Objectives Non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patient survival depends on a number of factors, including early diagnosis and initiation of treatment. Standard treatment options for patients with NSCLC include surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact that the initiation of timely treatment has on patient survival among a cohort of privately insured patients with NSCLC in South Carolina. Methods Data for the study were retrospectively obtained from the South Carolina Central Cancer Registry and the state health plan Blue Cross and Blue Shield claims. Patients were diagnosed as having NSCLC between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2010, were aged 18 years or older, and were covered under the state health plan for at least 1 year before diagnosis. The final study sample included 746 patients. Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional hazard modeling were conducted to examine factors associated with survival, stratified by stage at diagnosis. Results The majority in the study cohort (80%) received timely (⩽6 weeks) rather than untimely (>6 weeks) care (20%). The mean survival time for patients receiving timely treatment by stage was 36.9, 27.1, and 12.4 months for localized, regional, and distant metastasis, respectively. The mean survival time for patients receiving untimely care by stage was 39.4, 33.8, and 25.2 months for localized, regional, and distant metastasis, respectively. Among patients with NSCLC in the distant metastasis stage, those receiving timely treatment experienced significantly decreased survival (hazard ratio 2.2) in comparison to those receiving untimely care. Conclusions Initiation of treatment within 6 weeks is not associated with greater survival time across all stages of cancer (localized, regional, and distant metastasis). Additional research is needed to examine the impact of other treatment quality metrics on the survival of patients with NSCLC, different time thresholds for treatment initiation that may be more meaningful to survival among patients with NSCLC, and timely care among patients with NSCLC in other geographic areas and populations.


In studies of hydrolysis arid synthesis of cholesteryl esters by aortic enzymes, conventional methods (aside from isotope methodology) are too insensitive to measure reaction products when few aortas are used. High-performance thin-layer chromatography coupled with spectrodensitometry of plates charred after spraying with a cupric acetate-phosphoric acid reagent permitted quantitation of 10-ng amounts of cholesterol, cholesteryl oleate, and oleic acid. Linear calibration curves were obtained after spectrodensitometry of chromatograms containing 10-200 ng of lipid. The results were verified by radioassay.


This paper presents the results of research conducted by the European Network on Soft Law Research (SoLaR) in the field of financial regulation. An empirical study was conducted to determine how the European Securities and Markets Authority's (ESMA) guidelines and recommendations are complied with by some selected Member States: Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovenia and the UK. The research has also studied the attitudes of the officials and judges regarding ESMA soft law, in particular the potential differences between the two groups of stakeholders across the Member States. The paper consists of two parts. First, this introduction sheds some light on the history of the EU system of financial regulation, and the role ESMA has played in it. Having provided the necessary background for the research, the main elements of its methodology are presented next. This is then followed by a comparative analysis conducted on the selected seven Member States. The questionnaire used for the empirical analysis is attached in the appendix. The co-authors acknowledge funding from the European Commission under 575097-EPP-1-2016-1-FI-EPPJMO-NETWORK.


Road traffic accidents are a major cause for severe injury in children and adolescents. Many victims also suffer from psychological consequences, such as posttraumatic stress disorder, traffic-related fears or mood disturbances. High levels of distress during and immediately after the accident are associated with severe posttraumatic stress symptoms. Routine consideration of the psychological impact of road traffic accidents should receive the same priority as screening for physical injury.


Why does the Supreme Court avoid deciding cases it accepts for review? In this article, I contend that the Court uses procedural access doctrines such as standing, ripeness, and mootness to sidestep constitutional cases when confronted with certain internal and external pressures. Using data from 1946 to 2001, the results suggest that the Court utilizes procedural tools to dismiss constitutional cases when preference heterogeneity on the Court increases and when the justices are confronted with issues about which groups feel strongly and are deeply divided. Although the Court does not appear to be influenced by the threat of political opposition, it is more reluctant to resolve disputes when members of Congress file an amicus brief. The results offer a first glimpse into how often the Court invokes the "passive virtues." They also have implications for our understanding of agenda setting, decision-making in access cases, and normative constitutional theory.


We present a code-based public-key cryptosystem, in which we use Reed-Solomon codes over an extension field as secret codes and disguise it by considering its expanded code over the base field. Considering the expanded codes provide a safeguard against distinguisher attacks based on the Schur product. Moreover, without using cyclic or quasi-cyclic structure we obtain a key size reduction of nearly 60% compared to the classic McEliece cryptosystem proposed by Bernstein et al.


The myelin protein zero gene (MPZ) encodes the major structural protein component of myelin in the peripheral nervous system. More than 120 mutations in MPZ have been detected so far. Clinical phenotypes include CMT1B, CMT2, Dejerine-Sottas syndrome, and congenital hypomyelination neuropathy. We report a new previously unreported mutation in the MPZ gene causing a demyelinating peripheral neuropathy. The initial apparent absence of a family history resulted in the patient being treated for an inflammatory neuropathy with some subjective improvement. We subsequently identified another affected member of the same family with the same genotype leading to the correct diagnosis. Both the affected individuals had an 8-base pair deletion, c.160_167delTCCCGGGT in MPZ exon 2.


Bizarre magic is a form of performance magic that favours theatrical character, storytelling, overt allegory, symbolism and metaphor, and themes of the supernatural, fantastic, amazing and weird. Having roots in Victorian stage magic and the early 20th century performances of Theodore Annemann and Stewart James it realised itself as a movement in the 1970s through a counter-cultural reaction against the big boxes and card flourishes of a disenchanted contemporary mainstream stage magic.

Bizarre magicians sought to re-enchant performance magic with the mysterious and the spiritual, (re)discovering meaning through storytelling and theatrical character.

This paper examines the adoption of popular Gothic representations in the stage persona of a number of key figures in bizarre magic. Such representations may be overt - Charles Cameron's Count Dracula Mentalism
- or subtle - Eugene Burger and Max Maven referencing the characters of Boris Karloff and Ming the Merciless respectively. Gothic personae have been consciously explored by performers including Tony Sheils, Tony Raven, Bascom Jones and Tony Andruzzi and can be seen in the stage and TV shows of Marc Salem, Derren Brown, David Blaine and Criss Angel.

The performance of bizarre magic presents a complex series of meta-narratives within the form, often supplanting the literary in favour of popular Gothic (re)imaginings. These, often twice-removed, transformations/translations of classic and contemporary Gothic form and fiction are considered in the context of the bizarre performer's engagement, through both performance and theoretical writing, with the fabulously monstrous.


Background: Identification of people living with HIV is key in HIV prevention and control. Partner Notification service is a World Health Organization backed strategy of reaching out to sexual partners of people diagnosed with HIV for HIV testing. However, its adoption and success rate in Kenya remains unknown.Methods: A cross sectional facility based study was undertaken in five purposively selected health facilities in Muranga County, Kenya. A retrospective review of patient medical records data for HIV positive index clients and their Sexual Partners conducted. Census approach applied to extract data for study subjects from Partner Notification Service registers for the period covering January 2017 to August 2018. Epi Info software was used for data analysis.Results: A total of 183 index clients offered Partner notification services. The mean age of the indexed clients studied was 39(SD ±13.1). Females comprised 64 % of clients studied. Of the 183 indexed clients, 89% accepted the services and elicited 216 sexual partners for tracing. The ratio of elicited sexual partners to index client was 1.3:1. Out of the 216 sexual partners, 77% were reached and tested. A total of 46 [32%] of the sexual partners elicited and traced, tested HIV positive. The most preferred approaches were provider referral (51%) and contract referral (45%). Dual referral (4%) was the least preferred approach. Conclusions: Partner notification services is acceptable and an effective strategy of increasing HIV case identification and raising awareness to exposed sexual partners in low resource countries.


The choice and detailed design of structuring elements plays a pivotal role in the morphologic processing of images. A broad class of morphological operations can be expressed as an equivalent supremum of erosions by a minimal set of basis filters. Diverse morphological operations can then be expressed in a single, comparable framework. The set of basis filters are data-like structures, each filter representing one type of local change possible under that operation. The data-level description of the basis set is a natural starting point for the design of morphological filters. This paper promotes the use of the basis decomposition of gray-scale morphological operations to design and apply morphological filters. A constructive proof is given for the basis decomposition of general gray-scale morphological operations, as are practical algorithms to find all of the basis set members for these operations. >


Effects of multiple intravenous magnetite nanosuspension injections on the structure of rat liver, lungs, kidney, heart and spleen have been studied. Histology of the organs listed have found haemodynamic distortions and necrotic lesions in the parenchyma of these organs. With the help of Pearls histochemical method significant piling of nanoparticles were found in the cells of the mononuclear phagocytes in liver, lungs and spleen of the rats. Only singular Pearls-positive cells were found in kidneys and hearts of the rats.


Mutations in BRCA1 are present in 45% of families that segregate with susceptibility for breast cancer and in 80-90% of families with both breast and ovarian cancer. Here we report that BRCA1 stimulates artificial and genomic promoter constructs containing p53-responsive elements. This activity of BRCA1 depends on the presence of wild-type p53, which was shown by using mouse fibroblasts expressing temperature-sensitive forms of p53, or p53(+/+) and p53(-/-) fibroblasts obtained from p53 knockout mice. Furthermore, mutant forms of BRCA1 lacking the C-terminal second BRCA1 C-terminal (BRCT) domain showed reduced p53-mediated transcriptional activation. Finally, we found that BRCA1 coimmunoprecipitates with p53, in vitro and in vivo. These findings suggest a function of BRCA1 as a p53 coactivator.


