The contribution of the nucleus accumbens shell, the dorsal hippocampus, and the basolateral amygdala to contextual and explicit cue fear conditioning was assessed in C57BL/6 (C57) and DBA/2 (DBA) mice showing differences in processing contextual information associated with consistent but non-pathological variations in hippocampal functionality. Mice from both strains with bilateral ibotenic acid or sham lesions located in each area were introduced in a conditioning chamber and exposed twice to the pairing of a tone (2 x 8 s, 2000 Hz, 80 dB) with a shock (2 s, 0.7 mA). On the following day, mice were first exposed to the training context then to the tone in a different context. Freezing behaviour was scored in all situations. C57 showed more freezing to the context than to the tone whereas DBA showed more freezing to the tone than to the context. In C57, both nucleus accumbens and hippocampal lesions impaired acquisition of contextual fear conditioning but paradoxically improved acquisition of cue fear conditioning, whereas amygdala lesions disrupted performance in every task. In DBA, nucleus accumbens lesions, like amygdala lesions, impaired acquisition of both contextual and cue fear conditioning, whereas hippocampal lesions did not produce any effect. The parallelism between the effect of nucleus accumbens and hippocampus lesions in C57, and between the effect of nucleus accumbens and amygdala lesions in DBA points to a variability in nucleus accumbens function according to the strain specialization to develop context- or cue-based responding.


This research aims to enhance the current understanding and knowledge of the demand-supply chain management (DSCM) concept by determining its elements, benefits, and requirements, and by illustrating its occurrence in practice. In addition, it aims to shed light on the role of emerging markets in this management approach. We examine DSCM through thorough literature review, analyze second hand financial data from world-class actors, and provide single case study analysis from Swedish manufacturing company operating on an international basis in the appliance industry. This research has established that the main elements of DSCM include market orientation, coordination of the demand and supply processes, viewing the demand and supply processes as equally important, value creation in the demand and supply processes, differentiation in the demand and supply processes, innovativeness in the demand and supply processes, responsiveness in the demand and supply processes, and cost-efficiency in the demand and supply processes. Furthermore, it has been revealed that the main benefits of DSCM include enhanced competiveness, enhanced demand chain performance, and enhanced supply chain performance. Moreover, it has been shown that the main requirements of DSCM include organizational competences, company established principles, demand-supply chain collaboration, and information technology support. Research also shows that emerging markets are used significantly to lower costs in the sourcing and manufacturing parts of the supply chain. Based on case study DSCM approach with long implementation time and increased costs (of marketing and product development) will lead into situation, where emerging low cost producers in markets have even higher responsibility from brand supplies, so instead of component production larger entities are in their responsibility. However, this offshoring will occur only in limited extent – significant manufacturing activity of DSCM companies still remains near of most important markets, like Europe.


Generalized knot groups Gn(K) were introduced first by Wada and Kelly independently. The classical knot group is the first one G1(K) in this series of finitely presented groups. For each natural number n, G1(K) is a subgroup of Gn(K) so the generalized knot groups can be thought of as extensions of the classical knot group. For the square knot SK and the granny knot GK, we have an isomorphism G1(SK) ≅ G1(GK). From the presentations of Gn(SK) and Gn(GK), for n > 1, it seems unlikely that Gn(SK) and Gn(GK) would be isomorphic to each other. Curiously, we are able to show that for any finite group H, the numbers of homomorphisms from Gn(SK) and Gn(GK) to H, respectively, are the same. Moreover, the numbers of conjugacy classes of homomorphisms from Gn(SK) and Gn(GK) to H, respectively, are also the same. It remains a challenge to us to show, as we would like to conjecture, that Gn(SK) and Gn(GK) are not isomorphic to each other for all n > 1.


This chapter reflects on how public law, and more specifically constitutional and administrative law, can be understood as expressions of what evolutionary anthropologists and other specialists call human 'ultra-sociality'. The analysis extends on a framework theory of institutional foundation and change, as well as the 'metabolic' function of constitutions as opposed to administrative bodies, that I have introduced elsewhere and now seek to refine in light of the evolutionary perspective this chapter develops. The ultimate focus is on the emergence of a cultural-evolutionary phenomenon — a pervasive conception of 'right' (what we now call public law) — that was bound up with, and in turn fed into, the phase transitions that marked the emergence of increasingly complex societies and polities ('states') over the course of human history. The chapter focuses on three interrelated, foundational phase transitions in particular: first, the emergence of a collective capacity to mobilize surplus human and fiscal resources ('blood' and 'treasure'); second, the emergence of a social-psychological sense of legitimate political obligation; and, third, the emergence of scalable forms of political and legal management as between a governing principal — the person/institution to which political obligation and legitimacy is ultimately owed — and agents who are understood to carry out tasks on behalf of the principal. Obviously, this third transition comes closest to the concerns of this volume (indeed, such principal-agent mechanisms are arguably central to what today we understand to be administrative law). Nonetheless, by stressing the importance of the first two developments as a predicate to the third, this chapter stresses that we cannot understand how a polity is administered without first understanding how it is constituted. Indeed, one of the main advantages of the evolutionary perspective is that it helps us better understand how the constitutional and administrative dimensions of state formation are in fact inextricably intertwined, two sides of the same 'ultra-social' governance coin.


DeWees, Maxwell D. M.S., Purdue University, May 2015. Securing Communication Within the HARMS Model for Use with Firefighting Robots. Major Professor: Eric T. Matson. Humans and robots must work together in increasingly complex networks to achieve a common goal. In this research, firefighting robots are a part of a larger, decentralized system of humans, agents, robots, machines, and sensors (HARMS). Although communication in a HARMS model has been utilized in previous research, this new study looks at the security considerations of the communications layer of the HARMS model. A network attack known as a man-in-the-middle attack is successfully demonstrated in this paper. Then, a secure communications protocol is proposed to help provide confidentiality and authentication of HARMS actors. This research is applied to any system that utilizes a HARMS network, including firefighting robots, to help ensure malicious entities cannot exploit communications by system actors. Instead, system actors that confirm their identity can communicate securely in a decentralized way for indistinguishable task completion. The results of this experiment are successful, indicating that secure communication can prevent man-in-the-middle attacks with minor differences in operation.


In image transfer, one aims to reproduce at an image plane the field distribution of the field at the source plane. We consider a near-field image transfer scheme where an image with subwavelength resolution can be transferred to a metal–dielectric interface. In this scheme, the presence of a surface plasmon polariton provides a large wave vector range where the transfer function is flat, thus enabling the image transfer with subwavelength resolution.


Mathematical models of epidemiological systems enable investigation of and predictions about potential disease outbreaks. However, commonly used models are often highly simplified representations of incredibly complex systems. Because of these simplifications, the model output, of, say, new cases of a disease over time or when an epidemic will occur, may be inconsistent with the available data. In this case, we must improve the model, especially if we plan to make decisions based on it that could affect human health and safety, but direct improvements are often beyond our reach. In this work, we explore this problem through a case study of the Zika outbreak in Brazil in 2016. We propose an embedded discrepancy operator-a modification to the model equations that requires modest information about the system and is calibrated by all relevant data. We show that the new enriched model demonstrates greatly increased consistency with real data. Moreover, the method is general enough to easily apply to many other mathematical models in epidemiology.


Microstructural analysis of glacial deposits has recently been used as a research tool to determine sediment genesis. However, the occurrence of microstructures in deposits of known origin has not been sufficiently documented, hindering our ability to confidently interpret microstructures in sediments of unknown origin. Our objective is to present a calibration study of microstructures of recent sediment flow deposits and associated sediments from the Matanuska Glacier, Alaska, and to evaluate the degree of commonality with micro‐structures found in subglacially deformed sediments. Microstructures in sediment flow deposits can be formed as a result of sediment transport, deposition, and/or post‐depositional processes, and are related to the viscosity regime of the source flow. Characteristic microstructures formed during brittle deformation include shears, faults, and brecciation; microstructures formed during ductile deformation include folds, pressure shadows, reorientation of clasts around a 'core' stone, fine laminations, basal shear zones, imbrication, and flow fabrics. Other microstructures include fluid escape and injection structures, clast haloes, and fissility. The results of our comparison suggest that sediment flow deposits share many microstructures in common with subglacially deformed sediments.


The theoretical ability of epigenetic variation to influence the heritable variation of complex traits is gaining traction in the study of adaptation. This theory posits that epigenetic marks can control adaptive phenotypes but the relative potential of epigenetic variation in comparison to genetic variation in these traits is not presently understood. To compare the potential of epigenetic and genetic variation in adaptive traits, we analyzed the influence of DNA methylation variation on the accumulation of chemical defense compounds glucosinolates from the order Brassicales. Several decades of work on glucosinolates has generated extensive knowledge about their synthesis, regulation, genetic variation and contribution to fitness establishing this pathway as a model pathway for complex adaptive traits. Using high-throughput phenotyping with a randomized block design of ddm1 derived Arabidopsis thaliana epigenetic Recombinant Inbred Lines, we measured the correlation between DNA methylation variation and mean glucosinolate variation and within line stochastic variation. Using this information, we identified epigenetic Quantitative Trait Loci that contained specific Differentially Methylated Regions associated with glucosinolate traits. This showed that variation in DNA methylation correlates both with levels and variance of glucosinolates and flowering time with trait-specific loci. By conducting a meta-analysis comparing the results to different genetically variable populations, we conclude that the influence of DNA methylation variation on these adaptive traits is much lower than the corresponding impact of standing genetic variation. As such, selective pressure on these traits should mainly affect standing genetic variation to lead to adaptation.


