The recent progress in radiocarbon dating of the prehistoric cultural complexes in the Russian Far East is discussed against the background of ancient chronologies for greater East Asia. Since 1997, the wide use of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating along with the continuation of conventional dating has allowed us to establish the age of several key Paleolithic, Neolithic, and Paleometal sites. It has also contributed to advancing a deeper understanding of the timing for the beginning of pottery production, maritime adaptation, and agriculture, and several other important issues in prehistoric chronology for the studied region. Reservoir age correction values for the Japan and Okhotsk seas are now used to adjust the age for samples of marine origin. Some of the cultural-chronological models for prehistoric far eastern Russian complexes put forward in the last 10 yr lack a solid basis, and are critically evaluated herein.


People sometimes believe things they shouldn't. Tommy believes in Santa Claus, Rev. Jones believes that the world is ending, and Adolf believes that some ethnic groups are superior to others. But are they somehow at fault (blameworthy) for holding these 'bad' beliefs? In my dissertation, I argue that people are blameworthy for a doxastic attitude D just in case they hold D and have unfulfilled epistemic duties regarding D. An epistemic duty is a duty to investigate or reflect on the evidence for one's doxastic state. Whenever we have some doubt about our doxastic state, as Tommy has about his belief in Santa, or don't have doubt we should have, as in Mr. Jones' case, we have a duty to investigate further. If we ignore this duty, even though circumstances allow us the freedom to investigate, we incur epistemic blameworthiness. In the case of religious belief, epistemic blameworthiness is especially grave. Those who fail to form the required religious beliefs may find themselves, if blameworthy, subject to divine judgment. Some worry, however, that the evidence for god is insufficient to render anyone blameworthy. I argue that according to the traditional Christian view, the evidence is sufficient when we take into account both the ubiquity of religious experience and our natural predisposition to believe in God. Thus, only those non-believers whose cognitive faculties are not functioning properly (which may include many children and adult atheists) can be considered blameless.


Milkfish contains omega-3 fatty acids (DHA), which is very important to maintain the health of human being. The research is mainly aimed to evaluate the reduction of DHA composition during smoking process. Organoleptic value of the product i.e. : 8,1 for fresh fish; 8,59 for smoked fish A (3 hrs smoking duration) and 8,78 for smoked fish B (5 hrs smoking duration).

The composition of fish changes normally i.e. moisture content of 75,03% (fresh fish) decreases to 70,08% (A) and 68,11% (B). Protein composition increases from 20,30% (fresh fish) to 23,95% (A) and 27,50% (B). Lipid content increase from 0,61% (fresh fish) to 1,79% (A) and 3,53% (B). Ash content changes from 1,35% (fresh fish) to 2,03 (A) and 1,89% (B). SPSS analysis of DHA found of p < 0,05 means that A and B were significantly different. DHA content was found drastically decrease from 121,19 mg/100g (A) to 16,4 mg/100g (B). ANOVA result proved that there is an interaction between smoking duration and the composition of DHA. Smoking duration is recommended no longer than 3 hrs in order to maintain its quality and minimizing the reduction of DHA.


The cacao tree (Theobroma cacao L.) is a species of great importance because cacao beans are the raw material used in the production of chocolate. However, the economic success of cacao is largely limited by important diseases such as black pod, which is responsible for losses of up to 30–40% of the global cacao harvest . The discovery of resistance genes could extensively reduce these losses. Therefore, the aims of this study were to construct an integrated multipoint genetic map, align polymorphisms against the available cacao genome, and identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with resistance to black pod disease in cacao. The genetic map had a total length of 956.41 cM and included 186 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers distributed among 10 linkage groups. The physical "in silico" map covered more than 200 Mb of the cacao genome. Based on the mixed model predicted means of Phytophthora evaluation, a total of 6 QTLs were detected for Phytophthora palmivora (1 QTL), Phytophthora citrophthora (1 QTL), and Phytophthora capsici (4 QTLs). Approximately 1.77–3.29% of the phenotypic variation could be explained by the mapped QTLs. Several SSR marker-flanking regions containing mapped QTLs were located in proximity to disease regions. The greatest number of resistance genes was detected in linkage group 6, which provides strong evidence for a QTL. This joint analysis involving multipoint and mixed-model approaches may provide a potentially promising technique for detecting genes resistant to black pod and could be very useful for future studies in cacao breeding.


Effective managers recognize both positive and negative changes in employee performance and take appropriate remedial action when required. Managers' assumptions about the rigidity or malleability of personal attributes (e.g., ability and personality) affect their performance of these critical personnel management tasks. To the extent that managers assume that personal attributes are fixed traits that are largely stable over time, they tend to inadequately recognize actual changes in employee performance and are disinclined to coach employees regarding how to improve their performance. However, a growth-mindset intervention can lead managers to relinquish their fixed mindset and subsequently provide more accurate performance appraisals and helpful employee coaching. Implications for performance evaluation procedures and avenues for future research are outlined.


In Indonesia, as in other countries, a large proportion of tax returns are filed at the last minute. In a population-wide randomised controlled trial (n = 11,157,069), we evaluated the impact of behavioural email prompts on the proportion of annual tax returns filed at least two weeks before the deadline; and overall filing rate. In two control conditions, taxpayers either received no email or an email used in prior years, emphasising regulatory information. The five treatments informed by behavioural science were (1) a simplified version of the existing email, emphasising early filing; (2) the simplified version with additional guidance on filing taxes; (3) the simplified version with a planning prompt and option to sign up for email reminders; (4) a version combining treatments 1, 2 and 3; and (5) an email appealing to national pride. Compared to the no-email control, all emails led to a statistically significant increase in early and overall filing rates. The planning email (3) was the most effective, increasing early filling from 34.9% to 37% (b 2.07 percentage points (pp), p < 0.001, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.97–2.17pp), and overall filing from 65.6% to 66.7% (b 1.10pp, p < 0.001, 95% CI 0.99–1.19pp).


An accessory parotid gland, usually located anterior to the main parotid gland, occurs in 20% to 60% of humans. However, tumors arising in accessory parotid glands are rare. We report a case of an accessory parotid gland tumor and review the relevant literature.In 1999, a 79-year-old woman presented with a mass arising in the right cheek. The mass was noted by the general surgeon at our hospital. Dissection of a right cheek mass had been performed by another surgeon in 1984, but we were unable to obtain further information. The mass in the right cheek recurred in 1989 and had slowly grown since that time. The mass was pathologically diagnosed as adenoma on fine-needle aspiration, and the patient was referred to our department. A computed tomography scan of the head showed a subcutaneous mass measuring 2.0×3.0cm, located on the masseter muscle and anterior to the main parotid gland. The tumor was removed through a wide parotidectomy-style approach modified by extension of incisions anterosuperiorly and inferoanteriorly. The mass was 1.5cm anterior to the main parotid gland. The zygomatic and buccal branches of the facial nerve and parotid duct adhered to the mass, but there were no complications, such as permanent facial paralysis or salivary fistula. A routine pathological examination showed the presence of pleomorphic adenoma.


Beam‐like internal waves are commonly generated by tides in the ocean, but their dissipation processes that cause vertical mixing remain poorly understood. Previous studies examined small‐amplitude beams to find that parametric subharmonic instability (PSI) induces latitude‐dependent wave dissipation. Using a novel approach based on Floquet theory, this study analyzes the stability of finite‐amplitude beams over a wide range of parameters. If beam amplitude is small, PSI is indeed the principal mode under the condition f/σ ≤ 0.5, where f is the Coriolis parameter and σ is the beam frequency, and the growth rate is maximum when equality holds. However, as beam amplitude is increased, instability arises even when f/σ>0.5, but the location of maximum instability shifts toward lower f/σ; thus, the latitudinal dependence of instability is significantly altered. Furthermore, the resulting energy spectrum is strongly Doppler shifted to higher frequencies, which therefore distinguishes this configuration from the common cases of PSI.


Submarine ocean outfalls are commonly used for the disposal of partially treated effluents in coastal cities. Typically, the greatest environmental risk caused by toxic substances occurs in the near field of the outfall discharge. The ecological impact of the effluent varies greatly under different discharge and environmental conditions that are characterized by both regular and stochastic variations. For a comprehensive environmental risk assessment of a coastal discharge, it is necessary to determine both the likelihood and severity of the adverse effects on the biological community. We present the first integrated stochastic (Monte Carlo) environmental risk assessment of a major coastal sewage outfall discharge--the Stonecutters Island outfall of the Harbour Area Treatment Scheme (HATS) in Hong Kong. Unionized ammonia (NH3) is used as the target pollutant. To accurately envisage the ambient concentrations of NH3, a Lagrangian jet model (JETLAG/VISJET) is used to analyze pollutant concentrations in the nearfield of the outfall. The environmental conditions are simulated from 3D hydrodynamic model simulations over a 4 month period for typical wet and dry seasons. Statistical characteristics of the effluent discharge and receiving water temperature are derived from field data. The probability distribution of predicted exposure concentrations (EC) is generated from this integrated simulation. A species sensitivity distribution, which represents a statistical distribution of threshold sublethal effects levels or benchmark concentrations (BC) for various marine organisms is constructed using available chronic toxicity data. The environmental risk of NH3 on the marine community is characterized by computing statistical distributions of Hazard Quotient (HO = EC/BC) using Monte Carlo simulation. It is found that the probability of HO > for HATS Stage 1 (1.6 million m3/day sewage treated with chemically enhanced primary treatment) is around 0.11 for wet season but just about 0.06 for the dry season. The risk increases by about 10% to 0.08-0.13 with additional sewage loads of 0.8 million m3/day at the same level of treatment (HATS Stage 2A). With an upgrade to secondary treatment (HATS Stage 2B), the probability will be reduced to 0.03-0.05. Compared to the use of "worst case" scenarios or point pollution threshold estimates, the present method offers a more holistic ecological assessment, and is much less sensitive to arbitrary choice of model parameters. The present risk assessment approach can be readily extended to the accurate determination of mixing zones based on statistical evaluation of ecological risks.


