This paper focuses in the design of an adaptive sliding mode control (SMC) for induction motor drives, that reduces the high frequency chattering that usually appears in the SMC schemes. The proposed design consist of a sliding mode control law that incorporates an adaptive switching gain. This adaptive switching gain avoids the need of calculating an upper limit of the system uncertainties as it is usual in the traditional SMC schemes. The proposed scheme uses the so-called field oriented control theory that allows to control the induction motor like a separately excited direct current motor drive, where the field flux (produced by the field current) and the armature flux (produced by the armature current) are decoupled. A stability analysis based on Lyapunov theory is also performed in order to guarantee the closed loop stability.


Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) activation is neuroprotective and nicotine is a cognitive enhancer. Loss of nAChRs, deposition of tau neurofibrillary tangles, cleavage of amyloid precursor protein (APP) and inflammation are well documented in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Sequential cleavage of APP by β- and γ-secretase enzymes generates soluble Aβ peptides, with oligomeric forms of Aβ implicated in both the control of synaptic excitability and dysregulation of synaptic transmission and induction of neuronal death in AD. Aβ production is inhibited by calcium-dependent recruitment of α-secretase, as exemplified by activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDAR). All neurodegenerative diseases are associated with inflammation, arising from altered homeostasis of the innate immune system, resulting in heightened activation of immune cells and induction of a pro-inflammatory environment. Stimulation of the α7 subtype of nAChR is anti-inflammatory and also enhances cognition and promotes neuronal survival. This work addressed the hypotheses that stimulation of highly calcium-permeable α7nAChR inhibits Aβ production by promoting α-secretase-mediated processing of APP and also modulates inflammatory cellular behaviour of microglia. Thus, this study assessed the role of α7nAChR at glutamatergic synapses, through probing effects on APP processing and phagocytosis in primary cortical neurons and microglia, respectively. Primary cortical neurons expressed functional α7nAChR and glutamate receptors, and through a number of experimental approaches, including immunoblotting and a cleavage reporter assay, results indicated α7nAChR activation with the α7nAChR-selective agonist PNU-282987 and positive allosteric modulator PNU-120596 had no effect on APP and Tau, in contrast to NMDAR activation that significantly modulated these proteins. Data suggest low expression of α7nAChR, coupled with distinct localisation of presynaptic α7nAChR and postsynaptic APP could explain the lack of effect. In addition, primary microglia were highly responsive to lipopolysaccharide and possessed functional α7nAChR that coupled to ERK phosphorylation. Microglial α7nAChR activation promoted neuroprotective phagocytic behaviour, in agreement with the 'cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway'. This study supports the hypothesis that α7nAChR are modulators of anti-inflammatory behaviour, thus α7nAChR-selective ligands are viable candidates for the treatment of AD and promoting cognitive enhancement.


Climate change is the most significant stressor that is anticipated increasingly to affect human and global ecosystems. Arthropods, including insects, are particularly vulnerable to global warming and this group is often used for various ecotoxicological tests. In addition, temperature is one of the most important toxicity‐modifying factors in ecotoxicology. Therefore, temperature dependent toxicological research is required to obtain ecologically relevant conclusions during the current era of rapid climate change. This study shows that two midge species (Chironomus riparius Meigen and C. yoshimatsui Martin et Sublette) exhibit different developmental characteristics and responses to cadmium and lead heavy metals with temperature. The former species is an internationally standardized test species in ecotoxicological studies, whereas the latter species is native to Korea. Hence, even though these two species belong to the same genus, Chironomus, their development differs with temperature, which leads to different responses to heavy metals. There was a decline in developmental time (from egg and larva to pupa) for both species with temperature; however, there was a species difference in the rate of decline. In the acute toxicity test, the 48‐hr LC50 values for cadmium and lead decreased with temperature for both species. In the chronic toxicity test, emergence rates tended to decrease with temperature, except for when C. yoshimatsui was exposed to cadmium.


Ian McEwan is one of the modernist writers who utilises new and uncommon ways of narrating. We find him dealing with history, wars and social themes, all knitted together in a manoeuvring way. The unreliable narrator, a technique he employs, is an innovation first seen in the modern era in Wayne C. Booth's 'The Rhetoric of Fiction' in 1961. McEwan's employment of this technique is an issue needing further analysis. In 'Atonement', his character Briony, who is still a child, narrates parts of the novel but her narration is questioned, for she might not be truthful or honest. Her being unreliable adds much to the novel and affects the fates of her sister Cecelia and the latter's lover, Robbie. It is not only a matter of telling the story, it also interferes in the discourse of the action and propels the events in a different direction. As a result, it seems dubious to give the role of talking to a character (Briony) to narrate and cope with events, and so her telling is questioned to a certain extent because the events she narrates are deceitful on the one hand, while on the other, she is too young and hard to be trusted. The present paper attempts to read 'Atonement' from a new perspective and show what is meant by an unreliable narrator and how this technique is employed. How significant is the technique in terms of recounting the events in a piece of fiction? This paper illustrates the significance of the aforementioned technique, which adds new understanding to the reading of McEwan's 'Atonement'.


The oral cavity remains an underappreciated site for SARS-CoV-2 infection despite the myriad oral conditions observed in COVID-19 patients. Recently, replicating SARS-CoV-2 was found inside salivary epithelial cells resulting in inflammation and atrophy of salivary glands. Saliva possesses healing properties crucial for maintaining the health of the oral mucosa. Specifically, salivary antimicrobial peptides, most notable, histatin-5 exclusively produced in salivary glands, plays a vital role in innate immunity against colonizing microbial species. The demonstration of SARS-CoV-2 destruction of gland tissue where histatin-5 is produced strongly indicate that histatin-5 production is compromised due to COVID-19. Here we present a case of a patient presenting with unexplained chronic oral dysesthesia and dysgeusia post-recovery from COVID-19. To explore potential physiological mechanisms behind the symptoms, we comparatively analyzed saliva samples from the patient and matched healthy subject for histatin-5 and key cytokines. Findings demonstrated significantly reduced histatin-5 levels in patient's saliva and activation of the Th17 inflammatory pathway. As histatin-5 exhibits potent activity against the opportunistic oral pathogen Candida albicans, we evaluated saliva potency against C. albicans ex vivo. Compared to control, patient saliva exhibited significantly reduced anti-candidal efficacy. Although speculative, based on history and salivary analysis we hypothesize that salivary histatin-5 production may be compromised due to SARS-CoV-2 mediated salivary gland destruction. With the current lack of emphasis on implications of COVID-19 on oral health, this report may provide lacking mechanistic insights that may lead to reassessment of risks for oral opportunistic infections and mucosal inflammatory processes in acutely-ill and recovered COVID-19 patients.


Spontaneous creations often exist in nature but rarely in philosophy. Yet, theemergence of the International Network of Philosophy of Religion (INPR) was such an instance.  France and the United States have long been linked, not just in friendship, but in thought. Paul Ricoeur, Jacques Derrida, and, more recently, Jean-Luc Marion have been among some of the French pioneers bridging this divide. More than a matter of an affiliation to a particular school of thought, a true"bridge of friendship" has been constructed across the ocean, as if these waters were not enough to separate us.


Summary

Who wants to farm? In an era of land grabs and environmental uncertainty, improving smallholder productivity has become a higher priority on the poverty and food security agenda in development, focusing attention on the next generation of farmers. Yet emerging evidence about the material realities and social norms and desires of young people in developing countries indicates a reasonably widespread withdrawal from work on the land as an emerging norm. While de-agrarianisation is not new, policymakers are correct to be concerned about a withdrawal from the sector: smallholder productivity growth, and agricultural transformation more broadly, depend in part on the extent to which capable, skilled young people can be retained or attracted to farming, and on policies that support that retention. So who wants to farm, and under what conditions? Where are economic, environmental and social conditions favourable to active recruitment by educated young people into farming? What policy and programmatic conditions are creating attractive opportunities in farming or agro-food industry livelihoods?

This paper explores these conditions in a context of food price volatility, and in particular rising food prices since 2007. To do so, it analyses primary qualitative research on the attitudes of young people and their families to farming in 2012, a time when food prices had been high and volatile for half a decade. In theory, assuming higher prices benefit small farmers, food farming should be more attractive since food prices started to rise in 2007. But this simple causal assumption overlooks both that in many developing countries, it takes considerable economic power – ownership or access to cultivable land and affordable credit for inputs – to turn a profit in farming. It also fails to take into account more sociological explanations governing work and occupational choice – status aspiration and merit on the one hand, and perceived risk on the other. These two explanations help to explain why young people from relatively low income families, particularly those most likely to innovate and raise productivity levels, do not perceive farming as a realistically desirable occupational choice.

Based on analysis of interviews, focus group discussion and household case studies with almost 1500 people in 23 rural, urban and peri-urban communities in low and middle income Asian, African and Latin American countries in 2012, this research digs deeper into some of the established explanations as to why youth in developing countries appear reluctant to enter farming, and identifies conditions under which capable and enterprising youth are being attracted to farming, and entry-points for youth participation in policymaking around agriculture and food security.


This paper constructs and calibrates a parsimonious model of occupational choice that allows for entrepreneurial entry, exit, and investment decisions in the presence of borrowing constraints. The model fits very well a number of empirical observations, including the observed wealth distribution for entrepreneurs and workers. At the aggregate level, more restrictive borrowing constraints generate less wealth concentration and reduce average firm size, aggregate capital, and the fraction of entrepreneurs. Voluntary bequests allow some high‐ability workers to establish or enlarge an entrepreneurial activity. With accidental bequests only, there would be fewer very large firms and less aggregate capital and wealth concentration.