Three ice-covered moons of Jupiter, in comparison with rocky planets and Earth's moon, produce radar echoes of astounding strengths and bizarre polarizations. Scattering from buried craters can explain these and other anomalous properties of the echoes. The role of such craters is analogous to that of the water droplets that create the apparition known as "the glory," the optically bright region surrounding an observer's shadow on a cloud. Both situations involve the electromagnetic phenomenon of total internal reflection at a dielectric interface, operating in a geometry that strongly favors exact backscattering. Dim surface craters are transformed into bright glory holes by being buried under somewhat denser material, thereby increasing the intensity of their echoes by factors of hundreds. The dielectric interface thus formed at the crater walls nicely accounts for the unusual polarizations of the echoes.


We consider several random spatial graphs of the nearest-neighbour type, including the k- nearest neighbours graph, the on-line nearest-neighbour graph, and the minimal directed spanning tree. We study the large sample asymptotic behaviour of the total length of these graphs, with power-weighted edges. We give laws of large numbers and weak convergence results. We evaluate limiting constants explicitly. In Bhatt and Roy's minimal directed spanning tree (MDST) construction on random points in (0,1)(^2), each point is joined to its nearest neighbour in the south-westerly direction. We show that the limiting total length (with power-weighted egdes) of the edges joined to the origin converges in distribution to a Dickman-type random variable. We also study the length of the longest edge in the MDST. For the total weight of the MDST, we give a weak convergence result. The limiting distribution is given a normal component plus a contribution due to boundary effects, which can be characterized by a fixed point equation. There is a phase transition in the limit law as the weight exponent increases. In the second part of this thesis, we give criteria for ergodicity, transience and null recurrence for the random walk in random environment (RWRE) on z+ = {0,1,2,...}, with reflection at the origin, where the random environment is subject to a vanishing perturbation from the so-called Sinai's regime. Our results complement existing criteria for random walks in random environments and for Markov chains with asymptotically zero drift, and are significantly different to these previously studied cases. Our method is based on a martingale technique 一 the method of Lyapunov functions.


AIAA, Guidance, Navigation and Control Conference, San Diego, CA, July 29-31, 1996 Holonomic and Pfaffian nonholonomic systems are dynamical systems whose generalized coordinates and velocities are subject to smooth constraints. These systems are usually described by second order differential equations of motion and algebraic equations of constraint. We present an optimal control formulation for these systems that utilize the multiplier rule to append both the equations of motion and equations of constraint directly to the performance index. Variational calculus techniques are used to obtain the necessary conditions, and we find that, like the original state dynamical system, the costate system also represents a differential-algebraic constrained dynamical system. To numerically solve the evolution of the state and costate coupled set of differential-algebraic equations, we propose a special form of an augmented Lagrangian penalty method. Several examples are included to evaluate the merits of the new methods introduced. (Author)


In this paper we discuss new variants of the acceleration technique known as Iterated Defect Correction (IDeC) for the numerical solution of boundary value problems in ordinary differential equations. A first approximation, computed by the backward Euler scheme, is iteratively improved to obtain a high order solution. Typically, the maximal attainable accuracy is limited by the smoothness of the exact solution and by technical details of the procedure. We propose a new version of the IDeC algorithm with maximal achievable order higher than in the classical setting. Moreover, our procedure can be shown to be convergent on arbitrary grids, while the classical IDeC iteration requires piecewise equidistant grids. Finally, the performance of this new algorithm for singular boundary value problems is discussed.


Abstract During the past decade, the Chinese government has pursued greater engagement with a range of international legal regimes. China's expanded participation in international regimes for trade and human rights, for example, can provide deeper understanding of the factors influencing China's international behaviour. Building upon scholarly perspectives about institutional compliance with treaty texts and the influence of local conditions on China's policies and practice, this article examines China's participation in international legal regimes for trade and human rights in light of dynamics of normative engagement and the paradigm of selective adaptation. Normative tensions help explain China's policies and practices on compliance with the WTO trade regime, while the imperative of normative engagement helps explain much about China's international human rights diplomacy.


Hybrid beamforming (HBF) design is a crucial stage in millimeter wave (mmWave) multi-user multi-input multi-output (MU-MIMO) systems. However, conventional HBF methods are still with high complexity and strongly rely on the quality of channel state information. We propose an extreme learning machine (ELM) framework to jointly optimize transmitting and receiving beamformers. Specifically, to provide accurate labels for training, we first propose a factional-programming and majorization-minimization based HBF method (FP-MM-HBF). Then, an ELM based HBF (ELM-HBF) framework is proposed to increase the robustness of beamformers. Both FP-MM-HBF and ELM-HBF can provide higher system sum-rate compared with conventional methods. Moreover, ELM-HBF cannot only provide robust HBF performance but also consume very short computation time.


This paper proposes a novel solution to the problem of beamforming and power control in the downlink of a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) system. This solution is developed in two steps. First, we describe an adaptive beamforming technique that, using a stochastic gradient method, maximizes the power delivered to a mobile terminal. In the proposed solution, perturbed precoding matrices are time multiplexed in the information signal transmitted to a mobile terminal; then, the mobile terminal informs the transmitter, via a single feedback bit, about the perturbation delivering the larger power. This approach does not need pilot symbols and uses quasi-Monte Carlo methods to generate the required perturbations with the relevant advantages of improving the downlink spectral efficiency and reducing the system complexity with respect to other competing solutions. Then, we propose a novel power-control algorithm that, selecting a proper transmission energy level from a set of possible values, aims to minimize the average bit error rate. This set of levels is generated on the basis of the channel statistics and a long-term constraint on the average transmission power. Numerical results evidence the robustness of the proposed algorithms in a dynamic fading environment.


Abstract By performing a global magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) simulation for the Milky Way with an axisymmetric gravitational potential, we propose that spatially dependent amplification of magnetic fields possibly explains the observed noncircular motion of the gas in the Galactic centre (GC) region. The radial distribution of the rotation frequency in the bulge region is not monotonic in general. The amplification of the magnetic field is enhanced in regions with stronger differential rotation, because magnetorotational instability and field-line stretching are more effective. The strength of the amplified magnetic field reaches ≳ 0.5 mG, and radial flows of the gas are excited by the inhomogeneous transport of angular momentum through turbulent magnetic field that is amplified in a spatially dependent manner. As a result, the simulated position-velocity diagram exhibits a time-dependent asymmetric parallelogram-shape owing to the intermittency of the magnetic turbulence; the present model provides a viable alternative to the bar-potential-driven model for the parallelogram shape of the central molecular zone. In addition, Parker instability (magnetic buoyancy) creates vertical magnetic structure, which would correspond to observed molecular loops, and frequently excited vertical flows. Furthermore, the time-averaged net gas flow is directed outward, whereas the flows are highly time dependent, which would contribute to the outflow from the bulge.


Dental anxiety is a condition that plagues millions of individuals worldwide. The cause of anxiety can arise from an array of negative experiences related to dentistry. Additionally, the media's persistent deleterious portrayal of dentistry affects the public's fears and skews the people's general perception of how dentists really are. Nevertheless, people continue to seek dental care for medial and cosmetic purposes, despite major challenges in the healthcare systems. This study aimed to understand whether negative images of dentists would influence how anxious a sample of undergraduate students felt about various dental procedures. The study also asked participants to express their beliefs about dentists and dentistry in general. Finally, it examined the frequency in which this sample visited the dentist and which factors may have influenced their fears, beliefs and activities related to dentistry. The results of the study confirmed the hypothesis that this sample would somewhat regularly visit the dentist despite dental-related anxiety. The hypothesis that people who were shown the negative clip of the dentist would perceive dentists in a more negative light was rejected, as nearly all participants in both groups had an overall positive opinion about dentists. This result showed us how we can screen the images we see in the media and we are desensitized, therefore the surface anxiety these images may provoke are negligible This study confirmed that hypothesis that freshmen would be more reliant on parents to make their dental appointments when compared to upperclassmen was also confirmed in this study. Limitations of this study included a small, similar sample size, a lengthy survey, as well as technical difficulties that may have impacted some of the results of the survey. Future studies on this topic would benefit from a longitudinal study about how dental fears and perceptions change as students become more independent.


Objective A subset of cancer cells maintains telomere lengths in a telomerase-independent manner known as the alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT). The goal of this study was to evaluate the frequency of ALT in uterine sarcoma and carcinosarcoma and to assess its association with clinical parameters. Methods Retrospectively collected paraffin blocks from 41 patients with uterine sarcomas and carcinosarcomas were analyzed for ALT-associated promyelocytic leukemia bodies (APBs), which are a significant feature of ALT cells, using combined immunofluorescence and telomere fluorescence in situ hybridization. In addition, a C-circle assay and human telomerase reverse transcriptase immunohistochemistry were performed to support these results. Results The APB assay and C-circle assay indicated that 46.3% (19/41 cases) and 36.4% (8/22 cases) of sarcomas of the uterus, respectively, were positive for ALT. Alternative lengthening of telomerase positivity was correlated with high-grade uterine sarcoma and parameters indicative of an aggressive tumor, such as tumor size (P = 0.033) and mitotic index (P = 0.001); ALT positivity was negatively correlated with human telomerase reverse transcriptase reactivity (P = 0.036). In a survival analysis, the presence of APBs was found to be a poor prognostic factor for disease-free survival (P = 0.018) and overall survival (P = 0.021). Conclusions Alternative lengthening of telomeres is a prevalent mechanism in uterine sarcomas and carcinosarcomas and is associated with the aggressiveness of the tumor and tumor progression. Importantly, ALT positivity is an indicator of poor prognosis for patients with uterine sarcoma and carcinosarcoma.


