Between 1898 and 1918, many American states introduced the initiative, referendum, and recall - known collectively as direct democracy. Most interpreters have seen the motives for these reform measures as purely political, but Thomas Goebel demonstrates that the call for direct democracy was deeply rooted in antimonopoly sentiment. Frustrated with the governmental corruption and favoritism that facilitated the rise of monopolies, advocates of direct democracy aimed to check the influence of legislative bodies and directly empower the people to pass laws and abolish trusts. But direct democracy failed to achieve its promises: corporations and trusts continued to flourish, voter turnout rates did not increase, and interest groups grew stronger. By the 1930s, it was clear that direct democracy favored large organizations with the financial and organizational resources to fund increasingly expensive campaigns. Recent years have witnessed a resurgence of direct democracy, particularly in California, where ballot questions and propositions have addressed such volatile issues as gay rights and affirmative action. In this context, Goebel's analysis of direct democracy's history, evolution, and ultimate unsuitability as a grassroots tool is particularly timely.


The Maasai pastoralists inhabiting Kajiado County are known for rearing large herds of animals. Livestock has enabled them to attain food and nutritional security. However, natural resources are dwindling fast under the swift development context. The private holding of land is becoming more prevalent in an area formally known for its communal land setup. The emerging land tenure systems have disregarded the traditional production systems. Consequently, their herds have exhibited poor health status and low productivity. To address these problems, the study focussed on the Maasai pastoralists' perception to evaluate their cultural dispositions. The study employed a cross-sectional design which consisted of semi-structured questionnaires. The qualitative data generated were subjected to thematic analysis and thereafter, translated into meaningful actions and summarised. The quantitative data was aggregated into frequencies and composite scores computed. The results revealed increased production risks, changes in land utility and notable growing numbers of Maasai pastoralists being dispossessed from their customary land by private landholders. Despite the aforementioned hurdles, the Maasai pastoralists had shown cohesiveness in rangeland management. It was also evident that the Maasai pastoralists were embracing different livelihoods, conservation, tourism and institutional support based on their strategic priorities to enhance their resilience. Thus, the study recommends that the Maasai pastoralists be assigned a proactive role as the Government relooks at territorial demarcations in the ongoing land registration process.

 Key words: Socio-ecological system, livelihoods, cultural values, pastoralism.


Involvement of macrophages in the SARS-CoV-2-associated cytokine storm, the excessive secretion of inflammatory/anti-viral factors leading to the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in COVID-19 patients, is unclear. In this study, we sought to characterize the interplay between the virus and primary human monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM). MDM were stimulated with recombinant IFN-α and/or infected with either live or UV-inactivated SARS-CoV-2 or with two reassortant influenza viruses containing external genes from the H1N1 PR8 strain and heterologous internal genes from a highly pathogenic avian H5N1 or a low pathogenic human seasonal H1N1 strain. Virus replication was monitored by qRT-PCR for the E viral gene for SARS-CoV-2 or M gene for influenza and TCID50 or plaque assay, and cytokine levels were assessed semiquantitatively with qRT-PCR and a proteome cytokine array. We report that MDM are not susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 whereas both influenza viruses replicated in MDM, albeit abortively. We observed a modest cytokine response in SARS-CoV-2 infected MDM with notable absence of IFN-β induction, which was instead strongly induced by the influenza viruses. Pre-treatment of MDM with IFN-α enhanced proinflammatory cytokine expression upon infection. Together, the findings concur that the hyperinflammation observed in SARS-CoV-2 infection is not driven by macrophages.


As a major agricultural province, Yunnan has always attached great importance to food production, and the proportion of the growing area of food crops to the growing area of total crops is more than one half in Yunnan Province, but the grain production efficiency has been low in recent years. Therefore, under the guidance of stabilizing food production and adjusting structure proposed by Yunnan provincial government, we analyze the impact of the growing area of food crops on farmers' income, based on the recent trends of the growing area of food crops. Finally we put forth the following recommendations: developing the food production based on market; rationally making overall arrangement of planting structure; paying attention to the agricultural science and technology progress.


There is a critical need to reduce the surrender rates of companion animals by understanding the socio-economic circumstances of caretakers. This research analyzed questionnaires with 117 relinquishers and 13 interviews. Interviews were conducted with relinquishers and staff at Sunshine Coast Animal Refuge Society and Sunshine Coast Animal Pound. Most companion animals relinquished were from litters and around half were de-sexed and micro-chipped. A caretaker's living situation was a critical reason for relinquishment. Humans need to understand the time and space needs of companion species, how these might change with time, and the relationality between humans and companion animals. Alongside regulated breeding and accessible sterilization, shelter staff and other organizations might offer more tailored solutions, especially temporary care, during times of socio-economic crisis. Fundamentally, individuals need to critically examine their commitment to caretaking, but solutions are also structural and should be tailored to the underpinning socio-economic geography of different regions.


Many reinforcement learning algorithms rely on value estimation, however, the most widely used algorithms -- namely temporal difference algorithms -- can diverge under both off-policy sampling and nonlinear function approximation. Many algorithms have been developed for off-policy value estimation based on the linear mean squared projected Bellman error (MSPBE) and are sound under linear function approximation. Extending these methods to the nonlinear case has been largely unsuccessful. Recently, several methods have been introduced that approximate a different objective -- the mean-squared Bellman error (MSBE) -- which naturally facilitate nonlinear approximation. In this work, we build on these insights and introduce a new generalized MSPBE that extends the linear MSPBE to the nonlinear setting. We show how this generalized objective unifies previous work and obtain new bounds for the value error of the solutions of the generalized objective. We derive an easy-to-use, but sound, algorithm to minimize the generalized objective, and show that it is more stable across runs, is less sensitive to hyperparameters, and performs favorably across four control domains with neural network function approximation.


Abstract 'Ecological status' is a core concept of the Water Framework Directive (WFD). Many papers have been published throughout Europe describing methods for assessing ecological status by comparing observed assemblages with those expected under unimpacted conditions. However, the quantitative rigour necessary to develop these methods has been achieved by reducing complex community structure to simple metrics. One of the costs associated with this is the loss of higher level understanding of community structure which otherwise may have informed data interpretation. It also pushes the debate about ecological status further into the realm of abstract scientific ideas and away from engagement with stakeholders, another core concept of the WFD. These matters are particularly acute for microscopic organisms such as the algae, which play a key role in freshwater ecosystem functioning but are little known beyond a narrow group of specialists. Examples of phytobenthos communities from streams and rivers in the UK are used to show how visual representation can inform both peer-to-peer debate within the scientific community and communication with non-technical stakeholders.


In light of a conspicuous strength in China's solar and wind industry in recent years this paper analyses the catalytic role of the government in inducing the institutional source of its strength. Critical comparison of the two industries show China's renewable energy policies for wind industry was more effective than the solar industry through adopting a self-propagating functionality development through fusing the external technology with domestic industries know-how to co-evolve both production and diffusion through effective assimilation. This suggests a new insight for growing economy to devise effective policy framework to develop a globally competitive industry.


The mandatory reporting of intimate partner violence (IPV) is a controversial issue that is receiving increased attention. A related concern is whether children's exposure to IPV constitutes child maltreatment, making it reportable to child protective services. These issues have been relatively unexplored within the context of home visitation programs. A secondary analysis of qualitative data collected from community stakeholders, clients, and home visiting nurses in the Nurse–Family Partnership program was carried out. Participants' perceptions about mandatory reporting of IPV and reporting of children's exposure to IPV are highlighted. Emergent themes and implications for research, practice, and policy are discussed.


We present cone carving, a novel space carving technique supporting topologically correct surface reconstruction from an incomplete scanned point cloud. The technique utilizes the point samples not only for local surface position estimation but also to obtain global visibility information under the assumption that each acquired point is visible from a point lying outside the shape. This enables associating each point with a generalized cone, called the visibility cone, that carves a portion of the outside ambient space of the shape from the inside out. These cones collectively provide a means to better approximate the signed distances to the shape specifically near regions containing large holes in the scan, allowing one to infer the correct surface topology. Combining the new distance measure with conventional RBF, we define an implicit function whose zero level set defines the surface of the shape. We demonstrate the utility of cone carving in coping with significant missing data and raw scans from a commercial 3D scanner as well as synthetic input.