Abstract. Precipitation change in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region (TGRR) plays a critical role in the operation and regulation of the Three Gorges Dam (TGD) as well as the protection of residents and properties. The potential impacts of the TGD on local and regional circulation patterns, especially the precipitation patterns, have received considerable attention since its construction. However, how the moisture transport affects the precipitation change in the TGRR spatially and temporally remains obscure. In this study, we investigate the long-term moisture sources of precipitation as well as their contributions to the precipitation change over the TGRR using an atmospheric moisture tracking model. Results suggest that although with seasonal variation, the moisture contributing to the TGRR precipitation primarily originate from the areas southwest of the TGRR dominated by the Indian summer monsoon. In particular, the sources with the highest annual moisture contribution are the southwestern part of the Yangtze River Basin and the southeastern tip of the Tibetan Plateau (TP). On average, 41 %, 56 %, and 3 % of the TGRR precipitation originate from ocean, land, and local recycling, respectively. In addition, the decreased precipitation over the TGRR during 1979–2015 is mainly attributed to the significantly decreased moisture contribution from the source regions southwest of the TGRR (especially around the southeastern tip of the TP). Compared to dry years, the higher precipitation in the TGRR during wet years is contributed by the extra moisture from the southwestern source regions delivered by the intensified southwesterly monsoon winds.


Linear proportional-integral (PI) controllers are widely used in power converter applications. In a recent paper, a methodology to design such controllers ensuring asymptotic stability was proposed. The technique relied on the basic fact that if an affine system can be rendered passive with a constant control, then it is stabilizable with a PI. A structural condition was imposed then on the power converter to satisfy the former property with a passive output generated as a linear combination of the states. This condition is technical and has no clear physical interpretation. In this brief this result is extended in three directions: first, the aforementioned condition is removed; second, a larger class of converters (with switching external sources) is considered; third, the load resistance is assumed unknown and an adaptive PI controller (with three different estimators) is proposed. Instrumental to establish the result is the proof that the nonlinear incremental model of power converters defines a passive map-a property first observed by Sanders and Verghese in the early 1990's. The methodology is applied to the problem of power factor compensation of a 3-phase voltage source rectifier, already considered in our previous paper, which is revisited from the incremental passivity perspective yielding simpler proofs. Also, a stable adaptive PI is designed for the output voltage regulation of a quadratic boost converter. Simulations complete the brief.


This paper aims at analyzing the social and political conflict between the different tribal groups within the Umayyad rule and to establish a link between the Islamic values adopted by some of the Umayyad Caliphs and the `Abbasid Revolution.  One of the particular concerns of this paper is to see the changes following the `Abbasid Revolution's victory, mainly the complete assimilation of all members of the Muslim community, Arabs and non-Arabs into the empire. The transfer of the Islamic capital from Damascus to Baghdad had its significance namely the intersection of several trade-routs which could give real prosperity to the `Abbasid empire, and subsequently led to the remarkable rapid spread of Islam among the non-Arabs in the east and the far-east including the Malay Archipelago. The remarks in this paper are intended to present a new picture of conclusion reached in a more detailed study of the `Abbasid Revolution, conclusions which are based on evidence contained in the earliest Arabic sources available to us.


Fontana, California, December 23, 2010 – The Mayor and City Council announce that a State of Emergency has been declared for the City of Fontana. Extreme and unpredicted weather has caused excessive and extensive damage and destruction to public facilities, and the initial estimated costs to repair the damage are greater than the City's fiscal ability to recover. The City Manager, acting in his capacity as the Director of Emergency Services of the City of Fontana, is authorized to issue a proclamation of the existence or threatened existence of a local emergency and has done so, in accordance with Chapter 8 of the City of Fontana Municipal Code. An emergency City Council Meeting was held at 3:30 PM on Thursday, December 23, 2010 ratifying the Proclamation issued by the Director of Emergency Services, declaring that a State of Emergency exists in the City of Fontana. In accordance with Section 54956.5 of the Brown Act, one hour notice was given to all stations and newspapers that have requested notification of special meetings.


Let B(kappa, lambda) be the subalgebra of P(kappa) generated by [kappa]^{<= lambda}. It is shown that if B is any homomorphic image of B(kappa, lambda) then either |B|< 2^lambda or |B|=|B|^lambda, moreover if X is the Stone space of B then either |X| <= 2^{2^lambda} or |X|=|B|=|B|^lambda. This implies the existence of 0-dimensional compact T_2 spaces whose cardinality and weight spectra omit lots of singular cardinals of ``small'' cofinality.


A 55-year-old patient was admitted to hospital because of acute epigastric pain which could also be felt in the thorax and the left side of the abdomen. After an examination of the lab results, the patient was diagnosed with an acute pancreatitis. In this particular case alcoholic or biliary genesis could be excluded. The pancreatitis progressed in a non-complicated interstitial form. To exclude malignoma as the cause of the pancreatitis, an endosonographic examination was performed. The endosonography showed multiple pathological lymph nodes in the mediastinum, in the region of the truncus coeliacus and the liver hilus. Endosonographic fine needle aspiration of a mediastinal lymph node was not conclusive. A gastroscopic examination excluded a carcinoma of the oesophagus or stomach. An X-ray of the thorax showed inconspicuous results without any trace of bronchial carcinoma. The CT confirmed the endosonographic findings with pathological mediastinal and double sided hilar lymph nodes which also spread to the truncus coeliacus and the hilus of the liver. In order to obtain a representative histology of these lymph nodes - as lymphoma was suspected - a mediastinoscopy was finally performed. The histopathology showed lymphadenitis and epithelioid cell granulomas pointing to sarcoidosis. In summary, sarcoidosis type I in association with an acute pancreatitis was diagnosed. Due to the spontaneous course of the disease, therapy with corticosteroids was not necessary. The patient was recommended to undergo another CT scan after 2 - 3 months.


Despite the extensive research by ethnomusicologists on a number of musical cultures, little attention has been given to Iraqi music. The term besta (literally, happiness) is used by Iraqis to signify the genre, which in formal Arabic is called ʾughniyeh. This thesis examines the besta genre in the community of the villages in Dhi-QAr province in southern Iraq. The aims of the study are: to place the songs of the area in their cultural context, classify the repertoire into different categories, develop an analytical methodology, analyse (recorded) examples of the besta song and archive the songs as rare examples f a somewhat endangered Iraqi genre.

Two approaches were followed in order to achieve these objectives: an ethnographic approach, to study the local community and explore the social context of singing, and an analytical approach, to explore the musical characteristics of the besta songs. The analysis involves study of the songs' texts and their melodic features.

The results show that traditions are stronger than religious values in what is a completely male-dominated society, one in which women have little cultural role to play. Results of the analysis of the text identified poetic elements of the text such as the darmi as the dominant poetic metre, with parting as the main theme, and anguish and sadness as the central emotions of the texts. The results of the melodic analyses show that the intervallic structure of the songs' melodies relies on a number of Iraqi and Arabic tetrachords, and that the Beyat tetrachord in particular is the most common among the songs. A number of structural characteristics of the melodies have been identified. Beside other patterns, the Maqsum is the most common accompaniment in the songs. It is hoped that the ethnographic and analytical approach developed in this study will lay the foundations for future studies of Iraqi and Arabic music.


Objective Multiple studies have shown, retrospectively, the inverse relationship between packing density and aneurysm recurrence. Furthermore, it has been shown that prospectively measuring the packing density, by carefully selecting the first coil with the highest resultant initial packing density, yields higher packing densities overall. It is our theory that prospectively measuring packing density in this manner not only increases the final packing density, but also decreases the recurrence rate of intracranial saccular aneurysms. Methods Prior to 2011, our facility treated endovascular aneurysms by measuring the diameter of the aneurysm, and then choosing coils of that diameter, and gradually decreasing coil sizes until no further coil could be placed. Packing density was not measured during the procedure. In 2011, we began to prospectively measure aneurysm packing density by calculating the coil volume prior to coil placement. In our past experience, achieving a packing density of 15% or less with the first coil was often feasible in smaller aneurysms, but achieving a packing density of 20% or greater is challenging. Thus, a first framing coil would be chosen that yielded a packing density of 15–20% As such, the first 25 consecutive aneurysms treated at our facility in 2010 were retrospectively evaluated for packing density, as a control arm. This was compared to the first 25 aneurysms treated at our facility in 2011. Final packing density and recurrence rates at one year were calculated. Results A total of 50 patients were evaluated. There was one mortality in each arm in subjects with ruptured aneurysms. No intra-procedural ruptures were identified in this series. In the control arm, the average diameter was 6.9 mm (3 mm – 14 mm), with 40% of the aneurysms ruptured at the time of presentation. A final packing density was calculated using angiographic modeling and geometric modeling, yielding 25%. The average packing density of the first framing coil was 9%. Postoperative complete occlusion was calculated at 64%. In the prospective arm, the average diameter was 7.1 mm (3 mm – 17 mm), with 40% of the aneurysms ruptured at the time of presentation. A final packing density was calculated using angiographic modeling and geometric modeling, yielding 32%. The mean packing density of the first framing coil was 15%. Postoperative complete occlusion was calculated at 60%. Packing densities greater than 15% were unable to be achieved with the first framing coil for any aneurysm 10mm in diameter or larger. At one-year follow-up, 17 patients in the control arm returned, with complete occlusion in 12 (71%). A neck remnant was seen in 5 subjects, for a recurrence total rate of 29%. In the prospective arm, 16 subjects returned for one-year follow-up. There was complete occlusion in 15 subjects, 94%, with residual filling in 1 subject, for a recurrence rate of 6%. Conclusion In this small series, attempting to prospectively select a framing coil that yields 15% or greater packing density led to higher final packing densities and decreased recurrence rates. Disclosures B. Woodward: 2; C; Penumbra, Codman, Covidien.