Behind the political stagnation on the surface, signs abound that a fundamental political transformation is taking place in China. In the fall of 2011, an unusually large group of independent citizens launched very vocal campaigns to compete for seats in various local congresses. Around the same time, groups of ''netizens'' went to a small village in Shandong province to try to visit Chen Guangcheng, a human right activist under house arrest, despite repeated reports about visitors being beaten. In July 2011, a train crash near the city of Wenzhou caused a storm of criticism against the government on ''weibo,'' micro-blog sites in China that claim nearly 200 million readers. Although these are just three pieces of evidence, they represent a rising independent civil society and illustrate that China's political regime is increasingly being challenged. Over the last decade, terms typically used by Western academics to describe Chinese politics have included ''authoritarian resilience,'' ''illiberal adaption,'' and ''rightful resistance,'' indicating a pessimistic view of China's democratic future. However, reality sometimes changes faster than scholars can reckon. China is moving closer to vindicating classical modernization theory, which states that economic development eventually leads to democratization. We argue that there is good reason to be optimistic that China will become a democracy, and forecast that China will embark on democratization around 2020 or so, although how it will happen, how long the process will take, and even whether it is desirable are issues beyond the scope of this article. Our relative optimism stems from four interlinked mega-trends: economic development, cultural change, political leadership trends, and the global environment.


Purpose. The aim of this prospective randomized trial was to compare operative factors, postoperative outcomes, and surgical complications of neck dissection (ND) when using the harmonic scalpel (HS) versus conventional haemostasis (CH) (classic technique of tying and knots, resorbable ligature, and bipolar diathermy). Materials and methods. Sixty-one patients who underwent ND with primary head and neck cancer (HNSCC) resection were enrolled in this study and were randomized into two homogeneous groups: CH (conventional haemostasis with classic technique of tying and knots, resorbable ligature, and bipolar diathermy) and HS (haemostasis with harmonic scalpel). Outcomes of the study included operative time, intraoperative blood loss, drainage volume, postoperative pain, hospital stay, and incidence of intraoperative and postoperative complications. Results. The use of the HS reduced significantly the operating time, the intraoperative blood loss, the postoperative pain, and the volume of drainage. No significant difference was observed in mean hospital stay and perioperative, and postoperative complications. Conclusion. The HS is a reliable and safe tool for reducing intraoperative blood loss, operative time, volume of drainage and postoperative pain in patients undergoing ND for HNSCC. Multicenter randomized studies need to be done to confirm the advantages of this technique and to evaluate the cost-benefit ratio.


In Economics Rules, Rodrik [(2015). Economics rules: Why economics works, when it fails, and how to tell the difference. Oxford: Oxford University Press] argues that what makes economics powerful despite the limitations of each and every model is its diversity of models. Rodrik suggests that the diversity of models in economics improves its explanatory capacities, but he does not fully explain how. I offer a clearer picture of how models relate to explanations of particular economic facts or events, and suggest that the diversity of models is a means to better economic explanations.


Practitioners in a variety of sports seek unique ways to train athletes to better prepare them for competition. In this position paper, we argue that inclusion of psycho-perceptual-motor skills, from the fields of sport psychology and sport expertise, is crucial, but underutilized in the assessment and training of athletes. First, a brief introduction is provided as to why psycho-perceptual-motor skill is vital for training athletes. Second, examples are discussed relating to key concepts. These include the following: assessment of expertise discriminators such as visual anticipation under pressure contexts, incorporation of sports analytics and performance analysis to aid reflection upon previous experiences of good anticipation and coping with pressure, use of qualitative and quantitative measures to understand processes underlying performance and learning, as well as design of representative tasks for assessment and training anticipation under pressure contexts. Third, some recommendations are made to practitioners of sports teams to assist them in taking advantage of psycho-perceptual-motor skill to better prepare athletes for competition. Collectively, we hope this paper stimulates collaboration between practitioners of sports teams and scientists to create a greater focus upon integrated sport psychology and sport expertise in the training of athletes.


Hummocky cross-stratification is believed to be one of the diagnostic sedimentary structures of storm-dominated shallow-marine environments. The wavelength of this stratification increases with the increase in bed thickness of tempestites and decreases with the increase in paleowater depth. The hummocky cross-stratification wavelength is interpreted to be a function of the orbital diameters of storm-induced oscillatory currents near seafloors and may reflect the intensity of storm waves. Temporal variation in the wavelength was investigated as a proxy for storm intensity through Mesozoic and Cenozoic time. The hummocky cross-stratification wavelength shows a secular change, and a major peak in the middle Cretaceous. This variation largely corresponds to one of the two greenhouse and icehouse supercycles of global environmental changes during the Phanerozoic and provides a geologic perspective of the possible increase in storm intensity with an ongoing greenhouse phase in the future.


State governments, feeling tremendous pressure from their citizens to address the consequences of the federal failure to meet this nation's immigration needs, are acting for themselves. Arizona is the tip of the spear, but we've also seen various other immigration-related laws passed in states as different as Utah, Georgia, California, and South Carolina. It's understandable that states have been passing these laws because Congress has fallen down on the job. This is a unique policy area in that sense; voters are mad and want someone to do something. I don't blame the states, or the voters, or even illegal immigrants who are merely seeking a better life for their families. I blame elected federal elected officials from both parties. Whether related to enforcement, expanded work permits, sanctuary cities, or other types of policy innovations, Congress's abdication of its duty to manage our immigration system has spawned a host of federalism experiments. It's a perfectly understandable political dynamic. But none of this speaks to the constitutionality of all the laws these different states have been passing. I think most of them are constitutional. They are terrible policy for various reasons — from economic effects to the misuse of law enforcement resources — but that's a separate question from their constitutionality. Legal scholars always enjoy the opportunity to point to something that they think is legal or constitutional that they think is bad policy. It makes us feel that we're being intellectually honest. Well, this is my area of the law in that respect. I'm going to put on my "simple constitutional lawyer" hat, without regard to policy advocacy.


This contribution departs from the problematization of the current European "migrant crisis" as an increasingly self-referential, exclusive inner-European discourse which transforms humanitarian emergency into matters of "national security", "identity" and economic hegemony. In order to cut through such self-referential closure, cultural practices and counter-narratives have emerged which remind Europe of the actual migrants behind the "crisis", the individuals forming the "refugee wave", the dead bodies behind the statistics. For a specific set of such practices and narratives which explicitly discuss how the crisis is usually "kept out", and which negotiate the very contrast between inside and outside, I suggest the term cultural self-reflection: By reflecting on the cultural frames in which they themselves have emerged, they aim at questioning and perforating these frames from the inside and enabling new perspectives on the outside. As an exemplary case, I discuss the representation of the outer borders of the European Union in a set of contemporary European documentaries and essay films with a particular focus on ways in which practices of border surveillance and their use in news media are reflected and questioned. The discussion of these "Border Films" provides a transposable model and a proof of concept to showcase cultural self-reflection as a crucial area for future Humanities research in the wake of the European migrant crisis.


Why do states commit to deploying troops in peacekeeping missions? What factors shape policymakers' choice to get involved in such missions? What accounts for a state's earmarking military forces to PSO (Peace Support Operations), a notoriously risky and costly activity? Do states contribute personnel out of a desire to support the cosmopolitan values embodied in PSO, or out of self-interested behaviour? Are there different reasons accounting for the involvement of small and medium powers? Are those decisions based on normative, rule-based motivations, or rather on instrumental calculations of national interest?
During the Cold War period, Portugal was absent from UN (United Nations) peacekeeping operations (PKO), while Italy had a discreet involvement in some UN operations and in multinational coalitions of different shapes. However, since the end of the Cold War, both countries have reviewed their peacekeeping policy, and have shown a stronger commitment to UN operations and, increasingly, to NATO and to European Union (EU) Peace Support Operations. The end of the Cold War opened up new policy options for decision-makers in Lisbon and Rome, who were determined to be more active in that area. They purposefully developed a reputation as security providers, building, along the process, a distinct external- and self-identity, as natural "peace-makers". In the act, they upgraded their rank and, thus, their influence.
This paper argues that the rationale for pursuing PSO is not much different in the case of a small state like Portugal, as compared to a medium-state like Italy. Furthermore, Italy and Portugal may make instrumental use of PSOs to gain international visibility, but they have internalised the cosmopolitan rules that prevail in multilateral settings, acting - as regards PSO - primarily out of normative concerns.