The classical i-vectors and the latest end-to-end deep speaker embeddings are the two representative categories of utterance-level representations in automatic speaker verification systems. Traditionally, once i-vectors or deep speaker embeddings are extracted, we rely on an extra length normalization step to normalize the representations into unit-length hyperspace before back-end modeling. In this paper, we explore how the neural network learns length-normalized deep speaker embeddings in an end-to-end manner. To this end, we add a length normalization layer followed by a scale layer before the output layer of the common classification network. We conducted experiments on the verification task of the Voxceleb1 dataset. The results show that integrating this simple step in the end-to-end training pipeline significantly boosts the performance of speaker verification. In the testing stage of our L2-normalized end-to-end system, a simple inner-product can achieve the state-of-the-art.


In the jurisprudence of constitutional courts around the world, there is an emerging trend towards an autonomy-based understanding of constitutional rights: increasingly, rights are interpreted as being about enabling people to live autonomous lives, rather than disabling the state in certain ways. This essay investigates the conception of autonomy employed by courts by presenting two candidates and examining which of them explains better the current practice of constitutional rights law. The first, labelled the excluded reasons conception of autonomy, claims that a person's autonomy is violated if he is treated on the basis of certain impermissible – in particular moralistic or paternalistic – reasons. It is concluded that while this is a coherent understanding of autonomy, it cannot explain many of the rights which are widely accepted today. The second, the protected interests conception, argues that a person has autonomy interests in controlling certain domains of her life, and offers a scale on which the importance of the various autonomy interests can be assessed. The essay demonstrates that this conception is coherent and adequately explains the current practice. The final section briefly explores some implications of this result for a comprehensive reconstructive theory of constitutional rights.


We study the asymptotic behaviour, when the parameter e tends to 0, of a class of singularly perturbed triangular systems ˙ x = f(x, y), ˙ y = G(y, e). We assume that all solutions of the second equation tend to zero arbitrarily fast when e tends to 0. We assume that the origin of equation ˙ x = f(x,0) is globally asymptotically stable. Some states of the second equation may peak to very large values, before they rapidly decay to zero. Such peaking states can destabilize the first equation. The paper introduces the concept of instantaneous stability, to measure the fast decay to zero of the solutions of the second equation, and the concept of uniform infinitesimal boundedness to measure the effects of peaking on the first equation. Whe show that all the solutions of the triangular system tend to zero when e → 0 and t → +∞. Our results are formulated in both classical mathematics and nonstandard analysis.


In 12 to 18-week-old Wistar-Kyoto rats, regular oscillations in the proximal intratubular pressure occurred spontaneously. The median frequency was 29.7 mHz (range 20-46.7 mHz). In spontaneously hypertensive rats, spontaneous oscillations also occurred, but these were highly irregular. In both strains, oscillations could be elicited by free flow microperfusion with artificial tubular fluid. When furosemide was added to the artificial tubular fluid in a concentration of 0.1 mmol/l, the oscillations were abolished in both strains of rats. It is concluded that, in both strains of rats, the oscillatory phenomena depend upon tubuloglomerular feedback activity, and that the differences in the oscillatory patterns between the two strain of rats represent a difference in the parameter setting of the tubuloglomerular feedback system.


A vertical epi-illuminated microspectrofluorimeter was employed to measure the relative concentration of brain glycolipids in tissue sections after the periodic acid pararosaniline-Schiff (PAS) staining reaction. This histofluorimetric analysis includes systematically varying section thickness, defining an extinction coefficient, and determining the range of fluorescent intensity from measurements made on PAS stained microtome sections of agarose. Coupling fluorimetry of PAS stained brain sections with fluorimetry of serial brain sections stained after extraction with chloroform-methanol (C-M) provided a relative estimate of PAS-reactive glycolipid present in a given region of white or gray matter. Biochemical analysis of C-M extracts from different sections of formalin fixed brain, processed similarly to the tissue sections, showed that the extracted PAS-positive material consisted primarily of glycolipids The limitations imposed on the biochemical interpretation of the results are discussed. The method presented provides a sensitive technique for comparing the relative amounts of C-M extractable, PAS-positive material in brain tissue sections when appropriate statistics are employed. Linear regression analysis of theoretical data based on the nonlinear formula for absorption of Bouger-Beer produced a slope near unity and an intercept near zero when absorption was less than 20%. As the absorption increased, theoretical data generated lines with increasingly smaller slopes and higher intercepts. Correlation coefficients of these lines generated from theoretical data from small segments of the range and domain exceeded 0.99 (P < 0.05). Data derived from the absorption formula, ranging from 1 to 95% absorption, generated a line with a linear regression correlation of 094 (P < 0.05). Thus linear analysis of fluorescence vs concentration seemed valid to interpret changes in dye concentration over narrow ranges. But a linear model analysis of fluorescence intensity made erroneous estimates of dye concentration. A nonlinear least squares analysis used to determine the parameters of the fluorescent-absorption formula produced the best estimate of relative dye concentration.


 Abstract— Collection of wastewater is considered one of the major environmental problems in Egypt. More than 50% of Egypt villages have no facilities of wastewater collection. Small bore sewer system is a good alternative for wastewater collection system especially in rural areas because the construction cost of small bore sewer system is cheaper than that of conventional sewer system. However, detailed analysis is required to determine the optimum conditions at which small bore sewer system will be a better choice. This paper aims to provide an estimation of total costs for both small bore sewer systems and conventional sewer systems using data of eight different villages in rural areas in Egypt. The villages were chosen in Menofyia and Assuit governorates. Two equations were obtained that can be used to obtain the total costs of both small bore sewer systems and conventional sewer systems for rural areas of similar characteristics to those studied. The optimum population values, at which the small bore sewer system will be the best alternative, were obtained.


Mission Management Department of the Royal Aerospace Establishment has won a Queen's Award for Technology, jointly with GEC Sensors, in recognition of innovation and success in the development and application of night vision technology for fixed wing aircraft. This work has been carried out to satisfy the operational needs of the Royal Air Force. These are seen to be: - Operations in the NATO Central Region - To have a night as well as a day capability - To carry out low level, high speed penetration - To attack battlefield targets, especially groups of tanks - To meet these objectives at minimum cost The most effective way to penetrate enemy defences is at low level and survivability would be greatly enhanced with a first pass attack. It is therefore most important that not only must the pilot be able to fly at low level to the target but also he must be able to detect it in sufficient time to complete a successful attack. An analysis of the average operating conditions in Central Europe during winter clearly shows that high speed low level attacks can only be made for about 20 per cent of the 24 hours. Extending this into good night conditions raises the figure to 60 per cent. Whilst it is true that this is for winter conditions and in summer the situation is better, the overall advantage to be gained is clear. If our aircraft do not have this capability the potential for the enemy to advance his troops and armour without hinderance for considerable periods is all too obvious. There are several solutions to providing such a capability. The one chosen for Tornado GR1 is to use Terrain Following Radar (TFR). This system is a complete 24 hour capability. However it has two main disadvantages, it is an active system which means it can be jammed or homed into, and is useful in attacking pre-planned targets. Second it is an expensive system which precludes fitting to other than a small number of aircraft.


Background. Obese adults are frequently vitamin D deficient before bariatric surgery; whether similar abnormalities exist in morbidly obese adolescents is unknown. Objective. To determine the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in morbidly obese adolescents. Methods. Cross-sectional study of preoperative laboratory measures from 236 adolescents evaluated for bariatric surgery. Results. The group (N = 219 with 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) and parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels; 76 boys, 143 girls; 15.9 ± 1.2 years; 43% Caucasian, 35% Hispanic, and 15% African American) had mean BMI of 47.6 ± 8.1 kg/m2. 25OHD levels were deficient (<20 ng/mL) in 53%; 8% had severe deficiency (<10 ng/mL); only 18% of patients were replete (>30 ng/mL). 25OHD levels were inversely associated with BMI (r = −0.28, P < 0.0001) and PTH levels (r = −0.24, P = 0.0003). Race was the strongest predictor of 25OHD (P < 0.002); 82% of African Americans, 59% of Hispanics, and 37% of Caucasians were deficient. African American race, BMI, and PTH explained 21% of the variance in 25OHD (P < 0.0001). Conclusions. Most adolescents presenting for bariatric surgery have suboptimal vitamin D levels, with African Americans and those with higher BMIs at greatest risk for vitamin D deficiency. All morbidly obese adolescents should be screened for vitamin D deficiency before bariatric procedures.


The Fangshan area, SW of Beijing, lies at the junction of the NNE-trending Taihang mountain range and the southeastern portion of the Yanshan intraplate orogenic belt and has undergone at least five stages of deformation. Mid- to late Triassic extensional deformation (D1) is represented by the formation of the Fangshan tectonic dome during SE-directed extensional tectonics. This deformation was later modified by NNW-directed thrusting in the late Triassic (D2) and WNW-directed thrusting in the late Jurassic (D3). These D1–D3 structures were deformed by the arcuate Beiling syncline (D4), which formed during the intrusion of the 133–128 Ma Fangshan pluton. D5 deformation is represented by Cretaceous to Quaternary NNE-striking high-angle normal faults. The ages of these events demonstrate that the principal ENE-trending tectonic framework of the Yanshan intraplate orogenic belt was established mainly in the mid- to late Triassic (the Indosinian event). The Jurassic to Cretaceous Yanshanian deformation with thick-skinned thrusting was associated with intrusion of numerous plutons, and strongly modified the older structures. The tectonic evolution of the Fangshan tectonic dome was linked genetically with the collision of the North China Block and the Siberian Craton, and the later collision of the North and South China blocks.