A simple semiempirical model for the prediction of changes in soil pH and base saturation with acidic deposition was developed. In steady-state ecosystems acidic deposition results in losses of basic cations from exchange sites. In the model, depletion of exchangeable bases is calculated from the difference between input acidity and output of H/sup +/ and Al/sup 3 +/ in water percolating through the solum. A correction for the decrease in bicarbonate weathering is made but sulfate adsorption is not considered. Estimates including the effect of increased mineral weathering with decreased pH can be made if the natural weathering rate is known and if the order with respect to H/sup +/ is known for the rate expression for soil weathering. The model predicted laboratory data for the acidification of samples for three soil horizons. For a fourth horizon, that was formed in contact with bedrock and high in weatherable minerals, the model overestimated the effect of the acid. Model predictions using soil data showed a slow decrease in soil pH and base saturation until the pH region of Al buffering was attained and then a new steady-state was achieved. The pH and base saturation in the Al buffering region was similarmore » to that found in very acid soils under forest vegetation.« less


The lack of low frequency components in seismic data usually leads full waveform inversion into the local minima of its objective function. An exponential damping of the data, on the other hand, generates artificial low frequencies, which can be used to admit long wavelength updates for waveform inversion. Another feature of exponential damping is that the energy of each trace also exponentially decreases with source-receiver offset, where the least-square misfit function does not work well. Thus, we propose a deconvolution-based objective function for waveform inversion with an exponential damping. Since the deconvolution filter includes a division process, it can properly address the unbalanced energy levels of the individual traces of the damped wavefield. Numerical examples demonstrate that our proposed FWI based on the deconvolution filter can generate a convergent long wavelength structure from the artificial low frequency components coming from an exponential damping.


Purpose: The burden of uveal melanoma (UM) in Aotearoa-New Zealand (NZ), a country with the highest global burden of cutaneous melanoma, is unknown. This first, large-scale study of UM in NZ investigates survival and risks of mortality in histologically confirmed UM. Methods: Deidentified epidemiological data on histologically confirmed UM between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2020, were extracted from the NZ Cancer Registry. The main outcome measures were patient demographics, tumor characteristics, all-cause versus disease-specific survival, and risks of mortality. Results: Histologically confirmed UM constituted 1.5% (n=703) of all-body site melanomas in NZ (n=47,997). UM predominantly affected Europeans (95%), followed by NZ indigenous Māori (4%), Asians (<1%), and Pacific Peoples (<1%), with no eye or sex predilection. Three hundred eighteen (45%) were deceased at follow-up. Of the deceased, 50% died from UM. The 1-, 5-, and 10-year survival from all-cause mortality was 94%, 68%, and 51%, and disease-specific survival was 97%, 79%, and 71%, respectively. Increasing age at UM diagnosis (>60 y), UM arising from nonspecified sites, and mixed cell UM were associated with an increased risk of disease-specific mortality. No difference in disease-specific mortality was found between sex and ethnicity on multivariate and competing risks analysis. Conclusions: Despite the government-funded public eye care and increasing research and awareness on UM globally, the burden of UM in the 21st century in NZ remains comparable to global studies. We continue to observe an earlier presentation of UM in non-European cohorts, particularly in our Māori population, and further studies on UM in NZ are warranted.


FARRÉ, J., et al.: Fluoroscopic Cardiac Anatomy for Catheter Ablation of Tachycardia. The understanding of cardiac anatomy is crucial for the interventional arrhythmologist. In spite of the introduction of several nonfluroscopic navigational tools, some of them capable of reconstructing a computer‐based surrogate of the endocardial surface of the heart cavities, simple fluoroscopy with or without the aid of angiographic techniques is still the most widely used method to guide mapping and ablation procedures. In some instances, fluoroscopic and angiographic methods have no possible replacement to unravel certain arrhythmologically useful anatomic landmarks. New interpretations of cardiac architecture show the need to challenge some traditional anatomic views, like the concept of septums within the heart. The fluoroscopic anatomy also needs to be reconsidered in the light of the new attitudinally oriented nomenclature. This article presents an overview of the fluoroscopic anatomy of the heart. When pertinent, some anatomical concepts are discussed in more detail like the triangle of Koch, the pyramidal space, and the interatrial groove. In the sections on the atria and on the ventricles, the authors focus on the anatomic information that is relevant for mapping and ablation from a fluoroscopic viewpoint, providing some hints on how best to depict the morphological features from the stance of the interventional arrhythmologist. The Visible Human Slice and Surface Server using data sets from the Visible Human Male and Female Project, has been used to facilitate the understanding of the fluoroscopic anatomy.


The United Arab Emirates has been in the spotlight in recent years in light of its rapid growth and development. A key area of interest is the expansion of education, especially higher education for women, which has witnessed enormous growth in the last decade. However, despite the rapid increase in female higher education enrollment, women's labor participation remains low, leading to questions on why highly educated young women are not in employment. This study investigates the incongruence between the growth of female attainment of higher education and women's career inactivity over the last decades. To explore this mismatch, the study examines Emirati women's perception of the role of higher education, analyzed through examining their educational and career aspirations and the correlations between these two. The study finds that for Emirati women, education is not always a means to an end, but simply the end itself. For some women, education is related to supplementing personal growth and contentment. The findings suggest that Emirati women aspire to further their education, especially through earning doctorate degrees. However, they do not necessarily connect their education to their intended future occupation. The findings provide an alternative explanation of the disconnect between women's educational outcomes and labor market participation and provide insight into Emirati women's choice to remain unemployed.


Celecoxib, a specific inhibitor of cycloxygenase-2 (COX-2) is a poorly water-soluble nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug with relatively low bioavailability. The effect of beta-cyclodextrin on the aqueous solubility and dissolution rate of celecoxib was investigated. The possibility of molecular arrangement of inclusion complexes of celecoxib and beta-cyclodextrin were studied using molecular modeling and structural designing. The results offer a better correlation in terms of orientation of celecoxib inside the cyclodextrin cavity. Phase-solubility profile indicated that the solubility of celecoxib was significantly increased in the presence of beta-cyclodextrin and was classified as A(L)-type, indicating the 1:1 stoichiometric inclusion complexes. Solid complexes prepared by freeze drying, evaporation, and kneading methods were characterized using differential scanning calorimetry, powder x-ray diffractometry, and scanning electron microscopy. In vitro studies showed that the solubility and dissolution rate of celecoxib were significantly improved by complexation with beta-cyclodextrin with respect to the drug alone. In contrast, freeze-dried complexes showed higher dissolution rate than the other complexes.


Twelve patients with advanced inoperable non -small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were treated with mitomycin, vinblastine and cisplatin (MVP) combination chemotherapy. The overall response rate was 33% (4 partial responses and no complete response) with a median survival of seven months. One responder above subsequently achieved complete remission following successful resection of his tumour and is still alive 14 months after initial chemotherapy. Responses were observed in patients with good performance status and limited disease. Side -effects were generally well tolerated and manageable. MVP is an effective regimen and the low response rate achieved here as compared to other centres is also discussed.


We study convergence properties of iterative voting procedures. Such procedures are defined by a voting rule and a (restricted) iterative process, where at each step one agent can modify his vote towards a better outcome for himself. It is already known that if the iteration dynamics (the manner in which voters are allowed to modify their votes) are unrestricted, then the voting process may not converge. For most common voting rules this may be observed even under the best response dynamics limitation. It is therefore important to investigate whether and which natural restrictions on the dynamics of iterative voting procedures can guarantee convergence. To this end, we provide two general conditions on the dynamics based on iterative myopic improvements, each of which is sufficient for convergence. We then identify several classes of voting rules (including Positional Scoring Rules, Maximin, Copeland and Bucklin), along with their corresponding iterative processes, for which at least one of these conditions hold.


Multi-disciplinary research is needed to address the issue of urban landscape fragmentation. Based on empirical and theoretical context analysis, a framework of network-based, socio-ecological methods and indicators that can be effectively applied by practitioners in different geographical locations was developed in this thesis. A methodological review and historical comparison were performed in order to create a socio-ecological perspective from which to analyse the fragmentation issue. An urban green networks framework was then formulated, based on a sound understanding of relevant fields. The framework process comprised four steps: landscape visualisation, structure representation, habitat identification and linkage calculation. The framework was applied and tested in Stockholm, Sweden and Xi'an, China, in order to cover both the Western and Eastern context and increase the relevance to international scholars. The first case study (Stockholm) examined the applicability of the framework and its potential effectiveness in current planning and management. A need for two main corridors to link the Royal National Park and the rest of green-blue space at city scale was identified. A detailed design in Hjorthagen, a district undergoing densification, was proposed in order to maintain densification while preserving local habitat connectivity. In the second case study (Xi'an), the context of the fragmentation situation was added to complement the framework analysis. This case was used to test the framework in a different context, while also searching for potential improvements to the framework. The case study identified a need for ten corridors of city green-blue space for constructing the network system and produced one site design of a second ring road. Based on the two case studies, it can be concluded that: i) the proposed framework for urban green networks can be applied to resolve the fragmentation issue in urban environments, and ii) framework application is context-dependent and thus requires a range of local knowledge. This thesis contributes to addressing the fragmentation issue in global cities and to the general body of knowledge on this topic. The proposed approach can be applied to other cities facing similar challenges.


Background: Preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM) is responsible for one?third of all preterm births worldwide. This aim of this study was to investigate the outcome of neonates born after prolonged PPROM with gestational age below 34 weeks.

