically disadvantaged and disease-burdened populations.


This LibGuide collects resources like videos and links to supplement the GUST 0305 course content. You'll find tips and tools to help understand OnCourse concepts like personal responsibility, self-management, interdependence, and more!


The increasing complexity of large space structures further emphasizes the need for multi-use single-element spacecraft components and sensors. Sensing of the vibrations of components and/or sections of a large space structure is necessary for ultra-high precision pointing and tracking as well as general platform stability. At the same time, the quest for a method of detecting spacecraft impacts with micrometeorites or debris continues. A method for using a single optical fiber for simultaneous impact detection and vibration sensing is described. Laboratory studies of these techniques using composite material panels are presented.


The recovery of twitch tension (T) and Ca influx after 5-s to 10-min rest intervals was studied in rabbit, rat, and frog cardiac muscle. Extracellular double-barreled Ca-selective microelectrodes were used to assess transsarcolemmal Ca influx. In rabbit ventricle, T at the first postrest beat (B1) exceeded T at the second beat (B2). T and Ca influx then increase toward steady state in a parallel fashion. Since Ca influx is small at B1, this beat may be more dependent on Ca stored in the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR), and subsequent beats may more closely reflect Ca influx. We have examined this hypothesis using agents that may preferentially inhibit either SR Ca release or Ca influx. SR inhibitors caffeine (5 mM) and ryanodine (100 nM) changed the pattern of T recovery so that B1 was now less than B2 and more closely paralleled the recovery of Ca influx. Caffeine and ryanodine decreased steady-state T to 89 +/- 9 and 78 +/- 3%, respectively. In contrast, B1 was found to be less susceptible to inhibition than B2 when exposed to La or Co (influx inhibitors). These results are consistent with a rabbit ventricle model in which the SR Ca release contributes greatly to B1, the SR contribution declines while the Ca influx component increases, and Ca influx at steady state can account for a large fraction of steady-state T. In adult rat ventricle, caffeine and ryanodine decrease steady-state T to 33 +/- 2 and 13 +/- 3%, respectively, changing the T recovery pattern from a monotonic decrease to a monotonic increase. These results are consistent with a model qualitatively the same as rabbit ventricle. However, the SR can account for most of steady-state T in the rat, and thus its decaying characteristic dominates the control postrest recovery. By inhibition of SR Ca release, the increasing component ascribed to Ca influx becomes apparent. Similar experiments were done to establish an order of relative dependence on SR Ca release: adult rat ventricle greater than rabbit atrium greater than rabbit ventricle greater than frog ventricle.


Abstract A new technique of measuring the range of helium ions implanted at low concentrations into nickel is described. The residual amount of helium in a foil is measured by a combination of gas release and selective vibro-polishing. The method, illustrated by the results of some preliminary experiments, is sufficiently sensitive to enable the range, to be measured with peak implanted gas concentrations of the order of 10−7 atoms per nickel atom (i.e. a sensitivity limit of 10−8 atom/atom) where bubble formation is unlikely. The mean projected range of 100 keV helium ions in nickel was found to be 2800 A, together with a second peak at 5250 A which is thought to be due to channelling. A significant fraction of the helium diffused interstitially to depths greater than 1 μm.


Dear SCPE readers, The series of Workshops on Software Services (acronym WoSS) was initiated in 2010 with the goal to create a framework for presenting and discussing the recent significant developments in the field of software services. Already the first edition WoSS proved to be an open forum for academics, practitioners, and vendors, allowing them to analyze the current trends and scientific and technological challenges, such as service quality assurance, adaptability, reliability, interoperability, and automating service-oriented application construction and management. A particularity of three editions of the series is the aim to highlight the achievements of the on-going European collaborative projects subscribing to European Commission FP7-ICT programme and the activities of the teams from new member states in software services. The first edition of WoSS from September 2010, dedicated to Frameworks and Platforms, has attracted 31 contributions, part of them being accepted for presentation at the workshop and later on publication in the IEEE Computer Press proceedings of the SYNASC 2010 symposium. This special issue presents the extended versions of 10 selected papers. The new papers are including extensive description of their contributions as well as novel approaches and results. As an entire, the special issue intends to present an image of the current status of the research activities in the field of software services. Therefore the subjects are varying from workflow to resource management, from data migration to access control, from quality of services to public services, from file searching to trust, from surveillance applications to automated service compositions. The last paper of this issue is part of the batch of papers presented in the previous number of SCPE 11(4), related to Network Management in Distributed Systems, but is presented in this number since its content matched better the aims of the current issue.