This paper identifies key themes from research into programme fidelity of sexual abuse prevention programmes. It presents a detailed analysis of programme fidelity within a study of the Tweenees school-based abuse prevention programme (Barron and Topping, 2010).

The paper reports how programme fidelity was addressed in a programme delivered to survivors of child sexual abuse by experienced survivor organisation workers. There was also study of programme fidelity in the delivery of the programme to grade-seven pupils through co-working between survivor organisation workers and teachers. Video was taken of all four sessions delivered to the survivors' group. To begin to explore programme fidelity when lessons were co-delivered by survivor organisation workers and a teacher, the first session of a grade-seven class was videoed.

Survivor organisation workers achieved high levels of programme fidelity characterised by facilitative communicative behaviours (e.g. affirming responses, seeking clarification, checking understanding and summarising). The grade-seven teacher's communication was characterised by a behaviour management focus.

Video analysis of interactions was a useful measure for programme fidelity and analysing appropriate communication underpinning delivery of the programme. Recommendations for future programme fidelity measures are provided for researchers and practitioners in the field. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The topic of natural disaster management -- prediction, prevention, or minimization of their impact is an important topic for scientific research. The advances in computer simulation and highperformance computing in recent years have highly extended the possibilities in this field, and have changed the ways in which natural disaster management systems operate. This paper describes evolution of one such system -- a flood prediction application. The application consists of a set of simulation models, visualization tools, and various support components. During past six years it has evolved from a simple hydraulic modeling scenario into a sophisticated cascade of simulations, using state-of-the art grid, workflow and knowledge management technologies, and is one of the first applications of the SOKU [1]concept in the field of computer simulations.


Background: The purpose the study was to assess parent's attitudes toward mental illness in children and is relationship with help seeking behaviours.
Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted in a pediatric psychiatric clinic of under affiliation of Tehran University of Medical Sciences in 2016-17. All children's parents or guardians who referred for the first time to the clinics were the study population. Convenient Sampling was applied and 400 subjects were included by survey method. The data collection tool for this study included a form for demographic data, a questionnaire for assessing parents' attitude toward the causes, behavioral demonstrations and treatment of mental disorders in children, and finally a checklist to determine help seeking behaviors. Descriptive and inferential statistics was applied with SPSS software version 16 for data analysis.
Results: 93.7% of parents had a good attitude toward mental illness in the three studied realms. 56.25% of parents referred to official sources of help. The results of this research showed that there was a significant difference between the mean scores of parents' attitude (sum of the three areas) in terms of child's gender, parents' marital status, father's job, father's education, and mother's education and there was a significant relationship between help seeking behavior of parents just with fathers' education level (p<0.05).
Conclusion: The results showed that parents had a good attitude toward their children's mental disorders However, it should not be overlooked that nearly half of parents were still referring to unofficial sources of assistance.


The thermal inactivation of 11 strains of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis at pasteurization temperatures was investigated. Cows' milk inoculated with M. paratuberculosis at two levels (10(7) and 10(4) CFU/ml) was pasteurized in the laboratory by (i) a standard holder method (63.5 degrees C for 30 min) and (ii) a high-temperature, short-time (HTST) method (71.7 degrees C for 15 s). Additional heating times of 5, 10, 15, 20, and 40 min at 63.5 degrees C were included to enable the construction of a thermal death curve for the organism. Viability after pasteurization was assessed by culture on Herrold's egg yolk medium containing mycobactin J (HEYM) and in BACTEC Middlebrook 12B radiometric medium supplemented with mycobactin J and sterile egg yolk emulsion. Confirmation of acid-fast survivors of pasteurization as viable M. paratuberculosis cells was achieved by subculture on HEYM to indicate viability coupled with PCR using M. paratuberculosis-specific 1S900 primers. When milk was initially inoculated with 10(6) to 10(7) CFU of M. paratuberculosis per ml, M. paratuberculosis cells were isolated from 27 of 28 (96%) and 29 of 34 (85%) pasteurized milk samples heat treated by the holder and HTST methods, respectively. Correspondingly, when 10(3) to 10(4) CFU of M. paratuberculosis per ml of milk were present before heat treatment, M. paratuberculosis cells were isolated from 14 of 28 (50%) and 19 of 33 (58%) pasteurized milk samples heat treated by the holder and HTST methods, respectively. The thermal death curve for M. paratuberculosis was concave in shape, exhibiting a rapid initial death rate followed by significant "tailing." Results indicate that when large numbers of M. paratuberculosis cells are present in milk, the organism may not be completely inactivated by heat treatments simulating holder and HTST pasteurization under laboratory conditions.


A pine forest located between Pisa and Livorno, Tombolo was the site of a U.S. military encampment and a key staging site for the Allied invasion of Italy, due to its close proximity to Livorno's port. After the war, it became the site of a flourishing black market, attracting large numbers of Italian prostitutes, the so-called segnorine, who were drawn to the camp by the free flow of U.S. dollars. Because many of the soldiers served by these segnorine were African American, Italian fascination with and opposition to the prostitution and black marketeering in Tombolo were framed in overtly racial and often racist terms. The resulting mix of prurience and prejudice made Tombolo a kind of Italian obsession after the war.I propose approaching Tombolo as an instance of what Mary Louise Pratt has termed the 'contact zone', by which I mean to indicate that this space figured so large in the Italian imagination because it represented both literally and symbolically the fraught confrontation with the American Other. But I mean to say something more than this as well. When we consider the 'radical inequality' of the social relations in Tombolo, it is important to recognise that this inequality existed not only between the American occupiers and their Italian hosts, but also within each camp. Put differently, in Tombolo, what Pratt calls the 'conditions of coercion' and 'intractable conflict' characteristic of the 'contact zone' not only pitted American against Italian but also white against black, northern against southern, man against woman, right against left. If the conflicts in Tombolo were inflamed by the occupation, therefore, they were fuelled by conditions that pre-existed the arrival of the U.S. army on Italian soil. In particular, Tombolo became the 'contact zone' for the competing racial regimes of Jim Crow and Fascism, and for the resistance against those regimes: the nascent U.S. Civil Rights movement and Italian anti-Fascism.


Background Berberine has been found to inhibit the progression of depression disorder, but its specific mechanism is still unclear. MicroRNA (miRNA) is considered to play an important role in the progression of depression. However, it is unclear whether Berberine is involved in the regulation of depression progression through miRNA. Methods The chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) mice model was constructed. Mice depression behaviors were evaluated by sucrose preference test (SPT) and forced swim test (FST). Quantitative real-time PCR was employed to assess the expression of miR-34b-5p, miR-470-5p and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). The protein expression of BDNF was examined using Western blot analysis. In addition, the viability and apoptosis of hippocampal neurons were determined using cell counting kit 8 assay, flow cytometry and TUNEL assay. The interaction between BDNF and miR-34b-5p or miR-470-5p was verified by dual-luciferase reporter assay and RNA immunoprecipitation assay. Results Our data indicated that Berberine could inhibit CUMS mice depression behaviors and enhance hippocampal neurons growth by targeting miR-34b-5p and miR-470-5p. In addition, we found that BDNF was a target of miR-34b-5p and miR-470-5p. Overexpressed BDNF could reverse the regulation of miR-34b-5p and miR-470-5p on CUMS mice depression behaviors and hippocampal neurons growth. Furthermore, Berberine could promote BDNF expression to regulate CUMS mice depression behaviors and hippocampal neurons growth. Conclusion Berberine might inhibit the progression of depression disorder by regulating the miR-34b-5p/miR-470-5p/BDNF axis.


The purpose of this study was to investigate undergraduate kinesiology students' experiences in an online life span motor development course. This study was based on theory of transactional distance (Moore, 1997). Seven undergraduate kinesiology majors (5 females, 2 males), who were enrolled in an online course at a Midwestern public university in the US, participated in this study. Data collection included face-to-face open ended interviews, bulletin board discussion logs, and online assessment projects. A constant comparative method was used to interpret the data, and allowed themes to emerge from the data as well as from the theoretical framework. Three interrelated themes emerged from the undergraduate students' narratives; rigors and flexibility in online course learning, peer feedback experiences, and video assessment analysis. The results of this study demonstrate that undergraduate students can have independent learning styles and kinesthetic characteristics and concepts when enrolled in online life span motor development coursework. Online kinesiology courses should be centered on a set of student tasks (lectures, projects, and assignments) that constitute the learning experiences that engage students, either independently and collaboratively, in order for them to master the objectives of the course (Carr-Chellman & Duchastel, 2001).