"The Burial of the Count of Orgaz" is one of El Greco's most famous paintings, and a key work in the Mannerist tradition. Painted between 1586 and 1588 in the church of Santo Tome in Toledo, it was commissioned to commemorate the funeral of Don Gonzalo Ruiz Toledo, Lord of Orgaz. At this legendary event which had taken place two and a half centuries earlier, the congregation saw St Stephen and St Augustine descend from heaven to place the body in its tomb. El Greco not only painted the scene as it was described, but turned it into a mystical vision of Heaven and Earth, with the Virgin and John the Baptist interceding before Christ, surrounded by saints and angels. In this book the painting is reproduced as a whole, then section by section, and finally in a series of details. The circumstances of the commission are described, the composition is analyzed and a brief biography of El Greco is included.


Integrins play an essential role in hemostasis, thrombosis, and cell migration, and they transmit bidirectional signals. Transmembrane/cytoplasmic domains are hypothesized to associate in the resting integrins; whereas, ligand binding and intracellular activating signals induce transmembrane domain separation. However, how this conformational change affects integrin outside-in signaling and whether the α subunit cytoplasmic domain is important for this signaling remain elusive. Using Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells that stably expressed different integrin αIIbβ3 constructs, we discovered that an αIIb cytoplasmic domain truncation led to integrin activation but not defective outside-in signaling. In contrast, preventing transmembrane domain separation abolished both inside-out and outside-in signaling regardless of removing the αIIb cytoplasmic tail. Truncation of the αIIb cytoplasmic tail did not obviously affect adhesion-induced outside-in signaling. Our research revealed that transmembrane domain separation is a downstream conformational change after the cytoplasmic domain dissociation in inside-out activation and indispensable for ligand-induced outside-in signaling. The result implicates that the β TM helix rearrangement after dissociation is essential for integrin transmembrane signaling. Furthermore, we discovered that the PI3K/Akt pathway is not essential for cell spreading but spreading-induced Erk1/2 activation is PI3K dependent implicating requirement of the kinase for cell survival in outside-in


Objective: To find out the helpful cytological features distinguishing between hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with other carcinomas of liver Study Design: Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC) cases were selected in 35 patients on whom a diagnosis was rendered either of hepatocellular carcinoma or other carcinoma involving liver. The aspirates were examined for slide background, cellularity and specific cytoplasmic and nuclear features in both sets. Result: There were 20 cases of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) & 12 cases of other carcinoma involving liver. Six out of twelve In the current study we examined 12 cytological criteria out of which six were found to be of considerable help in distinguishing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) from other carcinoma involving liver. The hepatocellular carcinomas characteristically had central nuclei, discohesive cells, high cellularity and naked nuclei while hyperchromatic nuclei, eccentric nuclei and nuclear cytoplasmic ratio of >75% were the prominent features of other carcinoma involving liver. On the other hand coarse chromatin, nuclear molding and chromatin clearing of nuclei showed no significant difference in distinguishing hepatocellular carcinoma from other primary and metastatic carcinoma of the liver. Conclusion: Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of the liver is a very useful diagnostic modality to identify the vast majority of neoplasms of primary or metastatic nature. Meticulous attention to the nuclear features is vital in distinguishing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC ) from other carcinomas of liver.


Differences in the cardiovascular responses of individuals with behavior patterns of Type A and Type B were investigated during rest, stress, and recovery by visual stimulation. Thirty healthy undergraduate and graduate students (mean age: 22.18+/-1.44 years) were categorized as Type A (N=14), or Type B (N=16) based on the Kwansei Gakuin's daily life questionnaire. The cardiovascular reactivity of all participants was repetitively monitored for 6 sessions, with each session comprising 3 conditional phases, viz., resting, stress, and post-stress recovery. A gray screen was displayed during resting, displeasure-evoking images were displayed under the stress condition, and video clips of a forest or a control image (a gray screen) were displayed during the recovery condition. When participants were subjected to different stimuli on a 42-inch plasma television screen in each session, electrocardiograms (ECG), impedance cardiograms and the blood pressure (BP) of the respective participants were continuously monitored. According to the results, Type A indicated higher sympathetic reactivity than Type B during resting and under stress. As such, Type A indicated a shorter pre-ejection period (PEP) level during resting and a greater cardiac output (CO) increase under stress than Type B. Furthermore, parasympathetic predominance and parasympathetic antagonism accompanying the enhanced sympathetic activity induced by the unpleasant stress images decreased heart rate (HR) in both Type A and Type B, although the decrease in Type A was relatively meager. Unlike previous studies, the present study demonstrated that Type A indicated more enhanced sympathetic reactivity than Type B in resting physiological arousal levels and visual stimulus-induced stress.


The surface density of diadic junctional complexes (DJC) between plasmalemma and terminal cisternal membrane, as well as the areas of plasmalemmal and cistemal membrane involved in DJC, have been determined morphometrically in external plasmalemmal envelope and T-system of rabbit, rat, and mouse ventricular heart muscle. In all three species, both the surface density and the plasmalemmal area of DJC are 4to 6-fold greater in the T-system than in the external plasmalemmal envelope. The surface density and DJC membrane area per unit cell volume and per unit myofibrillar volume increase in the order rabbit < rat mouse and are not related simply to basal heart rate or intraventricular pressure. The results show that if Ca release is a function of terminal cisterns, then, in ventricular heart muscle, most of the Ca thus released for myofibrillar activation must originate from cisterns associated with the T-system. They make it necessary to consider the possibility that the 20-50% of plasmalemma in the T-system that is involved in excitation-contraction coupling may be unavailable for other processes; and they show that interspecies differences in surface density and membrane area of DJC/unit cellular and myofibrillar volume correlate with differences in Caactivated Ca release in skinned fibers and with differences in rate of tension development described for intact rat and rabbit ventricular muscle. Ore Res 45:260-267, 1979


Objective The optimal timing for transplantation is unclear in patients with Eisenmenger syndrome (ES). We investigated post-transplantation survival and transplantation-specific morbidity after heart–lung transplantation (HLTx) or lung transplantation (LTx) in a cohort of Nordic patients with ES to aid decision-making for scheduling transplantation. Methods We performed a retrospective, descriptive, population-based study of patients with ES who underwent transplantation from 1985 to 2012. Results Among 714 patients with ES in the Nordic region, 63 (9%) underwent transplantation. The median age at transplantation was 31.9 (IQR 21.1–42.3) years. Within 30 days after transplantation, seven patients (11%) died. The median survival was 12.0 (95% CI 7.6 to 16.4) years and the overall 1-year, 5-year, 10-year and 15-year survival rates were 84.1%, 69.7%, 55.8% and 40.6%, respectively. For patients alive 1 year post-transplantation, the median conditional survival was 14.8 years (95% CI 8.0 to 21.8), with 5-year, 10-year and 15-year survival rates of 83.3%, 67.2% and 50.0%, respectively. There was no difference in median survival after HLTx (n=57) and LTx (n=6) (14.9 vs 10.6 years, p=0.718). Median cardiac allograft vasculopathy, bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome and dialysis/kidney transplantation-free survival rates were 11.2 (95% CI 7.8 to 14.6), 6.9 (95% CI 2.6 to 11.1) and 11.2 (95% CI 8.8 to 13.7) years, respectively. The leading causes of death after the perioperative period were infection (36.7%), bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (23.3%) and heart failure (13.3%). Conclusions This study shows that satisfactory post-transplantation survival, comparable with contemporary HTx and LTx data, without severe comorbidities such as cardiac allograft vasculopathy, bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome and dialysis, is achievable in patients with ES, with a conditional survival of nearly 15 years.


Atomic scale phenomena driving contact line advancement during the wetting of a solid by a liquid are investigated via molecular dynamics simulations of Ag(l) drops spreading on Ni substrates. For the homologous temperature ∼5% above melting for Ag, essentially non-reactive wetting is observed with relatively high spreading velocity. Analyzing atomic positions with time, including computing flow fields, permits investigation of atomic scale transport mechanisms associated with advancement of the contact line. Delivery of material to the contact line occurs preferentially along the liquid/vapor interface. Ag(l) atoms transported along the liquid/vapor interface become new droplet edge material, effectively displacing existing edge material. Evidence is also shown of a prominent transport and flow mechanism more typically associated with the molecular kinetic theory of spreading: some portion of Ag(l) atoms move along the solid/liquid interface to eventually occupy the contact line region. Selected atomic trajectories are shown to illustrate atoms moving with the contact line, detaching and re-attaching at sites along the solid/liquid interface. However, this latter solid/liquid interface transport mechanism contributed a lower percentage of new material to the advancing contact line compared to the liquid/vapor interface transport mechanism. Features of the AgNi system that may contribute to the dominance of a liquid/vapor interface transport mechanism are highlighted, including a relatively low liquid/vapor surface tension.


A fully enzymatic method for measurement of l(+)-lactate has been adapted for use with a centrifugal analyzer. The procedure is based on a two-point fixed-time kinetic approach for elimination of static interferences, and commercially available reagents are used. Specimen collection and preservation are simplified by the use of standard evacuated tubes containing sodium fluoride. Under these conditions lactate is stable for as long as seven days at 4 degrees C, and deproteinization is unnecessary. The method is extremely simple and ideally suited for emergency and routine use. Determinations may be performed on plasma or cerebrospinal fluid. Sensitivity and precision are excellent, linearity extends to 8.0 mmol/liter, and results compare well with those obtained using the manual enzymatic procedure.


