At the beginning of cinema, in his early twentieth-century research the Soviet director and film theorist Sergei Eisenstein developed his theory of associative montage "1+1=3." Nowadays, new methods have been added to this theory. These variables include the creative re-use of allusions to film history. In contemporary cinema, when a new archive film uses sequences from cinema heritage, it quotes from the past and can activate visually and content-wise complex cultural memories. In these films, the successive placement of two sequences, beyond their association, creates new associative meaning, thus, it calls forth metacinematic associations. This additional meaning is the imprint of cinematic heritage. Final Cut by György Pálfi and Péter Lichter's works make use of the archives of cinematic heritage through a reinterpreted film language, attempting to create independent, innovative works of art. They use the same starting point, based on a directorial concept, but the two attempts resulted in completely different motion pictures. Due to the approach at the basis of their conception, these films illustrate both the linear, i.e., the archetypal narrative film representation and the nonlinear narration. However, these films are not only defined by the scenes they are compiled of, but also bear the particularities of the original motion pictures, referring to and going far beyond the individual characteristics of the scenes themselves. Despite being linear narrative films, the cinematic rhetoric of neither motion picture is continuous but associative they bring into play layers of film culture. Overall, Eisenstein's formula can be extended in the following way: 1 afs (archive film sequence) + 1 afs (archive film sequence) = 3 mca (metacinematic associations).


Due to their robustness, compactness, simplicity, and the possibility of nonlinear torque curves, spiral springs are being increasingly contemplated for industrial application. Recent manufacturing technologies and materials allow for the creation of spiral springs of various shapes and geometries able to provide the required torque curves. Modeling the behavior of this kind of springs is highly complex due to the strong nonlinearities arisen from large deflections and the possibility of coiling of strip length around the spring barrel or arbor. For this reason, up to our knowledge, existing models only provide design features such as deflection and torque curve for the simplest strip geometries, and fewer models supply, only if no strip coiling occurs, reactions at the strip-barrel and strip-arbor clampings. In addition, to our knowledge, just semi-empirical models for strip-barrel, -arbor and -strip contact forces or friction torques were available. In this work, we introduce a novel general, an analytical quasistatic model for the calculation of all the above spring characteristics for any length-dependent strip material and initial geometry and strip cross-sectional shape and for any barrel and arbor radii. The strip deflection curvatures are calculated minimizing the sum of elastic and gravitational potential energies under geometrical constraints associated with eventual strip coiling. Once the curvatures are calculated, the spring internal, contact, and reaction forces can be straightforwardly calculated by solving the elastica differential equations. Friction is taken into account by evaluating the contact conditions at the strip coiled sections.


ABSTRACT A functional capsid protein (CP) is essential for host plant infection and insect transmission in monopartite geminiviruses. We studied two defective genomic DNAs of tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV), Sic and SicRcv. Sic, cloned from a field-infected tomato, was not infectious, whereas SicRcv, which spontaneously originated from Sic, was infectious but not whitefly transmissible. A single amino acid change in the CP was found to be responsible for restoring infectivity. When the amino acid sequences of the CPs of Sic and SicRcv were compared with that of a closely related wild-type virus (TYLCV-Sar), differences were found in the following positions: 129 (P in Sic and SicRcv, Q in Sar), 134 (Q in Sic and Sar, H in SicRcv) and 152 (E in Sic and SicRcv, D in Sar). We constructed TYLCV-Sar variants containing the eight possible amino acid combinations in those three positions and tested them for infectivity and transmissibility. QQD, QQE, QHD, and QHE had a wild-type phenotype, whereas PHD and PHE were infectious but nontransmissible. PQD and PQE mutants were not infectious; however, they replicated and accumulated CP, but not virions, in Nicotiana benthamiana leaf discs. The Q129P replacement is a nonconservative change, which may drastically alter the secondary structure of the CP and affect its ability to form the capsid. The additional Q134H change, however, appeared to compensate for the structural modification. Sequence comparisons among whitefly-transmitted geminiviruses in terms of the CP region studied showed that combinations other than QQD are present in several cases, but never with a P129.


As pressure grows for cultural institutions to provide online access to images of collection objects, issues regarding copyright and reuse of materials arise. Yet little research has been conducted on the way heritage institutions within New Zealand have tackled these copyright issues and how they reach decisions to allow the reuse of digital content from their extensive online collections. Furthermore, there is a lack of academic investigation into what value any newly introduced reuse practices and policies can bring to cultural institutions and users of their digital content. My research explores how and why New Zealand's two collecting domains, the National Library of New Zealand and the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, provide openly licensed digital images of artefacts through online collection databases.  While literature on the topic of reuse of digitised documentary heritage collections is limited, previous research shows that there are myriad barriers surrounding the reuse of digitised collection objects, some of these include finding best practice for orphan works, acknowledging indigenous sensitivities, dealing with issues of trust and balancing commercial imperatives with public expectations. The body of literature also shows the opportunities and benefits that international cultural institutions have gained from establishing reuse practices for their digital collections, yet none offer insight from a New Zealand context.  Guided by this gap within the literature this dissertation investigates the establishment of use and reuse policies and practices by the National Library of New Zealand and the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, and what value they feel this practice may bring to the sector. It explores each respective institution's journey towards a connected commons through two in-depth qualitative case studies and concludes with a cross-case analysis. Within the cross-case analysis an Open GLAM Licensing Framework is proposed for Aotearoa that draws on the work that these institutions, along with other leading cultural institutions, have done in establishing reuse practices and policies for digital collections. This research contributes to Museum and Heritage Studies discourse by providing a snapshot of reuse in a New Zealand context and provides a valuable framework to evaluate the current motivations and processes of institutions establishing Open GLAM philosophies.


This paper documents the changes in climate extremes over Indonesia during the past three decades (1983–2012) based on a subset of extreme indices recommended by the Expert Team on Climate Change Detection and Indices (ETCCDI). The extreme indices were calculated based on the quality controlled daily observational data (minimum and maximum temperature and precipitation) from 88 weather stations. Overall, we found significant and spatially coherent trends of warming in the temperature indices over Indonesia, consistent with other studies conducted at different countries within the Southeast Asia. The frequency of cool days (TX10p) and cools nights (TN10p) had decreased whereas warm days (TX90p) and warm nights (TN90p) were observed more frequently. Averaged over the country, the annual mean of daily maximum (TXmean) and minimum temperature (TNmean) had increased significantly by 0.18 and 0.30 °C decade−1, respectively. Other temperature indices also showed significant warming trends. In contrast, trends in the precipitation extremes indices were generally not significant and less spatially coherent. However, a tendency towards wetter conditions was observed, in agreement with the results at the global scale. The daily precipitation intensity (SDII) had increased significantly over the country by 0.21 mm day−1 decade−1 during the period studied. At the regional scale, we observed a significant wetting trend in the annual highest daily amount (RX1day) and the rainfall amount contributed by the extremely very wet days (R99p) in the northern part of the country. The wetting trends of a number of extreme precipitation indices were depicted prominently in December–January–February (DJF) and/or March–April–May (MAM) seasons, both at country and regional levels. However, for the southern region of Indonesia, a drying tendency was observed for June–July–August (JJA), September–October–November (SON) and MAM.


The evidence for and against the association of oral contraceptives (OCs) with vascular disease is reviewed, along with the possible pathophysiologic mechanisms for such an association, including effects on coagulation, circulating lipoproteins, and glucose metabolism. The new, low-dose estrogen OCs appear to affect coagulation minimally, and anticoagulant as well as procoagulant effects have been documented. Such concomitant factors as cigarette smoking, obesity, a family history of thrombosis, lack of physical activity, and blood type influence coagulation more strongly. Myocardial infarction and stroke are strongly correlated with the levels and pattern of circulating lipoproteins. The estrogen components of OCs have a favorable effect on lipids, while the effect of progestins, particularly potent androgenic progestins, is unfavorable and could be significant. OCs containing high-dose androgenic progestins can produce abnormal glucose tolerance resulting in increased cardiovascular risk. Low-dose OCs are associated with early, transient breakthrough bleeding. However, educating patients in the management of breakthrough bleeding can help reduce the number of women who must be switched to higher-dose OCs. Epidemiologic evidence confirms the safety of low-dose OCs. By selecting patients carefully, the risk of vascular disease from oral contraception can be reduced to very low levels.


In our experiments, YBaCuO films were deposited onto [100]MgO substrates by pulsed excimer laser ablation and annealed in low-pressure oxygen to make them oxygen deficient. The films, which were c-axis oriented with transition temperatures around 50 K, were then fabricated into mesa-like devices with an a-b plane area of a few square microns. Important features of our device are its novel microwave coupling and reduced leakage current between the top and bottom electrodes. By ramping the bias current up and down repeatedly and measuring the dc current-voltage curves, we successfully observed typical intrinsic Josephson effects such as hysteresis, voltage jumps of a few millivolts, as well as dozens of branches with regular voltage intervals. The observed microwave response, in the range of a few to 110 GHz, indicates that these oxygen-deficient YBaCuO intrinsic Josephson junctions may find many millimeter-wave and submillimeter-wave applications.


Abstract The purpose of this article is to examine certain cultural and ethical aspects which make the translator's task arduous. Firstly, it is demonstrated that the indissolubility of language and culture (Nida 2002) means that the translator must possess high-level cultural competency and an understanding of context (Herbulot 2004). Secondly, by applying Narrative Theory to translation (Baker 2006), the article highlights ethical considerations associated with translating certain narratives and advances Fisher's narrative paradigm as a possible response (Fisher 1984, 1985, 1997). Citing the example of a translated, contemporary, African novel (Mouanda Kibinde 2004, 2015), the translator-author's ethical responsibility of prioritizing the reader of the translated text (Leclercq 2002) is examined against the backdrop of reception theory (Rosenblatt 1969, 1978 (1994)). The article concludes by suggesting which courses of action are open to the translator, in the face of weighty, cultural and ethical constraints (Ortega y Gasset 2013).


