To assess potential abnormalities in collagen metabolism in systemic scleroderma, skin fibroblast lines from patients with this disease were established and compared to control cell lines derived from healthy subjects. For studies on the biosynthesis of procollagen, the cells were incubated with [(14)C]proline in a medium supplemented with ascorbic acid and beta-aminopropionitrile, and the synthesis of nondialyzable [(14)C]hydroxyproline, in relation to DNA or cell protein, was taken as an index of procollagen formation. Five of eight scleroderma fibroblast cell lines demonstrated procollagen biosynthesis rates significantly higher than the controls, and the mean rate of procollagen synthesis by scleroderma fibroblasts was about twice that of the control cells. Control experiments demonstrated that the specific activity of the intracellular free proline was not different in scleroderma and control fibroblasts, and the mean population doubling times of the scleroderma and the control fibroblast cell lines were the same. The relative synthesis of the genetically distinct procollagens was examined by isolating type I and type III procollagens from the cell culture medium using DEAE-cellulose chromatography. The ratios of type I/III procollagens in scleroderma cell lines did not differ from the controls. The helical stability of the collagenous portion of type I and type III procollagens, estimated by the resistance of (14)C-collagen to limited proteolytic digestion with pepsin under nondenaturing conditions, was the same in both scleroderma and control cultures. The capacity of the cells to synthesize enzymatically active and immunologically reacting collagenase was also studied; no marked differences in these parameters could be observed. The results suggest that cultured skin fibroblasts from patients with scleroderma demonstrate a metabolic abnormality expressed as increased synthesis of type I and type III procollagens in a normal ratio. This abnormality may play a role in the excessive accumulation of collagen in the skin and other organs affected in scleroderma.


A hybrid algorithm is proposed to decrease the integration phase measurement error accumulation in open-loop Doppler receiver which is designed for space orbit determination and positioning applications when cooperated closed-loop system is unavailable. Firstly, adaptive-neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) module α is implemented for the interrupted closed-loop measurement data prediction. Then to improve the prediction accuracy of the ANFIS module α, an adaptive Kalman filter is employed for data fusion with predicted data from ANFIS module α and open-loop measurement data for complementation and corrections. Meanwhile, ANFIS module β is embedded in the Kalman filter for adaptive error compensation to optimise the filter performance. Finally, the time costly ANFIS computations are accelerated by reconfigurable software–hardware co-design module implemented in the receiver system to improve the computing capability and efficiency of system. Experiment results are analysed to demonstrate the effectiveness of proposed hybrid algorithm. It suppresses error accumulation in open-loop receiver phase measurement by 85.89% compared to the directly integration results when closed-loop system is off-line and has 61.02% enhancement compared to the algorithm without adaptive error compensations. Thus, the whole combinatory system accuracy is improved.


This essay approaches the different kinds of feedback that teachers in Spanish give to their secondary level students in Sweden. The purpose of the study is to investigate how feedback is perceived by students and how students would like feedback to be.Classical studies about assessment divide feedback into two categories: formative feedback and summative feedback. Our study intends, on the one hand, to analyze if students perceive receiving one of these kinds of feedback more than the other. On the other hand, the study intends to find out if students prefer summative or formative feedback. Furthermore, we aim to analyze if there is a link between the students´ perceptions and preferences and their level of proficiency in the Spanish language.The study was carried out with 190 students from Smaland (Sweden) that were studying Spanish as a foreign language at school. We used questionnaires in order to gather information about the feedback they get in their Spanish lessons and the feedback they personally prefer.The results of the study show that students do perceive receiving more summative feedback than formative feeback. The students who perceive a higher reception of formative feedback are those who have a higher proficiency in Spanish, and this fact was proved to be statistically significant. The results of the study show as well that students like to get formative feedback as much as summative feedback. Nevertheless, the higher achivers do prefer getting formative feedback in a higher grade than the lower achievers, even though this could not be proved as statistically significant.


The prevalences of displacement and deformity of the medial and lateral fabellae in dogs were investigated. This was a retrospective epidemiologic study. Radiographs of canine stifle joints (1022 limbs, 534 dogs) were obtained. The images were taken at the Nihon University Animal Medical Center and three private animal hospitals from January 2003 to July 2012. The position and morphology of the medial or lateral fabella were evaluated on the radiographs. The prevalence of displacement of the medial and lateral fabellae was 1.7% and 0.3%, respectively. The prevalence of deformity of the medial and lateral fabellae was 6.9% and 4.6%, respectively. Aplasia or hypoplasia of the fabella was detected more frequently in the medial fabella. On the other hand, a bipartite or multipartite fabella was observed more frequently in the lateral fabella. Nearly all cases of displacement or deformity of the fabella occurred in dogs weighing less than 10 kg. Abnormalities of the fabella were observed in the medial and lateral fabella. We found that abnormal fabellae were closely associated with medial patellar luxation and to a lesser extent with cranial cruciate ligament rupture. No clinical signs were associated with an abnormality of the fabella, with the exception of two dogs with traumatic avulsion of the lateral head of the gastrocnemius muscle.


Guinea pig insulin is the only mammalian insulin previously known to be nonneutralizable by antibody to beef insulin (Canad. J. Physiol. Pharm. 43:373, 1965). A second nonneutralizable mammalian insulin, that of the coypu (nutria, or myocastor coypus), has been identified. Coypu pancreas yielded 1.95 U. extractable insulin per gram. An amount of guinea pig antibody to beef insulin sufficient to neutralize twenty-five times as much beef insulin had no effect on the increase in glycogen content produced by pancreatic or serum coypu insulin in the mouse hemidiaphragm in vitro. Both 50 mU. coypu insulin alone and 50 mU. coypu insulin plus 150 mU. antibody to beef insulin when injected into mice produced as many convulsions and lowered the blood glucose to the same mean level as did 50 mU. beef insulin alone (12 mg./100 ml.). Mice injected with 50 mU. beef insulin plus 150 mU. antibody did not convulse and had a mean blood glucose of 108 mg./100 ml. Coypu pancreatic extract cross-reacted with guinea pig antiserum to beef insulin in the passive cutaneous anaphylaxsis test.


The role of α-synuclein in pathogenesis of familial and idiopathic forms of Parkinson's disease, and other human disorders known as α-synucleinopathies, is well established. In contrast, the involvement of two other members of the synuclein family, β-synuclein and γ-synuclein, in the development and progression of neurodegeneration is poorly studied. However, there is a growing body of evidence that α-synuclein and β-synuclein have opposite neuropathophysiological effects. Unlike α-synuclein, overexpressed β-synuclein does not cause pathological changes in the nervous system of transgenic mice and even ameliorates the pathology caused by overexpressed α-synuclein. To assess the consequences of excess expression of the third family member, γ-synuclein, on the nervous system we generated transgenic mice expressing high levels of mouse γ-synuclein under control of Thy-1 promoter. These animals develop severe age- and transgene dose-dependent neuropathology, motor deficits and die prematurely. Histopathological changes include aggregation of γ-synuclein, accumulation of various inclusions in neuronal cell bodies and processes, and astrogliosis. These changes are seen throughout the nervous system but are most prominent in the spinal cord where they lead to loss of spinal motor neurons. Our data suggest that down-regulation of small heat shock protein HSPB1 and disintegration of neurofilament network play a role in motor neurons dysfunction and death. These findings demonstrate that γ-synuclein can be involved in neuropathophysiological changes and the death of susceptible neurons suggesting the necessity of further investigations of the potential role of this synuclein in disease.


ABSTRACTWinter sports destinations base their attractiveness for tourism mainly on the existing environment that enables different kinds of winter sports as leisure activities. Accordingly, environmentally sustainable management is one of the main challenges for future oriented winter sports destinations. This thesis sets out to explore the interdependency between the achievement of an environmentally-sensitive development and the organizational structure of the destination management. Therefore, the antithetic models of corporate vs. community model form the frame for the qualitative research. To obtain partial answers to the question whether the concept 'everything from a single source' improves environmentally sustainable development in winter sports destinations, the Swiss destination Laax/Flims/Falera - under the management of the Weisse Arena Gruppe - and the Swedish destination Are - operated by SkiStar - are analyzed within two case studies regarding their management structure and their environmentally-sensitive development. The characteristics of several intermediate variables - namely the DMO structure as well as innovation, change and strategic management - are examined under consideration of knowledge requirements for the achievement of environmentally-sensitive development. Based on these findings, we can define what sets destinations with a big leading corporation apart from other destinations while taking into account the roles of different stakeholders. Findings suggest that winter sports destinations with a big leading ski corporation are more likely to achieve an environmentally-sensitive destination development. Additionally, an outstanding role can be assigned to the DMO as organizational and strategic hub for destination management and development in general and for environmentally-sensitive destination development in specific. A new theoretical construct related to this analysis of corporate models in winter sports destinations - 'towards a new management structure' - provides a framework for further research on what kind of management structure in winter sports destinations will lead to a superior performance in terms of environmentally-sensitive development.