The academic information environment is changing greatly as we enter the millennium. These changes are affecting libraries and, specifically, reference services. In the past and even in recent times librarians have been concerned with library orientation, library instruction, and bibliographic instruction. Now they have to worry about teaching students and others viable information and computer skills to cope effectively in the information society. Reference work as practiced this century will undergo major changes in the electronic information environment, and the teaching of effective information skills will become a very important component of reference services. The challenges thus presented to academic librarians will be great but success in this area will mean effective professional survival


Two bacterial strains, 5420S-12(T) and 5420S-16(T), isolated from air samples, were characterized using a polyphasic approach. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed that strain 5420S-12(T) was related phylogenetically to Microvirga subterranea FaiI4(T) (97.4 % sequence similarity) and Microvirga guangxiensis 25B(T) (97.1 %) and that strain 5420S-16(T) was closely related to Balneimonas flocculans TFB(T) (98.0 %) and Microvirga guangxiensis 25B(T) (97.2 %). The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 62.2 mol% for strain 5420S-12(T) and 61.5 mol% for strain 5420S-16(T). The major fatty acid was C(18 : 1)ω7c. The results of DNA-DNA hybridization and the phenotypic data showed that strains 5420S-12(T) and 5420S-16(T) could be distinguished from phylogenetically related species and represent two novel species within the genus Microvirga, for which the names Microvirga aerophila sp. nov. (type strain 5420S-12(T) =KACC 12743(T) =NBRC 106136(T)) and Microvirga aerilata sp. nov. (type strain 5420S-16(T) =KACC 12744(T) =NBRC 106137(T)) are proposed. Furthermore, the reclassification of Balneimonas flocculans as Microvirga flocculans comb. nov. (type strain TFB(T) =JCM 11936(T) =KCTC 12101(T) =IAM 15034(T) =ATCC BAA-817(T)) is proposed and an emended description of the genus Microvirga is provided.


Children are the perfect extension and expression of a marital relationship. The emotional preparation of expecting parents are usually shaped by an ego ideal image of a baby, discrepancy between the perfect child of their fantasy and the realisation of an exceptional real child may bring about dramatic changes in social life, expectations, plans, work life, subsided from mainstream, financial status as well as psychological health and well-being of parents specially mothers. Present study was conducted specifically to highlight the impact of gender and level of intellectual disability on self-esteem, self-efficacy and psychological well-being among mothers of intellectually disabled and non-intellectually disabled children. Results revealed gender impact and level of intellectual disability of child on psychological well-being and self-esteem of mothers. The study also identified certain group of mothers who are more in need of psychological support and guidance and suggests the necessity to realize supportive actions on the whole family by community participation for management of disabled children and their caregivers.


A performance analysis of an OTEC plant using an integrated hybrid cycle (I-H OTEC Cycle) has been conducted. The I-H OTEC cycle is a combination of a closed-cycle OTEC plant and a spray flash desalination plant. In an I-H OTEC cycle, warm sea water evaporates the liquid ammonia in the OTEC evaporator, then enters the flash chamber and evaporates itself. The evaporated steam enters the desalination condenser and is condensed by the cold sea water passed through the OTEC condenser. The optimization of the I-H OTEC cycle is analyzed by the method of steepest descent. The total heat transfer area of heat exchangers per net power is used as an objective function. Numerical results are reported for a 10 MW I-H OTEC cycle with plate-type heat exchangers and ammonia as working fluid. The results are compared with those of a joint hybrid OTEC cycle (J-H OTEC Cycle).


BACKGROUND
The risk of adverse pregnancy outcome for women with type 1 diabetes is reduced through tight diabetes control. Most women enter pregnancy with inadequate blood glucose control. Interview studies with women suggest the concept of 'planned' and 'unplanned' pregnancies is unhelpful.

AIM
To explore women's accounts of their journeys to becoming pregnant while living with type 1 diabetes.

DESIGN OF STUDY
Semi-structured interviews with 15 women living with pre-gestational type 1 diabetes, between 20 and 30 weeks gestation and with a normal pregnancy ultrasound scan.

SETTING
Four UK specialist diabetes antenatal clinics.

METHOD
Interviews explored women's journeys to becoming pregnant and the impact of health care. Analysis involved comparison of women's accounts of each pregnancy and a thematic analysis.

RESULTS
Women's experiences of becoming pregnant were diverse. Of the 40 pregnancies described, at least one positive step towards becoming pregnant was taken by 11 women in 23 pregnancies but not in the remaining 17 pregnancies, with variation between pregnancies. Prior to and in early pregnancy, some women described themselves as experts in their diabetes but most described seeking and/or receiving advice from their usual health professionals. Three women described pre-conception counselling and the anxiety this provoked.

CONCLUSION
For women living with type 1 diabetes each pregnancy is different. The concept of planned and unplanned pregnancy is unhelpful for designing health care. Formal preconception counselling can have unintended consequences. Those providing usual care to women are well positioned to provide advice and support to women about becoming pregnant, tailoring it to the changing needs and situation of each woman.


Speaker's abstract. Operads are objects that govern categories of algebras. Initially introduced in the sixties to study iterated loop spaces, they have proved useful in several areas of mathematics. In most of these applications, the little disks operads play a central role. In the first part of this talk, we will focus on one of the applications studied in the 2015 Talbot Workshop, Goodwillie– Weiss embedding calculus, which will serve as an "excuse" to introduce operads. In the second part of this talk, I will set out some of the recent developments regarding the links between the little disks operads and the real homotopy types of configuration spaces of manifolds. (Second part based on joint works with Ricardo Campos, Julien Ducoulombier, Pascal Lambrechts, and Thomas Willwacher.)


This paper focuses on the bifacial elements of the Lower Palaeolithic record in the Armorican Peninsula, either found on sites or isolated, in different contexts, with an emphasis on the site of Menez-Dregan and its 250 ky-long sequence. Recent studies evidence that bifacial tools are sporadically but persistantly present in the Armorican Peninsula between MIS 11 and 8, in almost all the Lower Palaeolithic assemblages. Rare, but there, the low quantity of handaxes does not differ from most contemporaneous european sites. How can we explain this low rate of handaxes in most of sites? Can we see a linear technical trajectory between the numerous pebble-tools and the crudely made handaxes found in Menez-Dregan? Do the raw materials used (e.g. pebbles) have an influence on the technical behaviours? It is also typical that handaxes or cleavers are frequently found isolated and without any stratigraphical context (e.g. on the foreshore or along the main river valleys), suggesting a higher mobility for these kinds of tools than more common heavy-duty tools, such as choppers. Does that imply that handaxes are multifunctional tools that can be easily transported? Excavation at the Lower Palaeolithic site of Menez-Dregan I has yielded evidence of the presence of bifacial components in almost all of its 16 layers of human occupations, except in 5 levels : layers 9 and 9a (end of MIS 12), and in layers 5b, 5c and 5d (MIS 9a), which do not contain any handaxes or biface thinning flakes. Despite broadly similar environmental conditions, same raw materials and possibly site functions, can this fact highlight different raw material managements, or technical or cultural traditions?


Examination of dental development is considered to be an accurate method of ageing non-adults, but ageing adults from dental wear is much less accurate. Miles' method is generally accepted to be the best way we have to derive estimates of tooth-wear ages because it takes into account population variability in wear-rates. Here we develop a Bayesian approach to ageing from dental development and tooth-wear, using a latent trait model and logistic regression to estimate the ages of individuals whose tooth development and/or wear has been scored on ordinal scales. In addition to the original methods this: (a) accounts for uncertainties in tooth development; (b) incorporates in a natural fashion individuals with teeth missing post-mortem. Numerical integrations were performed using Markov-Chain Monte-Carlo techniques and WinBUGS software.


A lot of research work has been done in the area of concept mining and document similarity in past few years. But all these works were based on the statistical analysis of keywords. The major challenge in this area involves the preservation of semantics of the terms or phrases. Our paper proposes a graph model to represent the concept in the sentence level. The concept follows a triplet representation. A modified DB scan algorithm is used to cluster the extracted concepts. This cluster forms a belief network or probabilistic network. We use this network for extracting the most probable concepts in the document. In this paper we also proposes a new algorithm for document similarity.


Light field cameras provide intriguing possibilities, such as post-capture refocus or the ability to synthesize images from novel viewpoints. This comes, however, at the price of significant storage requirements. Compression techniques can be used to reduce these, but refocusing and reconstruction require so far, again, a dense pixel representation. To avoid this, we introduce local Fourier slice photography that allows for refocused image reconstruction directly from a sparse wavelet representation of a light field, either to obtain an image or a compressed representation of it. The result is made possible by wavelets that respect the "slicing's" intrinsic structure and enable us to derive exact reconstruction filters for the refocused image in closed-form. Image reconstruction then amounts to applying these filters to the light field's wavelet coefficients; hence, no reconstruction of a dense pixel representation is required. We demonstrate that this can reduce storage requirements and also computation times. We furthermore analyze the computational complexity of our algorithm and show that it scales linearly with the size of the reconstructed region and the non-negligible wavelet coefficients, i.e., with the visual complexity.


INTRODUCTION: Laparoscopic living donor nephrectomy (LLDN) is supposed to be safe and effective and it ensures an excellent allograft function in the recipient. The use of laparoscopic technique is rapidly spreading in most transplant programs since it offers advantages over the open procedure. Aim of our study is to evaluate both surgical outcome and post-operative course in the LLDN group comparing with an historical series of open donor nephrectomies (ODN). MATERIALS AND METHODS: From January 1992 to August 2008, 37 living donor nephrectomies were performed in our center. 23 nephrectomies were carried out, laparoscopically and 14 by open technique. Donors characteristics were comparable in both groups. RESULTS: All laparoscopic nephrectomies were performed successfully without conversion. No significant differences were observed between the two groups for both surgical complication and graft and patient survival rates. Mean warm ischemia time (p<0.04), resumption of oral intake (p<0.03) and length of hospital stay (p<0.0001) were shorter in the LLDN group. Mean operative time (p<0.036) was longer in the LLDN group, whereas time to return to work and daily activities were similar (p<0.52). CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic nephrectomy provides some post-operative advantages over the open technique without additional surgical risk ensuring comparable graft and patient outcomes. Therefore, LLDN has become the standard approach in our transplant center. However, the laparoscopic procedure should be performed only by experienced surgical staff in order to prevent serious complications in the donors.