We describe two females, 15 and 23 years old, respectively, who presented with classical features of Wilson's disease (WD) and several features of autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). The first patient was initially diagnosed as AIH and treated with prednisolone which caused clinical improvement, with an increase of serum albumin from 22 to 30 g/L, and a decrease of aspartate aminotransferase from 103 to 47 U/L. Subsequent diagnosis of WD and introduction of penicillamine gave excellent improvement and complete normalization of liver function tests. The second patient, at first also diagnosed as having AIH, was treated with steroids and azathioprine with initial improvement, but subsequent deterioration. The diagnosis of WD was made 2 years after initial diagnosis of AIH, as the patient reached end‐stage liver disease and required a transplant. Therefore, d‐penicillamine treatment was not attempted. We conclude that, in patients with AIH, a thorough screening for WD is necessary, particularly when the response to steroid therapy is poor. Conversely, in patients suffering from WD with superimposed features of AIH, a combination of steroids and penicillamine may be of benefit.


One of the key challenges in face perception lies in determining the contribution of different cues to face identification. In this study, we focus on the role of color cues. Although color appears to be a salient attribute of faces, past research has suggested that it confers little recognition advantage for identifying people. Here we report experimental results suggesting that color cues do play a role in face recognition and their contribution becomes evident when shape cues are degraded. Under such conditions, recognition performance with color images is significantly better than that with grayscale images. Our experimental results also indicate that the contribution of color may lie not so much in providing diagnostic cues to identity as in aiding low-level image-analysis processes such as segmentation.


Monitoring a quantum observable continuously in time produces a stochastic measurement record that noisily tracks the observable. For a classical process such noise may be reduced to recover an average signal by minimizing the mean squared error between the noisy record and a smooth dynamical estimate. We show that for a monitored qubit this usual procedure returns unusual results. While the record seems centered on the expectation value of the observable during causal generation, examining the collected past record reveals that it better approximates a moving-mean Gaussian stochastic process centered at a distinct (smoothed) observable estimate. We show that this shifted mean converges to the real part of a generalized weak value in the time-continuous limit without additional postselection. We verify that this smoothed estimate minimizes the mean squared error even for individual measurement realizations. We go on to show that if a second observable is weakly monitored concurrently, then that second record is consistent with the smoothed estimate of the second observable based solely on the information contained in the first observable record. Moreover, we show that such a smoothed estimate made from incomplete information can still outperform estimates made using full knowledge of the causal quantum state.


The endosperm occupies most of the available space within mature rice seeds, contains abundant nutrients, and directly influences both the quality and quantity of rice production. Initial reports noted that AtZHOUPI (AtZOU) coordinates endosperm breakdown and the concomitant separation of the embryo from this structure in Arabidopsis. The results of this study show that rice genomes contain two most closely related homologs of AtZOU, OsZOU-1 and OsZOU-2; of these, OsZOU-1 expression is limited to within the endosperm where it can be detected throughout this structure 5 days after pollination (DAP). Its expression gradually decreases from seven DAP to nine DAP. The second of the two most closely related homologs, OsZOU-2, is highly expressed in leaves and stem, but is not detected in developing seeds. Heterologous expression of OsZOU-1 and OsZOU-2 in Atzou-4 mutants also revealed that OsZOU-1 partially complements the seed phenotypes of these individuals, while its counterpart, OsZOU-2, was unable to recover these phenotypes. The over-expression of OsZOU-1 severely disrupts both seed development and plant growth in transgenic rice lines, as plants in which this gene has been knocked down failed in the separation of endosperm from embryo and cuticle formation during seed development. The results of this study therefore suggest that OsZOU-1 is orthologous to the AtZOU, and regulates both endosperm development and cuticle formation in rice.


In this paper, we first review general quantum mechanical limits on the sensitivity of heterodyne receivers. The main aim of the paper is to explore the quantum-noise (QN) properties of hot electron bolometric (HEB) mixers. HEB mixers have a characteristic feature not found in other mixers: based on the "hot-spot" model, the conversion loss varies along the length dimension of the bolometer, and some sections of the bolometer are essentially passive, in which little frequency conversion occurs. We analyze a quantitative distributed quantum-noise model of the HEB mixer, making use of simulated hot-spot model data, that takes into account the continuous variation of the sensitivity along the bolometer bridge. An expression for the HEB receiver noise temperature, including optical input loss, is derived. We find that the predicted double-sideband receiver noise temperature agrees well with the available measured data (up to 5.3 THz). The results of our analysis suggest that QN and classical HEB noise contribute about equally at 3 THz, while at higher terahertz frequencies QN dominates. QN thus appears to show measurable effects in existing HEB mixers and will be even more important to take into account as HEB mixers continue to be developed for higher terahertz frequencies.


The annual flood pulses of central Amazonian rivers inundate marginal forests to 10 m depth or more (Furch & Otto 1987, Junk et al. 1989). The regularity of this flooding seems to have promoted the development of a complex relationship between forest plants and fishes that consume their seeds (Goulding 1980). Several fish species migrate into the flooded forests to feed on buoyant fruits and seeds, and many plant species reach their fruiting peak during the flood season. Fruits and seeds have been reported to have adaptive features related to water (hydrochory) and/or fish (ichthyochory) dispersal (Araújo-Lima & Goulding 1998, Gottsberger 1978, Goulding 1980, Kubitzki & Ziburski 1994, Scarano 1998, Williamson 1999, Williamson & Costa 2000). Strong multicuspidate teeth in frugivorous fishes, fruit/seed buoyancy (Goulding 1980) and chemical signs released by fallen fruit to attract fish (Araújo-Lima & Goulding 1998) are mechanisms for the seed dispersal of the flooded forest community.


Studying criteria ensuring better implementations of control laws and logics on digital programmable devices is today a crucial point in order to improve performance and safety in nuclear plants of novel design. To this aim, a mathematical model of a PWR is considered, describing the dynamics of the primary circuit. This model is simple enough to allow the determination of a control policy, but it is also sufficiently accurate to capture the nonlinear, time–varying, and switching nature of the system. A dynamic controller for the pressurizer pressure and water level is hence designed. Its main advantage is the reduction of the control response. This latter is a classical drawback, which may cause some troubles to pressure control, due to the long response of temperature sensors.The digital implementation of the controller has been taken into account to study the important aspects of the influence of the implementation on the performance of the control law. A particularly effective and flexible environment where it is possible to analyze these aspects is Matlab/Simulink, a general–purpose tool for analysis and simulation of multi–domain dynamic systems, practically a standard in control implementations, also in industrial applications. The designed controller ensures a good performance when applied to the model used to derive them, also in the presence of unmodeled uncertainties and disturbances. Its nonlinear switching nature, reflecting the real pressurizer dynamics, ensures better transient behaviors. Since it contains a PI action, it represents an evolution and an improvement with respect to classical PID controllers, usually implemented in standard control actions. To better analyze the control performance, three steps have been considered: first, the designed nonlinear controller has been compared with a linear one. Second, it has been tested on a more detailed model, with more realistic dynamics. Finally, the digital implementation of the controller has been simulated, in order to optimize the electronic implementation on the FPGA–CPU hybrid platform.A simulation study has been conducted with sampling times in ascending order, to further test its robustness against delays. LabVIEW development tool and technology has been chosen to create the electronic layout and to obtain preliminary results in terms of timing, resources availability and power consumption. Due to the same graphical mode of programming, an immediate link between Matlab/Scilab and LabVIEW is possible in order to optimize the use of each language where it guarantees the best performance.The methodology here presented could be very useful to better integrate the different features of control engineering and IC design, thus giving the possibility of realizing more accurate simulations and permitting to perform a hardware in the loop (HIL) testing of a wide variety of control algorithms.Copyright © 2013 by ASME


Since the rule change permitting the inclusion of one dolphin kick during the underwater breaststroke pullout phase following a swim start or turn, there has been an emergence of several different pullout techniques adopted by elite swimmers. The aim of this study was to characterize the underwater breaststroke pullout technique trends and to assess the effectiveness of each technique as utilized by elite male and female swimmers. The sample included 60 swimmers (n = 26 male, n = 34 female) competing across the 50, 100, and 200 m long-course breaststroke final races from the World Championships 2015, 2017, 2019 and Olympic Games 2016. An above-water camera was used to identify and measure the different phases of the underwater pullout techniques, which was found to be a highly accurate methodological approach (ICC = 0.97). From the 150 trials analyzed, three different pullout techniques were identified: the Fly-Kick First technique, the Combined technique and the Pull-Down First technique. Although the most common underwater pullout technique utilized by elite competitive breaststroke swimmers was the Combined technique (n = 71), followed by the Fly-Kick First technique (n = 65) and the Pull-Down First technique (n = 14), it was observed that technical selection deviates according to gender. This indicates that male and female swimmers should not be coached adhering to the same technical model. This study found no significant difference in terms of performance outcome with respect to each of these techniques, indicating that technique selection should be guided by one's individual preference. It was concluded that the results of this study will serve as an up-to-date resource for coaches and swimmers working with elite breaststroke swimmers and as a useful insight to current underwater pullout trends.


Microdisk lasers with three InGaAs/InAlGaAs quantum wells were demonstrated for the first time. The selective etching method used to fabricate the laser structure is discussed. Lasers 20 mu m in diameter lased with single mode at 1.5- mu m wavelength when optically pumped by a pulsed argon-ion laser at 80 K.<<ETX>>


In a senior-baccalaureate nursing program, a student's journey of transition to becoming a Registered Nurse is fraught with institutional and relational tensions. In a fourth-year capstone theory course focused on issues and trends in nursing leadership, we explored these tensions through arts-based learning activities. Through the theoretical lens of Janzen's (2013) Quantum Perspective of Learning, reflective narratives illuminated student experiences of the transition and into the unknown. Our goal to inspire, to nurture, and to empower students to take their own quantum leaps took them into finite career spaces and the infinite spaces in-between and beyond.