16 Mixed-species assemblages are common in nature, providing mutual benefits to associating species 17 including anti-predator advantages or resource facilitation. However, associating with other species 18 may also impose costs through kleptoparasitism (food theft). Identification of these costs, and how 19 they vary when different species breed alongside one another, is essential to understand the payoffs 20 of mixed-species assemblages. We explore the costs of kleptoparasitism for greater crested terns 21 Thalasseus bergii provisioning offspring at a single-species colony, where individuals suffer 22 kleptoparasitism from conspecifics, and at a mixed colony where terns breed alongside Hartlaub's 23 gulls Chroicocephalus hartlaubii and are vulnerable to both intraand interspecific kleptoparasitism. 24 Gull presence likely contributes to increases in both kleptoparasitic attacks and the proportion of 25 prey lost or stolen during provisioning, relative to the single-species colony. Provisioning adults 26 suffered additional energetic costs in response to gull kleptoparasitism, requiring more attempts to 27 deliver prey, taking longer to do so, and swallowing more prey (to the detriment of their offspring). 28 Gulls also appear to increase the duration of tern vulnerability to kleptoparasitism, because they 29 continued to steal food from adults and chicks after precocial chicks left the nest, when intraspecific 30 kleptoparasitism is negligible. Terns breeding in a mixed colony therefore suffer direct and indirect 31 costs through decreased provisioning and increased provisioning effort, which may ultimately impact 32 reproductive success, resulting in colony decline where kleptoparasitism is frequent. This study 33 illustrates how forming a mixed-species seabird breeding assemblage has costs as well as benefits, 34 potentially fluctuating between a parasitic and a mutualistic relationship. 35 36


Most studies have shown that lamivudine (LAM) prophylaxis is sufficient to prevent hepatitis B virus (HBV) transmission in recipients of hepatitis B core antibody positive (HBcAb+) allografts. However, de novo hepatitis B (DNHB) is known to occur in this patient population. Herein, we report a case series of four liver transplant recipients who developed DNHB after receiving HBcAb+ allografts due to acquisition of LAM resistance mutations, suggesting that LAM prophylaxis may be suboptimal. A retrospective chart review was performed of all adult liver transplants performed at Mount Sinai from 2001 to 2010. A total of 79 patients received HBcAb+ allografts for non‐hepatitis B‐related liver disease. Of these 79 recipients, four patients developed DNHB and were found to have documented LAM resistance. With the increasing use of HBcAb+ donor livers, we suspect that there will also be a growing number of cases of DNHB due to acquisition of LAM resistance. We suggest that other agents, such as entecavir or tenofovir, be considered for use as prophylaxis in this patient population to decrease this risk.


Purpose New methodology for long-term (270 h) biomechanical testing with living cartilage was developed. Polyurethane (PU) implant material was compared with stainless steel and reference samples in static unconfined compressive loading conditions on cartilage to provide a basis for dynamic testing of novel PU implant materials under conditions that simulate an articulating human knee joint. Methods Custom-made tools and techniques were developed to prepare cylindrical samples from bovine patella with cartilage including subchondral bone. Specific incubator cups with static loading setups for a culture incubator were manufactured to keep bovine cartilage explants alive in cell culture conditions under unconfined static compressive loading (0.25 MPa) for 270 h (11.25 d). Four loading conditions of cartilage were studied: free (FREE), restrained minimal loading (RESTR), loading with a metal plate (MEW) and loading with polyurethane (PUW). Results After static loading for 270 h, cartilage biomechanical tests indicated clear differences between the groups in frequency dependent dynamic stiffness curves. Surprisingly, the PU curves were closest to the FREE sample curves. Those with load and direct contact with metal (MEW) became significantly stiffer, while restrained samples became softer. Significant differences (p<0.05, Mann-Whitney's U test) in cell vitality between samples from various groups could be seen in fluorescein diacetate (FDA) and propidium iodide (PI) stained samples by confocal microscopic analysis. The approximate mean percentages of living cells after 270 hours cultivation were: FREE 87%, MEW 3%, PUW 35%, and RESTR 66%. Test results indicate that it is possible to keep cartilage cells alive in cell culture incubator conditions for two weeks period under a 0.25 MPa unconfined static loading. The FREE samples were most successful and cells loaded with PU were more vital than cells loaded with metal. Conclusions Based on the results, PU seems to be more compatible material than surgical steel in contact with living cartilage. Because of a large variation in the quality of bovine cartilage material from different animals, special care is necessary when selecting specimens to guarantee reliable and reproducible results.


This thesis explores the notion of 'recovery' from grief following bereavement and answers the question, what happens when people 'fail' to recover? Researchers and practitioners promote a linear, staged, 'normal course' of grief, yet people who fail to follow this course are understood as experiencing 'complicated grief': a form of psychiatric disorder. In particular, the thesis explores the debates and issues around the highly contested notion of recovery from grief, drawing on an analysis of the theory and policy of grief and recovery, and empirical qualitative interview data from bereavement care practitioners and bereaved people in England. Arguing for the acknowledgment of the experience of 'non-recovery', this thesis draws on a Foucauldian approach to problematise the notion of recovery, highlighting how 'recovery' is a socially constructed notion linked to the individualised vision of health and happiness promoted by neoliberal governmentality.

The study concentrates on three areas: the political and cultural factors that 'frame' grief and recovery in England; how grief is managed, through the example of bereavement counselling, and the ways in which bereaved people make sense of grief. The findings of this study present the experience of grief as one of navigating a 'liminal space'. Recovery from grief was achieved or resisted through the negotiation of a variety of political, medical and social discourses. These discourses provided guidelines for the bereaved person, where they were encouraged to make sense of grief, engage in certain practices and work towards the building of new identities, in order to recover from grief. Further, through the incorporation of 'non-recovery' this study proposes an alternative way of theorising grief, arguing for the need to emphasise the relational and embodied aspects of grief.


The Zeri ewe is an indigenous Italian breed that is spread throughout the homonymous area located in northwest Tuscany. This article presents the history and evolution of Zerasca sheep, describes the breed's characteristics in terms of somatic and productive traits, managerial and health practices, meat quality; moreover it underlines its contribution to the preservation of the rural land and population of the Zeri district. First documentation on this breed dates back to the 19 Century. Zerasca breed has a medium-large size with white fleece. Males present horns while in females can be absent. Currently Zerasca ovine population totals more than 2,000 heads. Sheep husbandry is currently predominant in Zeri area thanks to the great availability of woody vegetation (oak, chestnut, hazel, alder and beech trees), meadows and pastures. Animals' nutrition depends mostly on grazing pastures, infact flocks are generally supported only with a little nutritional supplementation. The first typical production is the heavy lamb that is gaining more and more relevance thanks to its excellent meat quality, unique in taste; infact, Zeri lamb is included in the list of Slow Food Presidia, reflecting the recognized quality of this product in the world. Most of shepherds jointed in a consortium for the valorization and safeguarding of Zerasca sheep and lambs, whose regulation points towards the implementation of extensive farming systems with an optimal exploitation of local pasture resources. One of the most important problem that Zerasca sheep farmers often complain is represented by gastrointestinal parasitism, almost endemic in sheep husbandry and particularly in sheep raised under extensive systems. Today, "Zeri lamb" has a considerable economic impact on its territory, ensuring increasing profits for shepherds. The aim of this review is to collect information about a native breed in endangered status that it is gaining importance thanks to the high-quality of products.


Motivation Modern genomic research relies heavily on next-generation sequencing experiments such as ChIP-seq and ChIA-PET that generate coverage files for transcription factor binding, as well as DHS and ATAC-seq that yield coverage files for chromatin accessibility. Such files are in a bedGraph text format or a bigWig binary format. Obtaining summary statistics in a given region is a fundamental task in analyzing protein binding intensity or chromatin accessibility. However, the existing Python package for operating on coverage files is not optimized for speed. Results We developed pyBedGraph, a Python package to quickly obtain summary statistics for a given interval in a bedGraph file. When tested on 8 ChIP-seq and ATAC-seq datasets, pyBedGraph is on average 245 times faster than the existing program. Notably, pyBedGraph can look up the exact mean signal of 1 million regions in ~0.26 second on a conventional laptop. An approximate mean for 10,000 regions can be computed in ~0.0012 second with an error rate of less than 5 percent. Availability pyBedGraph is publicly available at https://github.com/TheJacksonLaboratory/pyBedGraph under the MIT license.


In this study, it is made new generalizations by adding a security parameter "n" to NTRU cryptosystem. These generalizations are analyzed in three categories. The first category clarifies summative generalization, the second category explains a multiplicative generalization and the latest category expresses a dimension generalization, and the system is researched with greater sets and many choosings of parameters. As a result of all these evidences, it is stated that these generalization outputs creates a new NTRUSIGN.


A common characteristic of all chemical allergens, both respiratory and skin allergens, is the ability to form stable associations with proteins; the resulting hapten-protein complex being sufficient to provoke an immune response. There is evidence to suggest that selective binding of chemicals with proteins or peptides may impact on the quality of immune response that will develop. In the investigations described here, we have taken a reductionist approach to protein reactivity and evaluated the binding characteristics of 20 of the most commonly reported chemical respiratory allergens towards defined peptides with a single reactive amino acid of interest. The hypothesis is that it is possible to identify and characterize different forms of chemical allergens as a function of preferential peptide binding.Utilizing the standardized reaction conditions of a direct peptide reactivity assay (DPRA), the reactivity of respiratory allergens for cysteine and lysine peptides was evaluated. Activity in the DPRA is reported as the percent depletion of peptide following 24 h incubation. An important and intriguing observation was that, when compared with skin sensitizers, chemical respiratory allergens exhibited a preferential reactivity for lysine. This preference was characterized quantitatively as a ratio of the mean depletion of lysine compared with cysteine (Lys:Cys ratio). The Lys:Cys ratio was observed to be robust and reproducible over time.A limitation of many in chemico methods for hazard identification is the lack of a metabolic component that allows for the identification of pro-haptens. In order to address this limitation, reported here is the use of the peroxidase peptide reactivity assay (PPRA), which utilizes a horseradish peroxidase/hydrogen peroxide (HRP/P) enzymatic system as a proxy for oxidative metabolism. Additionally, reactivity in the PPRA is characterized after a 24 h reaction time utilizing a concentration-response model (thus, permitting consideration of dose-response relationships defined as an EC15 value). Unexpectedly, the preferences for lysine observed with chemical respiratory allergens in the DPRA were lost or blunted in PPRA. The EC15 values demonstrated that relative reactivity between chemical respiratory allergens varied by up to 4 orders of magnitude. The identification of quantitative differences in reactivity could prove useful as a guide to evaluate potency in the future, should reliable metrics become available.To characterize the selectivity of binding by chemical respiratory allergens, the DPRA was modified to allow for the evaluation of reactivity to histidine, tyrosine and arginine. Confirming our previous observations, each of the respiratory sensitizers was observed to react to both lysine and cysteine, with in most instances, a preference for the former. Reactive promiscuity was a function of the other peptides with histidine being the most reactive followed by arginine and tyrosine. To model more complex reactive conditions, a novel modification was made to the DPRA to allow competition for lysine and cysteine to be assessed in a single reaction mixture. The results of these competitive reactivity experiments identified a range of binding patterns to lysine and cysteine that in some cases resulted in different binding being expressed.At present, there are no methods available to reliably identify potential chemical respiratory allergens. The work presented here has demonstrated that respiratory allergens can be identified as potential sensitizers based on their ability to react with lysine and cysteine. More importantly, the balance of reactivity to these two peptides can provide a means of discriminating between respiratory and skin sensitizers.


