ABSTRACT Contrary to common contemporary usage, alluvial fans are a naturally unique phenomenon readily distinguishable from other sedimentary environments, including gravel-bed rivers, on the basis of morphology, hydraulic processes, sedimentologic processes, and facies assemblages. The piedmont setting of alluvial fans where the feeder channel of an upland drainage basin intersects the mountain front assures that catastrophic fluid gravity flows and sediment gravity flows, including sheetfloods, rock falls, rock slides, rock avalanches, and debris flows, are major constructional processes, regardless of climate. The unconfinement of these flows at the mountain front gives rise to the high-sloping, semiconical form that typifies fans. The plano-convex cross-profile geometry inherent in this f rm is the inverse of the troughlike cross-sectional form of river systems, and precludes the development of floodplains that characterize rivers. The relatively high slope of alluvial fans creates unique hydraulic conditions where passing fluid gravity flows attain high capacity, high competency, and upper flow regime, resulting in sheetfloods that deposit low-angle antidune or surface-parallel planar-stratified sequences. These waterlaid facies contrast with the typically lower-flow-regime thick-bedded, cross-bedded, and lenticular channel facies, and associated floodplain sequences, of rivers. The unconfinement of flows on fans causes a swift decrease in velocity, competency, and capacity as they attenuate, inducing rapid deposition that leads to the angular, poorly sorted textures and short radii typical of fans. This condition is markedly different than for rivers, where sediment gravity flows are rare and water flows remain confined by channel walls or spill into floodplains, and increase in depth downstream. The distinctive processes that construct alluvial fans, coupled with the secondary surficial reworking of their deposits, yield unique facies assemblages that permit the easy differentiation of fan sequences even where the geomorphic context has been lost, including in the rock record. The fault-proximal piedmont setting critical for their preservation makes properly identified alluvial-fan deposits in the rock record an invaluable tool for reconstructing and interpreting the tectonic and stratigraphic evolution of ancient sedimentary basins and their contained register of Earth history.


Despite the potential for the use of the Ogallala Formation as a constraint on the sedimentary response to uplift of the Southern Rocky Mountains during the Tertiary, primary age and provenance data for New Mexico Ogallala units are sparse. The current estimated depositional age of the southern Ogallala is between ~13 and 5 Ma based on vertebrate biochronology in the northeastern part of the Llano Estacado in west Texas. In an effort to improve the age constraints, detrital sanidine (DS) 40 Ar/ 39 Ar geochronology is utilized on samples from the western escarpment of the Llano Estacado and elsewhere in NM. Coupling DS age and associated K/Ca data (determined from measuring 39 Ar/ 37 Ar) and comparing this to age and K/Ca data of regional volcanic units allows estimates of maximum depositional age (MDA) and provenance. This information is utilized to better understand the evolution of the Pecos River system. DS data were determined from the Bridwell and Couch formations of the Ogallala Group near Lubbock, TX (samples courtesy of Dr. Tom Lehman). Based on biostratigraphy, the Bridwell formation is Hemphillian (10.3-4.9 Ma) and the Couch is Clarendonian (13.6-10.3 Ma). DS data yield an MDA of 6.77 Ma thus restricting the sampled interval of the Bridwell to no older than 6.77 Ma In contrast, the MDA of the Couch formation sample is 27.1 Ma with no Miocene DS grains detected. Four Miocene DS grains are found in samples from Mescalero Ridge in SE New Mexico and they provide an 11.44 MDA for Ogallala Formation in this area. The combined DS data and lithologic (eolian) similarities suggest that the Ogallala of SE New Mexico is correlative to the upper Couch Formation of west Texas. The 6-8 Ma youngest grains in the Bridwell formation indicate a New Mexico Peralta tuff source, whereas significant late Cretaceous DS grains are likely derived from reworked Cretaceous or younger sedimentary rocks. The 11.44 Ma DS grains from the Llano Estacado may be derived from Socorro area volcanics or perhaps much more distal Yellowstone Hotspot Track eruptions in Idaho, although long transport of sanidine is tephra is problematic. As a whole there are multiple DS ages between the Oligocene and Eocene that could reflect derivation from several regional volcanic fields. In detail, age and K/Ca data of Trans-Pecos volcanic field sanidines provide the best matches to some of the DS data, thereby implying an overall southern source for the Ogallala sediments. This coupled with paleocurrent data supports a north flowing paleo-Pecos river system that has been proposed by Cather (2011). Several samples from north-central New Mexico that are mapped as Ogallala yield Pleistocene DS ages with grains likely sourced from Valles Caldera eruptions. The young ages demonstrate the difficulty of correctly mapping the Ogallala and suggest that these units are likely either the Blackwater Draw or Blanco formation.


This paper presents a large-scale typological study of over 500 Nilo-Saharan and Niger-Congo vowel inventories, both with and without ATR harmony. The survey reveals: i) ATR contrasts in high vowels correlate with a strong likelihood of ATR harmony; ii) the vowel system /i e ɛ a ɔ o u/ (termed 1IU in Casali 2008) does not correlate well with ATR harmony. In Nilo-Saharan, such systems do not show ATR harmony, and in Niger-Congo, the majority of such systems also do not have harmony. The survey results are interpreted in terms of perceptual distance, driven by inventory contrast. High vowel ATR contrasts are perceptually more difficult than mid contrasts and activate harmony. In languages that lack mid vowel contrasts, [+ATR] harmony derives allophonic [e o] from /ɛ ɔ/. In languages that lack high vowel contrasts, mid vowel contrasts do not present enough of a perceptual difficulty to reliably activate harmony. If harmony is present, it tends to operate only between mid vowels and does not generate allophonic high vowels.


Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), a multifunctional growth factor produced by bone marrow stromal cells, is known to be a potent modulator of hematopoiesis. Because bFGF is present in both human megakaryocytes (MKs) and platelets, we have hypothesized that this growth factor might affect human megakaryocytopoiesis. To test this hypothesis, either low density bone marrow (BM) cells (LDBM), a human BM subpopulation (CD34+ DR+) enriched for the colony-forming unit megakaryocyte (CFU-MK) or a BM subpopulation (CD34+ DR-) enriched for the more primitive burst-forming unit megakaryocyte (BFU-MK) were assayed in the presence of this growth factor. The effect of bFGF on MK colony formation differed according to the cell population assayed. bFGF alone had on MK colony-stimulating activity (MK-CSA) when either CD34+ DR+ or CD34+ DR- BM cells were cloned, but exhibited MK-CSA equivalent to that of interleukin-3 (IL-3) when LDBM cells were used as the target cell population. The MK-CSA of bFGF was inhibited by the addition of neutralizing antisera to either IL-3 and/or granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) but not IL-6. The addition of excess amounts of either IL-3 or GM-CSF to cultures containing bFGF plus anti-IL-3 or anti-GM-CSF reversed the inhibition by the corresponding antisera. The addition of bFGF and IL-3 to assays containing CD34+ DR+ or CD34+ DR- cells increased the size of both CFU-MK- and BFU-MK-derived colonies, respectively, when compared with assays containing IL-3 alone. This increase in MK colony size mediated by bFGF was not affected by addition of either an anti-GM-CSF or anti-IL-6 neutralizing antisera. When LDBM cells were assayed, bFGF alone increased CFU-MK-derived colony size when compared with control values. However, this potentiation of MK colony size by bFGF could be reversed by the addition of either anti-IL-3 or anti-GM-CSF but not anti-IL-6 antisera. In addition, the effects of bFGF and IL-3 on the size of MK colonies cloned from LDBM were not additive. These results suggest that bFGF affects human megakaryocytopoiesis by directly promoting MK progenitor cell proliferation and stimulating BM accessory cells to release growth factor(s) with MK-CSA, such as IL-3 and GM-CSF. We conclude that bFGF, likely produced by cellular components of the BM microenvironment, plays an important role in the control of human megakaryocytopoiesis.


Ultrasound diagnosis of the nasal accessory sinuses is an easy and rapid technique without side-effects for the patients. Basic techniques are demonstrated allowing examination of the maxillary and frontal sinuses. Furthermore, functional approaches are reported which in some cases can produce better results than radiography.


We study the relationship between international trade, technology, and the probability and consequences of job displacement, using data on displaced workers as well as those at risk of job dislocation for 1984-86 and 1989-91. Workers employed in industries with elevated import shares and high levels of investment in computers appear to have increased rates of job loss, with the results for export penetration varying on the time period examined. These risks do not, however, translate into unfavorable postdisplacement labor market outcomes. Indeed, there is some evidence that individuals displaced from export-oriented sectors have fewer adjustment problems than the generality of dislocated workers, while those terminated from sectors investing heavily in computer technologies are more likely to retain health insurance coverage. That being said, our findings are frequently sensitive to the choice of specifications and time periods.


The European Union greenhouse gas emission reduction target can be achieved only by applying efficient technologies, which give reliable results in a very short time. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) into geological formations covers capturing CO2 at the large point sources, its transportation and underground deposition. The CCS technology is applicable to different industries (natural gas processing, power generation, iron and steel production, cement manufacturing, etc.). Due to huge storage capacity and existing infrastructure, depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs are one of the most favourable storage options. In order to give overall cross section through CCS technology, implementation status and other relevant issues, the chapter covers EU regulation, technology overview, large-scale and pilot CCS projects, CO2-enhanced oil recovery (EOR) projects, geological storage components, CO2 storage capacity, potential CO2 migration paths, risk assessment and CO2 injection monitoring. Permanent geological sequestration depends on both natural and technical site performance. Site selection, designing, construction and management must ensure acceptable risk rates of less than 1% over thousands of years.