Abstract The aim of this research was to find out the opinion of managers of sport organizations that could offer a perspective regarding the design and implementation of a new social entity that gets involved in sport and sports industry. Materials and methods: as a method we used a questionnaire with 16 closed-ended questions; in the case of 2 questions the respondents could fill out their own answers. The questions were related to the structure and management of sport organization and are centered on the fundamental concepts of management, human resources management, financial resources management and marketing. The research regarded the sport organizations in Timiș and Arad Counties. 25 managers from Timiș County and 23 from Arad County responded to the questionnaire. Results: By analyzing the answers given to the questions we were able to form clear opinions regarding choices for the future of private, public or state sport organizations. The answers to our questionnaire made possible the comparison between the managing opinions in sport organizations from Timiș and Arad counties. Therefore, we were able to observe their tendencies and their offer towards initiation or towards performance in different sport branches for children, and towards the maintenance, therapy and rehabilitation for adults. Conclusions: following our analysis of the questions regarding fundamental characteristics of sport organizations' management, human resources management, financial resources management and marketing, we observed that there are major differences between the visions of different managers of sport organizations in Timiș and Arad Counties.


Placement is critical to the timing closure of the very-large-scale integrated (VLSI) circuit design flow. This paper proposes a differentiable-timing-driven global placement framework inspired by deep neural networks. By establishing the analogy between static timing analysis and neural network propagation, we propose a differentiable timing objective for placement to explicitly optimize timing metrics such as total negative slack (TNS) and worst negative slack (WNS). The framework can achieve at most 32.7% and 59.1% improvements on WNS and TNS respectively compared with the state-of-the-art timing-driven placer, and achieve 1.80× speed-up when both running on GPU.


Cefixime is a significant member of orally active third generation cephalosporin and has excellent activity against many pathogens. The virtual bioavailability of a newly industrial dispersible tablet as compared with a recognized identified formulation. An open-label, single-dose, randomized, 2-way crossover study was conducted in fasted healthy Iranian male volunteers. Eligible participants were randomly assign in a 1:1 ratio to be given one tablet(400 mg) of the test or reference formulation, followed by a 2-week washout period and administration of the exchange formulation. The study drugs were administered after a 10-hour overnight fast. A simple and available reversed-phase HPLC method with UV detection has been urbanized and validate for cefixime evaluate in human plasma using a C18analytical column and a mobile phase of tetrabutylammonium hydroxide (pH=6.5)-acetonitril (3:1 v/v). The detection wavelength was 280 nm. The cefixime serum concentration time curves were used to find pharmacokinetic parameters counting AUC0–24, AUC0–∞, and Cmax. To method observed major linear response-concentration association all through the cefixime concentration range of 15-100 ng/ml, with the average accuracy within-run and between-run values of 97.29 and 99.27 percent. The average drug recovery from plasma was 98.2 percent throughout the linear concentration range. The limits of detection (LOD) and quantitation (LOQ) of the method were 5 and 15ng/ml, respectively. The mean (SD) Cmax, Tmax, AUC0–24 and AUC0–∞ values after administration of the test and reference formulations, respectively, were in this manner: 4.68 (0.97) versus 4.72 (0.67) µg/mL, 4.28(0.86) versus 4.25 (0.73) hours, 43.37 (1.13) versus 43.39(1.22) µg/mL/h, and 60.17 (1.98) versus 59.96 (2.13) µg/mL/h. The mean (SD) t1/2 was 5.32 (2.01) hours for the test formulation and 5.34 (2.13) hours for the reference formulation. No statistical differences were showed for Cmax and the area under the plasma concentration-time curve for test and reference tablets. The calculated 90 % confidence intervals based on the ANOVA analysis for the mean test/reference ratios of Cmax, AUC0–∞ and AUC0–24 h of cefixime were in the bioequivalence range (97 %–119 %). The method is quick, easy, very steady and precise for the partition, assignment, pharmacokinetic and bioavailability evaluation of cefixime healthy Iranian adult male volunteers.


: Flow-seq is a method that combines fluorescently activated cell sorting and next-generation sequencing to deduce a large amount of data about translation efficiency from a single experiment. Here, we constructed a library of fluorescent protein-based reporters preceded by a set of 648 natural 5 (cid:48) -untranslated regions (5 (cid:48) -UTRs) of Escherichia coli genes. Usually, Flow-seq libraries are constructed using uniform-length sequence elements, in contrast to natural situations, where functional elements are of heterogenous lengths. Here, we demonstrated that a 5 (cid:48) -UTR library of variable length could be created and analyzed with Flow-seq. In line with previous Flow-seq experiments with randomized 5 (cid:48) -UTRs, we observed the influence of an RNA secondary structure and Shine–Dalgarno sequences on translation efficiency; however, the variability of these parameters for natural 5 (cid:48) -UTRs in our library was smaller in comparison with randomized libraries. In line with this, we only observed a 30-fold difference in translation efficiency between the best and worst bins sorted with this factor. The results correlated with those obtained with ribosome profiling.


In the mid-1980s, a young scholar named Richard Ruiz, a Stanford PhD, and assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, published an article in NABE, The Journal for the National Association for Bilingual Education. The article, a theoretical piece, was titled "Orientations in Language Planning." It was the first to frame language planning in terms of language-as-problem, language-as-right, and language-as-resource in ways that for decades to follow, served as intellectual grist for bilingual educators, bilingual advocates, and language planners.


This thesis describes an investigation of stress wave propagation
in solids in order to study the behaviour of materials
under simulated impact conditions. The dynamic stress–strain response
of carbon fibre composites has been investigated experimentally for
a compressive loading of about 40μs duration. The split Hopkinson
pressure bar has been used for these measurements, in which cylindrical
specimens are sandwiched between two steel rods and deformed under a
compressive stress wave induced by impacting the free end of one rod
with a 0.22" bullet. An optical recording has been employed, in
which the displacement of a metal shutter attached to each steel rod
has been monitored during the passage of the pulse. Results have been
obtained for several fibre volume fractions, two fibre lay-ups and
two fibre directions relative to the impact. [Continues.]


: Delirium is a serious complication of disorders of nervous system and requires early detection for successful treatment. Confusion assessment method for intensive care unit (CAM-ICU) is a fast and reliable tool for detection of delirium. We performed screening for delirium among patients of neurological ward using CAM-ICU. Our experience showed that CAM-ICU could be used for the identification of delirium in neurological patients excluding those who suffer from severe aphasia.


The figure presents a concept of a bipolar miniature electrostatic ion thruster for maneuvering a small spacecraft. The ionization device in the proposed thruster would be a 0.1-micron-thick dielectric membrane with metal electrodes on both sides. Small conical holes would be micromachined through the membrane and electrodes. An electric potential of the order of a volt applied between the membrane electrodes would give rise to an electric field of the order of several mega-volts per meter in the submicron gap between the electrodes. An electric field of this magnitude would be sufficient to ionize all the molecules that enter the holes. In a thruster-based on this concept, one or more propellant gases would be introduced into such a membrane ionizer. Unlike in larger prior ion thrusters, all of the propellant molecules would be ionized. This thruster would be capable of bipolar operation. There would be two accelerator grids - one located forward and one located aft of the membrane ionizer. In one mode of operation, which one could denote the forward mode, positive ions leaving the ionizer on the backside would be accelerated to high momentum by an electric field between the ionizer and an accelerator grid. Electrons leaving the ionizer on the front side would be ejected into free space by a smaller accelerating field. The equality of the ion and electron currents would eliminate the need for an additional electron- or ion-emitting device to keep the spacecraft charge-neutral. In another mode of operation, which could denote the reverse mode, the polarities of the voltages applied to the accelerator grids and to the electrodes of the membrane ionizer would be the reverse of those of the forward mode. The reversal of electric fields would cause the ion and electrons to be ejected in the reverse of their forward mode directions, thereby giving rise to thrust in the direction opposite that of the forward mode.


Peroxisomes are small intracellular organelles involved in metabolism. In mammals, abnormal peroxisomes can cause effects ranging from skin disorders to neuropathologies. Studies in the plant Arabidopsis by Hu et al. now show that peroxisomes are critical for normal photomorphogenesis. The plant peroxisomal protein AtPex2p is required for normal growth. Mutations in its gene suppress growth defects caused by mutations in Det, which encodes a nuclear protein that regulates expression of photomorphogenesis genes. J. Hu, M. Aguirre, C. Peto, J. Alonso, J. Ecker, J. Chory, A role for peroxisomes in photomorphogenesis and development of Arabidopsis, Science 297, 405-409 (2002). [Abstract] [Full Text]


A case study design was implemented to examine how a female coach has sustained her career. A collegiate field hockey coach with over 30 years of experience and two of her former athletes, both of whom returned to serve as assistant coaches, were interviewed. Following evaluation of higher order themes emerging from the data, the manner in which the coach sustained a lengthy coaching career was found to be analogous to a field hockey player performing in the sport. Much like an athlete who has honed her individual skills, surrounded herself with talented teammates, allowed teammates to assist, used variety in implementing skills, and maintained balance in life, the coach has crafted a successful coaching career. Her internal attributes and maintenance of support, the discovery of an inclusive work environment, seeking variety over time, and achieving balance aided her continuity. The experiences of the coach illuminate the importance of creating favorable working conditions and employing coping strategies...