This chapter examines a number of studies that exemplify the way anthropologists have engaged with various aspects of climate change. We do not intend to present a comprehensive review, but we seek to identify the epistemological and methodological approaches that have led to particularly valuable insights. We recognize that a great deal of research on climate change and its effects on cultural systems and social organization has been carried out in archaeology (Balter 2007; Kuper and Kropelin 2006; Migowski et al. 2006; Richerson 2001), historical ecology (Crumley 1994; McIntosh et al. 2000; Oldfi eld 1993), and cultural ecology (Bogin 1982; de Menocal 2001; Peterson and Haug 2005). In this chapter, however, we focus on the ways that cultural anthropologists address present-day issues related to global climate change, issues that are confronting both local communities and global scientific and policy communities with unparalleled urgency and severity (Batterbury 2008).


Knockout of the golgin giantin leads to skeletal and craniofacial defects driven by poorly studied changes in glycosylation and extracellular matrix deposition. Here, we sought to determine how giantin impacts the production of healthy bone tissue by focussing on the main protein component of the osteoid, type I collagen. Giantin mutant zebrafish accumulate multiple spontaneous fractures in their caudal fin, suggesting their bones may be more brittle. Inducing new experimental fractures revealed defects in the mineralisation of newly deposited collagen as well as diminished procollagen reporter expression in mutant fish. Analysis of giantin knockout cells expressing a GFP-tagged procollagen showed that procollagen trafficking is independent of giantin. However, our data show that intracellular N-propeptide processing of pro-α1(I) is defective in the absence of giantin. These data demonstrate a conserved role for giantin in collagen biosynthesis and extracellular matrix assembly. Our work also provides evidence of a giantin-dependent pathway for intracellular procollagen processing.


Drawing on a large set of listed banks from Europe, the US and Japan we start noticing that smaller-sized banks suffered less than larger banks in conjunction with the unfolding of the Great Crisis of 2007-09. Was this a "small-bank" anomaly analogous to the classic small firm effect? We conjecture that what seems to be a small bank anomaly might, in fact, signal a generalized market reassessment of the banking business model and tested whether stock markets penalized less the banks that kept more rooted to the traditional "originate-to-hold" (OTH) model while forgoing the opportunities disclosed by the "originate-to-distribute" (OTD) model. By an event study methodology, we focus on September 29, 2008, the day in which the initial rejection by Congress of the Paulson Plan provoked a true panic on the instability of banking worldwide and led the VIX (the main index measuring equity market volatility) to shoot to the highest level in 6 years. Our results detect that, indeed, banks that had kept closer to the OTH model – as proxied by a higher net interest income/operating income – experienced less negative abnormal returns. In spite of this, we still keep finding that larger-sized banks' share prices were penalized more than the share prices of their smaller-sized homologues. Presumably, the "Too Big (or Interconnected) To Fail" credence, at least for a while, had been overruled. We also find that European and Japanese banks experiences less negative abnormal returns. JEL Classification codes: G01, G21.


Abstract Indigenous peoples are often considered potential allies in the conservation of biological diversity. Here we assess whether ethnobotanical skills of indigenous people contribute to a reduction in the clearance of tropical rain forest. We measured ethnobotanical skills of male household heads and area of rain forest cleared for agriculture among 128 households of Tsimane', a native Amazonian group in Bolivia. We used multivariate regressions to estimate the relation between ethnobotanical skills and area of rain forest cleared while controlling for schooling, health status, number of plots cleared, adults in household, and village of residency. We found that when the ethnobotanical skills of the male household head were doubled, the amount of tropical rain forest cleared per household was reduced by 25%. The association was stronger when the area of old-growth forest cleared was used as the dependent variable than when the area cleared from fallow forest was used as the dependent variable. People who use the forest for subsistence might place a higher value on standing forest than people who do not use it, and thus they may be more reluctant to cut down the forest.


Anoxia is condition of oxygen deprivation. Thousands of human deaths each year are attributed to events of induced anoxic conditions – ischemic strokes and heart attacks being the most numerous. But whereas mammals poorly tolerate anoxic stress, D. melanogaster endures hours of anoxia with no apparent problems. In response to anoxia, flies suppress overall energy levels and enter protective comma - spreading depression. Animals recover from comma after being returned to normal oxygen levels. Period following reintroduction of oxygen is characterized by overabundance of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), which oxidize vital molecules in cells. Methionine is exceptionally susceptible to oxidation by ROS, but can be catalytically restored by enzyme Methionine Sulfoxide Reductase (Msr). Currently, little is known about the relationship between Msr activity and recovery from anoxic stress in Drosophila. Expression of Msr genes in response to anoxia is the subject of this study. We use anoxia chamber to induce comma in flies, followed by Drosophila Activity Monitor to record recovery times. Our results show, that single mutant knockout flies do not take significantly longer than wildtype flies to recover from spreading depression. However, double mutants take significantly longer to recover and a greater number of Msr-deficient flies die as a result of anoxia. Failure to recover from anoxia becomes more pronounced as animals approach senescence. Protein oxidation levels are significantly increased in post-anoxic Msr double-mutant flies in comparison to wildtype animals. These studies offer insight into the role of oxidative damage during reperfusion period following cardiac stroke.


In this brilliant, groundbreaking biography, twenty years in the making, James H. Jones presents a moving and even shocking portrait of the man who pierced the veil of reticence surrounding human sexuality. Jones shows that the public image Alfred Kinsey cultivated of disinterested biologist was in fact a carefully crafted public persona. By any measure he was an extraordinary man-and a man with secrets. Drawing upon never before disclosed facts about Kinsey's childhood, Jones traces the roots of Kinsey's scholarly interest in human sexuality to his tortured upbringing. Between the sexual tensions of the culture and Kinsey's devoutly religious family, Jones depicts Kinsey emerging from childhood with psychological trauma but determined to rescue humanity from the emotional and sexual repression he had suffered. New facts about his marriage, family life, and relationships with students and colleagues enrich this portrait of the complicated, troubled man who transformed the state of public discourse on human sexuality.


Abstract Partial root-zone drying (PRD) is an irrigation technique which consists of alternating the water supply from one furrow to another, and keeping the other one dry during the weekly alternation period. Studies assessing PRD in potato have reported a 30-50% of water savings with no tuber yield reductions and an increase of antioxidant concentrations and marketable tubers. In this study, we adapted the PRD technique to rural Ethiopian conditions and compared it against the customary (C) irrigation practiced by local farmers. Two PRD alternatives were evaluated; with (PRDs) and without (PRDw) locally made flexible-hose siphons. Only PRDs showed no significant differences in total (35.8±1.6 t ha-1) and marketable (34.2±1.6 t ha-1) tuber yield when compared with customary irrigation (39.4±1.3 and 37.6±1.2 t ha-1 corresponding to total and marketable yield, respectively). The PRDw was more water restricted, showing significantly lower total (29.7±1.1 t ha-1) and marketable (27.6±1.2 t ha-1) yields. PRDs had the benefit of a better control of applied water allowing a saving of 50% of the irrigation water without negatively affecting yield. The use of the siphons PRD technique provides options for saving scarce water and reaching out to many smallholder farmers who are in serious need of irrigation water in the Blue Nile river basin.


Department of Electron Microscopy and Molecular Pathology, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Nicosia, Cyprus Measurement of the thickness of glomerular basement membranes is required for the diagnosis of thin membrane nephropathy. Over the years various morphometric methods have been used but some are laborious so there is a need for establishing a simplified method for measuring thickness. In the present study 20 renal biopsies were used to carry out a comparative morphometric analysis between 2 methods. The first method was based on measuring thickness at the maximum number of available points, whereas for the second method, thickness was measured at only 5 points per loop. Since both methods gave mean values that are not statistically different in each patient, the authors recommend that the simplified method be used routinely for diagnosis.


This paper discusses the global financial crisis of 2008/9 in thirteen countries, the ten new EU members that previously were communist and the three countries of Western former Soviet Union. Their problems were excessive current account deficits and private foreign debt, currency mismatches, and high inflation, while public finances were in good shape. The dominant cause was fixed exchange rates. Many lessons can be drawn from this crisis. A dollar peg makes no sense in this part of the world. The five currency boards in the region have lacked credibility. By contrast, inflation targeting has worked eminently. The euro has proven credible both in the countries that officially adopted it and in the countries that adopted it unilaterally. With the exception of Hungary, all the countries in the region have displayed decent fiscal policies. No government should accept large domestic loans in foreign currency and they can be regulated away. The IMF has successfully returned to the original Washington consensus with relatively few conditions: a reasonable budget balance and a realistic exchange rate policy, while focusing more on bank restructuring. The most controversial issue is the role of the ECB. The ECB should facilitate the accession of willing EU members to the euro by relaxing the ERM II conditions.