This researcher suggested a model that links between charismatic leadership and affective commitment in the body of literature. A systematic review exposed the same words that were deliberately used by previous scholars and emerged from both Affective Commitment and Charismatic Leadership articles. A vigorous selection process of 30 most relevant articles was carefully conducted, although many articles were rejected during the process. The previous studies (e.g., Vandenberghe and Bentein 2009, and Sokoll 2014) came short on linking the two concepts. However, there are some limitations to this study include, some studies could not pass through the rigorous selection process in this study, and therefore some useful information may have been missed. Also, the study considered work only published and peered reviewed articles, therefore some good papers could have missed out. However, to limit these drawbacks, the researcher consulted a wide range of databases and publication dates were stretched between 1966 and 2018, to accommodate all potential articles. The researcher suggests more research is needed to establish this result and quantitative approach is suggested considering the keywords as moderators and find the strength of the relationship.


This thesis is the main product of a Masters degree in Health Science, written by a student at the Department of Social Work and Health Science at Norwegian University of Science and Technology. The thesis discusses sickness presenteeism in general and sickness presenteeism among nurses in particular. Nursing is one of the occupations that are more exposed to sickness presenteeism. Despite this, very little research has yet been done on this correlation – in Norway, almost none. The thesis consists of two articles.The first article presents the concept of sickness presenteeism along with existing theories and research in general and concerning nurses. This is a theoretical article, in which the purpose is to identify why sickness presenteeism is not an ideal situation for nurses and which work-related factors that influence sickness presenteeism among nurses. The research question for this article is "What work-environmental factors have an influence on nurses sickness presenteeisem?"The second article is an empirical article and is done in connection with a survey of nurses' sickness presenteeism within a Norwegian hospital. The survey examines the connection between sickness presenteeism and the use of substitutes, different working time arrangements and the influence of teamwork. The purpose of this article is to assess how the three work-environmental factors influences nurses' sickness presenteeism, conducted with the help of three hypotheses. These are:H1: Working-time arrangements have an influence on sickness presenteeismH2: Low extent of using substitutes is related to higher level of sickness presenteeismH3: Good working relationship between co-workers is related to higher level of sickness presenteeismThe empirical work for this master's thesis has been conducted using a quantitative method. This method was chosen based on a desire to investigate the extent, distribution and differences within sickness presenteeism among nurses. A quantitative method gives an opportunity to investigate a larger group of nurses, and obtain results that can also be valid for other nurses. If a qualitative method were to be used, it would not have been possible to collect information from the same number of nurses and the results would most likely not represent nurses in general because of assumed differences between nurses. By using a qualitative method I was also able to compare the results with results from similar studies done in other countries. Still, the quantitative method has little room for a flexible approach to theory, and does not provide information about what might cause the sickness presenteeism. I still found this method to be the most suitable for what I wanted to achieve in this master's thesis. A survey based on questions used by other researchers with an interest in the same field, was used to collect data. Using questions that others had already used made the results easier to compare, and also acted as some kind of quality control to the questions I first developed. The choices made concerning the survey, items and analysis is further described in chapter 2.0 Method of my empirical article. The strength and limitations of the method is discussed in chapter 4.1 Strengths and limitations of that same article.


We estimate the effects of a large-scale, randomized grassroots campaign designed to combat vote-buying in the 2016 election in Uganda. Our design and data collection allow us to estimate how candidates and their brokers respond to the campaign in treatment and spillover areas and how the effects of the campaign vary with local treatment intensity. Contrary to our expectations, the campaign did not reduce the extent to which voters accepted cash and gifts in exchange for their vote. However, it led opposition candidates to increase their votebuying and policy-campaigning efforts, and it had sizeable effects on electoral outcomes, with opposition candidates benefiting from the campaign at the expense of incumbent candidates. Consistent with these effects, we present evidence that the campaign diminished the effectiveness of vote-buying transactions by shifting local social norms against vote-selling and by convincing some voters to vote in their conscience, regardless of any gifts received.


When CAD (Computer Aided Design) was generally adopted in the early 1990's, the hand drawn process was replaced with the CAD drawing but the nature of the artefacts / deliverables and the exchanges of information between disciplines remained fundamentally the same. The deliverables remained 2D representations of 3D forms and Specifications and Bill of Quantities. However, the building industry is under great pressure to provide value for money, sustainable design and construction. This has propelled the adoption of Building Information Modelling (BIM). BIM is a foundational tool for a team based lean design approach. It can enable the intelligent interrogation of design; provide a quicker and cheaper design production; better co-ordination of documentation; more effective change control; less repetition of processes; a better quality constructed product; and improved communication both for the architectural practice and across the supply chain.
As BIM enables a new of working methodology, it entails the change in perceiving artefacts used and deliverables produced in the design and construction stages. In other words, defining what the informational issues are, who does what and who is responsible for what and the level of detail required at each stage in design and construction is critically important to adopt and implement BIM in the construction sector.
This paper presents the key findings through the action research methodology about the change in the nature of artefacts and deliverables resulting from the BIM adoption in the KTP (Knowledge Transfer Partnership) project undertaken by the University of Salford and John McCall Architects.


Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L.) germplasm consisting 167 accessions including one check cultivar was evaluated for qualitative and quantitative traits. The present study was conducted to investigate genetic diversity and correlation among studied genotypes of B. juncea L. based on agro-morphological at NARC, Islamabad, Pakistan. To investigate the genetic diversity based on morphological characters, data was recorded on 20 quantitative and 12 qualitative traits. The calculated data was analyzed through two complementary methods, i.e. PCA (Principal Component Analysis) and cluster analysis. Among all the studied cultivars, significant diversity was recorded for different agro-morphological characters. Among all the parameters, maximum variance was recorded for pod shattering (427.2) followed by plant height (345.6), days to 100% flowering (336.2) and main raceme length (210.0). Among all the characters, the greatest and highly significant association (0.99) was found between days to maturity 50% and days to maturity 100% followed by correlation (0.86) among days to flowering 50% and days to flowering 100%, correlation value (0.71) was calculated among leaf length and leaf width. Using cluster analysis all the genotypes were divided into five major groups. It was observed that 7 out of 20 principal components with an Eigen value of ≥1.0 calculated for 73.92% of the total diversity observed between 167 accessions of Indian mustard (B. juncea L.). The contribution of first three PCs in the total PCs was 23.25, 12.87 and 11.24, respectively. Among all the investigated accessions two genotypes 26,813 and 26,817 showed great potential for seeds/silique, 1000-seed weight and seed yield/plant, respectively, so these genotypes are recommended for future breeding programs for achieving promising results.


The deep peroneal nerve is also known as the deep fibular nerve. It originates after the bifurcation of the common peroneal nerve between the upper segment of the peroneus longus and the head of the fibula. The common peroneal nerve (spinal nerves L4 through S1) itself originates from the bifurcation of the sciatic nerve (spinal nerves L4 through S3) which terminates at the apex of the popliteal fossa into the common peroneal and the tibial nerve after wrapping around the neck of the fibula., After bifurcation from the common peroneal nerve, the deep peroneal nerve then traverses deep to the extensor digitorum longus and runs on the anterior surface of the interosseous membrane. In the middle of the leg, it is in close association with the anterior tibial artery and then descends with the artery to lie in front of the ankle joint. Here, it gives off the lateral and medial terminal branches. The medial terminal branch accompanies the dorsalis pedis and runs on the dorsum of the foot reaching the first interosseous space where it divides into digital nerves that supply the side of the great and second toes. The lateral terminal branch runs beneath the extensor digitorum brevis and gives off interosseous branches that supply the tarsal and metatarsophalangeal joints.


PURPOSE
Well-differentiated metastatic endocrine carcinomas are difficult to manage because of variable disease outcome. New prognostic factors are required. These tumors overexpress somatostatin receptors (sst), implying the use of somatostatin analogs for tumor localization by somatostatin receptor scintigraphy using indium-111-pentetreotide ((111)In-pentetreotide) and for medical treatment. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the correlation between (111)In-pentetreotide scintigraphy, sst receptor expression, and prognosis.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Between 1994 and 2002, 48 consecutive patients with well-differentiated endocrine carcinomas and a negative (111)In-pentetreotide scintigraphy were retrospectively paired according to sex, age, and tumor localization with 50 patients with well-differentiated endocrine carcinomas and a positive tracer uptake at (111)In-pentetreotide scintigraphy. Overall survival and expression of sst1 to sst5 receptors by immunohistochemistry were assessed.

RESULTS
The lack of tracer uptake at the (111)In-pentetreotide scintigraphy seemed to be a poor prognostic factor (P = .007) for overall survival by Kaplan-Meier test and in multivariate analysis; age and absence of clinical secretory syndrome also seemed to be poor prognostic factors. The tracer uptake (positive (111)In-pentetreotide scintigraphy) correlated with the tumor expression of somatostatin receptor sst2 (P < .001) but not with that of sst1, sst3, sst4, or sst5. In a bivariate analysis, lack of sst2 expression also significantly correlated with poor prognosis.

CONCLUSION
We demonstrate the prognostic value of (111)In-pentetreotide scintigraphy in well-differentiated malignant endocrine tumors. In these tumors, sst2 somatostatin receptor expression correlates with both tracer uptake and a better prognosis.