The objective of this project is to relate everyday items to lectures and readings. Students will "collect" 10 items and go from there.


Building and Integrating Virtual Private Networks with Openswan is written by the Openswan development team. This book is a comprehensive guide to using Openswan for building both basic and industry size, military strength VPNs for medium to very large organizations. Written by the core developers, this practical book is all you need to use Openswan to build any VPN infrastructure you may need. The authors have covered the latest developments and upcoming issues. This book will not only help you build the VPN you need, but also save you a lot of time.


BVDVis one of the commonest infectious agents causing significant economical losses in the worldwide dairy cow industry. Serious control measures have been adopted against the infection in many countries, particularly in the developed ones. Investigation of the presence and prevalence of the infection is the first step, and an important one, for efficient control. This survey is aimed at these aspects of BVD in Qazvin Province. A total of 2,205 serum samples were gathered, almost randomly, from cows over 1-year old residing in 59 industrial dairy farms of Qazvin Province. The samples were taken from the cities of Abyek, Alborz and Buinzahra in the autumn of 2007 and the summer of 2008. A standard ELISA kit was applied for detecting antibodies against BVDV, using SPSS software (version 17) for corresponding analyses. The results indicated that 1,644 serum samples had positive reaction. Consequently, overall seroprevalence of infection in animals during the period surveyed was estimated at about 74.5%. Prevalence of the infection at herd level was 100%. Alborz with 83.2%, Abyek with 76.2%, and Buinzahra with 59.6% stood in order of seroprevalence. In the cases with an exact recorded history of parity and abortion, statistically significant relations were found between both variables and the test results (chi-square test with p=0.0005 & p=0.03, respectively). This high seroprevalence of BVD infection in Qazvin Province , as in other parts of Iran, suggests that more and more emphasizes needs to be placed on the application of emergency measures for controlling the problem as soon as possible. In this regard, the detecting and elimination of PI calves must be considered as the first and essential action.


Summary Using questionnaire and interview data, this study attempted to find out whether the organizational loose (participative) and tight (directive) practices are compatible with or contradict each other. Using the theoretical framework of Sagie's (1997) loose–tight leadership approach, our hypotheses concerned the effects of both practices on the employee's work-related attitudes, and the mediating role of two variables, cognitive (information sharing) and motivational (exerting effort), in these effects. Data were analysed using two methodological approaches, quantitative and qualitative. Based on a quantitative analysis of the questionnaires given to 101 professional employees of a textile company, partial support was provided for the study hypotheses. A qualitative analysis of in-depth, semi-structured interviews with all the employees (n ¼ 20) in one of the company divisions led to similar conclusions. Specifically, we found that although the loose and tight practices affected work attitudes, the interviewees attributed more impact to the tight practice. In addition, none of the study variables mediated the loose impact on attitudes, whereas information sharing (but not exerting effort) mediated the influence of tight practice. Finally, the qualitative analysis revealed a deeper insight into the nature of both leader practices and their possible integration in the decision-making processes in organizations. Copyright # 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