Trends in the Returns to Social Assimilation: Earnings Premiums among U.S. Immigrants that Marry Natives Previous studies show that immigrants married to natives earn higher wages than immigrants married to other immigrants. Using data from the 1980-2000 U.S. censuses and the 20052010 American Community Surveys, we show that these wage premiums have increased over time. Our evidence suggests that the trends cannot be explained by changes in the attributes of immigrants that tend to marry natives but are instead most likely a result of increasing returns to the characteristics of immigrants married to natives. Because immigrants married to natives tend to have more schooling, part of the increasing premium can be explained by increases in the returns to a college education. However, we find increasing intermarriage premiums even when allowing the returns to schooling as well as English-speaking ability to vary over time. We believe these patterns are driven by changes in technology and globalization which have made communication and management skills more valuable in the U.S. labor market. JEL Classification: J12, J24, J31, J61


Abstract : The Battle of Powder River occurred on 17 March 1876 in southeastern Montana. Historians and researchers have consistently overlooked the importance of this battle on the outcome of the Great Sioux War of 1876. Colonel Joseph J. Reynolds set out to destroy the Indian camp established by the combined Cheyenne and Oglala Sioux in order to push the Indians back to the reservations and allow miners to enter the Black Hills to mine gold. Reynolds failed to accomplish this mission. The intelligence from his Indian scouts was flawed. Logistically, the soldiers were not fed, clothed, armed, or supplied for actions against the Indian tribes during the winter months. There was no written doctrine for the soldiers to follow. Tactically, Crook was delinquent because of the overconfidence in his force against the Indians. Crook failed to support Reynolds with troops, ammunition, logistics, and supplies. The outcome of this battle contributed to the defeats of Crook at the Rosebud and Custer at Little Big Horn because it caused the Indians to form a massive nation for self-preservation. Historians estimate that Crook faced more than 1,500 warriors at the Rosebud and Custer faced more than 2,500 braves at the Little Big Horn.


To date, the diagnosis of mental disorders has been based on clinical observation and the 5th revised edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), published in May 2013, has confirmed this approach placing disorders in discrete statistical categories like the preceding editions. This has disappointed the expectations of those who hypothesized the revolution of a "neuroscience based DSM", where the psychiatric diagnoses are based on the identification of sensitive biological markers. Another controversial point is that, according to several authors, the DSM-5 does not provide a clear definition of the boundaries between mental disorders and the range of normality. However, in the new edition of the DSM, there are several interesting changes, such as the introduction of the "dimensions" that are aimed to bridge the gap between the historical categorical approach and the new research data and the reclassification and the redefinition of most categories. Purpose of this editorial is to provide a brief overview of these changes and critical aspects.


The objective of this review is to report evidence about the efficacy and potential of currently licensed drugs and new molecules beyond pre-clinical development for improving the chemotherapy of tuberculosis (TB). Rifapentine, a rifamycin with low minimum inhibitory concentration, long half-life and potent sterilizing activity in mice did not confirm its potential in a recent short-term clinical trial and is being extensively re-evaluated. Moxifloxacin, a fluoroquinolone, improved the activity of the standard drug regimen when substituted for ethambutol (EMB). It is being studied to shorten the duration of treatment for fully drug-susceptible TB (Remox study). Clofazimine, a fat-soluble dye with experimental activity against TB, but used only for leprosy in the last 50 years, requires further study because it has been included in a successful short 9-month combined drug regimen for the treatment of multidrug-resistant TB. The diarylquinoline TMC207 is the most promising among the new TB drugs because of its experimental and clinical rate of culture conversion. Also exciting, 200 mg daily doses in humans of the nitroimidazo-oxazine PA-824 and the nitro-dihydro-imidazooxazole OPC-67683 were safe and induced a bactericidal effect of respectively 0.098 ± 0.072 log(10) and 0.040 ± 0.056 log(10) per day. The new oxazolidinones PNU-100480 and AZD-5847 might be at least as active as linezolid and much less toxic. SQ109 is an EMB analogue that does not have cross-resistance with EMB and might have synergistic activity in combined regimens. Benzothiazinones and dinitrobenzamides show exciting in vitro anti-microbial activity and deserve careful attention.


An unresolved problem in $J/\ensuremath{\psi}$ phenomenology is a systematic understanding of the differential photoproduction cross section, $d\ensuremath{\sigma}/dz[\ensuremath{\gamma}+p\ensuremath{\rightarrow}J/\ensuremath{\psi}+X$], where $z={E}_{\ensuremath{\psi}}/{E}_{\ensuremath{\gamma}}$ in the proton rest frame. In the nonrelativistic QCD (NRQCD) factorization formalism, fixed-order perturbative calculations of color-octet mechanisms suffer from large perturbative and nonperturbative corrections that grow rapidly in the endpoint region, $z\ensuremath{\rightarrow}1$. In this paper, NRQCD and soft collinear effective theory are combined to resum these large corrections to the color-octet photoproduction cross section. We derive a factorization theorem for the endpoint differential cross section involving the parton distribution function and the color-octet $J/\ensuremath{\psi}$ shape functions. A one-loop matching calculation explicitly confirms our factorization theorem at next-to-leading order. Large perturbative corrections are resummed using the renormalization group. The calculation of the color-octet contribution to $d\ensuremath{\sigma}/dz$ is in qualitative agreement with data. Quantitative tests of the universality of color-octet matrix elements require improved knowledge of shape functions entering these calculations as well as resummation of the color-singlet contribution which accounts for much of the total cross section and also peaks near the endpoint.


The topic of the impact of electromagnetic fields on human body is nowadays very actual. One of the physical factors of the work environment is the electromagnetic fields emitted by the electric devices. The effect of electromagnetic fields on human body is various and depends mainly on frequency and intensity. Electromagnetic fields create a wide range of resources with which the workers can meet in their workplace. They are developed and used in many work activities including manufacturing processes, research, communication, medical applications, production, transmission and distribution of electricity, broadcasting, aviation and maritime navigation and security. This contribution describes the impact of electromagnetic fields on human body during welding. The shape and intensity of the generated electromagnetic fields were measured by a three-axis magnetometer.


Abstract As individuals with cancer actively undergo medical treatment, they often experience profound impairments and side-effects that impact their physical and psychosocial functioning and well-being. As occupational therapy practitioners working in acute care, challenges when working with those with oncological diseases may include high acuity, impact on multiple body systems, and fluctuating symptom presentation and levels of function. Thus, it is critical for occupational therapy practitioners to be skilled in identifying and addressing the distinct needs of cancer survivors in the acute care setting. This manuscript presents a descriptive case study to highlight occupational therapy's role in cancer rehabilitation in the acute care setting.


This thesis explores current United States policies prohibiting public funding for nonreproductive cloning, logically reconstructs their justification, and argues against it. I show that a common conceptual framework underlies the national prohibition on the use of public funds for cloning research, which I call the simple argument. This argument rests on two premises: that research harming human embryos is unethical and that embryos produced via fertilization are identical to those produced via cloning. In response to the simple argument, I challenge the latter premise. I demonstrate there are important ontological differences between human embryos (produced via fertilization) and clone embryos (produced via cloning). After considering the implications my argument has for the morality of publicly funding cloning for potential therapeutic purposes and potential responses to my position, I conclude that such funding is not only ethically permissible, but also humane national policy.


: There are many potential candidates, and greater attention to esthetic considerations has accelerated the interest in the hair transplantation field. Although discriminatory selection is essential, there are few interested patients who could not benefit from this procedure. Successful hair transplantation and patient satisfaction depend on the physician's skillful sustained concentration on the frontal hairline, tenacious motivation of the patient to seek a sufficient number of transplants, and the choice of a pleasing hair style with utilization of recommended grooming aids.


