The following conditions gave rise to eosinophilia in rats: both adrenaline (two cases) and acetylcholine (four out of five) in adrenalectomized animals; high salicylate doses (four cases) in adrenalectomized animals. Dury (1950) observed a significant increase in the number of circulating eosinophils after splenectomy and adr6nalectomy-splenectomy, and Janovics and Tiszai in this clinic after subtotal hepatectomy in rats. The anticoagulant " liquoid " (Roche), a polyanethol derivative, only irregularly evoked eosinophilia even after 12 hours, and with doses of 4-7 mg. per 100 g. rat (six cases). An eosinopenia was observed in five out of six cases at the fourth hour. A connexion, however, existed with the bleeding time, and the eosinopenia of the Tourth hour was accompanied by the acceleration of clotting. Stressing doses of intravenous salicylate caused only slight or insignificant eosinophil-rebound (three cases) in the hypoprothrombinaemic phase of Link, Overman, Sullivan, Heubner, and Scheel (1943), and also repeated effective oral doses of dicoumarol only elicited eosinophilia irregularly (three cases). In a few cases of different experiments there was an easily demonstrable divergence of clotting and the eosinophil count. Prothrombin time, clotting time, etc., were not measured in our experiments and only estimation of bleeding was our indicator. It proved to be sufficient. According to Bickel (1950) the failure of blood to coagulate in cases of anaphylactic shock is mostly accompanied by eosinopenia, and eosinophilia only develops subsequently, while coagulation time tends to remain normal. Further, although results with cortisone and A.C.T.H. are divergent in this relation, it can be said that prolongation of the clotting time accompanied the eosinopenia of single doses of cortisone and A.C.T.H. (Smith, Margulis, Brennan, and Monto, 1950). Finally, we add that Jancs6 at this University noted in 1931 that anticoagulants exert a marked inhibition of the storage capacity of the reticulo-endothelial system.


It has been suggested in the past that agricultural economists have had a limited input to the agricultural policy making process because of their preoccupation with issues of economic efficiency. The contrary hypothesis that the contribution of agricultural economists to the policy debate is hampered as much by our limited understanding of human behaviour and the lack of relevant data as it is by any preoccupation with efficiency is advanced in this paper. This notion is illustrated with reference to commodity stabilisation policy, the role of expectations in economic models, the economics of regulation and issues associated with the competitiveness of the rural sector. In discussing these issues, an attempt is made to outline areas where research is needed in order that agricultural economists can further the policy debate.


Algorithms based on timed Petri net are competitive for solving the problem of assembly sequence planning (ASP). In order to alleviate the state-space explosion problem which is caused by the Petri net-based representation of assembly sequences and to improve the efficiency of planning algorithms, an approach based on ordinary binary decision diagrams (OBDDs) is presented in this paper. On the one hand, all the timed transitions in Petri nets are substituted by some technically designed timed transition structures; on the other hand, Petri nets used in algorithms of assembly sequence planning are represented symbolically as OBDDs. As a result, a novel assembly sequence planning algorithm based on symbolic OBDDs is presented. With the help of OBDDs, both the marking vectors and the states of Petri nets are formulated more compactly; at the same time, the searching processes can be manipulated implicitly. Therefore, compared with original algorithms, both the time performance and the space performance are improved.


The transport system of taurine was investigated in fragments of goldfish retina prepared from the total tissue and from concentric regions: center and periphery. A high‐affinity, saturabie, sodium‐dependent system was demonstrated in the three types of fragments. The Km for one‐site analysis was similar in the two regions and the total retina. The analysis for two sites revealed a significant higher Km, for the high‐affinity site in fragments from the central region. The maximal uptake rate was higher in the central zone than in the total retina or the periphery. The Hill slopes obtained from saturation experiments of fragments of total retina, center, and periphery were similar to one other and near to 1. The slope of the time course uptake was intermediate for total retina and higher in the center than in the periphery. Hy‐potaurine and beta‐alanine were found to inhibit taurine uptake, but GABA was a weak inhibitor. The values of Ki for hypotaurine by one‐ and two‐site analysis were lower in the central region. The disruption of photoreceptors by shaking did not modify significantly the uptake of the amino acid. Remotion of endogenous taurine by dialysis of central and peripheral fragments increased the uptake in the periphery, but not in the center. The differences observed among the three samples revealed less affinity and high capacity for taurine uptake in the center, plus a higher sensitivity of inhibition. In addition, the peripheral zone had a greater affinity for taurine, and the maximal velocity of the entrance seems to bg inhibited by the higher concentration of the amino acid in this zone. These observations may reflect differences between proliferating and non‐proliferating regions of : The retina (i.e., periphery and center).


Glucose oxidase (GOx) is an important industrial enzyme that can be optimized for specific applications by mutagenesis and activity-based screening. To increase the efficiency of this approach, we have developed a new ultrahigh-throughput screening platform based on a microfluidic lab-on-chip device that allows the sorting of GOx mutants from a saturation mutagenesis library expressed on the surface of yeast cells. GOx activity was measured by monitoring the fluorescence of water microdroplets dispersed in perfluorinated oil. The signal was generated via a series of coupled enzyme reactions leading to the formation of fluorescein. Using this new method, we were able to enrich the yeast cell population by more than 35-fold for GOx mutants with higher than wild-type activity after two rounds of sorting, almost double the efficiency of our previously described flow cytometry platform. We identified and characterized novel GOx mutants, the most promising of which (M6) contained a combination of six point mutations that increased the catalytic constant kcat by 2.1-fold compared to wild-type GOx and by 1.4-fold compared to a parental GOx variant. The new microfluidic platform for GOx was therefore more sensitive than flow cytometry and supports comprehensive screens of gene libraries containing multiple mutations per gene.


The localization of calmodulin in the normal human testis was studied by the indirect immunoperoxidase method. Three different types of fixative were used: phosphate-buffered formalin, Bouin's solution or Carnoy's solution. Immunoreactivity specific for calmodulin was not detectable in the testis fixed in Carnoy's solution. The specimens fixed in phosphate-buffered formalin and in Bouin's solution were stained. The immunostaining for calmodulin was observed in pachytene spermatocytes, secondary spermatocytes and round spermatids but not in spermatogonia, or in pre-leptotene, leptotene and zygotene spermatocytes, elongated spermatids, spermatozoa or Leydig cells. Sertoli cells were not stained or were stained slightly. Among pachytene spermatocytes, the cells at the early stage were barely stained but those at the middle and late stages were slightly and intensely stained, respectively. The present report provides the first confirmation of the localization of calmodulin in the human testis.


We report on the nonlinear optical absorption of InN films deposited on GaN templates by radio-frequency (RF) sputtering. The layers are characterized through the pump-probe technique at 1.55 μm, by obtaining a nonlinear absorption coefficient of 167±30 cm/GW with a nonlinear response recovery time of 380 fs. This nonlinear behavior is attributed to a two-photon absorption process followed by a free carrier absorption by the photogenerated carriers. These results render InN films deposited by RF sputtering particularly suitable for ultrafast all-optical devices based on low-cost technology.


■ Abstract This chapter reviews research on consumer psychology with emphasis on the topics of categorization, inferences, affect, and persuasion. The chapter reviews theory-based empirical research during the period 1994–2004. Research on categorization includes empirical research on brand categories, goals as organizing frameworks and motivational bases for judgments, and self-based processing. Research on inferences includes numerous types of inferences that are cognitively and/or experienced based. Research on affect includes the effects of mood on processing and cognitive and noncognitive bases for attitudes and intentions. Research on persuasion focuses heavily on the moderating role of elaboration and dual-process models, and includes research on attitude strength responses, advertising responses, and negative versus positive evaluative dimensions.


The manufacturing industry has become extremely competitive in nature and each company's survival depends on gaining an edge in their respective field. Lean manufacturing has emerged as the leading management philosophy in this struggle. The original model of lean, called the Toyota Production System, is utilized by the phenomenally successful automotive manufacturer Toyota and many others have followed suite. There is a need for a course in schools that offer manufacturing curriculum which will integrate the lean concepts with the current manufacturing program of study. Lean is a proven management strategy and should be offered as a course of its own. Lean can be taught using both knowledge-based and competencybased learning styles. Through the use of academic, simulation, and real life examples these concepts can be understood. This research examines these issues and illustrates an implementation model which can be used to accomplish this goal utilizing these same lean principles.


Paris--Adding a form of high-dose calcitriol to docetaxel (Taxotere) offers improved survival over docetaxel alone in men with metastatic androgen-independent prostate cancer, according to results of a multicenter trial presented at the 13th European Cancer Conference (ECCO-13) here. Further, the addition of the calcitriol formulation, known as DN-101, to the chemotherapy agent produced an unanticipated advantage in a reduced number of serious gastrointestinal and thromboembolic adverse events.


Background Shoulder pain in the general population is common and to identify the aetiology of shoulder pain, history, motion and muscle testing, and physical examination tests are usually performed. Objective The aim of this systematic review was to summarise and evaluate intrarater and inter-rater reliability of physical examination tests in the diagnosis of shoulder pathologies. Methods A comprehensive systematic literature search was conducted using MEDLINE, EMBASE, Allied and Complementary Medicine Database (AMED) and Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) through 20 March 2015. Methodological quality was assessed using the Quality Appraisal of Reliability Studies (QAREL) tool by 2 independent reviewers. Results The search strategy revealed 3259 articles, of which 18 finally met the inclusion criteria. These studies evaluated the reliability of 62 test and test variations used for the specific physical examination tests for the diagnosis of shoulder pathologies. Methodological quality ranged from 2 to 7 positive criteria of the 11 items of the QAREL tool. Conclusions This review identified a lack of high-quality studies evaluating inter-rater as well as intrarater reliability of specific physical examination tests for the diagnosis of shoulder pathologies. In addition, reliability measures differed between included studies hindering proper cross-study comparisons. Trial registration number PROSPERO CRD42014009018.