To the Editor:-Throughout the medical literature we see phrases such as, "Our evaluation will include an assessment of the following life-style factors: smoking, exercise, nutrition, alcohol ingestion, etc." Although this is an accepted expression, it refers to specific subsets of life-style which should be termed "health-style." "Life-style" has been defined as "the set of habitual behaviors adopted by personal choice." This implies a wide range of variables within the areas of sex, age, education, income, and social behavior. The life-style of a female is vastly different, as a rule, from that of a male. The set of habitual behaviors of the over-75year-old is a distinct contrast to that of the teenager. The college graduate usually enjoys a different pattern of activity from the high-school dropout. There is a dramatic contrast in the activity of the wealthy as compared to the povertystricken. The sophisticated connoisseur has a unique life-style when compared to the disinterested and uneducated. Yes, their life-styles could be strikingly different, but their healthstyles could be replicas one of the other. Each of the above distinctly contrasting representatives could be non-smokers, walk 2 miles daily, ingest identical nutrients, and abstain from alcohol ingestion. Their healthstyles would be uniformly alike but their life-styles divergent. When we are discussing a set of habitual behaviors which affect our health and are adopted by personal choice, let's refer to "health-style." Let us reserve "life-style" for a broader pattern of living which might, or might not, influence the subset of health-style. An improved health-style may be fostered by but does not require either wealth, higher education, social position, youth, or a specific sex. It does require knowledge and adjustment of factors that affect our well being.


The flow-induced sound sources of human voice production are investigated based on a validated voice model. This analysis is performed using a hybrid aeroacoustic workflow based on the perturbed convective wave equation. In the first step, the validated 3D incompressible turbulent flow simulation is computed by the finite volume method using STARCCM+. In a second step, the aeroacoustic sources are evaluated and studied in detail. The formulation of the sound sources is compared to the simplification (neglecting the convective sources) systematically using time-domain and Fourier-space analysis. Additionally, the wave equation is solved with the finite element solver openCFS to obtain the 3D sound field in the acoustic far-field. During the detailed effect analysis, the far-field sound spectra are compared quantitatively, and the flow-induced sound sources are visualized within the larynx. In this contribution, it is shown that the convective part of the sources dominates locally near the vocal folds (VFs) while the local time derivative of the incompressible pressure is distributed in the whole supra-glottal area. Although the maximum amplitude of the time derivative is lower, the integral contribution dominates the sound spectrum. As a by-product of the detailed perturbed convective wave equation source study, we show that the convective source term can be neglected since it only reduces the validation error by 0.6%. Neglecting the convective part reduces the algorithmic complexity of the aeroacoustic source computation of the perturbed convective wave equation and the stored flow data. From the source visualization, we learned how the VF motion transforms into specific characteristics of the aeroacoustic sources. We found that if the VFs are fully closing, the aeroacoustic source terms yield the highest dynamical range. If the VFs are not fully closing, VFs motion does not provide as much source energy to the flow-induced sound sources as in the case of a healthy voice. As a consequence of not fully closing VFs, the cyclic pulsating velocity jet is not cut off entirely and therefore turbulent structures are permanently present inside the supraglottal region. These turbulent structures increase the broadband component of the voice signal, which supports research results of previous studies regarding glottis closure and insufficient voice production.


Gradients in acidity-alkalinity and nutrient avail- ability were studied in 2 Sphagnum-dominated peatlands on the southeastern Italian Alps. Decreasing concentrations of most mineral elements (Ca2+, Mg2+, Mn2+, A13+ and Si4+) in pore water indicated a progressively lower influx of mineral- soil water from the slightly minerotrophic conditions in the peatland margins to ombrogenous conditions in the central part of the peatlands. This was paralleled by decreasing con- centrations of ash, bulk density, Ca, Fe and, partly, Mn in the peat. The nutrient gradient, as defined by pore water concen- trations of N and P, was largely independent of the acidity- alkalinity gradient: NO3- and P043- had similar concentra- tions throughout the gradient, whereas NH4+ concentrations increased with increasing pore-water pH. In contrast, the peat nutrient gradient coincided with the acidity-alkalinity gradi- ent, with total concentrations of N and P decreasing from the margin to the centre. Bryophytes and vascular plants had different responses along the acidity-alkalinity gradient and the nutrient gradient. Bryophyte distribution reflected the acidity-alkalinity gradient both in pore water and in peat. Vascular plant distribution was mainly influenced by varia- tions in nutrient availability.