This study is a continuation of the previous sector review conducted in 2004. The 2008 review had two main objectives. This review is primarily an update on the situation. In its development strategy Benin gave considerable importance to the health of its population. This effort is part of the long-term vision of the country. Improving health status especially for the poor is one of eight strategic directions for that vision. Similarly on a more operational level this objective is reflected in the current Growth Strategy for Poverty Reduction (GPRS 2007-2009). Benin is particularly committed towards the Millennium Development Goals including 3 on the health sector. This review was also an opportunity to further analyze the constraints in the health system consistent with the new strategy Health Nutrition and Population World Bank Strategy adopted in 2007. But this exercise was not intended merely to be analytical. It also aimed to enrich the political dialogue between on one hand the actors in health and secondly the World Bank and other development partners. This effort relates more specifically to some themes such as governance private sector involvement and alignment of partners efforts (called technical and financial partners in Benin or PTFs). From this perspective the journal is also a contribution to Benins efforts to advance the IHP (International Health Partnership Plus). This initiative is now the main tool for implementing the Paris Declaration. In practice the journal has sought to contribute to the consensus between the Ministry of Health and the donor group on the diagnosis of the health system and the changes needed to strengthen it. Several guidelines have emerged stronger from this discussion particularly in the area of governance of the health system. Beyond the reinforcement of the various components of the health system two fundamental principles should guide the transformation of this system: 1) A principle of corporate governance: through decentralization of the health system health facilities must have their basic needs better taken into account (hence the need for bottom-up planning) and especially as more independent financially administrative; and 2) A principle of individual governance: health workers should be strongly encouraged to improve their performance (competence productivity and compliance of patients). Given the limited success of measures to strengthen inspections and other controls "top-down this incentive can only come from clients either directly (i.e. bonuses based on cost recovery) or preferably indirectly with a mechanism for payment by results funded by the state and possibly partners.


Objective: To investigate the associations of pre- and post-diagnostic recreational physical activity, and sitting time with prostate cancer specific mortality (PCSM) among men diagnosed with non-metastatic prostate cancer in the Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort. Methods: 10,067 men were diagnosed with non-metastatic prostate cancer between enrollment in 1992 or 1993 and June 2011, of whom 600 died of prostate cancer during follow-up through 2012. Multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the associations of self-reported pre-diagnostic and post-diagnostic physical activity and sitting time with PCSM. Results: Compared with engaging in fewer than 3.5 metabolic equivalent (MET) hours per week of recreational physical activity, 17.5 or more MET hours (equivalent to 5 hours of walking) per week was associated with 30% lower risk of PCSM (HR: 0.70, 95% CI: 0.54-0.92) for pre-diagnostic, and with 34% lower risk (HR: 0.66, 95% CI: 0.46-0.93) for post-diagnostic recreational physical activity. Among men with walking as the only form of leisure time physical activity, walking 4 hours or more per week before diagnosis was associated with lower risk of PCSM (for 4-6 hours, HR: 0.65, 95% CI: 0.46-0.91; for 7+ hours, HR: 0.60, 95% CI: 0.41-0.88), while no statistically significant association was observed with walking after diagnosis. Sitting time was not associated with PCSM. Conclusion: Higher recreational physical activity levels before and after diagnosis may improve prognosis in men diagnosed with non-metastatic prostate cancer. These results additional support that prostate cancer survivors should adhere to physical activity guidelines and that physicians should promote adopting a physically active lifestyle to prostate cancer survivors. Citation Format: Ying Wang, Eric J. Jacobs, Ted Gansler, Marjorie L. McCullough, Victoria L. Stevens, Susan M. Gapstur, Alpa V. Patel. Physical activity, sitting time and prostate cancer specific mortality: The Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 1736.


We evaluated multiple effects of genetic variations of five candidate loci (LEP, LEPR, MC4R, PIK3C3 and VRTN) on four production traits (average daily weight gain (ADG); backfat thickness (BFT); loin eye muscle area (EMA); and intramuscular fat content (IMF)) in a closed nucleus herd of pure Duroc pigs. Polymorphisms in LEPR, MC4R and PIK3C3 had significant single gene effects on ADG and BFT. The additive genetic variance in ADG and BFT (16.99% and 22.51%, respectively) was explained by genetic effects of these three loci. No correlations were observed between the LEP genotype and production traits in this study. Although we detected marginally epistatic interactions between LEPR and PIK3C3 on the eye muscle area, there were no significant epistatic effects on any traits among all loci pairs. These results suggest that LEPR, MC4R, PIK3C3 and VRTN may independently influence growth rate and fat deposition. Furthermore, the statistical models for predicting the breeding values of each trait had the lowest Akaike's information criterion values when considering the effect of the MC4R, LEPR, PIK3C3 and VRTN genotype simultaneously. These results suggest that LEPR, MC4R, PIK3C3 and VRTN are useful markers for accurately predicting breeding values in Duroc pigs.


An excitation at 201 meV is observed in the doped-hole ladder cuprate Sr14Cu24O41, using ultraviolet resonance Raman scattering with incident light at 3.7 eV polarized along the rungs. The excitation is of charge nature, with a temperature independent excitation energy, and can be understood via an intraladder pair-breaking process. The intensity tracks closely the order parameter of the charge density wave in the ladder CDW(L), but persists above its transition temperature T(CDW(L)), indicating a strong local pairing above the T(CDW(L)). The 201 meV excitation vanishes in La6Ca8Cu24O(41+δ), and La5Ca9Cu24O41 which are samples with no holes in the ladders. Our results suggest that the doped holes in the ladder are composite bosons consisting of paired holons that order below T(CDW).


In the retina, as elsewhere in the central nervous system, neurogenesis precedes gliogenesis; that is, the only glia in the retina, Müller cells, are born when the majority of neurons have already been generated. However, our understanding of how the multipotent retinal stem cells/progenitors choose to differentiate along neuronal and glial lineages is unclear. This information is important in promoting directed differentiation of retinal stem cells/progenitors in an ex vivo or in vivo stem cell approach to treating degenerative retinal diseases. Here, using the neurosphere assay, we demonstrate that ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF), acting in a concentration‐dependent manner, influences the simultaneous differentiation of retinal stem cells/progenitors into neurons or glia. At low CNTF concentrations differentiation of bipolar cells is promoted, whereas high CNTF concentrations facilitate Müller cell differentiation. The two concentrations of CNTF lead to differential activation of mitogen‐activated protein kinase and Janus kinase‐signal transducer and activator of transcription (Jak‐STAT) pathways, with recruitment of the former and the latter for the differentiation of bipolar and Müller cells, respectively. The concentration‐dependent recruitment of two disparate pathways toward neurogenesis and gliogenesis occurs in concert with Notch signaling. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the attenuation of Jak‐STAT signaling along with Notch signaling facilitates the differentiation of retinal stem cells/progenitors along the rod photoreceptor lineage in vivo. Our observations posit CNTF‐mediated signaling as a molecular switch for neuronal versus glial differentiation of retinal stem cells/progenitors and a molecular target for directed neuronal differentiation of retinal stem cells/progenitors as an approach to addressing degenerative changes in the retina.


A lower bound on the reliability exponent of the memoryless exponential server timing channel with noiseless feedback is provided. The lower bound depends on whether fixed or random transmission time, as well as on whether fixed block-length or variable block-length codes are considered (with block-length denoting the number of recorded departures). On the other hand, we show that E. Arikan's one-way sphere-packing bound for fixed transmission time codes (see IEEE Trans. Inform. Theory, vol.IT-48, no.6, p.1681-9, 2002) applies as well to fixed transmission time codes for the case at hand. As for random transmission time variable block-length codes, a lower bound on the zero error capacity is obtained.