The identification of lithic transport in the British Lower and Middle Palaeolithic is unusual. Three examples are given from the localities of Wolvercote, Boscombe and Red Barns, where rare or exotic raw material has been used to produce plano-convex handaxes. In two cases the raw material sources are at least 25km away. The correlation between exotic or rare raw material and handaxe form is argued to be due to greater curation and the regular resharpening of these artefacts. It is also suggested that large flake blanks have often been used as part of this process, which may have contributed to the plano-convex form. Both the curation of the artefacts and the use of flake blanks can be seen as an economising measure in areas of otherwise poor quality or rare raw materials. Full reference: Ashton, N. 2008. Transport, curation and resharpening of lithics in the Lower Palaeolithic. Lithics: The Journal of the Lithic Studies Society 29: 6–17. Keywords: Lower Palaeolithic, plano-convex handaxes, resharpening, Greensand chert, Solent River


This article explores the economic ideas of indigenous Triqui children who sold artisanal goods in Oaxaca, Mexico. I approached the investigation of economic ideas by focusing on the ways in which children interacted with customers while trying to sell their goods. Using observations and interviews, I found that as children tried to convince customers to buy goods, they generated spontaneous economic ideas about the value of goods. This study provides an exploratory first step to understanding children's development of economic ideas through everyday activity and reveals nuances in economic ideas that would otherwise remain hidden.


BACKGROUND AND AIMS
The phenomenon of self-assembly, widespread in both the living and the non-living world, is a key mechanism in sporoderm pattern formation. Observations in developmental palynology appear in a new light if they are regarded as aspects of a sequence of micellar colloidal mesophases at genomically controlled initial parameters. The exine of Persea is reduced to ornamentation (spines and gemmae with underlying skin-like ectexine); there is no endexine. Development of Persea exine was analysed based on the idea that ornamentation of pollen occurs largely by self-assembly.

METHODS
Flower buds were collected from trees grown in greenhouses over 11 years in order to examine all the main developmental stages, including the very short tetrad period. After fixing, sections were examined using transmission electron microscopy.

KEY RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS
The locations of future spines are determined by lipid droplets in invaginations of the microspore plasma membrane. The addition of new sporopollenin monomers into these invaginations leads to the appearance of chimeric polymersomes, which, after splitting into two individual assemblies, give rise to both liquid-crystal conical 'skeletons' of spines and spherical micelles. After autopolymerization of sporopollenin, spines emerge around their skeletons, nested into clusters of globules. These clusters and single globules between spines appear on a base of spherical micelles. The intine also develops on the base of micellar mesophases. Colloidal chemistry helps to provide a more general understanding of the processes and explains recurrent features of pollen walls from remote taxa.


Objective: Parental responses to children's pain are related to how youth cope with chronic pain. However, little research has explored cultural differences in the 4 major pain response categories (ie, protect, minimize, distract, and monitor). This study compared parental responses to children's pain between minority parents (ie, black, Hispanic, multiracial) and parents of white children. Materials and Methods: Participants included 234 patients, ages 8 to 17, with chronic pain (73.5% female; age M [SD]=13.91 [2.38]; 50% white, 15.39% black, 20.90% Hispanic, 13.68% multiracial). Patients' parents completed the Adult Responses to Children's Symptoms. Parental responses included: protect, monitor, minimize, and distrct. For between-group comparisons, white participants (N=117) were matched on age and sex with black (N=36), Hispanic (N=49), and multiracial (N=32) participants. Results: Paired-samples t tests revealed that protectiveness was higher for parents of black children (t48=−3.84, P<0.001, black M [SD]=1.93 [0.69], white M [SD]=0.94 [0.77], Cohen d=1.09) and parents of Hispanic children (t71=−7.10, P<0.001, Hispanic M [SD]=1.65 [0.76], white M [SD]=0.94 [0.77], Cohen d=1.52) compared with parents of white children. In addition, parents of black children (t40=−2.90, P=0.006, black M [SD]=3.55 [0.49], white M [SD]=2.89 [0.93], Cohen d=0.80) and parents of Hispanic children (t71=−3.62, P<0.001, Hispanic M [SD]=3.35 [0.69], white M [SD]=2.89 [0.93], Cohen d=0.81) were significantly more monitoring their children than were parents of white children. Parents of Hispanic children were also significantly more minimizing than parents of white children (t71=−3.68, P<0.001, Hispanic M [SD]=0.88 [0.75], white M [SD]=0.51 [0.58], Cohen d=0.80). No other significant differences were found. Discussion: Results highlight the need to adapt pediatric chronic pain interventions to family culture and context. Further research is needed to understand pediatric chronic pain from a cross-cultural perspective.


Over 2 million people suffer from mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) each year. Predicting symptoms of mTBI and the characterization of those symptoms has been challenging. Biomarkers that correlate clinical symptoms to disease outcome are desired to improve understanding of the disease and optimize patient care. BMX, a member of the TEC family of nonreceptor tyrosine kinases, is upregulated after traumatic neural injury in a rat model of mTBI. The objective of this investigation was to determine if BMX serum concentrations can effectively be used to predict outcomes after mTBI in a clinical setting. A total of 63 patients with mTBI (Glasgow Coma Score [GCS] between13-15) were included. Blood samples taken at the time of hospital admission were analyzed for BMX. Data collected included demographic and clinical variables. Outcomes were assessed using the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) questionnaire at baseline and 6 weeks post-injury. The participant was asssigned to 'case group' if the subject's complaints of dizziness became worse at 6th week assessment; otherwise, the participant was assigned to 'control group '. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was constructed to explore BMX level. Significant associations were found between serum levels of BMX and dizziness. Areas under the curve (AUCs) for prediction of change in DHI post-injury were 0.76 for total score, 0.69 for physical score, 0.65 for emotional score and 0.66 for functional score. Specificities were between 0.69 and 0.77 for total score and emotional score, respectively. Therefore, BMX demonstrates potential as a candidate serum biomarker of exacerbating dizziness after mTBI.


Southeastern Spain is a cosmopolitan area where there is a growing British and Irish population. The objective is to analyze the attitude toward organ donation among British and Irish citizens living in southeastern Spain. A sample was taken stratified according to a respondent's country of origin (n = 1700) between November 2005 and April 2006. Attitude was evaluated using a validated questionnaire, which was self‐administered and completed anonymously. A sample of 2000 Spanish citizens was used as a control group. The survey completion rate was 95% (n = 1611). Attitude toward donation is favorable in 72% (n = 1155) of respondents with 8% (n = 122) against and 20% (n = 334) undecided. Attitude is more favorable than in the control group (72% vs. 63%; p < 0.0001). The following factors influence this attitude: (1) attitude toward the donation of a family member's organs (OR = 4.891); (2) having discussed the matter of organ donation within the family (OR = 2.513); (3) a willingness to accept an autopsy if it were necessary (OR = 1.706); (4) having no concern about the mutilation of the deceased donor (OR = 3.294); (5) having a partner who is in favor of donation (OR = 2.786) and (6) a respondent's belief that he or she might need a transplant in the future (OR = 2.243). The attitude of this population is more positive than in the native Spanish population and is determined by many psychosocial factors.


Classical methods for characterizing supported artificial phospholipid bilayers include imaging techniques such as atomic force microscopy and fluorescence microscopy. The use in the past decade of surface-sensitive methods such as surface plasmon resonance and ellipsometry, and acoustic sensors such as the quartz crystal microbalance, coupled to the imaging methods, have expanded our understanding of the formation mechanisms of phospholipid bilayers. In the present work, reflective interferometric Fourier transform spectrocopy (RIFTS) is employed to monitor the formation of a planar phospholipid bilayer on an oxidized mesoporous Si (pSiO(2)) thin film. The pSiO(2) substrates are prepared as thin films (3 μm thick) with pore dimensions of a few nanometers in diameter by the electrochemical etching of crystalline silicon, and they are passivated with a thin thermal oxide layer. A thin film of mica is used as a control. Interferometric optical measurements are used to quantify the behavior of the phospholipids at the internal (pores) and external surfaces of the substrates. The optical measurements indicate that vesicles initially adsorb to the pSiO(2) surface as a monolayer, followed by vesicle fusion and conversion to a surface-adsorbed lipid bilayer. The timescale of the process is consistent with prior measurements of vesicle fusion onto mica surfaces. Reflectance spectra calculated using a simple double-layer Fabry-Perot interference model verify the experimental results. The method provides a simple, real-time, nondestructive approach to characterizing the growth and evolution of lipid vesicle layers on the surface of an optical thin film.


Background: Blood flow is a vital and an essential factor in human life that can affect the whole body organs and systems. Many electrical currents have been shown to produce long term effects on vascularization at the capillary level. Micocurrent is one of these currents. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the effects of different frequencies of microcurrent electrical stimulation (MES) on resistivity index (RI) and blood flow in normal subjects. Methods: Thirty normal subjects, with the mean age of 28.77 (SD= ± 3.501) years and the mean body mass index of 23.20 (SD= ± 1.332) kg/m2 were assigned randomly to two equal groups: group (A) to receive high frequency MES (125 Hz, 30 min) or group (B) to receive low MES (40 Hz, 30 min). All subjects were assessed for RI, total blood flow volume, mean blood flow velocity and peak systolic velocity using Ultrasonic Doppler before and immediately after microcurrent application.Results: Intragroup comparison showed significant differences in both groups before and immediacy after microcurrent application regarding RI, total blood flow volume, mean blood flow velocity and peak systolic velocity in posterior tibial artery (P<0.05). In comparison to group (B), group (A) showed significant reduction in RI while total blood flow volume, mean blood flow velocity and peak systolic velocity showed no significant difference as the mean difference for all variables were (0.075, 0.088, 0.904, 8.011), respectively.Conclusion: In normal subjects, both high frequency and low frequency MES are beneficial in improving blood flow.In addition, high frequency MES decreases RI more than low frequency MES.