Diplomatic efforts to resolve the Afghanistan crisis began almost immediately after the Soviet Union's military intervention in that country in December 1979. Untying the Afghan Knot offers the first detailed account of the diplomatic process set in motion by that intervention and culminating in the April 1988 Geneva Accords-a milestone in multilateralism and United Nations (UN) peacemaking. Riaz M. Khan, a senior Pakistani diplomat, participated actively in all meetings on Afghanistan in the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement, and the Organization of the Islamic Conference, and in all of the Geneva negotiating rounds (1882-1988). Drawing upon his personal experience, official documents, scholarly literature, and press accounts, he provides a unique insider's view of these precedent-setting negotiations, which were often shrouded in secrecy and misperceptions. Khan examines the interests, positions, and behind-the-scenes maneuverings of the major players-Afghan governments and resistance groups, Pakistan, the Soviet Union, the United States, and UN mediators-and assesses the impact of military and political developments inside Afghanistan and elsewhere, including the advent of Mikhail Gorbachev. Khan's authoritative account of these critical diplomatic initiatives sheds important light on the internal dynamics of the multilateral Afghanistan negotiations.


Graphics processing unit (GPU) based fast calculation method for computer
 generated spherical hologram (CGSH) of a real-existing object is proposed.
 Three-dimensional (3D) point cloud is constructed by capturing a real-existing
 object from multiple directions using a depth camera. The GPU based calculation is
 used in both hologram generation part and numerical reconstruction part of the CGSH.
 The improved calculation efficiency is verified by comparing the computation speed
 between central processing unit (CPU) based and GPU based implementation.


Background The brain and gastrointestinal (GI) tract are strongly connected via neural, endocrine, and immune pathways. Previous studies suggest that headaches, especially migraines, may be associated with various GI disorders. However, upper GI endoscopy in migraineurs has shown a low prevalence of abnormal findings. Also, the majority of studies have not demonstrated an association between Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection and migraine, although a pathogenic role for HP infection in migraines has been suggested. Further knowledge concerning the relation between headaches and GI disorders is important as it may have therapeutic consequences. Thus, we sought to investigate possible associations between GI disorders and common primary headaches, such as migraines and tension-type headaches (TTH), using the Smart Clinical Data Warehouse (CDW) over a period of 10 years. Methods We retrospectively investigated clinical data using a clinical data analytic solution called the Smart CDW from 2006 to 2016. In patients with migraines and TTH who visited a gastroenterology center, GI disorder diagnosis, upper GI endoscopy findings, and results of HP infection were collected and compared to clinical data from controls, who had health checkups without headache. The time interval between headache diagnosis and an examination at a gastroenterology center did not exceed 1 year. Results Patients were age- and sex-matched and eligible cases were included in the migraine (n = 168), the TTH (n = 168), and the control group (n = 336). Among the GI disorders diagnosed by gastroenterologists, gastroesophageal reflux disorder was more prevalent in the migraine group, whereas gastric ulcers were more common in the migraine and TTH groups compared with controls (p < 0.0001). With regard to endoscopic findings, there were high numbers of erosive gastritis and chronic superficial gastritis cases in the migraine and TTH groups, respectively, and the severity of gastritis was significantly higher in patients with TTH compared with controls (p < 0.001). However, no differences were observed in the prevalence of HP infection between the groups. Conclusion The observed association in this study may suggest that primary headache sufferers who experience migraines or TTH are more prone to GI disorders, which may have various clinical implications. Further research concerning the etiology of the association between headaches and GI disorders is warranted.


The fundamental originating principle of law and economics (L&E) is that legal decisions should be (and are) based on maximizing efficiency. But L&E proponents do not define "efficiency" in the way agreed to by most economists, as Pareto Efficiency. A Pareto optimal condition is obtained when no one can be made better off without making someone worse off. Pareto Improvements are win-win changes where no losers exist. In the judicial system, however, there are always winners and losers, because under Article III § 2 of the Constitution a legal case does not exist unless there is a justiciable "case or controversy" in need of resolution. Unable to use Pareto Efficiency, L&E scholars have been forced to adopt alternative definitions of efficiency. Most L&E scholars claim to define "efficiency" based on the work of Kaldor and Hicks, but (perhaps unwittingly) instead use a definition of "efficiency" derived from the 19th century idea of consumer surplus, which encompasses L&E notions such as "wealth maximization," and "consumer welfare" in antitrust. Neither of these alternative definitions is viable, however. Outside of L&E, the Kaldor-Hicks approach has long been recognized to be riddled with logical inconsistencies and ethical failures, and the surplus approach is even more deficient. Remarkably, virtually none of the numerous L&E textbooks even hint at such problems. Critically, all definitions of efficiency improvements in economics are biased in favor of wealthy individuals or firms, either because they are dependent on the status quo ante distribution of assets, or because they bestow large advantages on parties with political influence or who can afford to bring lawsuits quickly. Many L&E practitioners treat efficiency improvements instead as being objectively good, an error revealing that L&E is primarily motivated by its neoliberal policy agenda.


Abstract: The availability of geophysical data to determine the geometry at depth of a salt diapir and its surrounding structure is essential because of the complexity and changing geometry of these structures. For this purpose, potential field methods are commonly the first steps in subsurface exploration whereas seismic techniques are applied in later stages. However, the magnetotelluric method (MT) may fill the gap between the precision and the time that these two methods entail. To prove the usefulness of the MT method, it has been applied to the Bicorb–Quesa Diapir. This diapir is composed of evaporitic rocks piercing an overburden of carbonate rocks, providing a wide and contrasting range of electrical resistivity values. In this situation, the MT method may provide a coherent and realistic image of the subsurface. The application of the MT method has allowed us to (1) recognize a basement fault with a vertical throw of 1000 m, (2) elucidate the shape of the diapir, which is asymmetrical, with a north wall vertical and south wall dipping southwards, and (3) determine that all of the Late Triassic salt is concentrated in the diapir core. Supplementary material: Original curves and the model adjustments are available at http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18386.


This paper proposes two novel and practical designs of angle diversity receivers to achieve multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) capacity for indoor visible light communications (VLC). Both designs are easy to construct and suitable for small mobile devices. By using light emitting diodes for both illumination and data transmission, our receiver designs consist of multiple photodetectors (PDs), which are oriented with different inclination angles to achieve high-rank MIMO channels and can be closely packed without the requirement of spatial separation. Due to the orientations of the PDs, the proposed receiver designs are named pyramid receiver (PR) and hemispheric receiver (HR). In a PR, the normal vectors of PDs are chosen the same as the normal vectors of the triangle faces of a pyramid with equilateral N-gon base. On the other hand, the idea behind HR is to evenly distribute the PDs on a hemisphere. Through analytical investigation, simulations and experiments, the channel capacity and bit-error-rate (BER) performance under various settings are presented to show that our receiver designs are practical and promising for enabling VLC-MIMO. In comparison to induced link-blocked receiver, our designs do not require any hardware adjustment at the receiver from location to location so that they can support user mobility. Besides, their channel capacities and BER performance are quite close to that of link-blocked receiver. Meanwhile, they substantially outperform spatially-separated receiver. This study reveals that using angle diversity to build VLC-MIMO system is very promising.


OBJECTIVE
To determine clinical features of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in Great Danes and to determine whether DCM is familial in this breed.

DESIGN
Retrospective study.

ANIMALS
17 Great Danes with DCM.

PROCEDURE
Medical records of Great Danes in which DCM was diagnosed on the basis of results of echocardiography (fractional shortening < 25%, end-systolic volume index > 30 ml/m2 of body surface area) were reviewed. Pedigrees were obtained for affected animals, as well as for other Great Danes in which DCM had been diagnosed.

RESULTS
Dilated cardiomyopathy appeared to be familial and was characterized by ventricular dilatation, congestive heart failure (left-sided or biventricular), and atrial fibrillation. Pedigree analysis suggested that DCM was inherited as an X-linked recessive trait, but the mode of inheritance could not be definitively identified.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Results suggest that DCM may be an X-linked recessive trait in Great Danes. Thus, dogs with DCM probably should not be used for breeding, and female offspring of affected dogs should be used cautiously. Male offspring of affected females are at an increased risk of developing DCM and should be evaluated periodically for early signs of disease. Results of pedigree analysis were preliminary and should be used only as a guide for counseling breeders, rather than as a basis for making breeding decisions.


Estimation of effects on precipitation downwind (or "extra-area effects") of a long-standing winter operational snowpack augmentation project in central and southern Utah mountainous areas was originally conducted in a 2003 study.  The study utilized a target/control linear regression technique, which has been used to estimate the seasonal effects of cloud seeding within the program's intended target area. The results of the original study have been updated through the 2018 water year.   Seeded target area analyses of December-March high elevation (NRCS SNOTEL) precipitation data for this program indicate an overall season-average increase of about 12% for 41 seeded seasons.  Estimations of downwind seeding effects were made for individual stations and various distance bands downwind as far as 100+ miles.  The analyses suggest increases of similar percentages to those for the target, expressed as ratio values to the natural precipitation amounts, extending as far as 100 miles downwind (approximately the Utah/Colorado border area).  At approximately 100 miles downwind, the area-averaged ratio values (observed divided by predicted values) approach 1.0, suggesting a lack of any significant seeding effect at these distances.  Expressed as average-depth precipitation amounts, the target area precipitation increase from seeding is likely about 1.3" of additional water, with much lesser total precipitation increases in the much drier downwind area within 100 miles, trending to 0 beyond this distance.  Although variability of the individual downwind station results remains high, the updated results are in good overall agreement with those of the original (2003) study.