The prevalence of symptomatic adverse reactions to gluten and adherence to gluten-free diet in Latin American countries is unknown. These measurements are strongly linked to gluten-related disorders. This work aimed to estimate the prevalence of adverse reactions to oral gluten and the adherence to gluten-free diet in the adult Mexican population. To reach this aim, a self-administered questionnaire was designed and tested for clarity/comprehension and reproducibility. Then, a self-administered questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was conducted in the Mexican population. The estimated prevalence rates were (95% CI): 11.9% (9.9–13.5) and 7.8 (6.4–9.4) for adverse and recurrent adverse reactions to gluten respectively; adherence to gluten-free diet 3.7% (2.7–4.8), wheat allergy 0.72% (0.38–1.37); celiac disease 0.08% (0.01–0.45), and NCGS 0.97% (0.55–1.68). Estimated pooled prevalence of self-reported physician-diagnosis of gluten-related disorders was 0.88% (0.49–1.5), and 93.3% respondents reported adherence to gluten-free diet without a physician-diagnosis of gluten-related disorders. Symptom comparisons between those who reported recurrent adverse reactions to gluten and other foods showed statistically significant differences for bloating, constipation, and tiredness (p < 0.05). Gluten-related disorders may be underdiagnosed in the Mexican population and most people adhering to a gluten-free diet are doing it without proper diagnostic work-up of these disorders, and probably without medical/dietician advice.


This study examined the spatial and seasonal variation of zooplanktonic communities and their relationship to the physical, chemical and biological properties of water in five reservoirs (Jaguari, Jacarei, Cachoeira, Atibainha e Paiva Castro) of the Cantareira system. Sampling was performed in May/June and November/December 2013 at 19 sites. To verify similarity of zooplankton attributes, we applied a two-way similarity analysis and a non-metric multidimensional scaling. Relationship between biological and environmental descriptors was examined by Pearson correlation. A total of 35 taxa was identified. Rotifers were predominant in terms of species richness and juvenile copepods followed by Bosmina freyi were the most abundant. Overall, the sites showed mesotrophic conditions, with the exception of the Jaguari reservoir, which was considered eutrophic. Based on the analysis, spatial and seasonal variations and correspondence between environmental indicators and densities were observed. Reservoir morphometry, water retention time, ecological interactions and water quality might explain the observed trend.


Importance
Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction is a progressive clinical syndrome, and many patients' condition worsen over time despite treatment. Patients with more severe disease are often intolerant of available medical therapies.

Objective
To evaluate the efficacy and safety of omecamtiv mecarbil for the treatment of patients with severe heart failure (HF) enrolled in the Global Approach to Lowering Adverse Cardiac Outcomes Through Improving Contractility in Heart Failure (GALACTIC-HF) randomized clinical trial.

Design, Setting, and Participants
The GALACTIC-HF study was a global double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 randomized clinical trial that was conducted at multiple centers between January 2017 and August 2020. A total of 8232 patients with symptomatic HF (defined as New York Heart Association symptom class II-IV) and left ventricular ejection fraction of 35% or less were randomized to receive omecamtiv mecarbil or placebo and followed up for a median of 21.8 months (range, 15.4-28.6 months). The current post hoc analysis evaluated the efficacy and safety of omecamtiv mecarbil therapy among patients classified as having severe HF compared with patients without severe HF. Severe HF was defined as the presence of all of the following criteria: New York Heart Association symptom class III to IV, left ventricular ejection fraction of 30% or less, and hospitalization for HF within the previous 6 months.

Interventions
Participants were randomized at a 1:1 ratio to receive either omecamtiv mecarbil or placebo.

Main Outcomes and Measures
The primary end point was time to first HF event or cardiovascular (CV) death. Secondary end points included time to CV death and safety and tolerability.

