The aminoacyl sequences of three regions of pure bovine N1-acetylated polyamine oxidase (PAO) were obtained and used to search GenBankTM. This led to the cloning and sequencing of a complete coding cDNA for murine PAO (mPAO) and the 5′-truncated coding region of the bovine pao (bpao) gene. A search of GenBankTM indicated that mpao maps to murine chromosome 7 as seven exons. The translated amino acid sequences of mpao and bpao have a –Pro-Arg-Leu peroxisomal targeting signal at the extreme C termini. A β-α-β FAD-binding motif is present in the N-terminal portion of mPAO. This and several other regions of mPAO and bPAO are highly similar to corresponding sections of other flavoprotein amine oxidases, although the overall identity of aligned sequences indicates that PAO represents a new subfamily of flavoproteins. A fragment of mpao was used as a probe to establish the relative transcription levels of this gene in various mature murine tissues and murine embryonic and breast tissues at different developmental stages. An Escherichia coli expression system has been developed for manufacturing mPAO at a reasonable level. The mPAO so produced was purified to homogeneity and characterized. It was demonstrated definitively that PAO oxidizes N1-acetylspermine to spermidine and 3-acetamidopropanal and that it also oxidizes N1-acetylspermidine to putrescine and 3-acetamidopropanal. Thus, this is the classical polyamine oxidase (EC 22.214.171.124) that is defined as the enzyme that oxidizes these N1-acetylated polyamines on the exo-side of their N4-amino groups. This enzyme is distinguishable from the plant polyamine oxidase that oxidizes spermine on the endo-side of the N4-nitrogen. It differs also from mammalian spermine oxidase that oxidizes spermine (but not N1-acetylspermine or N1-acetylspermidine) at the exo-carbon of its N4-amino group. This report provides details of the biochemical, spectral, oxidation-reduction, and steady-state kinetic properties of pure mPAO.


This paper describes the design and test of a new high-current electronic current transformer based on a Rogowski coil. For better performances, electronic current transformers are used to replace conventional electro-magnetic inductive current transformers based on ferromagnetic cores and windings to measure high-current on the high voltage distribution grids. The design of a new high-current electronic current transformer is described in this paper. The principal schemes of the prototype and partial evaluation results are presented. Through relative tests it is known that the prototype has a wide dynamic range and frequency band, and it can allow high accuracy measurements.


This work is an investigation of the performance characteristics of an offset journal bearing lubricated with a fluid with couple stresses taking into consideration the elastic deformation of the liner. The couple stresses might be expected to appear in noticeable magnitudes in liquids containing additives with large molecules. The modified Reynolds equation has been solved using the finite difference method. Load carrying capacity, attitude angle, side leakage and friction coefficients are determined for various values of couple stress parameter of a rigid and deformable bearing. It is found that, the static characteristics of journal bearings lubricated with couple stress fluids are improved compared to journal bearings lubricated with Newtonian fluids. It is concluded that, the elastic deformation of the bearing has significant influence on the bearing characteristics.


Scalability is of paramount importance in high-speed switch design. Two limiting factors are the complexity of switch fabric and the need for a sophisticated central scheduler. In this paper, we focus on designing a scalable multicast switch. Given the fact that the majority traffic on the Internet is unicast, a costeffective solution is to adopt a unicast switch fabric for handling both unicast and multicast traffic. Unlike existing approaches, we choose to base our multicast switch design on the load-balanced two-stage switch architecture because it does not require a central scheduler, and its unicast switch fabric only needs to realize N switch configurations. Specifically, we adopt the feedback-based two-stage switch architecture [10], because it elegantly solves the notorious packet mis-sequencing problem, and yet renders an excellent throughput-delay performance. By slightly modifying the operation of the original feedback-based two-stage switch, a simple distributed multicast scheduling algorithm is proposed. Simulation results show that with packet duplication at both input ports and middle-stage ports, the proposed multicast scheduling algorithm significantly cuts down the average packet delay and delay variation among different copies of the same multicast packet.


This article discusses two near-complete ceramic vessels—a deep, cup-shaped bowl and a shallow bowl/plate—found in recent excavations carried out at the rural site of el-Khirba/Nes Ziyyona in central Israel, in an early Abbasid context dated to the ninth century. The vessels bear unusual painted decorations on their exterior and interior. The decoration of the first bowl consists of alternating pairs of large black and white palm trees and large birds. The second bowl/plate is decorated with eight stylized trees emerging from a central circle, with small circles between them; these motifs were drawn in black over a white-painted surface. These bowls are associated with a local fine ware ceramic group, known as Fine Byzantine (or Fine Islamic) Ware, which originated in the Jerusalem region. However, their decorations reflect stylistic traditions familiar across the Early Islamic Near East and beyond, including from statuary works, illustrated manuscripts, and other ceramics. Altogether, it can be suggested that rural elites in Early Islamic Palestine used luxury ceramics decorated with pan-Islamic patterns as a way of identifying themselves with cosmopolitan, pan-Islamic society.


Abstract Two subpopulations of tumor cells obtained from a single human colon adenocarcinoma have been examined with regard to their intrinsic sensitivity to X-irradiation and to how this intrinsic radiosensitivity might be altered by growth in the polar solvent, N,N -dimethylformamide (DMF). These subpopulations, designated clones A and D, differ significantly in their radiation sensitivity. Using the single-hit multitarget equation to fit the survival responses, clone A exhibited survival parameters: extrapolation number ( n ) = 6.3; quasi-threshold dose (D q ) = 2.50 Grays; and mean lethal dose (D o ) = 1.36 Grays. These parameters for clone D were: n = 2.3; D q = 1.27 Grays, and D o = 1.56 Grays. Alteration of intrinsic radiosensitivity by DMF was then studied by adapting colon tumor cells to continuous growth in Roswell Park Memorial Institute Tissue Culture Medium 1640 containing 0.8% DMF. This treatment promotes differentiation of these colon cancer cells and is associated with an increased cell culture doubling time of 50 hr (20 hr for control cultures). It was found that, for cells grown in DMF medium, irradiated in fresh complete medium, and replated into fresh complete medium, survival parameters were: clone A— n = 5.2, D q = 1.91 Grays, and D o = 1.15 Grays; clone D— n = 2.2, D q = 0.96 Grays, and D o = 1.21 Grays. For tumor cells grown in DMF medium, irradiated in fresh complete medium, and replated into medium containing 0.8% DMF, survival parameters were: clone A— n = 2.8, D q = 1.07 Grays, and D o = 1.03 Grays; clone D— n = 2.0, D q = 0.82 Grays, and D o = 1.19 Grays. Survival responses of cells grown in fresh complete medium, irradiated in fresh complete medium, and replated into medium containing 0.8% DMF were not different from control responses. Using the D q as an index of the sensitization occurring in the clinically relevant dose range, the pretreatment in DMF medium sensitizes both clone A and D cells to subsequent X-irradiation by a factor of approximately 1.3, whereas pre- and posttreatment in DMF medium increases this factor for clone A to 2.3 and for clone D to 1.5. Therefore, growth of colon cancer cells in DMF medium prior to irradiation, which results in cell differentiation, actually increases the sensitivity of cells to X-rays. Furthermore, subsequent reculturing of irradiated cells in DMF-containing medium compared to regular growth medium results in a further augmentation of the response.


ABSTRACT Microblogs are revolutionising the way users produce, consume and distribute short content. The continuous content contributions of users are crucial for the sustainable development of microblogs. Knowledge regarding this user behaviour is scarce. Based on the uses and gratifications theory (U&G) and the social influence theory (SIT), this paper proposes an integrated research model with the aim of understanding the factors that affect users' continuous content contribution behaviours (CCCB) on microblogs. The data were collected from 379 microblog users in China. The empirical results indicate that perceived gratification had a positive but surprisingly trivial effect on continuous content contribution behaviours. Social influence had a strong and significantly positive effect on users' CCCB, it also had a positive moderating effect on the relationship between perceived gratification and CCCB. Users' perceived gratification was positively affected by the antecedents of self-expression, anticipated extrinsic rewards and anticipated reciprocity but negatively affected by privacy concerns. The platform attributes of microblogs (i.e. accessibility and interactivity) also influenced users' perceived gratification. This research contributes to social media research with regards to the theory of users' CCCB.


This research theoretically and empirically advances the hypothesis that in early stages of development, land and climatic variability had a persistent beneficial effect on the advent of early statehood. A high degree of land and climatic diversity, and its association with potential gains from trade, accentuated the incentives to develop social, political and physical infrastructure that could facilitate interregional interaction. Hence, the emergence of states was expedited in more diverse geographical environments. To explore the hypotheses the analysis exploits exogenous sources of variation in a) the measure of land variability across countries, and b) climatic variability within countries over the period 500-1500 CE. The research establishes that i) the advent of statehood was expedited in regions characterized by a higher degree of variability in land and climatic conditions, ii) the effect of (land and climatic) variability on statehood operates partly through the advancement of technologies associated with trade, thus suggesting that it is the pivotal role of states in facilitating trade that ultimately contributed to their emergence and consolidation, and, iii) the effect of land variability on statehood dissipates over time,


Fueled by novel technologies capable of producing massive amounts of data, scientists have been faced with an explosion of information that must be rapidly analyzed and integrated with other data to form hypotheses and create knowledge. Success in science now hinges critically on the availability of computational and data management tools to meet these challenges.
Michael Stonebraker recently argued that the traditional database concept of "one size fits all" which provides a unique strategy to manage data in all different applications, is no longer applicable in the database market. Nowhere is this truer than with scientific data. Scientific data differs significantly from business data, for which current database technology has been developed.
My research is focused on tree-structured scientific data management, one type of scientific data that models an inherently hierarchical process or object. Due to its hierarchical structure, XML has become a common scientific data format (http://xml.gsfc.nasa.gov). However, XML's standard query languages, XPath and XQuery, are not well suited for many scientific applications, in particular, computational linguistics and phylogenetic tree applications. I have spent a significant portion of my research efforts to efficiently support these two types of scientific applications. Specifically, I have studied and summarized commonly used operations (queries) on the data, analyzed why XML techniques cannot be easily applied, and designed and implemented data management systems for these two types of applications.