Aims: Identification of promising resistant parents against stem borer infestation for the development of high yielding maize hybrids.
Study Design: Ten yellow maize genotypes selected for yield potential and durable level of tolerance to stem borer infestation were used in this study. A stem borer resistant yellow maize variety was crossed with nine stem borer (not necessarily resistant) maize varieties in a top-cross mating design.
Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in 2017 and 2018 at the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training, OAU, Ibadan, Nigeria.
Methodology: The resulting nine F1 hybrids along with the ten parents were evaluated under irrigation using a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications in a stem borer endemic area. Data collected were subjected to combined analysis of variance (ANOVA), principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical clustering analyses.
Results: Results obtained showed significant differences for year and genotype, as well as their interaction for some traits measured. Maize varieties were delineated into three groups. The first two PCA with Eigen values greater than 1.0 accounted for 73.0% of the variation; where PC1 was responsible for 52.5% of the variation and was associated with percentage stem borer infestation, leaf damage, plant aspect, stem tunneling ratio and dead heart. PC2 accounted for 20.5% and associated with only grain yield (GY). Also, maize hybrids had higher GY and better resistance to stem borer than their parents by 24.3% and -14.3%, respectively. BR9928-DMR-SR-Y was identified as resistant to stem borer with high GY in hybrid combinations. Positive and significant correlation was obtained among infestation parameters.
Conclusion: Genes from promising donor parents may be introgressed into other desirable maize germplasm for the development of stem borer resistant maize hybrids.


Throughout history, healthcare, along with diet, has been an essential component of life and a country's welfare. In particular, a country's hospital system is a key indicator for analysing the level of welfare achieved by health coverage. From an economic history perspective, the study of hospital systems is relevant since they stem from public and private investment and produce positive externalities by creating employment and stimulating other economic sectors such as construction and health. Spain provides a significant case study for determining the factors of backwardness in the construction of a modern hospital system in a country on the European periphery. Moreover, it also helps us understand how, despite initial obstacles, this system had attained a significant degree of quality by the end of the twentieth century, as confirmed by its current international hospital rankings and even by the phenomenon of health tourism. The study analyses the creation of the Spanish hospital system during Franco's dictatorship and the transition to democracy. It reveals how the maintenance of a regressive tax system, the use of health policy as political propaganda, and disputes within the political elite of the dictatorship led to an inadequate and fragmented public hospital system, which had to collaborate with the private hospital system, was full of financial holes and tainted by corruption, and remained at the service of privileged groups.


ABSTRACT This qualitative research study documented the way in which two Latina bilingual teachers advocated for the language rights of emergent bilinguals who attended and resided in two particular school districts in Arizona. Drawing from qualitative and ethnographic approaches, we collected data from teacher interviews, classroom/school observations, district meetings, and community convivios to examine the ways in which two teachers championed language rights in various contexts. We employed Ruiz's (1984) language planning framework to document the way in which bilingual teachers advocated for the language rights of emergent bilingual students. This study demonstrates how Latina bilingual teachers utilized their cultural knowledge to successfully educate, advocate for, and uplift their bilingual students and cultural community within multiple, and oftentimes hostile, spaces. Findings from this study suggest that Latina teachers enact their own agency to create bilingual space for their students in linguistically constraining environments.


The role of Cryptography in today"s digital world is significant. It secures information mathematically by mangling message with key. The privacy of intended sender and receiver information is protected from eavesdropper. The objective of the paper is playfair cipher. The existing methods of playfair cipher are studied. The restrictions of earlier works a playfair cipher using 5X5 matrix, 7X4 matrix and 6X6 matrix are overcome in the proposed work. The proposed method plays a 16X16 matrix giving strength to playfair cipher. The proposed work is an enhancement to the existing algorithms that uses 16X16 matrix to pick cipher characters. It makes use of alphabets both lower and uppercase characters, number and special characters for constructing the contents of the matrix. General Terms Encryption, Decryption, Plaintext, Ciphertext.


Background Delivery of effective simulation training requires a range of specific skills. Identification and training of faculty is critical to the sustainable delivery of high quality training. Summary of work Our Trust recently set up a simulation based training facility. Training needs analysis was undertaken with a number of aims: 1. Raise awareness and quantify interest. 2. Identify potential faculty and their training needs. 3. Identify wider training needs within the Trust. A six item questionnaire was delivered via Survey Monkey to approximately 300 senior staff including consultants, senior nurses, educationalists and the patient safety team. Respondents could choose to remain anonymous. Results 98 responses were received (32%). Of these, 92 asserted an interest in simulation. Staff from eight speciality areas responded, with a wide variation in response rates between specialities. Only seven respondents reported no prior experience in any type of simulation. Regarding future involvement, 64 indicated a desire to teach on courses and 35 to deliver their own courses with support. Qualitative data provided valuable insight and diverse ideas for the direction and construction of training. 57 respondents were willing to be contacted for further discussion of ideas. Discussion Experience of simulation based training, engagement levels and perceived needs differed markedly between specialties. Further work through identified focus groups clarified specialty specific needs, augmented effective faculty construction and targeted areas where awareness and skills would otherwise be lacking. Conclusions A well directed survey and subsequent focus groups allowed rapid identification of and engagement with potential faculty in the inception of a new simulation centre.


BACKGROUND
In families where genetic testing for the breast cancer 1 and 2 genes (BRCA1/2) has not identified a deleterious mutation, the risk for hereditary breast cancer (HBC) can still be high when there is a strong family history. Little is known about how an awareness of risk for HBC impacts the everyday lives of unaffected women (no personal history for breast and/or ovarian cancer) in these families.

OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study is to explore how unaffected women, living in BRCA1/2-negative families, experience living with risk for HBC.

METHODS
van Manen's hermeneutic phenomenological approach guided this study. Unaffected at-risk women were recruited from a hereditary breast and ovarian cancer clinic in Western Canada.

RESULTS
Nine women participated in 20 open-ended conversations. Phenomenological reflection on the 4 life existentials (lived space, body, time, and relations) revealed "Moving In and Out of the What-Ifs" as an overarching description that was communicated through the following themes: "Just Moving Along: Living a Normal Life," "Moving Into Those Dark Spaces," "Is there Something Wrong With Me"? "Markings in Time," "Living in the Moment," "Being Cared For," and "Keeping Me Grounded."

CONCLUSIONS
The findings reveal how knowledge from predictive medicine impacts the lives of women and the importance of supportive relations and provides a foundation for future research into how health is perceived.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE
The findings inform the practices of healthcare professionals as they engage in discussions with women living with risk for HBC and highlight the importance of a supportive relationship.


The French Socialist Party has maintained a deeply ambivalent relationship with political radicalism. Throughout its long history, political radicalism has been experienced both as an internal political contest (hence as a form of intra-party struggle for influence) and as a relationship within (and beyond) the broader party system. This article identifies three levels of analysis as heuristics to facilitate a study of the French Socialist Party over the long term. From the perspective of the party as a whole, the party evolves according to its own eco-system, and is shaped by deeply embedded cultural and political traits. A different level of analysis frames the question of political radicalism organizationally, in terms of relations within and beyond the party. Finally, one can also understand the party's relationship with political radicalism instrumentally and strategically, in terms of electoral alliances. Though there is a tension between these three approaches, each contributes to understanding why the French Socialist Party is sometimes considered a European exception.


Adolescents in primary care with sub-threshold depression (not reaching criteria for disorder) symptoms may be candidates for early intervention to prevent onset of major depressive disorder. However, we know little about their attitudes toward such interventions or what may predict motivation or adherence for preventive interventions. We also describe preferences for different types of interventions and conduct exploratory analyses to identify predictors of motivation to prevent depression and subsequent adherence to an Internet-based intervention. Adolescents with sub-threshold depressed mood favored novel behavioral treatment approaches, such as Internet-based models for depression prevention. Adolescent beliefs about the intervention and perceived social norms predicted intention to participate in depression prevention. The most important significant predictors of adherence were beliefs about the intervention. Careful attention to the specific beliefs and attitudes of users toward intervention should be incorporated into intervention design as well as evolving public health strategies to prevent depressive disorders.


The core aspiration of all Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) is to create opportunities that energise and focus engagement and so empower their students to enjoy learning and to become their future professional selves. Here we describe one vehicle, Student Research Teams (SeRTs) that combines these two elements by inspiring students, staff and professional practitioners to collaborate in mutually beneficial, extra-curricular student-led research partnerships. We compared the effectiveness of SeRTs with that of other active learning vehicles and found SeRTs to be significantly better at fostering student engagement and enhancing their perceived development of employability skills and personal attribute strengths. These strengths were also highlighted by a  SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats) analysis across a range of SeRTs and by detailed qualitative survey of students on one SeRT case study.  The greatest challenges associated with SeRTs were time and funding constraints. We discuss how these and other challenges may be met and suggest some solutions.


The short-term joint optimal operation simulation of Three Gorges cascade hydropower system aiming at maximum power generation benefit is proposed. And a new method for optimizing cascade hydropower station based on Adaptive Genetic Algorithm (AGA) with trigonometric selective operators is presented. In this paper, the practical optimal operation in power market is described. The temporal-spatial variation of flow between cascade hydropower stations is considered, and time of use (TOU) power price is also taken into account. Moreover, a contrast between Tangent-roulette selection operator and traditional one is made. To a certain degree, the results of simulative optimal operation based on several representative hydrographs show that Tangent-roulette wheel selection operator can find a more excellent solution, because the Tangent-roulette one can overcome the fitness requirements of non-negative. The research achievements also have an important reference for the compilation of daily generation scheduling of Three Gorges cascade hydropower system in the environment of power market.