The Canadian Sport Policy advocates for increased interaction among sport organizations as a means to create a more efficient and effective system. The purpose of this study was to explore the existence and nature of linkages among a network of community basketball providers. Network theory focuses on the interconnections of organizations by considering the structural, social, and economic bonds of cooperative behavior. Quantitative data were collected via a questionnaire and analyzed using network software UCINET 6 to assess the numbers and types of linkages among a network of community basketball organizations (n = 10) in one geographical region. Next, in-depth, semistructured interviews were conducted with leaders from the organizations and from their provincial/national governing bodies (n = 11) to assess the barriers to linkages among these organizations. Results indicated a loosely coupled network, wherein issues of power and dependence, uncertainty, and the lack of managerial structures to initiate...


We have applied wide-field digital interferometric techniques to quantitatively image sickle red blood cells (RBCs) [1] in a noncontact label-free manner, and measure the nanometer-scale fluctuations in their thickness as an indication of their stiffness. The technique can simultaneously measure the fluctuations for multiple spatial points on the RBC and thus yields a map describing the stiffness of each RBC in the field of view. Using this map, the local rigidity regions of the RBC are evaluated quantitatively. Since wide-field digital interferometry is a quantitative holographic imaging technique rather than one-point measurement, it can be used to simultaneously evaluate cell transverse morphology plus thickness in addition to its stiffness profile. Using this technique, we examine the morphology and dynamics of RBCs from individuals who suffer from sickle cell disease, and find that the sickle RBCs are significantly stiffer than healthy RBCs. Furthermore, we show that the technique is sensitive enough to distinguish various classes of sickle RBCs, including sickle RBCs with visibly-normal morphology, compared to the stiffer crescent-shaped sickle RBCs.


Sorting large data sets or database is a problem commonly found in Computer Science and to find a solution to this problem, several quicksorting algorithms were developed while some need to be improved upon to make them more efficient. Sorting algorithms can be developed using both shared and non-shared data based on programmers' choices. This paper aimed to develop three distinct sorting algorithms that involved shared data using three concurrency mechanisms in Java to measure their running times and to compare their performances. The main method used is the practical measurement of running times using benchmarking carried out on a machine with eight (8) processing cores. System current Time Millis () was used to measure time during the experiment. The results show that SD-Parallel quick sort implementation using Atomicity outperforms the other two algorithms. It was also shown that creating more threads leads to overhead when algorithms are developed using shared data. It was concluded that the running times of algorithms that involved shared data increase with the increase in the array size when proper synchronization is performed It was further revealed that SD-Parallel quick sort implemented using Acyclic-Barrier emerged as the second-best algorithm. Other concurrency mechanisms namely: Phaser, and Double-Atomicity provided by other Java JDK versions have the capacity of building more efficient framework that can be used to improve the performance of these algorithms due to their dynamic functionality. These and other concurrency mechanism provided by Java deserves further investigation as they are also capable of building more efficient algorithm.


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Uveal schwannoma is a rare benign neoplastic proliferation of pure Schwann cells. The purpose of this study was to describe MR imaging features of uveal schwannoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: MR images in 6 female patients with uveal schwannoma confirmed by pathologic examination were retrospectively reviewed. MR imaging was performed in all 6 patients, with postcontrast T1-weighted imaging (T1WI) completed in all 6 patients and dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging, in 5. MR imaging findings of the tumor were evaluated with emphasis on the location, size, shape, margin, signal intensity, and pattern of enhancement. RESULTS: The lesions appeared as solitary well-defined ovoid masses in the ciliochoroidal region in 5 patients and in the choroid in 1. With respect to the vitreous body, uveal schwannoma was hyperintense on T1WI spin-echo (SE) images in all 6 patients. The tumors were hypointense to the vitreous body on fast SE (FSE) T2-weighted images (T2WI) in 4 patients and isointense in 1. However, with respect to the brain, uveal schwannoma demonstrated isointensity on T1WI SE images in all 6 patients, isointensity on FSE T2WI images in 5 patients, and hyperintensity on T2WI SE images in 1. On postcontrast T1WI images, 3 patients showed markedly heterogeneous enhancement, and 3 showed markedly homogeneous enhancement. CONCLUSIONS: Uveal schwannoma should be included in the differential diagnosis when an oval isointense mass relative to brain is seen in the ciliochoroidal region.


In this paper we report the cloning and sequence analysis of four genes, located on plasmid pb, which are involved in the synthesis of thiamin in Rhizobium etli (thiC, thiO, thiG, and thiE). Two precursors, 4-methyl-5-(beta-hydroxyethyl)thiazole monophosphate and 4-amino-5-hydroxymethylpyrimidine pyrophosphate, are coupled to form thiamin monophosphate, which is then phosphorylated to make thiamin pyrophosphate. The first open reading frame (ORF) product, of 610 residues, has significant homology (69% identity) with the product of thiC from Escherichia coli, which is involved in the synthesis of hydroxymethylpyrimidine. The second ORF product, of 327 residues, is the product of a novel gene denoted thiO. A protein motif involved in flavin adenine dinucleotide binding was found in the amino-terminal part of ThiO; also, residues involved in the catalytic site of D-amino acid oxidases are conserved in ThiO, suggesting that it catalyzes the oxidative deamination of some intermediate of thiamin biosynthesis. The third ORF product, of 323 residues, has significant homology (38% identity) with ThiG from E. coli, which is involved in the synthesis of the thiazole. The fourth ORF product, of 204 residues, has significant homology (47% identity) with the product of thiE from E. coli, which is involved in the condensation of hydroxymethylpyrimidine and thiazole. Strain CFN037 is an R. etli mutant induced by a single Tn5mob insertion in the promoter region of the thiCOGE gene cluster. The Tn5mob insertion in CFN037 occurred within a 39-bp region which is highly conserved in all of the thiC promoters analyzed and promotes constitutive expression of thiC. Primer extension analysis showed that thiC transcription in strain CFN037 originates within the Tn5 element. Analysis of c-type protein content and expression of the fixNOQP operon, which codes for the symbiotic terminal oxidase cbb3, revealed that CFN037 produces the cbb3 terminal oxidase. These data show a direct relationship between expression of thiC and production of the cbb3 terminal oxidase. This is consistent with the proposition that a purine-related metabolite, 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleotide, is a negative effector of the production of the symbiotic terminal oxidase cbb3 in R. etli.


The vinyl addition polymerization of norbornyl-based monomers bearing polar functional groups is often problematic, leading to low molecular weight polymers in poor yield. Herein, we provide proof-of-principle evidence that addition-type homopolymers of siloxane substituted norbornyl-based monomers may be readily synthesized using the catalyst trans-[Ni(C6F5)2(SbPh3)2]. Polymerizations using this catalyst reached moderate to high conversion in just 5 min of polymerization and produced siloxane-substituted polymers with molecular weights exceeding 100 kg/mol. These polymers showed excellent thermal stability (Td ≥ 362 °C) and were cast into membranes that displayed high CO2 permeability and enhanced CO2/N2 selectivity as compared to related materials.


In this Letter, an electro-optical probe configuration with polar molecule liquids as the sensing film is proposed to improve the voltage sensitivity. This method exhibited increases in intrinsic sensitivities better than 0.1 mV/√Hz, 2 orders of magnitude larger than the normal method using a GaAs probe in the same measurement system. Based on the mechanism of orientation polarization, the electro-optic coefficient was measured to be 250 pm/V by the Teng-Man method at a modulation field of 100 Hz. This technology will be promising in applications of low-frequency field detection.