The article deals with the problem of mediation of social structural inequalities in health. According to theoretical explanations that require further empirical justification, inequalities in education — deterioration of health with its decline — may be associated with material deprivation. With a low educational status, a person does not have enough material resources necessary for high-quality nutrition, recreation and treatment. These inequalities may also arise due to the fact that poorly educated people lack the psychological reserves necessary for overcoming life's difficulties. Analysis of European Social Survey data (ESS 2012) for 27 countries, as well as the contextual factor of social protection expenditure was carried out using statistical methods of two-level modeling and regression models for mediation effects (HLM, MLmed macro, Process macro). Health inequalities in education are clearly manifest in any country. It was established that, along with education, material deprivations and especially personal resources play a significant role in differentiating the well-being of people, exerting an independent impact on it. According to the modeling results, in many countries, including the most developed, material deprivations that people with low levels of education suffer from, act as a mediator, partly clarifying the reasons for differences in health among people with different education. One of the lines of psychological mediation is also connected with material conditions — through two intermediaries, the first of which is deprivation, and the second is psychological qualities. At the same time, even when controlling all of these mediating effects, personal characteristics are an important mediator of SES inequalities, but not all over Europe, but only in countries with a relatively weak social state. In conclusion, a brief description of health inequalities and mediating effects in Russia is given.


OBJECTIVES
To assess the impact of a multifaceted educational intervention concerning treatment of infections in the nursing home setting.

METHODS
We used a cluster randomized controlled trial. Fifty-eight nursing homes in Sweden were randomly assigned either to educational intervention or control. The intervention consisted of small educational group sessions with nurses and physicians, feedback on prescribing, presentation of guidelines and written materials. The primary outcome was the proportion of quinolones prescribed for lower urinary tract infection (UTI) in women. Secondary outcomes were for all infections: number of UTIs per resident, proportion of recorded infections treated with an antibiotic, proportion of infections handled by physicians as 'wait and see', and for lower UTI in women, proportion of nitrofurantoin.

RESULTS
Of the 58 nursing homes, 46 completed the study. A total of 702 and 540 infections were recorded pre- and post-intervention. The proportion of quinolones decreased significantly in the intervention and control groups, by -0.196 (9/93 to 36/123) and -0.224 (4/66 to 31/109), respectively [95% confidence interval (CI) -0.338, -0.054 and -0.394, -0.054], but the difference between intervention and control groups was not significant, with an absolute risk reduction of 0.028 (95% CI -0.193, 0.249). The changes in proportion of infections treated with antibiotics and proportion of infections handled by physicians as 'wait and see' was significant in comparison with controls: -0.124 (95% CI -0.228, -0.019) and 0.143 (95% CI 0.047, 0.240). No intervention effect could be seen for the other outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS
The educational intervention had no effect on the primary outcome, but decreased the overall prescribing of antibiotics.


OBJECTIVE To compare the efficacy and safety of glyburide versus metformin and their combination for the treatment of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS In this prospective randomized controlled study, we randomly assigned patients with GDM at 13–33 weeks gestation and whose blood glucose was poorly controlled by diet to receive either glyburide or metformin. If optimal glycemic control was not achieved, the other drug was added. If adverse effects occurred, the drug was replaced. If both failed, insulin was given. The primary outcomes were the rate of treatment failure and glycemic control after the first-line medication according to mean daily glucose charts. RESULTS Glyburide was started in 53 patients and metformin in 51. In the glyburide group, the drug failed in 18 (34%) patients due to adverse effects (hypoglycemia) in 6 (11%) and lack of glycemic control in 12 (23%). In the metformin group, the drug failed in 15 (29%) patients, due to adverse effects (gastrointestinal) in 1 (2%) and lack of glycemic control in 14 (28%). Treatment success after second-line therapy was higher in the metformin group than in the glyburide group (13 of 15 [87%] vs. 9 of 18 [50%], respectively; P = 0.03). In the glyburide group, nine (17%) patients were eventually treated with insulin compared with two (4%) in the metformin group (P = 0.03). The combination of the drugs reduced the need for insulin from 33 (32%) to 11 (11%) patients (P = 0.0002). Mean daily blood glucose and other obstetrical and neonatal outcomes were comparable between groups, including macrosomia, neonatal hypoglycemia, and electrolyte imbalance. CONCLUSIONS Glyburide and metformin are comparable oral treatments for GDM regarding glucose control and adverse effects. Their combination demonstrates a high efficacy rate with a significantly reduced need for insulin, with a possible advantage for metformin over glyburide as first-line therapy.


The number of cases where pharmaceutical trademarks are the subject of proceedings has skyrocketed inrecent years. It evidences the relevance of an analysis of the peculiarities of trademark protection in relation topharmaceutical trademarks, which is presented in the article. Close attention is paid to an analysis of registration of designations identical to INN or derivatives from INN in the Russian Federation. Relying on analysis ofthe practice of the Chamber for Patent and Trademark Disputes and courts, the authors conclude that designations identical to INN are unable to benefit from trademark protection as non-distinctive and contradictory to public interests. As to designations comprising or resembling INN to some extent, such designations havechances to be registered as trademarks if they are not considered as INN derivatives. A trademark is recognized as an INN derivative if it is similar to INN to the degree of confusion. Ultimately, the authors reach the conclusion that current Russian legislation does not require any amendments to enhance practice on consideration of cases where designations identical or confusingly similar to INN are involved, since such cases can besuccess fully inserted into general provisions governing trademarks. Another issue which is also examined inthe article is the current approach of the Chamber for Patent and Trademark Disputes and courts to the assessment of similarity in relation to pharmaceutical trademarks, especially the practice of applying the so-called«Three Letter Rule». The authors hold the view that prioritization of the «Three Letter Rule» is a negative trend,since following the «Three Letter Rule» blindly cannot replace due assessment of the designation. The authors attempt to prove this by providing examples of flaws inherent in situations including the «Three Letter Rule."


In the metabolism of the amino acid, tryptophan, certain products with the orthoaminophenol configuration are believed to act as topical carcinogens in the urinary bladder. In addition, a statistical relationship between cigarette smoking and bladder cancer has been established in recent years.Thirty metabolic studies are reported on six healthy male subjects when smoking and not smoking. Results revealed a consistent rise in carcinogenic metabolites of tryptophan when smoking (+ 50%), with a reciprocal fall in the end product, N'-methylnicotinamide (- 34%). Carcinogens fell and N'-methylnicotinamide rose when subjects stopped smoking. These metabolic studies confirm the statistical relationship between smoking and bladder cancer, and suggest that cigarette smoking blocks the normal metabolism of tryptophan, leading to the accumulation of carcinogenic metabolites.


To gain perspective and insight into the performance of permeable reactive barriers containing granular iron metal, it is useful to compare the degradation kinetics of individual chlorinated solvents over a range of operating conditions. Pseudo first‐order disappearance rate constants normalized to iron surface area concentration (kSA) recently have been reported for this purpose. This paper presents the results of further exploratory data analysis showing the extent to which variation in kSA is due to initial halocarbon concentration, iron type, and other factors. To aid in preliminary design calculations, representative values of kSA and a reactive transport model have been used to calculate the minimum barrier width needed for different ground water flow velocities and degrees of halocarbon conversion. Complete dechlorination of all degradation intermediates requires a wider treatment zone, but the effect is not simply additive because degradation occurs by sequential and parallel reaction pathways.


In the present study, a subjective experiment was done to validate the causal relationship between indoor environment and occupants' performance mediated by their arousal state. Indoor temperature was selected as the environmental parameter, and controlled at three levels (22, 25, 28C). The subjects' performance was evaluated with three types of tasks (detecting wrong pairs of numbers, inputting numbers, and Sudoku). The results were obviously dependent on the tasks. When subjects engaged in either detecting wrong pairs of numbers or inputting numbers, there were almost no differences in both arousal state and performance among three indoor temperatures. However, in the case of Sudoku, the EA at 22C was significantly higher than 28C (p<0.05) and the TA at 22C was significantly lower than 28C (p<0.05). A difference in performance on Sudoku was also found between 22C and 28C at the ending of the session (p<0.1). As the reason of the dependence on the tasks, it was considered that both EA and TA subsided due to the simplicity and monotony of the tasks except for Sudoku. Thus the EA and TA became lower regardless of the indoor temperature and no differences were caused in the performance.


Algorithms and Frameworks for Graph Analytics at Scale Fuad Jamour Graph queries typically involve retrieving entities with certain properties and connectivity patterns. One popular property is betweenness centrality, which is a quantitative measure of importance used in many applications such as identifying influential users in social networks. Solving graph queries that involve retrieving important entities with user-defined connectivity patterns in large graphs requires efficient computation of betweenness centrality and efficient graph query engines. The first part of this thesis studies the betweenness centrality problem, while the second part presents a framework for building efficient graph query engines. Computing betweenness centrality entails computing all-pairs shortest paths; thus, exact computation is costly. The performance of existing approximation algorithms is not well understood due to the lack of an established benchmark. Since graphs in many applications are inherently evolving, several incremental algorithms were proposed. However, they cannot scale to large graphs: they either require excessive memory or perform unnecessary computations rendering them prohibitively slow. Existing graph query engines rely on exhaustive indices for accelerating query evaluation. The time and memory required to build these indices can be prohibitively high for large graphs. This thesis attempts to solve the aforementioned limitations in the graph analytics literature as follows. First, we present a benchmark for evaluating betweenness centrality approximation algorithms. Our benchmark includes ground-truth data for large graphs in addition to a systematic evaluation methodology. This benchmark is the first attempt 5 to standardize evaluating betweenness centrality approximation algorithms and it is currently being used by several research groups working on approximate betweenness in large graphs. Then, we present a linear-space parallel incremental algorithm for updating betweenness centrality in large evolving graphs. Our algorithm uses biconnected components decomposition to localize processing graph updates, and it performs incremental computation even within affected components. Our algorithm is up to an order of magnitude faster than the state-of-the-art parallel incremental algorithm. Finally, we present a framework for building low memory footprint graph query engines. Our framework avoids building exhaustive indices and uses highly optimized matrix algebra operations instead. Our framework loads datasets, and evaluates data-intensive queries up to an order of magnitude faster than existing engines.