Abstract The purpose of this varied replication study was to evaluate the effects of a supplemental reading intervention on the beginning reading performance of kindergarten students in a different geographical location and in a different instructional context from the initial randomized trial. A second purpose was to investigate whether students who received the intervention across both the initial and replication studies demonstrated similar learning outcomes. Kindergarten students (n = 162) identified as at risk of reading difficulty from 48 classrooms were assigned randomly at the classroom level either to a commercial program (i.e., Early Reading Intervention; Pearson/Scott Foresman, 2004) that included explicit/systematic instruction (experimental group) or school-designed typical practice intervention (comparison group). Both interventions were taught by classroom teachers for 30 min per day in small groups for approximately 100 sessions. Multilevel hierarchical linear analyses revealed no statistically significant differences between conditions on any measure. Combined analyses that included students from both the initial and replication studies suggested that differences in the impact of the intervention across studies were largely explained by mean differences in the comparison group students' response to school-designed intervention.


The M variant of encephalomyocarditis virus (EMC) infects pancreatic beta cells and causes the development of a diabetic syndrome in susceptible strains of mice. By examining four F1 crosses of susceptible and resistant strains of mice, we found that the development of diabetes after infection was inherited as a recessive trait. Analysis of the data from the F2 generation indicated that more than one gene was involved in the development of EMC-diabetes. The severity and frequency of abnormal glucose levels in EMC-infected animals was markedly influenced by environmental factors.


Abstract. In comparison to other sources of water supply, rainwater harvesting (RWH) has the typical advantages of being cheaper and easier to operate and maintain. This study aimed at assessing the hydrologic rainwater harvesting potential of rural schools in South Africa by obtaining RWH storage capacity (level of supply) reliability relationships of representative schools. Thirty-two schools located in three rural areas that have varied rainfall characteristics were selected for the analysis. For each school, a daily time-step behaviour analysis of the rainwater harvesting system with a specified storage was carried out for a period of 101 years (over which rainfall data was available) and the number of days that the school's daily water demand was met in each year obtained. Using the Weibull plotting position formula, the expected number of days that the demand can be met per year was then obtained for 85, 90 and 95 % reliability. For the two summer rainfall regions where a large proportion of rain falls during school holidays, the expected number of days of supply per year improved up to a storage capacity of 25 m3. For the winter rainfall region where the rainfall periods and school learning times have more co-incidence, a tank volume of 5 m3 obtained similar supply levels as larger capacities. At 90 % reliability, the supply levels for different schools in the summer rainfall area with a mean annual precipitation (MAP) of 800–1000 mm/year ranged from 60 to 120 days per year, while the summer rainfall region with a lower MAP (500–600 mm) gave supply levels ranging from 40 to 70 days per year. The winter rainfall area had a MAP of 500–600 mm and obtained supply levels ranging from 60 to 80 days at 90 % reliability.


This paper discusses the issue of taxation and redistribution in economies dominated by Elites with limited state capacity. Within a simple aggregate framework, we discuss the political economy incentives of Elites to tax, redistribute and increase state capacity. In particular, the analysis highlights the role of complementarities or substitutability in the production process between the factors controlled by the Elite and other social groups and shows the existence of natural increasing returns for Elites to increase state capacity. The paper also discusses how the incentives for state capacity building are affected by political threats of power shifting.


The History of Architecture has been all about religious buildings. With distribution of sources of power and wealth, new paradigms have emerged. Architecture today is about villas, skyscrapers, stadiums, etc. as well as churches. The financial support of the church is not in the same way as in middle ages; neither the way in which they are used. The question of this thesis project is this transformation of an architectural tradition and how it should be adjusted to our time's conditions.


Despite the wide public and scientific interest in antioxidant nutrients and their roles in disease prevention, limited data are available to assess population consumption, individuals' intake patterns, and trends in exposure. This article reviews data on levels of these nutrients in the food supply, intake patterns from food and supplement use derived from national surveys, and trends in exposure. The food supply and intake data indicate that levels of vitamins E and C and the carotenoids in the diet have increased since the 1970s, but the increases are not consistent among all age groups. Dietary supplements make a major contribution to intakes of vitamins E and C. Nutrient and nonnutrient antioxidants added to the food supply do not contribute appreciably to antioxidant exposure. Groups at high risk of poor dietary intakes of antioxidant nutrients are the poor, tobacco users, nonsupplement users, and the elderly, especially those living alone.


The scalable video coding extensions of the High Efficient Video Coding (HEVC) standard (SHVC) have adopted a new quadtree-structured coding unit (CU). The SHVC test model (SHM) needs to test seven intermode sizes and one intramode size at depth levels of "0," "1," "2," and four intermode sizes and two intramode sizes at a depth level of "3" for interframe CUs. It checks all possible depth levels and prediction modes to find the one with the lowest rate distortion cost using the Lagrange multiplier method in the mode decision procedure to achieve high coding efficiency at the expense of computational complexity. Furthermore, it utilizes the conventional approach for the base layer (BL) and enhancement layer (EL) coding to support SNR/spatial scalable coding. Both the intralayer and interlayer predictions should be performed for each EL CU. Although there is a large amount of interlayer redundancy that can be exploited to speed up the EL encoding, the mode decision procedure is independently performed for the BL and the ELs. In this paper, we propose a content-adaptive mode decision algorithm to reduce the SHVC complexity at the ELs. When the major characteristics of the CUs, such as mode complexity and motion activity, can be estimated early and used for adjusting the mode decision procedure, unnecessary mode and CU size searches can be avoided. First, an experimental analysis is performed to study the interlayer and spatiotemporal correlations in the coding information and the interlevel correlations among the quadtree structures. Based on these correlations, three parameters, including the conditional probability of a SKIP/Merge mode, motion activity, and mode complexity, are defined to describe the video content and are further utilized to adaptively adjust the EL mode decision procedure. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can reduce the coding time for ELs by 62%–67% with less than a 1.5% Bjontegaard rate increase compared to the original SHVC encoder.


The HIV situation remains a challenge with an expected 36.7 million people infected. In Uganda more than 1,300,000 to 1,600,000 people were living with HIV/AIDS in 2015 out of 44.27 million Ugandans (UNAIDS, 2017), enrolling 230 HIV new infections daily. Despite of the endeavors in HIV/AIDS testing, linkage and enrolment remains a major challenge, adding to a majority testing positive without linkage to care. With this background, the study focused on the analysis of current prevalence rate, opportunistic infections, deaths, and attitude of those tested positive towards enrolling for treatment. The study also examined issues of stigma, denial, distance, negligence, and ignorance. The objectives of the study were to assess the linkage time lag between the time of testing and the time of actual enrollment of clients that test HIV positive. It also aimed to check the reported linkages and actual enrollments and to examine the reasons as to why those linked for care don't enroll for HIV care services.


The U.S. Cooperative Extension System (USCES) faces some serious challenges. Its relevancy and necessity are under continuous scrutiny as the number of farmers and the political power of the agricultural vote diminishes. These challenges provide an excellent opportunity to explore alternative sources of funding for the USCES and methods of technology transfer to farmers. Our objectives were to review the process and results of commercialization (the transition to user-paid consultancy) and privatization (the transition from government to privately owened) of New Zealand's agricultural extension service. Full commercialization of the New Zealand extension service took nearly 9 yr (1986 to 1994) and 3 yr (1992 to 1995) of negotiating before it was sold to a private company. During the commercialization process, the market for paid advisors increased and many of them left the public extension service to become private agricultural consultants. Many farmers were initially unwilling to pay for consultancy services. On the other hand, implementation of advice and adoption of new technologies has been greater among farmers when advice and technology are purchased than when they are provided free. Since the commercialization of publicly funded extension, farmer cooperatives and commodity boards have begun to provide free or low cost services to transfer information to farmers. Educational models and goals, and client-advisor relationships have also changed as a result of user-pays. The commercialization and privatization of publicly funded agricultural extension is a relatively new process and its affect on the long-term sustainability of agriculture within a country are uncertain. Consequently, additional in-depth investigation into the process and its long-term consequences on agricultural productivity, profitability, and social well-being should be completed before initiating such a plan in the USA.