Remdesivir and dexamethasone are the only drugs providing reductions in the lengths of hospital stays for COVID-19 patients. We assessed the impacts of remdesivir on hospital-bed resources and budgets affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. A stochastic agent-based model was combined with epidemiological data available on the COVID-19 outbreak in France and data from two randomized control trials. Strategies involving treating with remdesivir only patients with low-flow oxygen and patients with low-flow and high-flow oxygen were examined. Treating all eligible low-flow oxygen patients during the entirety of the second wave would have decreased hospital-bed occupancy in conventional wards by 4% [2%; 7%] and intensive care unit (ICU)-bed occupancy by 9% [6%; 13%]. Extending remdesivir use to high-flow-oxygen patients would have amplified reductions in ICU-bed occupancy by up to 14% [18%; 11%]. A minimum remdesivir uptake of 20% was required to observe decreases in bed occupancy. Dexamethasone had effects of similar amplitude. Depending on the treatment strategy, using remdesivir would, in most cases, generate savings (up to 722 {euro}) or at least be cost neutral (an extra cost of 34 {euro}). Treating eligible patients could significantly limit the saturation of hospital capacities, particularly in ICUs. The generated savings would exceed the costs of medications.


Definite shape and thickness of chipboard, followed a given size, can be divided in many parts and manufactured kinds of paper products, such as packing box and cushion. However, the species of packed cargo appear a lot, with the change of chipboard size. So a reasonable chipboard-splitter should be designed to meet packing measurement and reduced chipboard throwaway. After a chipboard-splitter was designed and introduced its operating principle, simulation software was used to design and optimize knife saw of chipboard-splitter. At the same time, force analysis of important structure had been put in practice to meet the intension demand. At last, the device has been put into operation and gotten a good effect.


We report the case of a 33 year old patient, which SUI grade III after spontaneous delivery. During examination, we found out that urethra length was only 15 mm. As normal we see an urethra length of 30-50 mm. After local estrogen and Yentreve medication were rejected by the patient, we treated this patient with a new intraurethral laser system. Final outcome was an improved situation, where SUI III could be managed in the daily routine of the patient.


What are the major issues and challenges film archives, cinematheques and film museums are bound to face in the Digital Age and at a time when there is an expectation of Access on Demand? Film Curatorship neither offers a scholarly analysis, nor attempts to provide definitive answers to a complex situation involving aesthetic as well as technological, economic and political issues. As a collective text, a montage of dialogues, conversations and exchanges between four professionals representing three generations of film archivists and curators, this book calls for an open philosophical and ethical debate on fundamental questions the profession must come to terms with. What is curatorship, and what does it imply in the context of film preservation and presentation? Is there a concept of the 'film artifact' that transcends the idea of film as 'content' or 'art' in the information age?The four authors of Film Curatorship have agreed to lay bare their concerns, visions, and strategies in a multi-faceted brainstorming session, aimed at fostering an open, non-dogmatic debate on the relationship of film to other forms of moving image and its presentation and preservation in the 21st century.


Genome-wide linkage disequilibrium (LD) was investigated for 198 accessions of Oryza glaberrima using 93 nuclear microsatellite markers. Significantly elevated levels of LD were detected, even among distantly located markers. Free recombination among loci at the population genetic level was shown (1) by a lack of decay in LD among markers on the same chromosome and (2) by a strictly increasing composite likelihood function for the recombination parameter. This suggested that the elevation in LD was due not to physical linkage but to other factors, such as population structure. A Bayesian clustering analysis confirmed this hypothesis, indicating that the sample of O. glaberrima in this study was subdivided into at least five cryptic subpopulations. Two of these subpopulations clustered with control samples of O. sativa, subspecies indica and japonica, indicating that some O. glaberrima accessions represent admixtures. The remaining three O. glaberrima subpopulations were significantly associated with specific combinations of phenotypic traits—possibly reflecting ecological adaptation to different growing environments.


The genus Nipponolejeunea Hattori was established by Hattori (1944) based on Pycnolejemea pilifera Steph. from Japan. Its primary important generic characters include 1) the two gynoecial innovations, 2) the triplicate perianth, and 3) the long cilia on leaf- and underleaf-margin. Hattori (1944) also assigned Pycnolejeunea subalpina Horik. to Nipponolejeunea, thus admitting two Japanese species in that genus. Since then, the genus Nipponolejeunea has been repeatedly discussed, especially by Mizutani (1961) and Schuster (1963) from taxonomic points of view. The branching and innovation types of Nipponolejeunea were described by Mizutani (1970); Inoue (1976) proposed the subgeneric separation of the two species, as subgen. Nipponolejeunea (with N. pilifera) and subgen. Mizutania (with N. subalpina). Surprisingly, Grolle (1981) recently found a fossil species of this genus in Europe, N. europaea Grolle, embedded in an amber, from the southern part of Scandinavia. The species belongs in the subgen. Mizutania and, according to Grolle (1981), might even prove to be conspecific with N. subalpina. Regarding the taxonomic position of Nipponolejeunea, Mizutani (1961) placed the genus in the subfamily Jubuloideae together with Jubula and Neohattoria, but Schuster (1963) proposed an independent subfamily in the Lejeuneaceae for this genus, Nipponolejeuneoideae Schust. & Kachroo, which has now become generally accepted (cf. Gragstein, 1979; Schuster, 1979).


The arginine-specific reagent phenylglyoxal inactivated the active, dephosphorylated, form of Escherichia coli isocitrate dehydrogenase rapidly in a pseudo-first-order process. Both NADP+ and NADPH protected the enzyme against inactivation. Phenylglyoxal appeared to react with one arginine residue per subunit, and the extent of the reaction was proportional to the extent of the inactivation. In contrast, the phosphorylated form of isocitrate dehydrogenase did not react detectably with phenylglyoxal. The data indicate that the coenzyme-binding site of isocitrate dehydrogenase contains a reactive arginine residue that is protected by phosphorylation, and are consistent with the hypothesis that phosphorylation of the enzyme occurs close to or at its active site.


This project introduces short-term hazard assessment frameworks for regions with induced seismicity. The short-term hazard is the hazard induced during the injection for hydraulic-fracturing-induced earthquakes. For wastewater-disposal-induced earthquakes, it is the hazard within a few days after an observed earthquake. In West Texas, hydraulic-fracturing-induced earthquakes cluster around the injection activities, and the earthquake occurrence varies greatly in time and space. We develop a method to estimate the hazard level at the production site during the injection, based on past injection and earthquake records. The results suggest that the injection volume has a negligible effect on short-term earthquake occurrence in this case, because injection volumes per well fall within a relatively narrow range, whereas the regional variations in seismic productivity of wells and b-values are important. The framework could be easily modified for implementation in other regions with hydraulic-fracturing-induced earthquakes. We then compare the framework with wastewater-disposal-induced earthquakes in Oklahoma–Kansas and natural earthquakes in California. We found that drivers of short-term seismic hazard differ for the three cases. In West Texas, clustered earthquakes dominate seismic hazards near production sites. However, for Oklahoma–Kansas and California, the short-term earthquake occurrence after an observed mainshock could be well described by the mainshock–aftershock sequence. For Stillwater in Oklahoma, aftershocks contribute less to the hazard than San Francisco in California, due to the high Poissonian mainshock rate. For the rate of exceeding a modified Mercalli intensity of 3 within 7 days after an M 4 earthquake, the aftershock sequence from natural earthquakes contributed 85% of the hazard level, whereas the aftershock contribution was only 60% for induced earthquakes in Oklahoma. Although different models were implemented for hazard calculations in regions with hydraulic fracturing versus wastewater injection, injection activities could be drivers of short-term hazard in both cases.


Background: Chronic exposure to cigarette smoke produces neuroinflammation and long-term changes in neurotransmitter systems, especially glutamatergic systems. Objective: We examined the effects of cigarette smoke on astroglial glutamate transporters as well as NF-κB expression in mesocorticolimbic brain regions, prefrontal cortex (PFC) and nucleus accumbens (NAc). The behavioral consequences of cigarette smoke exposure were assessed using open field (OF) and light/dark (LD) tests to assess withdrawal-induced anxiety-like behavior. Methods: Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to five experimental groups: a control group exposed only to standard room air, a cigarette smoke exposed group treated with saline vehicle, two cigarette smoke exposed groups treated with acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) (15 mg/kg and 30 mg/kg, respectively), and a group treated only with ASA (30 mg/kg). Cigarette smoke exposure was performed for 2 h/day, 5 days/week, for 31 days. Behavioral tests were conducted weekly, 24 h after cigarette smoke exposure, during acute withdrawal. At the end of week 4, rats were given either saline or ASA 45 min before cigarette exposure for 11 days. Results: Cigarette smoke increased withdrawal-induced anxiety, and 30 mg/kg ASA attenuated this effect. Cigarette smoke exposure increased the relative mRNA and protein expression of nuclear factor ĸB (NFĸB) in PFC and NAc, and ASA treatment reversed this effect. Also, cigarette smoke decreased the relative mRNA and protein expression of glutamate transporter1 (GLT-1) and the cystine-glutamate transporter (xCT) in the PFC and the NAc, while ASA treatment normalized their expression. Conclusion: Cigarette smoke caused neuroinflammation, alterations in glutamate transporter expression, and increased anxiety-like behavior, and these effects were attenuated by acetylsalicylic acid treatment.