A description is given of two fused-quartz extensometers located in mountain tunnels at Dalton Canyon and Isabella in Southern California and designed for observing long-period seismic-wave strains, earth tidal strains, and secular strains. They consist essentially of instruments for measuring and recording variations in the separation of two piers by comparison with a length standard of fused-quartz tubing. The sensitivity for secular strains, denned as the least detectable strain increment, is approximately 10^(−7). For tidal and seismic-wave strains, the sensitivity is higher—a 1-mm deflection of the recorder represents a strain increment of 5.2 × 10^(−10). In both cases the maximum usable sensitivity is limited by ground-strain unrest or noise, generated by wind, barometric-pressure variations, temperature variations of the surface layers of the ground, and variations in ground-water saturation.


Shaping of structures is of growing importance so that innovative processes of fabrication are needed. In this sense, electrophoretic deposition (EPD) of local structures from aqueous suspensions on a membrane has proved to be a suitable process. In this work, the electrical field between two point electrodes was simulated employing the finite element method. Different electrode configurations were studied, seeking to attain a strong focusing of the electric field in order to achieve a local deposition. Aqueous suspensions are preferred for industrial application due to the high polarity of water enabling high solid loadings and also for environmental reasons. Nevertheless, the bubbles generating at the point electrodes surface (due to water electrolysis) disturb the electric field. It is therefore very important to minimize the bubbles size. In this respect, we applied a measuring technique to detect and monitor the bubbles formation and first results are presented.


Analyses of computer aided translation typically focus on either frontend interfaces and human effort, or backend translation and machine learnability of corrections. However, this distinction is artificial in practice since the frontend and backend must work in concert. We present the first holistic, quantitative evaluation of these issues by contrasting two assistive modes: postediting and interactive machine translation (MT). We describe a new translator interface, extensive modifications to a phrasebased MT system, and a novel objective function for re-tuning to human corrections. Evaluation with professional bilingual translators shows that post-edit is faster than interactive at the cost of translation quality for French-English and EnglishGerman. However, re-tuning the MT system to interactive output leads to larger, statistically significant reductions in HTER versus re-tuning to post-edit. Analysis shows that tuning directly to HTER results in fine-grained corrections to subsequent machine output.


Objective The aim of the study was to investigate dietary modification strategies used by community-dwelling older women to manage their fecal incontinence (FI). Methods We conducted a qualitative study with focus groups wherein women 65 years and older with FI shared their experiences managing the condition. We explored the following: (1) association between diet and FI symptoms, (2) dietary strategies and modifications used by older women to manage FI, and (3) patient input about disseminating diet modification information and strategies. All focus groups were audio recorded, transcribed, coded, and qualitatively analyzed to identify relevant themes. Results Twenty-one women participated in 3 focus groups. All participants were aware that diet plays a key role in their experience of FI and women described a method of "trial and error" in identifying specific aspects of their diet that contributed to their FI symptoms. Women reported modifications including avoiding or limiting several foods and food categories, changing certain methods of food preparation, as well as varying the amounts and frequency of meals to manage their FI. Women articulated several suggestions including the importance of physician input, using a balanced approach when making recommendations, and the value of sharing individual experiences. Conclusions Older women with FI make several dietary modifications to manage their symptoms including limiting certain foods, changing methods of food preparation, and decreasing the amounts and frequency of meals. These strategies may be considered for inclusion in a diet modification plan that is culturally competent for older women with FI.


Marketing is the key to the sustainability of economic activity is no exception fish catches came from Brondong fishing port. Fish landed in Brondong fishing port is diverse. Spotted big eye fish (Priacanthus tayenus) and yellow goat fish (Upeneus sulphureus) is the dominant fish catches and eastern little tuna (Euthynnus affinis) and red snapper (Lutjanus malabaricus) is an economical high in fish landed in Brondong fishing port. Fishermen in Brondong fishing port average daily fishing 159 tons of fish. The potential magnitude of catches landed in Brondong fishing port must be balanced with good marketing. Marketing activities should be carried out as efficiently as possible so that the business side can provide great benefits from the results of these marketing activities. Fish marketing activities stemming from Brondong fishing port is still inefficient due to marketing activities still using traditional tools. Seeing the condition that it is important to know the level of the efficient marketing activity fish from Brondong fishing port. The aim of this study is to calculate the level of marketing efficiency of fish in Brondong fishing port, Lamongan, East Java. The research will be implemented by the method of the case against the strategy of increasing marketing efficiency of fish from Brondong fishing port. Analysis of the formula used is marketing efficiency. Based on the analysis conducted showed that showed that the existing marketing activity in Brondong fishing port is inefficient. Proved by analysis obtained spotted big eye fish have high levels of Eps 45.44%, 38.98% yellow goat fish, eastern little tuna 57.94% and 25.65% red snapper with declared where marketing said to be efficient if it has Eps <5%.


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: For embolized cerebral aneurysms, the initial occlusion rate is the most powerful parameter to predict aneurysm rerupture and recanalization. However, the occlusion rate is only estimated subjectively in clinical routine. To minimize subjective bias, computer occlusion-rating (COR) was successfully validated for 2D images. To minimize the remaining inaccuracy of 2D-COR, COR was applied to 1.5T 3D MR imaging. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twelve experimental rabbit aneurysms were subjected to stent-assisted coil embolization followed by 2D DSA and 3D MR imaging. Subjective occlusion-rate (SOR) was estimated. Linear parameters (aneurysm length, neck width, parent vessel diameter) were measured on 2D DSA and 3D MR imaging. The occlusion rate was measured by contrast medium−based identification of the nonoccluded 2D area/3D volume in relation to the total aneurysm 2D area/3D volume. 2D and 3D parameters were statistically compared. RESULTS: There were no limiting metallic artifacts by using 3D MR imaging. Linear parameters (millimeters) were nearly identical on 2D DSA and 3D MR imaging (aneurysm length: 7.5 ± 2.6 versus 7.4 ± 2.5, P = .2334; neck width: 3.8 ± 1.0 versus 3.7 ± 1.1, P = .6377; parent vessel diameter: 2.7 ± 0.6 versus 2.7 ± 0.5, P = .8438), proving the high accuracy of 3D MR imaging. COR measured on 3D MR imaging was considerably lower (61.8% ± 26.6%) compared with the following: 1) 2D-COR (65.6% ± 27.1%, P = .0537) and 2) 2D-SOR estimations (69.2% ± 27.4%, P = .002). These findings demonstrate unacceptable bias in the current clinical standard SOR estimations. CONCLUSIONS: 3D-COR of embolized aneurysms is easily feasible. Its accuracy is superior to that of the clinical standard 2D-SOR. The difference between 3D-COR and 2D-COR approached statistical significance. 3D-COR may add objectivity to the ability to stratify the risk of rerupture in embolized cerebral aneurysms.


It is important to repeat the training for the improvement of amblyopia. However, there is a need to develop the training contents because most of training contents make users get easily bored due to lack of immersion and fun factors, slowing down repetitive training function. This study was intended to develop a training content that can partially restore visual function deteriorated due to eye diseases such as ametropia (myopia or amblyopia) and delay visual deterioration through visual function enhancement training. In this system, we established visual function enhancement training system process for those with amblyopia through developing visual function enhancement training device and system that can be used for those with amblyopia. By establishing eye disease screening scenarios and training procedures applicable to visual function enhancement training using visual function enhancement platform architecture design applied with big data-based real-time information processing and monitoring technology, it is possible to provide more accurate diagnosis to patients This study is intended to complement the existing offline function diagnosis/training method to allow the doctor who is leading diagnosis and training to collect patient information online through remote patient management.


ABSTRACT Relative age effects (RAE) generate consistent participation inequalities and selection biases in sports. The study aimed to investigate RAE across all sports of the national Swiss talent development programme (STDP). In this study, 18 859 youth athletes (female N = 5353; mean age: 14.8 ± 2.5 y and male N = 13 506; mean age: 14.4 ± 2.4 y) in 70 sports who participated in the 2014 competitive season were evaluated. The sample was subdivided by sex and the national level selection (NLS, N = 2464). Odds ratios (ORs) of relative age quarters (Q1-Q4) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. In STDP, small RAE were evident for females (OR 1.35 (95%-CI 1.24, 1.47)) and males (OR 1.84 (95%-CI 1.74, 1.95)). RAE were similar in female NLS athletes (OR 1.30 (95%-CI 1.08, 1.57)) and larger in male NLS athletes (OR 2.40 (95%-CI 1.42, 1.97)) compared to athletes in the lower selection level. In STDP, RAE are evident for both sexes in several sports with popular sports showing higher RAE. RAE were larger in males than females. A higher selection level showed higher RAE only for males. In Switzerland, talent identification and development should be considered as a long-term process.


The Gram-negative enterobacterium Serratia marcescens produces a variety of hydrolases that are secreted into the surrounding medium, among them some are highly active DNA/RNA nonspecific endonuclease. This nuclease has been the focus of studies on its mechanism of action, its substrate preferences, its protein structure and its application in industrial biotechnology. Up to date several closely and more distantly related nucleases are known that together form a Serratia nuclease superfamily. Here we briefly review these different aspects of research regarding the work on Serratia nuclease.