This discussion paper is one of a series of six papers which brings together both cost-benefit analysis methodology and the problems and issues in evaluation of regional and national animal health programs. Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is a powerful economic technique for evaluating public sector investments, evaluating proposed research projects and programs, estimating the economic impact of new regulations, predicting the economic impacts of resource exploitation and conservation programs, and a variety of other applications. Applying CBA to animal health issues is a challenging task which, with a few notable exceptions, economists have avoided. Economic approaches to the study of animal health have many similarities with economics of public health. Livestock industries are vital in many developing countries for their food, fibre and other products, export revenue earnings and provision of draft and transport. In addition to their private costs, livestock diseases and pests have important externality costs to communities and nations. Eradication of particular diseases can allow access to high-priced foreign markets. Effects of improved animal health can be subtle and may take a number of years to be fully realised. They present particular measurement difficulties. Studies of the economic desirability of animal health programs have frequently overlooked important cost and benefits items, for example, the benefits which accrue to consumers from lower prices and better quality meat products. Like it or not, cost considerations will continue to play a part in determining what animal health initiatives can be funded. Also, it is usually necessary to present a thorough economic evaluation to decision-makers when seeking funding. This paper examines the economic logic underlying such an analysis, and makes suggestions on how it can be carried out.


Sanding phenomenon is a severe problem in the oil and gas fields found in weak unconsolidated formations. While previous experimental researches mostly studied single-phase fluid flow, it rarely happened in real reservoirs. This study presents a novel approach to investigating sand production mechanism from multiphase fluid production through experiment of large specimen size, and a coupled Computation Fluid Dynamics – Discrete Element Method (CFD-DEM) modelling for two-phase flow. The sand production experiments on a weak artificial sandstone were conducted under one-phase and two-phase flow conditions: water flow in water-saturated and gas flow in water-saturated samples using a customized High-Pressure Consolidation System (HPCS). The coupled CFD-DEM numerical simulations of similar conditions were conducted to capture the salient features of sanding behaviour at micro-levels. The discontinuous nature of sand particles and the bonds between them were modelled using DEM, whereas the continuous fluid flow was described by CFD. The experimental results showed that more sand was produced by the two-phase flow of gas through an initially water-saturated sample as compared to the single-phase water flow. The numerical results on the other hand showed different internal void fraction distributions between the two cases, which led to a faster fluid outflow and a slightly higher sand production for the multiphase flow case. The experimental and numerical results were however limited by the experiment duration and the simulation time of an otherwise on-going sand production process.


Our hypothesis started from the discovery of the periodontal bacteria DNA in occluded arteries and phlebitis veins of Buerger disease. It was accelerated by the observation of platelets and bacterial coexistence showing aggregation of platelets. Using our hypothesis, we would like to explain the characteristic points of Buerger disease that have already been reported in various documents. Our hypothesis of Buerger disease is able to explain the signs and symptoms pretty easily. More investigations are necessary to understand the full story of the disease. The infection of the thrombus is the core of the disease. Angiitis is a secondary reaction of the intimal area.


During the joining process of complex body components in the automobile industry, dimensional accuracy is essential. In order to predict the behavior and to improve the geometrical quality of joined sheet metal parts during the welding and cooling process, a simulation method by means of finite elements is applied. This should be done in the early stage of the product's life cycle to reduce process adjustments, which are time and money consuming. In recent years the simulation of welding was basically feasible by models consisting of volume elements. This way the metallurgical phase transformation, which is responsible for the behavior of the treated parts during the cooling process, can be established for a specific material. The use of volumes has a negative influence on the calculation time and it is not applicable for sheet metals. Especially, if effects from previous forming processes are to be considered. Additionally, the application of shells can meet the requirements of an analysis of the effects of welding when the metallurgical material properties are taken into account. In this paper an example of a sheet metal (DC04, former St 14) will be examined with the aid of a finite element analysis. Firstly, a transient temperature field is calculated in a thermal simulation by applying a certain method. In this calculation only the thermal properties of the material are used. Secondly, the transient temperature field is used as the initial load for the thermo-mechanical analysis. The distortion and the residual stresses of the work piece can be calculated using thermo-mechanical properties and material phase transformations.


January at the Tamanaco Intercontinental Hotel, was attended by close to 1000 medical doctors (MDs) and students. It was the largest evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine (ECAM) meeting ever held in this country and constituted a landmark. Those attending were orthodox physicians in search of new alternatives. Massive media coverage by 40 local press agencies, newspapers, television networks and radio stations ensured that the entire country resonated with the event, recognizing the influence of this medical practice in Venezuela, its potential for the remission of chronic degenerative illnesses and its international relevance. It is significant that this first congress on systemic medicine (SM), gas visualization discharge (GDV) and electro-oncotherapy (ECT) counted on crucial local support for unparalleled logistics. This enthusiastic participation strongly supported the view that SM is a way to decrease the high costs of treating chronic degenerative diseases. SM is a consolidated tendency—in Venezuela—with a network of 33 medical units and 150 trained MDs. They are working systematically with adaptogenic herbs in what constitutes the third largest medical network in the country, surpassed only by the government's ambulatory system and the Red Cross Association. SM postulates that the common denominator of 'unrelated' sickness is an entropy increase, which manifests itself by a reduction of synergic bonds in key elements of the human organism (1). This chaos increase affects the system's internal energy, biological intelligence and organization, which constitute the system's three vital elements, i.e. the essential parameters of life. Therefore, according to SM, the solution to sickness lies in a reduction of entropy via the enhancement of these three mutually synergic variables. This was perceived among attendees as one of the most important conclusions derived from lectures and presentation of 17 clinical studies by scientists and medical doctors in the 'First International Congress on Systemic Medicine, GDV and ECT'.


Three Peoples, One King explores the contributions and conjoined fates of Loyalists, Indians, and slaves who stood with the British Empire in the Deep South colonies during the American Revolution. Challenging the traditional view that British efforts to regain control of the southern colonies were undermined by a lack of local support, Jim Piecuch demonstrates the breadth of loyal assistance provided by these three groups in South Carolina, Georgia, and East and West Florida. Piecuch attributes the ultimate failure of the Crown's southern campaign to the ruthless programme of violent suppression of Loyalist forces carried out by the revolutionaries and Britain's inability to capitalise fully on the support available. In the process of revisiting some cherished opinions respecting the Revolution, Piecuch provides a compelling alternative to long-held notions of heroism and villainy in America's war for independence. Covering the period from 1775 to 1782, Piecuch systematically surveys the roles of these three groups--Loyalists, Indians, and slaves--across the southernmost colonies to illustrate the investments each had in allying with the British, their interconnected efforts on behalf of their king, and the high price they paid for their loyalty during and after the war. In honing his focus on the Deep South, where British forces struggled to maintain control as their hold on the northern colonies waned and where some of the war's fiercest combat took place, Piecuch offers a sustained interpretation of the war from the British perspective. Although other studies have assessed the stance of white Loyalist militias and the efforts of revolutionaries to woo them or defeat them, Piecuch's is the first to offer a synthetic approach to all three Loyalist populations--white, black, and Native American--in the South during this era. He subjects each of the groups to intensive investigation, making new discoveries in the histories of escaped or liberated slaves, of still-powerful Indian tribes, and of the bitter legacies of white loyalism. He then employs an integrated approach that advances understanding of Britain's long hold on the South and the hardships experienced by those groups who were in varying degrees abandoned by the Crown in defeat. Aided by thirty-four illustrations and maps, Piecuch's pathbreaking study will appeal to scholars and students of American history as well as Revolutionary War enthusiasts open to hearing an opposing perspective.