Results
Among 8232 patients enrolled in the GALACTIC-HF clinical trial, 2258 patients (27.4%; mean [SD] age, 64.5 [11.6] years; 1781 men [78.9%]) met the specified criteria for severe HF. Of those, 1106 patients were randomized to the omecamtiv mecarbil group and 1152 to the placebo group. Patients with severe HF who received omecamtiv mecarbil experienced a significant treatment benefit for the primary end point (hazard ratio [HR], 0.80; 95% CI, 0.71-0.90), whereas patients without severe HF had no significant treatment benefit (HR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.91-1.08; P = .005 for interaction). For CV death, the results were similar (HR for patients with vs without severe HF: 0.88 [95% CI, 0.75-1.03] vs 1.10 [95% CI, 0.97-1.25]; P = .03 for interaction). Omecamtiv mecarbil therapy was well tolerated in patients with severe HF, with no significant changes in blood pressure, kidney function, or potassium level compared with placebo.

Conclusions and Relevance
In this post hoc analysis of data from the GALACTIC-HF clinical trial, omecamtiv mecarbil therapy may have provided a clinically meaningful reduction in the composite end point of time to first HF event or CV death among patients with severe HF. These data support a potential role of omecamtiv mecarbil therapy among patients for whom current treatment options are limited.

Trial Registration
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02929329.


This thesis addresses identification and intervention of language and communication problems in children. The issue of identification is addressed in study I by investigating communicative ability in 18-month-old children, and in study II by exploring the prevalence of language and communication problems in children with complex problems, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The issue of intervention is addressed in studies III and IV by analysing verbal interaction in conversations, in which one of the participants is a child with specific language impairment (SLI). Study III explores how dialogues between children with SLI and typically developing peers (TLD) representing the same age (age peers), and the same language level (language peers) respectively, differ with respect to responsiveness, assertiveness and reciprocity. Study IV investigates interactional style and elicitation strategies of speech/language pathologists (SLP) during intervention, and how these factors influence the child with SLI.

The results from study I show that receptive skills and symbolic play at 18 months of age are significantly associated with language ability three years later. Study II, in which language skills in children with ADHD were explored, indicates that language ability plays an important role for all other aspects of children's development and behaviour, with the exception of motor skills. Use of language and language comprehension caused these children many more problems than structural aspects of language production. Furthermore, reading and writing problems were found to be very frequent. Study III shows that dialogues between children with SLI and TLD age peers are characterized by more responsiveness and topic coherence than dialogues between children with SLI and TLD language peers. However, the children with SLI were more assertive, i.e., introduced more topics, in dialogues with language peers. Study IV indicates that the children with SLI talked more and had a higher mean length of utterance (MLU) in the free conversational context, whereas the individually selected grammatical targets occurred more often in the training context. In the conversational context the SLPs linked, i.e., attended, more to the child's focus and gave more feedback, while in the training context the individually selected grammatical targets occurred more often and the children were more frequently asked to follow instructions.

The results have important clinical implications. First; screening procedures at Child Health Care (CHC) centres should be recommended to focus on receptive language skills and play behaviour, and not only on size of vocabulary at 18 months of age. Second; language skills, in particular language comprehension, language use and literacy skills were found to cause children with ADHD problems, and should therefore be assessed. Third; it is of great value for children with SLI to be in mixed groups with peers representing different ages and language levels, and to avoid the risk of not being selected as playmates. Fourth; increased awareness of how interactional style and elicitation strategies influence the developing language skills in children with SLI can be used in intervention planning, depending on the goals of the specific intervention procedures for the individual child.


This research reports an algorithmic approach to the automatic generation of thesauri for electronic community systems. The techniques used included term filtering, automatic indexing, and cluster analysis. The testbed for our research was the Worm Community System, which contains a comprehensive library of specialized community data and literature, currently in use by molecular biologists who study the nematode worm C. elegans. The resulting worm thesaurus included 2709 researchers' names, 798 gene names, 20 experimental methods, and 4302 subject descriptors. On average, each term had about 90 weighted neighboring terms indicating relevant concepts. The thesaurus was developed as an online search aide. We tested the worm thesaurus in an experiment with six worm researchers of varying degrees of expertise and background. The experiment showed that the thesaurus was an excellent "memory-jogging" device and that it supported learning and serendipitous browsing. Despite some occurrences of obvious noise, the system was useful in suggesting relevant concepts for the researchers' queries and it helped improve concept recall. With a simple browsing interface, an automatic thesaurus can become a useful tool for online search and can assist researchers in exploring and traversing a dynamic and complex electronic community system. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.