The article is devoted to topical issues of socio-economic development of regions through decentralization of financial resources ion terms of reallocation of tax revenue. The methodical approach to modeling scenarios of adjusting the tax component of the regional fiscal policy, which consists of five interrelated sequential steps: setting goals; building a model of adjusting the tax component of the regional fiscal policy; identifying the impact of the factors on developing the financial selfsufficiency of regional development; identifying scenarios of tax revenue reallocation between the budgets of different levels; recording potential risks; developing performance criteria for financial resource decentralization and checking scenarios for their compliance; modeling scenarios; selection of the most rational scenario in accordance with economic, social, and organizational effectiveness. In order to identify the most effective options of adjusting the tax component of the regional fiscal policy the article considers four possible scenario variants: the scenario for 2011–2014 years; the governmental scenario for 2015; two scenarios proposed by the authors in terms of securing a share of national taxes to local budgets. For each scenario it considers the risks and the related losses of budgetary funds: temporary, transactional and corruption risks. To model the scenarios, a simulation model of the regional financial resources dynamics using the example of the local budget of Kharkov in the Vensim medium has been built. Modelling the proposed scenario variants has shown deterioration in the scenario 2 of both the budget dependence coefficient and the level of the budget balance in comparison with the pre-existing conditions in 2014. Improvement in the budget dependence indicator and the balance as compared with the retrospective period is achieved in the fourth scenario under consideration. At that, there is a reduction of the volume and the share of the intrabudget transfers and related losses. Legislative recognition of responsibility for implementing reallocated functions will allow to increase their efficiency.


The impact of global phosphorus scarcity on food security has increasingly been the focus of scientific studies over the past decade. However, systematic analyses of alternative futures for phosphorus supply and demand throughout the food system are still rare and provide limited inclusion of key stakeholders. Addressing global phosphorus scarcity requires an integrated approach exploring potential demand reduction as well as recycling opportunities. This implies recovering phosphorus from multiple sources, such as food waste, manure, and excreta, as well as exploring novel opportunities to reduce the long-term demand for phosphorus in food production such as changing diets. Presently, there is a lack of stakeholder and scientific consensus around priority measures. To therefore enable exploration of multiple pathways and facilitate a stakeholder dialog on the technical, behavioral, and institutional changes required to meet long-term future phosphorus demand, this paper introduces an interactive web-based tool, designed for visualizing global phosphorus scenarios in real time. The interactive global phosphorus scenario tool builds on several demand and supply side measures that can be selected and manipulated interactively by the user. It provides a platform to facilitate stakeholder dialog to plan for a soft landing and identify a suite of concrete priority options, such as investing in agricultural phosphorus use efficiency, or renewable fertilizers derived from phosphorus recovered from wastewater and food waste, to determine how phosphorus demand to meet future food security could be attained on a global scale in 2040 and 2070. This paper presents four example scenarios, including (1) the potential of full recovery of human excreta, (2) the challenge of a potential increase in non-food phosphorus demand, (3) the potential of decreased animal product consumption, and (4) the potential decrease in phosphorus demand from increased efficiency and yield gains in crop and livestock systems.


In this study the effect of thermomechanical treatment on the microstructure of austenite and martensite and the mechanical properties of a medium carbon silicon chromium spring steel with different levels of impurities is investigated. Results are presented for conventional heat treatment and for thermomechanical treatment (TMT). Compared to conventionally heat treated samples austenite deformation improves strength and ductility. Thermomechanically treated samples are not prone to embrittlement by phosphorous. TMT influences the shape and distribution of carbides within the matrix and at prior austenite grain boundaries. It is shown that utilization of TMT is beneficial for increasing the ultimate tensile strength to levels above 2200 MPa and at the same time maintaining the ductility obtained at strength levels of 1500 MPa by conventional heat treatment. The endurance limit is increased and embrittlement does not occur.


Multidisciplinary integration is common in the petroleum industry and is critical for the success of many projects. This paper discusses the need for and importance of multidisciplinary integration of data inputs for the success of hydraulic fracturing treatments in unconventional reservoirs, specifically tight-gas sands and shale systems. Four main areas are discussed, including microseismic, field-wide seismic, petrophysical rock properties, and geological characterization. A discussion of future areas for integration is also provided.


Heeding the call for broader access to tertiary studies for previously disadvantaged students, the University of the Free State (UFS) is one of only a few institutions in the country that offer an extended, five-year Bachelor of Laws (LLB) programme. Its more lenient admission requirements and more manageable distribution of course work across five study years have put access to professional legal studies within reach of students who would not have otherwise qualified for admission. Beyond broader access, however, still lies the challenge of student success. It is a well-documented fact that modern-day students enter higher education ill-prepared for the demands of tertiary studies, and those entering the extended LLB are no exception. The gaps in their skills sets include a lack of academic writing skills, which are among the core competencies required of a law graduate. In an effort to address this challenge, the UFS Faculty of Law has established an innovative collaboration with the Write Site, a writing centre staffed by language specialists who offer students personalised assistance with their writing assignments. This is done as part of the module Legal Skills, one of the foundational modules presented exclusively for students in the extended LLB programme. This article provides the details of the intervention, including its results to date. It concludes that the Faculty of Law/ Write Site collaboration is a model worthy of emulation, teaching students not only to write well, but also to do well in their academic field. Recommendations for fine-tuning the intervention are proposed, including a call for this type of skills assistance to be offered across the curriculum, instead of in a once-off module only. Whilst the current climate of acute human resources and funding shortfalls in higher education may make this hard to achieve, the academic success of our students and the professional success of our future lawyers and other professionals are on the line.


A new species of Andinia belonging to A. subgenus Brachycladium from the eastern Andes of southern Colombia is described and illustrated. Andinia obesa is related to the A. nummularia species complex, characterized by the glabrous leaves, short inflorescences, an inconspicuous trilobed lip and a relatively large column. The new species can be distinguished by the unusually plump, orbicular, cucullate column with an incumbent anther.


This is a compelling narrative of how American ingenuity solved an international scientific mystery. At the turn of the nineteenth century, even the most experienced mariners were still risking catastrophe when navigating the North American coastline because they lacked accurate navigational charts. The various means available to chart makers of the era to measure longitude, both celestial and terrestrial, could be off by thousands of feet - a deadly margin of error for ships when facing collision against unknown coastal cliffs, reefs, and shoals. In 1807 the United States Coast Survey was created to accurately map the coast and reduce the costly and deadly toll of shipwrecks, a challenge that would take the better part of a century to overcome. In "Longitude by Wire", Richard Stachurski chronicles the amazing tale of discoveries made by American scientists as they worked to solve this life-threatening quandary and develop a precise method of measuring longitude. Stachurski recounts how the successful coupling of precision chronometers with the new electrical technology represented by Samuel Morse's telegraph produced the long-sought solution to the longitude problem. The ingenious use of the telegraph by scientists of the U.S Coast Survey to communicate time signals reduced the probable error in longitudinal measurement to less than ten feet. The 'American method', as it was deemed, quickly revolutionized observational astronomy and every other branch of science that depended on recording the precise time of an event. Astronomers, who had been able to judge time to one-twentieth of a second, could now establish permanent records of events to a precision of one-hundredth of a second. Beginning in 1845 American geodetic surveyors used their new tools to develop a precision longitude net across America. Their impassioned pursuit of a viable solution to the mystery of longitude unfolds against the larger backdrop of the transition of American science from the domain of the amateur, gentleman 'natural philosopher' to that of the professional specialist - a shift that formed the foundation of modern scientific research and development. Stachurski combines his technical savvy as a historian and mathematician with the skills of a seasoned storyteller to portray the human drama and tension at the center of this adventure in scientific problem solving. The resulting narrative is briskly paced, deeply researched, and deftly told.


T cell function generally declines with age. To determine the underlying cause of the age-related decline, we compared the expression levels of T cell antigen receptor genes encoding gamma, beta and alpha chains in the lymphoid tissues of young (8 wk old) vs. aged (40 wk old) mice. An age-associated increase in gamma chain gene transcripts was evident in the thymocytes, spleen cells and mesenteric lymph node cells. Aged mice had a relatively high proportion of CD3+CD4-CD8- cells but a reduced level of CD3+CD4-CD8+ cells in the lymphoid tissues, as compared with young counterparts. The allo-reactivity in the lymphoid cells, as assessed by mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) responses, decreased with advancing age. On the contrary, increased levels of syngeneic MLR and spontaneous cytolytic activity were noted in the lymphoid cells of aged mice, as compared with findings in their young counterparts. A remarkable increase in the number of CD3+CD4-CD8- cells and level of the gamma chain gene messages was also detected in the responder cells of day 4 syngeneic MLR culture from aged mice. An increase in the number of T cells bearing gamma chain may be related to the alterations in immunological functions in aged mice.


Piezoelectric coatings of PbZrxTi1-xO3 (PZT) were deposited on standard telecommunication fibers. The PZT coatings were produced by reactive de magnetron sputtering of metal targets in pure oxygen atmosphere. The deposition was carried out at substrate temperatures between 500 and 600 degrees C. Film thicknesses are in the range of 1300 to 1500 nm. The device structure under investigation is of the Ti/Pt/PZT/Au type. X-ray diffraction (XRD) scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and electrical measurements were used to characterize the films. Results on crystalline phase formation, microstructure, and ferroelectric behavior of the axially symmetric coatings are presented.