Anagnorisis - 'recognition' or 'discovery' - is a key element of Aristotelian literary theory. This book is the first systematic study of its presence in Spanish drama of the sixteenth century, a period in which Aristotelian theory was widely disseminated. Professor Garrido begins by examining the theory of anagnorisis developed by Aristotle and his sixteenth-century commentators. She then analyses its use in a large corpus of Spanish plays from the period 1515-87. Her survey is divided into two parts, corresponding to the years before and after the appearance, in 1548, of Robortello's commentary, which expanded and developed Aristotle's definition of anagnorisis. In earlier decades its use is largely confined to humanistic plays, which seek to allow the recognition to arise naturally from the plot; plays from the second half of the century tend to model their use of anagnorisis on Plautus's Menaechmi and regularly resort to a deus ex machina to bring about the recognition. Patricia Garrido Camacho is Professor of Spanish at the University of Montana.


Pyoderma gangrenosum is a rare idiopathic skin disease. It affects mainly adults, and only 4% of the cases are diagnosed on children and adolescents. There are four clinical forms of pyoderma gangrenosum: ulcerative, pustular, bullous, and vegetative (superficial granulomatous pyoderma). Superficial granulomatous pyoderma is considered the most benign and uncommon form of the disease. Patients who have undergone surgical procedures may occasionally present pyoderma gangrenosum manifestations on the surgical site. A case of a five-year-old child, victim of burn, who presented superficial granulomatous pyoderma on the skin graft donor sites is reported.


Some of the uses of technetium 99 pertechnetate in salivary gland investigation are shown. By means of a gamma camera, which records dynamic studies, normal salivary physiology is investigated and also various forms of salivary gland pathology. The use of salivary scintigraphy in evaluation of the end results of parotid duct repositioning is discussed. This does not appear to have been reported previously.


Survey research is believed to be well understood and applied by management information systems (MIS) scholars. It has been applied for several years and it has precise procedures which, when followed closely, yield valid and easily interpretable data. Our assessment of the use of survey research in the MIS field between 1980 and 1990 indicates that this perception is at odds with reality. Our analysis indicates that survey methodology is often misapplied and is plagued by five important weaknesses: (1) single-method designs where multiple methods are needed, (2) unsystematic and often inadequate sampling procedures, (3) low response rates, (4) weak linkages between units of analysis and respondents, and (5) overreliance on cross-sectional surveys where longitudinal surveys are really needed. Our assessment also shows that the quality of survey research varies considerably among studies of different purposes: explanatory studies are of good quality overall, exploratory and descriptive studies are of moderate to poor quality. This article presents a general framework for classifying and examining survey research and uses this framework to analyze the usage of survey research conducted in the past decade in the MIS field. In an effort to improve the quality of survey research, this article makes specific recommenoations that directly address the major problems highlighted in the review.


Mechanical and electrical components become smaller and smaller. Since most components produce heat when operating, it is essential to cool them in order to perform well and to ensure the life spam of such a component. A very promising technique is micro/nano-channel cooling. Using a flowing gas or fluid, the devices can be cooled locally where the power is produced. The transport properties of gases at the gas-surface interface play a very important role. Hybrid Molecular Dynamics-Monte Carlo(MD-MC) simulations are used to study these properties. We study the system when introducing flow conditions. A cold gas cooling the warm walls of the channel is investigated.


The National Institute for Health Care Management Research and Educational Foundation (NIHCM Foundation) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan group that conducts research on health care issues. The Foundation disseminates research findings and analysis that promote and enhance access to health care and the efficiency and effectiveness of health care services and delivery. The Foundation also holds forums and briefings for policy makers, the health care industry, consumers, the government, and the media to increase understanding of issues affecting the health care ...


This paper focuses on gendered processes of socialization experienced by Christian religious groups in different Christian churches in post-civil war Gorongosa, a district in the centre of Mozambique. Discourses of radical social transformation through Christian interventions and experiences are prominent among Christians, both men and women. Yet a comprehensive and longitudinal analysis of the social world in which the Christian groups are embedded and the performances of Christian men and women demonstrates the emergence of complex processes of transformation and continuities with local cultural beliefs and practices that many non-Christians have partially or thoroughly reformed or abandoned. These changes and continuities also encompass the manifestation of fluid forms of submission and creativity, and masculinities and femininities against the ideological notion of thoroughly new and closed Christian identities. The overall analysis suggests that the tension between the practices of change and continuity are necessary in order to create and sustain the legitimacy of the various Christian groups in Gorongosa.


Surface water and groundwater have been considered as separate waters bodies for a long time by hydrologists and also decision makers, so that the relevance of interconnections between groundwater and surface water has frequently been underestimated. Since the last decades, rivers and aquifers are no more considered as physically independent entities, and are now approached as integral components of an aquifer-river-continuum with strong mutual influences between river, aquifer and the interconnecting hyporheic zone. Numerous research approaches were developed to identify and quantify the river-aquifer exchanges that can be in both directions depending on the river profile and the seasonal water levels and hydraulic gradients. The understanding of the links between hydrological, biogeochemical, and ecological process dynamics in hyporheic zones and their implications for river water quality and ecology are also of major concern for water management and decision makers.


We present a decentralized cooperative exploration strategy for a team of mobile robots equipped with range finders. A roadmap of the explored area, with the associate safe region, is built in the form of a sensor-based random graph (SRG). This is expanded by the robots by using a randomized local planner that automatically realizes a tradeoff between information gain and navigation cost. The nodes of the SRG represent view configurations that have been visited by at least one robot, and are connected by arcs that represent safe paths. These paths have been actually traveled by the robots or added to the SRG to improve its connectivity. Decentralized cooperation and coordination mechanisms are used so as to guarantee exploration efficiency and avoid conflicts. Simulations and experiments are presented to show the performance of the proposed technique.


Mucopolysaccharidosis type II (MPS II) is an X-linked recessive disorder characterized by a deficiency of the enzyme iduronate-2-sulfatase leading to a multisystem involvement by tissue accumulation of glycosaminoglycans heparan and dermatan sulfate. We report a case of a 9-year-old boy diagnosed with mucopolysaccharidosis type II at 4 years of age, classified as severe variant. He presented necrotizing pneumonia associated with influenza A H1N1 infection, requiring mechanical ventilation for 1 month and 10 days. This case emphasizes the importance of healthcare workers to be aware of potentially lethal complications in patients with MPS II, such as influenza A H1N1 infection, which in turn may be associated with necrotizing pneumonia.


Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of ambulance crew referral of patients treated for acute hypoglycaemia, to a diabetes specialist nurse (DSN) team. Patients were assessed by the ambulance service and did not attend an emergency department. Methods: For a 3 month period patients were referred from two areas of West Yorkshire by the ambulance service to specialist diabetes teams. The DSNs contacted the patients within 7 days by telephone and arranged further review if necessary. Satisfaction questionnaires were sent to patients. Results: Thirty eight patients were referred and all were reviewed by telephone; 30 (79%) also required a clinic review appointment. Warning signs of hypoglycaemia were identified by 21 (55%) patients, but 14 (37%) had none (three had incomplete data). Twelve patients had had a self-treated episode in the previous 6 months; nine patients had had three or more. Fifteen (39%) patients had called an emergency ambulance for similar reasons in the previous 6 months (27 "999" calls). Twenty patients (53%) had their drug treatment altered at a clinic appointment and 14 (37%) required ongoing review. Twenty six patients returned the satisfaction questionnaire; of these 88% agreed or strongly agreed that they had improved their understanding of hypoglycaemia and 73% felt more able to treat a hypoglycaemic episode in the future. Patient satisfaction with this care pathway was high. Conclusions: The ambulance service can coordinate successful referral of patients with episodes of acute hypoglycaemia to a DSN-led service. Patients often required treatment review. They valued this service and felt more confident managing their diabetes.


Twitter has profoundly changed how people communicate with one another and learn about the world. In less than a decade since it first launched, Twitter has become the place where all news breaks first, where political revolutions are launched, and where presidential campaigns are conducted. The service has more than half a billion users, who use Twitter to talk about the news, follow celebrities, support sports teams, conduct business, and learn about one another. Twitter has touched every area of human interaction, and the law is no exception. Thus, although no member of the Supreme Court uses Twitter officially (yet), the world needs to know which Justice is most "tweetable." The paper uses data from the SCOTUS Search database to rank the Justices by whether their oral argument statements are fit to be tweeted.


Many countries with national health care providers and health insurances regulate the market for pharmaceuticals to steer drug demand and to control expenses. For example, they introduce reference pricing or tiered co-payments to enhance drug substitution and competition. Since 2006, Germany follows an innovative approach by differentiating drug co-payments by the drug's price relative to its reference price. In this two-tier system, prescription drugs are completely exempted from co-payments if their prices undercut a certain price level relative to the reference price. We identify the effect of the policy on the prices of all affected prescription drugs and differentiate the analysis by firm types (innovative, generic, branded generic or importing firms). To identify a causal effect, we use a differences-in-differences approach and additionally exploit the fact that the exemption policy had been introduced successively in the different clusters. We use quarterly data from 2007 to 2010 and find empirical evidence for differentiated price setting strategies by firm types, ranging from price decreases of -13.1% (branded generics firms) to increases of +2.0% (innovators) following the introduction of potential reductions in co-payments. We refer to the latter result as the co-payment exemption paradox. Our competition proxy (no. of firms) suggests a significant but small negative correlation with prices.