ABSTRACT There is a poor relationship between nutrient intake and existing nutritional biomarkers due to variety of factors affecting their sensitivity and specificity. To explore the impact of nutrients at molecular level and devising a sensitive biomarker, proteomics is a central technology with sirtuins as one of the most promising nutritional biomarker. Sirtuins (seven mammalian sirtuins reported so far) have been reported to perform protein deacetylases and ADP-ribosyltransferases activity. It is distributed in different cellular compartments thereby controlling several metabolic processes. Sirtuins are oxidized nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide dependent, which implicates a direct effect of the metabolic state of the cell on its activity. Calorie restriction upregulates the mammalian sirtuin protein levels in variety of tissues and organs where it acts upon both histone and nonhistone substrates. Sirtuin senses nutrient availability and impacts gluconeogenesis, glycolysis, and insulin sensitivity. It deacetylates and inhibits the nuclear receptor that activates fat synthesis and adipogenesis in the body, leading to fat loss and bringing favorable cellular and health changes. Sirtuins mediates intracellular response that promotes cell survival, DNA damage repair thereby increasing the cell longitivity. The activation of sirtuins brings a wide spectrum of other health benefits and its activity levels are indicative of nutritional status as well as disease progression in cancer, inflammation, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, and viral infections. There are several foods that activate sirtuin activity and offer significant health benefits by their consumption.


Particles are accelerated by gaining the energy from back ground plasmas through MHD waves. Particles are scattered by the MHD waves which are raised by instability of background plasmas. Probability that a particle entering to the downstream will eventually return to the upstream energy gain factor when a particle crosses and re-crosses the shock front. In this paper, Characteristic features of gen-4 nuclear reactors, its reactivity control mechanism, characteristic features of fission reactors, reactor kinetics and accelerator models have been discussed. As well as transient analysis of reactor via simulation and its industrial viability has been discussed in this paper. Keywords: Fusion Reactors, Energy Gain Factor Model, Neutron Life Time.


Degree completion programs on military installations are large, effective programs, with substantial support. Education will never be more convenient or less expensive for students. Education is a product military personnel need and want. In a time of declining tuition assistance, it is up to colleges that deal with the military to market their programs t..) military officers and personnel, rather than just "offer" programs, All educators need to be positive about still-available tuition assistance, rather than negative about ?imitations and budget cuts. Colleges should promote degree completion programs as the opportunity of a lifetime. A good marketing and public relations plan should be drawn up. It should contain at least the following elements: (1) an identification and assessment of the publics that constitute target groups or market segments for the program; (2) an identification of the most effective "senders" and "channels" for each target group; (3) an identification of what specific messages are needed for each market segment; and (4) a marketing plan, or at least a calendar for a year-round public relations program. College personnel who do not have skills in marketing can hire professionals to do it, engage marketing professors and classes in the effort, or take marketing courses and learn to market their programs. (KC)


Results of qualitative biographical research on Christian fundamentalist converts and de-converts, and on occultist adolescents are presented and documented using case studies. Research focused on life themes and on biographical processes and transformations. Contrastive comparison of the cases resulted in typologies of Christian fundamentalist biographies and of "ways of dis-enchantment". These indicate that obligation to a tradition is no longer the model for religious socialization. Its competitors are biographical trajectories which can have the following characteristics: heresy is taken for granted, religious search is like an open life-style preference (accumulative heretic); ritual coping with life themes is predominant; and religious search follows the motive of sensation-seeking. A typology of religious styles is applied as an interpretive framework for (a) explaining the formation of fundamentalist orientations and (b) understanding development and transformation in religious biographies.