Materials and methods: This retrospective study included 65 patients who were born to mothers with Prolonged PPROM <34 weeks gestation between January 2011 and December 2015 and admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Jordan University Hospital.

Results: The mean gestational age of included patients was (31.9 ± 2.5 weeks), mean birth weight was (1840 ± 583 g) and 43 (66.2%) were males. The mortality rate in those infants was 12.3 %. Gestational age, birth weight, and Apgar score were significantly lower among mortality cases compared to surviving cases (P < 0.05).

Conclusion: Prolonged PPROM before the 34th gestational week is associated with high rate of morbidity and mortality, for which early identification of risk factors for developing PPROM can help in reducing the risk for preterm labors and subsequent burden on healthcare system.


Antiepileptic drug withdrawal must be considered in seizure-free patients. It is theoretically possible. A seizure relapse is frequent. Numerous factors predictive of relapse are known, but they are of limited value. A favorable outcome depends mainly on the patient's epileptic syndrome. Drug reduction must be carried out stepwise, with a slow dose-tapering. A partial withdrawal: reduction of polytherapy to monotherapy, or reduction in daily doses, can also be wise.


Psoralen cross-links have been shown to be both mutagenic and recombinagenic in bacterial, yeast, and mammalian cells. Double-strand breaks (DSBs) have been implicated as intermediates in the removal of psoralen cross-links. Recent work has suggested that site-specific mutagenesis and recombination might be achieved through the use of targeted psoralen adducts. The fate of plasmids containing psoralen adducts was evaluated in Xenopus oocytes, an experimental system that has well-characterized recombination capabilities and advantages in the analysis of intermediates in DNA metabolism. Psoralen adducts were delivered to a specific site by a triplex-forming oligonucleotide. These lesions are clearly recognized and processed in oocytes, since mutagenesis was observed at the target site. The spectrum of induced mutations was compared with that found in similar studies in mammalian cells. Plasmids carrying multiple random adducts were preferentially degraded, perhaps due to the introduction of DSBs. However, when DNAs carrying site-specific adducts were examined, no plasmid loss was observed and removal of cross-links was found to be very slow. Sensitive assays for DSB-dependent homologous recombination were performed with substrates with one or two cross-link sites. No adduct-stimulated recombination was observed with a single lesion, and only very low levels were observed with paired lesions, even when a large proportion of the cross-links was removed by the oocytes. We conclude that DSBs or other recombinagenic structures are not efficiently formed at psoralen adducts in Xenopus oocytes. While psoralen is not a promising reagent for stimulating site-specific recombination, it is effective in inducing targeted mutations.


Trade in services can take many forms (or 'modes'), such as cross-border delivery, or delivery by a commercial presence in a foreign country. Unlike tariffs or quantitative restrictions on goods, which are imposed at the border, barriers to trade in services are more commonly found 'behind the border', through domestic regulation of services industries. This article reviews Australia's obligations to liberalise trade in services under its preferential trade agreements, against the background of its obligations under the World Trade Organization's General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). Australia has an evident desire to liberalise trade in services as well as sensibilities about domestic regulatory autonomy in the services context. The tension between these different interests is reflected in the ongoing development of Australia's treaty practice in this field. The article summarises core obligations and exceptions under Australia's treaties, highlighting the need for progressive liberalisation and the possibility and desirability of reducing some exceptions over time. The article distinguishes 'positive' and 'negative' list obligations and Australia's approach thereto, while also raising questions as to the consistency of Australia's preferential trade agreements with the GATS, particularly as regards 'GATS-minus' provisions.


Vector Space Model (VSM) is widely used to represent documents and web pages. It is simple and easy to deal computationally, but it also oversimplifies a document into a vector, susceptible to noise, and cannot explicitly represent underlying topics of a document. A matrix representation of document is proposed in this paper: rows represent distinct terms and columns represent cohesive segments. The matrix model views a document as a set of segments, and each segment is a probability distribution over a limited number of latent topics which can be mapped to clustering structures. The latent topic extraction based on the matrix representation of documents is formulated as a constraint optimization problem in which each matrix (i.e., a document) A_i is factorized into a common base determined by non-negative matrices L and R^\top, and a non-negative weight matrix M_i such that the sum of reconstruction error on all documents is minimized. Empirical evaluation demonstrates that it is feasible to use the matrix model for document clustering: (1) compared with vector representation, using matrix representation improves clustering quality consistently, and the proposed approach achieves a relative accuracy improvement up to 66\% on the studied datasets, and (2) the proposed method outperforms baseline methods such as k-means and NMF, and complements the state-of-the-art methods like LDA and PLSI. Furthermore, the proposed matrix model allows more refined information retrieval at a segment level instead of at a document level, which enables the return of more relevant documents in information retrieval tasks.


We study how the assignment of property rights between employees and their employers influences disclosures that reveal the productivity and ability of individual employees. To do so, we examine the effect of a court ruling that significantly shifted the assignment of intellectual property rights from inventors to their employers, but that was otherwise likely exogenous with respect to disclosure. Using a within-firm-year difference-in-differences design estimated across a sample of multiple firms, we find that firms accelerate their patent disclosures for innovations created by their inventors affected by the ruling, relative to their patent disclosures for innovations created by their unaffected inventors. Our results suggest that the assignment of intellectual property rights and the potential for hold up problems between employees and their employers can affect disclosure decisions.


This article examines the conversational processes that give rise to the construction of the identity in families caring for relatives with dementia. The data comprised tape recordings of 24 semi-structured interviews between the researcher and informal carers for people who had been diagnosed as having dementia. The interviews were fully transcribed. The transcripts were analysed using techniques drawn from conversation analysis and discourse analysis. The analysis identified four forms of story within the accounts: pre-onset stories, recognition stories, searching stories and dependency stories. It was found that these stories allowed inferences about the identity of family members and were used as a means of accomplishing informal care. The article argues that through these inferences the identities of particular family members are progressively transformed into 'the person with dementia'and 'the informal carer'. The implications of these findings for education and training are discussed.


Abstract The precise assessment of treatment efficacy in clinical trials requires scientific instruments that are not only relevant to the target population and treatment, but have been shown to be reliable, valid, and sensitive to change within the intended context of use. This paper describes the background, procedures, and current status of 2 patient-reported outcome (PRO) instruments developed for use in clinical trials of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The first measure, the EXAcerbations of Chronic pulmonary disease Tool (EXACT), was developed under the EXACT-PRO Initiative, a multi-year, multi-sponsor project involving experts in pulmonary medicine, instrument development, and drug development regulatory issues, dedicated to the development of a single, standardized instrument for evaluating the effects of treatment on acute exacerbations of COPD. The second measure, the EXACT-Respiratory Symptoms (E-RS) scale, is a derivative instrument comprising a subset of EXACT items to test the effect of treatment on the severity of respiratory symptoms in stable COPD. The EXACT-PRO Initiative was the first PRO instrument development consortia, and the EXACT and E-RS are the first PRO measures to undergo qualification review by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).


Anti-C1q autoantibodies have been proposed as a useful marker in SLE. This study aimed at measuring serum levels of anti-C1q antibodies in patients with SLE and investigates correlations of this level with the histopathological classes of renal biopsies and disease activity. The anti-C1q antibody level was measured in 30 females SLE patients and 20 controls. The activity of SLE disease was calculated according to the SLE disease activity index. A renal biopsy from patients with clinical manifestations of renal disease was obtained. There was a significant increase in the level of anti-C1q antibodies in SLE patients than controls and in patients with active LN than inactive LN (P<0.05). There were significant positive correlations between anti-C1q antibody level and SLEDAI & rSLEDAI scores and activity index score of renal biopsies. Anti-C1q antibodies showed higher diagnostic sensitivity and specificity than anti-dsDNA antibodies. In conclusion, anti-C1q antibodies are useful and sensitive non-invasive biomarker with high specificity in combination with anti-dsDNA antibodies for the diagnosis of renal disease activity.


Single image super-resolution (SR) have recently shown great performance thanks to the advances in deep learning. In the middle of the deep networks for SR, a part that increases image resolution is required, for which a subpixel convolution layer is known as an efficient way. However, we argue that the method has room for improvement, and propose an enhanced upscaling module (EUM), which achieves improvement by utilizing nonlinear operations and skip connections. Employing our proposed EUM, we propose a novel deep residual network for SR, called EUSR. Our proposed EUSR was ranked in the 9th place among 24 teams in terms of SSIM in track 1 of the NTIRE 2018 SR Challenge [25]. In addition, we experimentally show that EUSR has comparable performance on ×2 and ×4 SR for four benchmark datasets to the state-of-the-art methods, and outperforms them on a large scaling factor (x8).


How the investors react to the received information plays a crucial role in determining the return of stock exchange market. Supply and demand based upon incorrect decisions lead to the price deviation of inherent values. This paper aims to study the impact of salience phenomenon on disproportionate pricing and investor overreaction in the corporates in Tehran stock exchange. Research methodology is correlative. Statistical sample involves 120 corporates accepted by Tehran stock exchange during 2012-2016. To test the hypotheses, a regression analysis method has been selected. Research findings have indicated that there exists a promising phenomenon in Tehran stock exchange causing the investors overreaction followed by the disproportionate pricing and also, the results have shown that the impact of salience is different on strong and weak information environments.