One of the tasks that are being solved during the forensic railway transport expertise is to investigate the actions and circumstances of a railway accident. After analyzing the state of traffic safety in the structure of Ukrzaliznytsia OJSC, the author found that in recent years the number of runover incidents of rolling stock on pedestrians and motor vehicles has increased significantly. This is primarily due to the non-observance of the "Rules of Conduct of Citizens in Railway Transport". It was noted that when performing such railway transport expertise, the expert receives an incomplete amount of necessary information, which may be the result of incomplete research or the impossibility of giving an opinion on this railway accident. First of all, this is due to the fact that employees of the bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs when they are at the scene of a railroad accident have no special knowledge and cannot select the necessary information for the qualitative expertise.

And so, after conducting research, the author came to the conclusion that for a full and high-quality railway transport expertise in the event of rolling stock hitting an obstacle (vehicle or person), the expert needs to have the following list of documents and relevant data, namely: original speedometer module KKD-3 memory, registration tape CLUB-U; certificate on the provision of the train with VU-45 brakes; information on the type of track on which the railway accident occurred (link or continuous), the longitudinal profile and the plan of the section of the route on which the railway accident occurred; full-scale sheet form DU-1 for a freight train, and DU-1L – for the passenger; information on the permissible speed of movement in the area of the railway accident; warning on the train form DU-61; graphic reproduction of a clear situation of a railway accident with an indication of a specific stopping point of the train's head, the location of the obstacle with reference to the picket column.

So, having received the necessary information in accordance with the list that is specified in this article, the expert can objectively and reliably assess the impact of the actions of each of the participants in this incident on the implementation of the mechanism of the railway accident as a whole.

Key words: forensic railway-transport expertise, rolling stock, runway, locomotive, track, obstacle.


Path gain and effective directional gain in azimuth in urban canyons from actual rooftop base station sites are characterized based on a massive data set of 3000 links on 12 streets in two cities, with over 21 million individual continuous wave power measurements at 28 GHz using vertically polarized antennas. Large street-to-street path gain variation is found, with median street path gain varying over 30 dB at similar distances. Coverage in the street directly illuminated by a roof edge antenna is found to suffer an average excess loss of 11 dB relative to free space at 200 m, with empirical slopeintercept fit model representing the data with 7.1 dB standard deviation. Offsetting the base antenna 5 m away from roof edge, as is common in macro cellular deployments, introduces an additional average loss of 15 dB at 100 m, but this additional loss reduces with distance. Around the corner loss is well modeled by a diffraction formula with an empirically obtained diffraction coefficient. Effective azimuthal gain degradation due to scatter is limited to 2 dB for 90% of data, supporting effective use of high gain antennas in urban street canyons. Index terms wave propagation, millimeter wave communication, propagation losses, radio propagation, millimeter wave measurements


It has been observed by several people that, in certain contexts, the free symmetric algebra construction can provide a model of the linear modality !. This construction arose independently in quantum physics, where it is considered as a canonical model of quantum eld theory. In this context, the construction is known as (bosonic) Fock space. Fock space is used to analyze such quantum phenomena as the annihilation and creation of particles. There is a strong intuitive connection to the principle of renewable resource, which is the philosophical interpretation of the linear modalities. In this paper, we examine Fock space in several categories of vector spaces. We rst consider vector spaces, where the Fock construction induces a model of the ; &; ! fragment in the category of symmetric algebras. When considering Banach or Hilbert spaces, the Fock construction provides a model of weakening cotriple in the sense of Jacobs. While the models so obtained have weaker properties, it is closer in practice to the structures considered by physicists. In this case, Fock space has a natural interprtaion as a space of holomorphic functions. This suggests that the \nonlinear" functions we arrive at via Fock space are not merely continuous but analytic. Finally, we also consider fermionic Fock space, which corresponds algebraically to graded symmetric algebras. By considering ferminoic Fock space on the category of nite-dimensional vector spaces, we obtain a model of full propositional linear logic, although the model is somewhat degenerate in that certain connectives are equated.


Multiple myeloma (MM) is the second most common hematologic malignancy. The disease is characterized by an uncontrolled growth of malignant plasma cells in the bone marrow, producing a monoclonal immunoglobulin ("M protein") that can be detected in peripheral blood. Clinically, MM is characterized by bone marrow failure, lytic bone lesions, hypercalcemia, and kidney failure. It is preceded by monoclonal gammopathy of unknown significance (MGUS), a common condition defined as a clonal growth of plasma cells that does not yet satisfy the criteria for MM, but progresses to MM at a rate of 1% per year. Increasing evidence supports that the biology of MM is influenced by inborn genetic variation and first degree relatives of patients with MM and MGUS seem to have higher risk for MM, and a higher risk of certain other malignancies. In this Ph.D. project, we aim to find DNA sequence variants that predispose for MM, and understand how these variants contribute to MM development.Case-control genome-wide association study (GWAS) is our approach for finding variants. Previous GWASes have identified eight genetic variants that associate with MM development. As a first step in this study, we also carried out a GWAS on a case-control data set from Sweden-Norway and Iceland (Paper I). Following statistical analysis we could identify one novel MM risk locus related to the ELL2 (Elongation Factor for RNA Polymerase II 2) gene and a promising association with the TOM1-HMGXB4 locus at 22q13 and we could confirm the previously reported loci. In the second part of the project, we carried out a meta-analysis of six genome-wide association studies together with the United Kingdom, Germany, Netherlands, the United States and Iceland. Previously reported loci were confirmed and eight new loci were discovered (Paper II). Understanding how the identified risk variants contribute to MM development is the next challenge. In the third part of the project we focused on the ELL2 gene located on the locus 5q15 and tried to understand its mechanism of action in MM (Paper III). Finally, we retrieved clinical information for 871 patients diagnosed with MM from the Swedish Multiple Myeloma Registry. We tested for association between sequence variants and MM overall survival (Paper IV). Our findings provide further insights into the genetic and biological basis of MM predisposition. (Less)


A study of helical drill points for drilling carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) is presented. A helical drill point has an "S" contour with a radiused crown chisel that reduces the thrust force and make the drills self-centering. The S-shape chisel edge has a lower negative rake angle than a conventional chisel edge, and therefore may cut rather than extrude material. Experiments of drilling CFRP with helical drill points and conventional drill points were conducted. The results indicate that the helical drill points can reduce delamination significantly as compared to the conventional drill points under same cutting condition. Otherwise, delamination size decreases with increasing the cutting speed and increases with increasing the feed


Purpose: To provide an overview of lessons learned during the development process of an app for iOS and Android based on national recommendations for providing quality family planning services. Study and Design: After a review of existing apps was conducted to determine whether an app of clinical recommendations for family planning existed, a team of clinicians, training specialists, and app developers created a resource app by first drafting a comprehensive content map. A prototype of the app was then pilot tested using smart tablets by a volunteer convenience sample of women's healthcare professionals. Outcomes measured included usability, acceptability, download analytics, and satisfaction by clinicians as reported through an investigator-developed tool. Results: Sixty-nine professionals tested a prototype of the app, and completed a user satisfaction tool. Overall, user feedback was positive, and a zoom function was added to the final version as a result of the pilot test. Within 3 months of being publicly available, the app was downloaded 677 times, with 97% of downloads occurring on smart phones, 76% downloads occurring on iOS devices, and 24% on Android devices. This trend persisted throughout the following 3 months. Clinical Implications: Clinicians with an interest in developing an app should consider a team approach to development, pilot test the app prior to wider distribution, and develop a web-based version of the app to be used by clinicians who are unable to access smart devices in their practice setting.


Driven by the recent resurgence of 3D cinema, depth cameras and stereoscopic displays are becoming commonplace in the consumer market. Introduced last October, Microsoft Kinect has already fostered gesture-based interaction for applications well beyond the intended Xbox 360 platform. Similarly, consumer electronics manufacturers have begun selling stereoscopic displays and inexpensive stereoscopic cameras. Most commercial 3D displays continue to require cumbersome eyewear, but inexpensive, glasses-free 3D displays are imminent with the release of the Nintendo 3DS. At SIGGRAPH 2010, the Build Your Own 3D Display course demonstrated how to construct both LCD shutter glasses and glasses-free lenticular screens, providing Matlab-based code for batch encoding of 3D imagery. This follow-up course focuses more narrowly on glasses-free displays, describing in greater detail the practical aspects of real-time, OpenGL-based encoding for such multi-view, spatially multiplexed displays. The course reviews historical and perceptual aspects, emphasizing the goal of achieving disparity, motion parallax, accommodation, and convergence cues without glasses. It summarizes state-of-the-art methods and areas of active research. And it provides a step-by-step tutorial on how to construct a lenticular display. The course concludes with an extended question-and-answer session, during which prototype hardware is available for inspection.


The main hypothesis sustained in this paper maintains that language is not a mere reflection of external reality but that language also powerfully contributes to its constitution. In this sense, the analysis shows the different symbolic constructs the interviewer establishes in the presentation of the information in various headlines and interviews on the Spanish public radio; symbolic constructs that contribute to the fictionalization of the events. By employing these communicative practices the interviewer manages to activate a cognitive model that presents the Government as having been betrayed by some public people, and as the victim of a conspiracy by certain sectors of the private media and individual judges. The interpretation of these symbolic practices shows that they contribute to the delegitimation of people involved in those matters. In addition, they constitute an indirect alliance with the thesis defended by the ruling political party on those issues. There is also evidence which indicates that the power exercised by this public media is aimed at manipulating the audience's cognitive representations.