This paper focuses on an emerging manufacturing technology called Additive Manufacturing (AM) and its potential to become a more efficient and cleaner manufacturing alternative. This work is built around selected case companies, where the benefit of AM compared to other more traditional technologies is studied through the comparison of resource consumption. The resource consumption is defined as raw materials and energy input. The scope of this work is the application of AM in the scale model kit industry. The method used is the life cycle inventory study, which is a subtype of life cycle assessment (LCA). The result of the paper is the quantification of raw materials and energy consumption. The outcomes shows that AM has higher efficiency in terms of materials usage, as a higher proportion of materials ending up in the final product. Injection Molding (IM), on the other hand, wastes a significant proportion of raw materials in components that are not part of the final product. If the same or similar raw materials are used in both manufacturing methods, the advantage is clearly with AM. However, AM has higher energy consumption in comparison to the injection molding technique (IM). In terms of energy consumption, AM only has an advantage in this area when working with a very low production volume. The analysis of the energy consumption shows that most of the energy used in AM is to create the final product, while IM only uses a fraction of the total energy to produce the final product. AM technologies are still very new but have the potential for development and reduction of energy consumption in the future. Added to this potential is the higher materials usage efficiency of AM, which reduce the waste of materials and the energy, embedded in them. These two factors are likely to position AM as cleaner manufacturing alternative.


SUMMARY The cone photoreceptors of many vertebrates contain spherical organelles called oil droplets. In birds, turtles, lizards and some lungfish the oil droplets are heavily pigmented and function to filter the spectrum of light incident upon the visual pigment within the outer segment. Pigmented oil droplets are beneficial for colour discrimination in bright light, but at lower light levels the reduction in sensitivity caused by the pigmentation increasingly outweighs the benefits generated by spectral tuning. Consequently, it is expected that species with pigmented oil droplets should modulate the density of pigment in response to ambient light intensity and thereby regulate the amount of light transmitted to the outer segment. In this study, microspectrophotometry was used to measure the absorption spectra of cone oil droplets in chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) reared under bright (unfiltered) or dim (filtered) sunlight. Oil droplet pigmentation was found to be dependent on the intensity of the ambient light and the duration of exposure to the different lighting treatments. In adult chickens reared in bright light, the oil droplets of all cone types (except the violet-sensitive single cones, whose oil droplet is always non-pigmented) were more densely pigmented than those in chickens reared in dim light. Calculations show that the reduced levels of oil droplet pigmentation in chickens reared in dim light would increase the sensitivity and spectral bandwidth of the outer segment significantly. The density of pigmentation in the oil droplets presumably represents a trade-off between the need for good colour discrimination and absolute sensitivity. This might also explain why nocturnal animals, or those that underwent a nocturnal phase during their evolution, have evolved oil droplets with low pigment densities or no pigmentation or have lost their oil droplets altogether.


This paper explores the heterogeneity of board of directors and shareholders involvement in the audit committee in addressing the question of whether the board of directors and audit committee shareholders are effective in suppressing earnings management after the implementation of 2011 revised Code of Corporate Governance in Nigeria. The paper utilized data generated after the implementation of the new Code. It examines explicitly board effectiveness and audit committee shareholder chairman on earnings management in Nigerian financial institutions. The study utilizes a dynamic panel data model of the generalized method of moment (GMM) in analyzing the data. The empirical results suggest that board independence and shareholders as audit committee chair play an essential and a significant negative relationship in curving earnings management. Specifically, the results show that shareholders played effective roles in chairing the audit committee and suppressing the magnitude of earnings management. The results affirmed that the Big 4 relates to lower earnings management. Regulators should consider increasing the number of years shareholders representatives are to serve in the audit committee to continuously improve the quality of the financial reporting process and suppress managers' opportunistic behavior.


Objectives To assess the outcomes in patients>60 years with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and determine if there is an age cut-off for worse prognosis. Design Single centre retrospective study. Data collected as part of TrIBAL study. Subjects All patients with TBI admitted to our hospital over a 4 month period. Methods Patients were divided into 6 groups based on their age; group 0 included patients<60 years, 60≤Group 1<65, 65≤Group 2<70, 70≤Group 3<75, 75≤Group 4<80 and Group 5>80. Data was collected on various factors that influence outcomes in TBI patients including presenting GCS, hypotension, hypoxia, antithrombotic therapy and Marshall CT score. Glasgow outcome score (GOS) at discharge from hospital was used. A multinomial logistic regression analysis was performed. Results Over the 4 month period 144 patients with TBI were admitted. There were no significant differences in baseline characteristics including presenting GCS and Marshall CT scores between the groups. The GOS at discharge was significantly worse only in Group 5 when Group 0 was considered as the base outcome (p<0.001). Groups 1 to 5 had a significant increased number of patients on antithrombotic therapy when compared with Group 0 (p<0.05). The adjusted analysis for GOS at discharge revealed the use of antithrombotic therapy in Group 5 was the only factor that influenced outcome (p=0.014). Conclusions In this cohort, age >80 years was the cut off for worse prognosis. In this age group anticoagulation was the only factor we found that influenced outcome.


Cryogenics is the study of low temperature interactions - temperatures well below those existing in the natural universe. The book covers a large spectrum of experimental cases, including basic vacuum techniques, indispensable in cryogenics. Guidance in solving experimental problems and numerous numerical examples are given, as are examples of the applications of cryogenics in such areas as underground detectors and space applications. Updated tables of low-temperature data on materials are also presented, and the book is supplemented with a rich bibliography.Key Features include: experiments described in technical detail; description of newest cryogenic apparatus; applications in multidisciplinary areas; data on cryogenic properties of new materials; and current reference review. Researchers (graduate and above) in the fields of physics, engineering and chemistry with an interest in the technology and applications of low-temperature measurements, will find this book invaluable.


By using three kinds of subgrade soil and controlling dry density and moisture content,the correlation between strength parameters of pavement subgrade soil, California Bearing Ratio(CBR) and Resilience modulus E, and their shear wave velocity are studied through CBR Penetration test, lever pressure meter test and shear wave velocity test. Then the analytical models of CBR and Resilience modulus E by shear wave velocity are proposed. These models are valuable to acquire airport pavement subgrade soil parameters by nondestructive technique.


Aim: To evaluate the level of oral hygiene in patients of various systemic illnesses
Materials and Methods: A total of 450 patients from Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Capital Development Authority, Islamic International Dental College, Islamabad and Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center, Karachi, suffering from diseases such as diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disorders (with and without diabetes mellitus), respiratory disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, hepatic disorders, renal disorders, bone/joint disorders and hypertension were selected. Dental examination was performed to calculate the number of missing teeth, decayed, missing and filled teeth (D.M.F.T.) and decayed, missing and filled surfaces (D.M.F.S.) scores in order to compare oral health between different disease groups.
Results: Age, gender, number of missing teeth, D.M.F.T. and D.M.F.S. scores were significantly associated with the systemic diseases (p <0.05). The diseases causing poor oral hygiene in descending order of severity were as follows: cardiovascular disorders, diabetes mellitus with cardiovascular disorders, diabetes mellitus, bone/ joint disorders, hypertension, renal diseases, hepatic disorders, gastrointestinal disorders and respiratory diseases.
Conclusion: Patients with systemic diseases have greater risk of compromised oral hygiene, tooth loss, high D.M.F.T. and D.M.F.S. scores showing the association between systemic diseases and oral health. There is a need for collaboration between dentists and medical physicians to improve the health of the patient.


The fast development in modern communication systems such as radars, medical imaging, sensors or satellites demands efficient and compact antenna designs that can satisfy the high data throughput and beam scanning requirements. This is commonly achieved by different means including electromechanical or mechanical steering, which sometimes are not the best option as additional cost, size or losses may be introduced. However, low-cost and compact structures can be obtained by using planar leaky-wave antennas, whose inherent high directivity and electrical beam steering capabilities have been realised to be a solution for the issues encountered by these systems. Nevertheless, there are several limitations that these antennas still need to overcome. One clear example is the lack of efficient and simple feeding networks for certain types of leaky-wave antennas that can reduce their performance and compactness. In turn, there are modern indoor applications, such as WiFi or radio frequency identification (RFID), where selective distributed communications are required but current leaky-wave antennas cannot efficiently provide or their use implies cost and weight constraints. In this thesis, planar configurations are presented to provide efficient and low profile solutions for leaky-wave antennas using concepts such as partial reflective surfaces or simple technologies as parallel-plate waveguides. It is also demonstrated that novel systems for two-dimensional (2D) or wideband beam scanning can also be obtained by the use of simple feeders including vertical electric dipoles. In addition, a broad-beam alternative to a non-selective and expensive beam scanning performance inside airplanes for RFID systems is introduced easing weight restrictions. These configurations represent an advancement for the state-of-the-art and are interesting alternatives to their non-planar counterparts. To support these designs, theoretical analysis, full-wave simulations and measurements are provided.


Alongside bilateral one-off transactions, contracts are used to govern the dynamic, multi-tiered production networks that constitute a majority of global commerce today. Contract law and theory do not reflect this change in contractual modalities. In this paper, we look first to summarize earlier theories of contract and posit that the theory of functional contracting offers a novel and more useful approach for understanding contractually governed dynamic and multi-tiered transactions. We then underscore the difference between functional contracting and earlier theories by describing a recent practical case on the contractual governance of business-model transitions. Finally, on the basis of the theoretical comparison, case study and other related case-studies, we evaluate how the model of functional contracting helps legal scholars and practitioners to understand changes in contractual modalities brought about by changes in the global economy.