Alloy 718 ingot with a diameter of 400mm was made by the vacuum melting process ; VIM followed by VAR. Compression tests were conducted on samples collected from columnar zone of the VIM/VAR-processed Alloy 718 ingot in wide temperature and strain rate ranges, i.e. 750~1,200OC and 10~0.001s-1 in order to understand the deformation behavior and evolution of microstructure. Tensile tests at high temperature were also conducted on samples in temperature ranges, i.e. 750~1,100OC. Effects of process parameters on the flow behavior as well as on the microstructure evolution during compression tests at high temperatures are considered. As a result of the deformation simulation, The VIM/VAR ingot was heat-treated for homogenization, and casting structure of the ingot was broken down for uniform microstructures and mechanical properties by controlled cogging process using a hydraulic press. The observation of the microstructure and grain size distribution was carried out to evaluate the effects of optimum process parameters during cogging and mechanical property tests were performed in this study.


The effect of protein binding in an "extravascular" space on antimicrobial pharmacodynamics was studied in an in vitro capillary model of infection. Simulated 500-mg oral doses of dicloxacillin (approximately 96% bound) or cephalexin (less than 5% bound) were administered every 6 h for four doses. A 10-fold-higher dose of dicloxacillin was also studied to determine the effect of drug concentration on the reduction of bacterial killing in the presence of protein. Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 was inoculated into peripheral chambers filled with either Mueller-Hinton broth or Mueller-Hinton broth plus 25% human serum. Serial samples for bacterial counts were collected over 24 h. The presence of serum in the chambers significantly reduced bacterial killing by dicloxacillin but not by cephalexin during the first 6 h (two-way analysis of variance, F = 6.04, P less than 0.05) but not at 24 h. Reduction of dicloxacillin activity in serum-containing chambers persisted with the higher dose. These data suggest that despite attaining higher total drug concentrations in protein-containing extravascular spaces with highly bound drugs, protein binding reduces bactericidal activity during the early stages of treatment in this model.


OBJECTIVE
To examine the prevalence and characteristics of frailty in community-dwelling people over 70 years of age.

METHODS
Data collected from in-home interviews conducted in 2001 were used to determine the prevalence of frailty. A total of 916 out of 1,039 older adults responded, and the data of 914 were eligible. Secondly, data collected from a comprehensive health examination undertaken in two areas in 2005 were used to identify the characteristics of frailty. 1,005 older adults participated and the data of 974 were eligible. We used a frailty index (Kaigo-Yobo Checklist) developed by Shinkai et al. (2010) to divide data into Frail and Non-frail groups.

RESULTS
The prevalence of frailty was 24.3% for men and 32.4% for women. The prevalence showed a tendency to rapidly increase after age 80 in men and 75 in women. Even after controlling for age, study area, ADL disability and comorbidity, a number of variables showed significant associations with frailty. The results showed poor functional status in physical, mental and social areas in the Frail group. The Frail group was more likely to have comorbid geriatric syndromes than the Non-frail group, such as lower MMSE scores, higher prevalence of depression, higher prevalence of hearing impairment in men, and urinary incontinence and walking impairment in women. In contrast, almost no associations with frailty were detected on routine clinical tests such as blood pressure or blood examination.

CONCLUSIONS
Overall, frailty was identified as a multifactorial syndrome which was strongly related to other geriatric syndromes. The symptoms of frailty manifested as poor functioning in multiple areas. Routine clinical tests may not be useful for detecting frailty.


Water management in Bangladesh is a critical issue owing to growing demand and increasing conflict between alternative uses. Demand for water is growing rapidly in agriculture mainly from irrigation for cereal production, the urban and industrial sector, fishery, inland navigation and salinity control. The supply of clean and uncontaminated water has fallen far short of demand owing to inadequate flows in the Ganges, pollution caused by the disposal of effluents and chemicals, salinity intrusion in the coastal area and arsenic contamination. Further, the availability of freshwater is highly seasonal depending on the presence and duration of the monsoon. The incidence of both flood and drought in a yearly cycle profoundly affects river morphology. This paper identifies various geographic, socioeconomic and environmental factors that shape the water management issues of Bangladesh. The paper mainly concerns the status and trend of these issues.


Industrialized drug screening campaigns usually deliver hundreds of compounds that are active on a particular pharmaceutical target. In light of high failure rates of drug candidates due to unforeseeable off‐target toxicity, the early identification of the most promising compounds with high potential for target selectivity is an urgent need to improve the quality of lead compounds and lower attrition rates in the drug development process. The reliable prediction of the selectivity of active substances for a target protein is a challenging task. A comprehensive study of the binding kinetics, thermodynamics, and selectivity of chemically related ligands of histone deacetylase (HDAC) like amidohydrolase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa (HDAHpa) reveals one general binding mechanism for all analyzed compounds consisting of a preceding conformational selection step followed by an optional subsequent induced fit. Depending on the chemical structure, the ligands bind to one or two of at least three protein conformations with different rate constants. Although these kinetic and mechanistic differences hamper the predictability of selectivity for the HDAC inhibitors, we demonstrate that the enthalpy‐weighted binding constant KdΔH is a useful metric to predict isoform selectivity of inhibitors against HDAC enzymes and relatively robust toward different but related binding mechanisms.


For augmented reality applications, accurate estimation of the camera pose is required. An existing video-based marker tracking system developed at the ITS presents some limitations when the marker is completely or partially occluded. The objective of this project is to improve the tracking of the camera on those cases. For this purpose, the tracking of the marker is extended to that of natural feature points around the marker's environment. The extension to natural features works as follows. Feature point candidates are being searched in the image. Depth estimation is implemented in a recursive method triangulating points between the first frame and subsequent frames. A particle filter is used to take into account the new measures received with every frame. Particle's weights are sensible to the state of the camera tracker and the proximity of the triangulated point to the expected depth. Eventually the distribution of the depth particle filter for a given feature converges at one point. This position is added to a map of feature points used to update the camera pose. Results show that tracking was improved. The camera pose was tracked even though the marker was not visible. However a small drift in its pose is detected due to the imprecision of feature point positions. This drift is not excessive in the sense that the tracker is able to recover the right camera pose. Future work will focus on improving the accuracy of the depth estimates.


Scholars have suggested that leader diversity ideologies are imbued with ethical or normative content (e.g., Nkomo & Hoobler, 2014). We advance this literature by examining the ethical consequences of leader diversity ideologies. Specifically, we integrate the ethical leadership framework and the theory of recognition to suggest that leaders who communicate about diversity by acknowledging individuals' racial/ethnic identities (i.e., use identity-conscious ideology) are deemed by followers as more ethical than leaders who do not (i.e., use identity-blind ideologies). We further suggest that this effect is stronger for followers who are higher in institutional discrimination awareness (defined as those who are more likely to view racial/ethnic identities as consequential within society). Finally, we assert that this interactive effect on ethical leadership will subsequently influence follower engagement in discretionary, proactive behavior directed toward the organization. We found support for our predictions across two experiments and a field study. Overall, our findings illustrate the ethical consequences of leader diversity ideologies. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).


The need for change-over designs is shown. Models used for change-over designs are provided. The optimaHty criteria for good designs are given and examples for optimal designs are provided. The factorial structure for factorial change-over designs is defined and the condition necessary for a factorial change-over design to have factorial structure is given. This condition is also appHcable when the change-over design is extended to have factorial treatments with a control. Change-over designs for 2xk factorial experiments (/: = 2,3,4...) and a control treatment are investigated for t treatments, t periods and It experimental units. Designs which give more precise estimates for the main effects of the 2-level factor than Williams squares designs are given and a method of construction of these designs is provided. A change-over design for a 3 by 3 factorial experiment with a conti'ol is given as an example of a design with an even number of treatments. Designs that are best amongst cyclically generated designs are given for t treatments, t periods and t experimental units (where t is odd). Extra period designs are shown to be good for factorial experiments with a control. The idea of natural contrasts is ruled out for factorial experiments with a control. Good cyclic change-over designs for factorial experiments with a control are given for situations where the number of periods, p , is less than the number of treatments, t. Optimal designs for some situations in which p is less than t are provided and the nature of their reduced coefficient matrices for estimating direct effects and residual effects separately is given. Optimal replication is discussed and an example is provided of designs that have optimal replication for the estimation of the main effects of the factors.


Contemporary Westerners look for spiritual guides to help them find the way to a more wholesome, productive lifestyle, and this fascinating book offers an introduction to a particular kind of guide, the Bodhisattva figures of the Buddhist tradition.Explaining the psychology of bodhisattva practice, imagery, and imagination, Bodhisattva Archetypes identifies a number of archetypal figures -- beings dedicated to the universal awakening or enlightenment of everyone. In language that is subjective and reflective -- with fascinating folklore of the Bodhisattva tradition and numerous illustrations of the icons and their sacred sites -- Taigen Daniel Leighton introduces readers to recognizable Bodhisattva archetypes, like Maitreya the future Buddha (often depicted as a fat, laughing Chinese figure) as well as contemporary figures who exemplify Bodhisattva ideals, such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Mahatma Gandhi and Henry David Thoreau. These familiar personages from non-Buddhist spiritual traditions reinforce Leighton's view that the search for spiritual well-being is global, and that, in today's world, the bodhisattva ideal is a relevant, useful guide.