During the past two decades, several atmospheric and oceanic general circulation models (GCMs) have been enhanced by the capability to explicitly simulate the hydrological cycle of the two stable water isotopes H218O and HDO. They have provided a wealth of understanding regarding changes of the water isotope signals in various archives under different past climate conditions. However, so far the number of fully coupled atmosphere-ocean GCMs with explicit water isotope diagnostics is very limited. Such coupled models are required for a more comprehensive simulation of both past climates as well as related isotope changes in the Earth's hydrological cycle.

Here, we report first results of a newly developed isotope diagnostics within the Earth system model ECHAM5-JSBACH/MPIMOM. Both H218O and HDO and their relevant fractionation processes are included in all compartments and branches of the water cycle within this model. First equilibrium simulations have been performed for both pre-industrial (PI) and Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) boundary conditions. Evaluation of the PI simulation reveals a good overall model performance in accordance with available modern isotope data from vapour measurements, precipitation samples as well as marine records. The LGM experiment results in spatially varying isotope depletion in precipitation between -20‰ and 0‰ in agreement with data from various isotope records. The simulated isotopic compoisiton of ccean surface waters shows a strong glacial enrichment in the Arctic. In further model analyses we investigate how the relation between water isotopes and key climate variables, e.g. land and surface temperatures, precipitation amounts, oceanic salinity, might has changed for different regions on a glacial-interglacial time scale. Moreover, the influence of glacial climates changes on second-order isotope signals, e.g. the Deuterium excess, is examined.


Plasma devices based on the E×B-field configuration (where the externally applied electric and magnetic fields are everywhere perpendicular) are used for a variety of applications such as electric propulsion (i.e., Hall thrusters), diagnostic tools (e.g., Penning trap) and plasma processing of materials (i.e., magnetrons). Transverse electron current due to the electric and magnetic forces as well as diamagnetic flows due to the presence of pressure and magnetic field gradients are the sources of gradient-drift instabilities which result in turbulence and anomalous transport (the transport of particles, momentum and energy that cannot be explained by theory). Most investigations into plasma instabilities for various configurations of the fields and plasma parameters have been done under the assumption that the plasma is unbounded and, therefore, in neglect of any boundary effect. However, the presence of physical boundaries may significantly alter the dynamics of the plasma by restricting the parallel electron dynamics and introducing plasma sheath regions (regions where quasi-neutrality is violated) near the walls. Previous works have shown that conservation of charge at the boundary of the plasma affects the instability criteria for the gradient-drift modes as well as result in new instabilities. Effects of the sheath boundary conditions on the instabilities of partially magnetized plasmas are further investigated in this project. It is shown, for the first time, that sheath dissipation results in the instability of the anti-drift mode (i.e. the Simon-Hoh instability) due to the plasma density gradient. It is also shown that sheath dissipation results in a strong instability in conditions where the criterion for the standard Simon-Hoh instability (which results from the difference in electron and ion drifts together with a density gradient) is not satisfied; this result is important as it may provide an explanation for anomalous transport when the Simon-Hoh instability is absent. Then, including the electric potential induced by the sheath as well as the sheath boundary condition, one arrives at a set of two nonlinear ordinary differential equations with a non-local integral condition. The boundary conditions are finally derived consistent with the sheath to fully define the boundary-value problem.


The Intercultural Development Research Association, founded in 1973, is an independent, non-profit organization whose mission is to achieve equal educational opportunity for every child through strong public schools that prepare all students to access and succeed in college. IDRA strengthens and transforms public education along six paths: fair funding, sound educational practices, valuing students, valuing educators, valuing families and systems change. The organization has done so by uniquely crossing borders of policy, research, practice and community engagement to transform education by putting children first. The following article reviews how IDRA drives critical paths to transform education. The authors tell the story of how these paths have developed over time to push for fair funding, which was IDRA's founding issue and continues to be a central focus; promote sound educational practices through professional and curriculum development; model valuing of students particularly as demonstrated through the IDRA Valued Youth Partnership program; support educators in excelling as asset-based teachers and catalysts for student success; and focus family engagement on leadership in education for transforming policy and practice for their neighborhood public schools. These interrelated paths are woven into IDRA's change model: The Quality Schools Action Framework. This framework is a tool for strengthening the capacity of public schools to affect systems change to graduate and prepare all students for college.


Background: To date, there is no synthesized evidence about the technical efficiency (TE) of cross-country tobacco control policies. This study aims to measure the efficiency and productivity of tobacco control policies across 16 selected countries of Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) from 2008 to 2014.Method: We used data envelopment analysis (DEA). MPOWER is an acronym for a WHO proposed package consisting of six tobacco reduction interventions that can be adapted to present a commitment of the parties to a treaty labeled FCTC (Framework Convention on Tobacco Control).Taxation on tobacco products and pictorial warning labels were chosen as the inputs. Percentage of daily smokers' population above 15 years old and the number of cigarettes used per smoker per day were output variables. Additionally, the Malmquist total factor productivity (TFP) was used to analyze the panel data and measure productivity change and technical efficiency changes over time.Results: The highest TE score (1.05) was attributed to Norway and the lowest (0.9175) belonged to the United Kingdom (UK). Technological change with a total average of 1.069 would imply that the technology and creativity have increased, while countries have been able to promote their creativity over the time period. Norway with the TFP score of 1.15 was the most productive country, while the UK and Turkey with the TFP scores of 0.95 and .098 respectively, were the least productive countries in the implementation of the MPOWER policies.Conclusion: Most OECD countries have productively implemented MPOWER policies. Such productive performances are the results of the strong pivotal pictorial warnings. Consequently, the policy of plain packaging seems to hamper the MPOWER policies. Taxation on tobacco products were relatively weak and inefficient.


The objective of this research was to investigate the anthelmentics activities of Zingiber cassumunar rhizome n-hexane extract against Ascaris suum in-vitro. The experiments were carried out by using immersion method. The worm were soaked in extract of Zingiber cassumunar rhizome . One hundred and forty four ascaris worms were divided into 8 groups; each Petri contain 6 wors of Ascaris suum the dosage in every Petridish was 1 x LD 50 (15,78 mg/100 ml), 2 x LD50 (31,56 mg/100 ml), 4 x LD50 (63,12 mg/100 ml), 8 x LD 50 (126,24 mg/100 ml) and 12 x LD50 (189,36 mg/100 ml). The positive control used was pirantel pamoat 250 mg/100 ml and as negative controls were solutions like intestine and carboxy methyl cellulose 0,94% suspension. Experiment result shows that dosage 5 (189,36 mg/100 ml) was the most optimum dosage for anthelmentics treatment in that dosage 27,8% Ascaris suum were dead. Anthelmentics investigation was done by counting the deaths of Ascaris suum which were emmersed for 24 hours. The infusion of zingiber cassumunar has strongest activity as anthelmentics rather than in alcohol and n-hexane extract forms.


This paper describes an analog computer capable of solving a variety of communication network problems; in particular, the problem of finding an optimum route through an arbitrary network. For example, in routing a call through a communications network, it may be desirable to determine that path (or paths) containing the smallest number of switching centers-or again, if, in some predetermined sense, weighting factors have been assigned to each link in the network, it is then possible to determine that path over which the summation of the weights of the links is a minimum. A 16-node multiply-connected prototype has been designed in which "time" is used as the analog of link weights. The utilization of this prototype to find minimum paths and the relative merit of alternate paths are described. The prototype also has the capability of simulating network vulnerability (link or node inhibition of destruction).


The ergodic capacity in Rayleigh fading of multi- hop wireless transmission systems employing either amplify- and-forward relaying or decode-and-forward relaying is studied, assuming channel state information is only known at the receiving terminals. Two upper bounds based on Jensen's inequality and the harmonic-geometric means inequality as well as an infinite series representation for the ergodic capacity of an amplify-and- forward multi-hop transmission system are derived. Numerical results are provided to examine the tightness of the upper bounds as well as to show the high accuracy of the infinite series approach. In addition, the ergodic capacity of a decode- and-forward multi-hop transmission system is obtained. It is shown that multi-hop transmission systems employing a decode- and-forward relaying scheme achieve higher ergodic capacities than multi-hop transmission systems with amplify-and-forward relaying schemes.


The ideal binary mask is often seen as a goal for time-frequencymasking algorithms trying to increase speech intelligibility, but therequired availability of the unmixed signals makes it difficult to calculatethe ideal binary mask in any real-life applications. In thispaper we derive the theory and the requirements to enable calculationsof the ideal binary mask using a directional system without theavailability of the unmixed signals. The proposed method has a lowcomplexity and is verified using computer simulation in both idealand non-ideal setups showing promising results.Index Terms— Time-Frequency Masking, Directional systems,Ideal Binary Mask, Speech Intelligibility, Sound separation


Background The professional's monopoly on knowledge about disease and its treatment is something gone now, in the era of internet and patient consumerism. In addition, the interest of rheumatologists (and the interest of the society, too) shifted toward early recognition of the disease and early arthritis clinics. Education is definitely one of the solutions to increase the awareness of potential patients regarding rheumatic diseases. However most of rheumatic diseases are not very frequent in the population that raise the problem of cost efficacy of the education process. Per Eliot Freidson's view, the members of every community of whatever kind share some cultural understandings about disease, treatment, and cure. The lay community network could be considered an instrument for dissemination of proper knowledge regarding health and could help to earlier recognition of a sign of disease related to early arthritis. Objectives To identify the opportunity of using lay network for early arthritis referral. In addition, we intended to identify the most suitable vectors from this network to be used for education and dissemination of medical knowledge. Methods 48 rheumatic patients (mean age (SD): 50.8 (14,7)) consecutively admitted in one tertiary clinic have been invited to answer to a structured questionnaire. Sex ratio (M: F) was 1:2, average disease duration 7.7 (8.3) years. Results In 28.3% cases the first sign of disease was noticed not by the patient but by somebody else, for 36.7% a delay of several months to one year was declared between first sign of disease and professional examination, 71.7% use to discuss bout health problems with their lay network (often and very often), 76.1% consider them able to give pertinent advices regarding the disease they suffer from, 45,7% are ready to act as an education vector and 41,3% are ready to participate in additional education programs. They interest in such activity is not related to gender, education level or work status. Conclusions Lay network referral could be a powerful instrument to reduce the duration between onset of rheumatic symptoms and medical visit, to increase the awareness regarding rheumatic disease, to reduce the cost of health education. Health professionals should understand how to use these networks. References Freidson, Eliot. 1960. "Client Control and Medical Practice." American Journal of Sociology 65:374–82. Barley, Stephen R., and Gideon Kunda. 2004. Gurus, Hired Guns, and Warm Bodies: Itinerant Experts in a Knowledge Economy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Disclosure of Interest None declared