The performance of ground-source heat pumps (GSHPs) for domestic use is an increasing area of study in the UK. This paper examines the thermal performance of three bespoke shallow horizontal GSHPs installed in newly built residential houses in northern England as compared with a control house fitted with a standard gas boiler. A 350 m high-density polyethylene pipe with an external diameter of 40 mm was used for each house as a heat pump loop. The study investigated the performance of a single-loop horizontal ground heat exchanger against a double loop. It also investigated rainfall effects on heat extraction by comparing a system with an infiltration trench connected to roof drainage against a system without an infiltration trench above the ground loops. Parameters were monitored for a full year from October 2013 to September 2014. Using the double-loop exchanger has shown an enhanced performance of up to 20% compared with a single loop. The infiltration trench is found to improve performance of the heat...


Characteristics of transport demand are inferred from spatial equilibrium with exogenous locations. For non-trivial spatial distributions of firms and markets I derive computable expressions for elasticity of transport demand, producer surplus, and consumer surplus as a function of the mass-distance price of transport. Producer surplus is likely to have one or more local maxima, suggesting a disincentive for producers to minimise transport costs. Numerical simulation is used to illustrate results. A method is suggested for computing simultaneous transport and commodity market equilibria for spatially dispersed markets. © 2008 LSE and the University of Bath


In this work three-dimensional transmission electron microscopy (3D-TEM) is exploited to characterize a soft graphene based nano-composites structure and the constituted morphology in a qualitative way. The reconstruction of the two dimensional slides into a three dimensional tomographic image is a powerful tool, when the images of the nano-object are reflected into a quasi-distinguishable object due to superposition effect. By using this technique it is possible to mark the contour area of the nano-sized object inside the soft rubber matrix. To extract information about the filler network, the clustering process of the fillers or the existence of single or multiple graphene sheets, a solution polymerised styrene butadiene rubber was selected as a soft matrix which was filled with carbon black (CB) and graphene nano-platelets (GnP). The dispersion/exfoliation of the stacked graphene sheets into individual single sheets was facilitated by the presence of carbon black in the system as understood from TEM, X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopic studies. The existence of oligo-layer graphene sheets was detected by this 3D-TEM, especially when the rubber matrix exists in a complex morphology arisen from filler–filler networks in all spatial dimensions.


A cornerstone of tuberculosis (TB) control is early diagnosis and treatment. The first hurdle that prospective TB patients must overcome is to present at a public health clinic for treatment. The Global Plan to Stop TB addresses the new challenges of the intersecting epidemics of TB and HIV, and it aims to cut the transmission chain by achieving early and effective treatment of all people with TB infection. This goal may be more difficult to achieve in practice. Findings from a representative community survey conducted in an area of high HIV prevalence in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa suggest that patients must conquer fear of knowing their HIV status in order to present for TB diagnosis and treatment. A total of 1 020 adults residing in a low-income suburb of Grahamstown, Makana Municipality, participated in a questionnaire survey that probed attitudes and opinions about TB and HIV/AIDS-related issues. The respondents were presented with eight factors previously cited in the literature as causing delays in presenting for TB treatment at a public health clinic. The single largest proportion of respondents attributed delay to a fear of discovering that one is HIV-positive. While the vast majority of the respondents agreed that knowing one's HIV status is a civic responsibility ('the right thing to do'), half indicated that the lack of privacy during voluntary counselling and testing for HIV at a public health clinic acts as a disincentive. The evidence suggests that a fear of knowing one's HIV status is a deep-seated anxiety that is often not openly acknowledged, and that it is intertwined with the stigma related to the 'new' TB associated with HIV and AIDS. It is crucial to allay this deep-seated fear in the general public so that South Africa's integrated HIV and TB services, designed to accelerate control of the twin epidemics, are successful.


The dramatic change in morphology of chromosomal DNAs between interphase and mitosis is one of the defining features of the eukaryotic cell cycle. Two types of enzymes, namely cohesin and condensin confer the topology of chromosomal DNA by extruding DNA loops. While condensin normally configures chromosomes exclusively during mitosis, cohesin does so during interphase. The processivity of cohesin's LE during interphase is limited by a regulatory factor called WAPL, which induces cohesin to dissociate from chromosomes via a mechanism that requires dissociation of its kleisin from the neck of SMC3. We show here that a related mechanism may be responsible for blocking condensin II from acting during interphase. Cells from patients carrying mutations in the Mcph1 gene undergo premature chromosome condensation but it has never been established for certain whether MCPH1 regulates condensin II directly. We show that deletion of Mcph1 in mouse embryonic stem cells unleashes an activity of condensin II that triggers formation of compact chromosomes in G1 and G2 phases, which is accompanied by enhanced mixing of A and B chromatin compartments, and that this occurs even in the absence of CDK1 activity. Crucially, inhibition of condensin II by MCPH1 depends on the binding of a short linear motif within MCPH1 to condensin II's NCAPG2 subunit. We show that the activities of both Cohesin and Condensin II may be restricted during interphase by similar types of mechanisms as MCPH1's ability to block condensin II's association with chromatin is abrogated by the fusion of SMC2 with NCAPH2. Remarkably, in the absence of both WAPL and MCPH1, cohesin and condensin II transform chromosomal DNAs of G2 cells into chromosomes with a solenoidal axis showing that both SMC complexes must be tightly regulated to adjust both the chromatid's structure and their segregation.


In this study, activated carbon was produced by physico-chemical activation of hydrothermally carbonized (HTC) material derived from the dried stem of Corchorus olitorius commonly known as jute (JS), using potassium hydroxide (KOH) as an activation agent. The activation process was optimized using Box–Behnken factorial design (BBD), with outcome of 29 different experiments under predefined conditions. Four different parameters, namely activation temperature (x1), activation time (x2), ratio of char to KOH (x3) and CO2 flow rate (x4), were optimized with respect to their influence on maximum removal percentage for divalent cations of Cu(II) (Y1) and carbon yield (Y2). All the four process parameters had strong positive effect on adsorption capacity up to a certain limit; beyond which it started to decline. The specific surface area of the hydrochar (HTC) was enhanced substantially after the activation process. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that the morphology of the JS based hydrochar (JSC) changed significantly after KOH impregnation and activation under the flow of CO2 gas. The Langmuir maximum monolayer adsorption capacity for Cu(II) cations was 31.44 mg g−1. Equilibrium isotherm data were well followed by Freundlich and Temkin models. Due to an increase in temperature, the Langmuir maximum monolayer adsorption capacity, qm (mg g−1) and Freundlich constant, KF increased successively, representing an endothermic nature of the adsorption.


Fungal endophytes are the most ubiquitous plant symbionts on earth and are phylogenetically diverse. Studies on the fungal endophytes in tobacco have shown that they are widely distributed in the leaves, stems, and roots, and play important roles in the composition of the microbial ecosystem of tobacco. Herein, we analyzed and quantified the endophytic fungi of healthy tobacco leaves at the seedling stage (SS), resettling growth stage (RGS), fast-growing stage (FGS), and maturing stage (MS) at three altitudes (600, 1000, and 1300 m). We sequenced the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of fungal samples to delimit operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and phylogenetically characterize the communities. The results showed that the numbers of clustering OTUs at SS, RGS, FGS, and MS were 516, 709, 469, and 428, respectively. At the phylum level, species in Ascomycota and Basidiomycota had absolute predominance, representing 97.8% and 2.0% of the total number of species, respectively. We also found the number of fungi at the RGS and FGS stages was higher than those at the other two stages. Additionally, OTU richness was determined by calculating the Observed Species, Shannon, Simpson, Chao1, abundance-based coverage estimator (ACE), Good's coverage and phylogenetic distance (PD)_whole_tree indices based on the total number of species. Our results showed RGS samples had the highest diversity indices. Furthermore, we found that the diversity of fungal communities tended to decrease with increasing altitude. The results from this study indicated that tobacco harbors an abundant and diverse endophytic fungal community, which provides new opportunities for exploring their potential utilization.


Mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a common injury to service members in recent conflicts. We attempt to correlate simulation results with clinical data from advanced imaging techniques to identify TBI-related subtle alterations in brain morphology, function, and metabolism. Magnetic resonance image (MRI) data were obtained for a young adult male, after a concussive head injury caused by a road traffic accident. A similar fall of a pedestrian using an articulated human body biodynamics model was integrated with the finite element (FE) analysis using a high-resolution human head model to investigate TBI from an accident. The hyper-viscoelastic model was used to represent the strain rate dependence in brain tissues. The bone structure was simulated using an elastoplastic model to capture the focal permanent deformation. Enhanced tetrahedral elements were used in modeling nearly incompressible tissues. The localized large deformation in the head was simulated and compared with those from the MRI images. Biomechanical measures, such as stresses and strains, were correlated with postaccident medical images with respect to injury location and severity in the brain. The correspondence between model results and MRI findings shows a new way to relate computational simulation response of human head to blunt impacts with clinical data from such incidents and thus enhances our understanding of the mechanism, extent, and effects of TBI.