This paper proposes a reliable minimum vector variance regression algorithm for robust supervised impervious mapping. The mapping is done with a conventional two phase process; training and mapping process. The outcome of training process is the robust regression models useful for the knowledge base of mapping land cover. The robust regression model is built from the existing robust depth minimum vector variance subsample. The case of research is a metropolitan area consisting of megacities surrounding Jakarta, Jabodetabek. The urban population in the Jabodetabek area is very high. The urbanization is closely related to the percentage of impervious area and indicates the quality of the environment. The evaluation mapping provides that the robust depth minimum vector variance regression is an effective method for the impervious land cover mapping of Jabodetabek. Keywords: depth function, impervious, minimum vector variance, robust


A water-soluble protein fraction of nervous tissue was prepared by extraction of rabbit spinal cord with sodium citrate at pH 4.3. Characterization by nitrogen content and paper electrophoresis showed it to be a mixture of basic proteins. This extract demonstrated encephalitogenic activity when injected into rabbits. The most suitable technique for the measurement of serum antibody to the rabbit cord antigen proved to be the precipitation of antigen-antibody complexes by 40 per cent saturated ammonium sulfate. Antibody could not be demonstrated by the techniques of complement fixation, quantitative precipitation, and Ouchterlony plates. The early appearance of circulating antibody occurred almost exclusively in rabbits that subsequently developed EAE. Specificity of the antibodies for nervous tissue was demonstrated by appropriate blocking and adsorption experiments.


The cavity method is a well established technique for solving classical spin models on sparse random graphs (mean-field models with finite connectivity). Laumann, Scardicchio and Sondhi [arXiv:0706.4391] proposed recently an extension of this method to quantum spin-1/2 models in a transverse field, using a discretized Suzuki-Trotter imaginary time formalism. Here we show how to take analytically the continuous imaginary time limit. Our main technical contribution is an explicit procedure to generate the spin trajectories in a path integral representation of the imaginary time dynamics. As a side result we also show how this procedure can be used in simple heat-bath like Monte Carlo simulations of generic quantum spin models. The replica symmetric continuous time quantum cavity method is formulated for a wide class of models, and applied as a simple example on the Bethe lattice ferromagnet in a transverse field. The results of the methods are confronted with various approximation schemes in this particular case. On this system we performed quantum Monte Carlo simulations that confirm the exactness of the cavity method in the thermodynamic limit.


We consider a peak-power-limited single-antenna flat complex-Gaussian fading channel where the receiver and transmitter, while fully cognizant of the distribution of the fading process, have no knowledge of its realization. Upper and lower bounds on channel capacity are derived, with special emphasis on tightness in the high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) regime. Necessary and sufficient conditions (in terms of the autocorrelation of the fading process) are derived for capacity to grow double-logarithmically in the SNR. For cases in which capacity increases logarithmically in the SNR, we provide an expression for the "pre-log", i.e., for the asymptotic ratio between channel capacity and the logarithm of the SNR. This ratio is given by the Lebesgue measure of the set of harmonics where the spectral density of the fading process is zero. We finally demonstrate that the asymptotic dependence of channel capacity on the SNR need not be limited to logarithmic or double-logarithmic behaviors. We exhibit power spectra for which capacity grows as a fractional power of the logarithm of the SNR


BACKGROUND
Prader Willi syndrome is a genetic disorder with a behavioural expression characterized by the presence of obsessive-compulsive phenomena ranging from elaborate obsessive eating behaviour to repetitive skin picking. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has been recently associated with abnormal functional coupling between the frontal cortex and basal ganglia. We have tested the potential association of functional connectivity anomalies in basal ganglia circuits with obsessive-compulsive behaviour in patients with Prader Willi syndrome.

METHODS
We analyzed resting-state functional MRI in adult patients and healthy controls. Whole-brain functional connectivity maps were generated for the dorsal and ventral aspects of the caudate nucleus and putamen. A selected obsessive-compulsive behaviour assessment included typical OCD compulsions, self picking and obsessive eating behaviour.

RESULTS
We included 24 adults with Prader Willi syndrome and 29 controls in our study. Patients with Prader Willi syndrome showed abnormal functional connectivity between the prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia and within subcortical structures that correlated with the presence and severity of obsessive-compulsive behaviours. In addition, abnormally heightened functional connectivity was identified in the primary sensorimotor cortex-putamen loop, which was strongly associated with self picking. Finally, obsessive eating behaviour correlated with abnormal functional connectivity both within the basal ganglia loops and between the striatum and the hypothalamus and the amygdala.

LIMITATIONS
Limitations of the study include the difficulty in evaluating the nature of content of obsessions in patients with Prader Willi Syndrome and the risk of excessive head motion artifact on brain imaging.

CONCLUSION
Patients with Prader Willi syndrome showed broad functional connectivity anomalies combining prefrontal loop alterations characteristic of OCD with 1) enhanced coupling in the primary sensorimotor loop that correlated with the most impulsive aspects of the behaviour and 2) reduced coupling of the ventral striatum with limbic structures for basic internal homeostasis that correlated with the obsession to eat.


Recently, there has been a great interest in methods that can decompose brain networks into clusters with similar connection patterns. However, most of the currently used clustering methods in neuroimaging are based on the stringent assumption that the cluster structure is modular, that is, the nodes are densely connected within clusters, but sparsely connected between clusters. Furthermore, multi-subject network data is typically fit by several subject-by-subject analyses, which are limited by the fact that there is no obvious way to combine the results for group comparisons, or on a group-averaged network analysis, which does not reflect the variability between subjects. In the first part of this thesis, we consider the analysis of a single binary-valued brain network using the Stochastic Blockmodel (Daudin et al., 2008) and compare it to the widely used clustering methods, Louvain and Spectral algorithms. For this, we use the Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) worm nervous system as a model organism whose wealth of prior biological knowledge can be used to validate the functional relevance of network decompositions. We show that the 'cores-in-modules' decomposition of the worm brain network estimated by the Stochastic Blockmodel is more compatible with prior biological knowledge about the C. elegans than the purely modular decompositions found by the Louvain and Spectral algorithms. In the second part of this thesis, we propose three multi-subject extensions of Daudin et al.'s Stochastic Blockmodel that can estimate a common cluster structure across subjects. Two of these (non-trivial) models use subject specific covariates to model variation in connection rates in the data. The first and trivial model assumes no variability between subjects, the second model accounts for a global variability in connections between subjects, and the third model accounts for local variability in connections between subjects that can differ across individual within/between-cluster connectivity elements. In the third part of this thesis, we propose a mixed-effect multi-subject model which can account for the repeated-measures aspects of multi-subject network data by including a random intercept. For the second and third part of the thesis, we use intensive Monte Carlo simulations to investigate the accuracy of the estimated parameters as well as the validity of inference procedures. Furthermore, we illustrate the proposed models on a resting state fMRI dataset with two groups of subjects: healthy volunteers and individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia.


The role of IT in the creation of business value has been considered from various perspectives, such as strategic alignment, sustained advantage, and infrastructure capability. In this paper, we try to extend these previous perspectives by describing a flexible sensemaking framework for valuing complex technological resources. This framework assumes that the nature of IT business value is pluralistic, paradoxical, and dynamic. We describe four modes of valuation that comprise this framework: Routinizing, Cost-structuring, Positioning, and Learning, and illustrate them using historical lessons from airline reservation systems. Findings suggest that IT-derived business value can be characterized by competing tensions across diverse value frames that are paradoxically structured and change over time. We propose that such a pluralistic approach will extend the vocabulary of IT-derived business value and will improve managerial capability for sensemaking across multiple frames.


ABSTRACT:Real risk-free interest rates have trended down over the past 30 years. Puzzlingly, in light of this decline, (1) the return on private capital has remained stable or even increased, creating an increasing wedge with safe interest rates; (2) stock market valuation ratios have increased only moderately; (3) and investment has been lackluster. We use a simple extension of the neoclassical growth model to diagnose the nexus of forces that jointly accounts for these developments. We find that rising market power, rising unmeasured intangibles, and rising risk premia play a crucial role, over and above the traditional culprits of increasing savings supply and technological growth slowdown.


We introduce a sensitive technique for the measurement of impulsively excited vibrational Raman modes. A linear sweep in the instantaneous frequency of the probe pulse isolates Raman sidebands from noise, enhancing sensitivity. The temporal interference between two stretched, time-delayed pump pulses allows us to selectively excite specific modes. The method is shown to be applicable to different phases of the samples.


The retention properties of eight alkyl, aromatic, and fluorinated reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography bonded phases were characterized through the use of linear solvation energy relationships (LSERs). The stationary phases were investigated in a series of methanol/water mobile phases. LSER results show that solute molecular size and hydrogen bond acceptor basicity under all conditions are the two dominant retention controlling factors and that these two factors are linearly correlated when either different stationary phases at a fixed mobile-phase composition or different mobile-phase compositions at a fixed stationary phase are considered. The large variation in the dependence of retention on solute molecular volume as only the stationary phase is changed indicates that the dispersive interactions between nonpolar solutes and the stationary phase are quite significant relative to the energy of the mobile-phase cavity formation process. PCA results indicate that one PCA factor is required to explain the data when stationary phases of the same chemical nature (alkyl, aromatic, and fluoroalkyl phases) are individually considered. However, three PCA factors are not quite sufficient to explain the whole data set for the three classes of stationary phases. Despite this, the average standard deviation obtained by the use of these principal component factors are significantly smaller than the average standard deviation obtained by the LSER approach. In addition, selectivities predicted through the LSER equation are not in complete agreement with experimental results. These results show that the LSER model does not properly account for all molecular interactions involved in RP-HPLC. The failure could reside in the V2 solute parameter used to account for both dispersive and cohesive interactions since "shape selectivity" predictions for a pair of structural isomers are very bad.