Recent trends in wind power technology are focusing on increasing power output through an increase in rotor diameter. As the rotor diameter increases, aeroelastic effects become increasingly important in the design of an efficient blade. A detailed understanding of the fluid elastic coupling can lead to improved designs; yielding more power, reduced maintenance, and ultimately leading to an overall reduction in the cost of electricity. In this work, a high fidelity Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) methodology is presented for performing fully coupled Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) simulations of wind turbine blades and rotors using a commercially available flow solver, AcuSolve. We demonstrate the technique using a 13.2 MW blade design.


A detailed analysis of extreme temperature indices for the period of 1970-2005 is conducted over Sutlej river basin located in North-West Himalayan region. For this purpose, daily records of maximum and minimum temperature data were procured from Bhakara Beas Management Board, India for four stations. These stations are installed at varying height from 518m to 976m under different physiographic and climatic conditions. Fourteen extreme indices for temperature as specified by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Commission for Climatology (CCL)/Climate Variability and Predictability (CLIVAR) Expert Team on Climate Change Detection, Monitoring and Indices (ETCCDMI) are derived with the aid of RClimDex software. Linear Regression (LR) method is employed for detecting annual as well as monthly trends in extreme indices of temperature over the period of thirty six years (1970-2005). Large spatial and inter-annual variability in trends of extreme indices is observed. However, a rise in diurnal temperature range is observed for the basin as a whole. This may be attributed to the decrease observed in maximum TMin (TXn) and warm nights (TN90p) coupled with the increase in maximum TMax (TXx).


Abstract This monograph is a continuation of a multiyear study of the genera and species of North American spider wasps (Pompilidae) and their spider host families, genera and species, nesting behavior, ecology, and natural communities. The study enlarges and enhances host preference, nesting behavior, and ecological information for 77 North American pompilid taxa. The first North American Pompilidae records for the families Tengellidae and Segestriidae, both from central coastal California, are reported herein. New host spider genera and species are listed for many of the pompilid species, including the first North American host record for Dipogon (Dipogon) g. graenicheri. The first detailed observations of male and female behavior in Arachnospila arcta are described.


A 75-year-old man presented to the emergency department with dizziness. He had been in good health until 5 weeks before admission, when his ladder slipped while he was cutting branches in a tree. He fell on to his upper back and left shoulder but did not hit his head or lose consciousness. Following the fall, he developed persisting left-sided neck and shoulder pain. A chiropractor manipulated his neck six times without significant relief. On the day of admission, he became non-specifically unwell following his morning walk and went to lie down. On getting up he felt extremely dizzy, both spinning and light-headed. He lay down but remained unwell, with shortness of breath and chest discomfort. The symptoms completely resolved in less than 5 min. He came to the emergency department by ambulance.

There was no past history or specific risk factors for vascular disease and he took no regular medications.

On examination, his blood pressure was 170/80 mm Hg but other vital signs were normal. The emergency department registrar documented normal cardiovascular, respiratory and abdominal examinations, with no spinal tenderness or neck movement restriction. Neurological examination was normal, including eye movements, coordination and gait. ### Question 1

What investigations would you arrange?

The symptoms are non-specific and the differential diagnosis is wide. Routine blood tests can help to exclude dehydration, metabolic disturbances or infection. A 12-lead ECG, cardiac enzymes and a period of cardiac monitoring can help to exclude cardiac ischaemia or an arrhythmia. Although dizziness is non-specific, the lack of improvement with lying down argues against simple presyncope. Further neurological assessment with a Dix–Hallpike manoeuvre and head impulse test might help. The symptoms in isolation probably do not warrant neuroimaging; however, the neck pain following trauma and subsequent chiropractic manipulation raise the possibility of vertebral artery dissection, and the need for MR scan of …


The research on the tie-generative mechanism in network is conductive to explore the factors affecting network evolution and provide theoretical supports and decision-making suggestions for promoting (restraining) the formation (disappearance) of network edges. Based on the analysis of the current situation and development trend of ERGM from 2015 to 2020, this paper presents the research progress and limitations of ERGM. It has made good progress in the fields of network dynamic evolution mechanism, capturing network node heterogeneity, multi-layer network formation mechanism and Research on large (small) scale network formation mechanism. However, it must be admitted that the problems such as extending ERGM to obtain connection weighted information, modeling the heterogeneity of nodes in the network, detecting the multicollinearity that may exist in ERGM, studying the dynamic evolution mechanism of multi-layer network and using ERGM to deal with network missing data have not been well solved, waiting for further exploration.


The introduction of urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) is usually characterized by high input intensity. This intensive use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, wastewater, sludges and industrial effluents may lead to accumulation of potentially toxic metals in the soil, increasing the geological background levels and exceeding the capacity to immobilize them. Besides being environmental pollutants of which the toxicity is a problem of increasing significance for ecological reasons, heavy metal accumulation in the food chain is highly dangerous for human health. The objective of this review was to highlight the potential problems that may arise as a consequence of irrigating crops with sewage water as well as using fertilizers and pesticides. A review of literature has shown that different types of fertilizers contain some quantities of heavy metals that may buildup in the soil as well as be taken up by crops. In addition to using fertilizers, the use of treated and sometimes partially treated and untreated water by UPA farmers around Gaborone may lead to heavy metal accumulation in soil as well as in crops, posing a danger to human beings. In Botswana there is limited information concerning heavy metal accumulation in soils even though there is a high use of agrochemicals in vegetable production in UPA land use systems. Lack of such information necessitates research on the impact of the application of fertilizer, sewage water (treated and untreated) and metal-based pesticides on the quality of the vegetable produce coming from UPA.


General contact-rich manipulation problems are long-standing challenges in robotics due to the difficulty of understanding complicated contact physics. Deep reinforcement learning (RL) has shown great potential in solving robot manipulation tasks. However, existing RL policies have limited adaptability to environments with diverse dynamics properties, which is pivotal in solving many contact-rich manipulation tasks. In this work, we propose Contact-aware Online COntext Inference (COCOI), a deep RL method that encodes a context embedding of dynamics properties online using contact-rich interactions. We sample sensor data using a novel contact-aware strategy and formulate an interpretable dynamics transition module. We study this method based on a novel and challenging non-planar pushing task, where the robot uses a monocular camera image and wrist force torque sensor reading to push an object to a goal location while keeping it upright. We run extensive experiments to demonstrate the capability of COCOI in a wide range of settings and dynamics properties in simulation, and also in a sim-to-real transfer scenario on a real robot (Webpage: https://context-inference.github.io/).


PROBLEM
Faculty at academic health centers have many competing demands on their time, leading to high work stress, burnout, and limited capacity to meaningfully improve their teaching, evaluation, feedback, and other education-related skills. Faculty development provides a useful mechanism to assist faculty in enhancing their knowledge and skills in these areas, but engaging faculty can be a challenge.

APPROACH
To promote engagement, the authors developed a multipronged, pragmatic approach to faculty development. They created: (1) brief videos leveraging micro-learning strategies; (2) prepackaged workshops for use during existing faculty meetings; (3) a newsletter to raise awareness of faculty development opportunities; (4) a searchable, web-based catalog to facilitate rapid retrieval of faculty development content, and (5) an academy to acknowledge engagement of individual faculty members, provide certificates, and promote a culture that prioritizes our education mission.

OUTCOMES
Since they launched the new approach in 2017, they have developed 41 microlearning videos, 15 prepackaged workshops, and 24 issues of the newsletter. Between January 2017 and May 2021, the videos generated more than 150,055 views; the workshops were downloaded 2,850 times; and the issues of the newsletter, emailed bimonthly to 3,500 members of the faculty, had an open rate that increased from 30% in 2017 to 70% in 2021. The Academy of Educational Excellence, which was launched in 2018, grew to more than 490 members. Preliminary feedback suggests faculty and education leaders are highly satisfied with the faculty development resources and approaches to engagement.

NEXT STEPS
Next steps include obtaining more user satisfaction data and evaluating whether education-related knowledge and skills have improved among faculty participants.


In order to identify five-coordinated Si(Siv) species in crystalline and amorphous silicates by NMR spectroscopy, 29Si NMR chemical shifts for the clusters of Si(CH3)4 (TMS), Si(OH)4, Si(OH)5− and Si(OH)6−2 were calculated using ab initio molecular orbital theory. The calculated shifts relative to TMS cluster were −71.7 and −179.0 ppm for Si(OH)4 and Si(OH)6−2, respectively, and are in good agreement with observed shifts. The calculated shift for Si(OH)5− was −127.4 ppm, falls just between the shifts of Si(OH)4 and Si(OH)6−2. The chemical shift for Siv species in polymerized silicates is expected to appear at about −150 ppm, if the effect of polymerization is considered. Present calculation thus supports the assignment of −150 ppm peak as Siv species, which has been found in the alkali-silicate glasses quenched from high pressures.


We study the postseismic surface deformation of the Mw 6.8, 2003 Zemmouri earthquake (northern Algeria) using the Multi‐Temporal Small Baseline InSAR technique. InSAR time series obtained from 31 Envisat ASAR images from 2003 to 2010 reveal sub‐cm coastline ground movements between Cap Matifou and Dellys. Two regions display subsidence at a maximum rate of 2 mm/yr in Cap Djenet and 3.5 mm/yr in Boumerdes. These regions correlate well with areas of maximum coseismic uplifts, and their association with two rupture segments. Inverse modeling suggest that subsidence in the areas of high coseismic uplift can be explained by afterslip on shallow sections (<5 km) of the fault above the areas of coseismic slip, in agreement with previous GPS observations. The earthquake impact on soft sediments and the ground water table southwest of the earthquake area, characterizes ground deformation of non‐tectonic origin. The cumulative postseismic moment due to 7 years afterslip is equivalent to an Mw 6.3 earthquake. Therefore, the postseismic deformation and stress buildup has significant implications on the earthquake cycle models and recurrence intervals of large earthquakes in the Algiers area.