Recent evidence supports a regulatory role for the calcium-independent phospholipase A2 (iPLA2) in the antiviral response of inducible nitric-oxide synthase (iNOS) expression by macrophages. Because two mammalian isoforms of iPLA2 (iPLA2β and iPLA2 γ) have been cloned and characterized, the aim of this study was to identify the specific isoform(s) in macrophages that regulates the expression of iNOS in response to virus infection. Bromoenol lactone (BEL), a suicide substrate inhibitor of iPLA2, inhibits the activity of both isoforms at low micromolar concentrations. However, the R- and S-enantiomers of BEL display ∼10-fold greater potency for inhibition of the enzymatic activity of iPLA2γ and iPLA2β, respectively. In this study, we show that the iPLA2β-selective (S)-BEL inhibits encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV)-induced iNOS expression, nitric oxide production, and iPLA2 enzymatic activity in macrophages in a concentration-related manner that closely resembles the inhibitory properties of racemic BEL. cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) is one downstream target of iPLA2 that is required for the transcriptional activation of iNOS in response to virus infection, and consistent with the effects of BEL enantiomers on iNOS expression, (S)-BEL more effectively inhibits EMCV-induced CREB phosphorylation than (R)-BEL in macrophages. Using macrophages isolated from iPLA2β-null mice, virus infection fails to stimulate iNOS mRNA accumulation and protein expression, thus providing genetic evidence that iPLA2β is required for EMCV-induced iNOS expression. These findings provide evidence for a signaling role for iPLA2β in virus-induced iNOS expression by macrophages.


The Estuary of Cananéia, Iguape and Ilha Comprida is a part of the Estuarine Lagoon System of Cananéia, Iguape and Paranaguá, on the south coast of São Paulo State, Brazil. It has been recognised for its high standards of environmental conservation. The objective of this paper was to assess the blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) fishing in the region, from January 1998 to December 2006, and obtain supportive data to implement technical rules for the rational exploitation and resulting conservation of this resource. The results show a remarkable decrease in the fisheries' abundance index (CPUE) up to 2005, from 9.4 to 4.0 kg/hour, mainly caused by an increase in fishing effort, from 1,960 to 13,776 hours on a yearly basis. With the decrease in the fishing effort in 2005 and 2006, the abundance index reacted positively, indicating a recovery of the exploited population. Due to the lack of appropriate regulation limiting the fishing effort and organising the fluctuating admission rates of new fishermen, there is a noticeable increase of the effort, above the sustainable level. Therefore, there is a need for measures to limit and control the admission of fishermen in this activity. One of the measures to be considered is the establishment of regular periods where fishing the species is prohibited (called 'defeso'), each year, especially from September to January. Another measure is to create a fishermen registry and special licenses, to limit the number of new entrants. Such actions require, for their implementation, a co-managed initiative, involving the blue crab fishermen themselves, governmental agencies and resource management researchers, and the integration of ecological, socioeconomic and cultural dimensions.


Metagenomics, as a culture-independent approach, enables the exploration of complex heterogeneous microbial communities under natural conditions by massive sequencing of community-specific DNA. Metagenomic data sets, derived from various environments, provide new insights into microbial life. Large-scale projects like the Human Microbiome Project or the Earth Microbiome Project emphasize the increasing importance of metagenomics for biomedical and ecosystem research. However, such projects are currently challenging bioinformatics due to the explosive increase in sequencing data. New computationally efficient and statistically adequate methods are required to answer the essential questions "Who is in there?" and "What are they doing?". In this thesis, I developed the Mixture-of-Pathways (MoP) model and Tax4Fun approach. Both methods link the taxonomic profile to a set of pre-computed reference profiles to predict the metabolic repertoire of the microbial community. Since the taxonomic profile is normally estimated to answer the question "Who is in there?", the further use of the taxonomic profile avoids additional costs for answering the question "What are they doing?". Tax4Fun is specifically designed for the output of 16S rRNA analysis pipelines using the SILVA database as reference, whereas the MoP model is especially conceived for metagenome sequence data and provides a robust statistical basis to describe the metabolic potential of a microbial community. The adequate metabolic modeling of metagenomes provides a concise summary of the functional variation of metagenomes across many samples, enabling the identification of relevant metabolic differences in comparative analyses.
For comparative metagenomics, the identification of similar metagenomes to a newly obtained dataset is of growing importance. For an efficient large-scale identification of closely related metagenomes within a database retrieval context, I conducted a detailed evaluation of a k-nearest-neighbor search utilizing different biological feature profiles and metrics. I demonstrated that different features and metrics can be chosen for a convenient interpretation of results in terms of the underlying features. The integration of the k-nearest-neighbor search into metagenome annotation and comparison systems is beneficial to automatically identify additional metagenomes for comparative analyses as well as to detect mislabeled or contaminated datasets by unexpected neighboring habitat labels.
The MoP approach and k-nearest-neighbor search are available to the scientific community as part of the CoMet-Universe web server application. Additionally, the MoP and Tax4Fun approach are provided as R Package.


On the heels of compressed sensing, a new field has very recently emerged. This field addresses a broad range of problems of significant practical interest, namely, the recovery of a data matrix from what appears to be incomplete, and perhaps even corrupted, information. In its simplest form, the problem is to recover a matrix from a small sample of its entries. It comes up in many areas of science and engineering, including collaborative filtering, machine learning, control, remote sensing, and computer vision, to name a few. This paper surveys the novel literature on matrix completion, which shows that under some suitable conditions, one can recover an unknown low-rank matrix from a nearly minimal set of entries by solving a simple convex optimization problem, namely, nuclear-norm minimization subject to data constraints. Further, this paper introduces novel results showing that matrix completion is provably accurate even when the few observed entries are corrupted with a small amount of noise. A typical result is that one can recover an unknown matrix of low rank from just about log noisy samples with an error that is proportional to the noise level. We present numerical results that complement our quantitative analysis and show that, in practice, nuclear-norm minimization accurately fills in the many missing entries of large low-rank matrices from just a few noisy samples. Some analogies between matrix completion and compressed sensing are discussed throughout.


Literature on the automaticity of social behavior indicates that, in some circumstances, priming a concept automatically activates related behavioral schemas. Previous research studies have used priming techniques to increase willingness to help, but most of these have simply measured intention to engage in prosocial behavior rather than real helping behavior. Two different studies investigated the effect of priming the concept of prosocial behavior on real helping behavior. After priming prosociality through a scrambled sentences test, participants were shown to increase their donation rate after a direct request coming from an experimenter's confederate (Study 1) and to spontaneously help to a greater extent a girl whose books had fallen on the floor (Study 2). The implications of this automatic behavior priming effect are discussed within the theoretical framework of the automatic effect of social perception on prosocial behavior.


Stephen D. Ricks and John W. Welch, eds. The Alte~ gory of the Olive Tree: Tire Olive, the Bible, and Jacob 5. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1994. xiv + 624 pp. $28.95. Reviewed by Terry B. Ball While I was standing in a check-out line, an inqu is iti ve sales clerk poimed to the book I was holding in my hand and asked. "What's that?" I held up the volume for her to read the title, "The Allegory of the Olive Tree, edited by Stephen D. Ricks and John W. Welch." Upon read ing the title she exclaimed, " They wrote all that about the allegory of the olive tree?" The curious clerk 's incred ulous response may well be representative of what many will think when first see ing this hefty volume on the shelf, yet those who read it will find it more fascinating than formidable. The book is a well-constructed anthology of articles that should prove to be the definiti ve work on the subject for years to come. The contributions within the co llection can be rou ghl y grouped into five genres of studies: interpretive, comparative, historical , tex tual, and botanical. The lay reader will find the interpretive and botanica l papers inspiring and insightful , whi le the comparative, textual, and historical works present a plethora of well-researched data to occupy the scholar. Interpretive Studies Of the interpreti ve studies in the volume, Paul Y. Hoski sson's "The Allegory of the Olive Tree in Jacob" is the most comprehensive. Hoskisson offers a nice mi xture of analytic, homiletic, and historical commentary as he answers four question s. Fi rst, what do the symbols of the allegory represent? Second, why did Jacob include the allegory in his book of scripture? Third, to what historical events does the allegory allude in outl ining God's dealings with the 62 FARMS REVIEW OF BOOKS 811 (1996) house of Israel? And fourth, what docs the allegory have to say to us today? (p. 70) In Hos ki sson's answers to these questions the reader will find carefull y reasoned conclus io ns which, along with two similar works noted by Hoski sson, l are representati ve of most modern paradigms for understanding the a ll egory. M. Catherine Thomas offers another paradigm by which the allegory can be in terpreted. She suggests that the primary purpose of the allegory was to teach us of one aspect of the atonement, that of "the Lord's on-goin g labors to bring his chi ldren back into oneness with him" (p. 12), Truman G. Madsen validates Thomas's approach in hi s contribution as he discusses how much of the atonement was assoc iated with, and symboli zed by, the o live, the olive tree, the o li ve press, and oli ve o il. Arthur Henry King's cOnl ribution to the volume presents still another approach to studying and imerpreting Zcnos's allegory or parable, as he prefers to call il.2 He demonstrates how much can be learned from evaluating the language of the parable, and how it is constructed, i.c., considering such e lements as " le ngth of sentence, clause, phrase; stress intonati on; word, sense, and image; scheme, trope; metaphor, topos, myth" (p. 14 1). His aim is to find " 'rhetorical truth : in distinct ion from ' logica l truth ,''' in the parable (p. 14 1). As Kin g analyzes the allegory using thi s en li ghten ing approac h, one finds that the rhetorical truths he uncovers lead 10 some important questions about, and insights into, the logica ltrulhs as wel/. While the above contributi ons reflect modern interpretations of the allegory, Grant Underwood's contributi on, "Jacob 5 in the Ni neteen th Century," ex plores how the allegory was understood in the early period of the restored Church. Not surprisin gly, the early interpretations of the allegory, especially th ose offered by Sec Kent P. Jackson, "Nourished by the Good Word of God (Jacob 46):' in / Nephi 10 Alma 29. vol. 7 of Studies in Scriptllre, cd. Kent P. Jackson (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book. 1987) . 190-94: and Monte Nyman. An Ensign to All People: The Sacred Message atlll Mi.uion of the Rook vf Mormon (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book. 1987). 2434. 2 For a discussion of the issue of nomenclature. see David Rolph Seely. '''The Allegory of the Olive Tree and the Use of Relnted Figurative Language in the Ancient Near East and the Old Testament" (pp. 290-92). RICKS AND WELCH, EDS., AUEGORY OI'TH£ OUV£TR£E (BALL) 63 Orson Pratt, appear very similar to those offered by Hoski sson and other recent commentators. Underwood also points out how early Church leaders occasionally found passages taken from the allegory useful in making a homi letic point. He notes that, in spite o f the fact that the allegory was recognized as ., • one of the plainest parables, and sub limest prophec ies'" (p. 67) in the canonized corpus, it received relatively lillie altenlion in the teachings of early Church leaders, Although early Church leaders may not have mentioned Zenas's writings often, the thesis of Noel B, Reynolds's contribution, "Nephite Uses and Interpretations of Zenos," is that the Book of Mormon prophets and authors did indeed frequently turn to Zenos for inspiration. He presents an impressive list of instances from the Book of Mormon wherein the words and themes of Zenos's teachings may be either quoted or paraphrased. The striking number of cognates to Zenas's language and teachings in the words of other prophets and teachers is a recurring theme in several of the comparative studies reported in the volume.