The satellite-borne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) has been proven to be a valuable tool for high resolution ocean surface wind measurements. However, oceanic surface phenomena observed by SAR and oceanic processes which can cause the change of backscatter in SAR imagery will influence the SAR wind retrieval. Upwelling is one of the main factors, and it is prevalent in the East China Sea. It smooths the sea surface which results in a lower backscatter cross section in SAR imagery. In this study, using sea surface temperature and chlorophyll2-a data derived from Earth Observing System (EOS) MODIS, the low backscatter features in ENVISAT advanced synthetic aperture radar (ASAR) imagery are analyzed. A CMOD4 algorithm is adopted to retrieve the sea surface wind speed from SAR imagery. Results show that the wind speed is negatively biased due to the low normalized radar cross section associated with the upwelling. In order to resolve the impact of coastal upwelling on SAR wind retrieval, combined with high resolution numerical meteorological model wind field data, a wind speed correction method is proposed by using linear robust regression. To demonstrate the applicability of this method, underestimated wind speeds retrieved from ENVISAT ASAR images in the upwelling areas of Zhejiang coast and the sea area near northeast of Taiwan are corrected. Results show that the accuracy of upwelling region SAR wind retrieval data has been improved.


Superionic chalcogenides have gained renewed research interest, within the last decade, as emerging thermoelectric materials due to attractive properties, such as glass-like phonon transport coupled with crystal-like carrier transport. Of particular interest has been p-type coinage metal-based materials (Cu2Se, CuAgSe), which have demonstrated figures-of-merit, ZT, exceeding unity through a broad temperature range. However, the lack of n-type counterparts within this class of compounds limits potential module deployment. Here we show that careful stoichiometry control of the Cu4−xAgxSe2 series enables the formation of stable n-type materials throughout the measured temperature range upon substitution of Cu by Ag (1 ≤ x ≤ 3). Thermopower data show that the sample with x = 1 (Cu3AgSe2) undergoes a transition from n- to p-type conducting behavior, whereas samples with x = 2 (CuAgSe) and x = 3 (CuAg3Se2) exhibit n-type character in the whole measured temperature range. The post superionic transition n-type conductivity of CuAgSe is quite surprising and is contrary to the n- to p-type transition previously reported for this composition. Room temperature X-ray diffraction studies indicate the formation of a two-phase mixture for samples with x = 1 (Cu3AgSe2 = α-Cu2Se + α-CuAgSe) and x = 3 (CuAg3Se2 = α-Ag2Se + α-CuAgSe), whereas a single-phase α-CuAgSe is observed for the sample with x = 2. At 523 K, X-ray diffraction patterns show that Cu3AgSe2 (x = 1) and α-CuAgSe (x = 2) transform into single phase structures with the space group Fmm, while the CuAg3Se2 (x = 3) sample remains a two-phase system (CuAg3Se2 = β-Ag2Se + β-CuAgSe) in contrast to previous studies. This structural study is consistent with the observed gradual evolution of the conduction type of Cu4−xAgxSe2 samples between the p-type character of Cu2Se (x = 0) and the n-type semiconducting behavior of Ag2Se (x = 4). This suggests that the conducting behavior in the Cu4−xAgxSe2 is modulated by the Cu : Ag ratio. All Cu4−xAgxSe2 samples exhibit extremely low thermal conductivity after their phase transitions (<0.5 W m−1 K−1), which result in modest ZT values (∼0.45 at 625 K).


ABSTRACT: The French romance Paris et Vienne was translated into a great number of languages in the Middle Ages. The Swedish translation Riddar Paris och Jungfru Vienna from the sixteenth century only comprises the opening of the tale and is no more than 208 lines long. It is preserved in the manuscript Stockholm, Kungliga biblioteket, D 2, which is also known as Spegelbergs bok , a manuscript that contains texts of different genres. This article discusses some features of the Swedish text and context. First, in relation to the writing of the Swedish translation, it examines the manuscript's context and the role of Sweden's last Roman Catholic bishop, Hans Brask, as well as his secretary, Hans Spegelberg. Then, it analyses the links between the Swedish fragment, on the one hand, and the French romance and its translations into English and Low German, on the other hand (the Low German translation was most likely the Swedish translator's direct source). The article takes special notice of the prologue to the Swedish text and its use of the notion hoffuisk kerlech , or 'courtly love'. KEYWORDS: Paris et Vienne – Riddar Paris och Jungfru Vienna – Roman idyllique – Medieval translation – Courtly love


The article is dedicated to the 45-year history of combat casualty care in the Vishnevsky Central Military Clinical Hospital N 3. In the echelon system of medical care the Vishnevsky Central Military Clinical Hospital N 3 ranks the echelon (level) N 3. Specialists of the hospital, along with a medical and preventive activity, practice methodological, educational and innovative activity, participate in different scientific forums. Temporary duty assignment to the combat, human-made disaster and natural disaster areas is a real functional test. 64 physicians have an extreme situation experience. The Vishnevsky Central Military Clinical Hospital N 3 is a clinical base of department of surgery, advanced physician training department, combat casualty care department of the Institute for advanced physician training of Mandryka scientific and educational clinical center. For the purpose of reducing the terms and improving the quality of medical care it was suggested to make the integration connections with leading hospitals of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.


This study is conducted by student researcher for the partial fulfillment of masters' degree in Business A dministration. The research is aimed on forecasting certain business potentials in the service business sector. The problem is identifying future services with their features to fulfill customers demand. It is conducted at J-/awassa city where certain comparative advantages are there for service rendering organizations. Investors, city administrators and potential researchers will be beneficiaries/rom this study. If will help all these parties in providing clear sight of what business and market potentials will be there in the coming years. Using stratified sampling technique resident respondents and simple random sampling business people are selected for sample. These are 1000 from resident and 370 from business persons. Primary and secondary data's was collected from different offices and respondents. Questionnaire is the used tool to collect data from sample respondents. The collected data are analyzed using time series and descriptive analysis techniques. Finally conclusions are drawn from hypothetical tests. Business peoples, current and potential, have no sufficient and pertinent information about the business potentials of the city and what kind of service provisions are and will be needed The city administration is also handicapped in promoting and controlling such potential markets due to lack of well studied research. This initiated the student researcher to conduct the study. Literature review, collected data, and the way these data are analyzed, interpreted and tested, drawn conclusions and provided professional suggestions are clearly stated in this report. Questionnaire data analysis and discussion using descriptive technique, quantitative data analysis through time series technique, factors discussion, city's urban development plan and strategies discussion are the main part of the report. The countries political, economical and demographical impacts on the service sector, the city's development plan and strategies are also discussed in this study. By this study it is identified that the city has big business potentials for hospitality, beautification, recreation other service sectors. The study has find the feature of identified business potentials are more technological, professional labor intensive, fast, quality, variety and low priced services.


Little River Inlet is a shallow coastal inlet located on the Atlantic Ocean along the North Carolina- South Carolina border. Construction by the U.S. Army Engineer District, Charleston (SAC), of a dual jetty system at Little River Inlet began in March 1981 and was completed in July 1983. A detailed monitoring program conducted from 1979 through 1992 has documented the performance of the Little River Inlet project. A two-phase analysis of the monitoring data and navigation project was conducted by the Waterways Experiment Station's Coastal Engineering Research Center (CERC). The objectives of the first phase analysis were to summarize beach and nearshore response to the Little River Inlet navigation project and assist SAC in developing disposal plans for maintenance material dredged from the inlet. Additionally, the analysis examined if any action should be taken to open the weir sections of either jetty and evaluated the degree of continued project monitoring. The second phase of CERC's analysis conducted a reconnaissance level review of the post-jetty thalweg evolution and stability, relative inlet hydrodynamics, and scour occurring at the jetty structures. This paper summarizes both phases of the CERC study and performance of the Little River Inlet navigation project.


Being able to vary the level of detail or scale when modeling any system has an increasing interest in different domains. Here we address the issue of multiscale modeling of transport networks in order to enhance feasibility of hybrid simulations, like those who couple macro and micro traffic behaviours, or those who recently tried to combine cellular automata with multi-agent systems in urban simulation and geosimulations. Using an example, we show how a generic link/node representation which forms the core of a design pattern, can be used to instantiate several network models at different scales. Each one can be simulated using the appropriate behavioural model. The design pattern approach avoids drawbacks of strictly hierarchical representations and maintains coherency. We use a multi-level spatial grid to locate vertices that form a link. This hierarchical grid is also a way to deal with behavioural models based on cellular automata. The concept of Place is introduced in order to be able to connect generated synthetic populations to the transport network and, then, to model the travel demand. Multimodality is allowed and opportunities of modal transfers are explicitly defined. The paper also shows how we are using real GIS data of Quebec City to build a three-scale transport network with the suggested approach.


Nomograms have become very useful tools among clinicians as they provide individualized predictions based on the characteristics of the patient. For complex design survey data with survival outcome, Binder (1992) proposed methods for fitting survey-weighted Cox models, but to the best of our knowledge there is no available software to build a nomogram based on such models. This paper introduces an R package, SvyNom, to accomplish this goal and illustrates its use on a gastric cancer dataset. Validation and calibration routines are also included.


Metal implants are used routinely during total hip and knee replacements and are typically composed of cobalt chromium molybdenum (CoCrMo) alloys. CoCrMo "wear particles", in the nano- and micro-size ranges, are generated in situ. Meanwhile, occupational exposure to CoCrMo particles may be associated with the development of industrial dental worker's pneumoconiosis. In this study, we report that both nano- and micro-CoCrMo induced a time and dose-dependent toxicity in various cell types (i.e. lung epithelial cells, osteoblasts, and macrophages), and the effects of particle size on cell viability and oxidative responses were interesting and cell specific. Our findings highlight the potential roles that nano- and micro-CoCrMo, whether exposure is due to inhalation or implant wear, and the associated oxidative stress may play in the increasingly reported implant loosening, osteolysis, and systemic complications in orthopaedic patients, and may explain the risk of lung diseases in dental workers.


Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC) represents 5% of cancers diagnosed annually in the United States. Five-year survival rates for advanced head and neck cancer have not improved significantly in the last 30 years. The significant morbidity associated with current treatments has led to continuing investigation of potential alternative and less toxic therapies. One such therapeutic agent, curcumin, has been shown to reduce tumor volume both in vitro and in vivo, but studies also have shown that absorption of curcumin is poor. In this study, we developed a new modality of delivering curcumin, via liposomes, that is less toxic and has increased absorption. This study compares the toxicity and effectiveness of curcumin delivery by DMSO (dimethylsulfoxide) versus liposomes in two aggressive oral cancer cell lines: SCC-1 and CAL-27. After 24 hours of growth followed by 24 hours of serum starvation, the tumor cells were treated with DMSO, DMSO + curcumin, liposomes, or liposomal curcumin at concentrations of 0, 50, 100, 200, 400, or 600 μM for 8 hours. After treatment, cells were allowed to grow additionally for 12 or 36 hours without any treatment. Media was then removed, and an MTT assay was performed by measuring OD at 570 nm. Results show that liposomes are significantly less toxic than DMSO in both cells lines (p value = 0.0125 with a two-sample unequal variance t-test). Growth inhibition by liposomal curcumin is similar to that achieved with curcumin dissolved in DMSO and was similar for cells grown for 12 or 36 hours after treatment. These results suggest that liposomal curcumin is a more efficacious way of delivering curcumin to target cells. Since liposomes are taken in by membrane encapsulation, it is anticipated that curcumin absorption will also increase in vivo. We feel that liposomal delivery of curcumin will be valuable as a potential novel chemotherapeutic agent for the inhibition of head and neck tumor growth in animal models. Promising data from studies of in vivo models would lend support for testing liposomal curcumin in a phase 1, dose-escalation and safety trial in patients with HNSCC.


It is nearly three-quarters of a century since E. R. Watson (1904) and E. M. Wedderburn (1907) made the observations in Loch Ness which showed conclusively, and for the first time, that large bodies of water contain beneath their surface the wave motions which have now come to be known as internal waves. The observations and theory of these waves have developed much since those days, but the Loch is still very useful as a site in which to observe and examine phenomena which are also found in other bodies of water, particularly the ocean. In particular the Loch provides a large-scale natural 'laboratory' in which a variety of small-scale phenomena associated with turbulence in a stratified fluid may be studied. Observations have been made with a novel profiling instrument which measures the horizontal velocity of the water and its temperature, from which the density may be inferred. These observations serve to illustrate a variety of local conditions which occur in calm weather, as the Loch responds to the wind and during the passage of an internal surge. Analysis of the records is conducted in terms of an intermittency index (the fraction of fluid in which the density decreases with depth), the Richardson number and a length scale which characterizes the vertical scale of the regions which are found to be unstably stratified. Semi-empirical formulae for the eddy diffusion coefficient and the rate of dissipation of kinetic energy in the turbulent motion are examined to see whether they are consistent with observations. No universal value of the Richardson number is found, but this may be a consequence of the rather low values of Reynolds number found in the Loch thermocline.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the activity of carprofen and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) against isozymes of canine cyclooxygenases (COX1 and COX2).

PROCEDURE
Constitutive COX1 was obtained from washed canine platelets, and COX2 was obtained from a canine macrophage-like cell line that was induced with endotoxin. Activity of carprofen and other NSAID against COX1 and COX2 was compared. Dose-response curves were plotted, and calculations were performed to identify concentrations that caused 50% inhibition (IC50 [microM]) for each isozyme. Ratio of the COX1-to-COX2 IC50 was used as a measure of isozyme selectivity.

RESULTS
Of the compounds evaluated, carprofen had the greatest selectivity for COX2. Potency of carprofen for canine COX2 was more than 100-fold greater than for canine COX1. Inhibition of canine COX2 (IC50, 0.102 microM) for the racemic mixture of carprofen (S and R stereoisomers) was primarily attributable to the S enantiomer (IC50, 0.0371 microM), which was approximately 200-fold more potent than the R enantiomer (IC50, 5.97 microM). Nimesulide had the next highest selectivity for COX2 (38-fold), and tolfenamic acid and meclofenamic acid had 15-fold selectivity for COX2. The other compounds tested did not have substantial selectivity for canine COX2 or were more selective for canine COX1.

CONCLUSIONS
Carprofen was found to be a potent inhibitor of canine COX2. Of the compounds tested, carprofen had the highest selectivity for canine COX2.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE
The selectivity of carprofen for canine COX2 may be an important factor for its use in dogs.


The reception of German psychiatry by the French psychiatrists has been influenced by material elements, such as the knowledge of the German language and/or the disposability of translations, but even more by factors of a general nature. The main reason has been the perception by the French psychiatrists of the progressive loss of influence of their own school, initially the leading one in the world, in favour of the German, a change which began with Griesinger and became evident at the time of Kraepelin. Around 1850, as demonstrated by many papers written by leading French psychiatrists, the interest both for the theoretical aspects of German psychiatry and for its care system was great. The judgements were extremely positive, although French authors tended to contrast the philosophical outlook of the Germans with their own concrete clinical approach. The war of 1870-71 produced no radical change. But the growing influence of German psychiatry induced negative reactions whose main target was the work of Kraepelin, and especially his synthesis of Dementia praecox which was in direct opposition with the then dominant concepts of Magnan. The French opinion was divided between defenders and adversaries of Kraepelin's ideas. In the years immediately preceding World War I the attacks increased. The alleged contrast between the descriptive clinical (and according to a German author like Jaspers literary and superficial) French psychiatry and the scientific theoretical (and for the most aggressive French authors valueless) German one was a recurrent theme. The nationalistic tone reached on the French side its apex during the war years, some faint traces remaining several years after 1920. But on the whole the influence of the concepts proposed by German speaking authors, not only Kraepelin, but also Bleuler, Kretschmer, Freud among others was then on the increase. After 1945, contrasting with the years after World War I, no hostility against German psychiatry can be detected, as testified by the choice of the main speakers by the French organizers of the First World Congress of Psychiatry in 1950. The creation in 1984 of the Association of European Psychiatrists, an initiative taken jointly by the French and German psychiatrists, can be considered as the symbolic conclusion of the relations between the two national schools.


Inguinal Hernia is described as Aantra Vruddhi in Ayurveda which is also considered as one amongst the 7 types of Vruddhi. Pathologically condition associated with displacement of internal organ in abdomen which ultimately protrudes outward, produces swelling and pain in abdominal region. Hernia mainly occurs in abdominal region and middle age people or elderly persons majorly get affected. Hereditary condition, prolong coughing, pressure during defecation, constipation, straining of abdominal muscles, lifting of heavy objects, obesity and retention of fluid in abdominal cavity, etc. are major causes of hernia. The symptoms involve hard protrusion, soft lumps, swelling and pain, etc. Vata Vriddhi chikitsa, Agni karma, Sneha, Upanaha, Vatahara pralepa and Ayurveda formulations, etc. are some approaches which helps in the management of hernia. Modern science mainly described uses of surgical approaches and pain reliving medicines for managing such types of conditions.


Public procurement is the purchase by the public sector of the goods and services it needs to carry out its functions. It has an essential role to play in facilitating States' fulfilment of their duties to protect, respect, and fulfil human rights. Equally, government buying accounts for a significant proportion of the overall global economy. Worldwide, it has a value of approximately €1000 billion per year and it comprises, for instance, on average 12% GDP in OECD countries. As "mega-consumers," governments have the purchasing power to set standards that can shift markets towards sustainable production, to exercise leverage over suppliers towards this goal – and to lead by example in introducing human rights into supply chain management by establishing arrangements for human rights due diligence. In the past, however, little consideration has been given to the human rights impacts of the central state and other public bodies in terms of their role as a consumer. This lack of policy coherence undermines fulfilment of the UN Framework and UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. This submission addresses this gap by starting to clarify states' human rights responsibilities regarding public procurement and identifying emerging good practices through which public buyers can fulfil these responsibilities. It defines public procurement and provides a brief account of its role, scale and relevance in the business and human rights context; outlines how public procurement is currently regulated under international and regional legal frameworks, with reference to instruments such as the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA), EU procurement rules and the UNCITRAL Model Law, as well as relevant policy frameworks, including those concerning "responsible global value chains". It demonstrates how human rights can be integrated into the procurement cycle with reference to concrete examples. Measures promoting respect for human rights in public procurement emerging from National Action Plans on business and human rights (NAPs) are also considered. Finally, it presents recommendations for states and other procurement regulators, and other relevant stakeholders, including national human rights institutions (NHRIs), civil society organisations (CSOs), the UN system and business associations regarding the further development of public procurement as an element of the obligation to protect human rights in the context of business operations.