Time varying flow structures are involved in a large percentage of fluid flows although there is still much unknown regarding their behavior. With the development of high spatiotemporal resolution measurement systems it is becoming more feasible to measure these complex flow structures, which in turn will lead to a better understanding of their impact. One method that has been developed for studying these flow structures is finite time Lyapunov exponents (FTLEs). These exponents can reveal regions in the fluid, referred to as Lagragnian coherent structures (LCSs), where fluid elements diverge or attract. Better knowledge of how these time varying structures behave can greatly impact a wide range of applications, from aircraft design and performance, to an improved understanding of mixing and transport in the human body. This work provides the development of new methodologies for measuring and studying threedimensional time varying structures. Provided herein is a method to improve replacement of erroneous measurements in particle image velocimetry data, which leads to increased accuracy in the data. Also, a method for directly measuring the finite time Lyapunov exponents from particle images is developed, as well as an experimental demonstration in a three-dimensional flow field. This method takes advantage of the information inherently contained in these images to improve accuracy and reduce computational requirements. Lastly, this work provides an in depth look at the flow field for developing wall jets across a wide range of Reynolds numbers investigating the mechanisms that contribute to their development.


Distinguishing between the sounds in our environment is quite trivial for humans. We can easily distinguish between sounds that originated from different sources, and routinely isolate single sources. Since the '50s, the perceptual segregation of sound into components has been object of study, but a definitive method to accomplish this, seemingly so very simple, feat has not been found. To facilitate the analysis of sound to accomplish, for example, speech recognition or instrument separation some form of base separation wifi have to be performed. The basic components of sound can be broadly separated into three categories: pulses, sines, and noise-like components. Detecting these base components of sound would allow for later application of algorithms to combine them into greater, more complicated components defining the structure of sound. A method to accomplish the detection of such base components was investigated, using Sound Intelligence's Cochlear Analysis system and existing algorithms written by Tjeerd Andringa and Dirkjan Krijnders. A simple system was made which tries to detect components in cochleograms, and resynthesises a signal based on the detected components. An analysis of the performance of the system was made by assessing the results of the resynthesis of several testsignals.


ABSTRACT Introduction: This study aimed to validate a new observational measure of socially disinhibited behavior for use in a population of individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Method: Participants were twenty-two adults with severe TBI (mean age = 50.45 years) and 21 healthy comparison participants (mean age = 45.29 years). Ratings of observed social disinhibition were correlated with the disinhibition domain scores of the Neuropsychiatric Inventory–Disinhibition (NPI–D) and with Sydney Psychosocial Reintegration Scale (SPRS) scores. A regression analysis was undertaken to determine whether formal measures of disinhibition could predict observed disinhibition. Results: The interrater absolute agreement for the social disinhibition ratings was good, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) = .69. Participants with TBI were rated as significantly more disinhibited than comparison participants, t(25.05) = –2.07, p = .049. The ratings were positively correlated with the NPI frequency score (r = .45, p = .038) and distress score (r = .45, p = .035). The ratings were not related to change in employment or in interpersonal relationships on the SPRS, and formal measures of disinhibition were unable to predict observed social disinhibition. Conclusions: This study demonstrates good interrater reliability and construct validity of the observational measure. The results evidence the usefulness of this measure and the NPI–D for detecting social disinhibition after TBI.


This thesis describes an implementation and evaluation of an IP mobility management protocol, Simple Mobile IP. The protocol enables dynamic address allocation and configuration of mobile terminals through utilisation of DHCP. Simple Mobile IP provides IP mobility within one administrative domain, in contrast to the global mobility in conventional Mobile IP. Both protocols use IP tunnelling but in Simple Mobile IP the tunnel runs along the optimised route, thus avoiding triangular routing. The protocol was implemented on the Linux platform and evaluated in a wireless LAN environment. The solution detects subnet transitions at the link layer, resulting in loss of IP connectivity for approximately 100 ms when mobile terminals move between subnets. The overhead, introduced by IP tunnelling, reduces the throughput by 3.8% in a wireless LAN environment.


As I am writing this letter, the United States has just begun its celebration of Black History Month, the aim of which is to highlight the "the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history." In previous years, the history of computing community has not had much to contribute to this celebration. Until recently, our discipline has paid little attention to questions of race and ethnicity. This year, I am happy to say, things are different. The triple Oscar-nominated film Hidden Figures, based on the book of the same name by Margot Shetterly, has brought welcome and widespread attention to the stories of Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughn, Mary Jackson, and the many other African American women who worked as human computers and computer programmers at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The contributions of these women were essential to both the Space Race and the development of the computing disciplines, and have been shamefully neglected. But as the article by Arvid Nelsen on "Race & Computing: the Problem of Sources, the Potential of Prosopography, and the Lesson of Ebony Magazine" so clearly reveals, the story of these NASA computers is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of African-American contributions to computing. In his close study of both archival and popular sources Nelsen demonstrates that, despite their almost complete invisibility in most of the history of computing literature, people of color were omnipresent in the actual history of computing. In the years between 1959 and 1996, for example, Ebony Magazine alone published 57 profiles of African Americans working in the electronics and computer industry in a broad range of occupations from computer operator to systems analyst to manager of sales for time sharing computing at General Electric. For each of these named individuals, there are certainly many, many more whose mere identities, much less their larger histories, remain to be established. To give just one example, we know almost nothing about the two African American men featured on the cover of this issue of the Annals, other than that they worked (most likely as engineers) at the Burroughs Corporation in the early 1960s. Their anonymity is a poignant reminder of both their vital presence in this history and the enormous amount of work that remains to be done. And as Nelsen's article reveals, there are formidable barriers— practical and methodological as well as theoretical and conceptual—associated with doing this research. Nelsen, who for many years served as the archivist of the Charles Babbage Institute for the History of Computing, is a skilled researcher with intimate familiarity with the available primary sources, but even for him the work was time-consuming and painstaking. But if our discipline is to come to terms with the critical category of race—beginning with the hidden histories of people of color, but including as well the role of "whiteness" in shaping the dominant narratives in much of our histories, then we are going to need to do pursue the difficult path that Nelsen has described for us. Think of the similar challenges that historians of computing faced while contemplating the incorporation of gender as an analytical category. This too was an effort that began slowly and took decades to realize, but which has culminated in a dramatic and productive reshaping of our very conception of what are the fundamental questions in the history of computing. Consider, for example, the recently published research by Annals associate editor Marie Hicks, which demonstrates the central role of gender in the promising origins of but ultimately disappointing ending to the British computer industry in the mid-20th century. For Hicks, gender is central to her analysis, not a secondary curiosity. Similarly, we can expect that as we begin to incorporate race and ethnicity into our scholarship, we will discover new insights, methods, and perspectives that will radically reshape the focus of our discipline. In his article "MCM on Personal Software," Zbigniew Stachniak argues that the origins of the personal computer industry ought to be pushed back before 1975 (the date of the publication of Microsoft BASIC). In 1972 the Toronto-based company Micro Computer Machines began work on an Intel 8008 micro-processor


This essay describes aspects of an eco-cultural restoration program and closely associated educational initiatives and negotiations between the North Fork Mono Tribe and United States governmental agencies. We base our educational approach in Indigenous narrative and land-based experience. We seek not to  explain  land and water but to help guide students, policymakers, and other learners to come to  understand  land and water. We consider land, water, plants, and animals as narrators and as sources of knowledge – as primary historical sources, texts that narrate settler colonial and Indigenous history and the physical and cultural changes that colonialism has wrought. As we argue, approaches that combine narratives with visits to the land are key methods in land based education. In addition to describing the theoretical foundations of our curriculum, the essay provides accounts of obstacles presented to us by state education authorities and of successful negotiations to appropriately include tribal knowledge in updates to the California State Water Plan and in agreements with the U.S. Forest Service regarding tribal jurisdiction


Social scientists have a longstanding concern with the relationship between criminal sanctions and offenders'future behavior. This paper uses data from a sample of 528 adult felony offenders to compare the relative probability of rearrest, the severity of rearrest, and the likelihood of probation revocation for offenders with a sentence of incarceration, work release, house arrest, and traditional probation—or a combination of these sentences. Consistent with previous research, prior record, gender, offense type, and education were significantly related to the probability and severity of rearrest. Furthermore, no matter which other sanction it was paired with, house arrest was associated with reduced chances of rearrest and lower rearrest severity. The influence of one of these sanction combinations was gender-specific: incarceration followed by house arrest was associated with reduced odds of rearrest for women but not for men. However, house arrest was associated with the considerably increased likelihood of probation revocation. In addition, these effects remain after controlling for potential selection bias stemming from the sentencing decision. This paper concludes by discussing the theoretical and correctional implications of these findings and directions for future research.


SUMMARY. Choanal cleft swab samples from 770 wild Canada geese (Branta canadensis) and 358 blue-winged teal (Anas discors), captured for relocation or banding, were examined for the presence of avian pneumovirus (APV) RNA by reverse transcription (RT)–polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and for virus isolation. The swab samples were pooled into groups of 5 or 10. Sixty eight of 102 (66.7%) pooled goose samples were RT-PCR positive for APV RNA. Thirteen of 52 (25.0%) pooled blue-winged teal samples were RT-PCR positive for APV RNA. APV RNA-positive samples were inoculated onto chick embryo fibroblasts (CEF) and QT-35 cells. Infectious APV was isolated from five Canada goose pooled samples in CEF and from one Canada goose pool in QT-35 cells but not from blue-winged teal.