Conditions of achieving the maximal accumulation of sulfhydryl metabolites in the leaves of tobacco were explored. Simultaneous production of bacterial O-acetylserine (thiol)-lyase and serine acetyltransferase resulted in the increased thiols contents as compared to single transformants and controls. However, leaf discs feeding experiments differently affected thiols concentration in different plant groups and suggested that the most promising strategy to obtain plants with a high level of non-protein thiol-containing compounds might be sulfate feeding to plants overproducing serine acetyltransferase.


14000 Background: (E)-5-(2-bromovinyl)-2'-deoxyuridine (BVDU, RP101), which supports apoptosis and prevents the acquisition of chemoresistance, was tested in cultured human pancreatic tumor cells. RP101 down-regulated uridine phosphorylase, a marker of poor prognosis, and APEX1, which is involved in DNA repair, and repressed Stat-3 and its target VEGF. Furthermore, RP101 activated antitumor immunity. These results encouraged us to investigate the effect of RP101 in combination with gemcitabine (GEM) and cisplatin (CIS) in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.

METHODS
A phase II pilot trial was designed to compare the GEM/CIS/RP101 combination to historical GEM/CIS combination. The primary endpoint was survival. 13 pts with histological documented pancreatic carcinoma received GEM 1.000 mg/m2 plus CIS 50 mg/m2 on days 1 and 15 of a 28-day schedule. RP101 treatment was on the same day and for four days after chemotherapy (500 mg/day).

RESULTS
All patients showed at least a stable disease, and 33% of them a PR. As a historical control, 22 pts were selected by random generator from 98 patients enrolled in a previous Phase III study performed in the same centers, 15 with stage IV and 7 with stage III disease, resulting in a similar proportion of stage III to IV patients as in the RP101 co-treatment group (nine stage IV and four stage III). In the RP101-co-treatment group the median survival was significantly longer than that of the historical control group (447 days vs. 186 days, p=0.007). Time to progression (TTP) was also prolonged (280 days vs. 104 days, p=0.004). Ten of the 13 pts lived longer than one year, 4 nearly two years after first treatment.

CONCLUSIONS
The combined use of GEM/CIS/RP101 prolonged progression-free and overall survival in locally advanced and metastatic pancreatic cancer when compared to all published studies with all combinations of drugs. A repeat study with GEM/RP101 shows similar promising results indicating that the combination of RP101 with GEM should be explored in larger studies in patients with advance pancreatic cancer. [Table: see text].


This paper first describes a slow catalytic pyrolysis process used for synthesizing biodiesel from waste cooking oil (WCO) as a feedstock. The influence of variations in the catalyst type (sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide), and catalyst concentration (0.5, 1.0, 3.0, 5.0, 7.0 and 10.0% by weight) on both the pyrolysis temperature range and biodiesel yield were investigated. The results suggested that sodium hydroxide (NaOH) was more effective than potassium hydroxide (KOH) as catalysts and that the highest yield (around 70 wt.%) was observed for a NaOH concentration of about 1 wt.% The resultant pyrolysis temperature range was also significantly lower for NaOH catalyst, thus suggesting overall lower energy consumption. Compared to conventional diesel, the synthesized biodiesel exhibited relatively similar physical properties and calorific value. The biodiesel was subsequently blended with diesel fuel in different blend ratios of 0, 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100% by volume of biodiesel and were later tested in a compression ignition engine. Brake thermal efficiency and specific fuel consumption were observed to be worse with biodiesel fuel blends particularly at higher engine load above 50%. However, NOx emission generally decreased with increasing blend ratio across all engine load, with greater reduction observed at higher engine load. Similar observation can also be concluded for CO emission. In contrast, lower hydrocarbon (HC) emission from the biodiesel fuel blends was only observed for blend ratios no higher than 40%. Particulate emission from the biodiesel fuel blends did not pose an issue given its comparable smoke opacity to diesel observed during the engine test. The in-cylinder peak pressures, temperature and heat release rate of biodiesel fuel blends were lower than diesel. Overall, biodiesel fuel blends exhibited shorter ignition delays when compared to diesel fuel.


The social life of animals in the societies of the past was mostly that of ritual. One can have a closer look at the question by examining the so-called animal burials (= animal deposits). In this paper the case area shall be Kujavia, a region situated in central Poland. The collection of data on animal deposits, made here by the populations of the Late Neolithic Globular Amphora culture, has – when compared to data for other regions – a number of specific characteristics. Special mention deserves the clear tendency to place deposits in pits within settlement bounds. A smaller group is made up of deposits in direct or indirect connection with graves of human beings. In this way dead (killed?) and intentionally buried animals mostly became part of space used by the living members of the community. Another important observation concerns preferences in selecting animals for use in different spheres of human activity including ritual ones.


Abstract This study examines the influence on growth parameters, in particular the morphological features of the root system, of 1-year-old European beech seedlings cultivated in containers with two different densities. The experiment was conducted in the container nursery in Skierdy (Forest District of Jabłonna) in spring 2011. After 10 months of cultivation in Hiko polyethylene containers, above- and below-ground parts of the seedlings were measured. The measurements of the root system were conducted with a scanner and the WinRHIZO software. No influence due to the seedling density on either shoot height or thickness was observed, but instead the research showed that different seedling densities affected the development of root systems. The mean root thickness and dry mass of the European beech seedlings were significantly higher at the lower density. The influence of seedling density on the development of root mass deserves special attention as it is the most important factor affecting future growth of the seedlings during cultivation. This tendency also suggests that the amount of nutrients allocated to shoot development may be higher in order to improve the efficiency of photosynthesis. At both densities, differences in biomass accumulation affected the root-toshoot ratio. In seedlings cultivated at the lower density, the increased dry root matter of the seedlings resulted in a significant increase in the root-to-shoot ratio. This may cause a potential growth advantage of these seedlings after they are planted and may thus result in a more productive cultivation.


Microorganisms cooperate with each other to protect themselves from environmental stressors. An extreme case of such cooperation is regulated cell death for the benefit of other cells. Dying cells can provide surviving cells with nutrients or induce their stress-response by transmitting an alarm signal; however, the role of dead cells in microbial communities is unclear. Here we searched for types of stressors the protection from which can be achieved by death of a subpopulation of cells. Thus, we compared the survival of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells upon exposure to various stressors in the presence of additionally supplemented living versus dead cells. We found that dead cells contribute to yeast community resistance against macrolide antifungals (e.g. amphotericin B [AmB] and filipin) to a greater extent than living cells. Dead yeast cells absorbed more macrolide filipin than control cells because they exposed intracellular sterol-rich membranes. We also showed that, upon the addition of lethal concentrations of AmB, supplementation with AmB-sensitive cells but not with AmB-resistant cells enabled the survival of wild-type cells. Together, our data suggests that cell-to-cell heterogeneity in sensitivity to AmB can be an adaptive mechanism helping yeast communities to resist macrolides, which are naturally occurring antifungal agents. Importance Eukaryotic microorganisms harbour elements of programmed cell death (PCD) mechanisms that are homologous to the PCD of multicellular metazoa. However, it is still debated whether microbial PCD has an adaptive role or the processes of cell death are an aimless operation in self-regulating molecular mechanisms. Here, we demonstrated that dying yeast cells provide an instant benefit for their community by absorbing macrolides, which are bacteria-derived antifungals. Our results illustrate the principle that the death of a microorganism can contribute to the survival of its kin and suggest that early plasma membrane permeabilization improves community-level protection. The latter makes a striking contrast to the manifestations of apoptosis in higher eukaryotes, the process by which plasma membranes maintain integrity.


Mobile-manipulation robots performing service tasks in human-centric indoor environments has long been a dream for developers of autonomous agents. Tasks such as cooking and cleaning require interaction with the environment, hence robots need to know relevant aspects of their spatial surroundings. However, unlike the structured settings that industrial robots operate in, service robots typically have little prior information about their environment. Even if this information was given, due to the involvement of many other agents (e.g., humans moving objects), uncertainty in the complete state of the world is inevitable over time. Additionally, most information about the world is irrelevant to any particular task at hand. Mobile manipulation robots therefore need to continuously perform the task of state estimation, using perceptual information to maintain the state, and its uncertainty, of task-relevant aspects of the world. Because indoor tasks frequently require the use of objects, objects should be given critical emphasis in spatial representations for service robots. Compared to occupancy grids and feature-based maps often used in navigation and SLAM, object-based representations are arguably still in their infancy. In my thesis, I propose a representation framework based on objects, their 'semantic' attributes, and their geometric realizations in the physical world.


Research programs for the development and experimental estimation of diagnostics are under way at Joint European Torus (JET)—one of the largest operating fusion reactors. These diagnostics are relevant for solving diagnostic tasks of International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). The paper discusses the principles of designing the magnetic measurement instrumentation based on the application of steady-state radiation-resistant semiconductor Hall sensors. It also presents the results of the instrumentation's application for ex-vessel magnetic field measurement on JET reactor during the latest deuterium campaign, and the prospects of further enhancement in magnetic diagnostic accuracy and reliability. Since neutron fluxes are much larger on ITER, at ex-vessel sensor locations, than those achievable on JET, the sensors have been tested in ITER-relevant radiation environment in nuclear research reactors.