Software designers and software users have different views of software. Designers see all the parts that make up a system, and which are usually hidden from the users, who only see the interface. Conventional usability evaluation methods strive for objectivity in their measurement of user/system interaction, yet it is often the subjective experience of using a system which is important. Whiteside et al (1988) propose contextual research as a way of getting hold of this type of data, but a number of problems present themselves. It is difficult to observe users in context without intruding and altering the nature of the interaction, especially as much of the interesting parts of an interaction are internal to the user, and not available for direct observation. Methods such as 'thinking aloud' verbal protocols (which may make such phenomena explicit) are both intrusive, and likely to alter the phenomena being observed. The PROTEUS method represents a potential solution, midway between formal, empirical methods (for example measuring behavioural performance on bench mark tests), and direct observation of users in their normal environments. In the PROTEUS method a number of direct observations of user behaviour are made by a shell program, which controls and monitors the presentation of a number of prototypes for a system. Questionnaire data is collected interactively. Users provide their own evaluation of the systems through a process of construct elicitation, using an automated repertory grid program (the Construct Elicitation System). In this way both objective, behavioural data is gathered, as well as subjective evaluative data elicited from users in an open ended manner. During recent co-operative working with an industrial partner, the PROTEUS method was evaluated with a number of other usability evaluation techniques. Keystroke models of the stimulus systems were prepared. A keystroke log of the interaction as recorded. Video records of the interactions were kept, and survey data was collected. This material has allowed a comparison of the different methods to be drawn up.


A long term functional and reliable coupling between neural tissue and implanted microelectrodes is the key issue in acquiring neural electrophysiological signals or therapeutically excite neural tissue. The currently often used rigid micro-electrodes are thought to cause a severe foreign body reaction resulting in a thick glial scar and consequently a poor tissue-electrode coupling in the chronic phase. We hypothesize, that this adverse effect might be remedied by probes compliant to the soft brain tissue, i.e., replacing rigid electrodes by flexible ones. Unfortunately, this flexibility comes at the price of a low stiffness, which makes targeted low trauma implantation very challenging. In this study, we demonstrate an adaptable and simple method to implant extremely flexible microprobes even to deep areas of rat's brain. Implantation of flexible probes is achieved by rod supported stereotactic insertion fostered by a hydrogel (2% agarose in PBS) cushion on the exposed skull. We were thus able to implant very flexible micro-probes in 70 rats as deep as the rodent's subthalamic nucleus. This work describes in detail the procedures and steps needed for minimal invasive, but reliable implantation of flexible probes.


Using a global spectra fitting method by the differential optical depth within the radiative transfer and retrieval code SCIATRAN 2.1, vertical profiles of stratospheric traces gases are derived from SCIAMACHY solar and lunar occultation transmission spectra. From solar occultation observations ozone and NO2 profiles have been retrieved, from lunar occultation measurements ozone, NO2, and NO3 profiles have been derived. To access the quality of the SCIAMACHY occultation retrieved products a validation study was carried out, by comparing the retrieved ozone and NO2 profiles to correlative observations of other satellite instruments. These instruments are the Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE), the second Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE II), and The third Polar Ozone and Aerosol Measurement (POAM III) . The NO3 profiles are compared with results from a photochemical model scheme. The validation show good results for SCIAMACHY occultation products. In solar occultion, the deviation of ozone is mostly within 0% to +10% for ozone and within 20% for NO2 over a wide altitude range. In lunar occultation, the agreement is +10 ˙ % to +20% for ozone and within 20% for NO2 in the main part of the profiles. The NO3 results show good agreement with the model outputs within the accuracy of 35%.


In "Invoking the Invisible Hand" Robert Asen scrutinizes contemporary debates over proposals to privatize Social Security. Asen argues that a rights-based rhetoric employed by Social Security's original supporters enabled advocates of privatization to align their proposals with the widely held belief that Social Security functions simply as a return on a worker's contributions and that it is not, in fact, a social insurance program. By analyzing major debates over a preeminent American institution, Asen reveals the ways that language is deployed to identify problems for public policy, craft policy solutions, and promote policies to the populace. He shows how debate participants seek to create favorable contexts for their preferred policies and how they connect these policies to idealized images of the nation.


Activator of G-protein signaling 3 (AGS3) and LGN have a similar domain structure and contain four Gprotein regulatory motifs that serve as anchors for the binding of the GDP-bound conformation of specific Gprotein subunits. As an initial approach to define further the different functional roles of AGS3 and LGN, we determined their expression profile and subcellular distribution. AGS3and LGN-specific antisera indicated a widespread tissue distribution of LGN, whereas AGS3 is primarily enriched in brain. Brain punch biopsies of 13 discrete brain regions indicated that both AGS3 and LGN are expressed in all areas tested but are differentially regulated during development. LGN is expressed in neuronal, astroglial, and microglial cultures, whereas AGS3 expression is restricted to neurons. In primary neuronal cultures as well as in dividing cultures of PC12 cells, immunocytochemistry indicated distinct subcellular locations of AGS3 and LGN. The subcellular locations of the two proteins were differentially regulated by external stimuli and the cell cycle. In PC12 and COS7 cells, LGN moves from the nucleus to the midbody structure separating daughter cells during the later stages of mitosis, suggesting a role for G-proteins in cytokinesis. Thus, although AGS3 and LGN share a similar overall motif structure and both bind G-proteins, nature has endowed these proteins with different regulatory elements that allow functional diversity by virtue of tissuespecific expression and subcellular positioning.


A central goal of causal inference is to detect and estimate the treatment effects of a given treatment or intervention on an outcome variable of interest, where a member known as the heterogeneous treatment effect (HTE) is of growing popularity in recent practical applications such as the personalized medicine. In this paper, we model the HTE as a smooth nonparametric difference between two less smooth baseline functions, and determine the tight statistical limits of the nonparametric HTE estimation as a function of the covariate geometry. In particular, a two-stage nearest-neighbor-based estimator throwing away observations with poor matching quality is near minimax optimal. We also establish the tight dependence on the density ratio without the usual assumption that the covariate densities are bounded away from zero, where a key step is to employ a novel maximal inequality which could be of independent interest.


In interpersonal models of developmental psychopathology, friendships and affiliations with peershave been considered as both consequences and determinants of children's and adolescents' internalizing behaviors and peer victimization. Longitudinal stochastic actor-oriented models (SAOMs) allow developmental researchers to disentangle peer selection processes where children or adolescents choose friends who are similar to themselves in internalizing behaviors or peer victimization from peer influence processes where children or adolescents become more similar to their friends over time in internalizing behaviors or peer victimization. This paper highlights the methods and results from a systematic review that screened 1,447 empirical articles and located 28 using SAOMs to understand the interplay between peer social networks and internalizing behaviors or peer victimization. The results provide some evidence for both peer selection and influence related to depression, social anxiety, and peer victimization. Additionally, the results provide insight into directions for additional substantive and methodological research. Based on the findings of this review, future research is recommended that considers specific tests of peer selection and influence mechanisms, developmental and gender differences, individual and contextual moderators, multiplex relationships, methodological quality, and direct replication of prior studies.


Linear Expansion of Dental Stone After its Final Set and Beyond Two Hours Marcos Cid Galano, D.D.S. When accuracy and strength are required in fabricating working casts improved dental stones are recommended. The main variable affecting this accuracy is linear setting expansion. In this research study the linear setting expansion of three commonly used improved dental stones were compared over an extended 2-week period. Hard Rock, Silky Rock and Prima-Rock were vacuum mixed following manufacturers instructions. Five specimens of each stone were measured for linear expansion using a SAM EMI100 Expansion measuring Device. Expansion measurements were made at 10 and 30 minutes, 2, 24, 48, 72, and 120 hours. The gathered data were subjected to a two way ANOVA and the Tukey Multiple Range Test. The ADA specification #25 measures expansion over a 2-hour span. Continued dimensional changes may affect the accuracy of the final cast. The final fit of a restoration is determined by the accurate duplication of important oral structures and tooth preparations.


An improved type of exhaust nozzle has been invented to help optimize the performances of multitube detonative combustion engines. The invention is applicable to both air-breathing and rocket engines used to propel some aircraft and spacecraft, respectively. In a detonative combustion engine, thrust is generated through the expulsion of combustion products from a detonation process in which combustion takes place in a reaction zone coupled to a shock wave. The combustion releases energy to sustain the shock wave, while the shock wave enhances the combustion in the reaction zone. The coupled shockwave/reaction zone, commonly referred to as a detonation, propagates through the reactants at very high speed . typically of the order of several thousands of feet per second (of the order of 1 km/s). The very high speed of the detonation forces combustion to occur very rapidly, thereby contributing to high thermodynamic efficiency. A detonative combustion engine of the type to which the present invention applies includes multiple parallel cylindrical combustion tubes, each closed at the front end and open at the rear end. Each tube is filled with a fuel/oxidizer mixture, and then a detonation wave is initiated at the closed end. The wave propagates rapidly through the fuel/oxidizer mixture, producing very high pressure due to the rapid combustion. The high pressure acting on the closed end of the tube contributes to forward thrust. When the detonation wave reaches the open end of the tube, it produces a blast wave, behind which the high-pressure combustion products are expelled from the tube. The process of filling each combustion tube with a detonable fuel/oxidizer mixture and then producing a detonation repeated rapidly to obtain repeated pulses of thrust. Moreover, the multiple combustion tubes are filled and fired in a repeating sequence. Hence, the pressure at the outlet of each combustion tube varies cyclically. A nozzle of the present invention channels the expansion of the pulsed combustion gases from the multiple combustion tubes into a common exhaust stream, in such a manner as to enhance performance in two ways: (1) It reduces the cyclic variations of pressure at the outlets of the combustion tubes so as to keep the pressure approximately constant near the optimum level needed for filling the tubes, regardless of atmospheric pressure at the altitude of operation; and (2) It maximizes the transfer of momentum from the exhaust gas to the engine, thereby maximizing thrust. The figure depicts a typical engine equipped with a nozzle according to the invention. The nozzle includes an interface section comprising multiple intake ports that couple the outlets of the combustion tubes to a common plenum. Proceeding from its upstream to its downstream end, the interface section tapers to a larger cross-sectional area for flow. This taper fosters expansion of the exhaust gases flowing from the outlets of the combustion tubes and contributes to the desired equalization of exhaust combustion pressure. The cross-sectional area for flow in the common plenum is greater than, or at least equal to, the combined cross-sectional flow areas of the combustor tubes. In the common plenum, the exhaust streams from the individual combustion tubes mix to form a single compound subsonic exhaust stream. Downstream of the common plenum is the throat that tapers to a smaller flow cross section. In this throat, the exhaust gases become compressed to form a compound sonic gas stream. Downstream of the throat is an expansion section, which typically has a bell or a conical shape. (The expansion section can be truncated or even eliminated in the case of an air-breathing engine.) After entering the expansion section, the exhaust gases expand rapidly from compound sonic to compound supersonic speeds and are then vented to the environment. The basic invention admits of numerous variations. For example, the combustion tubes can be arranged around the central axin a symmetrical or asymmetrical pattern other than the one shown in the figure. For another example, the flow cross-sectional area(s) of one or more of the intake ports in the interface section, of the common plenum, the throat, and/or the expansion section can be varied, either symmetrically or asymmetrically, to adjust dynamics of the exhaust stream or to direct the thrust vector away from the central axis.