A small cantilever-type piezoelectric accelerometer has been fixed to a contact lens. By means of one or two electrical integrations of the amplified output voltage, angular acceleration, velocity, or displacement of the moving eye can be measured as functions of time. The sensitivity is high enough to record involuntary saccades and tremor during fixation; the bandwidth of the system under these conditions is 200 cps. The high sensitivity is maintained for all positions of the eye, so that during saccades and other fast eye movements, the fine detail, particularly of the small overshoots, can be examined.For study of the characteristics of the extraocular muscle–eyeball system, sinusoidal or transient eye movements caused by applying vibrational or steplike forces to the eye are recorded. These forces are applied by the action of an electromagnet on a piece of magnetic material fixed to the contact lens. Forced eye movements are also induced by applying either steady vibrations or impulsive forces to the head. Two recording accelerometers are then used, one is on the contact lens, and the second is fixed to a bite bar. Experiments have been made with human subjects and with dogs. Typical recordings are discussed.


This research aims to gain an insight into the phenomenon of 'cultural criminal cases' and the way in which the Dutch administration of justice responds to these cases. In choosing the defence lawyer's position in criminal law as a point of departure, the central question posed by the research is the following: In which ways does Dutch criminal law provide room for the defendant's cultural background to be taken into consideration? This research question is divided into a number of sub-questions that are successively dealt with in the eight chapters of this book. One of the most striking findings is the fact that in cultural criminal cases it often remains very unclear to the defence whether and how the cultural factor will effect the eventual judgement. This insecurity can lead the defence to the situation where no mention is made of the case's cultural background, even if this is against the client's interest. A second important conclusion is that Dutch criminal law is very much biased in favour of Dutch, or Western, norms and values. This is inevitable, but in the case of a cultural criminal case this may lead to the fact that the defendant makes legal reproaches that might require review. An example is the great importance attached to the specific ways in which feelings of remorse and regret should be shown, although a defendant from an ethnic minority group might not understand this or hold different opinion. Another example is the way in which legal terms are defined, which might mirror quite biased assumptions as well. As discussed above, the term 'complicity' might not be completely applicable to defendants from ethnic minority groups, especially women, because they might lack the necessary mens rea. Furthermore, the often used 'criteriumfiguur' or 'reasonable person' test in criminal law might be adapted to a society that is shaped by people who increasingly base their identities on various cultural orientations. In that context, it is recommendable that the Dutch criminal justice administration should reflect Dutch society more equally. The Dutch Bar is already much more ethnically diverse than it was ten years ago and the lawyers in this research do praise the positive effects of this development. The Dutch bench, however, could be improved concerning this matter, and it is already trying to do so. This research was not meant to deduce easily written conclusions or recommendations. Many of the facts of the criminal cases discussed in this book are abhorrent and deserve appropriate punishment. Culture should never be an easy universal remedy to escape criminal liability and neither should judges be misled into believing so. The main point that has been put forward with this research is that striving for increased legal security and trying to shape the Dutch administration of justice in a culturally sensitive way with regard to terminology, general awareness and staff recruitment, does justice to the principle that the defendant is a rechtssubject and should be able to put across his or her side of the case. The principle of adequate defence requires that the defendant is able to autonomously determine the course and outcome of his case. This can only be realised if the defendant and his counsel do not have to fear unjustified legal inequality or insecurity.


BackgroundActivated platelets have been implicated in both acute thrombus formation and atherogenesis. Because smoking is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease in men and women and male smokers have biochemical evidence of increased platelet activation, we found it of interest to study whether smoking augments platelet activity in women as well. Methods and ResultsData on smoking habits and a urinary sample were obtained from 125 healthy female nonsmokers and an equal number of smokers, stratified by age in five groups from 18 to 59 years old. Urinary samples were analyzed with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry for the 2,3-dinormetabolites of thromboxane A2 (Tx-M), reflecting platelet activity, and prostacyclin (PGI-M), representing platelet/vessel wall interaction. Urinary Tx-M in smokers was higher than in nonsmokers (p<0.001), increasing with the number of cigarettes smoked per day and with age. In nonsmokers, there was no difference in Tx-M between the age groups. Urinary PGI-M in smokers was higher than that in nonsmokers (p<0.001) and decreased with age in nonsmokers but not in smokers. There was no difference in Tx-M between previous smokers and lifelong nonsmokers. ConclusionsThe elevated Tx-M in women who smoke cigarettes indicates an increased platelet activity that is dependent on smoking intensity. In parallel, PGI-M is augmented, suggesting that platelet/vessel wall interaction is stimulated. Quitting smoking is an effective means to restore platelet function. We propose that the observed increase in platelet activity in women who smoke cigarettes may be related to subsequent development of cardiovascular disease and that quitting smoking should be considered a high-priority medical target also in this sex.


Electric discharge assisted mechanical milling using a 50 Hz power supply has been used to produce a range of fine and nanostructural products, including nanocrystalline aglomerates and individual nano-particles and nano-fragments. Processing variables include; starting powder sample size; electric arc parameters such as arc length and arc voltage/current; mechanical milling parameters; gas atmosphere and ionized gas species present. We describe results of an experimental program underway to investigate phase transformations and/or particle fragmentation during discharge milling using a new pulsed power supply working at frequencies in the kHz range. The aims of this preliminary investigation were to determine processing parameters required for the synthesis of potentially useful high surface area particles, nanostructural powders and nanoparticles, and to compare products with those synthesised by Hz frequency discharge milling. Microstructural, morphological, and phase changes induced by kHz discharge milling were characterised by x-ray diffractommetry and transmission electron microscopy. Results were found to depend on the often competing processes of fragmentation into nano-particles, agglomeration of powder particles, particle melting and/or sintering, and chemical reaction induced by mechanoprocessing in the presence of a particular type of plasma. Discharge milling of graphite under Ar/4%H2 resulted in a range of products including; graphite nanostructures, carbon nanotubes and other exotic nanofragments. It was found that, compared with processing at 50 Hz, high frequency (kHz) electric discharge assisted mechanical milling of graphite resulted in higher yields of carbon nanotubes. hematite resulted in partial reduction to magnetite and FeO,and the formation of nanostructural oxide nanorods and nanorod clusters. Discharge milling of Co-WC resulted in products including; micron and submicron fracture products, nanostructural regions of Co and WC, and carbon rich nanorods and nanotubes.


This paper is concerned with the behavior of a variable-speed wind energy conversion system, in order to assess the power quality injected in the electrical grid. Different topologies for the power-electronic converters are considered, namely matrix and multilevel converters. We use pulse width modulation by space vector modulation associated with sliding mode for controlling the converters, and we introduce power factor control at the output of the converters. We present the total harmonic distortion and the fast Fourier transform of the current injected in the electrical grid, considering each power-electronic converter. Finally, conclusions are duly drawn.


Four E-prostanoid (EP) receptors, designated EP(1), EP(2), EP(3), and EP(4), mediate the cellular effects of prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)). The present studies pharmacologically characterize the vasopressor and vasodepressor EP receptors in wild-type mice (EP(2)(+/+) mice) and mice with targeted disruption of the EP(2) receptor (EP(2)(-/-) mice). Mean arterial pressure (MAP) was measured via a carotid artery catheter in anesthetized male mice. Intravenous infusion of PGE(2) decreased MAP in EP(2)(+/+) mice but increased MAP in EP(2)(-/-) mice. Infusion of EP(3)-selective agonists, including MB28767, SC46275, and sulprostone, increased MAP in both EP(2)(+/+) and EP(2)(-/-) mice. Pretreatment with SC46275 desensitized mice to the subsequent pressor effect of sulprostone, but the vasodepressor effect of PGE(2) in EP(2)(+/+) mice remained intact. Although PGE(2) alone increased MAP in EP(2)(-/-) mice, prior desensitization of the pressor effect with SC46275 allowed a residual vasodepressor effect of PGE(2) to be seen in the EP(2)(-/-) mice. An EP(4)-selective agonist (prostaglandin E(1)-OH) functioned also as a vasodepressor in both EP(2)(-/-) and EP(2)(+/+) mice. High levels of EP(3) receptor mRNA were detected in mouse aortas and rabbit preglomerular arterioles by nuclease protection, with lower expressions of EP(1), EP(2), and EP(4) mRNA. The findings suggest that combined vasodepressor effects of EP(2) and EP(4) receptors normally dominate, accounting for the depressor effects of PGE(2). In contrast, in EP(2)(-/-) mice, EP(4) receptor activity alone is insufficient to overcome the EP(3) vasopressor effect. These findings suggest that a balance between pressor and depressor PGE(2) receptors determines its net effect on arterial pressure and that these receptors may be important therapeutic targets.


The last two decades have witnessed the emergence of privately owned higher education institutions in Nigeria, including those owned by religious bodies and even by their individual members. One is led to ask, why this sudden development? An attempt to respond to this question informs the underlying interest for this paper, namely, to explore the extent to which these institutions, especially the church-related ones, could make corrective impact on the country's educational system and, by extension, its moral and socio-political life. To this end, and more from the purview of the social sciences than theology, the paper examines one such institution as a case study, the Nigeria-Ghana Dominican Province-owned Dominican Institute (DI). The paper looks into the history, mandate, guiding principles, and challenges that face or could face the Institute, as well as its attempt to meet these challenges.


Fine particle and total airborne particle samples were collected during August 1989 within the Grand Canyon (Indian Gardens (IG)) and on its south rim (Hopi Point (HP)) to define summertime organic aerosol concentration and composition as a function of elevation at Grand Canyon National Park. Inorganic chemical constituents were analyzed also to help place the relative importance of organics in perspective. Fine particle organic aerosols were approximately equal in concentration to sulfate aerosols at both sites. Monthly average mass concentrations for fine aerosol organics ranged from 1.1 μg m(−3) (IG) to 1.3 μg m^(−3) (HP), while the organic aerosol concentration within total suspended particulate matter samples ranged from 1.9 μg m^(−3) (IG) to 2.1 μg m^(−3) (HP). Aerosol organics that could be evaluated by gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC-FID) (elutable organics) constituted 27% to 53% of the total organics mass collected as fine or total aerosol. At each site, roughly half of the elutable organics fine aerosol fraction was composed of highly polar organic compounds. Distributions of the elutable organics were compared to Los Angeles fine aerosol samples and to distributions of authentic sources of aerosol organics. It was found that the Grand Canyon organic aerosol during August 1989 did not resemble diluted aged Los Angeles organic aerosol, indicating that most of the organic particulate matter at the Grand Canyon at the time studied originated from other sources.