Background: The relationship between serum homocysteine levels and cardiovascular diseases has been elucidated since many years ago. In this study, the association between serum levels of homocysteine, folic acid, and vitamin B 12 with the pulse wave velocity and Buckberg index or subendocardial viability ratio was assessed in individuals with diabetes and also non-diabetic subjects. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 58 individuals with type 2 diabetes and 36 nondiabetic people, from April to October 2013 were enrolled in Dr. Shariati Hospital affili-ated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Anthropometric and blood pressure meas-urements were performed with standard methods. Fasting serum glucose, total cholester-ol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, Triglyceide, A 1 C, vitamin B 12 , folic acid and serum homocysteine levels as well as, highly sensitive complement-reactive protein (hs-CRP) were measured. Artherial stiffness was assessed by calculating pulse wave velocity and aortic agumentation index via Sphygmocor. In addition, Buckberg index (Subendocardial viability ratio) was assessed by dividing myo-cardial oxygen supply to dimand expressed as percent. The normality of distributions was evaluated by Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and linear regression models were utilized to de-tect associations. Results: Diabetic and non-diabetic subjects differed in terms of age, history of hypertension, serum levels of homocysteine, and LDL-C (P< 0.05). The pulse wave velocity in subjects with diabetes and without diabetes were 60.91 m/s and 41.91 m/s, respectively (P= 0.01). After adjustment for confounding factors in multivariate regression analysis pulse wave velocity was associated with age and homocysteine levels in non-diabetic group, (β equal to 0.441 and 0.345, respectively), and it was related to age, diastolic blood pressure and serum levels of c-reactive protein in subject with diabetes (β= 0.417, 0.302, and 0.262, respectively). Conclusion: Homocysteine levels in non-diabetic individuals were associated to subclinical atherosclerosis markers but we could not find this association in diabetic partici-pants. Abstract w n l oaded t


Developmental differences in phonological and orthographic processing in Chinese were examined in 9 year olds, 11 year olds, and adults using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Rhyming and spelling judgments were made to 2-character words presented sequentially in the visual modality. The spelling task showed greater activation than the rhyming task in right superior parietal lobule and right inferior temporal gyrus, and there were developmental increases across tasks bilaterally in these regions in addition to bilateral occipital cortex, suggesting increased involvement over age on visuo-orthographic analysis. The rhyming task showed greater activation than the spelling task in left superior temporal gyrus and there were developmental decreases across tasks in this region, suggesting reduced involvement over age on phonological representations. The rhyming and spelling tasks included words with conflicting orthographic and phonological information (i.e., rhyming words spelled differently or nonrhyming words spelled similarly) or nonconflicting information. There was a developmental increase in the difference between conflicting and nonconflicting words in left inferior parietal lobule, suggesting greater engagement of systems for mapping between orthographic and phonological representations. Finally, there were developmental increases across tasks in an anterior (Broadman area [BA] 45, 46) and posterior (BA 9) left inferior frontal gyrus, suggesting greater reliance on controlled retrieval and selection of posterior lexical representations.


Based on the experience of surgical treatment in 124 patients with renal form of primary hyperparathyroidism, the author gives a description of peculiarities of parathyroidectomy technic. Positive results of the treatment were obtained in 32 of 35 patients with spontaneous discharge of concretions. In bilateral nephrolithiasis postoperative recurrences, solitary stones the effect of the treatment depends both on renal surgery and therapy of pyelonephritis, nevertheless postoperative recurrences in these patients were 2.5 times as rare as in routine therapy.


OBJECTIVE
This study examined the impact of future friends and the contribution of different social influence and selection processes in predicting adolescents' smoking behaviour by extending the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). We investigated the impact of previous smoking, direct pressure from friends, descriptive norms of present and future friends, smoking-based selection of future friends, and distinguished between reciprocal and desired friends.

DESIGN
A longitudinal design with three measurements was used. METHODSL: The sample consisted of 1,475 Dutch high school students (mean age = 12.7 years) that participated as a control group in the European Smoking prevention Framework Approach study at three measurements.

RESULTS
Structural equation modelling revealed that adolescent smoking was influenced by intention, previous smoking, descriptive norms of parents and siblings, and that desired as well as reciprocal friends were selected based on similar smoking behaviour. Future friends indirectly influenced adolescent smoking through intention, as did attitude, subjective norms of parents and siblings, previous smoking, and descriptive norms of reciprocal friends and siblings.

CONCLUSIONS
The present results suggest that descriptive norms and selection of friends need to be considered as major factors explaining smoking behaviour among adolescents besides the TPB components. These insights contribute to the further refinement of smoking prevention strategies.


Dead wood has been identified as a crucial component for forest biodiversity. Recent research has improved our understanding of habitat relations for many species associated with dead wood. However, the consequences for forest management are yet to be explored. In this review we build upon the growing volume of studies on dead wood dependent species, the dynamics of dead wood and ecological theory in order to identify the challenges for forest management at the landscape level. The review has a Fennoscandian focus, but the problems and challenges are similar in many forest ecosystems. We argue that it is necessary to 1) counteract the current shortage in availability of dead wood, 2) concentrate planning at the landscape level in order to minimize isolation and reduce edge effects, 3) create a variety of dead wood types, and 4) utilise available quantitative analytical tools. This calls for new approaches to management that to a large extent includes available knowledge, and to find platforms for planning forested landscapes with diverse holdings.


In this volume we investigate the macroeconomic aspects of labour market behaviour and its microfoundations. In the first part we deal with aggregate labour market trends and issues relevant to macroeconomic policy. The second part analyses in more detail labour flexibility, namely labour market flows, long-term unemployment and labour force deprivation. The third part addresses wage flexibility and relative wages, with special attention paid to regional unemployment elasticity of wages and returns to education. Worsening labour market performance can be seen especially in a rising NAIRU, declining labour mobility, labour deprivation due to long-term unemployment, skill mismatch and emerging signs of inflexibility in wage structures. Our conclusions are of use for both macroeconomic and labour market policies, signalling, among other messages, limitations on potential output growth stemming from deteriorated labour market performance and a need for institutional and structural changes rather than counter-cyclical policies to solve the unemployment problem in the Czech Republic. JEL Codes: E24, J21, J30, J31, J44, J61, J62, J63, J64, J65.


Excerpt] Over the past decade, organizations have begun to move away from traditional performance management processes (annual reviews, assigned performance ratings, a link to compensation) to remove "performance ratings" based on the perception that traditional PM is not working. • As of 2015, more than 55 companies have removed performance ratings. Among those are some highprofile companies such as GE, Microsoft, Accenture, etc. (see Appendix A). • According to a study of 244 companies in 2016, almost all companies in the study use ongoing feedback, 52% of companies have adopted ratingless reviews, and 34% of companies use ratingless reviews and ongoing feedback. • 80% of participating organizations say that managers make decisions how to allocate rewards without ratings while staying within budget constraints. The perceived impact of these new performance practices is high: 90% of companies that have redesigned performance management see direct improvements in engagement, 96% say processes are more simple, and 83% say they see the quality of conversations between employees and managers increasing. It is noteworthy that the positive impact may not all be attributed to the removal of performance ratings.


Equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) was conducted using the die with a 90° angled channel under routes A, BC and C for hot extruded AZ91 magnesium alloy. Tensile tests were carried out at 300 °C and initial strain rates ranging from 2×10−4 to 5×10−3 s−1. The experimental results show that different routes have obviously effect on elongation to failure. It is found that the highest elongation to failure is 410 % at a strain rate of 2×10−4 s−1 for the ECAPed AZ91 alloy with route BC. At the same strain rate, route BC can bring the greater superplasticitic deformation compared with routes A and C. Moreover, the strain rate sensitivity coefficient m values of about 0.3 to 0.5 are attained for the ECAPed AZ91 alloys with different routes. For the ECAPed AZ91 alloys, the main superplastic deformation mechanism is the grain boundary sliding, while the main accommodation mechanism is the dislocation creep mechanism controlled by the grain boundary diffusion.


The mating system of the canopy Brazilian Atlantic rain forest tree Cryptocarya moschata was studied at Parque Estadual Carlos Botelho, Sao Miguel Arcanjo, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Outcrossing rates were determined through electrophoretic allozyme markers from seedlings germinated of seed cohorts collected from 35 trees. An indirect estimate of the outcrossing rate at equilibrium gave a mean of t^eq = 0.51. Direct single locus and multilocus outcrossing rate estimates were t^s = 0.725 ± 0.041 and t^m = 0.884 ± 0.034, respectively, indicating a predominant outcrossing mating system. Individual trees outcrossing rates ranged from 27 to 100 (x¯ = 87.8) percent, from t^m calculated by holding the population pollen allele frequency constant for each family. From Ritland's "sibling-pair" model (correlated mating model), correlation of selfing (r^s) and correlation of outcrossing paternity (r^p) were 35.7% and 99.0%, respectively. These results corroborate the fact that there is variation in selfing rates among different trees, but it may also have indicated that when there is inbreeding, most seeds in the trees are likely to be full-sibs.


One of HBO's television series Sex in the City's major attractions is its obvert defence of women's independence in a context in which thirtysomething single white (or otherwise) females are regarded as a social anomaly and are still judged and, above all, valued according to their capacity to find a partner and become wives and mothers. Like other examples of post-feminist or chick-lit fiction, however, Sex and the City's defence of female independence stops short of fully embracing spinsterhood has a fulfilling option for women. This paper focuses on the limitations of postfeminist fiction to escape the patriarchal conventions that still regulate social interaction in both the public and the private spheres.


INTRODUCTION
In the last decade, laparoscopy has been progressively introduced in the management of advanced-stage ovarian cancer (AOC) to evaluate tumor resectability, avoiding an explorative laparotomy, to identify non-responders to submit to second-line chemotherapy and to perform primary or interval minimally invasive debulking surgery in selected patients. This review aims to deeply focus on the differences between laparoscopy and laparotomy in the management of advanced ovarian cancer.

EVIDENCE ACQUISITION
The electronic database search provided a total of 80 results. Out of these, 63 results were excluded because considered not relevant to the review, for linguistic reasons or case reports. A total of 17 articles were considered eligible for the review.

EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS
Many studies have assessed the value of laparoscopy in predicting the optimal resectability of AOC patients avoiding exploratory laparotomies. More recently, its role in primary and interval cytoreduction has been investigated for selected patients in terms of safety, feasibility and oncological outcomes. Published data are comparable to the standard laparotomic management in terms of oncological outcomes but with improved perioperative and psychological results. The selection of patients is crucial to perform a successful surgery.