: Two EIAs (Medgenix and Quantikine) and a bioassay were used to measure tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF alpha) in serum samples from 73 human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-seropositive patients and in samples from 2 control groups. All clinical groups of HIV-1-infected patients, regardless of concurrent illness, had significantly elevated levels of both types of soluble TNF receptors (sTNFRs) and immunoreactive TNF alpha (Medgenix EIA), with the highest concentrations among the AIDS patients. These TNF parameters were significantly correlated with reduced CD4+ lymphocyte counts. Only a few HIV-1-infected patients had detectable TNF alpha levels measured by the Quantikine EIA. TNF alpha bioactivity was significantly raised only in the AIDS group. Serially measured sTNFRs, expressed as sTNFR slopes, were significantly associated with survival in the patient group. The raised levels of immunoreactive TNF alpha and sTNFRs strongly indicate activation of the TNF alpha system during HIV-1 infection. Levels increase with disease progression and degree of immunodeficiency; thus, serially measured sTNFRs may give useful prognostic information in HIV-1 infection.


Isothermal low cycle fatigue and thermomechanical fatigue tests are performed on Alloy617B in the solution-annealed and stabilized condition at temperatures between room temperature and 900 °C. In addition, the replica technique is applied to study the growth of microcracks. The Chaboche model is found to describe the cyclic viscoplastic behavior of both heats, except the pronounced cyclic hardening in the low-temperature branches of the TMF tests. A lifetime model based on the cyclic crack-tip opening displacement and the cyclic J integral is used to describe the measured lifetimes and crack growth rates. However, the description is not fully consistent, since the data for room temperature and for temperatures above 400 °C fall into two separate scatter bands.


SQSTM1 mutationsare common inpatients with Pagetdisease of bone(PDB),with mostaffectingtheC-terminal ubiquitin-associated (UBA) domain of the SQSTM1 protein. We performed structural and functional analyses of two UBA domain mutations, an I424S mutation relatively common in UK PDB patients, and an A427D mutation associatedwithaseverephenotypeinSouthernItalianpatients.BothimpairedSQSTM1'subiquitin-bindingfunc-tion in pull-down assays and resulted in activation of basal NF- κ B signalling, compared to wild-type, in reporter assays.WefoundevidenceforarelationshipbetweentheabilityofdifferentUBAdomainmutantstoactivateNF-κ Bsignallinginvitroandnumberofaffectedsitesinvivoin1152PDBpatientsfromtheUKandItaly,withA427D-SQSTM1 producingthe greatest level of activation (relative to wild-type) of all PDBmutants tested to date.NMR and isothermal titration calorimetry studies were ableto demonstrate that I424S is associated with global structural changes in the UBA domain, resulting in 10-fold weaker UBA dimer stability than wild-type and reduced ubiquitin-binding af fi nity of the UBA monomer. Our observations provide insights into the role of SQSTM1-mediated NF- κ B signalling in PDB aetiology, and demonstrate that different mutations in close proximity within loop 2/helix3 oftheSQSTM1UBA domainexert distinct effects on protein structure and stability,including indi-rect effects at the UBA/ubiquitin-binding interface. © 2014 Authors. the ability of of NF- κ B activity in cell models and extent of PDB in with the cor-respondingmutations. Further, report loss of both structuralintegri-ty and stability of the I424S-UBA domain in biophysical experiments. The I424S and A427D mutants exert differing effects on SQSTM1 function relative to PDB mutants, demonstrating diverse molecular mechanisms operating in aetiology of


OBJECTIVE
To assess the effects of methotrexate (MTX) therapy on radiologic progression in juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA).

METHODS
We evaluated serial wrist radiographs for carpal length in 23 JRA patients with bilateral wrist involvement, before and during MTX treatment. These carpal length measurements were compared with established norms for carpal length in a healthy pediatric population.

RESULTS
Both clinical responders to MTX (17 of 23 patients) and nonresponders (6 of 23) had decreasing carpal length prior to initiation of the treatment. Eleven of the 17 clinical responders had improved carpal length after a mean of 2.5 years of MTX treatment. All 6 clinical nonresponders had progressive loss of carpal length.

CONCLUSION
MTX treatment resulted in radiologic improvement, as measured by carpal length, in the majority of children with JRA who had a clinical response to MTX.


Abstract. The dust probe DUSTY, first launched during the summer of 1994 (flights ECT–02 and ECT–07) from Andoya Rocket Range, northern Norway, was the first probe to unambiguously detect heavy charged mesospheric aerosols, from hereon referred to as dust. In ECT–02 the probe detected negatively charged dust particles in the height interval of 83 to 88.5 km. In this flight, the lower grid in the detector (Grid 2) measures both positive and negative currents in various regions, and we find that the relationship between the current measurements of Grid 2 and the bottom plate can only be explained by influence from secondary charge production on Grid 2. In ECT–07, which had a large coning, positive currents reaching the top grid of the probe were interpreted as due to the impact of positively charged dust particles. We have now reanalyzed the data from ECT–07 and arrived at the conclusion that the measured positive currents to this grid must have been mainly due to secondary charging effects from the impacting dust particles. The grid consists of a set of parallel wires crossed with an identical set of wires on top of it, and we find that if the observed currents were created from the direct impact of charged dust particles, then they should be very weakly modulated at four times the rocket spin rate ωR. Observations show, however, that the observed currents are strongly modulated at 2ωR. We cannot reproduce the observed large modulations of the impact currents in the dust layer if the currents are due only to the transfer of the charges on the impacted dust particles. Based on the results of recent ice cluster impact secondary charging experiments by Tomsic (2003), which found that a small fraction of the ice clusters, when impacting with nearly grazing incidence, carried away one negative charge −1e, we have arrived at the conclusion that similar, but significantly more effective, charging effects must be predominantly responsible for the positive currents measured by the top grid in ECT–07 and their large rotational modulation at 2ωR. Since the secondary effect is dependent on the size of the impacting dust, this opens up for the possibility of mapping the relative dust sizes throughout a dust layer by comparing the observed direct and secondary currents.


During spermatogenesis, DNA damage is a naturally occurring event. At a certain stage, during the first meiotic prophase, DNA breaks are endogenously induced and even required for meiotic recombination. We studied these DNA breaks but also used ionizing radiation (IR) to induce DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). Spermatogenesis is a multi step process that begins with mitotically dividing diploid stem cells and ends with highly differentiated haploid elongated spermatids. Every phase of spermatogenesis is tightly regulated, and during the process the different spermatogenic cells completely change in chromatin structure and response to DNA damage. A proper response to DNA damage is essential for germ cell development and loss-of-function mutations of many DNA damage response proteins lead to abrogation of spermatogenesis.
 We studied the testicular response to IR and DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) mainly at two levels: at the spermatogonial level, during which the germ cells undergo mitotic divisions, and at the first meiotic prophase during which DSBs required for meiotic recombination are induced.
 Firstly, we investigated whether spermatogonia, being connected by cytoplasmic intercellular bridges, can individually undergo apoptosis in response IR or whether they, like during germ cell density, degenerate in interconnected clusters. In response to IR the germ cells were found to individually undergo apoptosis.
 Secondly, we investigated whether the c-Abl-p73 pathway, and possibly p63, can be an alternative apoptotic pathway as described for p53 deficient mice. Therefore we studied the testicular expression patterns and interactions of these proteins before and after irradiation. c-Abl was found to activate p73, but not p63, in the testis in response to IR and the c-Abl-p73 pathway can be an additional apoptotic pathway for damaged male germ cells.
 Furthermore, we studied the expression pattern of ?-H2AX, which is commonly used as a marker for DSBs, in the testis before and after irradiation. We also investigated whether ?-H2AX signaling is connected with p53 induced spermatogonial apoptosis and whether DNA-PK is required for p53 signaling and ?-H2AX foci formation and signaling during spermatogenesis. In the testis, ?-H2AX appeared not only to be present at DSBs but also just before the onset of meiosis and at the X&Y chromosomes, spermatogonial ?-H2AX appeared to be connected to p53 and totally independent of DNA-PK.
 We also studied non-homologues end joining (NHEJ) and the protein complex DNA-PK in the testis. We localized the three subunits of DNA-PK; Ku70, Ku86 and DNA-PKcs, in different cell types during spermatogenesis and found that the Ku heterodimer is absent during meiotic recombination, thereby preventing NHEJ to happen instead of meiotic recombination. Additionally, using DNA-PKcs deficient scid mice, we described a function for DNA-PKcs in the spermatogonial DNA damage response and during meiosis.
 Finally, we studied expression and activation of ATM, which lies at the basis of most responses to DSBs, during spermatogenesis. Using an antibody specific for phosphorylated ATM we were able to compare ATM activation in response to IR with the presence of endogenously active ATM during the meiosis. ATM phosphorylation in the testis was found to be coherent with p53 induction, however, during meiosis ATM seems to be phosphorylated at different unknown sites


Background: Lectins are proteins found in a diversity of plants and organisms. They possess the ability to agglutinate erythrocytes with known carbohydrate specificity. Methods: A lectin named Anti H is used in identification of a very rare and important blood group named Bombay blood group is extracted from the plant Ulex europaeus. Our study was done to calculate the prevalence of Bombay blood group in our Indian population using the plant based extract lectin anti H. Blood grouping was done using the tube technique using commercially available antisera. Results: Out of the total 11,512 blood samples collected and analysed, two samples were identified to be Bombay blood group. The prevalence of Bombay blood group in our study is .017%. The prevalence of the Bombay blood group varied slightly among different regions in parts of India. Conclusion: Anti H Lectin helped in identifying Bombay Blood Group which would otherwise have been missed in routine blood grouping. Plant based lectins will perform an important role in the field of transfusion medicine in near future.