The purpose of this study was to determine the attitudes of preservice elementary education classroom teachers toward teaching music and the importance of music in the school curriculum as they prepare to enter the field in an era of high stakes testing, state standards, and accountability. More specifically, responses to twenty-nine statements were used to determine attitudes toward the following three constructs: (a) academic and social benefits of music education, (b) inclusion of music in the curriculum, and (c) comfort in teaching and leading music in the classroom. The survey instrument was a modified version of that used by Lewis (1991); therefore the current study was a modified replication. Results were positive for all the constructs. Post hoc analyses indicated a strong relationship between prior musical experiences and the strength of positive responses. Introduction Research has indicated that elementary general classroom teachers have traditionally played a role in the musical education of children and have had musical training as a part of their professional preparation since the early 19th century (Birge, 1988; Gray, 2000). Elementary classroom teachers and school administrators have had extensive preparation in many areas for certification; however, their required study of music is often very limited (Stein, 2002). Their attitudes toward music in the curriculum become critical to decisions regarding the music education of elementary school students. Weller (1991) documented the subsidiary position of non-core subjects, such as music, in which informants associated non-core subjects with an attitude of devaluation. This devaluation had a considerable impact on curriculum and instruction in a junior high school setting. Similarly, elementary classroom teachers' attitudes toward the music program may be an indicator of the value they place upon the importance of music education and the manner in which they support music education (Stein, 2002). The responsibility for the music education of elementary school children is assigned by administrators to either (a) the music specialists or (b) classroom teachers (Byo, 1999). The support for music and other arts in the schools is a function of community values and the availability of resources. Resources have been in increasingly short supply for music programs beginning in the 1980s (Mark, 1986). A further downward trend in music funding has been documented (Bresler, 1993; Leonhard, 1991). This trend appears to be holding in that budget cuts and shifting priorities are either being enacted or pending in school systems nationwide to adjust to new accountability requirements (American Association of School Administrators, 2009; American Music Conference, 2003; Van Harken, 2003). Preservice and inservice elementary teachers, while pressured to meet many curricular requirements such as state content standards (Cooley, 2002; Frykholm, 1996), are potentially in a position to implement music activities in their classrooms. Research indicates that there is a correlation between the attitudes of preservice elementary teachers regarding music and their inclination to teach music (Gelineau, 1960; Kretchmer, 2002; Lewis, 1991, Siebenaler, 2006). Likewise, level of comfort in leading music activities affects inservice teachers' attitudes toward teaching music (Colwell, 2008). Classroom teachers have the most contact time with elementary students and may be the sole provider of music instruction or complement the instruction of a music specialist (Gold, 1973; Gray, 2000). Thus, their attitude toward music in the curriculum and teaching behavior are pivotal in supporting elementary students' music education (Music Educators National Conference, 1986). It seems apparent that the attitudes of preservice elementary classroom teachers are an important component of supporting music education in the elementary students' school experience. …


With the production system of modern manufactures complexity increasing, it is very difficult to establish a practical model to satisfy the current trend by means of traditional methods and theories of modeling. According to IDEF0 modeling method, this paper presents a functional model of the production line object model framework. Based on this, an object-oriented abstraction mechanism is considered to solve the camshaft production line complexity practical situation and an object-oriented Petri nets (OPNs) modeling is proposed. Simulation models are established by using Witness 2008 simulation software based on camshaft production line to analyze the layout and bottleneck of production line, to check the design programs, and to optimize configuration and layout of the production line furthermore. The manufacturing capacity of the line is also discussed in this paper. Finally the corresponding solutions to avoid the existing bottleneck of the line are also discussed in detail.


Interactions between CD83 and its ligand(s) can up-regulate immune responses. M2-CD83 cells, derived by transfecting the M2 clone of mouse melanoma K1735 cells to express mouse CD83, were rejected by syngeneic mice, unless they were injected with a CD83Ig fusion protein. Rejection was mediated by CD4+ and CD8+ T cells plus natural killer cells, whereas rejection of M2-1D8 cells, which express anti-CD137 single-chain variable region fragments (scFv), occurs in the absence of CD8+ T cells. Furthermore, the tumor specificity of the immunity induced by the two cell lines differed. Immunization with live or mitomycin C-treated M2-CD83 cells prevented outgrowth of transplanted M2-WT cells and had therapeutic efficacy against established M2-WT tumors. A highly metastatic clone of K1735 cells, SW1-C, and its subline SW1-P2, which expresses an activating transcription factor 2-driven peptide, were then studied because they have particularly low immunogenicity. Neither SW1-C nor SW1-P2 cells became rejectable after expression of CD83 or anti-CD137 scFv. However, outgrowth of cells from either line was delayed in mice immunized against M2-CD83 or M2-1D8 cells, and immunization with a mixture of mitomycin C-treated cells from M2-CD83 plus M2-1D8 prevented tumor formation by SW1-P2 cells in five of five and by SW1-C cells in three of five mice. We conclude that M2 cells expressing CD83 can induce a tumor-destructive immune response also against SW1 cells and that this response can be made more effective by combining them with M2 cells expressing anti-CD137 scFv. A similar approach may be therapeutically beneficial against certain human cancers.


Mother-to-child-transmission of HIV in the United States has been greatly reduced, with clear benefits for the child. However, little is known about factors that predict maternal loss to HIV care in the postpartum year. This retrospective cohort study included 980 HIV-positive women, diagnosed with HIV at least one year before pregnancy, who had a live birth during 2008–2010 in New York State. Women who did not meet the following criterion in the 12 months after the delivery-related hospital discharge were considered to be lost to HIV care: two or more laboratory tests (CD4 or HIV viral load), separated by at least 90 days. Adjusted relative risks (aRR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for predictors of postpartum loss to HIV care were identified with Poisson regression, solved using generalized estimating equations. Having an unsuppressed (>200 copies/mL) HIV viral load in the postpartum year was also evaluated. Overall, 24% of women were loss to HIV care during the postpartum year. Women with low participation in HIV care during preconception were more likely to be lost to HIV care during the postpartum year (aRR: 2.70; 95% CI: 2.09–3.49). In contrast, having a low birth weight infant was significantly associated with a decreased likelihood of loss to HIV care (aRR: 0.72; 95% CI: 0.53–0.98). While 75% of women were virally suppressed at the last viral load before delivery only 44% were continuously suppressed in the postpartum year; 12% had no viral load test reported in the postpartum year and 44% had at least one unsuppressed viral load test. Lack of engagement in preconception HIV-related health care predicts postpartum loss to HIV care for HIV-positive parturient women. Many women had poor viral control during the postpartum period, increasing the risk of disease progression and infectivity.


This paper presents a one-dimensional unsteady flow hydraulic model used for the simulation of flow in rivers: the MIKE 11 model from the Danish Hydraulic Institute (DHI). The approach used for this model leads to unsteady flow simulations along river channel reach. The study case applied to the model is the lower Nzoia River, about 25 km in length. The study's focus was the development of a MIKE 11 river model based on surveyed river cross-section data. The flooding problem in the lower Nzoia (Budalangi floodplains) in Kenya has been perennial each time causing a reversal of gains on economic and social development. The main objective of this study is to implement a one dimensional hydrodynamic model for the lower part of Nzoia river using the MIKE 11 modelling software. This was done with an aim of investigating the nature of the 2008 Budalangi floods. Two scenarios were considered, namely; reference case (intact dyke) and the breached dyke case. Longitudinal river stretch profiles were produced for the two cases and it was conclusive that the 2008 flooding was mainly necessitated by dyke breach. Further, the optimal computational spatial step (?x) and time step (?t) for the model were found to be 500m and 1 minute respectively. For this condition no instability of the model simulation was observed. Key words: Nzoia River , MIKE 11 hydrodynamic model, Budalangi, floodplains, river hydraulics, unsteady flow


A simple, accurate and precise procedure for the quantitation of itazigrel (a potent lipophilic inhibitor of collagen and arachidonic acid-induced aggregation being studied for its effects on peripheral vascular disease) from granulated rodent diet is presented. The drug was extracted from rodent diet using methanol + water (80:20) following dissolution of the diet in water. Samples of the supernatant were injected into the HPLC and the eluent was monitored with a fluorescent detector (lambda ex = 320 and lambda em = 430) to achieve analytical specificity. Interday coefficients of variation of the calibration curve slope were +/- 6% on standards between 0 and 1000 micrograms/g. Potency and homogeneity of the drug spiked diet prepared over a 1 year interval at 70, 200 and 600 micrograms/g was 99.3 +/- 2.5%, 100 +/- 1.8%, and 101 +/- 1.9% of label, respectively. Samples prepared for chromatography were stable for 24 h at 20 degrees C, and drug in diet was stable for 102 days when protected from light and stored at 20 degrees C.


To improve the strength properties of vanadium bearing low carbon steel, nitrogen is often added to the liquid steel. The source of the nitrogen addition can be in many different forms. The recovery of nitrogen from the addition is variable due to the low solubility of nitrogen in steel. In this work, nitrogen-enriched alloy (Nitrovan) was added under open atmosphere. To deduce the nitrogen role, two alloys were chosen that having the same vanadium content. One of them was Ferro-Vanadium as a source of vanadium, whereas Nitro-Vanadium used as a source of vanadium and nitrogen. Ferro-vanadium as well as Nitro-vanadium was added separately in the ladle after completely melting of carbon steel and proper superheat using 100 Kg induction furnace. The effect of adding nitrogen-enriched alloy on mechanical properties of the steel was investigated. For this purpose, four heats were produced and cast into sand moulds. The general trend of results shows higher mechanical properties through increasing nitrogen content. The experimental work indicates that enhanced nitrogen content promotes the precipitation of V(C,N) and decreases the particles size of V(C,N) precipitates. Also, under the same level of vanadium content, the tensile strength and yield strength of the nitrogen-enhanced steels increases consistently compared to the steels added 80% Ferro-Vanadium. An empirical formula, correlating the mechanical properties of the steel and its composition, was obtained.