The role of the nurse practitioner (NP) or physician assistant (PA) in the emergent or urgent care setting requires proficient assessment skills in addition to the constant integration of information that leads to a sound medical decision-making (MDM) process. In every patient encounter, the NP/PA must efficiently gather adequate data to formulate a "hypothesis" and rapidly consider many "possible or probable" diagnoses to reach the most likely conclusion regarding the patient's condition. This MDM process requires deliberate thought and a higher level of cognitive functioning to process and analyze data and draw conclusions.


A transposon-based insertional mutagenesis system potentially enables mutation of every potato gene. Insertional mutagenesis using transfer DNA or transposable elements, which is an important tool in functional genomics and is well established in several crops, has not been developed in potato (Solanum tuberosum). Here, we report the application of the tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) Tnt1 retrotransposon as an insertional mutagen in potato. The Tnt1 retrotransposon was introduced into a highly homozygous and self-compatible clone, 523-3, of the diploid wild potato species Solanum chacoense. Transposition of the Tnt1 elements introduced into 523-3 can be efficiently induced by tissue culture. Tnt1 preferentially inserted into genic regions in the potato genome and the insertions were stable during sexual reproduction, making Tnt1 an ideal mutagen in potato. Several distinct phenotypes associated with plant stature and leaf morphology were discovered in mutation screening from a total of 38 families derived from Tnt1-containing lines. We demonstrate that the insertional mutagenesis system based on Tnt1 and the 523-3 clone can be expanded to the genome-wide level to potentially tag every gene in the potato genome.


Moss flora of rock outcrops has been studied in the forest belt on the eastern slope of the Northern Urals (northern districts of Sverdlovsk region, Russia, at 59°15'—63°55'N). 115 species have been found, of which 10 (Amblystegium varium, Campylium calcareum, Dicranum viride, Didymodon fallax var. reflexus, Eurhynchium hians, Gymnostomum aeruginosum, Seligeria campylopoda, Tortula mucronifolia, T. muralis var. aestiva, Zygodon viridissimus) are new to the Northern Urals, and 5 (Entodon concinnus, Grimmia teretinervis, Seligeria brevifolia, S. galinae, S. tristichoides) – to the whole area of the Ural Mts.


ABSTRACT Ever since the Swedish Police Authority established a unit for Peace Support Operations in 2000, approximately 70–110 Swedish police officers have participated in peacebuilding missions around the globe on an annual basis. This signifies that a substantial number of Swedish police officers have gained practical experience of assisting post-conflict states to rebuild their societies, reform their security sectors and establish a police force that acts in accordance with the principles of democratic policing. However, to date, there is no research that has set out to investigate these police officers' experiences; not only of building peace abroad within the framework of democratic policing, but also of coming back home to reengage in Swedish police work. In this paper we begin to address this research gap. We do so through a number of qualitative interviews with Swedish police officers who have recent experiences of participating in peacebuilding missions in Liberia, Kosovo and Haiti. The findings show that despite certain obstacles, the police officers find ways to conduct police work in a manner that they believe supports the advancement of a democratic police force, and that their overall sentiment of building peace abroad is positive. However, their experiences of returning home to reengage in Swedish police work are less satisfactory. Officers express frustration that new insights and new knowledge gained abroad do not seem to be valued by the Swedish Police Authority. This is a finding that aligns with results from previous studies on Canadian and Australian police officers.


Aligning and centering lenses for cementing or positioning in an optical system poses different challenges depending on the final precision requirements and the methods used during alignment. Desired quality, efficiency, cost of components and capital investment all play important roles in selecting the correct assembly method. The LASER ALIGNMENT AND ASSEMBLY STATIONTM (LAS) is a dynamic laser reflection based, non-contact, real-time optical centration and angular measurement instrument, designed for aligning lenses in a multi-element optical system, such as a telescope, microscope objective or microlithography stepper. The LAS's optical module provides strong, clear reflections by which the user can easily measure and record sub-micron Total Indicated Runout (TIR) for spheric, aspheric, parabolic, cylindric, coated, or uncoated optics with radius of curvatures from 2.0mm to infinity, without changing objectives.


In order to manage projects efficiently, agile methodologies for software development tools that improve production processes have emerged. This paper discusses the adaptation and implementation of the SCRUM methodology in a software development company of the NEA (Northeast Argentina) used under a strategic management approach, redesigned for its use in a microenterprise. The challenge was to achieve an effective technological linkage (between management and systems) oriented to the innovation in simplifying and streamlining roles in implementing the methodology. In the paper, we introduce the subject theoretically and then expose the practical aspects of the case and analyze the results.


Treatment of carotid bifurcation disease in patients presenting with acute stroke has been a controversial issue over the past four decades. Classically, patients were asked to wait four to six weeks before intervention was entertained in order for the brain to stabilize and the risks of intervention to be minimized. Unfortunately, up to 20% of patients will have a secondary event after their index event and the window of opportunity to save potentially salvageable ischemic tissue will be missed. Early reports had demonstrated poor results with intervention. However, more recently, institutions such as ours have demonstrated excellent results with early intervention in patients who present with stable mild to moderate stroke with an NIH stroke scale less than 15 and preferably less than 10, present with stroke and ipsilateral carotid artery lesion of 50% or greater. Also more recently, we have been aggressively treating patients with larger ulcerative plaques even if the stenosis approaches 50%. In our and others experiences, patients who are treated at institutions that have comprehensive stroke centers (CSCs) where they have a multidisciplinary system that consists of vascular surgeons, neuro interventionalists, stroke neurologists, specifically trained stroke nursing staff and a neuro intensive ICU have had optimal results. Early assessment, diagnosis of stroke with recognition of cause of embolization is mandatory but patient selection is extremely important; finding those patients who will benefit the most from urgent intervention. Most studies have demonstrated the benefit of carotid endarterectomy in these patients. More recent studies have demonstrated acceptable results with carotid stenting, especially in smaller lesions, those less than 1.2 centimeters. Early intervention should be avoided in most patients who are obtunded or with an NIH stroke scale greater than 15 or who do not have any "brain at risk" to salvage. These patients may be better served by being treated medically and the small group of patients that do have some improvement may benefit from interval intervention.


We develop novel multivariate time series models using Bayesian additive regression trees that posit nonlinear relationships among macroeconomic variables, their lags, and possibly the lags of the errors. The variance of the errors can be stable, driven by stochastic volatility (SV), or follow a novel nonparametric specification. Estimation is carried out using scalable Markov chain Monte Carlo estimation algorithms for each specification. We evaluate the real-time density and tail forecasting performance of the various models for a set of US macroeconomic and financial indicators. Our results suggest that using nonparametric models generally leads to improved forecast accuracy. In particular, when interest centers on the tails of the posterior predictive, flexible models improve upon standard VAR models with SV. Another key finding is that if we allow for nonlinearities in the conditional mean, allowing for heteroskedasticity becomes less important. A scenario analysis reveals highly nonlinear relations between the predictive distribution and financial conditions.


Abstract Background: The adoption of Quality Indicators (QIs) has prompted the development of tools to measure and evaluate the quality and effectiveness of laboratory testing, first in the hospital setting and subsequently in ambulatory and other care settings. While Laboratory Medicine has an important role in the delivery of high-quality care, no consensus exists as yet on the use of QIs focussing on all steps of the laboratory total testing process (TTP), and further research in this area is required. Methods: In order to reduce errors in laboratory testing, the IFCC Working Group on "Laboratory Errors and Patient Safety" (WG-LEPS) developed a series of Quality Indicators, specifically designed for clinical laboratories. In the first phase of the project, specific QIs for key processes of the TTP were identified, including all the pre-, intra- and post-analytic steps. The overall aim of the project is to create a common reporting system for clinical laboratories based on standardized data collection, and to define state-of-the-art and Quality Specifications (QSs) for each QI independent of: a) the size of organization and type of activities; b) the complexity of processes undertaken; and c) different degree of knowledge and ability of the staff. The aim of the present paper is to report the results collected from participating laboratories from February 2008 to December 2009 and to identify preliminary QSs. Results and conclusions: The results demonstrate that a Model of Quality Indicators managed as an External Quality Assurance Program can serve as a tool to monitor and control the pre-, intra- and post-analytical activities. It might also allow clinical laboratories to identify risks that lead to errors resulting in patient harm: identification and design of practices that eliminate medical errors; the sharing of information and education of clinical and laboratory teams on practices that reduce or prevent errors; the monitoring and evaluation of improvement activities.