Multiple-quantum spin relaxation is a sensitive probe for correlated conformational exchange dynamics on microsecond to millisecond time scales in biomolecules. We measured differential 1H-15N multiple-quantum relaxation rates for the backbone amide groups of the E140Q mutant of the C-terminal domain of calmodulin at three static magnetic field strengths. The differential multiple-quantum relaxation rates range between -88.7 and 92.7 s(-1), and the mean and standard deviation are 7.0 +/- 24 s(-1), at a static magnetic field strength of 14.1 T. Together with values of the 1H and 15N chemical shift anisotropies (CSA) determined separately, the field-dependent data enable separation of the different contributions from dipolar-dipolar, CSA-CSA, and conformational exchange cross-correlated relaxation mechanisms to the differential multiple-quantum relaxation rates. The procedure yields precise quantitative information on the dominant conformational exchange contributions observed in this protein. The field-dependent differences between double- and zero-quantum relaxation rates directly benchmark the rates of conformational exchange, showing that these are fast on the chemical shift time scale for the large majority of residues in the protein. Further analysis of the differential 1H-15N multiple-quantum relaxation rates using previously determined exchange rate constants and populations, obtained from 15N off-resonance rotating-frame relaxation data, enables extraction of the product of the chemical shift differences between the resonance frequencies of the 1H and 15N spins in the exchanging conformations, deltasigma(H)deltasigma(N). Thus, information on the 1H chemical shift differences is obtained, while circumventing complications associated with direct measurements of conformational exchange effects on 1H single-quantum coherences in nondeuterated proteins. The method significantly increases the information content available for structural interpretation of the conformational exchange process, partly because deltasigma(H)deltasigma(N) is a signed quantity, and partly because two chemical shifts are probed simultaneously. The present results support the hypothesis that the exchange in the calcium-loaded state of the E140Q mutant involves conformations similar to those of the wild-type apo (closed) and calcium-loaded (open) states.


Aims: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reaction of the subcutaneous connective tissue to a new sealer composed of ethanolic extract of Propolis (EEP) and zinc oxide powder. Materials and Methods: Twenty five adult rats (Rattus novergicus, Albinos wistar) weighting between 200 and 250 grams, provided by central animal house of Mosul University of the Veterinary College were used. Materials were autoclaved polyethylene tubes, 10mm long with a single lumen and an inner diameter of 1 mm, ensuring that air was not entrapped. The procedure was preformed in the subcutaneous tissue of the rat in the dorsum of the animal following the sagittal line between the frontal legs, was submitted to trichotomy for exposure of the skin, followed by a sepsis with a gauze soaked with 70% alcohol. Results: No rats died during the experimental study. The surviving skin appeared normal in this texture and bled when cut, compared to negative control. The connective tissue responded along the lateral wall outside the polyethylene tubes of all specimens also served as a negative control. A moderate inflammatory reaction was observed in the second day when new sealer was used. The tissue reaction showed a focal neutrophilic inflammatory infilterates. On the 7 th day a mild to absent inflammatory reaction were observed. The histological features on the 14th, 30th and 60th days showed similar features. Conclusions: The results obtained in the present study allowed the conclusion that the new root canal sealer composed of zinc –oxide (powder) and EEP (liquid) presented good biocompatibility.


A microprocessor contains the central processing unit and takes the role of the "brain" for a computer. For the past decades, we have benefited greatly from its technological improvement. To accurately measure the contribution of such technological improvement to economic growth, we need a quality adjusted price index, which also helps us understand quality and technology trends in microprocessors. The quality trend in desktop microprocessors has been extensively studied. I focus on microprocessors for laptops for my senior economics thesis. Using data I newly collected on laptop microprocessor prices and performance metrics, I construct a quality adjusted price index spanning the past ten years. Across a range of empirical specifications, I find a sharp decrease in quality adjusted price over 2004-2013, but smaller in magnitude since 2010. These results might suggest a different technological improvement pattern and/or changing pricing strategies in the laptop microprocessor segment of the industry.


Inflammatory pseudotumor or pseudosarcomatous fibromyxoid tumor and postoperative spindle cell nodule of the bladder are unusual lesions of uncertain pathogenesis which share overlapping, if not identical, histologic features. We present our experience with 42 cases, the largest series to date, to study the etio-pathogenesis, histologic features, biologic behavior and relationship to "inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor" of childhood. Patients ranged in age from 7 to 77 years (mean 47 y) and males predominated (3.2:1). Most patients presented with hematuria (31/42). Common associations were smoking (10/30) and previous instrumentation or surgery (9/42). The clinicopathologic features of patients having or not having prior instrumentation were identical. Grossly the lesions were polypoid or nodular and involved any portion of bladder wall, most commonly the dome (9/27) and measured 1 to 10 cm (mean 4 cm). They were composed of spindled and stellate cells arranged in a myxoid background with numerous inflammatory cells. Myxoid hypocellular areas were more pronounced near the mucosal surface with greater cellularity and a fascicular arrangement in the deep aspect of the lesion. "Atypical" features included mitotic activity (0 to 20/10 HPF; mean 2/10 HPF; median 1/10 HPF; none atypical), necrosis (22/42), and extension into muscularis propria (28/32) or perivesicular fat (3/8). Lesions were positive for cytokeratin (31/33), SMA (23/34), desmin (21/35), and Alk-1 protein (12/26). FISH confirmed the Alk-1 translocation in 4/6 cases. Treatment included transurethral resection (30/42), partial cystectomy (9/42), and total cystectomy (3/42). Initial diagnostic error resulted in radiotherapy and chemotherapy in 3 patients. Follow-up was available in 28 patients. (range 3to 93 mo; median 25 mo). Three patients developed recurrences, but none had metastases. Because the clinicopathologic features of lesions associated with and without instrumentation were similar and inseparable, we believe they are essentially the same entity, and propose the term pseudosarcomatous myofibroblastic proliferation. The preponderance of evidence which includes the extravesical growth, local recurrence, and Alk-1 gene translocation in some cases suggests perhaps a neoplastic process with limited growth potential. Even in the face of atypical histologic features (muscle invasion and necrosis) the prognosis is excellent. Despite the Alk-1 gene translocation, there continues to be sufficient evidence for regarding these as distinct from the so-called inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor of childhood.


Connected Target Coverage (CTC) problem [8], covering given targets fully with the deployed sensors and also guaranteeing connectivity to a sink node, is a challenging scheduling problem. In this paper, unlike the existing heuristic algorithms, we adopt the probabilistic coverage model to solve the problem and develop a heuristic algorithm called CWGC-PM (Communication Weighted Greedy Cover-Probabilistic Model) to extend the network lifetime while such coverage and connectivity constraints are satisfied. Simulation results are presented to evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm and they show that the probabilistic coverage model can capture the diverse sensing characteristics of sensor nodes in the real world.


The spirituality of the 16th- and 17th-century English Puritans was nurtured by a number of both private and public means of grace. Puritan Conferences were the types of conversations that focused on growing biblical knowledge and caring for the souls of others. Whether these occurred in private meetings of individuals, serendipitous encounters along the road, or through written communication, there was wide acceptance of this exercise as a common Puritan practice of piety. Primary sources affirm the benefits enjoyed by the participants. A relevant and practical application of this exercise is proposed for contemporary small groups.


A green analytical flow method was developed for the determination of total sulfite in white wine. The method employs the membraneless vaporization (MBL-VP) technique for gas–sample separation allowing direct analysis of wine. Sulfite in an aliquot of sample was converted to SO2 gas via acidification. Dissolution of the gas into the water acceptor led to a change in the conductivity of the acceptor which was monitored using a 'capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detector' (C4D) flow cell. Only a minute amount of common acid (100 μL of 1.5 mol L−1 H2SO4) is used. The MBL-VP unit was incorporated into the flow system to separate the SO2 gas from the wine sample using the headspace above the donor and acceptor compartments as a virtual membrane. The method provides a linear working range (10–200 mg L−1 sulfite) which is suitable for most wines with calibration equation y = (0.056 ± 0.002)x + (1.10 ± 0.22) and r2 = 0.998. Sample throughput is 26 samples h−1. The lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ = 3SD of blank per slope) is 0.3 mg L−1 sulfite for 20 s diffusion time with good precision (%RSD = 0.8 for 100 mg L−1 sulfite, n = 10). We also present a simple modification of the MBL-VP unit by the addition of a third cone-shaped reservoir to provide two acceptor zones leading to improvement in sensitivity of more than three-fold without use of heating to enhance the rate of diffusion of SO2.