This thesis analyses the distinctive characteristics of moral pressure groups and
evaluates their contribution to the process of value implementation. The abortion
debate is examined as an example of a moral debate involving the participation of
moral pressure groups. The emergence of a system where values become
elaborated around moral issues is outlined.
The analysis begins with a review of the current literatures that deal with moral
pressure groups and moral issues. The review concludes that the concepts and
theoretical frameworks used in the literatures are incapable of distinguishing moral
pressure groups from other types of pressure groups, despite claims within the
literatures that moral pressure groups are distinct
Components of Talcott Parsons' theory are discussed and it is concluded that his
theory offers the researcher specific advantages for studying processes of social
transformation. His concepts are used as the basis for the development of a new
framework suitable for understanding the activities of moral pressure groups. An
adaptation of Parsons' model of the social system is presented (Figure 2) that
contains several new concepts with which to understand the distinctive
characteristics of moral pressure groups and moral issues. Figure 2 locates the
activities of moral pressure groups in a wider system of participation in moral debates.
This model is then reformulated specifically in terms of the abortion debate (Figure
3). A discussion of the abortion debate in Australia includes an explanation of
how and why abortion came to be debated as a moral issue. This discussion also identifies the major participants in the debate other than pressure groups and
locates them within the model.
The activities of seven Hobart abortion pressure groups are then examined at
length in a case study. The case study concludes that members of these moral
pressure groups are operating as moral entrepreneurs rather than as political actors.
The thesis suggests how the Hobart abortion pressure groups can increase their
chances of success. The applicability of the framework to other moral debates and
groups is discussed. The benefits of using Parsons' theory to examine empirical
processes are outlined.


Dose reconstruction is a process that re-creates the treatment-time dose deposited in a patient provided there is knowledge of the delivered energy fluence and the patient's anatomy at the time of treatment. A method for reconstructing dose is presented. The process starts with delivery verification, in which the incident energy fluence from a treatment is computed using the exit detector signal and a transfer matrix to convert the detector signal to energy fluence. With the verified energy fluence and a CT image of the patient in the treatment position, the treatment-time dose distribution is computed using any model-based algorithm such as convolution/superposition or Monte Carlo. The accuracy of dose reconstruction and the ability of the process to reveal delivery errors are presented. Regarding accuracy, a reconstructed dose distribution was compared with a measured film distribution for a simulated breast treatment carried out on a thorax phantom. It was found that the reconstructed dose distribution agreed well with the dose distribution measured using film: the majority of the voxels were within the low and high dose-gradient tolerances of 3% and 3 mm respectively. Concerning delivery errors, it was found that errors associated with the accelerator, the multileaf collimator and patient positioning might be detected in the verified energy fluence and are readily apparent in the reconstructed dose. For the cases in which errors appear in the reconstructed dose, the possibility for adaptive radiotherapy is discussed.


The reactions of sterically crowded cycloalkanethiones of type 2 with CHCl3/NaOH under phase-transfer catalysis (PTC) with benzyl(triethyl)ammonium chloride (TEBA) as catalyst afforded the corresponding 'gem.- dichlorothiiranes' of type 3 in good yields (cf. Scheme 2 and Table). The desulfurization, which, in some cases, occurred spontaneously, led to (dichloromethylidene)cycloalkanes of type 4. Similar results were obtained using Seyferth's reagent in boiling benzene. In the case of 2,2,6,6-tetramethylcyclohexanethione, reaction under PTC conditions after 3 h yielded only the corresponding dichloromethylidene derivative; on the other hand, workup after 1 h gave (2,2,6,6-tetramethylcyclohexylidene)methanethione (thioketene 9; Scheme 5).


We rigorously examine 2d-square lattices composed of classical spins isotropically coupled between first-nearest neighbours. A general expression of the characteristic polynomial associated with the zero-field partition function Zinf{N}(0) is established for any lattice size. In the infinite-lattice limit a numerical study allows to select the dominant term: it is written as a l-series of eigenvalues, each one being characterized by a unique index l whose origin is explained. Surprisingly Zinf{N}(0) shows a very simple exact closed-form expression valid for any temperature. The thermal study of the basic l-term allows to point out crossovers between l- and (l+1)-terms. Coming from high temperatures where the l=0-term is dominant and going to 0 K, l-eigenvalues showing increasing l-values are more and more selected. At T = 0 K l tends to infinity and all the successive dominant l-eigenvalues become equivalent. As the z-spin correlation is null for T greater than 0 K but equal to 1 (in absolute value) for T = 0 K the critical temperature is Tinf{c} = 0 K. Using an analytical method similar to the one employed for Zinf{N}(0) we also give an exact expression valid for any temperature for the spin-spin correlations as well as for the correlation length xsi. In the T=0-limit we obtain a diagram of magnetic phases which is similar to the one derived through a renormalization approach. By taking the low-temperature limit of xsi we obtain the same expressions as the corresponding ones derived through a renormalization process, for each zone of the magnetic phase diagram, thus bringing for the first time a strong validation to the full exact solution of the model valid for any temperature.


In this study, we evaluated the salt concentration effect on plant growth, mineral composition, antioxidant responses and anatomical structure of two varieties of Origanum majorana after exposure to NaCl treatment. Our results show an inclusive behaviour of the two varieties, since the majority of sodium was exported and accumulated in their aerial parts. The Canadian variety (CV) appeared relatively more tolerant to salt than the Tunisian one (TV). Transversal section of leaves showed a thickening of dorsal and ventral cuticle, more importantly in CV than in TV, in the presence and in absence of salt. This was accompanied by an increase in the length of palisade cells, and the width of spongy collenchyma lacuna. The stem had a subquadrangular shape in TV and quadrangular in the Canadian variety. At mature stage, the stem pit was reabsorbed in the TV and replaced by a large cavity, whereas it remained unchanged in CV. The relative salt tolerance of the CV was related to: (1) a good selectivity in favour of K + : (2) a strong peroxidase activity and (3) an increase in the lengthening of palisade cell accompanied with an increase of lacunae in spongy parenchyma in CV. Key words: Origanum majorana , salinity, growth, mineral nutrition, leaves, stems, anatomical, antioxidant.


Media reporting shapes public opinion which can in turn influence events, particularly in political elections, in which candidates both respond to and shape public perception of their campaigns. We use computational linguistics to automatically predict the impact of news on public perception of political candidates. Our system uses daily newspaper articles to predict shifts in public opinion as reflected in prediction markets. We discuss various types of features designed for this problem. The news system improves market prediction over baseline market systems.


In the area under study and in Madhya Pradesh State too, the rural population greatly depend on tube wells fitted
with hand pumps or power pumps to cater to their need of safe drinking water, since surface sources are either not
available or too polluted. Indiscrimate exploitation of ground water particularly for irrigation purposes has resulted in nation wide excessive recession of ground water table adversely effecting the yield of drinking water sources and some times leading to total drying of tube wells, more so in summer season. The balance between allowable draft and natural recharge seem to have been disturbed beyond redemption by natural processes. Hence there is pressing need to address this problem immediately.


In recent few decades, business process management (BPM) has been in focus of a great number of researchers and organizations. There are many benefits derived from the implementation of BPM in organizations. However, there has been also noticed that lately traditional BPM faces some difficulties in terms of the divide between models and their execution, lost innovations, lack of information fusioning and so on. As a result, there has been a new discipline, called social BPM, which incorporates principles of social software into the BPM. On the other hand, many researchers indicate organizational culture as a vital part of the BPM success and maturity. Therefore, the goal of this study is to investigate the current state of BPM maturity and the usage of social BPM among the organizations from Croatia, Slovenia and Austria, with the regards to the organizational culture as well. The paper presents the results of a survey conducted as part of the PROSPER project (IP-2014-09-3729), financed by Croatian Science Foundation. The results indicate differences in the level of BPM maturity, the usage of social BPM and the dominant organizational culture in the observed organizations from different countries. These differences are further discussed in the paper. Keywords—Business process management, BPM maturity, organizational culture, social BPM.


This research paper is the first publication based partly on the foreign fighter cases incorporated and analysed in the International Crimes Database (ICD). This is a comprehensive and free database on international crimes (broadly defined), which is maintained by the T.M.C. Asser Instituut and supported by, among others, the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism – The Hague (ICCT). The aim of this research paper is to provide a critical assessment of both the underlying legal frameworks and the concrete prosecutions of (potential) foreign fighters at the national level. To that end, the supranational legal instruments will be analysed first (Section 2), starting with the international level (Subsection 2.1) and the regional level (Subsection 2.2). After that, this paper will examine how the national level has dealt and is still dealing with the issue of (potential) foreign fighters (Section 3), both in terms of legal bases and prosecutorial approaches. After that, and a brief introduction (Subsection 4.1), two specific and major challenges pertaining to prosecutions will be addressed in Subsections 4.2 (the role of the prosecutor) and 4.3 (evidentiary issues). Subsequently, the authors will present two broader concerns in Subsection 4.4, related to the further move into the pre-crime space (4.4.1) and the issue of effectiveness (4.4.2). In the last section of the paper, Section 5, the authors will present their final observations and recommendations. Besides offering a number of concrete suggestions to (somewhat) address prosecutorial, and especially evidentiary, challenges, the main point they will make is now that international, regional and national legislators have adopted the (oftentimes troublesome) laws that enable the prosecution of (potential) foreign fighters, magistrates and especially prosecutors should have a great(er) role in assessing whether actual prosecution or adjudication is appropriate in a specific case.