CONCLUSIONS
To date, laparoscopy has replaced the primary laparotomic approach in the evaluation of optimal resectability. As far as primary and interval minimally invasive debulking surgery are concerned, instead, most of the works report an overlap of oncological outcomes compared to traditional surgery. The selection of patients is a crucial point to reach a successful minimally invasive surgical treatment, taking into account surgical complexity and surgical adequacy.


Background Linezolid is recommended for treating drug-resistant tuberculosis. Adverse events are a concern to prescribers but have not been systematically studied at the standard dose, and the relationship between linezolid exposure and clinical toxicity is not completely elucidated. Patients and Methods We conducted an observational cohort study to describe the incidence and determinants of linezolid toxicity, and to determine a drug exposure threshold for toxicity, among patients with rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis in South Africa. Linezolid exposures were estimated from a population pharmacokinetic model. Mixed-effects modelling was used to analyse toxicity outcomes. Results 151 participants, 63% HIV-positive, were enrolled and followed for a median of 86 weeks. Linezolid was permanently discontinued for toxicity in 32 (21%) participants. Grade 3 or 4 linezolid-associated adverse events occurred in 21 (14%) participants. Mean haemoglobin concentrations increased with time on treatment (0.03 g/dL per week; 95% CI, 0.02 to 0.03). Linezolid trough concentration, male sex, and age (but not HIV-positivity) were independently associated with a decrease in haemoglobin > 2 g/dL. Trough linezolid concentration of 2.5 mg/L or higher resulted in optimal model performance to describe changing haemoglobin and treatment-emergent anaemia (adjusted odds ratio 2.9; 95% CI, 1.3 to 6.8). Single nucleotide polymorphisms 2706A>G and 3010G>A in mitochondrial DNA were not associated with linezolid toxicity. Conclusions Permanent discontinuation of linezolid was common, but linezolid-containing therapy was associated with average improvement in toxicity measures. HIV co-infection was not independently associated with linezolid toxicity. Linezolid trough concentration of 2.5 mg/L should be evaluated as a target for therapeutic drug monitoring.


Purpose. To review our first 30 patients who underwent anterior cervical fusion using IntExt and xenograft. Methods. Records of 23 men and 7 women aged 18 to 83 (mean, 40) years were reviewed by a single researcher. 23 patients had traumatic fracture-dislocations and 7 had degenerative disease. Pain, range of movement, neurological status, return-to-work status, kyphosis, and lordosis were recorded. Radiography and computed tomography were used to assess integration of the xenograft with the host bone, intervertebral fusion around the cage, and any screw loosening. Results. The mean follow-up duration of the 30 patients was 14 (range, 1–47) months. There was no evidence of screw loosening or breakage. 20 of the 28 patients had no neck pain. Radiographs and/or computed tomographic scans of 23 patients showed bone union or clinical evidence of stability. Conclusion. The IntExt is effective in stabilising traumatic fractures. Although the literature does not support single-level plating in degenerative fractures (because of high success rates with autologous bone grafting), the IntExt has advantages of avoiding grafting complications, donor-site morbidity, and resorting to a postoperative collar.


Like other recent work in the field of generative-transformational grammar, this book developed from a realization that many problems in linguistics involve semantics too deeply to be solved insightfully within the syntactic theory of Noam Chomsky's Aspect of the Theory of Syntax. Dr Jackendoff has attempted to take a broader view of semantics, studying the important contribution it makes to the syntactic patterns of English.The research is carried out in the framework of an interpretive theory, that is, a theory of grammar in which syntactic structures are given interpretations by an autonomous syntactic component. The book investigates a wide variety of semantic rules, stating them in considerable detail and extensively treating their consequences for the syntactic component of the grammar. In particular, it is shown that the hypothesis that transformations do not change meaning must be abandoned; but equally stringent restrictions on transformations are formulated within the interpretive theory.Among the areas of grammar discussed are the well-known problems of case relations, pronominalization, negation, and quantifiers. In addition, the author presents semantic analyses of such neglected areas as adverbs and intonation contours; he also proposes radically new approaches to the so-called Crossover Principle, the control problem for complement subjects, parentheticals, and the interpretation of nonspecific noun phrases.


OBJECTIVE
To estimate herd-level sensitivity (HSe), specificity (HSp), and predictive values for a positive (HPVP) and negative (HPVN) test result for several testing scenarios for detection of tuberculosis in cattle by use of simulation modeling.

SAMPLE POPULATION
Empirical distributions of all herds (15,468) and herds in a 10-county area (1,016) in Michigan.

PROCEDURE
5 test scenarios were simulated: scenario 1, serial interpretation of the caudal fold tuberculin (CFT) test and comparative cervical test (CCT); scenario 2, serial interpretation of the CFT test and CCT, microbial culture for mycobacteria, and polymerase chain reaction assay; scenario 3, same as scenario 2 but specificity was fixed at 1.0; and scenario 4, sensitivity was 0.9 (scenario 4a) or 0.95 (scenario 4b), and specificity was fixed at 1.0.

RESULTS
Estimates for HSe were reasonably high, ranging between 0.712 and 0.840. Estimates for HSp were low when specificity was not fixed at 1.0. Estimates of HPVP were low for scenarios 1 and 2 (0.042 and 0.143, respectively) but increased to 1.0 when specificity was fixed at 1.0. The HPVN remained high for all 5 scenarios, ranging between 0.995 and 0.997. As herd size increased, HSe increased and HSp and HPVP decreased. However, fixing specificity at 1.0 had only minor effects on HSp and HPVN, but HSe was low when the herd size was small.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Tests used for detecting cattle herds infected with tuberculosis work well on a herd basis. Herds with < approximately 100 cattle should be tested more frequently or for a longer duration than larger herds to ensure that these small herds are free of tuberculosis.


The industries established by refugees who arrived in Britain before, and to a smaller extent, during and after World War II have become part of the industrial history of the Special or Development Areas of the North of England and of their efforts to change their industrial structure. The foundation of these industries was closely connected with the establishment of Government-financed factories and with the provision of other inducements aimed at facilitating this change. The causes and effects of the industrial decline and of the depression which forced the State to intervene are examined, as also the first Special Areas legislation of 1934 and of the Government-financed factories on Trading Estates and elsewhere which resulted from this legislation. The problem of finance for the new ventures and partial solutions are briefly outlined. The Special Areas Amendment Act 1937 and its consequences are discussed. The appearance of refugees in Britain after 1933 cannot be properly understood without some discussion of the background. We give, therefore, a brief outline of the origin of the refugee problem and discuss British policies towards refugees at some length. We examine public and private attitudes and trace the development of the refugee problem in the light of political events in Europe after 1933. We contrast the welcome given to refugee industrialists with the general policy, provided they were willing to settle in one of the depressed areas of Britain. The start of refugee industries in the North is described next, as are some of their problems, both those which were intrinsic and those which were created by the War. The work of the Refugee Industries Committee is examined in some detail. Post-War developments of firms started before and after the War are briefly described. Next, we are summing up the information arising from the Case Histories which we collected. We discuss aspects of the settlement of refugee industries and justify our view that this settlement has been successful. The Case Histories of all firms founded by refugees and still in existence in the North on 1 November 1974 follow, as also brief notes on firms which were no longer in existence on that date. Our study ends with some general conclusions. The appendices provide data in support of some of our findings, as also some documents which are unlikely to be available even to the more specialised students of this general subject.


Representations of the city have typically focused on urban dichotomies such as renewal or decline, poverty or prosperity, and politics or culture. These simplistic portrayals leave many fundamental questions unanswered. What constitutes a city? What images and discourses are used to construct it? What makes city dwellers succeed or fail? Discussing recent visual, architectural and spatial transformations in New York and other major world cities in relation to the themes of ethnicity, capital, and culture, Re- Presenting the City moves between interpretative representations of the newly emerging metropolis and the theoretical and methodological questions raised by the task of representation itself. Contributors from an wide range of backgrounds--urban planning, philosophy, sociology, folklore studies, cultural studies and architecture--reflect on the construction of both the real and the unreal city, the images, metaphors and discourses through which the contemporary city is represented, and the texts which both mediate our experience of, as well as contribute to producing, the city of the future.


In a previous work we presented a compressed imaging approach that uses a row of rotating sensors to capture indirectly polar strips of the Fourier transform of the image. Here we present further developments of this technique and present new results. The advantages of our technique, compared to other optically compressed imaging techniques, is that its optical implementation is relatively easy, it does not require complicate calibrations and that it can be implemented in near-real time.


Introduction The Medicine Bow Mountains lie south of the Union Pacific Railroad and about 40 miles west of the city of Laramie, in southeastern Wyoming. They extend southward into Colorado. A short alpine ridge, known as the Snowy Range, rising to an elevation of 12,000 feet, surmounts a broad plateau which varies from 9,000 to 10,000 feet in elevation and is intrenched by canyons. The plateau, partly margined by fault-line scarps, is nearly surrounded by a broad, terraced plain that has been eroded from outcrops of Cretaceous shales by streams and wind. In spite of its ready accessibility, this interesting range has been strangely neglected by geologists until the last decade. In 1868 Hague 2 made a reconnaissance, noted the general character and distribution of the rocks, and offered a tentative interpretation of the internal structure. Van Hise 3 crossed the range on horseback in three days in 1889 and thereby added . . .