A composite material (MOF-5@AC) of MOF-5 and AC was successfully prepared. After characterization by a variety of means, it was shown that MOF-5 was covered on the surface of AC and existed in the form of microcrystals. A new micro-mesoporous pore appeared at 1.8–5 nm, while MOF-5 and AC are both microporous materials. And the thermal and water stability of MOF-5@AC is better than that of MOF-5. The adsorptive desulfurization experiment showed that the performance of the composite material was higher than that of the two parent materials, especially for the large molecular thiophenic sulfur compounds. And the reuse performance of MOF-5@AC after regeneration was also significantly improved compared the parent materials. The ratio of raw materials of composite materials plays an important role in the microstructure, morphology and desulfurization properties. After screening the ratio of raw materials, MOF-5@AC with a ratio of 1 : 5 showed the best desulfurization performance. The theoretical calculation results are in accordance with the desulfurization performance of the composite material (MOF-5@AC), which shows that MOF-5 is well dispersed on the AC surface and the pores are well exposed.


This article discusses the rate of water vapor transmission (WVT) through monolithic films of segmented block copolymers based on poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and monodisperse crystallisable tetra-amide segments. The polyether phase consisted of hydrophilic PEO or mixtures of PEO and hydrophobic poly(tetramethylene oxide) (PTMO) segments. The monodisperse tetra-amide segments (T6T6T) were based on terephthalate units (T) and hexamethylenediamine (6). By using monodisperse T6T6T segments the crystallinity in the copolymers was high (∼ 85%) and, therefore, the amount of noncrystallised T6T6T dissolved in the polyether phase was minimal. The WVT was determined by using the ASTM E96BW method, also known as the inverted cup method. By using this method, there is direct contact between the polymer film and the water in the cup. The WVT experiments were performed in a climate-controlled chamber at a temperature of 30°C and a relative humidity of 50%. A linear relation was found between the WVT and the reciprocal film thickness of polyether-T6T6T segmented block copolymers. The WVT of a 25-μm thick film of PTMO2000-based copolymers was 3.1 kg m−2 d−1 and for PEO2000-based copolymers 153 kg m−2 d−1. Of all the studied copolymers, the WVT was linear related to the volume fraction of water absorbed in the copolymer to the second power. The results were explained by the absorption-diffusion model.


Purpose To evaluate the incidence and characteristics of iatrogenic retinal breaks in 20-gauge macular surgery with an intensified search strategy. Design Retrospective, non-comparative interventional case series. Participants 218 consecutive operations in 209 patients who underwent 20-gauge vitrectomy vitrectomy for idiopathic macular pucker or idiopathic macular hole. Methods Retrospective review of patient records undergoing 20-gauge vitrectomy with intensified peripheral search for retinal defects. Main outcome measures Incidence of breaks related to the sclerotomies, the incidence of breaks occurring elsewhere, the incidence of lesions suspicious for traction, the location of identified breaks and intraoperative induction of posterior vitreous detachment. Results Retinal breaks occurred in 24.3% of operations. In 17.4% breaks were related to the sclerotomies and in 9.6% of breaks were found elsewhere. In 6.4% of eyes, only lesions suspicious for traction were detected. Retinal detachment occurred in 1.8% of cases. The occurrence of breaks was significantly related to induction of PVD. Conclusions With intensified intraoperative search, a much higher incidence of retinal breaks was found than previously reported in the literature. Despite the high incidence of breaks, the incidence of postoperative rhegmatogenous retinal detachment was low. These findings support the rationale that intensive intraoperative search for iatrogenic breaks is crucial for the prevention of postoperative retinal detachments in macular surgery.


Unlike in standard models, decision makers often narrowly bracket and make each decision in isolation. I develop a new approach, which I term narrow thinking, to systematically model narrow bracketing. The definition of narrow thinking is that different decisions are based on different, non-nested, information. As a result, the narrow thinker makes each decision with imperfect knowledge of other decisions and faces difficulties coordinating her multiple decisions. The narrow thinker effectively cares less about her other decisions when making each decision. The main application of narrow thinking is to provide a smooth model of mental accounting without requiring the decision maker to have explicit budgets. My approach generates unique predictions about how the degree of mental accounting depends on expenditure shares and cognitive limitations. It also illustrates how narrow bracketing and mental accounting can be explained by the same underlying friction.


INTRODUCTION The American Library Association (ALA) is the largest and most influential professional library organization in North America. In a variety of ways, including legislative lobbying, the issuing of model policy, standards, and guidelines, educational campaigns, the granting of scholarships, etc., it seeks to keep the profession on track in an ever changing social, political, and technological environment. While some might argue, particularly with regard to policies and guidelines, that ALA's activities are fairly irrelevant in the big scheme of things--who, other than some core members, pays attention to them anyway?--I am prepared to argue that ALA's impact should not be underestimated. Whether with regard to information literacy, distance learning, reference services or any other aspect of librarianship, guidelines developed by ALA often serve individual libraries as a starting point for drafting their own institutional policies. On January 2007, at the ALA midwinter meeting, I gave a speech at the Accessibility Assembly, a standing committee within the Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA). The Accessibility Assembly is dedicated to the advancement of "ALA's continuing commitment to diversity and to accessibility of library and information services for all, including people with physical, sensory or mental disabilities" [1]. In this speech, I took a critical view at ALA's leadership, questioning whether enough is being done to promote a barrier-free online library environment. Not meant to disregard the many positive things that key groups within the ALA - particularly the Accessibility Assembly and ASCLA's Libraries Serving Special Populations Section (LSSPS)--do in support of people with disabilities, it addressed some serious shortcomings along with suggestions to overcome them. Here is the text of the speech in its original form (except for some minor editorial changes). SHORTCOMINGS OF ALA'S LEADERSHIP WITH REGARD TO PROMOTING A BARRIER-FREE ONLINE LIBRARY/INFORMATION ENVIRONMENT ... AND WHAT WE CAN POSSIBLY DO ABOUT IT I take it as a given that you understand the basic issue: Accessibility to online resources requires barrier-free design. In principle, the situation is the same as in the physical environment. Web pages that do not provide "electronic curb cuts," such as text alternatives for non-textual components, proper skip navigation links, meaningful link text etc., pose barriers. Documents in PDF image-only format cannot be read by screen readers. A catalog in which search boxes and buttons are not properly labeled leaves some people stranded. Online surveys, meant to find out about users' needs and wants, systematically exclude the voices of people with certain disabilities if they are not free of barriers. I further assume that you all understand that accessible design serves more than just a "special population." Especially in the age of hand-held do-it-all devices, it is widely acknowledged that accessible design tends to be good design and that it is beneficial to all. To provide you with an example of how accessibility to online information plays out in real life, let me share with you the following letter, which I received last September from a blind person, a retired psychology professor in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Dear Axel, Since you're familiar with accessibility issues, I thought I'd seek your advice. I'm blind and use a WindowEyes screen reader. My public library provides a literary database called Novelist, which I would like to use to find authors similar to the ones I like. When I try to access Novelist, I get a "please wait while application loads" message, but it never loads. Apparently, it does load for other remote users, so I'm assuming something in the application doesn't work with screen readers. …


William Stewart Halsted (1852-1922) is one of the most influential persons in the history of US surgery. His surgical career can be divided into the years in New York, NY (1880-1889), and the years in Baltimore, Md (1889-1922). In addition to the important growth and development of surgery that took place in the United States during the late 1800s and early 1900s, an equally impressive growth in surgery took place in many other countries, in particular, in Western Europe. Although a small country, Sweden also saw a strong development of surgery between 1880 and 1920. In this article, some of the surgeons who were prominent in Sweden during this era (Karl Gustav Lennander in Uppsala; John Wilhelm Berg in Stockholm; and Jacques Borelius in Lund) and some of the surgical procedures that were introduced are described. In addition, a few nonsurgeons are discussed because their work significantly influenced surgery. Learning about some of the achievements in surgery during the late 1800s and early 1900s is not only educational but inspiring, and puts today's surgical practice and scientific achievements in an important historical perspective.


Hybrid inorganic/organic polymers have been prepared by copolymerizing a silanol terminated polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) with an Octa(aminophenyl) -silsesquioxane (POSS). The AO resistance of these POSS/PDMS hybrid films was tested in the ground-based AO simulation facility. Exposed and unexposed surfaces have been characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The XPS data indicate that the carbon content of the near-surface region is decreased from 65.3 to 18.9 at% after AO exposure. The oxygen and silicon concentrations in the near-surface region increase after AO exposure. The data reveal the formation of a passive inorganic SiO2 layer on the POSS/PDMS hybrid films during the AO exposure, which serves as a protective barrier preventing further degradation of the underlying polymer with increased exposure to the AO flux. The erosion yield of the POSS/PDMS (20 wt%) hybrid film was 1.7×10-26 cm3/atom, decreased by two orders of magnitude compared with the value of 3.0×10-24 cm3/atom of the polyimide film.


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The synergistic corrosion inhibition effect of indigo carmine and three kinds of cationic organic compounds on 1045 carbon steel (CS) in 0.5 M HCl solution is reported. Electrochemical measurements showed that these three cationic organic compounds combined with indigo carmine reduce the speed of corrosion on 1045 CS and act as effective inhibitors. The combination of indigo carmine with BAB resulted in the best synergistic corrosion inhibition effect (S = 17.14), and the best inhibition efficiency (95.0%). SEM images and XPS data of the corroded steel surfaces suggested that the indigo disulphonate anion and organic cation could be simultaneously adsorbed on the CS surface to inhibit the corrosion of iron. The synergistic inhibition mechanism was investigated by dynamic simulations using quantum chemistry.


We present a novel framework for machine translation evaluation using neural networks in a pairwise setting, where the goal is to select the better translation from a pair of hypotheses, given the reference translation. In this framework, lexical, syntactic and semantic information from the reference and the two hypotheses is compacted into relatively small distributed vector representations, and fed into a multi-layer neural network that models the interaction between each of the hypotheses and the reference, as well as between the two hypotheses. These compact representations are in turn based on word and sentence embeddings, which are learned using neural networks. The framework is flexible, allows for efficient learning and classification, and yields correlation with humans that rivals the state of the art.