Keratinases are becoming biotechnologically important since they have shown potential in hydrolysis of recalcitrant keratins with highly rigid and strongly cross-linked structures. However, the large-scale application of keratinases has been limited by the inefficient expression level and low enzyme activity. In this work, we employed pro-peptide engineering and saturation mutagenesis to construct excellent keratinase variants with improved activities. It turned out that amino acid substitutions at the pro-peptide cleavage site (P1) could accelerate the release of active mature enzymes, resulting in a 3-fold activity increase. Eighteen sites of the pro-peptide area were targeted for codon mutagenesis, and a multisite saturation mutagenesis library of the six potential sites was generated, achieving a significant improvement of keratinase activity from 179 to 1114 units/mL. Also, the mutants exhibited alterant catalytic properties. Finally, fermentation for keratinase production in a 15 L fermenter was carried out, and the enzyme activity reached up to over 3000 units/mL. Our results demonstrated that pro-peptide engineering played a crucial role in high expression and engineering of proteases. This study provides a universal route toward improvement of industrial enzymes that were first synthesized as precursors in the form of pre-pro-protein.


This paper presents a comparative analysis structure and frequency of discourse markers in two kinds of oral narratives: objective, emotionally neutral ones on the one side, and highly emotional, spontaneous ones on the other. The results prove that emotionality plays a crucial role in the structuring of oral narratives as well as in the type of discourse markers employed in them. Objective oral narratives show a higher number of discourse markers, whereas highly emotional ones present a higher variety of discourse markers, as well as a higher frequency of other pragmatic markers, in order to guide the listener through the multiplicity of side stories and the broken structure they show. In short, this work highlights the relationship between linguistic activity (language in context or use) and linguistic form.


Summary

1
Nitrogen (N) loss from agricultural fields and urban areas to stream and groundwaters is a world-wide environmental problem. Excessive nitrogen loading is partly responsible for eutrophication of fresh water and estuarine ecosystems, while elevated nitrate in drinking water has consequences for human health. Under certain conditions, riparian zones improve water quality by removing groundwater nitrate before it enters adjacent stream ecosystems. Nitrate decline along riparian flow paths is most often attributed to denitrification activity and vegetation uptake, but spatio-temporal distributions and rates are notoriously difficult to establish.

2
We used natural δ15N techniques in two riparian wetlands with differing vegetation to distinguish between the two processes responsible for reducing nitrate fluxes. We collected groundwater and above-ground vegetation samples along riparian transects where hydrology and groundwater chemistry had been investigated previously.

3
By measuring the natural abundance distribution of nitrogen isotopes in both the groundwater nitrate and riparian plant tissues along the transects, we attempted to determine to what extent the groundwater nitrate decline (from c. 15 to < 1 mg N L−1) observed in these two riparian sites with contrasting vegetation resulted from denitrification and/or plant uptake.

4
Denitrifying bacteria preferentially use the lighter isotope and hence tend to increase δ15N-NO3. In most groundwater samples we observed a significant increase of δ15N-NO3 (from +5 to +28‰) as nitrate concentrations declined, which demonstrated that denitrification was predominantly responsible for nitrate retention even when the water table was low.

5
This isotopic approach provided evidence of seasonal variation in the occurrence of denitrification, and helped to delimit the area where denitrification was most active. δ15N of overlying vegetation along the riparian transects was higher (from +1·7 to +14·2‰) than the typical range for terrestrial plants, and was related to the isotopic composition of nitrate in underlying groundwater when the water table was high. Thus, in this case, both plant uptake and denitrification contributed to the observed nitrate decline. However, given that the roots were limited to the upper 50 cm of soil, direct uptake of groundwater nitrate by riparian vegetation was only important when the water table was high.

6
Measurement of δ15N in plants may be a simple and powerful means of identifying buffer zones where denitrification is actively processing allochtonous nitrate in riparian ecosystems and their surrounding catchments.

7
Synthesis and applications. The isotopic approach described in this paper is a useful diagnostic tool for easily identifying actual denitrification locations where groundwater nitrate removal is taking place. It should allow investigation at a landscape scale of the spatio-temporal patterns of biogeochemical hot spots where denitrification rates are disproportionately high relative to the surrounding area. This could provide a sound basis for landscape management and restoration in the context of diffuse nitrogen pollution control.