In chronic hemodialysis, patient survival is positively correlated with body weight and body mass index (BMI). This relationship extends even to obese patients with a BMI >30 kg/m. We have put forward the hypothesis that this survival benefit may be due to a lower average synthesis rate of uremic toxins (expressed as amount per time per unit of body weight) in larger patients, because the relative contribution of the high metabolic rate organs (HMRO) to body weight in these patients is lower and HMRO are most likely to be the prime source of uremic toxins. In addition, the average uremic toxin concentration in larger patients may be lower because of the larger distribution volume. Based on these assumptions, a better survival in patients with a lower HMRO to body weight fraction (HMRO%BW) can be predicted. To test this hypothesis we estimated gender- and race-specific HMRO mass by means of recently published regression models in 2,004 incident hemodialysis patients. Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess the association between age, serum albumin concentration, eKt/V, and HMRO%BW and mortality. High HMRO%BW was significantly associated with increased mortality (hazard ratio 1.323 [95% CI: 1.186 to 1.477]). Mean survival time was longest in the low HMRO%BW tertile (1,031 days [95%CI: 974 to 1,087]), 935 days [95%CI: 886 to 984] in the middle, and 876 days [95%CI: 825 to 926] in the high HMRO%BW tertile (p<0.0001; log rank test). These results support the hypothesis predicting that a low HMRO mass per unit of weight confers a beneficial effect on survival.


Dynamic patterns of influence between parents and children have long been considered key to understanding family relationships. Despite this, most observational research on emotion in parent-child interactions examines global behaviors at the expense of exploring moment-to-moment fluctuations in emotions that are important for relational outcomes. Using recurrence quantification analysis (RQA) and growth curve analysis, this investigation explored emotion dynamics during parent-adolescent conflict interactions, focusing not only on concurrently shared emotional states but also on time-lagged synchrony of parents' and adolescents' emotions relative to one another. Mother-adolescent dyads engaged in a 10-min conflict discussion and reported on their satisfaction with the process and outcome of the discussion. Emotions were coded using the Specific Affect Coding System (SPAFF) and were collapsed into the following categories: negativity, positivity, and validation/interest. RQA and growth curve analyses revealed that negative and positive emotions were characterized by a concurrently synchronous pattern across all dyads, with the highest recurrence rates occurring around simultaneity. However, lower levels of concurrent synchrony of negative emotions were associated with higher discussion satisfaction. We also found that patterns of negativity differed with age: Mothers led negativity in dyads with younger adolescents, and adolescents led negativity in dyads with older adolescents. In contrast to negative and positive emotions, validation/interest showed the time-lagged pattern characteristic of turn-taking, and more highly satisfied dyads showed stronger patterns of time-lagged coordination in validation/interest. Our findings underscore the dynamic nature of emotions in parent-adolescent interactions and highlight the important contributions of these moment-to-moment dynamics toward overall interaction quality. (PsycINFO Database Record


A noncompetitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay that enables the quantitation of toxic shock syndrome toxin 1 (TSST-1) to as little as 30 pg/ml and the detection of TSST-1 to 10 pg/ml in phosphate-buffered saline including 33% human serum or plasma was developed. It takes only 3 h to complete this assay after plate preparation. In this study, 64 human serum samples obtained from 30 patients with toxic shock syndrome or toxic shock syndrome-like symptoms were subjected to testing for the detection of TSST-1. With a cutoff level for TSST-1 of less than 100 pg/ml, 28 samples obtained from 12 patients were positive for TSST-1. The mean and maximum concentrations for these TSST-1-positive samples were 440 and 5,450 pg/ml, respectively. Of these 12 patients, 8 were Staphylococcus aureus culture positive, 3 were negative upon bacterial culturing, and 1 had no cultures done.


Titanosilicates (Ti-SiO2) are well-known catalysts for the epoxidation of olefins. Isolated Ti inserted in the silica framework in tetrahedral coordination are the active species. Recently, adjusting the hydrophobic/hydrophilic balance of such catalysts' surfaces has appeared as a promising tool to further boost their performance. However, adjusting the hydrophobic/hydrophilic balance via a one-pot classical sol-gel generally leads to a decrease in the Ti dispersion and/or collapse of the pore network. To overcome this limitation, hydrophobic mesoporous Ti-SiO2 were here synthesized by aerosol-assisted one-pot sol–gel, which allowed the simultaneous control of their Ti loading, degree of methyl-functionalization, and textural properties. Methyl-functionalization was achieved by a partial substitution of tetraethoxy silane (TEOS) by methyltriethoxy silane (MTES) in different ratios. Solid-state 29Si-NMR, FTIR, TGA, and vapor-phase water adsorption showed that methyl moieties were effectively incorporated, conferring a hydrophobic property to the Ti-SiO2 catalysts. ICP-AES, DRUV, XPS, and N2 physisorption demonstrated that Ti dispersion and textural properties were both successfully preserved upon the incorporation of the methyl moieties. In the epoxidation of cyclooctene with tert-butyl hydroperoxide as oxidant, the hydrophobic Ti-SiO2 showed higher catalytic performance than pristine Ti-SiO2 prepared without MTES. In addition to disentangling the positive effect of adjusting the hydrophobic/hydrophilic balance of epoxidation catalysts on their performance, this contribution highlights the advantages of the aerosol procedure to synthesize mesoporous functionalized catalysts with very high dispersion of active sites.


Coherence of broadband acoustic signals in very shallow‐water regions is examined. To measure the frequency‐dependent spatial and temporal variability of sound propagation in coastal regions, experiments were conducted using sound impulses in the form of m sequences centered from 0.6 to 22 kHz. In these experiments the water depth was approximately 15 m. The receiver hydrophones, with spacing less than a few meters, were located in a range of 200–800 m from the source. High‐resolution oceanographic data taken simultaneously with the acoustic data were used to analyze the broadband propagation. It is shown that the temporal coherence changes significantly as a function of frequency and that the nature of this variation depends on location and time, since the ocean environment (e.g., the sound‐speed variability, current, and the surface/bottom boundary conditions) is location and time dependent. However, for hydrophone spacings of a few meters, no significant spatial decorrelation of the signal has been obs...


This paper attempts to illustrate the importance of the conceptual initiative in the design process and how, through the development of a poetic narrative, it can inform the process of creative design and manufacture. The argument outlined proposes the adoption of a poetic narrative as a mechanism for defining and clarifying the designers' intention with the use of metaphorical associations advocated as a means of exploiting our innate ability for intuitive extrapolation. Our approach gives emphasis to the conceptual corollary or intellectual process that underpins all considered design work and challenges the traditionally accepted methods of project development where this phase of the process is seen as
having a pre-prescribed beginning and end. The paper is also intended as a statement of intent that celebrates the unique nature of our interdisciplinary working practices and, as a contextualising document that posits a realistic and contemporary vision for the future of collaborative endeavours. We illustrate how, through the adherence to a philosophy of creative realism and by the establishment of
legitimate, ephemeral collectives; we can effectively instigate and address opportunities in many areas at any given time. In the paper we actively promote an expansive and creative engagement with the dynamics of project inception, development and control as a means of realising our collective aspirations and of ensuring project ownership in the widest sense. The paper discusses creatively critical architectural and new media projects that attempt to subvert a number of modern orthodoxies by
supplanting them with an affective internal logic.


Economic modernity is so closely associated with nationhood that it is impossible to imagine a modern state without an equallymodern economy. Even so, most people would have difficulty defining a modern economy and its connection to nationhood. In "Saving the Nation, " Margherita Zanasi explores this connection by examining the first nation-building attempt in China after the fall of the empire in 1911. Challenging the assumption that nations are products of technological and socioeconomic forces, Zanasi argues that it was notions of what constituted a modern nation that led the Nationalist nation-builders to shape China s institutions and economy. In their reform effort, they confronted several questions: What characterized a modern economy? What role would a modern economy play in the overall nation-building effort? And how could China pursue economic modernization while maintaining its distinctive identity? Zanasi expertly shows how these questions were negotiated and contested within the Nationalist Party. Silenced in the Mao years, these dilemmas are reemerging today as a new leadership once again redefines the economic foundation of the nation. "