: A limited study on two ranches near Dillon, Montana, near the end of the lambing season in 1974 revealed that 44 domestic lambs were killed by golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos). This was 76 percent of all deaths recorded during the short study. Using an average docking percent of 90 (based on years before severe eagle problems developed), the 76 percent eagle predation, and the 1974 docking percentages, the ranchers estimated an eagle kill of 1,092 lambs valued at about $38,000. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service livetrapped and removed 249 golden eagles from the ranches during the next three springs. During 1975, when 145 eagles were removed, docking percentages were even lower than in 1974, and the ranchers estimated a loss of $48,000. During 6 hours on one ranch in 1975, I found 15 fresh eagle kills. Less severe eagle problems occurred during 1976 and 1977, and the docking percent- ages improved. The effect of the trapping program on predation could not be evaluated. Lamb losses were greatest during the years of greatest trapping success. Decreasing lamb losses in 1976 and 1977 may have resulted from increasing populations of jackrabbits (Lepus spp.) throughout the West. Juvenile and subadult golden eagles caused most of the predation. A decline of jackrabbits may have caused these young birds, which had no established territories, to concentrate on the lambing grounds. As numbers of sheep decline on western ranches, eagles may take a greater percentage of lambs from the remaining herds. With golden eagles totally protected, increasing predation on lambs should be expected, especially when natural prey is scarce. Because of the expense and the relative scarcity of qualified personnel, the trapping and moving of depredating eagles is not a practical operational procedure. Non-lethal methods of eagle management show little promise for alleviating lamb losses. Experiments should be conducted combining scare tactics, including shooting near the birds, with limited killing for reinforcement. Illegal control may endanger juvenile bald eagles (Haliaetus leucocephalus) and result in the killing of many golden eagles if ranchers are not assured of aid when a serious depredation


Tokyo has an experience in operation of full-scale thermal solidification processes for around 10 years. They include artificial lightweight aggregates, slag, brick, and sludge fuel (dried by Carver Greenfield process). Many efforts were concentrated on improving the processes for the years. As a result, the thermal solidification of sewage sludge is no more academic research subject, but is a standardized engineering process. Anyof them are able to be locally implemented depending on specific requests. Among them, the brick seems to be the best choice from the viewpoint of economy. On the other hand, a potential alternative is that the sewage sludge could be served as raw material for Portland cement manufacturing process.


Inspired by biophysical principles underlying nonlinear dendritic computation in neural circuits, we develop a scheme to train deep neural networks to make them robust to adversarial attacks. Our scheme generates highly nonlinear, saturated neural networks that achieve state of the art performance on gradient based adversarial examples on MNIST, despite never being exposed to adversarially chosen examples during training. Moreover, these networks exhibit unprecedented robustness to targeted, iterative schemes for generating adversarial examples, including second-order methods. We further identify principles governing how these networks achieve their robustness, drawing on methods from information geometry. We find these networks progressively create highly flat and compressed internal representations that are sensitive to very few input dimensions, while still solving the task. Moreover, they employ highly kurtotic weight distributions, also found in the brain, and we demonstrate how such kurtosis can protect even linear classifiers from adversarial attack.


The discipline of organizational behaviour along with organizational theory and general management is essential in training of managers including those of public sector. However, it is a relatively new academic discipline for Russian higher education institutions. The article says that the main specific feature of this discipline is that it is founded on the complex of ideas and concepts belonging to various basic fields of knowledge. This, in its turn, poses a number of challenges in working up and delivering the course. Understanding of these problems is imperative, much of it is owed to the peculiarities of OB establishing as a separate research area in the 50-60ies of the last century. Therefore, the article rather comprehensively describes the establishment history of organizational studies in science and analyses the basic factors having the most significant influence on the process. Thus, the article gives a thorough consideration to a valuable contribution made by F. Taylor, who put forward a concept of scientific management; M. Weber, known as a founder of the bureaucratic form of organization, clearly differentiating between managers and executors; A. Fayol, who maintained his attitude towards the division of labour practices assigning people with special tasks to their best ability; E. Mayo, who proposed the idea that social environment at work significantly affected productivity; K. Levin, who considered it was person's personality as well as his/her environment that determined human behaviour. These scholars, first, contributed to grasping the idea that behaviour at work was shaped by a set of individual, group and organizational factors, second, with organizational behaviour studies generalized, to establishing a unified science. Extensive researches carried out, with the conclusions published in the article known as the "Gordon and Howell" report in 1959, were the key factors in establishing of OB as a science. Thus, it's underlined that the present-day OB is a science generated from various social disciplines (psychology, social psychology, political science and anthropology). Thus, interdisciplinary character of OB presents one of the main challenges while working out the organizational behaviour course, a teacher should adjust his/her approach and develop his/her area of competence in comparison to his/her basic education, and should ensure balance in core constituent elements representation, when describing phenomena and concepts of organizational behaviour. Otherwise, the course might turn into a summary of the "Psychology of Management" or the "Sociology of Management", and might not fulfill its integrative function. Hereafter the article scrutinizes a list of topics studied by OB and concludes that there is a wide range of OB issues, even simple enumeration of the crucial issues proves it: individual behaviour management, group management, organizational process management, motivation of employees, organizational culture establishing. Thus, another challenge is being set forth comprehensive presentation of all the aspects of this discipline in a study course poses a rather challenging task. Third challenge, from the author's perspective, manifests itself in a fact that contemporary organizational theory studies both various types of organizational behaviour and manifold versions of organizational behaviour as well as means of interpreting them. For the most part it is determined by diversity of approaches to organizational theory in psychology, sociology and other behavioral sciences. Thus, psychological science distinguishes between at least six markedly different methodological aspects. The article pays most attention to the methodology of individual differences, behavioural, non-behavioural and psychoanalytical approaches. Sociological and social anthropological approaches, which are the basics for interpretation of organizational behaviour variation, encompass much more nine, at least. Taking into account the abovementioned, the author formulates the forth challenge how to share extensive knowledge acquired in the area of OB as a managerial science, within managerial education study course in higher education institution and avoid conceptual narrowness resulting from teacher's commitment to one or another approach. Lastly, we approached the fifth challenge. It is determined by the fact that OB rests upon the researches enriching the discipline of organizational behaviour. Unfortunately, in present-day Russia this discipline represents a "calque" from the American model. Both theoretical and practical researches in various aspects of organizational behaviour in Russian institutions are indispensable to overcome this drawback. Moreover, it is crucial to disclose national specifics of human behaviour at work and opportunity to apply it in order to increase productivity. In support of the abovementioned, the author produces the results of the research conducted in the early nineties in Russia. This research is grounded on the approach to analysis of differences between nations, suggested by G. Hofstede, and goal of the research was to determine how the Russian national culture affects human behaviour in an institution.


Patterns of seed proteins in Triticum monococcum (2n = 2x = 14 = AA), Aegilops ventricosa (2n = 4x = 28 = DDMVMV), and their synthetic amphiploid were studied. The distribution of proteins in the individual Osborne protein fractions of the amphiploid was characterized by a 14 per cent increase in the main reserve-protein group — the gliadins, with a concomitant decrease in the salt-soluble proteins and the glutenins. Also the amino-acid composition, especially of the gliadins, was influenced by the amphiploidy. The gliadins from T. monococcum had higher contents of histidine, arginine, aspartic acid, serine, and isoleucine than Ae. ventricosa. In the amphiploid the epistasis of Ae. ventricosa over T. monococcum in most morphological attributes was parallelled in the amino-acid composition of the Osborne protein fractions. Such parallelism may have evolutionary significance. The salt-soluble proteins of the amphiploid and the parental varieties were separated in two dimensions according to molecular weight by gel chromatography and according to electrical charge at pH 9.5 by disc electrophoresis. Epistasis of Ae. ventricosa was again manifested by the prevalence of major proteins from this species in the amphiploid. Similarities in the protein patterns of T. monococcum and Ae. ventricosa provided further evidence of homoeoallelism in the A, D, and MV genomes. In most instances, however, the amphiploid represented additiveness of the parental proteins, especially with regard to the gliadins.


Round Robben: Fish Hoek Primary School children join Robben Island staff on a "big walk" around the island to promote family fitness and the eating of red meat. The event forms part of a national project by the Directorate of Sport Advancement, sponsored by the Meat Board, for the Heart Foundation. Entrants in this and a host of other walks in the Western Cape stand to win R10 000 in a draw on October 13.


We present a promising application of epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) materials in optical modulators. When a thin ENZ film is sandwiched in a single-mode waveguide, an ENZ-slot waveguide is formed, where the absorption can be greatly enhanced. We propose electroabsorption modulators based on tunable ENZ materials and slot waveguides. Transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) may be employed as the active slot, which can be tuned between ENZ (high absorption) and epsilon-far-from-zero (low absorption) by accumulation carriers. Numerical simulation shows that over 3-dB modulation depth can be achieved in a 250-nm-long TCO-slot waveguide. The modulators have the advantages of nanoscale footprints, small insertion loss, potentially ultrahigh speed, and easy fabrication.


Background: There has been much discussion about whether female feticide occurs in certain immigrant groups in Canada. We examined data on live births in Ontario and compared sex ratios in different groups according to the mother's country or region of birth and parity. Methods: We completed a population-based study of 766 688 singleton live births between 2002 and 2007. We used birth records provided by Ontario Vital Statistics for live births in the province between 23 and 41 weeks' gestation. We categorized each newborn according to the mother's country or region of birth, namely Canada (n = 486 599), Europe (n = 58 505), South Korea (n = 3663), China (n = 23 818), Philippines (n = 15 367), rest of East Asia (n = 18 971), Pakistan (n = 18 018), India (n = 31 978), rest of South Asia (n = 20 695) and other countries (n = 89 074). We calculated male:female ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for all live births by these regions and stratified them by maternal parity at the time of delivery (0, 1, 2 or ≥ 3). Results: Among infants of nulliparous women, the male:female ratio was about 1.05 overall. As parity increased, the ratio remained unchanged among infants of Canadian-born women. In contrast, the male:female ratio was significantly higher among infants of primiparous women born in South Korea (1.20, 95% CI 1.09–1.34) and India (1.11, 95% CI 1.07–1.15) than among infants of Canadian-born primiparous women. Among multiparous women, those born in India were significantly more likely than Canadian-born women to have a male infant (parity 2, ratio 1.36, 95% CI 1.27–1.46; parity ≥ 3, ratio 1.25, 95% CI 1.09–1.43). Interpretation: Our study of male:female ratios in Ontario showed that multiparous women born in India were significantly more likely than multiparous women born in Canada to have a male infant.