Soil corrosion is a hazardous electrochemical process that affects buried metals in contact with soil. Corrosion in soils resembles atmospheric corrosion with corrosion rates usually higher and depending on the soil type. There are numerous properties of soil and thus soils can be classified in many different ways. Soil resistivity is one of the main indicators of soil corrosivity and thus of the hazardous impact the soil has on metal materials in the soil environment, although it is not the only parameter affecting the risk of corrosion damage. In this study on‐site measurements and laboratory measurements of soil characteristics are performed and compared. On‐site measurements include measuring the redox potential and soil resistivity by Wenner 4‐pin method, while the measurements in the laboratory include measuring soil conductivity, as well as moisture content, pH, content of sulphates, chlorides, and sulfides and polarization measurements, which give the most accurate results. The measurements have shown that if the Wenner 4‐pin method is performed in a convenient way the obtained results are not precise but can give an indicative picture of the corrosivity of the observed soil.


A system capable of suggesting multi-word phrases while someone is writing could supply ideas about content and phrasing and allow those ideas to be inserted efficiently. Meanwhile, statistical language modeling has provided various approaches to predicting phrases that users type. We introduce a simple extension to the familiar mobile keyboard suggestion interface that presents phrase suggestions that can be accepted by a repeated-tap gesture. In an extended composition task, we found that phrases were interpreted as suggestions that affected the content of what participants wrote more than conventional single-word suggestions, which were interpreted as predictions. We highlight a design challenge: how can a phrase suggestion system make valuable suggestions rather than just accurate predictions'


We quantize the recent hydrodynamic analysis of Stringari for the low-energy collective modes of a trapped Bose gas at T=0. This is based on the time-dependent Gross-Pitaevskii equation, but omits the kinetic energy of the density fluctuations. We diagonalize the hydrodynamic Hamiltonian in terms of the normal modes associated with the amplitude and phase of the inhomogeneous Bose order parameter. These normal modes provide a convenient basis for calculating observable quantities. As applications, we calculate the depletion of the condensate at T=0 as well as the inelastic light-scattering cross section S(q,\ensuremath{\omega}) from low-energy condensate fluctuations. The latter involves a sum over all normal modes, with a weight proportional to the square of the q Fourier component of the density fluctuation associated with a given mode. Finally, we show how the Thomas-Fermi hydrodynamic description can be derived starting from the coupled Bogoliubov equations. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.


The Mediator complex-associated cyclin-dependent kinase CDK8 is an oncogenic transcription-regulating serine/threonine kinase that mediates multiple cancer-associated transcriptional pathways. Despite recent high-profile attention to CDK8 as a novel cancer drug target, very little is known about the function of CDK8's closely related paralog CDK19. Using CRISPR/Cas9n system we generated CDK8/CDK19 single-knockout (CDK8-KO and CDK19-KO) and double-knockout (CDK8/19-dKO) derivatives of HEK293 cells. RNA-Seq was used to characterize the effects of a highly selective small-molecule CDK8/19 kinase inhibitor Senexin B on gene expression in the parental, single-knockout and double-knockout cell lines. This analysis was conducted in the absence or in the presence of TNF-alpha, an inducer of transcription factor NF-kappa-B that we have previously shown to be potentiated by CDK8. The following results were obtained. (1) CDK8 and CDK19 have complementary functions in stabilization of their partner Cyclin C (independent of their kinase activity) and phosphorylation of transcription factor STAT1 at S727 (dependent on the kinase activity). (2) Senexin B treatment affected gene expression in wild-type 293 cells but had almost no effect in CDK8/19-dKO cells, indicating a very high degree of target selectivity. (3) In contrast to the results with CDK8/19-dKO, most of the genes affected by Senexin B in the wild-type cells were also affected in CDK8-KO and CDK19-KO cells, indicating complementary functions of CDK8 and CDK19. (4) Re-expression of either CDK8 or CDK19, but not of a CDK8 kinase-dead (D173A) mutant, in CDK8/19-dKO cells restored CDK8/19 kinase-dependent gene expression as well as the regulatory effects of Senexin B. (5) Many more genes were inhibited rather than induced by Senexin B, indicating that CDK8/19 act primarily as positive regulators of transcription. (6) The total number of genes affected by Senexin B was greatly increased in cells treated with TNF-alpha, suggesting that cooperation with other transcription factors (such as NF-kappa-B) is the primary role of CDK8/19. Our results indicate that complete suppression of cancer-relevant activities of CDK8 requires simultaneous inhibition of both CDK8 and CDK19. Citation Format: Mengqian Chen, Bing Hu, Hao Ji, Serena Altilia, Jiaxin Liang, Martina McDermott, Chang-uk Lim, Donald C. Porter, Eugenia Broude, Igor Roninson. Functional characterization of novel transcription-regulating cancer drug targets, CDK8 and CDK19, using CRISPR/Cas9 knockout and a highly selective CDK8/19 kinase inhibitor [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1512. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-1512


We put forward a new ab initio approach that seamlessly bridges the structure, clustering, and reactions aspects of the nuclear quantum many-body problem. The configuration interaction technique combined with the resonating group method based on a harmonic oscillator basis allows us to treat the reaction and multiclustering dynamics in a translationally invariant way and preserve the Pauli principle. Our presentation includes studies of ^{8,10}Be and an exploration of 3α clustering in ^{12}C.


Bradykinin-related peptides (BRPs) are one of the most extensively studied frog secretions-derived peptide families identified from many amphibian species. The diverse primary structures of BRPs have been proven essential for providing valuable information in understanding basic mechanisms associated with drug modification. Here, we isolated, identified and characterized a dodeca-BRP (RAP-L1, T6-BK), with primary structure RAPLPPGFTPFR, from the skin secretions of Chinese large odorous frogs, Odorrana livida. This novel peptide exhibited a dose-dependent contractile property on rat bladder and rat ileum, and increased the contraction frequency on rat uterus ex vivo smooth muscle preparations; it also showed vasorelaxant activity on rat tail artery smooth muscle. In addition, the analogue RAP-L1, T6, L8-BK completely abolished these effects on selected rat smooth muscle tissues, whilst it showed inhibition effect on bradykinin-induced rat tail artery relaxation. By using canonical antagonist for bradykinin B1 or B2 type receptors, we found that RAP-L1, T6-BK -induced relaxation of the arterial smooth muscle was very likely to be modulated by B2 receptors. The analogue RAP-L1, T6, L8-BK further enhanced the bradykinin inhibitory activity only under the condition of co-administration with HOE140 on rat tail artery, suggesting a synergistic inhibition mechanism by which targeting B2 type receptors.


Mobile communications providers often monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) with the goal of identifying anomalous operation scenarios that can affect the quality of Internet-based services. In this regard, anomaly detection and classification in mobile networks has become a challenging task due to the unknown distributions exhibited by the collected data and the lack of interpretability of the embedded (machine learning) models. This paper proposes an unsupervised end-to-end methodology based on both a data cleaning strategy and explainable machine learning models to detect and classify performance anomalies in mobile networks. The proposed approach, dubbed clean and explainable anomaly detection and classification (KLNX), aims at identifying attributes and operation scenarios that could induce anomalous KPI values without resorting to parameter tuning. Unlike previous methodologies, the proposed method includes a data cleaning stage that extracts and removes experiments and attributes considered outliers in order to train the anomaly detection engine with the cleanest possible dataset. Additionally, machine learning models provide interpretable information about features and boundaries describing both the normal network behavior and the anomalous scenarios. To evaluate the performance of the proposed method, a testbed generating synthetic data is developed using a known TCP throughput model. Finally, the methodology is assessed on a real data set captured by operational tests in commercial networks.


Eric Gjerde demonstrates 25 of his favorite tessellations and turns them into projects for newcomers as well as experienced origamists. With step-by-step instructions, illustrated crease patterns, and how-to photos, you'll learn to create these wonderful designs yourself. Eric's first book covers the fundamentals of origami tessellations, provides history, and describes simple beginning techniques with detailed illustrations and photographs. An extensive gallery showcases tessellations folded by the world's leading origami fine artists---inspiring you to experiment, innovate, and eventually create your own unique designs.


This paper presents MojaveFS, a distributed file system with support for sequential consistency. It provides location transparency and makes use of replication for reliability and fault tolerance. We employ a hybrid hash-based and tree-based lookup mechanism for files that, combined with an efficient caching scheme, provides fast access to files in the system. MojaveFS uses a novel data storage strategy where files are split into smaller objects to increase data availability. It also uses a group communication protocol with guarantees for a total order on messages sent within the system, enabling MojaveFS to support the traditional sequential consistency model for concurrent access


A well-known difficulty of the non-linear optimal feedback control is that it results in non-linear two-point boundary value problems (TPBVP), which in general, can not be solved analytically. Therefore, exploration of solution algorithms is a key problem to establish a practical technique of non-linear optimal feedback control. Stabilized continuation method is shown to be suitable for real time optimization in non-linear receding horizon state feed-back control which can be applied to various problems in the field of engineering. Once a performance index and a mathematical model are given, optimization yields a feedback law that achieves the best performance in terms of the given performance index. This paper addresses non-linear receding horizon state feedback control law and its application to non-linear mechanical link systems. The contributions of this paper are: (i) outline of receding horizon control law and continuation method, (ii) comparison between receding horizon control and gradient method, and (iii) application to non-linear mechanical link systems.