An adequate approach to sickness absence can reduce school dropout which is a major problem in Intermediate Vocational Education (IVE). This practice-based study explores the sickness absence reasons and factors influencing reporting the sickness, from a student's perspective. Semistructured interviews were held until saturation. Data were collected and analysed by a multidisciplinary research team including youth health care physicians working with IVE students. The results show that, according to the students, reasons for sickness reporting were health-related or related to problems at home or in school. Students view their sickness absence as necessity, as asking for understanding, or as pardonable. Their views depended on (1) the perception of medical legitimacy, (2) feeling able to take their own responsibility, (3) feeling being taken seriously at school, and (4) the perception that the sickness reporting procedure at school is anonymous and easy. In conclusion, reporting sickness seems more a reaction to a necessity or opportunity than the result of a conscious decision-making process. Personalizing the sickness reporting procedures and demonstrating interest rather than control while discussing the sickness absence with the individual IVE student might very well affect their sickness absence levels.


Assumptio Mosis is an early first-millennium Jewish work framed as a farewell discourse from Moses to Joshua. The work rewrites the ending section of Deuteronomy, and includes within it a prophecy describing events in the distant future, alternative or supplementary to the predictions offered in Deuteronomy proper. This new twist on Moses's prophetic vision may derive from a certain despair faced by the community of which this author was a part, perhaps, as the article suggests, the Hadrianic persecution. According to this visionary re-interpretation of Deuteronomy, there is nothing for the Jews to do but suffer and wait for redemption until the world is undone and they leave it for a better place; an eschatology of defeat and despair, at least in this world.


Abstract : The enhancement of the electrical energy security of Navy bases within the continental U.S. has been studied using an approach based on modeling and simulation, with the intent to achieve real time control and energy management. The commercially available software packages are reviewed and the most suitable ones are indicated. A notional base was developed and used for this study. Its format is general enough to be able to be used as a template for each specific Navy installation. Several preliminary simulations using commercial software have been performed on the power system of this notional base addressing a variety of operating scenarios including islanded mode and the impact of wind and solar power sources. Results of steady state and transient operation are also reviewed. The results of these simulations indicate that existing software packages available today, with proper adaptations, can provide a well validated and consistent process for evaluating power system architectures and technologies and, therefore, can become a valuable tool for the implementation of the described plan for Navy bases. The study concludes giving the details of the roadmap to move forward in the process of energy security enhancement of U.S. Navy bases through modeling and simulation.


This presentation describes the microscopic observation of a pseudo cereal or buckwheat (Fagopyrum species, family: Polygonaceae). The structure of the seed starchy endosperm cells was investigated by using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). In this study, the morphological differences were observed between normal and tartary buckwheat (F. esculentum and F. tataricum, respectively). From the photomicrographs, the common buckwheat endosperm contains small polygonal starch granules, ranging in size from 7 to 9 μm. Meanwhile, the seed size from tartary buckwheat was also recorded. During this experiment, a publication provided microscopical evidences of the Fagopyrum seed. It is found that the characteristics of both samples were equivalent with the report. Following the computer aided three-dimensional reconstructions of the buckwheat embryo, it is concluded that the shape and size of the embryo in buckwheat seeds are presently resolved.


Bovills Slip occurs in weathered basalt colluvium at the base of a coastal scarp about 2 km east of Devonport on the north coast of Tasmania. The colluvium consists of red-brown fissured silty clay with rock fragments. Many landslips occur in colluvial soils on the coastal scarp and also in basalt-derived soils elsewhere. Thus a detailed investigation and stability analysis of Bovills Slip is relevant to the general slope failure problem in Tasmania.
Pore water pressures measured with open standpipe piezometers show a correlation with rainfall, with peak pressures occurring during wet winter months.
Effective shear strength parameters were determined by both multi-stage direct shear tests and consolidated undrained triaxial tests with pore pressure measurements. Different residual shearing mechanisms were recognised in the shear box tests. Significantly different values of residual strength were associated with these different mechanisms. The fully softened strength parameters appropriate for the analysis of first-time landslips were investigated by both triaxial and shear box tests. For the soil tested both the residual and fully softened effective friction angles showed a pattern of dependence on the plasticity.
Surface movements have been monitored by repeated surveys, and subsurface movements have been monitored by regularly checking piezometer tubes for deformation. After heavy rain, in August 1981, the landslip moved by 20 to 30 mm.
A two dimensional model of the August 1981 failure has been analysed by limit equilibrium methods. The factor of safety is most sensitive to variations in piezometric head and cohesion. Analysis has been used to assess the relative change in factor of safety (stability) caused by changes in the slope and by remedial measures. The stability was reduced when the slope was undercut by roadworks in 1973, and the first movements caused a decrease in shear strength of the soil. Downslope movements have produced shape changes which have tended to increase the factor of safety. Toe drainage, toe surcharge, 'and re-grading have already resulted in increased stability. Subsurface drainage, although effective, would be relatively expensive. Lime stabilisation and tree planting were also considered. In the long term well established trees may increase the factor of safety by as much as 50%.
Possible future research on landslips in Tasmania is discussed in order to demonstrate how the results of this detailed investigation may be used as a starting point for regional studies.


The Cretaceous sediments in western part of the Cuban miogeosyncline embrace pelagic limestones, radiolarian cherts and turbidites. Rhythmically interbedded cherts and shales exhibit features pointing to their deep-sea origin. The Lower Cretaceous paleogeografic model of the miogeosyncline consist among others of a deep-water Sierra del Rosario-La Esperanza-Placetas basin system and the adjoining Camajuani, Sierra de los Organos and Escambray carbonate pelagic basins. Terrigenic material has been transported into the deep-water basins from a land located NW from the La Esperanza and Sierra del Rosario sequences. Paleogeographic changes during the Late Cretaceous time resulted from the deformation of the southern margin of the North American plate by the nappe of the eugeosynclinal Zaza zone.


A highly scalable flash-based Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) technology has been achieved with Deep Trench Isolation (DTI). The DTI allows for a reduced cell size and enables Independent Pwell (IPW) operation. The IPW allows the Fowler-Nordheim (FN) Uniform Channel Program and Erase (UCPE) with less than plusmn10 V. Additionally, the IPW approach allows a greater flexibility in the array bias scheme reducing the gate disturb during programming and eliminating all Gate-Induced Drain Leakage (GIDL) conditions. Characterization of a FPGA cell and 0.5 Mbit array with 90 nm design rules is demonstrated with excellent electrical characteristics.


Using an expanded version of a psychological theory of attitude-behaviour relations, namely the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), scores on factor analysed multidimensional attitude statements were used to segment a population of day trip travellers into potential 'mode switchers' using cluster analysis. Six distinct psychographic groups were extracted, each with varying degrees of mode switching potential. Each group represents a unique combination of preferences, worldviews and attitudes, indicating that different groups need to be serviced in different ways to optimise the chance of influencing mode choice behaviour. Socio-demographic factors had little bearing on the travel profiles of the segments, suggesting that attitudes largely cut across personal characteristics. The evidence clearly shows that the same behaviour can take place for different reasons and that the same attitudes can lead to different behaviours. The paper asserts that commonly used a-priori classifications used to segment populations based on demographic variables or simple behavioural measures may oversimplify the structure of the market. Cluster analysis is rarely used in studies of travel behaviour but this study demonstrates its utility in providing a way of extracting naturally occurring, relatively homogenous and meaningful groups to be used in designing targeted hard and 'soft' transport policies.


BACKGROUND
Enamines and their variant enamides as powerful and versatile synthons have attracted great attention in synthetic chemistry. Enamides display unique stability and reduce enaminic reactivity in view of the electron-withdrawing effect of N-acyl group. A great deal of satisfactory achievements in the synthesis and application of enamides has been made in recent years. Especially, tertiary enamides without N-H bond regarded as low reactivity of compounds in the past can act as excellent nucleophiles to react with electrophiles for the construction of various nitrous molecules.

OBJECTIVE
This review focuses on recent advances on tertiary enamides in the synthetic strategies and applications including addition, coupling reaction, functionalization and electro- or photo-chemical reaction.

CONCLUSION
Tertiary enamides as electron-deficient nucleophiles display a satisfactory balance between stability and reactivity to offer multiple opportunities for the construction of various functionalized nitrogencontaining compounds. Further exploration of the reactive mechanisms involved tertiary enamides and the development of novel and efficient transformations to generate ever more complex building blocks starting from tertiary enamides are particularly worth pursuing.


Today, communication systems face major shortages in availability of free spectrum. Cognitive radio has evolved as the most feasible technology which can empower us to effectively utilize the available spectrum. A vital component of a Cognitive Radio Network is spectrum sensing, i.e. its ability to detect the presence of a primary user. This paper employs an adaptive threshold detection algorithm based on an image binarization technique. A novel approach is proposed to fix the standard deviation threshold whereby the system dynamically trains itself based on previously iterated decision statistics. Such data is computed on the basis of calculated probability of detection, probability of false alarm, standard deviation coefficient and ratio of occupied bandwidth to the total bandwidth. Simulation results show the vastly improved performance compared to the conventional energy detector. At low Sound to Noise Ratio the performance improvement index shows an increase of 30 percent in comparison to the conventional energy detector.