Over the summer, the unthinkable became possible, i.e., the realization that we may be teetering on the unspeakable-a double-dip recession. This assessment is not a forgone conclusion; nonetheless, a plethora of bad numbers has brought forth a clear concern from the White House through Congress to the Boardroom and into the kitchens of most Americans. A cursory review of the forecast numbersindividually or collectively-does not portend disaster. Yet, as often happens with life, there may not be a calamity, but there is a probability that it could, indeed, occur. Three members of the Consensus Outlook graciously provided their analyses of the ongoing dilemma. Mark Zandi, Chief Economist of Moody's Economy.com, places the odds of a doubledip recession at 1 in 4. At present, Zandi details a number of factors weighing on the recovery including the fading support of both monetary and fi scal policy, the waning inventory cycle in manufacturing, and the continued fallout from the European debt crisis. Zandi notes two chief areas of concern: Near double-digit unemployment rates and the eroding confi dence of households, fi rms, and investors. Still, Zandi cautions that a return to recession is not likely since big businesses, in general, are fl ush with cash, profi ts are rising, and balance sheets are solid. In turn, households have signifi cantly reduced previous record debt service burdens, strengthened their balance sheets, and are saving at a rate not witnessed in two decades. Unfortunately, the outlook for small businesses is not as bright. Absent fi nancial resources, most small businesses are stymied as they struggle to obtain credit. Given the historic trend of small businesses being the primary engine of job growth in the U.S. economy, this is a major concern. What is most noteworthy in Dr. Zandi's most recent analysis is the alarming position of both key participants in stabilization policies, i.e., the Fed and Congress. Certainly, the Fed can renew its accommodative stance but it really hasn't worked so far. And would Congress really risk going to taxpayers with another major fi scal policy stimulus package given the attention to bloated Federal debt levels? Ray Perryman of the Perryman Group believes a double-dip recession can be avoided once clarity surrounding future tax policy and the eff ects of the healthcare reform are ironed out. Dr. Rajeev Dhawan, Director of the Economic Forecasting Center at Georgia State University's J. Mack Robinson College of Business, brings attention to both a double-digit recession as well as a threat of defl ationary price pressures. Dr. Dhawan believes the key to avoiding both is stabilization of housing prices. According to Dhawan, defl ation is being bantered around due to the slowing of private job creation and retail sales, falling core CPI infl ation (infl ation excluding food and energy costs), and a rapidly falling 10-year bond yield that is now below 3%. Dhawan expresses an understanding and linkage between the two events as follows: What happens to home prices over the next few months will be critical to the confi dence of consumers. It will aff ect their spending decisions, especially for big-ticket items. This, in turn, will send a signal to CEOs about whether or not to ramp up their investment and hiring plans, which will then determine potential consumer income growth and ultimately the next round of spending. He further adds that the importance of home price stability is also evident from the fact that one-third of the CPI Index is derived from the housing or shelter costs. If we take shelter costs out of the core, there is no defl ation. Hence, if home prices plunge again, spending power will be sapped, resulting in further price declines that will manifest as defl ation leading to a double dip recession. He does not believe that either event is inevitable. He cites strong growth in investment spending in equipment and software, usual precursors to job growth. …


The evidence suggests that mentoring is one of useful teaching methods in academic medicine but it is not clear for which outcome mentoring is effective. In this study, the authors investigated the number of original research articles that the participants had published in peer-reviewed English-language journals (as a first or a corresponding author) within one year prior to investigation and what characteristics of the participants who published at least one paper would be like compared to those who did not. In March 2015, the authors recruit early- and mid-career Japanese physicians (238 men and 240 women; mean age 40.6 years old) in a web survey. In total, 23.9% of physicians had published at least one original research article as a first author, 10.0% had published as a corresponding author, and 23.4% had a research mentor. A multivariate logistic regression model adjusting for variables selected at p < 0.15 in univariable models showed that even after adjusting for their motivation levels for clinical research, physicians with a research mentor [odds ratio (OR) 6.68; 95% confidence interval (CI), 3.74-11.93], physicians who obtained DMSc, roughly equivalent to PhD in the West (OR, 2.17; 95% CI, 1.26-3.72), and physicians who worked at teaching hospitals (OR 6.39; 95% CI, 2.54-16.04) were more likely to publish an original paper in a peer-reviewed journal. Having a research mentor or DMSc is associated with an experience of successfully publishing original papers in peer-reviewed journals for young and mid-career physician-researchers.


Aims. The effect of changing the attack angle for the interaction of a fast MHD wave with a 3D coronal loop is studied, to investigate to what extent the properties of the excited transverse kink mode oscillations of the loop depend on this angle. Methods. 3D numerical simulations are performed of the interaction of a fast MHD wave, generated by a pressure pulse, with a 3D coronal loop. The loop itself is modelled as a density enhancement (with a finite plasma beta) within a magnetic arcade. The initial pressure pulse has a width comparable to the loop diameter and is situated outside of the loop, at the same height as the loop apex. This height is kept fixed but the (horizontal) angle between the pressure pulse and the loop is varied. Results. We find that the global, transverse kink mode is efficiently excited for a range of attack angles and qualitatively in agreement with theoretical expectations. The period and damping time are found to be independent of the attack angle. For larger values of the attack angle, the global (longitudinal) slow wave is excited, whereas for intermediate values the second harmonic kink mode is also present.


This book explores music identity for students training to teach children aged 3-11. The personal stories of the teaching students, collected through narrative methods, raised important issues related to the judgements they made about their music teaching abilities. Symbolic interactionism and social constructionism underpinned the development of a complex picture of students' musical identity for teaching. The perceived hegemony of western high art music appeared to be used as a benchmark they used to say they were 'Not musical enough' to teach. They were musically capable but found the real strictures and their perception of schools' expectations inhibited their musical identity. This will be of interest to academics in the field of music and teacher education, to musicians and youth workers interested in supporting young people to find their own musical 'voice'.


Transforming Growth Factor (TGF)-β family, including TGF-β, bone morphorgenic protein (BMP), and activn, plays an important role in essential cellular functions such as proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, tissue remodeling, angiognesis, immune responses, and cell adhesions. TGF-β predominantly transmits the signals through serine/ threonine receptor kinases and cytoplasmic proteins called Smads. Since the discovery of TGF-β in the early 1980s, the dysregulation of TGF-β/Smad signaling has been implicated in the pathogenesis of human diseases. Among signal transducers in TGF-β/Smad signaling, inhibitory Smads (I-Smads), Smad6 and Smad7, act as major negative regulators forming autoinhibitory feedback loops and mediate the cross-talking with other signaling pathways. Expressions of I-Smads are mainly regulated on the transcriptional levels and post-translational protein degradations and their intracellular levels are tightly controlled to maintain the homeostatic balances. However, abnormal levels of I-Smads in the pathological conditions elicit the altered TGF-β signaling in cells, eventually causing TGF-β-related human diseases. Thus, exploring the molecular mechanisms about the regulations of ISmads may provide the therapeutic clues for human diseases induced by the abnormal TGF-β signaling.


The Military Survey Department (MSD) of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) undertook an airborne gravity survey project for the marine area of the country in 2009, especially to strengthen the marine and coastal geoid in the near-shore regions. For the airborne gravity survey, 5 km spacing coast-parallel flight lines were planned and surveyed. These lines were supplemented by cross-lines in order to assess the quality of the airborne gravity surveys. The flight lines were extended 10 km, spacing lines further offshore. A Beech King Air 350 aircraft was used for the surveys, collecting data at a typical flight speed of 170 knots and a typical flight elevation of 900–1500 m, depending on weather conditions and topography. Gravity was measured with a ZLS-modified LaCoste and Romberg gravimeter (S-99), augmented with a Honeywell strap-down inertial navigation system unit. The estimated accuracy for the airborne gravity data is better than 2.0 mGal r.m.s., as judged from the airborne track crossovers. The new airborne gravimetry data changed the UAE coastal geoid by up to 30 cm in some regions, highlighting the importance of airborne gravity coastal surveys.


Abstract A potentially important source for soil organic carbon (SOC) in the agricultural ecosystem is straw, straw return has been shown to affect soil bacterial communities. Facing global climate change, the response of bacterial communities to straw return will change at CO2 enrichment. In this study, we investigate the changes of bacterial communities in response to straw return (+straw) at elevated CO2 (eCO2, 700 ppm) in a long-term field experiment of northeast China. Soil samples were taken in the eighth year and analyzed by high throughput sequencing. Soil bacterial communities exhibited distinct clustering according to straw return and eCO2, while eCO2 shortened the distance of clustering between straw return and not. The relative abundances of 10 genera (Acidobacteria_norank, Candidatus_Solibacter, Gaiella, Nocardioides, Streptomyces, C0119_norank, Roseiflexus, Gemmatimonas, Mizugakiibacter and Rhodanobacter) were significantly affected by the interaction of straw × eCO2. In addition, straw return significantly decreased the relative abundances of Gaiellales_norank, Blastococcus, Psedarthrobacter, and Bacillus and increased that of Geminatimonadaceae_norank, Tepidisphaeraceae, Nitrosomonadaceae_norank, and SC-I-84_norank. These differential responses of genera abundances are illustrative of the susceptibility of bacterial communities and indicate their importance in evaluating the fate of exogenous C. The Clusters of Orthologous Groups (COG) analysis showed that straw return had a greater effect on the relative abundances of COG categories than eCO2. The present results point to the need to focus more strongly on the turnover and storage of straw-C during a chronic straw return in the future.