Though Woman Wisdom has often been viewed as a positive
 figure for feminism, I will show that the picture is much grimmer. The article
 has two parts. First, I will demonstrate that the personification of wisdom
 reinscribes the typical ideology of the time along gender, social class, and
 racial lines. The eroticization of wisdom as female actually excludes the woman
 from the search for truth and knowledge because it assumes its adherents are
 male. Woman Wisdom is shown to be upper class, while Folly is poor. And Woman
 Wisdom is shown to be xenophobic in her preference for Jewish boys. Second,
 wisdom/folly, the dominant dichotomy of these chapters, will be shown to
 deconstruct, showing how both Woman Wisdom and Folly are inextricably connected
 and partake of each other's identity. The boundary between the two begins to
 blur.


We describe a symmetric continuous-time model of trading among relatively overconfident, oligopolistic informed traders with exponential utility. Traders agree to disagree about the precisions of their continuous flows of Gaussian private information. The price depends on a trader's inventory (permanent price impact) and the derivative of a trader's inventory (temporary price impact). More disagreement makes the market more liquid; without enough disagreement, there is no trade. Target inventories mean-revert at the same rate as private signals. Actual inventories smoothly adjust toward target inventories at an endogenous rate which increases with disagreement. Faster-than-equilibrium trading generates "flash crashes" by increasing temporary price impact. A "Keynesian beauty contest" dampens price fluctuations.


Self-triggered sampling is an attractive paradigm for closed-loop control over energy-constrained wireless sensor networks (WSNs) because it may give substantial communication savings. The understanding of the performance of self-triggered control systems when the feedback loops are closed over IEEE 802.15.4 WSNs is of major interest, since the communication standard IEEE 802.15.4 is the de-facto reference protocol for energy-efficient WSNs. In this paper, a new approach to control several processes over a shared IEEE 802.15.4 network by self-triggered sampling is proposed. It is shown that the sampling time of the processes, the protocol parameters, and the scheduling of the transmissions must be jointly selected to achieve a good performance of the closed-loop system and an energy-efficient utilization of the network. The challenging part of the proposed analysis is ensuring globally uniformly ultimately boundedness of the controlled processes while providing efficient scheduling of the process state transmissions. Such a scheduling is difficult when asynchronous multiple control loops share the network, because transmissions over IEEE 802.15.4 are allowed only at certain time slots. The proposed approach establishes that the joint design of self-triggered samplers and the network protocol 1) ensures globally uniformly ultimately boundedness of each control loop, 2) reduces the number of sensor transmissions, and 3) increases the sleep time of the transmitting nodes. A new dynamic scheduling problem is proposed for the joint control of each process and network protocol adaptation. An algorithm is derived, which adapts the network parameters according to the self-triggered sampler of every control loop. Numerical examples illustrate the analysis and show the benefits of the approach. It is concluded that self-triggered control strategies over WSNs ensure desired control performance, reduce the network utilization, and reduce energy consumption only if the protocol parameters are appropriately regulated.


This study examines how income volatility in households affects their level of medical deprivation. Using SIPP data from 2002-2003, the study compares the relationship between medical hardship of households and measures of income volatility, such as the variation of average income, and the largest monthly negative income shock, over a period of 12 months. The study also examines the interaction between medical deprivation and the percent of months in which household members had no health insurance. Using a logistic regression model, this study shows that income volatility as well as household members having no health insurance affect the predicted probability of medical deprivation. Gaining a stronger understanding of the interaction between income fluctuations and material hardships, including medical deprivation, will allow policy makers to better understand influences on the well-being of low-income families.


First published in 1796, Camilla deals with the matrimonial concerns of a group of young people-Camilla Tyrold and her sisters, the daughters of a country parson, and their cousin Indiana Lynmere-and, in particular, with the love affair between Camilla herself and her eligible suitor, Edgar Mandlebert. The path of true love, however, is strewn with intrigue, contretemps and misunderstanding. An enormously popular eighteenth-century novel, Camilla is touched at many points by the advancing spirit of romanticism. As in Evelina, Fanny Burney weaves into her novel strands of light and dark, comic episodes and gothic shudders, and creates a pattern of social and moral dilemmas which emphasize and illuminate the gap between generations. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.


Background: Surgical lung biopsy is considered a gold standard for the evaluation of pulmonary disease in immunocompromised children. However, in the literature, its accuracy and the rate of complications vary. Objective: We aimed to evaluate the yield of surgical lung biopsies in the management of persistent pulmonary findings in immunocompromised children. Methods: We performed a retrospective review of clinical records of immunocompromised children who underwent surgical lung biopsies, and evaluated the impact that preoperative factors had on outcomes. Results: Twenty-five patients underwent 27 surgical lung biopsies. The underlying immunodeficiency included allogeneic stem cell transplantation (n = 12), chemotherapy for solid tumors (n = 6), hematologic malignancy (n = 4), primary immunodeficiency (n = 4) and chronic steroid use (n = 1). Biopsies provided a specific histopathologic or microbiologic diagnosis in 10 cases (37%). No preoperative factor predicted a diagnostic biopsy. Five of the 27 biopsies were beneficial for the patients (18%). A major complication related to the procedure was reported for 1 biopsy (4%). Conclusions: We conclude that surgical lung biopsy in pediatric immunocompromised patients appears to be safe, but has a relatively low diagnostic yield and an even lower yield with regards to the benefit it provides. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel


This paper explores the building blocks of an institutional framework to govern borrowing by subnational entities to finance infrastructure investment. The framework should help in achieving sustainable financing of development needs and sound management of fiscal risks. Based on international experience, the authors suggest a minimum set of indicators for monitoring fiscal and debt developments. Recognizing the different nature and operations of the subnational entities, they propose specific indicators for special purpose vehicles and the government's general budget. The paper outlines an analytical framework to inform policy decisions concerning subnational debt limits, which are country-specific and should not be mechanically applied. Basic notions underpinning medium-term macro-fiscal frameworks and debt sustainability analyses provide effective guidance for identifying prudent levels of subnational debt. The authors argue that developing fiscal and debt indicators and setting borrowing limits should be part of a broader strategy to put in place an adequate fiscal architecture to coordinate and monitor the budgetary and borrowing policies conducted by individual subnational governments. Consistent with this general principle, they explore several areas of subnational public finance and management that need to be addressed with adequate governance structures and policy choices.


By using a shot noise process, general results on system size in continuous time are given both in transient state and in steady state with discussion on some interesting results concerning special cases. System size before arrivals is also discussed.


This paper will elaborate upon the model of the Italian Learning City of Lucca and Trieste, recently entered in the Global Network of the Learning Cities of the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning. In a learning city citizens and institutions must participate to achieve global goals and the mission of the SDGs 2030 Agenda and lifelong learning objectives. Regarding the construction of a learning city the UNESCO UIL has given guidelines and best practices to help this transformation, which manifest as a unique process in every city. Through the Italian policies on adult education and the local administrative decent-ralization has been possible the integration of the UNESCO learning city model with the experiences of Lucca and Trieste on national territory. The involvement of stakeholders is a fundamental step to transform the city, in a city that learns. The actors involved included a wide variety of subjects like civil society, schools and businesses. The question aims to answer how it is built and implemented in a learning city or smart city the stakeholders' network. The hypothesis is that through the comparison of Lucca and Tri-este, the best practices produced will emerge. The data are interpreted through: main goals of the learning cities, issues in the community learning activities, barriers of collaboration of stakeholders, forms of collecting and sharing knowledge in the city. Taking into account the UNESCO UIL guidelines. Every learning city needs participation involving all stakeholders and to include all citizens facing challenges at many levels. It will therefore be essential for administrations to reduce the barriers to participation, meet the needs of its population and create learning events to share and acquire knowledge.


The possibility of using the quasi-optical waveguide modeling (QWM) method in the near millimeter and submillimeter ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum for a study of the backward and forward scattering amplitude and phase characteristics of physical objects or scaled models is discussed in the paper. The method is realized with the aid of a quasi-optical waveguide microcompact range (MCR). The microwave part of MCR is based on the regular section of a hollow dielectric waveguide (HDW) and corresponding quasi-optical components. The results of measurements of backward and forward scattering characteristics for a number of standard objects in the 4-mm wavelength band are presented.


How much does the appearance of a house, or its neighbors, impact its price? Do events that impact the incentives facing homeowners, like foreclosure, impact the maintenance and appearance of a home? Using computer vision techniques, we find that a one standard deviation improvement in the appearance of a home in Boston is associated with a .16 log point increase in the home's value, or about $68,000 at the sample mean. The additional predictive power created by images is small relative to location and basic home variables, but external images do outperform variables collected by in-person home assessors. A home's value increases by .4 log points, when its neighbor's visually predicted value increases by one log point, and more visible neighbors have a larger price impact than less visible neighbors. Homes that went through foreclosure during the 2008-09 financial crisis experienced a .04 log point decline in their appearance-related value, relative to comparable homes, suggesting that foreclosures reduced the incentives to maintain the housing stock. We do not find more depreciation of appearance in rental properties, or more upgrading of appearance by owners before resale.