In this thesis the response variables (RAOs) of a semi submersible unit are inspected. Both operational and survival condition as well as a shallow draft are inspected. The survival condition is inspected with respect to an element analysis. And both operational- and shallow draft condition are case studies, where the operational condition is inspected for two different damage cases. The unit in question is a four column semi submersible, based on the GG5000 design. This is a relatively new design, and the first vessel to get this design is in its final engineering stage. Construction start is planned to be in August this year (2012). This unit will get the name COSLProspector and will be built in CIMC Yantai Raffles shipyard in China. The unit is symmetrical about the centre line and close to symmetrical about the vertical transverse plane, only pontoon tips are different. Because of this, no significant simplifications have been necessary in order to simplify the calculation due to computational time. Another reason for not doing any simplifications to the geometry is due to the fact that the results are desired to be the most realistic. However, to reduce computational time, only half the unit has been modelled due to symmetry about centre line. To find the appropriate element size for the mesh, an element analysis has been carried out. The results from this analysis resulted in a chosen element size of 2.5m. This element size both gives accurate results, and requires a relatively short computational time. The units' resonance periods has been investigated, and verified by help of hand calculations and comparison with RAOs done by Global Maritime (2011). However not all the values were identical to each other, but many factors can influence on that result. The GM value was not changed in this thesis, but was in Global Maritime (2011), in addition the additional damping was in this thesis taken as 3% of critical damping, while in Global Maritime (2011), Morrison elements were taken into account. These factors, and perhaps a few shortenings are assumed to be the reason for the small difference in the responses, they are however small differences for most of the periods. Two damage cases have been modelled by flooding two different water ballast tanks. These damages will give an angle of list for the unit. Damage case 1 gives an angle of list of 13.18o with a rotation of heel axis of 7o forward. Damage case 2 gives a list angle of 11.68o with a rotation of the heel axis of 39o forward. An earlier study like this one is done by Henriksen (2011), found in Grenland Groups internal archive. AQWA does not give out the tilt angles in damage cases as this is not the main purpose of this program. Therefore, the list angles for the different cases have been obtained from the report done by Henriksen (2011). However, AQWA will be used to obtain the RAOs for both cases, as well as confirm floating equilibrium in such conditions. It is assumed that the tanks are completely emptied for air, and that seawater is filling the entire volume. A table showing the different tanks flooded and its weight with seawater is shown in table 1. Unit Volume [m3] Sea water weight [MT] BWT ST-2 692.51 709.82 BWT ST-8 616.83 632.25 Table 1: Weight of water for flooded tanks When it comes to the RAOs in the damage cases, they are very hard to read. This is mainly due to the fact that the motions in these cases are highly dependent on each other due to coupled motions. Due to an angle of list, the unit is no longer symmetric. As a consequence of this a RAO for a specific degree of freedom can no longer be read like it is only this degree of freedom which is affecting the responses, but one or more of the other degrees of freedom are strongly influencing. This makes some of the peaks appear where not normally expected. It is also noticeable that the highest motions are encountered for damage case 1, which is natural because this case has the highest list angle. The resonance periods are lower in the damage cases compared to the normal operational condition, however not to a degree which is dangerously low. The lowest resonance period is still in heave. From the RAOs in the shallow draft case, it can be noticed that the highest responses in heave are encountered for the shallow condition (14.5m) compared to the survival condition (15.5m) and operational condition (17.5m), however only up to about 18s, where after that it has the smallest response, and the operational condition has the highest. In roll and pitch the trends are fairly similar. The graphs are a little uneven until the first cancellation period, and then the shallow draft gives a higher response until reaching the resonance period. In the resonance region, the operational condition has the highest response for both roll and pitch, same as for the heave. As a conclusion, the optimal approach in a situation where the unit is heavily tilted is to try to ballast the unit to an even keel. But of course risks of doing this are a possibility, such as slamming problems and the fact that the resonance periods will be shorter.


The media has been described by Marshall A1cLuhan as "extensions of man"
meaning that the media is capable of extending the ability of individuals to
communicate, to speak to distant relations, to hear messages. and to view images
made available on~v with the media. They also facilitate various effects- shortterm,
intermediate-term, and long-term effects- on audiences. The short-term
objectives include the exposure of audiences to global economic meltdown issues,
the creation of knowledge and awareness, etc. The aforementioned plus attitude
and behaviour changes as well as social norm perceptions fall under intermediateterm
objectives. All of the tasks above including the concentrated restructuring of
perceived social norms and maintenance of behaviour change are incorporated
into long-term objectives. Journalists can only report financial crisis issues ji-om
an informed perspective when there is a connection between them and financial
institutions/establishments. where complex meltdown issues are broken down.
Nigerians, in the absence of qccurate theoretical framings resulting from
insufficient economic research by the print media, may have their
understanding/knowledge of economic issues constrained (and thereby distorted).
It has become a necessity to study financial reports in the media critically because
of the double-edged Sl'vordform the media take, disseminating both harmless and
harmful messages. This paper highlights the reportage ofglobal economic meltdown
issues in selected Nigerian newspapers. Global economic meltdown issues
were 16.8% (i.e. 162) of the 967 news items analyzed in the Guardian while they
were 22.1% (i.e. 274) of the 1242 news items analyzed in the Punch. Global
economic meltdown issues were least reported as at May (9. 9%) and June (6. 9%)
in the Guardian and the Punch respectively whereas both newspapers had the
highest coverage of financial crisis issues in Janumy (22.2%) and March (24 .5%)
respectil ·e~v. i'vfost of the reports in the Guardian camefrom unidentified sources


Cyclosporin A (CsA) has been shown to be neuroprotective in mature animal models of traumatic brain injury (TBI), but its effects on immature animal models of TBI are unknown. In mature animal models, CsA inhibits the opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP), thereby maintaining mitochondrial homeostasis following injury by inhibiting calcium influx and preserving mitochondrial membrane potential. The aim of the present study was to evaluate CsA's ability to preserve mitochondrial bioenergetic function following TBI (as measured by mitochondrial respiration and cerebral microdialysis), in two immature models (focal and diffuse), and in two different species (rat and piglet). Three groups were studied: injured+CsA, injured+saline vehicle, and uninjured shams. In addition, we evaluated CsA's effects on cerebral hemodynamics as measured by a novel thermal diffusion probe. The results demonstrate that post-injury administration of CsA ameliorates mitochondrial dysfunction, preserves cerebral blood flow (CBF), and limits neuropathology in immature animals 24 h post-TBI. Mitochondria were isolated 24 h after controlled cortical impact (CCI) in rats and rapid non-impact rotational injury (RNR) in piglets, and CsA ameliorated cerebral bioenergetic crisis with preservation of the respiratory control ratio (RCR) to sham levels. Results were more dramatic in RNR piglets than in CCI rats. In piglets, CsA also preserved lactate pyruvate ratios (LPR), as measured by cerebral microdialysis and CBF at sham levels 24 h after injury, in contrast to the significant alterations seen in injured piglets compared to shams (p<0.01). The administration of CsA to piglets following RNR promoted a 42% decrease in injured brain volume (p<0.01). We conclude that CsA exhibits significant neuroprotective activity in immature models of focal and diffuse TBI, and has exciting translational potential as a therapeutic agent for neuroprotection in children.


There have been sterile and robust debates on the issue of national integration as an indelible mark of unity. Democratic consolidation comes to mind when the heterogeneity and differences are seen as factors that cannot hinder our peaceful co-existence in a fair, just and egalitarian society where people's voices and inputs are significant. The feeling of national spirit is evident in the sensitivity of the leaders and the led in attending to national issues as touching the plights and yearnings of the citizens irrespective of background and other factors. This paper examined the factors militating against the continuous existence of Nigeria as a united, indissoluble and sovereign nation due to the perceived mistake of 1914 amalgamation by Lord Lugard. Methodologically, the study adopted a qualitative technique of data collection through the content analysis of documents, reports, journals, books and articles. At the end of the study, it was discovered that the factors militating against the consolidation of the Nigerian nascent democracy are national questions such as the continuous agitation of resource control, constitutional amendment, minority/majority syndrome, revenue sharing formula, unjustifiable distribution of resources, activities of ethnic militias, unequal representation in the National Assembly, zoning/rotational presidency and corruption. Therefore, the study recommended for the convocation of sovereign national conference through which a true Nigerian constitution would emerge in favour of true federalism.


Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is characterized by snoring, repeated apneas during sleep and excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS). The available data suggest that there is a relationship between OSAS and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, but the results diverge.In 1984, 3,201 men aged 30-69 answered a questionnaire on snoring, sleep disturbances and somatic diseases. A subsample of the men who reported symptoms related to OSAS were also investigated using whole-night polysomnography in 1985.Of the survivors in 1994, almost 90% participated in this 10-year follow-up and answered an identical questionnaire as well as questions about smoking, alcohol and physical activity. In both 1984 and 1994, the prevalence of snoring increased until age 50-60 and then decreased. At all ages, weight gain was an independent risk factor for developing habitual snoring. In men below age 50 at baseline, persistent smoking and a high BMI in 1984 were also significantly associated with the development of snoring.Among the men aged 30-59 in 1984, those who reported habitual snoring in both 1984 and 1994 ran a significantly increased risk of developing hypertension during the 10-year period (adjusted odds ratio 2.6, 95% CI 1.5-4.5). Among the subjects aged 50-69, no association was found between snoring and hypertension.Mortality data for the 10-year period were collected for the complete sample. Compared with subjects with no snoring or EDS, men with both snoring and EDS experienced a significant increase in overall mortality as well as cardiovascular mortality. However, the relative rates decreased with increasing age and, in men aged 60 and over, no effect on mortality was found. Isolated snoring or EDS did not influence mortality at any age.Of the men studied using polysomnography in 1985, 38 (70% of the survivors) were reinvestigated using polysomnography in 1995. In the group as a whole, a significant progression of the sleep disorder with time was found. Increasing EDS was strongly related to a deterioration in the sleep disorder.In conclusion, age strongly influences the prevalence of snoring in men, but the relationship is not linear. Risk factors for developing snoring differ with age and the cardiovascular health consequences appear to be most hazardous in the case of younger men. Sleepy male snorers are a high-risk group for developing OSAS, regardless of the results of the sleep recordings at baseline.