This thesis focuses on the relationship between the exchange rate and its determinants using an endogenous monetary policy rule as represented by the Taylor rule. Compared to the recent literature on out-of-sample exchange rate predictability, I extend the model of Molodtsova and Papell (2009) by including two variables representing wealth effects, as has been suggested in the standard Taylor rule models. Using quarterly data from 1975-2008, I first investigate the econometric properties of the Taylor rule applied to U.K., Australian and Swedish data against the US dollar. Various unit root tests indicate that variables commonly used in such models are likely to be integrated of order one. However, by accounting for structural breaks, I can conclude that all variables are stationary. Parameter estimates suggest wealth effects are strongly related to the nominal exchange rates in these countries, in contrast to the standard monetary variables. Furthermore, I evaluate short-horizon exchange rate predictability with the Taylor rule fundamentals model for the U.S. dollar against the Australian dollar, Swedish Krona and British Pound. Following the recent literature, a robust set of out-of-sample statistics, including the Clark and West statistic, Diebold-Mariano statistics and Theil's U ratio are used to evaluate the forecast performance. Current results from the Theil's U ratio and CW statistics shows the Taylor rule incorporating the wealth effect improves the short run exchange rate forecast performance. Finally, we model the exchange rate from 1975 to 2008 as a Smooth Transition Regression (STR) based model in which a series of economically meaningful transition variables drive the movement across exchange rate regimes. The overall findings show strong evidence supporting the nonlinear relationship between the exchange rate and economic variables. Moreover, the STR Taylor rule models of the exchange rate substantially outperform both the random walk model and the linear Taylor rule model in forecasting the exchange rate.


From the upper Pliensbachian–Toarcian interval of the Neotethys, this is the first record of isolated foraminiferal assemblages obtained from the Ammonitico Rosso limestone successions. The studied sections of Bakonycsernye (Hungary) had been dated by ammonites. The foraminiferal fauna extracted by glacial acetic acid yielded 86 benthic foraminiferal taxa. Most specimens belonged to the suborders Spirillinina and Lagenina followed by the Ammodiscina. The representatives of suborders Astrorhizina, Komokioidea, Verneuilinina, Robertinina, and Rotaliina were subordinated; miliolids were absent. Paralingulina csernyensis n. sp. was described from the upper Pliensbachian. The majority of species have wide stratigraphic ranges, however the previously known distributions of seven species changed based on their appearances in these sections. Nevertheless, the stratigraphic distributions of the foraminiferal species enabled accurate dating to stage-level. Based on the comparison of the taxonomic composition with other coeval foraminiferal faunas of the Neotethys, foraminiferal biozones and bioevents are discussed in this paper.


Autophagy is an important process to maintain cellular homeostasis in many cell types including cardiomyocytes. In the heart, defective autophagy in response to pathological stimuli may lead to the development of adverse remodelling and eventually heart failure. The microtubule-associated protein 1S (MAP1S) has previously been identified as an interacting partner of the major autophagy regulator LC3; however, its role in the heart is not completely understood. In this study we investigated the role of microtubule-associated protein 1S (MAP1S) in regulating autophagy during a number of cardiac pathological conditions. siRNA gene silencing was used in Neonatal Rat Cardiomyocyte (NRCM) to knockdown MAP1S. The rate of autophagy was analysed using GFP-LC3 expressing adenovirus. This detection method was also used in fibroblast derived from MAP1S knock out mice (MAP1S -/-). Following rapamycin (5 uM) and chloroquine (3 uM) stimulation, both NRCM lacking MAP1S and Fibroblast derived from MAP1S knockout mice showed increased autophagy after 2 hours treatment compare to control. However, the expression level of p62 and beclin were not differ between NRCM lacking MAP1S, Fibroblast derived from MAP1S knockout mice and control. Interestingly, apoptosis as detected by TUNEL assay was significantly enhanced in NRCM lacking MAP1S. To test the effect of pathological stimuli, we subjected MAP1S-/- mice to transverse aortic constriction (TAC, 2 weeks) or myocardial infarction (MI, 4 weeks). Following MI, we found a significantly higher mortality in MAP1S-/- mice (60%) vs WT control (30%) although the extent of MI was comparable between MAP1S-/- and WT as indicated by cTnI level and the fibrotic infarct area. TUNEL assay exhibited higher apoptosis in MAP1S-/- mice which might contribute to the low survival rate. The surviving MAP1S-/- mice showed reduction in hypertrophic response and consistent in the pressure overload and MI model as we found lower HW/BW ratio in MAP1S-/- mice. This phenotype might be attributable to higher autophagy in the knockout animals. Our findings suggest that MAP1S modulates autophagy and apoptosis in cardiomyocytes. In vivo ablation of MAP1S might impair survival after MI and lead to an attenuated hypertrophic response following pressure overload.


Abstract Study Objectives The shame reaction is a highly negative emotional reaction shown to have long-term deleterious effects on the mental health of clinicians. Prior studies have focused on in-hospital personnel, but very little is known about what drives shame reactions in emergency medical services (EMS), a field with very high rates of post-traumatic stress disorder, burnout, anxiety, and depression. The objective of this study was to describe emotions, processes, and resilience associated with self-identified adverse events in the work of prehospital clinicians. Methods We conducted a qualitative study using a modified critical incident technique. Participants were recruited from two EMS agencies in North Carolina: one urban and one rural. They provided an open-ended, written reflection in which they were asked to self-identify particular events in their EMS careers that felt emotionally difficult. In-person or video in-depth interviews about these events were then conducted in a semi-structured fashion using an iterative interview guide. The codebook was developed through a mix of inductive and deductive analysis strategies and discussed within the research team and a content expert for validation. Interviews were transcribed and data were analyzed following a thematic content analysis approach for types of cases identified as emotionally difficult, common emotional responses and coping mechanisms, and the lingering effects of these experiences on study subjects. Results Eight interviews were conducted with EMS personnel: five from an urban agency and three from a rural agency. Participants commonly identified complex medical cases as being emotionally difficult, which led to the most robust shame reactions. Shame reactions were more common when EMS clinicians committed self-perceived errors in patient care, whereas guilt reactions were more common when patient outcomes seemed "inevitable" despite any intervention. Common themes related to coping mechanisms included both personal mechanisms, which tended to be less successful compared to interpersonal mechanisms, particularly when emotions were shared with colleagues. This reflected a perceived culture change within EMS in which sharing emotions with colleagues was seen as a departure from the "old school" where emotions tended to be kept to oneself. Feelings of inadequacy, low self-worth, and being "not good enough" were frequently identified as lingering emotions after difficult cases that were hard to move on from, corresponding to longstanding shame in these clinicians. Recovery and resilience varied but tended to be positively associated with a culture in which sharing with colleagues was encouraged, along with personal introspection on root causes for the sentinel event. Conclusion EMS clinicians often identify complex patient cases as those leading to emotions such as shame and guilt, with shame reactions being more common when a perceived error was committed. Coping mechanisms were varied, but individuals often relied on their coworkers in a sharing environment to adequately process their negative feelings, which was seen as a departure from past practices in EMS personnel. Our hope is that future studies will be able to use these findings to identify targets for intervention on negative mental health outcomes in EMS personnel.


This paper applies statistical and probabilistic methods to the design of pavements, using the existing AASHTO equations. The major purpose for applying such methods was to assess the variation of the pavement geometry as a function of the variabilities of design factors. A linear first-order approximation was applied on the AASHTO pavement design equation to determine the effect of the variation of traffic and soil support value on the variation of structural number for flexible pavement and the effect of the variation of traffic and concrete flexural strength on the variation of slab thickness for rigid pavements. The mean and variance equations for the pavement geometry were derived by using Taylor's series expansion about the mean. Nomographic solutions of these equations are provided, which would prove helpful in practical applications. The final design thickness of the pavement for a specific service life and design parameters variability is obtained by combining the nomographic solutions with the least cost concept, thereby satisfying economy, performance and statistical design requirements. Examples to illustrate the use of this technique in the design of both flexible and rigid pavements are presented.


We present recent observations from the HST -Cosmic Origins Spectrograph aimed at characterizing the auroral emission from the extrasolar planet HD209458b. We obtained medium-resolution (R ∼ 20,000) far-ultraviolet (1150 – 1700 Å) spectra at both the Phase 0.25 and Phase 0.75 quadrature positions as well as a stellar baseline measurement at secondary eclipse. This analysis includes a catalog of stellar emission lines and a star-subtracted spectrum of the planet. We present an emission model for planetary H2 emission, and compare this model to the planetary spectrum. No unambiguously identifiable atomic or molecular features are detected, and upper limits are presented for auroral/dayglow line strengths. An orbital velocity cross-correlation analysis finds a statistically significant (3.8 σ) feature at +15 (± 20) km s in the rest frame of the planet, at λ1582 Å. This feature is consistent with emission from H2 B – X (2 – 9) P(4) (λrest = 1581.11 Å), however the physical mechanism required to excite this transition is unclear. We compare limits on relative line strengths seen in the exoplanet spectrum with models of ultraviolet fluorescence to constrain the atmospheric column density of neutral hydrogen between the star and the planetary surface. These results support models of short period extrasolar giant planets with weak magnetic fields and extended atomic atmospheres. Subject headings: stars: planetary systems — stars: individual (HD209458) — stars: atmospheres — ultraviolet: stars


BACKGROUND AND AIMS
endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) patients usually present protein-energy malnutrition, but little is known about selenium deficiency. We aimed to assess serum selenium evolution when patients underwent PEG, after 4 and 12 weeks. We also evaluated the evolution of albumin, transferrin and Body Mass Index and the influence of the nature of the underlying disease.