ABSTRACT The Bornean subspecies of Rajah Scops-Owl (Otus brookii brookii) has not been documented alive in the wild since its discovery in 1892 and there are no photographs of the bird in life. We report the rediscovery of this subspecies in the montane forests of Mount Kinabalu (Sabah, Malaysia) at an elevation of 1,650 m and provide the first photographs of this subspecies in the wild. Almost all basic elements of this species' ecology remain unknown, including vocalizations, distribution, breeding biology, and population size. Additionally, phylogeographic patterns of montane birds in Borneo and Sumatra, as well as plumage characters, suggest that O. b. brookii may be deserving of species classification. However, the rarity of O. b. brookii has made quantitative phylogenetic analysis impossible. Properly resolving the ecology, distribution, and taxonomic standing of O. b. brookii could have important conservation implications.


One of the major power quality problems in distribution systems are voltage sags. This paper deals with a dynamic voltage restorer (DVR) as one of the different solutions to compensate these sags and protect sensitive loads. However, the quality of DVR output voltage, such as THD, is important. This paper present a new configuration of DVR based on stacked multicell (SM) converter. The main properties of SM converter, which causes increase in the number of output voltage levels, are transformer-less operation and natural self-balancing of flying capacitors voltages. To avoid any exchange of active power in compensation process, the proposed DVR is controlled by energy minimized compensation strategy which is explained in details for balanced and unbalanced voltage sags. Also, the proposed voltage sag detection method as well as proposed DVR reference voltage determination method based on synchronous reference frame (SRF) is adopted as the control system. The proposed DVR is simulated using PSCAD/EMTDC software and simulation results are presented to validate its effectiveness.


Objective: To determine the prevalence of Screen Addiction & to compare the addiction scores with respect to type of content most consumed
Study Design: Quantitative Analytical Cross-sectional study
Place and Duration of Study: Universities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad Pakistan, from Jan 2022-Apr 2022
Methodology: The research was conducted over a sample size of 343 participants, studying in universities of Rawalpindi Islamabad Pakistan aging 18-30 years. Individuals having access to electronic devices were included while individuals with terminal illness were excluded. SA –SV (Smart phone addiction Scale-Short Version) was used to assess screen addiction while an Open and Close ended questionnaire, "Questionnaire to assess Screen Usage Behavior and Content Consumed" helped in assessing the type of content through google forms.
Results: Screen addiction value was 3.7 on the six-point SAS-SV Likert scale. Sample size was 343. Screen addiction was present in 70% (240 participants). The commonest screen used were smartphones/tablets (68.2%) while social media (67%) was the major reason behind the use. WhatsApp (35.9%) and Facebook (24.5%) were used most frequently. About 50% individuals agreed the reason for over usage was to relax and 29.74% spent more than 3 hours continuously on the screen. Our study shows prevalence of screen addiction to be significant (p<0.01).
Conclusion: Our findings reveal that most people are suffering from screen addiction and the content they're most addicted to is, social media. Attention needs to be drawn towards this issue given to the increasing social and psychological problems.,


Vanets have the ability to transmit various types of information between a vehicle and another, or between a vehicle and a fixed station. However, transmission may be impaired due to long delays, quantity of collisions and signal noise. This is caused, in part, by abrupt changes in the network topology. Thus, in order to maintain the quality and stability of the network, a mechanism is proposed for the vehicle to self-adapt dynamically according to the context. For this purpose, MAC layer parameters must be changed, allowing better control of access to the medium.


Aspiculuris tetraptera continues to be a problem in rodent vivaria, in part due to difficulties in parasite detection. Although PCR testing is highly sensitive, it is expensive and does not always provide immediate results. Consequently, many institutions rely on passive fecal flotation as a quick inhouse exam for diagnosing A. tetraptera infections. To increase the sensitivity of this test, we examined multiple parameters to determine the optimal test protocol. A 30-min soaking period prior to fecal flotation for 15 min allowed fecal pellets to soften and facilitated efficient egg isolation. We also evaluated the effect of time of day, sample size, age, sex, and housing status on egg isolation. No evidence of cyclical egg shedding was found, and although larger fecal sample sizes did not result in more eggs isolated, their use reduced the incidence of false-negative exams. The most eggs were isolated from 8- and 12-wk-old mice, and as mice aged, the number of eggs isolated declined. Overall, neither sex nor housing status influenced the number of eggs isolated. Finally, examination of multiple diagnostic tests (fecal flotation exam, direct examination of cecal and colonic contents, and fecal PCR) revealed that no single test was definitive, thus indicating that multiple tests might be required to successfully screen mice with low pinworm burdens. These findings provide guidance regarding sample selection, collection, and processing to efficiently detect A. tetraptera.


Objective To investigate the impact of regular cannabis use on long-term remission of mood symptoms in bipolar spectrum disorders. Methods The 24-month prospective observational study included patients (n=239) with bipolar I disorder and schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type. Participants were classified as regular cannabis users (three times or more per week) or non-users. The primary outcome measure was the achievement of remission on the evaluations during the 24 months. Results Of the 234 participants for whom data was available, 25 (10.7%) were regular cannabis users, and the group comprised significantly more males than females. In the total population, cannabis use was significantly associated with decreased likelihood of remission during the 24-month follow-up period. Subgroup analyses showed that cannabis use was significantly associated with lower remission rates on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale in females (n=139) and patients prescribed mood stabilizers alone (n=151), whereas in males (n=95) and patients prescribed olanzapine and/or a mood stabilizer (n=83), cannabis use was significantly associated with lower remission rates on the Young Mania Rating Scale. Remission rates were lowest in the concurrent cannabis and tobacco smoking group (n=22) followed by the tobacco smoking only group (n=97), and the non-smoker group (n=116). The post-hoc analysis revealed that all remission rates were significantly lower in the concurrent cannabis and the tobacco smoking group compared to the non-smoker group. Conclusion Cannabis use negatively affects the long-term clinical outcome in patients with bipolar spectrum disorders. A comprehensive assessment and integrated management of cannabis use are required to achieve better treatment outcomes for bipolar spectrum disorders.


This article follows a groundbreaking climate justice lawsuit between a Peruvian farmer and major energy company in a German court, a strategic political intervention addressing the inequities of global warming. The claim posits that the two are neighbors, meaning the company should take responsibility for contributing to climate change impacts in the Andes. Using this legal conception as a starting point to engage with academic discussions about sociality and moral responsibility, I establish neighborliness as an analytical framework for examining the moral stakes of social relations. Addressing the methodological and theoretical challenges of studying a phenomenon that draws connections across the planet, this approach allows for an ethnographically grounded understanding of global warming. Climate change expands the scope of social relations and raises the question of how we should live together on our planet. A focus on neighborliness foregrounds the normative claims through which people make sense of globalizing phenomena.


The 5-methyl cytosine (5meC) genomic methylation patterns play crucial roles in mammalian development and are altered in cancer. The enzymes that create, maintain and modify the DNA methylation patterns are the DNA methyltransferases (Dnmts) which are all encoded by essential genes. The de novo Dnmts -Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b- establish the DNA methylation patterns early in mammalian development by introducing DNA methylation marks where no previous methylation exists. These enzymes do not exhibit affinity for specific DNA sequences, thus their recruitment to specific DNA loci and their activities must be tightly regulated. In particular, Dnmt3a2 -one of the two protein isoforms produced by the Dnmt3a locus- is the most abundant DNA methyltransferase in mouse Embryonic Stem Cells. To identify Dnmt3a (and DNA methylation) regulators we have searched for Dnmt3a2 interacting proteins in mESCs by pull down and Mass Spectrometry. The DEAD box p68/Ddx5 RNA helicase was identified to directly interact with Dnmt3a1 and Dnmt3a2 in vitro and in vivo. We have created a mutant Ddx5 (Ddx5 MUT ) protein exhibiting an altered nuclear localization pattern compared to the wt protein. Both wt and mutant Ddx5 interact directly in vitro and co localize in vivo with Dnmt3a proteins. Our data suggest that the Dnmt3a/Ddx5 interaction might be significant for modulating the DNA methylation/demethylation dynamics in vivo.


This paper studies the effect of improved early life health care on mortality and long-run academic achievement in school. We use the idea that medical treatments often follow rules of thumb for assigning care to patients, such as the classification of Very Low Birth Weight (VLBW ), which assigns infants special care at a specific birth weight cutoff. Using detailed administrative data on schooling and birth records from Chile and Norway, we establish that children who receive extra medical care at birth have lower mortality rates and higher test scores and grades in school. These gains are in the order of 0.15–0.22 standard deviations.


Vitalism is the belief that internal bodily organs have agency and that they transmit or exchange a vital force or energy. Three experiments investigated the use of vitalistic explanations for biological phenomena by 5- and 10-year-old English-speaking children and adults, focusing on 2 components: the notion that bodily organs have intentions and the notion that some life force or energy is transmitted. The original Japanese finding of vitalistic thinking was replicated in Experiment 1 with English-speaking 5-year-olds. Experiment 2 indicated that the more active component of vitalism for these children is a belief in the transfer of energy during biological processes, and Experiment 3 suggested an additional, albeit lesser, role for organ intentionality. A belief in vital energy may serve a causal placeholder function within a naive theory of biology until a more precisely formulated mechanism is known.