Abstract Background  The anterolateral thigh free flap is an option for repairing soft tissue defects of the distal lower extremity. This flap uses the descending branch of the lateral circumflex femoral (LCF) artery as the flap vessel. The recipient vessel in these flaps is often the anterior tibial (AT), posterior tibial (PT), or peroneal (P) arteries. Computational fluid dynamic (CFD) evaluation of anastomoses between these vessels can optimize outcomes. Methods  Thirty-eight CFD models were created to model end-to-side (ETS) and end-to-end (ETE) anastomoses for lower extremity reconstruction. Seven out of thirty-eight models represented ETS anastomoses between the LCF and AT arteries with varying anastomotic angles. Nine out of thirty-eight models represented 45-degree ETS anastomoses between varying diameters of the LCF and AT, PT, and P arteries. Nine out of thirty-eight models represented stenosis on the flap vessel and recipient vessel, pre- and post-bifurcation. Nine out of thirty-eight models represented ETE anastomoses, rather than ETS, with varying vessel diameters. Four out of thirty-eight models represented ETE anastomoses with varying regions and levels of stenosis. Results  Stasis of blood flow in ETS models increased as anastomotic angle increased in a logarithmic relationship ( R 2  = 0.918). Flow was optimized overall as flap and recipient vessel diameters approached one another. In ETS models, flap vessel and postbifurcation recipient vessel stenosis were found to substantially increase stasis. Conclusion  Selection of flap and recipient vessels with similar diameters can optimize outcomes in microvascular anastomoses. In the context of lower extremity reconstruction with the ALT flap, the PT artery can be recommended as a first-line recipient vessel due to its similar vessel caliber to the LCF and relative ease of surgical access compared with the P artery. Avoidance of areas of stenosis is recommended to ensure laminar flow and reduce the operative difficulty associated with performing anastomoses on nonpliable arteries. Striving for increased acuity of anastomotic angles is recommended to optimize the flow in ETS microvascular anastomoses.


UNLABELLED
The feasibility of imaging pentose cycle (PC) glucose utilization in human gliomas with PET was explored in two rat glioma models by means of glucose radiolabeled in either the carbon-1 (C-1) or carbon-6 (C-6) position.

METHODS
In vitro, monolayers of T-36B-10 glioma, tissue slices of intracerebral glioma grafts or slices of normal brain were fed [1-14C]glucose or [6-14C]glucose, and the generated [14C]CO2 was trapped to quantitate the ratio of [14C]CO2 from 14C-1 versus 14C-6. In vivo, rats bearing grafts of either T-36B-10 or T-C6 rat gliomas at six subcutaneous sites received simultaneous intravenous injections of either [1-11C]glucose and [6-14C]glucose, or [1-14C]glucose and [6-11C]glucose. Tumors were excised between 5 and 55 min postinjection to quantify tracer uptake while arterial plasma was collected to derive time-activity input curves.

RESULTS
In vitro, the C-1/C-6 ratio for CO2 production from T-36B-10 monolayers was 8.8 +/- 0.4 (s.d.), in glioma slices it was 6.1 +/- 2.1 and in normal brain slices it was 1.1 +/- 0.7. PC metabolism in T-36B-10 was 1.8% +/- 0.5 of total glucose utilization. In vivo, tumor radioactivity levels normalized by plasma isotopic glucose levels showed that retained C-1 relative to C-6 radiolabeled glucose was significantly lower in both gliomas, 4.9% lower in T-36B-10 (p < 0.01) and 4.7% lower in T-C6 (p < 0.01). In an additional group of rats bearing T-36B-10 gliomas and exposed to 10 Gy of 137Cs irradiation 4 hr before isotope injection, the C-1 level was 5.6% lower than that for C-6 (p < 0.05). These results were analyzed with a model of glucose metabolism that simultaneously optimized parameters for C-1 and C-6 glucose kinetics by simulating the C-1 and C-6 tumor time-activity curves. The rate constant for loss of radiolabeled carbon from the tumors, k4, was higher for C-1 than for C-6 in all groups of rats (19% higher for T-36B-10 unirradiated, 32% for T-36B-10 irradiated and 32% for T-C6 unirradiated).

CONCLUSION
Mathematical modeling, Monte Carlo simulations and construction of receiver-operator-characteristic curves show that if human gliomas have a similar fractional use of the PC, it should be measurable with PET using sequential studies with [1-11C]glucose and [6-11C]glucose.


Recent work on privacy-preserving machine learning has considered how datamining competitions such as Kaggle could potentially be "hacked", either intentionally or inadvertently, by using information from an oracle that reports a classifier's accuracy on the test set (Blum and Hardt 2015; Hardt and Ullman 2014; Zheng 2015; Whitehill 2016). For binary classification tasks in particular, one of the most common accuracy metrics is the Area Under the ROC Curve (AUC), and in this paper we explore the mathematical structure of how the AUC is computed from an n-vector of real-valued "guesses" with respect to the ground-truth labels. Under the assumption of perfect knowledge of the test set AUC c=p/q, we show how knowing c constrains the set W of possible ground-truth labelings, and we derive an algorithm both to compute the exact number of such labelings and to enumerate efficiently over them. We also provide empirical evidence that, surprisingly, the number of compatible labelings can actually decrease as n grows, until a test set-dependent threshold is reached. Finally, we show how W can be efficiently whittled down, through pairs of oracle queries, to infer all the groundtruth test labels with complete certainty.


Six rats, working in a 2�C ambient temperature, were trained to depress a lever to receive a brief period of heat. Four rats were then moved into the 2�C environment to live, while the others continued to live at room temperature. Living at a temperature of 2�C increased the number of heat presentations the animals delivered to themselves.


In this paper the investigations concerning deposition of aluminium and aluminium nitride coatings by Arc-PVD method were presented. The tests were done on samples made of martensitic stainless steel EI962 (11H11N2W2MF) type. The aluminium base coatings are corrosion resistant in many environments and are anodic in comparison with most of steel. For this reason those coatings are expected to form a replacement for cadmium galvanic coatings. The main parameters of aluminium base coatings deposition by Arc-PVD processes were presented. Influence of Arc-PVD parameters on Al-AlN composite coatings structure was described. The models of Al-AlN composite coatings and Al/Al-AlN multilayer coatings as well as the scanning electron microscope microstructure and profile chemical composition by GDOS analysis of the coatings deposited on EI962 stainless steel were shown.


237Np (~2.14 × 10^6 yr half-life) is potentially applicable in studies on nuclear safeguards and radioactive waste migration. The atomic ratio of 237Np/U in nature is 10^–12 or even lower, depending strongly on the integral neutron flux received by the material. As an ultra-sensitive technique, accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) is the best for measuring ultratrace 237Np. By extracting negative molecular ions NpO– from the oxide sample using 238UO– and 208Pb16O2– pilot beams for the simulation of 237Np ion transport, identifying the interference isotopes by high-resolution dedicated injector, electrostatic analyzer, and time of flight (TOF) detector, a method for AMS measurement of 237Np was set up on the HI-13 accelerator at the China Institute of Atomic Energy (CIAE). A sensitivity of <10^–11 has been achieved for the isotopic ratio 237Np/238U. DOI:  10.2458/azu_js_rc.55.16224


In change detection (CD) of medium-resolution remote sensing images, the threshold and clustering methods are two kinds of the most popular ones. It is found that the threshold method of the expectation maximum (EM) algorithm usually generates a CD map including many false alarms but almost detecting all changes, and the fuzzy local information c-means algorithm (FLICM) obtains a homogeneous CD map but with some missed detections. Therefore, we aim to design a framework to improve CD results by fusing the advantages of threshold and clustering methods. Experimental results indicate the effectiveness of the proposed method. * Corresponding author


We present the results of studies of seismicity in the Reggio Emilia area (Northern Italy). The Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica instrumental earthquake catalogue (1975-1996) reported about three moderate-size earthquakes with M ³ 4.5 that occurred in this area (November 1983, May 1987, October 1996). The RTL prognostic parameter proposed by Sobolev and Tyupkin (1996a) was used for analysis. This parameter is designed in such a way that a seismic quiescence produces negative anomaly of the RTL parameter in comparison to its perennial background level and an activation of seismicity initiates the growth of its value. The RTL prognostic parameter indicates that all three earthquakes are preceded by activation of the seismicity. The interval between the commencement of the activation identified by RTL parameter and the event itself was about one year for the 1987 and 1996 earthquakes, and about three months for the 1983 earthquake.


Intrauterinc fetal demise is a source of anxiety to both patient and physician. Heretofore, the standard treatment was either careful observation until the patient went into labor or attempt at induction of labor with oxytocin. Unfortunately, oxytocin stimulation has not proven to be uniformly successful for this problem. Prostaglandin E2 suppositories have been shown to be effective in inducing uterine evacuation after intrautcrinc fetal demise. In the opinion of the authors, this approach will in the future replace the sometimes dangerous and emotionally laden convention of watchful delayed therapy.