such a procedure the photoplethysmograph result is not reproducible. The refilling time was obtained by squeezing the calf while the patient was sitting. An automatic tourniquet provides more accurate emptying because squeezing does not always empty the calf veins. Also, heel lifts with the patient standing give more reproducible results. ' Only nine patients with assumed deep venous insufficiency and 10 patients with superficial vein incompetence were studied and the separation was based on Doppler ultrasound and photoplethysmography. It is not always possible to make such a precise diagnosis based on these two methods, especially when photoplethysmography is used without an ankle cuff to control reflux in the superficial veins. Calf and thigh tourniquets are not always adequate. Because of these defects in the methods it is surprising that such clear cut results were obtained, and the work needs to be confirmed by others. The methodological defects would explain the unlikely conclusion that one type of stocking did not improve the venous refilling time. This was the stocking used in an earlier study, when a more accurate technique showed the stocking to provide a graduated compression in most legs and a great improvement in the ambulatory venous pressure.2


: Radial keratotomy surgery was first performed in the United States in 1978. Although all the questions regarding surgical flattening of the cornea have not been answered, a great deal of what happens is understood. Currently, eight factors are noted either pre- or intraoperatively which appear to have a correlation with the outcome of the surgery. These factors along with a discussion of available surgical procedures and the most common intra- and postoperative complications, both normal and abnormal, are discussed.


Recent clinical data shows that arsenic trioxide (As(2)O(3)) causes remission in patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia and multiple myeloma without severe side effects. Laboratory data suggest that As(2)O(3) induces apoptosis or cell differentiation of hematopoietic or solid tumor cells. To date, there has been no study on the effects of As(2)O(3) on glioma cells. In this study, we investigated the in vitro effect of As(2)O(3) on cell growth inhibition and cell death mechanisms in human glioma cells. As(2)O(3) significantly inhibited the proliferation of all six of the glioma cell lines (U373, U87, U251, GB1, A-172, and T98G) tested in this study in a dose-dependent manner. The IC(50) of As(2)O(3) for all of the tumor cell lines was <2 micro M. Previous studies have shown that this is a clinically safe concentration. Treatment with 2 micro M As(2)O(3) induced G(2)/M arrest in all of the glioma cell lines. Autophagy (programmed cell death type II), but not apoptosis (programmed cell death type I), was detected by electron microscopy in U-373-MG cells treated with 2 micro M As(2)O(3). Caspase inhibitors did not halt As(2)O(3)-induced cell death. Furthermore, combination of As(2)O(3) with bafilomycin A1 autophagy inhibitor enhanced the antitumor effect of As(2)O(3) through induction of apoptosis. These findings suggest that As(2)O(3) at a clinically safe concentration may be an effective chemotherapeutic agent for malignant gliomas.


NOXIOUS ODOR IN RESIDENTIAL ENVIRONMENTS: COPING IN REACTIVE AND PROACTIVE WAYS IN THREE NEW JERSEY COMMUNITIES by Maria Beatriz Yabur Currently little is known about the effects of noxious odor on people's daily lives. This lack of knowledge is apparent in the rules and regulations concerning odor. This dissertation addresses this lack of knowledge by looking at the effects of current noxious odor on residents' lives in three residential communities in northern New Jersey: West Caldwell, Newark's North Ward and GarfieldLafayette in Jersey City. The research examines the coping process residents adopt to deal with this environmental annoyance. In this study I explore two ways residents cope with odor: reactively (trying to keep the odor out of their homes) and proactively (taking actions to eliminate the source of odor). A model was developed to study the determinants of each of the two types of coping; both models include socioeconomic characteristics. The variables in the model for reactive coping include: perception of odor, community attachment, and physical reactions to the odor. The variables in the model for proactive coping include: knowledge of the correct agencies to contact concerning the odor, feelings of helplessness, and feeling of hopelessness, in addition to the predictors in the model for reactive coping. Reactive coping is measured by: residents' daily activities to avoid the odor and their desire to move away. Proactive coping is measured by: contacting anyone to complain about the odor and contacting the correct agencies Data was obtained from in-person interviews with residents in the three communities and site observations. The sample of residents interviewed consists of 90 respondents, which includes male (n=33) and female (n=67) residents over the age of 24 of diverse ethnic backgrounds (white, African American and Hispanic). The majority of respondents (81%) smelled the odor. Of those who smelled the odor (n=73), 61 respondents tried to eliminate the odor from their homes and 23 respondents considered moving away due to the odor. Less than half of the respondents who smelled the odor knew about the correct agencies to contact regarding the odor (40%); 39% of the respondents contacted someone and 26% of the respondents contacted the correct agencies. The multivariate regression analysis revealed that perception of odor and physical reactions are needed to engage in the coping behavior of trying to keep the odor out of their homes. Considering moving away is only affected by perception of odor. Three variables showed a significant relationship with the proactive coping outcome of contacting anyone about the odor: perception of odor, problem solving, and feeling helpless or hopeless. The variables affecting the likelihood that a resident contacted the correct agencies are: perception of odor, feeling helpless or hopeless, knowledge of the correct agencies and feelings of attachment, The results suggest that ethnicity plays an important role in the way residents react to noxious odor and that odor regulation policies and procedures are largely unknown among respondents. Concerning types of coping, the results indicate that physical reactions to odor affect reactive coping behaviors but they are not necessary for considering moving away or for either of the two proactive coping outcomes. NOXIOUS ODOR IN RESIDENTIAL ENVIRONMENTS: COPING IN REACTIVE AND PROACTIVE WAYS IN THREE NEW JERSEY COMMUNITIES by Maria Beatriz Yabur A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of New Jersey Institute of Technology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey — Newark and The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Systems Joint Program in Urban Systems


The continuing process of global integration bears implications for the formation of food markets in the global and regional levels. According to the latest estimates, Ukraine is able to feed more than 200 million people currently. But this production should be effective not only from the standpoint of food security but also from a Growth position. Formation of trade policy is the most important way to achieve this one. This paper assessed the current state of the European trade ties of internal agro-food market based on Trade Density Econometric Models. We provide in this paper a comparative evaluation of alternative approaches to possible development scenario for Ukrainian agricultural market based on the European experience. The research includes theoretical modelling foundations, datasets employed and analytical comparison of previous studies. The results can be used to determine government agricultural policies and large agricultural companies.


This report describes 30 patients under the age of 30 years with rheumatic aortic stenosis, presenting with combined aortic and mitral stenosis. Three patients had additional tricuspid stenosis. Twenty-eight patients gave a history of rheumatic polyarthritis. The diagnosis was confirmed by right and left heart catheterisation in all. The murmur of aortic stenosis was not initially present in 8 out of 10 patients in congestive heart failure. Aortic valve calcification was not seen. Cineangiography showed a tricuspid aortic valve in all, unlike congenital aortic stenosis. A unique feature of this group was the raised pulmonary vascular resistance in 87 per cent of the patients. The present study shows that patients in India developing aortic stenosis after rheumatic fever do so early in the natural history of the disease.


Background Electronic patient portals are websites that provide individuals access to their personal health records and allow them to engage through a secure Web-based platform. These portals are becoming increasingly popular in contemporary health care systems. Patient portal use has been found to be beneficial in multiple specialties, especially in the management of chronic disease. However, disparities have been identified in portal use in which racial and ethnic minorities and individuals with lower socioeconomic status have been shown to be less likely to enroll and use patient portals than non-Hispanic white persons and individuals with higher socioeconomic status. Electronic patient portal use by childbearing women has not been well studied, and data on portal use during pregnancy are limited. Objective This study aimed to quantify the use of an electronic patient portal during pregnancy and examine whether disparities related to patients' demographics or clinical characteristics exist. Methods This was a retrospective cohort study of women who received prenatal care at an academic medical center from 2014 to 2016. Clinical records were reviewed for portal use and patient data. Patients were considered enrolled in the portal if they had an account at the time of delivery, and enrollees were compared with nonenrollees. Enrollees were further categorized based on the number of secure messages sent during pregnancy as active (≥1) or inactive (0) users. Bivariable chi-square and multivariable Poisson regression models were used to calculate the incidence rate ratio of portal enrollment and, if enrolled, of active use based on patients' characteristics. Results Of the 3450 women eligible for inclusion, 2530 (73.33%) enrolled in the portal. Of these enrollees, 72.09% (1824/2530) were active users. There was no difference in portal enrollment by maternal race and ethnicity on multivariable models. Women with public insurance (adjusted incidence rate ratio; aIRR 0.60, 95% CI 0.49-0.84), late enrollment in prenatal care (aIRR 0.78, 95% CI 0.69-0.89 for second trimester and aIRR 0.50, 95% CI 0.39-0.64 for third trimester), and high-risk pregnancies (aIRR 0.82, 95% CI 0.75-0.89) were significantly less likely to enroll. Conversely, nulliparity (aIRR 1.10, 95% CI 1.02-1.20) and having more than 8 prescription medications at prenatal care initiation (aIRR 1.19, 95% CI 1.06-1.32) were associated with greater likelihood of enrollment. Among portal enrollees, the only factor significantly associated with active portal use (ie, secure messaging) was nulliparity (aIRR 1.11, 95% CI 1.01-1.23). Conclusions Among an obstetric population, multiple clinical and socioeconomic factors were associated with electronic portal enrollment, but not subsequent active use. As portals become more integrated as tools to promote health, efforts should be made to ensure that already vulnerable populations are not further disadvantaged with regard to electronic-based care.