METHODS
a blood sample was obtained before PEG (T0), after 4 (T1) and 12 (T3) weeks. Selenium was assayed using GFAAS (Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy). The PEG patients were fed through homemade meals. Patients were studied as a whole and divided into two groups: head and neck cancer (HNC) and neurological dysphagia (ND).

RESULTS
we assessed 146 patients (89 males), between 21-95 years old: HNC-56; ND-90. Normal values of selenium in 79% (n=115); low albumin in 77, low transferrin in 94, low values for both serum proteins in 66. Low BMI in 78. Selenium has slow evolution, with most patients still displaying normal Selenium at T3 (82%). Serum protein levels increase from T0 to T3, most patients reaching normal values. The nature of the underlying disease is associated with serum proteins but not with selenium.

CONCLUSIONS
low serum selenium is uncommon when PEG is performed, after 4 and 12 weeks of enteral feeding and cannot be related with serum proteins levels or dysphagia cause. Enteral nutrition using customized homemade kitchen meals is satisfactory to prevent or correct Selenium deficiency in the majority of PEG patients.


An improved meshless method is presented, with an emphasis on the detailed description of this new computational technique and its numerical implementations, by investigating the usefulness of a commonly neglected parameter. Two approaches to enforce essential boundary conditions are also thoroughly investigated. Numerical tests on a mathematical function are carried out as a means of validating the proposed method. It is seen that the proposed method is more robust than the conventional ones. Applications in solving electromagnetic problems are also presented.


The aim of the thesis was to determine whether synergistic or additive metabolic benefits could be derived with the use of two plant-based components with independent physiological activities and whether the use of these two agents would improve diabetes control in the long term. Viscous fibres reduce postprandial glycaemia, insulinaemia and gastrointestinal hormones levels, their effectiveness being dependent on the viscosity of the fibre. Long term studies with viscous fibre have shown reductions in serum cholesterol, and improvements in metabolic control and blood pressure in type 2 diabetes. Konjac mannan fibre (KJM) is a high viscosity, viscous fibre. American ginseng (AG) increases insulin secretion and improves glycaemic control in type 2 diabetes. The suggested active ginseng components are the ginsenosides. As both AG and KJM have been shown to improve diabetes control through independent physiological mechanisms, this thesis explores the possible benefits of using them in combination. To test potential additive effects of KJM and AG, an acute experiment was performed in thirteen subjects with type 2 diabetes where AG and/or KJM were incorporated into a liquid meal replacement as a breakfast, followed 4 hours later by a standard lunch. Contrary to previous findings, neither AG or KJM when given individually, reduced postprandial glucose and insulin levels by the expected amounts; moreover the combination did not result in glucose levels significantly different from control. The study did demonstrate that KJM flattens the postprandial response of glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide (p<0.04) and glucagon like peptide-1 (p<0.02). In addition KJM reduced the glucose area under the curve to a standard meal following the fibre enriched breakfast. Subsequent experiments showed that, despite high ginsenoside levels, the AG used was ineffective and the liquid replacement meal inhibited the gel formation of the KJM. In preparation for a long-term intervention study, acute experiments were performed to select a physiologically effective AG, and to determine the most effective and palatable method of KJM incorporation. Incorporation of KJM into bread, capsules and margarine reduced the incremental areas under the glucose curve by 3%, 12% and 34% compared with control, with only the margarine being significantly different (p<0.001). Further experiments showed that incorporation of 1g of KJM into margarine and 4g of KJM into bread reduced the glucose AUC to a similar extent. KJM capsules has no acute effect on postprandial glycaemia, regardless of the timing of their administration relative to the meal. Three months of 6g of viscous fibre and 3g of AG administration to 30 subjects with type 2 diabetes resulted in significant percent-change difference from control in HbA1c (-4.1+/-1.4%, p<0.01), total cholesterol (-5.7+/-1.9%, p<0.00), LDL-cholesterol (- 8.2+/-3.1%, p<0.002) and apoliporotein B (-9.0+/-2.3%, p<0.0005). It was estimated the combination of viscous fibre and AG resulted in a 14% risk reduction in coronary heart disease. The studies in this thesis illustrate some of the difficulties of working with "natural" products but also their potentially effective use in the treatment of type 2 diabetes.


Quality control of medical radiological systems is of fundamental importance, and requires efficient methods for accurately determine the X-ray source spectrum. Straightforward measurements of X-ray spectra in standard operating require the limitation of the high photon flux, and therefore the measure has to be performed in a laboratory. However, the optimal quality control requires frequent in situ measurements which can be only performed using a portable system.
To reduce the photon flux by 3 magnitude orders an indirect technique based on the scattering of the X-ray source beam by a solid target is used. The measured spectrum presents a lack of information because of transport and detection effects. The solution is then unfolded by solving the matrix equation that represents formally the scattering problem. However, the algebraic system is ill-conditioned and, therefore, it is not possible to obtain a satisfactory solution. Special strategies are necessary to circumvent the ill-conditioning. Numerous attempts have been done to solve this problem by using purely mathematical methods. In this thesis, a more physical point of view is adopted. The proposed method uses both the forward and the adjoint solutions of the Boltzmann transport equation to generate a better conditioned linear algebraic system.
The procedure has been tested first on numerical experiments, giving excellent results. Then, the method has been verified with experimental measurements performed at the Operational Unit of Health Physics of the University of Bologna. The reconstructed spectra have been compared with the ones obtained with straightforward measurements, showing very good agreement.


In this paper, the adsorption characteristics of cationic polyelectrolyte PDADMAC on BGF particles and Zeta potential of BGF particles have been investigated. A new type of composite abrasive slurry was obtained with cationic polyelectrolyte modified BGF particles and its polishing performance was studied. Experimental results showed that the Zeta potential of the modified BGF particles was changed from negative to positive and the maximum value (+35mv) was obtained when the adsorption saturation was achieved, and the adsorption capacity of SiO2 abrasives on BGF particles was improved significantly as well. The material removal rate was 469nm/min with the modified BGF/ SiO2 composite abrasives slurry containing 5% SiO2 and 3% modified BGF particles, increasing by 47% and 89% than those of the unmodified BGF/SiO2 composite abrasives slurry (319nm/min) and the single silica abrasives slurry (248nm/min), respectively.


Reviews the book, The Behavioral Health Specialist in Primary Care: Skills for Integrated Practice edited by Mary Ann Burg and Oliver Oyama (see record 2015-46891-000). The editors and the chapter authors of this useful book provide insight into the skills and knowledge needed to do integrated behavioral health in primary care. The most beneficial part of the book is the layout of the chapters, and the authors do a great job of articulating the clinical components of care. Behavioral health and medical providers in practice or in training could greatly benefit from reading this book. (PsycINFO Database Record


Since the industrial revolution, technology has had a defining role in society. From the built environment to domestic needs, technology has increasingly automated the world; the world has become immersed and increasingly in service to these advancements. However, in a world saturated in technology, the real-world still matters; a persistent blindnessto social, discriminatory and racial matters is still heavily ingrained and needs addressing.
This thesis is an investigation of the current machine age - a development of the First and Second Machine ages described by Banham, then Pawley, in the second half of last century. Today's 'Third Machine Age' is less mechanical - our machines are commercial, silent, and out-of-sight algorithms that use our own personal data as fuel: for the convenience of social media, we blindly provide our identities as grist to this mill.
But there are also opportunities for a socially-engaged architecture in this digitally saturated and persistently blind Third Machine Age. This research explores the idea of a national museum for the twenty-first century (with its Third Machine Age implications), offering an alternative to the singular, authoritative (colonial) interpretation of national identity and it's curation in static ('iconic') built form. The objective is a nimble, critically-engaged, digitally augmented and ephemeral place-based intervention that foregrounds multiple and competing cultural and personal histories.
In an age where the idea of 'place' is being challenged by the architectures of 'non-place' and physical experience is increasingly supplanted by virtual engagement, it is difficult for architecture to remain relevant. This thesis is a provocative statement of one such way that architects can take a stand and make socially meaningful contributions to the Third Machine Age.


Wireless sensor networks are collections of autonomous devices with computational, sensing and wireless communication capabilities. Research in this area has been growing in the past few years given the wide range of applications that can benefit from such a technology. In this paper, the development of a highly modular and miniaturised wireless platform for sensor networks is described. The system incorporates a radio transceiver in the 2.4 GHz ISM band with embedded protocol software to minimize power consumption and maximize data throughput. Additional input capability for sensor and actuator integration can be incorporated seamlessly due to the modular nature of the system. The total system is packaged in a modular 25mm cubed form factor.