Meyer and Land (2006) liken the crossing of learning thresholds to a 'rite of passage' in which a transitional or liminal space has to be traversed. Tutors, in early formation, may get stuck in a liminal space between crossing from students to disciplinarians or 'stewards of the discipline' (Golde and Walker, 2006). This paper, prepared in collaboration with postgraduate tutors in the School of History, University College Cork, focuses on challenges involved in mentoring graduates newly come to teaching an academic discipline. It employs a 'decoding the discipline' approach, following the work of Diaz et al. in 2008, to make explicit some of the liminal tensions affecting tutors' shifting notions of selfhood and identity over time. Over the duration of an academic year, through mentored face-to-face seminars and online peer-to-peer discussions, ten history tutors were asked to interrogate their own teaching: (i) To reflect on their own learning by examining the 'bottlenecks' to understanding they encountered in learning the discipline of history (Diaz et al., 2008). This allowed tutors to better understand what it is to be a novice being inducted into a discipline, why their own students get stuck, and how best to help them. Reflecting on experiences of learning provides insights about their own encounters with disciplinary concepts and how they did – or did not – come to understand them (McLean, 2009). (ii) To chart their own processes in teaching history by examining disciplinary thresholds through dialogue with their peers. This was to encourage a collaborative examination of the process of disciplinary learning, and to reveal some of their tacit beliefs and to manifest assumptions they may make about the ways their students learn. Teacher narrative exposed formation as a liminal state showing that changes in subjectivity involve messy journeys back and forth across conceptual and affective terrains.


Remarkably complex behavior, namely chaotic behavior, in a simple dc chopper-fed dc motor drive system has been investigated. An iterative map that describes the nonlinear dynamics of the system operating in the continuous conduction mode is derived. It shows that different bifurcation diagrams can be obtained by varying different system parameters, and the system exhibits not only a typical period-doubling route to chaos but also the period-3 window. Analytical modeling of period-1 and hence period-p orbits as well as their stability analysis using the characteristic multipliers are presented. Thus, those stable ranges of various system parameters can be formulated, and hence the chaotic ranges can be determined. The theoretical results are verified by using both PSpice simulation and experimental measurement.


The Algorithm is a fundamental concept for teaching Computer Science in Secondary Education. There are verbal (pseudocode) and graphic (flowchart) representations of algorithms that can be used in the process. Teaching algorithms through peer collaboration is a new approach that needs investigation. The main objective of this paper is to present a case study of computer-assisted collaborative algorithm teaching in an authentic secondary school environment. In the context of this study, activities concerning algorithms exploitation and building, using a flowchart representation were designed for fifteen-year old students. These activities engaged a prototype computer-based collaborative learning environment, Synergo, which has been adapted especially for this study. Interesting findings of this study concern the learning impact of this didactic approach and suggestions on its effective use.


A dynamic model of the lactating dairy goat, combining a minimum of mechanistic representations of homeorhetic regulations and a long-term approach, was developed. It describes (i) the main changes in body weight, dry-matter intake, milk production and composition of a dairy goat; (ii) the succession of pregnancy and lactation throughout the productive life; and (iii) the major changes in dynamics induced by the female profile (production potential and body weight at maturity). The model adopts a 'pull' approach including a systematic expression of the production potential and not representing any feed limitation. It involves three sub-systems. The reproductive events sub-system drives the dynamics through time with three major events: service, kidding and drying off. It also accounts for the effect of production potential (kg of milk at the peak of lactation) and lactation number (potential reached at the fourth lactation). The regulating sub-system represents the homeorhetic mechanisms during pregnancy and lactation with two sets of theoretical hormones, one representing gestation and the other lactation. The operating sub-system describes the main physiological flows and the energetic requirements linked to these functions through a compartmental structure. Simulations were run in order to test (i) the behaviour of the model at the scale of the productive life for an average profile of female (60 kg at maturity and 4 kg of milk at peak); (ii) the sensitivity of the simulated dynamics (mainly milk production and body reserves) to the production potential and body weight at maturity; (iii) external validation with comparison of model outputs to data from the experimental flock of Grignon and data from the French milk record organization (French organism in charge of animal recording for dairy farmers). The results at the scale of one productive life show the model simulates a relevant set of dynamics. The sensitivity analysis suggests that the model fairly well simulates the link between a female's ability to produce and mobilise reserves. Finally, external validation confirms the model's ability to simulate a relevant set of physiological dynamics while pointing out some limits of the model (simulation of milk fat and protein content dynamics, for example). The results illustrate the relevance of the model in simulating biological dynamics and confirm the possibility of including minimum representations of homeorhetic regulations with a simple structure. This simplicity gives an opportunity to integrate this basic element in a herd simulator and test interactions between females' regulations and management rules.


This paper describes the further development of a previously reported interactive model developed to enhance the understanding of the concept of sustainable development (SD) and the role of civil engineers among school children. The earlier model and associated teaching materials for a lesson based around a river valley flooding problem for small groups of 6th grade pupils were modified and trialed with a larger group of 8th grade pupils. Subsequently a further lesson using the same model framework was developed based around groundwater contamination from landfill leachate. This was trialed with small groups of both 6th and 8th grade pupils. A competitive element in landfill liner design was introduced into the lessons. The model and lessons received praise and were shown to achieve their aims of teaching SD in a memorable and practical context and explaining something of civil engineering, though the smaller group lessons were found to be much more successful than the larger group lesson.


Exploratory analysis of cancer consortia data curated by the cBioPortal repository typically requires advanced programming skills and expertise to identify novel genomic prognostic markers that have the potential for both diagnostic and therapeutic exploitation. We developed GNOSIS (GeNomics explOrer using StatistIcal and Survival analysis in R), an R Shiny App incorporating a range of R packages enabling users to efficiently explore and visualise such clinical and genomic data. GNOSIS provides an intuitive graphical user interface and multiple tab panels supporting a range of functionalities, including data upload and initial exploration, data recoding and subsetting, data visualisations, statistical analysis, mutation analysis and, in particular, survival analysis to identify prognostic markers. GNOSIS also facilitates reproducible research by providing downloadable input logs and R scripts from each session, and so offers an excellent means of supporting clinician-researchers in developing their statistical computing skills.


The provision of NaCl, according to current recommendations, to horses in moderate work has been shown to induce immediate postprandial acidosis. The present study aimed to clarify whether this NaCl induced acidosis i) persists beyond the immediate postprandial period, and ii) is still present after a 2 week adaptation period. Six adult warmblood mares in moderate work received daily 1.00 kg hay per 100 kg body weight (bwt) only together with 0.64 kg unprocessed cereal grains/100 kg bwt.d as fed basis. Using a 3x3 Latin Square, either 0 (NaCl-0), 50 (NaCl-50) or 100 (NaCl-100) g NaCl/d were fed together with the concentrates in two equal doses for 3 weeks. During the final week, a mineral digestibility trial was undertaken. The middle sodium and chloride intake (NaCl-50) at least met the most common recommendations for moderate work. Morning (7:00 AM) urine and venous blood samples were collected on days 0, 1–4, 8, and 15, and analysed for pH, acid-base status, creatinine and electrolyte concentrations. Fractional electrolyte clearances (FC) were determined. Mean apparent sodium digestibility ranged between 60–62% whereas chloride digestibility was consistently above 94%. Supplementing 100 g but not 50 g of NaCl resulted in significant reduction of blood pH and base excess as well as urinary pH and urine acid excretion. Both 50 g and 100 g NaCl supplementation caused a significant reduction in base and net acid-base excretion, urine density and potassium concentration, but increased urine sodium concentration and the FC of sodium and chloride (P < 0.05). This suggests that a high proportion of the recommended salt doses is excreted renally. The above effects of NaCl supplementation persisted over the 2 week measurement period. Results suggest that feeding 100 g NaCl to moderately exercising horses results in mild metabolic acidosis, whereas feeding 50 g according to current recommendations resulted in compensated acidosis.


There are varied models of regulatory agency behavior. Economists have recently emphasized the incentive-incompatibility of agencies "captured" by regulated entities and a legislature concerned with welfare maximization. This conflict is characterized as a principal-agent problem to which the legislature responds in various ways, including the imposition of administrative procedure laws, oversight committees, and other attempts to control the regulatory bureaucracies. I argue that the principal-agent incentive compatibility model of regulatory capture is naive. Regulatory agencies are, in general, eager to please or at least appease their congressional oversight and budget committees. It is the committees themselves, and especially their chairs, who capture and are captured by regulated entities, with the objective of funding expensive election campaigns in return for access to a seat at the regulatory policy negotiating table. The existence of the regulatory state and the details of regulatory policy reflect this systemic bias in the political system, which Lawrence Lessig has recently tagged "Type 2" (lawful) corruption.


The capabilities of a 16-Mb/s token ring to support multimedia applications, and simultaneously carry data and multimedia traffic are demonstrated. The token ring's priority mechanism makes it possible to effectively isolate multimedia and data traffic. Bandwidth management is then needed to allocate a guaranteed bandwidth to multimedia traffic. A simple form of bandwidth management limits the number of active multimedia sessions on a token ring segment. With bandwidth management implemented in a multimedia server, client/server multimedia applications on a single token ring segment can become a reality.


The Canadian Cancer Society says 139 900 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in Canada in 2003, and 67 400 people will die from the disease. Males will account for approximately 51% of new cases and 53% of the deaths.

Lung cancer alone is expected to cause 30% of cancer deaths in males this year (10 900), and 25% in females (7900). Breast cancer will kill 5300 women, while prostate cancer will claim 4200 men. For all cancers, the age-standardized mortality rate among men peaked in 1988 at 254.7 cases per 100 000 population, but it has now decreased to an expected rate of 223.7 cases per 100 000 in 2003. The age-standardized incidence rate increased slightly for males each year in the early 1990s, but then began to decline. In 2003, the age-standardized incidence rate is expected to be 439.2 per 100 000 for men, compared with 494.0 per 100 000 in 1993. For women, the incidence rate has risen from 330.0 cases per 100 000 in 1989 to an expected 347.9 in 2003. However, the mortality rate for females has declined since then, from 153.1 to an expected rate of 150.5 in 2003. — Tara S. Chauhan, CMA