One of types of normal human emotion is being angry. Unadaptive anger is passive and aggressive, meanwhile, adaptive anger is assertive. Adolescent phase is critical phase in searching for self identity. Uncontrol anger in adolescent phase causes violent behavior and it has negative impact for the personnel, group, and environment. Moreover, this research aimed at identifying the influence of assertive training against the control of teenager's anger at Junior High School in Surabaya, East Java-Indonesia. The researchers utilized queasy experiment method through pretest – posttest approach with control group by utilizing consecutive sampling technique. Meanwhile, data collection utilized questionnaire. There were two kinds of questionnaires which were used, which were for screening and for prepost-test. Assertive training aimed at improving teenager's control while they were angry. Research result showed that the decrease of anger was significant between before and after being given assertive training (p < 0.05). The difference of anger score between in control group and in treatment group was significant (p = 0.05). However, assertive training could be used as alternative way in order to improve teenager's control while they were in angry emotion rather than other therapies. Keywords: Aseertive training, Teeneger, Anger


Introduction: It is not known precisely the introduction of this species in our country, most research indicates XVI century but there are opinions that consider that this species is present in our country since the Dacian times.Until now has not been cultivated on a large area and it has not been obtained a distinct biological Romanian variety. It can be said that this species has been neglected until now as vegetable crop. This crop gives a high yield in tubers, it grows better in poor soils than most crops, and it is resistant to pests and common plant diseases as well as to cold temperatures (Kosaric, N.,1994). Selection for high yield, inulin content and other economically important traits are useful for improving this crop (Mullin, W. J.,1994). Unlike most crops that store carbon as starch, a polymer of glucose, in the Jerusalem artichoke carbon is stored as inulin, a fructose polymer (Kays, 2007). Aims: The research started in 1996, aimed to obtain  biological stabilized and genetically distinct varieties with reduced variability of the main characters, developing specific technology culture in accordance with DUS and rehabilitation of species through the promotion and expansion as vegetable crops in order to revaluate its many uses. Materials and Methods: It was evaluated the local genetic heritage in this species, representing valuable germplasm base composed of 24 genotypes. After purchasing the basic biological material, the evaluated genotypes were collected and 3 of them were detained as progeny. The breeding method used was the clonal selection. Results: The researches were completed with a valuable germplasm collection in this species, were obtained three varieties with distinct characteristics: L1, which shows pink-brown tubers with a tubers yield of over 3.8 kg / plant and a vegetative mass with a height of 2,5 m, L2, white tuber variety with an yield potential of 3.4 kg / plant and a rich vegetative mass with a height of over 2.8 m and L3 that shows pink tubers with an average yield of 2.4 kg / plant and an average plant height of 0.8 m. Conclusion: The research ended with the evaluation of a valuable germplasm collection. Three stabilized genetically varieties with distinct phenotypic characteristics were obtained. Among them, L1 was patented and the other two will be submitted in 2017. It was developed a specific technology for each variety and has been promotional offered improved material to growers with the aim of extending these varieties as vegetable crops. References Kays, Stanley J., and Stephen F. Nottingham. Biology and chemistry of Jerusalem artichoke: Helianthus tuberosus L. CRC press, 2007. 2. Kosaric, N., et al. "The Jerusalem artichoke as an agricultural crop." Biomass5.1 (1984): 1-36. 3. Mullin, W. J., et al. "The macronutrient content of fractions from Jerusalem artichoke tubers (Helianthus tuberosus)." Food chemistry 51.3 (1994): 263-269.


Information on the amount, distribution, and characteristics of woody debris in forest ecosystems is in high demand by wildlife biologists, fire specialists, and ecologists. In recent years, a number of newmethods have been proposed to sample woody debris in terrestrial ecosystems. In present study, three approacheswithin line intersect sampling including probability, Huber and Smalian approaches were compared for accuracy and efficiency in measuring of woody debris. The data were selected from recreational forests of Fandoughlou including hazel stands located in northwestern Iran. The results indicated that line-intersect sampling based on probability theory consistently provided estimates similar to the results of a 100% survey (high accuracy). This method also took the least amount of time and effort formap lay-out and field line location (high efficiency); therefore, line intersect sampling as an easy and quick survey method is proposed to monitor woody debris in the region.


Listeria-infecting phages are currently being used to control and detect the important foodborne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes; however, the influence of environmental conditions on the interactions between L. monocytogenes and its phages has not been explored in depth. Here, we examined the infective potential of four Listeria phages (two each from the P70-like and P100-like phages of Listeria) against five strains of L. monocytogenes (representing serotypes 1/2a, 1/2b, 4a, and 4b) grown under a range of temperatures (7–37°C). We show that the plaquing efficiencies for all four phages were significantly affected by temperature. Interestingly, no plaques were observed for any of the four phages at 37°C. Adsorption assays performed with the P100-like phages, LP-048 and LP-125, showed that LP-048 had a severely reduced adsorption efficiency against susceptible strains at 37°C as compared to 30°C, suggesting that there is considerably less accessible rhamnose (LP-048's putative phage receptor) on the host at 37°C than at 30°C. LP-125 adsorbed to host cells at 37°C, indicating that the inability for LP-125 to plaque at 37°C is not due to adsorption inhibition. LP-048 showed significantly higher adsorption efficiency against a mutant strain lacking N-acetylglucosamine in its wall teichoic acids (WTA) than the parental strain at both 30 and 37°C, suggesting that N-acetylglucosamine competes with rhamnose for glycosylation sites on the WTA. The data presented here clearly shows that L. monocytogenes can gain physiological refuge from phage infection, which should be carefully considered for both the design and implementation of phage-based control and detection applications.


BACKGROUND
Congenital lip fistulas are very rare and may occur alone or in combination with oral clefts and other dysontogenetic malformations. The etiology of congenital lip fistulas is not yet known.

PATIENT AND METHOD
We present a 7-year-old boy with recurrent infections of bilateral congenital fistulas of the lower lip. There were no associated congenital anomalies and a negative family history. An elliptical excision of the fistulas under microscopic control gave satisfactory functional and esthetic results. There was no recurrence two years after surgery.

CONCLUSION
Since the possibility of additional severe malformations exists for the patient and the patient's children patients should undergo careful ENT and pediatric assessment, and genetic counselling should be considered. In order to achieve good functional and esthetic results, the corrective operation must be planned carefully taking into consideration important surgical principles.


The number of long-term or permanently residing foreigners in the CR exceeded in the 2008 the amount of 437 565. Age structure of foreigners staying in the CR for more than 1 year substantially differs from the age structure of the population of the CR. The Czech Republic seems to be an attractive place for EU-15, A8 and third country nationals. The proportion of foreigners has grown in the last years. The ratio of foreigners to the labour force in the Czech Republic, in other words to the economically active citizens at the age of 15 or older, has been on the rise for the last years. Supply has responded to changing demand for new workforce. Unfortunately we have no data about imigrants´ education level. This article came into being within the framework of the long-term research project 2D06026, "Reproduction of Human Capital", financed by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport within the framework of National Research Program II.


To the Editor. —In your news item (February issue) of my presentation at the American Heart Association meeting, "Clinical Experience With the Unidirectional Dual-Chambered Intraaortic Balloon Assist" ( Arch Intern Med 127 :195, 1971), an important concept has been inadvertently misstated. The sentence should be written "During diastole , sequential inflation of the two sections of the balloon positioned in the descending thoracic aorta results in all blood being pumped toward the heart, thereby maximally increasing coronary blood flow. The balloon is deflated prior to systole by an appropriately timed vacuum applied to the external safety chamber with a resultant decrease in left ventricular work. In contrast to other investigators, we use a fixed volume of carbon dioxide, rather than helium, to effect intraaortic pumping action. We have found the dual-chambered intraaortic balloon to be an extremely safe and effective temporary cardiac assist device which can now enable the physician to stabilize


Aims This study aimed to systematically identify and summarise all risk scores evaluated in the emergency department setting to stratify acute heart failure patients. Methods and results A systematic review of PubMed and Web of Science was conducted including all multicentre studies reporting the use of risk predictive models in emergency department acute heart failure patients. Exclusion criteria were: (a) non-original articles; (b) prognostic models without predictive purposes; and (c) risk models without consecutive patient inclusion or exclusively tested in patients admitted to a hospital ward. We identified 28 studies reporting findings on 19 scores: 13 were originally derived in the emergency department (eight exclusively using acute heart failure patients), and six in emergency department and hospitalised patients. The outcome most frequently predicted was 30-day mortality. The performance of the scores tended to be higher for outcomes occurring closer to the index acute heart failure event. The eight scores developed using acute heart failure patients only in the emergency department contained between 4–13 predictors (age, oxygen saturation and creatinine/urea included in six scores). Five scores (Emergency Heart Failure Mortality Risk Grade, Emergency Heart Failure Mortality Risk Grade 30 Day mortality ST depression, Epidemiology of Acute Heart Failure in Emergency department 3 Day, Acute Heart Failure Risk Score, and Multiple Estimation of risk based on Emergency department Spanish Score In patients with Acute Heart Failure) have been externally validated in the same country, and two (Emergency Heart Failure Mortality Risk Grade and Multiple Estimation of risk based on Emergency department Spanish Score In patients with Acute Heart Failure) further internationally validated. The c-statistic for Emergency Heart Failure Mortality Risk Grade to predict seven-day mortality was between 0.74–0.81 and for Multiple Estimation of risk based on Emergency department Spanish Score In patients with Acute Heart Failure to predict 30-day mortality was 0.80–0.84. Conclusions There are several scales for risk stratification of emergency department acute heart failure patients. Two of them are accurate, have been adequately validated and may be useful in clinical decision-making in the emergency department i.e. about whether to admit or discharge.