Cytochrome b is the only subunit of complex III (CIII) encoded by the mitochondrial DNA. Constituting the central core of the enzyme, the protein is essential for both assembly and catalytic activity of the complex. CIII can associate with complex I (CI) and complex IV to form supercomplexes (SCs). MTCYB mutations can affect CIII only or both CIII and CI, as a consequence of the importance of CIII on the stability of CI. Here, we have investigated the effects of two pathogenic mutations affecting MTCYB: the p.278Y>C missense mutation, causing the substitution of conserved Tyr278 close to the QO site, and the ΔI300-P305 microdeletion, producing the loss of six aminoacids in the sixth transmembrane helix, but leaving the remaining of the MTCYB in frame. We have demonstrated that both MTCYB mutations severely impaired the activity of CIII: the missense mutation produced an oxidative damage of CIII due to increased superoxide production, whereas in cells bearing the ΔI300-P305 microdeletion, CIII was not detected, with consequent derangement also of CI. The detailed analysis of SCs organization revealed in both cases a strong perturbation of the CIII2+IV SC, together with an attempt to preserve the respirasome. These results favor the hypothesis that SCs not only preserve the structure and stability of respiratory complexes, but are essential for attenuating the mitochondrial dysfunction due to pathogenic mutations affecting the respiratory enzymes. Furthermore, the cells bearing ΔI300-P305 deletion showed a marked increase in complex II (CII) redox activity, associated with significant hydrogen peroxide production. It has been suggested that the enhanced CII activity is a compensatory mechanism due to the lacking of CI. Our results instead suggest that it might be a more general phenomenon for cell adaptation to respiratory chain dysfunction, being detected also in CIII-deficient cells where the hydrogen peroxide production is increased.


This study comprehensively investigates the flow features and energy loss mechanisms under stall conditions based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and hydraulic loss visualisation techniques. The three-dimensional unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) equations were solved using the shear stress transport (SST) k-ω turbulence model. Furthermore, the entire flow domain of the vertical volute pump was considered to capture the boundary flow behaviour accurately. The results illustrate that the critical stall condition occurs at 0.7Qd, where the H-Q curve exhibits a positive slope, and the deep stall condition occurs at 0.65Qd. The growth rate of energy loss from critical stall to deep stall is 182.2%. In the stall condition, a secondary vortex appears at the impeller inlet. A high energy loss occurs at the suction side and trailing edge in the impeller caused by the reduction in the effective inflow area. The energy loss in the blade suction side guide vane is primarily due to the friction loss under the critical stall condition. By contrast, under the deep stall condition, the energy loss in the outlet of the guide vane is mainly the impact loss from the volute of the rear gunner. The impact effect can result in high energy losses near the volute tongue. The entropy production analysis demonstrates that the hydraulic losses in the diffuser are literately greater than that in the impeller and inlet pipe. Hence, an optimization of such components can be taken into consideration in future works for performance improvement.


This paper investigates the impact of Photovoltaic (PV) systems on the coordination between overcurrent relays in a PV-dominated distribution feeder. The paper shows under what conditions and how significant the PV systems affect the coordination. The paper also proposes a method for assessing the coordination in such feeders. Performance of the proposed methods has been assessed by simulations on a sample distribution feeder.


We develop a general framework for describing thermoelectric effects in phase-coherent superconducting structures. Formulas for the electrical conductance, thermal conductance, thermopower, and Peltier coefficient are obtained and their various symmetries discussed. Numerical results for both dirty and clean Andreev interferometers are presented. We predict that giant oscillations of the thermal conductance can occur, even when oscillations in the electrical conductance are negligibly small. Results for clean, two-dimensional systems with a single superconducting inclusion are also presented, which show that normal-state oscillations arising from quasiparticle boundary scattering are suppressed by the onset of superconductivity. In contrast, for a clean system with no normal-state boundary scattering, switching on superconductivity induces oscillations in off-diagonal thermoelectric coefficients.


Book synopsis: Want to stand out from the thousands of other business and management students when you graduate from university?
This comprehensive study skills book gives you all the tools and techniques needed to graduate with a better degree than you thought possible. Study Skills for Business and Management is written in an entertaining and non-patronising way and is filled with examples and case studies. With chapters on efficient and effective reading, working in groups, managing and writing essays and succeeding in exams, this textbook is written specifically with business and management students' needs in mind.

Key features:

Written by an academic and a recent business and management graduate who are in touch with what it is like to study Business and Management today and the challenges students face
Based on primary research in to which study skills are the most effective, providing an evidence-based approach that you can trust in and saving you precious time
Contains a wealth of current examples from recent business and management graduates, highlighting examples of good practice as well as common pitfalls to avoid.


Russian philosophy abroad is associated with the names of those representatives of Russian culture who left the country or were forced to leave after the well-know revolutionary events, for instance, the outstanding Russian thinkers: Nikolai Berdyaev, Ivan Ilyin, Nikolay Lossky, Semyon Frank, and others. The article considers the conceptual framework of Russian philosophies. It allows stating, that the categorical structures of Russian philosophy are obviously original and have great theoretical potential granting new opportunities for philosophical creation.


Vincent Lam's Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures opens with an epigraph from the late-nineteenth-century Canadian medical pioneer William Osler (1849–1919): "medicine is a science of uncertainty and an art of probability." For Osler, each patient had a story to tell, and the doctor's job was to decipher, interpret, and act upon the information gathered, as uncertain as such a process might be. To supplement the notion of "narrative competence," this article considers the conditional relationships between narrative medicine, bioethics, and fiction. It turns to the patient-centred novels of Kathleen Winter ( Annabel ) and Emma Donoghue ( Room ) before returning to Lam's stories about physicians (in training and after) in Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures. "What if" stories like these illustrate both the strengths and the weaknesses of the medical system as they imagine the impact of medical decisions on characters over long periods of time and in great detail. This article investigates how stories that highlight the constraints of medicine and the problems of health care might augment medical pedagogy, particularly the introduction of bioethical debates. Along the way, the article argues that fiction can trouble two of the core elements that seem to be at the base of narrative medicine — the doctor as good listener model and the decipherable patient model. From both ends of the stethoscope, the stories that we read in these three texts about health care, sexualized violence, medical standardization, and problems in doctor-patient relationships elicit important dialogues about ethical dilemmas in health care and contemporary culture.


Abstract Introduction Cryoglobulinemia refers to the presence of cryoglobulins (CGs) in the serum, encompassing a group of diseases caused by the type of circulating GC. Cryoglobulinemic glomerulonephritis (CryoGN) is the principal manifestation of renal involvement. The diagnosis may be challenging because the hallmark of cryoglobulinemia is the detection of CG in the serum. However, cases of CryoGN without serological evidence of CGs are not uncommon in clinical practice, often diagnosed by anatomopathological findings in the renal biopsy. Case Presentation We report the case of an 86-year-old male who developed renal impairment, nephritic syndrome, and nephrotic-range proteinuria, without serological evidence of CGs, associated with staphylococcal bacteremia without apparent focus. Renal biopsy and pathological examination showed a membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis pattern with CD61-negative pseudothrombi. Immunofluorescence microscopy showed atypical IgA-dominant deposits. Electron microscopy revealed amorphous subendothelial and mesangial deposits and organized electrodense deposits within capillary loops (pseudothrombi) with microtubular substructure measuring 20–40 nm in thickness. These findings were consistent with seronegative CryoGN and microtubular organized atypical IgA-dominant deposits. Discussion In this report, we discuss the clinical, analytical, and histopathological findings of a rare case of CryoGN without serological evidence of CGs. Regarding the etiology that triggered the glomerular disease in our patient, we conducted an exhaustive study in order to determine the underlying cause of CryoGN. At the time of biopsy, the patient had an active staphylococcal bacteremia. There are reports that postulate that staphylococcal antigens drive activation of immune system and in consequence, could cause this rare form of IgA-dominant glomerulonephritis with cryoglobulinemic features. After ruling out other causes of cryoglobulinemia, we discuss a plausible causal relationship of the staphylococcal infection in the pathogenesis of CryoGN in our patient.


The approach Cicero takes in his defence of Sextus Roscius forces him to discuss recent political events, above all the proscriptions and Sulla's position as dictator. This is a deliberate choice by Cicero, which does not prevent him from constructing an effective defence but allows him to combine that defence with the articulation of a vision for the Sullan res publica. This vision does not conflict with any of Sulla's acts, but allows Cicero to argue that more work needs to be done to secure Sulla's achievement and to suggest that he, despite his youth and lack of experience, can be part of the res publica towards which he and the jurors should work.


Many economists studying America's wage divergence in the 1980's have concluded that its primary cause was a within-industry shift in relative labor demand toward the more-skilled. Following the modeling framework and empirical methods developed in Slaughter (1993), in this paper I try to determine the extent to which outsourcing by multinational corporations contributed to this labor-demand shift. To do this, I use data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) on U.S. manufacturing multinationals in the 1980's. My main finding is that the data are inconsistent with U.S. multinationals having outsourced heavily in the 1980's. First, I construct a set of stylized facts about the employment, investment, and production patterns of these firms. I find that most of these facts are inconsistent with widespread outsourcing. Second, to test more rigorously whether these firms substitute between U.S. and foreign production labor I estimate their factor-price elasticities of demand in a translog-cost-function specification. I find that home and foreign production labor at best seem to be weak price substitutes and in fact may be price complements. Taken together, these findings indicate that multinational outsourcing contributed very little to rising wage inequality.