We investigate the entrainment of liquid films on a partially wetting plate vertically withdrawn from a reservoir of viscous liquid using a combination of diffuse-interface numerical simulation and lubrication analysis. So far available theoretical investigations were commonly conducted by focusing on separate parameter regions, and a complete description of the flow regimes with increasing plate speed is still missing. By solving the full Stokes equations, we present a complete scenario of film transition in the presence of moving contact line. With increasing plate speed, we identify numerically four successive flow regimes in terms of the interfacial morphologies: (1) a stationary meniscus, (2) a speed-independent thick film connected to the liquid bath through a stationary dimple, (3) coexistence of a thick film and the classical Landau–Levich–Derjaguin (LLD) film connected by a propagating capillary shock and (4) a film with a monotonically varying thickness. The characteristics of the film profiles in different regions of the interfaces are analysed with lubrication theory as applicable, and satisfactory agreements with the numerical results are obtained. In particular, we confirm that the onset of film deposition occurs at a vanishing apparent contact angle, consistent with the predictions of lubrication theory. Numerical results suggest that the critical capillary number for the onset of film deposition is smaller than that for the onset of LLD film despite the fact that it is higher than the experimentally observed one, showing that the thick film can be realized in the two-dimensional model. We also demonstrated that the LLD film is triggered by the bifurcation of the stationary dimple, which is found to admit multiple branches of stable and unstable solutions.


New coordination compounds of the type Ti(C2O4)(2)L]2H(2)O where L=N-alkyl phenothiazines (NAPs) were synthesised and characterised by elemental analyses, molar conductance, magnetic, thermal and spectral data. The spectral data suggest the bidentate nature of NAPs in the complexes. An octahedral structure is proposed for all the complexes. Thermal studies were used to evaluate the kinetic and thermodynamic parameters.


Presented in this paper is an initial effort toward medical application of Selective Vacuum Manufacturing (SVM), a simple rapid prototyping technique that is being developed. This preliminary study explored the possibility of applying SVM technique to build scaffold, a structure supporting tissue formation. Three different laydown patterns: solid, 0o/90o, and zigzag were successfully used for fabricating scaffolds from Poly-lactic acid (PLA) powder, and all the built scaffolds provide high porosity which is important for tissue growth. The result suggests further study on improving the mechanical strength of the scaffold, preventing contamination, and scaling down the size of the scaffold


This paper deals with the Western Islands of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (that part of the Archipelago which lies west of approximately the 95° meridian of West Longitude). It directs attention to some important aspects of the study of former glaciation in this region, and attempts to shed light on the extent and character of this glaciation. The following major conclusions have been reached: The islands south of Viscount Melville Sound (with the possible exception of Somerset Island) clearly appear to have been glaciated by ice moving off the continental mainland. Evidence suggests that this ice advanced into the Archipelago more than once but there is no indication that it ever extended north of Viscount Melville Sound. In the northern islands the highest upland surfaces may have been occupied by local glaciers. Ice flowage is suggested at Resolute Bay on Cornwallis Island, in the Deer Bay region on Ellef Ringnes Island, and may be the cause of furrows and striae on bedrock near the head of Liddon Gulf, Melville Island. The negative character of the photographic evidence in the other northern islands does not preclude the possibility of former local glaciation. Dormant or semidormant snowfields or ice caps similar to the one now on Meighen Island may have been widely distributed at one time.


Listeria monocytogenes is a Gram positive foodborne pathogen that regularly causes outbreaks of systemic infectious diseases. The bacterium maintains a facultative intracellular lifestyle; it thrives under a variety of environmental conditions and is able to infect human host cells. L. monocytogenes is genetically tractable and therefore has become an attractive model system to study the mechanisms employed by facultative intracellular bacteria to invade eukaryotic host cells and to replicate in their cytoplasm. Besides its importance for basic research, L. monocytogenes also serves as a paradigmatic pathogen in genomic epidemiology, where the relative stability of its genome facilitates successful outbreak detection and elucidation of transmission chains in genomic pathogen surveillance systems. In both terms, it is necessary to keep the annotation of the L. monocytogenes genome up to date. Therefore, we have created the database ListiWiki (http://listiwiki.uni-goettingen.de/) which stores comprehensive information on the widely used L. monocytogenes reference strain EDG-e. ListiWiki is designed to collect information on genes, proteins and RNAs and their relevant functional characteristics, but also further information such as mutant phenotypes, available biological material, and publications. In its present form, ListiWiki combines the most recent annotation of the EDG-e genome with published data on gene essentiality, gene expression and subcellular protein localization. ListiWiki also predicts protein-protein interactions networks based on protein homology to Bacillus subtilis proteins, for which detailed interaction maps have been compiled in the sibling database SubtiWiki. Furthermore, crystallographic information of proteins is made accessible through integration of Protein Structure Database codes and AlphaFold structure predictions. ListiWiki is an easy-to-use web interface that has been developed with a focus on an intuitive access to all information. Use of ListiWiki is free of charge and its content can be edited by all members of the scientific community after registration. In our labs, ListiWiki has already become an important and easy to use tool to quickly access genome annotation details that we can keep updated with advancing knowledge. It also might be useful to promote the comprehensive understanding of the physiology and virulence of an important human pathogen.


Phenylhydrazine has been used to induce anaemia in Xenopus laevis. The dosage used causes the complete destruction of all mature erythrocytes within twelve days. The anaemia results in the initiation of a wave of erythropoiesis and large numbers of immature erythroid cells are released into the circulation. The morphological and biosynthetic changes which these cells undergo as they differentiate in circulation are described. The origin of the circulating erythroid cells is also discussed.


A fall-planted winter cover crop is an agricultural management practice with multiple benefits that may include reducing nitrate (NO3) losses from artificial drained agricultural fields. While the practice is commonly used in the southern and eastern United States, little is known about its efficacy in midwestern states where winters are longer and colder, and artificial subsurface drainage is widely used in corn–soybean systems (Zea mays L.–Glycine max L.). We used a field-tested version of the Root Zone Water Quality Model (RZWQM) to simulate the adoption of cereal rye (Secale cereale L.) as a winter cover crop and estimate its impact on NO3 losses from drained fields at 41 sites across the Midwest from 1961 to 2005. The average annual nitrogen (N) loss reduction from adding winter rye ranged from 11.7 to 31.8 kg N ha−1 (10.4 to 28.4 lb N ac−1) among four simulated systems. One of the simulated treatments was winter rye overseeded (aerial seeded) into a no-till corn–soybean rotation at simulated main crop maturity (CC2). On average, this treatment reduced simulated N loss in drainage by 20.1 kg N ha−1 (17.9 lb N ac−1) over the sites compared to systems without winter rye (NCC2), from 47.3 to 27.2 kg N ha−1 (42.2 to 24.3 lb N ac−1). Adding spring tillage to this treatment and killing the rye earlier (CC3) reduced simulated N loss from 57.3 (NCC3) to 34.4 kg N ha−1 (30.7 lb N ac−1). Replacing the corn–soybean rotation with continuous corn and spring tillage reduced simulated N loss from 106 (NCC4) to 74.2 kg N ha−1 (CC4) (94.6 to 66.2 lb N ac−1). Adding a winter rye cover crop reduced N loss more in the continuous corn system despite earlier spring termination of the winter rye and slightly less N uptake by the rye possibly because of more denitrification. Regression analysis of the RZWQM variables from these sites showed that temperature and precipitation during winter rye growth, N fertilizer application rates to corn, and simulated corn yield account for greater than 95% of the simulated site-to-site variability in NO3 loss reductions in tile flow due to winter rye. Our results suggest that on average winter rye can reduce N loss in drainage 42.5% across the Midwest. Greater N loss reductions were estimated from adding winter rye at sites with warmer temperatures and less precipitation because of more cover crop growth and more soil N available for cover crop uptake.


Microorganisms that compose the oral microbiota maintain complex interactions with each other, especially pathogens related to periodontal disease. It is possible to characterize the etiology of this multifactorial and polymicrobial disease by the accumulation of biofilms formed in the supraand subgingival environments associated to the immunological response and the susceptibility of the host, being responsible for a large part of the dental loss especially in the adult phase. Periodontal treatment has been carried out mainly by scaling and root planing. This therapy is limited due to the difficult access in some areas of the teeth, impairing the removal of biofilms. So, this chapter will focus on the composition and formation of the biofilm as well as the host's immune response to periodontopathogenic microorganisms. Additionally, the therapeutic challenges and the treatments that are currently being studied in order to eliminate this biofilm, such as antimicrobial phototherapy, will be discussed.