It used to be commonplace to think that intelligent professionals could readily be divided into two major types: first the practical type, down-to-earth, who stuck firmly to a " no nonsense" empiricist realism and simply got on with the job; then the thinker, who looked behind or beneath surface phenomena, and tried to work out the meaning not only of " the facts " but also of the language in which we describe them. It used to be thought, moreover, that by and large scientists belonged in the first group, and philosophers in the second. This naive oversimplification has been breaking down all around us in the last two decades. One who has helped more than most to demonstrate its unreality has been Michael Polanyi, one-time professor of physical chemistry at Manchester, and then of social studies, and now a kind of academic plenipotentiary. Polanyi bestrides the world of knowledge, from subatomic particles to the highest levels of conscious awareness. Those who found his Personal Knowledge (1958) too heavy a work, and The Tacit Dimension (1967) too condensed, will find that this collection of essays, written over the span of a decade and at different levels of intensity, allows us to explore in a more relaxed way the mind of one of the leaders of the biggest revolution of ideas since the seventeenth century. Professor Grene, the distinguished writer in the philosophy of biology, has written an excellent editor's introduction. The myth of " scientific objectivity " (as an absolute), and the notion of the "inductive method" as the only road to truth, were always, perhaps, suspect to the practising clinician. How do we know when we discern the correct diagnosis ? Do we really " know" anything ? Polanyi's aphorism is that "we know more than we can tell." In this fascinating book he demonstrates, often using clinical examples, the truth of his aphorism, and shows the significance of this new insight for a process of evolution which has produced man, and for the future of which man must now assume responsibility. BERNARD TOWERS.


We propose a unified framework to analyze fixed point iterations of a set-valued operator that is the union of a finite number of upper semicontinuous maps, each with a nonempty closed domain and compact values. We discuss global convergence, local linear convergence under a calmness condition, and component identification, and further propose acceleration strategies that drastically improve the convergence speed. Our framework is applied to analyze a class of proximal algorithms for minimizing the sum of a piecewise smooth function and the difference between pointwise minimum of finitely many weakly convex functions and a piecewise smooth convex function. When realized on two-set feasibility problems, this algorithm class recovers alternating projections and averaged projections as special cases, and our framework thus equips these classical methods with global convergence and possibilities for acceleration on a broad class of nonconvex feasibility problems. By specializing the framework to a nonconvex feasibility problem reformulation of the linear complementarity problem, we show global convergence to a solution from any initial point, with a local linear rate, of the alternating projection as well as the averaged projection methods, which is difficult to obtain on nonconvex problems. Numerical results further exemplify that the proposed acceleration algorithms significantly improve upon their non-accelerated counterparts in efficiency.


We present in this study initial results on trace elements concentrations changes in the deepest part of the Vostok ice core. From 3310 m depth to the bottom of the ice core (3623 m), ice encountered is made of disturbed glacial ice by glacier dynamics and accreted ice from the sub-glacial lake Vostok. Since trace elements are involved in various biogeochemical processes, studying these elements in the accreted ice of the Vostok lake can lead to a better understanding of lake chemistry and life development in such extreme environment. Because concentrations to be measured in Antarctic ice are exceedingly low, such investigations on trace elements require strict control of contamination problems and the use of ultraclean protocols. Initial results obtained for Zn concentrations changes show high variability (< 0.5 to 32 pg/g), with the lowest concentrations found in the accreted ice of the Vostok lake (< 0.5 pg/g). According to crustal enrichment factors close to unity, Zn seems to be mainly associated with crustal material.


The broad-spectrum antiparasitic agent ivermectin has been very recently found to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 in vitro and proposed as a candidate for drug repurposing in COVID-19. In the present report the in vitro antiviral activity end-points are analyzed from the pharmacokinetic perspective. The available pharmacokinetic data from clinically relevant and excessive dosing studies indicate that the SARS-CoV-2 inhibitory concentrations are not likely to be attainable in humans.


Using panel data econometric techniques, this paper evaluates how public expenditure influences agricultural performance at the district level in Malawi by empirically estimating localized expenditure multipliers for the districts. The results of the analysis show that public expenditures in agriculture have generally positive but variable impacts on agricultural growth at the district level. The paper also finds that there are substantial differences in terms of fiscal multipliers among the districts: most of these multipliers lie below one, although some are above one, while a few are negative. These results confirm that increasing public expenditures in agriculture can yield modest but positive impacts on agricultural productivity. The realization of improved impacts partly depends on both enhancing the quality of public spending and improving the health of public finances across the districts of Malawi.


Abstract Recently, theorists have sought to justify transnational democracy by means of the all-affected principle, which claims that people have a right to participate in political decision-making that affects them. I argue that this principle is neither logically valid nor feasible as a way of determining the boundaries of democratic communities. First, specifying what it means to be affected is itself a highly political issue, since it must rest on some disputable theory of interests; and the principle does not solve the problem of how to legitimately constitute the demos, since such acts, too, are decisions which affect people. Furthermore, applying the principle comes at too high a cost: either political boundaries must be redrawn for each issue at stake or we must ensure that democratic politics only has consequences within an enclosed community and that it affects its members equally. Secondly, I discuss three possible replacements for the all-affected principle: (a) applying the all-affected principle to second-order rules, not to decisions; (b) drawing boundaries so as to maximise everyone's autonomy; (c) including everyone who is subject to the law. I conclude by exploring whether (c) would support transnational democracy to the extent that a global legal order is emerging.


Peptide display has enabled identification and optimization of ligands to many targets. These ligands are usually linear or disulfide-containing peptides that are vulnerable to proteolysis or reduction. We report yeast surface and phage display of lanthipeptides, macrocyclic ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs). Lanthipeptides contain multiple thioether cross-links that bestow their biological activities. We developed C-terminal yeast display of the class II lanthipeptides lacticin 481 and haloduracin β, and randomization of the C-ring of the former was used to select tight binders to αvβ3 integrin. This represents the first examples of bacterial RiPP production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae for identification of variants with new biological activities. We also report N-terminal phage display of the class I lanthipeptide nisin and randomization of its A- and B-rings to enrich binders to a small molecule, lipid II. The successful display and randomization of both class I and II lanthipeptides demonstrates the versatility and potential of RiPP display.


Using quantitative methods, we analyze naturalistic corpus data in two sign languages, German Sign Language and Russian Sign Language, to study subject-omission patterns. We find that, in both languages, the interpretation of null subjects depends on the type of the verb. With verbs signed on the signer's body (body-anchored verbs), null subjects are interpreted only as first person. With verbs signed in neutral space in front of the signer (neutral verbs), this restriction does not apply. We argue that this is an effect of iconicity: for body-anchored verbs, the signer's body is a part of the iconic representation of the verbal event, and by default the body is interpreted as referring to the signer, that is, as first person. We develop a formal analysis using a mechanism of mixed agreement, taking inspiration from Matushansky's (2013) account of mixed gender agreement in Russian. Specifically, we argue that body-anchored verbs bear an inherent feature that gives a first-person interpretation to null subjects. When a body-anchored verb is combined with an overt third-person subject, a feature mismatch occurs which is resolved in favor of the third person. Neutral verbs do not come with inherent feature-value specifications, thus allowing all person interpretations. We also explain how our analysis predicts the interpretation of null subjects in the context of role shift. With our account, we demonstrate that iconicity plays an active role in the grammar of sign languages, and we pin down the locus of the iconicity effect. While no iconic or modality-specific syntactic mechanisms are needed to account for the data, iconicity is argued to determine feature specification on a subset of sign language verbs.


ABSTRACT We empirically examine the effectiveness of referral marketing and price promotion in generating sales in a large e-commerce platform. Our results show that although referral marketing increases sales, its effect is attenuated by price promotion. We argue that price promotion arouses quality concerns and undermines the credibility of online paid referrals in a weak-tie environment. This finding implies diminishing marginal returns for referral marketing and price promotion spending. We conduct a battery of validation tests to support our argument. Our research highlights the importance of scrutinizing the complementarity of marketing promotions in the unique context of the Internet. Depending on the persuasiveness of the brand and the promotional channel, promotional strategies may conflict in addressing consumers' quality concerns. Our findings suggest that marketing managers should use discretion in combining online referral marketing and price promotion. We advise sellers against using both marketing tactics if they lack a strong brand image.


The metabolism of NO(NO2-) and H2O2(O2-) by stroma cells of pig endometrium is NAD(P)H and glutathione-dependent process. The efficiency of biosynthesis and utilization of these metabolites appreciably depends on the state of SH-groups of the conforming ferment systems. And the reversible oxidation of SH-groups (maybe by the reaction products) results in the drop of biosynthesis rate. The NO and H2O2 metabolism is also defined by the state of oxidative metabolism of arachidonic acid (depending on salicylate), and also intensity of a course of redox-processes on plasmalemma (is regulated by cytochrome c). The NO2- biosynthesis by stroma cells is strongly inhibited by the agents, which super produce H2O2(O2-) (salicylate and cytochrome c). The NO(NO2-) and H2O2(O2-) metabolism at stimulation by acetylcholine is of cyclic character, and the infringement of any link during biosynthesis or utilization of these compositions results in losses of cyclicity. In contrast to this the formation of nitrosoglutathione with time achieves the saturation, which reflects its buffer and depositing with respect to NO function and permits to consider formation of the latter as one of mechanisms of effective utilization of NO(NO2-)--by the stroma cells.