A polyphenol rich extract derived from the leaves of olive trees (Olea europaea) may be
used as a nutritional supplement. This olive leaf extract (OLE) has a high concentration of
the secoiridoid, oleuropein and its derivative, hydroxytyrosol (HT). Recent randomised
control trials demonstrate hypotensive and anti-hyperglycaemic activity for OLE in human
volunteers; the mechanisms for these effects are still uncertain. The high consumption of
olive polyphenols may, in part, explain the noted protection against chronic disease
associated with the Mediterranean diet. The classical Mediterranean lifestyle as observed
by Ancel Keys, involved not only a healthy diet, but also a high level of physically activity.
Research investigating the synergistic benefits of including olive polyphenols as part of an
active lifestyle is limited.
The aims of this thesis were; first, to explore plausible mechanisms that might explain
previously observed anti-glycaemic and hypotensive responses to OLE in human
volunteers; and second, to investigate the synergistic hypotensive effects of consuming
olive leaf extract alongside increasing physical activity in individuals with slightly elevated
blood pressure. Our hypotheses were that olive polyphenols would inhibit enzymes
involved in glucose and fat digestion in the small intestine, and that these polyphenols
inhibit glucose uptake by the gut epithelia resulting in improved blood sugar control. In
relation to their anti-hypertensive effects we hypothesised that they would enhance NO
production and suppress angiotensin enzymes. Finally, we hypothesised that there might
be a synergistic effect of consuming the OLE and increasing physical activity in terms of
reducing blood pressure.
OLE may influence the digestion of macronutrients. We show it to inhibit pancreatic αamylase
and lipase in a dose dependent manner; IC50 OLE; 3.23 ± 0.33 mM and 1.83 ±
0.03 mM, respectively. Further, we suggest that the rate of sugar absorption in the small
intestine may be influenced by the presence of OLE, this is based on our observation of a
reduction in the mRNA expression for genes encoding intestinal glucose transporters
(SGLT1, GLUT2) in Caco-2 cells which was coupled to a reduction in glucose uptake
measured in vitro. To explain the anti-hypertensive effects of OLE, we first studied NO production in HUVEC
cells. At concentrations of OLE equivalent to 100 µM oleuropein, NO production is
enhanced compared to that observed in untreated controls (p < 0.05). However, we
deem these concentrations super-physiological, and more work is needed to establish the
potency of olive leaf phenolic metabolites on this cell system. The inhibitory effects of
OLE and its principal polyphenols were assessed against renin and against the angiotensin
converting enzyme (ACE). OLE inhibited renin and ACE activity with an IC50 value of 63.08
± 2.90 µM and 60.86 ± 5.68 µM, respectively, again the concentrations required to reduce
the activity of these enzymes in order to explain the reductions in blood pressure
observed in intervention study are unlikely to be achieved in vivo.
Following the in vitro studies, we conducted a double-blind, four-arm parallel trial in 63
pre-hypertensive overweight adults aged 25-70y who were assigned to one of four
treatment arms for 12 weeks: i) a placebo control group- with a daily capsule; ii) an
increasing physical activity and a placebo capsule group; iii) an olive leaf extract arm
(equivalent to 132 mg of oleuropein per day; iv) a physical activity and olive leaf extract
arm. The primary outcome measure for the study was the change in 24-h ambulatory
blood pressure (ABP). Secondary outcome measures were arterial stiffness index, plasma
HbA1C levels, fasted glucose and insulin, serum lipid profiles and body composition. 24-h
SBP (-5.80 (±SD 7.63), p = 0.011) and day time SBP (-5.07 (±SD 7.16), p = 0.025) were
significantly lower following OLE intake. The PA intervention alone resulted in lower 24-h
SBP (-3.69(±SD 9.39), p = 0.031) and daytime SBP (-4.19 (±SD 10.27), p = 0.041).
Consuming the OLE alongside being increasing physical active reduced 24-h SBP (-3.88
(±SD 6.65), p = 0.027) relative to the baseline. The magnitude of SBP change observed in
this thesis would suggest that regular OLE intake as part of healthy lifestyle may be
associated with a 9-14 % reduction in CHD risk and a 20-22 % reduction in risk of stroke.
There were however, no effects on stiffness index, body composition, lipids, HbA1c,
glucose and insulin in all groups after 12 weeks (p > 0.05).
In this thesis, we provide mechanistic explanations for the findings of previous
intervention studies. Understanding the biological mechanisms is a key component of the
Bradford-Hill criteria when it comes to proving efficacy. Publications arising from this
thesis may therefore provide further evidence for the assessment of health claims by olive producers in the European market. In addition, we believe that following this thesis,
there is now abundance of data proving that, olive phenolics when consumed chronically,
at appropriate doses, reduce blood pressure in pre-hypertensive consumers. However,
we still do not have a fundamental grasp of the mechanisms involved or an understanding
of the relative potency of the individual phenolics in this crude extract. Nevertheless, the
findings presented herein have commercial and public health significance. Consuming the
OLE delivers the beneficial polyphenols at high doses and minus the need to ingest large
amounts of energy dense olive oil. OLE consumption, in the absence of increasing physical
activity, led to a more optimal blood pressure profile, however the benefits of increasing
physical activity are wide and we would continue to recommend it to OLE consumers.


Abstarct The aim of this paper is to examine the potential for forensic archaeology to develop in Australia. A brief history of the development of the discipline is provided highlighting the ways in which archaeological principles and techniques have been used in North America and Britain to enhance the investigation of crime and disaster scenes. While a number of practitioners with expertise in biological anthropology have assisted police in forensic-related work involving human remains in Australia or its near neighbours, little use has been made of the archaeologist in the investigation of domestic forensic cases. The frequency of homicides and minimal knowledge about what exactly forensic archaeology encompasses are considered as possible reasons for the limited use of forensic archaeology in Australia. International case studies clearly illustrate the benefits of including an archaeologist in the investigation of a crime and/or disaster scene. It is argued that Australia should learn from these case studies and look to develop a professional group of forensic archaeologists.


Mobile Ad hoc Network is a collection of wireless mobile nodes forming a network without using any existing infrastructure. MANET is a collection of mobile nodes equipped with both a wireless-transmitter and receiver that communicate with each other via bi-directional wireless links either directly or indirectly. A new intrusion detection system named Enhanced Adaptive Acknowledgement (EAACK) specially designed for MANETs. EAACK is capable of detecting malicious nodes despite the existence of false misbehavior report and compared it against other popular mechanisms in different scenarios through simulation. The results will demonstrate positive performances against Watchdog, TWOACK and AACK in the cases of receiver collision, limited transmission power and false misbehavior report. EAACK demonstrates higher malicious behavior detection rates in certain circumstances while does not greatly affect the network performances. Keywords—ACK,EAACK,MANETetc


Motivated by federated learning, we consider the hub-and-spoke model of distributed optimization in which a central authority coordinates the computation of a solution among many agents while limiting communication. We first study some past procedures for federated optimization, and show that their fixed points need not correspond to stationary points of the original optimization problem, even in simple convex settings with deterministic updates. In order to remedy these issues, we introduce FedSplit, a class of algorithms based on operator splitting procedures for solving distributed convex minimization with additive structure. We prove that these procedures have the correct fixed points, corresponding to optima of the original optimization problem, and we characterize their convergence rates under different settings. Our theory shows that these methods are provably robust to inexact computation of intermediate local quantities. We complement our theory with some simple experiments that demonstrate the benefits of our methods in practice.


We present the first data of body size and age structure (based on the skeletochronological examination) of Darevskia bithynica from two localities characterised with different altitudes, i.e. Zonguldak (50 m) and Bolu (1200 m). Males from both lowland and highland populations were slightly larger than females. This difference was not significant for the lowland population. The maximum lifespan was found to be six years for both populations. Intersexual differences in snout-vent length were male-biased and this may be linked to the climatic conditions.


Daily human activities, e.g., locomotion, exercises, and resting, are heavily guided by the tactile interactions between the human and the ground. In this work, leveraging such tactile interactions, we propose a 3D human pose estimation approach using the pressure maps recorded by a tactile carpet as input. We build a low-cost, high-density, large-scale intelligent carpet, which enables the real-time recordings of human-floor tactile interactions in a seamless manner. We collect a synchronized tactile and visual dataset on various human activities. Employing a state-of-the-art camera-based pose estimation model as supervision, we design and implement a deep neural network model to infer 3D human poses using only the tactile information. Our pipeline can be further scaled up to multi-person pose estimation. We evaluate our system and demonstrate its potential applications in diverse fields.


Consumer credit borrowing – using credit cards, store cards and personal loans – is an important and routine part of many of our lives. But what happens when these everyday forms of borrowing go 'bad', when people start to default on their loans and when they cannot, or will not, repay? It is this poorly understood, controversial, but central part of both the consumer credit industry and the lived experiences of an increasing number of people that this book explores. Drawing on research from the interior of the debt collections industry, as well as debtors' own accounts and historical research into technologies of lending and collection, it examines precisely how this ever more sophisticated, globally connected market functions. It focuses on the highly intimate techniques used to try and recoup defaulting debts from borrowers, as well as on the collection industry's relationship with lenders. Joe Deville follows a journey of default, from debtors' borrowing practices, to the intrusion of collections technologies into their homes and everyday lives, to the collections organisation, to attempts by debtors to seek outside help. In the process he shows how to understand this particular market, we need to understand the central role played within it by emotion and affect. By opening up for scrutiny an area of the economy which is often hidden from view, this book makes a major contribution both to understanding the relationship between emotion and calculation in markets and the role of consumer credit in our societies and economies. This book will be of interest to students, teachers and researchers in a range of fields, including sociology, anthropology, cultural studies, economics and social psychology.


As rapid economic growth in China has led to significant appreciation of urban real estate market values, this study examines China's influence on Asian–Pacific real estate markets by focusing on their respective market integration with the US, Japan and China during the period January 2005 to December 2017. Market integration is examined by unconditional and time‐varying conditional correlations, nonlinear Granger causality and dynamic connectedness effects. Overall, although the US and Japanese real estate markets have significantly influenced return and volatility in the regional markets, China has emerged as another major regional real estate volatility leader with rising influence over volatility integration, especially during the 2007–2011 crisis period. Financial crises have strengthened China's volatility connectedness effects and market integration with other Asian–Pacific real estate markets. Our results imply that the benefits of regional portfolio diversification may be declining as volatility integration across the Chinese and Asian–Pacific real estate markets becomes stronger. Therefore, diversified global investors should pay greater attention to these real estate markets.