Author(s): Sweeney, Bethany E. | Advisor(s): Godzich, Wlad | Abstract: This dissertation analyzes the Christian Quiverfull movement, focusing on its underlying ideology, how that ideology is created and disseminated, and its similarity with certain aspects of broader U.S. culture. In doing so, it examines the written and visual texts produced and distributed by the movement. Though the dissertation covers a wide range of materials, including sermons, books, blog posts, films, and educational materials, its most significant focus is on the reality TV shows on which Quiverfull adherents appear, as those provide the most conspicuous example of Quiverfull belief and practice. To respond effectively to the Quiverfull use of this and other platforms, the dissertation combines techniques based in both literature and ethnography. This allows it to establish the broad boundaries of Quiverfull community as demonstrated by its textual production, to engage directly with the self-representation that the Quiverfull community practices, to situate that community within its larger cultural context, and to document and evaluate the textual practices that the Quiverfull movement uses to engage public audiences and attract them to its ideology. By using such methods, the dissertation documents not only the parameters of the worldview to which the Quiverfull movement adheres but also the methods by which they devise those parameters. It argues that the Quiverfull movement employs a model of reading that involves first establishing fundamental principles and then instructing its adherents to learn its worldview by teaching them to approach Scripture and other key texts as though engaging in a scavenger hunt. Using this model, readers discover the clues that lead to the construction of essential truths, verifying them and coming to embrace them through a process of identifying and understanding all items given on the scavenger hunt list, with the process ultimately leading to full membership in the community. Finally, the dissertation discusses how echoes of the Quiverfull method of approaching texts can be seen in broader U.S. culture, suggesting that the Quiverfull movement is not nearly as aberrant to dominant culture as it is often treated in public discourse.


BACKGROUND AND IMPORTANCE Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors are the most common malignant mesenchymal tumors of soft tissues, but they are very rare when found to arise from a cranial nerve and when not in association with neurofibromatosis. These tumors are highly malignant and carry a poor prognosis with survival usually less than 6 months. CLINICAL PRESENTATION The authors report the case of a 23-year-old female with no history of phakomatoses, previous irradiation, or known genetic disorders, who presented with a malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor of the vestibulocochlear nerve and brainstem. Multiple staged skull base approaches were carried out with maximal possible resection. Adjunctive therapies including standard radiation therapy, intensity-modulated radiation therapy, and stereotactic gamma knife radiosurgery were used with an ultimate patient survival of 27 months. CONCLUSION To our knowledge, this is the first report describing a patient with a malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor of the vestibulocochlear nerve and brainstem treated with staged surgical approaches in conjunction with multiple forms of radiotherapy and having a significant survival of more than 2 years. ABBREVIATIONS CN: cranial nerve MPNST: malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor NF: neurofibromatosis SRS: stereotactic radiosurgery


A-to-I RNA editing by adenosine deaminases acting on RNA is a post-transcriptional modification that is crucial for normal life and development in vertebrates. RNA editing has been shown to be very abundant in the human transcriptome, specifically at the primate-specific Alu elements. The functional role of this wide-spread effect is still not clear; it is believed that editing of transcripts is a mechanism for their down-regulation via processes such as nuclear retention or RNA degradation. Here we combine 2 neural gene expression datasets with genome-level editing information to examine the relation between the expression of ADAR genes with the expression of their target genes. Specifically, we computed the spatial correlation across structures of post-mortem human brains between ADAR and a large set of targets that were found to be edited in their Alu repeats. Surprisingly, we found that a large fraction of the edited genes are positively correlated with ADAR, opposing the assumption that editing would reduce expression. When considering the correlations between ADAR and its targets over development, 2 gene subsets emerge, positively correlated and negatively correlated with ADAR expression. Specifically, in embryonic time points, ADAR is positively correlated with many genes related to RNA processing and regulation of gene expression. These findings imply that the suggested mechanism of regulation of expression by editing is probably not a global one; ADAR expression does not have a genome wide effect reducing the expression of editing targets. It is possible, however, that RNA editing by ADAR in non-coding regions of the gene might be a part of a more complex expression regulation mechanism.


CME/Answers: Mushroom Poisoning in the Family Practice Abstract. In the general medical practice, it is not trivial to distinguish between banal intolerances after consumption of edible mushrooms and the initial symptoms of poisoning with potentially fatal outcome. Nevertheless, there are some criteria that can be used as clinical guidance: A latency of six hours or more between the consumption of gilled mushrooms that have not been checked by experts and the onset of mostly severe vomiting and diarrhea is indicative of poisoning with amatoxins, the toxins i.e. in death caps (Amanita phalloides). Although the therapeutic options are controversial, prompt antidotal treatment with silibinin has proven to be effective.


The weathering of kimberlite ores leads to the weakening of the kimberlite structure, which allows the use of less intensive comminution procedures during the liberation of diamonds from the ore, resulting in a decrease in potential damage to the diamonds. The possibility to use iron- and sulphur-oxidising chemolithotrophic microorganisms as a way to accelerate the weathering of kimberlite ores was evaluated. It was demonstrated that the presence of sulphuric acid as well as ferric iron could result in changes in the clay component of these ores. The results provided promising evidence that weathering can be successfully accelerated, but showed that the degree of transformation varies between different kimberlite types with different mineralogical characteristics.


In this paper, we focus on investigating the optimal MIMO transmission strategy for forward channel capacity and forward error exponent of the MIMO block fading channels when the feedback link is causal and has a capacity constraint. In this paper, we assume a forward MIMO block fading channel where the channel state information is estimated at the receiver and partially feedback to the transmitter. The feedback link is assumed to be noiseless and causal with a feedback capacity constraint in terms of maximum number of feedback bits per fading block. We show that the design of the optimum feedback scheme is identical to the design of vector quantizer (Lloyd's algorithm [S.P. Lloyd, 1982]) with a modified distortion measure. It is shown that in the general case, the optimal feedback strategy has a general form of power water-filling cascaded with beamforming matrix as well. Furthermore, we show that the SNR gain with feedback is contributed by focusing transmission power on active eigen-channel and temporal power water-filling. The former factor contributed at most log/sub 10/(n/sub T/)n/sub R/ dB SNR gain when n/sub T/ > n/sub R/ in all SNR region while the latter contribution is significant only at low SNR region. Finally, MMSE receiver could be used to achieve the optimal capacity in the general case of partial feedback.


The last two decades have witnessed an intensifying effort in learning how to manage flow turbulence: it has in fact now become one of the most challenging and prized techno logical goals in fluid dynamics. The goal itself is of course not new. More than a hundred years ago, Reynolds already listed factors conducive to laminar and to turbulent flow (including among them curvature and acceleration). Further more, it is in retrospect clear that there were several early instances ot successful turbulence management. Examples are the reduction in drag achieved with a ring-trip placed on the front of a sphere or the insertion of a splitter-plate behind a circular cylinder; by the early 1950s there were numerous exercises at boundary layer control. Although many of these studies were interesting and suggestive, they led . to no spectacularly successful practical application, and the effort petered out in the late 1950s. The revival of interest in these problems in recent years can be attributed to the emergence of several new factors. First of all, fresh scientific insight into the structure of turbulence, in particular the accumulated evidence for the presence of significant order in turbulent flow, has been seen to point to new methods of managing turbulence. A second major reason has been the growing realisation that the rate at which the world is consuming its reserves of fossil fuels is no longer negligible; the economic value of greater energy effi ciency and lower drag has gone up significantly."


according to American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) standards and guideline, these variants are classified into the very strong category (PVS1). The criteria for both alleles will be pathogenic. Our data indicate that mutations of CEP250 can cause mild CRD and SNHL in Japanese patients. Because the ophthalmological phenotypes were very mild, high-resolution retinal imaging analysis, such as AO, will be helpful in diagnosing CEP250-associated disease.


OBJECTIVE. We determined the feasibility and effects of the Cognitive Orientation to daily Occupational Performance (CO–OP) ApproachTM on activity performance and satisfaction, symptoms, and mood of adolescents with persistent postconcussion symptoms. METHOD. In a prospective case series, 3 participants with persistent symptoms 3 mo after concussion and difficulties resuming activities were taught to use a metacognitive strategy (Goal–Plan–Do–Check) to work toward occupation-based goals in a 7-wk intervention (10 sessions, 30–60 min each). Participants were assessed pre- and postintervention and at 3-mo follow-up. Feasibility was determined by positive changes on study measures, ease of administration, and acceptability to participants. RESULTS. Clinically significant, positive changes were found in participants' activity performance and satisfaction. All participants had decreases in symptoms and improved mood scores at posttest. CONCLUSION. The CO–OP Approach to rehabilitation for youth postconcussion is feasible and may make a positive contribution to recovery.


Over 6,500 local governments ranging from counties and municipalities to obscure mosquito abatement districts and 100,000 government officials make Illinois government the most complex of any state in the Union.JamesF. Keane and Gary Koch have compiled this handbook, written by 19 experts in the field, to help take the mystery out of Illinois local government. Using a systematic evaluation of the different types of government at the municipal, township, and county levels, the contributors explain how these units operate, what problems they face, and how they interact with each other and with state and federal governments.Highlighting part one is State Comptroller Roland W. Burris overview of local government. Specific units of local government, including municipalities, counties, townships, public school districts, and other special districts, are explained in part two.The effects of various laws including the Illinois Home Rule and financial regulations are covered in part three. The chapter on campaign and election laws, written by William McGuffage, legislative liaison for the attorney general s office, tells how to run for office. H. Brent De Land, executive director of the Illinois Community Action Association, offers clues on how to find, apply for, and receive grants.Part four discusses support services, the media, special interest groups, and community relations. Richard Burd, chief of Local Government Management Services in the Department of Commerce and Community Affairs, offers insight on getting the most from such services.The editors look to the future in part five, outlining six emerging trends for local government: requests for services will increase, as will the need for more revenue; there will be a strong movement to consolidate local government; professionalism will be stressed: public accountability will increase: more emphasis will be placed on public image; and uniformity among local governments will emerge."