This experiment was conducted for two consecutive years 2000 and 2001 to study the effect of different levels of tillage and various combinations of cereal and legume residues on sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench). The experiment was laid out in a split-plot design with three replications. In both years of experimentation, surface mulching increased green as well as dry biomass production of sorghum in comparison to other mechanical treatments. Surface mulching and incorporation with tractor-drawn cultivator produced (significantly) maximum green fodder 22.7 t ha-1 (8.3 t ha-1 dry fodder) in 2000 and 23.7 t ha-1 green fodder (8.7 t ha-1 dry fodder) in 2001. A combination of 2 t ha-1 legume (Leucaena) dry litter + 40 kg N ha-1 through urea fertilizer produced significantly more green as well as dry fodder of sorghum. The organic C and total N per cent were increased in surface mulching, but the results were non-significant. However, application of cereal as well as legume residues significantly increased the organic C by 0.03% due to sole legume, 0.04% combined application, and 0.05% sole cereal application over the control. A similar trend in available N was observed. The microbial population, viz., bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes were not influenced by any of the mechanical treatments. However, application of wheat as well as Leucaena litter residues significantly increased the microbial populations, i.e., 68-80% bacteria, 120-140% fungi, and 39-50% actinomycetes in two years of continued sorghum cultivation over the initial population. Maximum input energy was used in fertilizer and bio-residues and maximum output (151 200 MJ ha-1 in 2000 and 156 600 MJ ha-1 in 2001) as well as gross income ($5040 in 2000 and $5220 in 2001) in surface mulching incorporated by a tractor-drawn cultivator. Further, the application of 2 t ha-1 litter biomass of Leucaena + 40 kg ha-1 urea top-dressed in standing sorghum produced maximum output energy (163 800 MJ ha-1 in 2000 and 167 400 MJ ha-1 in 2001). This treatment also gave maximum income of $5460 ha-1 in 2000 and$5580 ha-1 in 2001.


Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic degenerative disorder of synovial joints and a common cause of locomotor disability. NSAIDs are routinely used for symptomatic treatment and are associated with side effects which have led to the increased interest towards alternative treatment options. This study was conducted to evaluate the safety and efficacy of ginger in management of OA. Sixty patients of OA of knee were enrolled in randomized open label study and divided into three groups of 20 each. Group I received tab. Diclofenac 50 mg and cap. placebo, group II received cap. ginger 750 mg and cap. placebo and group III received cap. ginger 750 mg and tab. diclofenac 50 mg. The assessment of efficacy was done at every 2 weeks till 12 weeks, by using Western Ontario and McMaster Universities osteoarthritis (WOMAC) index, Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and the safety assessment was done by noting adverse events during the study. The analysis of WOMAC score and VAS score in all the three groups showed statistically significant improvement with time in all groups. On comparison among three groups, group III patients who received both ginger and diclofenac showed numerically superior improvement than the individual treatments. There was no statistically significant difference among three groups in case of adverse events. Ginger powder has add-on effect on reducing the symptoms of OA of knee with acceptable safety profile.


Context. Pre-main sequence stars are variable sources. The main mechanisms responsible for their variability are variable extinction, unsteady accretion, and rotational modulation of both hot and dark photospheric spots and X-ray-active regions. In stars with disks, this variability is related to the morphology of the inner circumstellar region (≤0.1 AU) and that of the photosphere and corona, all impossible to be spatially resolved with present-day techniques. This has been the main motivation for the Coordinated Synoptic Investigation of NGC 2264, a set of simultaneous observations of NGC 2264 with 15 different telescopes.
Aims. In this paper, we focus on the stars with disks. We analyze the X-ray spectral properties extracted during optical bursts and dips in order to unveil the nature of these phenomena. Stars without disks are studied in a companion paper.
Methods. We analyze simultaneous CoRoT and Chandra/ACIS-I observations to search for coherent optical and X-ray flux variability in stars with disks. Then, stars are analyzed in two different samples. In stars with variable extinction, we look for a simultaneous increase of optical extinction and X-ray absorption during the optical dips; in stars with accretion bursts, we search for soft X-ray emission and increasing X-ray absorption during the bursts.
Results. We find evidence for coherent optical and X-ray flux variability among the stars with variable extinction. In 9 of the 24 stars with optical dips, we observe a simultaneous increase of X-ray absorption and optical extinction. In seven dips, it is possible to calculate the N_H/A_V ratio in order to infer the composition of the obscuring material. In 5 of the 20 stars with optical accretion bursts, we observe increasing soft X-ray emission during the bursts that we associate to the emission of accreting gas. It is not surprising that these properties are not observed in all the stars with dips and bursts, since favorable geometric configurations are required.
Conclusions. The observed variable absorption during the dips is mainly due to dust-free material in accretion streams. In stars with accretion bursts, we observe, on average, a larger soft X-ray spectral component not observed in non-accreting stars.


Marine construction works often lead to temporary increases in vessel traffic, which, in addition to the construction activity itself, contribute to underwater ambient noise in the affected area and increase the risk of vessel collision for marine mammals. Using a 3 yr data set of cliff-based observations, we investigated whether the presence/absence of minke whales, bottlenose dolphins and grey seals varied with the overall number and type of vessels present during the construction of an underwater gas pipeline through a bay on the northwest coast of Ireland. Results from binary generalised estimation equations showed a positive relationship between the presence of bottlenose dolphins and the overall number of boats, as well as the number of construction vessels. However, the presence of the 2 taxa with higher hearing sensitivity at low frequencies—minke whales and grey seals—was negatively correlated with the total number of boats and the number of utility vessels (as well as the number of fishing boats in the case of minke whales). While bottlenose dolphins may have been attracted to either the vessels per se or high prey concentrations coinciding with construction activities, both minke whales and grey seals appear to have been displaced by high levels of vessel traffic, most likely due to noise disturbance. Careful consideration of mitigation measures, especially for taxa with low-frequency hearing, is therefore essential in the planning phase of offshore construction activities, which should also take local circumstances into account.


The microscopic picture of ions at the aqueous liquid-vapor interface continues to be an important and active area of research. Both experiments and simulations have shown that certain ions, such as Br- and I-, prefer to adsorb at the interface, but there is not yet a consensus as to the relative importance of various ion-specific properties that influence surface solvation. In a previous study, we systematically explored the effect of ion size on determining whether or not a monovalent ion would adsorb at the surface, and found that, for electrolyte mixtures represented by non-polarizable models, the larger/smaller anions are enriched/depleted at the interface. Here, we extend that study to include temperature effects enabling a van't Hoff analysis of the enthalpic and entropic contributions. We perform configurational-bias Monte Carlo simulations in the Gibbs ensemble to investigate the partitioning of mixtures of differently sized ions at the aqueous liquid-vapor interface from 284.09 K to 347.22 K at a pressure of 1 atm. Ions are represented using our own previously developed models that vary only in size (i.e., the Lennard-Jones σ parameter changes, while all other parameters are held constant across ion types). System properties studied include surface tension, interfacial width, ion surface excess, number density profiles, z-dependent transfer free energy, enthalpy, entropy, and anion-cation coordination numbers.


The use of forced recruitment strategies during war can adversely affect military effectiveness and human rights. Given these costs, under what conditions do state leaders adopt coercive recruitment during civil wars? We find that between 1980 and 2009, states changed their recruitment practices 140 times during civil wars – half of which were towards coercive recruitment. Since structuralist explanations focus on factors that remain more or less constant over time, they cannot explain the frequency of these changes. Instead, we focus on individual-level factors and argue that leaders' dispositions as risk-takers determine their beliefs about using force to solve collective action dilemmas during civil wars. Further, conflict context matters for leaders' recruitment decisions – when rebel groups engage in coercive recruitment, leaders may also feel more justified in using such strategies. Using the LEAD Dataset and data on recruitment, we find that risk-tolerant leaders, including those who have had careers in the security sector, as well as those who have prior experience as a rebel or revolutionary leader, are more likely to use force to increase recruitment. While we theorize that this effect may be mitigated by combat experience, the evidence is mixed. Lastly, we find that rebels' use of forced recruitment makes state leaders less likely to use voluntary recruitment.


ABSTRACT Multidrug resistance has emerged as a significant concern with infections caused by Acinetobacter baumannii. Ample evidence supports the involvement of mobile genetic elements in the transfer of antibiotic resistance genes, but the extent of variability and the rate of genetic change associated with the acquisition of antibiotic resistance have not been studied in detail. Whole-genome sequence analysis of six closely related clinical isolates of A. baumannii, including four from the same hospital, revealed extensive divergence of the resistance genotype that correlated with observed differences in antimicrobial susceptibility. Resistance genes associated with insertion sequences, plasmids, and a chromosomal resistance gene island all showed variability. The highly dynamic resistance gene repertoire suggests rapid evolution of drug resistance.