Smart Objects and the Internet of Things are two ideas which describe the future, walk together, and complement each other. Thus, the interconnection among objects can make them more intelligent or expand their intelligence to unsuspected limits. This could be achieved with a new network that interconnects each object around the world. However, to achieve this goal, the objects need a network that supports heterogeneous and ubiquitous objects, a network where exists more traffic among objects than among humans, but supporting for both types. For these reasons, both concepts are very close. Cities, houses, cars, machines, or any another object that can sense, respond, work, or make easier the lives of their owner. This is a part of the future, an immediate future. Notwithstanding, first of all, there are to resolve a series of problems. The most important problem is the heterogeneity of objects. This article is going to show a theoretical frame and the related work about Smart Object. The article will explain what are Smart Objects, doing emphasis in their difference with Not- Smart Objects. After, we will present one of the different object classification system, in our opinion, the most complete.


There is a gap in the theory of acquisition, little investigation have been made on the acquired firm within the acquisition process and in service industries. Because of the lack of research in this area, this research is focusing on acquisition theory and how it positions to the acquired firm rather than the firm making the acquisition. Therefore a need to investigate the acquisition theory on acquired firms on SME: s in the IT-service industry is interesting. To do so, three case studies have been made on three firms that have been acquired. The empirical results from the case studies have shown how the relationship between the parent company and the subsidiary has differences. The company culture and the relationship to the parent firm differs if the parent firm is foreign or not; and if the acquisition process is mutual between two firms rather than a market extension acquisition.By analyzing the data of this research the study show that the previous theories of acquisition are adaptable to implement on firms that have been acquired on SME:s in the IT-service industry.


Blood glucose, cholesterol and triglyceride levels were determined and the venous occlusion test (VOT) was administered to 15 vegetarians (mean age 46.2 years, SD 15.1) and 20 non-vegetarians (mean age 38.3 years, SD 8.3). The tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI) and euglobulin lysis time (ELT) were measured before and after VOT. The means of all the parameters were not significantly different between vegetarians and non-vegetarians. TPA increased after VOT in both the vegetarians and the non-vegetarians, but the changing amplitudes of tPA, PAI and ELT induced by VOT were not significantly different in either group. This study evidenced no significant difference in the changes of fibrinolytic activity between vegetarians and non-vegetarians.


Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is associated with low bone and muscle mass, increased fracture risk, and impaired skeletal muscle function. Myostatin, a myokine that is systemically elevated in humans with T1D, negatively regulates muscle mass and bone formation. We investigated whether pharmacologic myostatin inhibition in a mouse model of insulin‐deficient, streptozotocin (STZ)‐induced diabetes is protective for bone and skeletal muscle. DBA/2J male mice were injected with low‐dose STZ (diabetic) or vehicle (non‐diabetic). Subsequently, insulin or palmitate Linbits were implanted and myostatin (REGN647‐MyoAb) or control (REGN1945‐ConAb) antibody was administered for 8 weeks. Body composition and contractile muscle function were assessed in vivo. Systemic myostatin, P1NP, CTX‐I, and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) were quantified, and gastrocnemii were weighed and analyzed for muscle fiber composition and gene expression of selected genes. Cortical and trabecular parameters were analyzed (micro‐computed tomography evaluations of femur) and cortical bone strength was assessed (three‐point bending test of femur diaphysis). In diabetic mice, the combination of insulin/MyoAb treatment resulted in significantly higher lean mass and gastrocnemius weight compared with MyoAb or insulin treatment alone. Similarly, higher raw torque was observed in skeletal muscle of insulin/MyoAb‐treated diabetic mice compared with MyoAb or insulin treatment. Additionally, muscle fiber cross‐sectional area (CSA) was lower with diabetes and the combination treatment with insulin/MyoAb significantly improved CSA in type II fibers. Insulin, MyoAb, or insulin/MyoAb treatment improved several parameters of trabecular architecture (eg, bone volume fraction [BV/TV], trabecular connectivity density [Conn.D]) and cortical structure (eg, cortical bone area [Ct. Ar.], minimum moment of inertia [Imin]) in diabetic mice. Lastly, cortical bone biomechanical properties (stiffness and yield force) were also improved with insulin or MyoAb treatment. In conclusion, pharmacologic myostatin inhibition is beneficial for muscle mass, muscle function, and bone properties in this mouse model of T1D and its effects are both independent and additive to the positive effects of insulin. © 2023 The Authors. JBMR Plus published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.


Research Objective: Urgent Care Centers (UCCs) are part of the U.S. health care delivery system reducing emergency department (ED) overcrowding, providing access, ease, quick service, and lower cost of care than ED. Managed care organizations (MCOs) have begun to partner with UCCs to treat non-urgent health conditions. Despite the rapid growth of the urgent care industry, few studies describe characteristics of beneficiaries from Medicaid/ Medicare MCO who use UCC. Our objective was to identify the characteristics of beneficiaries from a MCO who utilized UCC and compare them with ED users and those who used both for non-urgent health conditions.

Study Design: With a cross sectional design, analyzed administrative claims data of a MCO from January to December 2016 (n=20,107). Outcome variables were number of visits to UCC, ED, or both. The MCO followed New York University algorithm for ED visit classification to identify non-urgent health conditions. We used the Behavioral Model of Health Care Utilization as a conceptual framework to identify the predictors in the model: age, gender, race/ethnicity, distance to UCC from residence (measured using Maptitude Software), type of insurance, primary care physician visits, inpatient admissions, chronic conditions, morbid obesity, and smoking behavior. Three Generalized Linear Models were used to analyze the association between outcomes and predictors.

Population Studied: Study included Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries from a single MCO who utilized UCC, ED or both for non-urgent health conditions. Beneficiaries resided within 10-mile radius or less of 12 UCC locations.

Principal Findings: Among beneficiaries who had non-urgent health conditions (n=20,107), 22.7% were UCC users, 66.8% were ED users, and 10.5% used both. Average residential distance from UCC was 3 mile radius and about 93% lived within 5 mile radius of UCC locations. Both UCC and ED users were more likely to be females and Medicaid beneficiaries. African Americans [IRR: 0.95; 95%CI: 0.91-0.98] were less likely to use UCC and more likely to use ED [IRR: 1.10; 95% CI: 1.07-1.13). Those with higher number of chronic conditions were more likely to use ED than UCC. Distance was not a predictor of UCC or ED use.

Conclusions: Although majority of the beneficiaries who had non-urgent health conditions resided within 5-mile radius of UCCs, less than one fourth utilized UCC, and 11% used either UCC or ED. African Americans and beneficiaries with higher number of chronic conditions were less likely to use UCC for non-urgent health conditions. UCC users were relatively healthier than ED users. Distance was not a predictor of either UCC, ED, or both use.

Public Health Significance: Our study implies that although UCC were available within 5-mile radius for most beneficiaries and also to majority of African American beneficiaries, yet they were not utilizing it for non-urgent health conditions. Access alone may not help in utilization of UCC services. Interventions targeted at disseminating information to the community about UCC locations, services provided, and when they may use it, is equally important to improve utilization and reduce ED crowding and costs from non-urgent health conditions.


The canine and feline female reproductive tract comprises internal and external genitalia. The ovaries are found close to the caudal poles of the kidneys and are generally ovoid in shape (although this is less consistent if a large follicle or corpus luteum is present). They have a cortex (containing the follicles) and a medulla. The right ovary is often found dorsal to the ascending colon, and the left ovary is located adjacent to the descending colon. The ovaries are enclosed by the ovarian bursae. The uterine tube begins as the funnel-shaped infundibulum adjacent to the ovary and continues as the ampulla then isthmus until the junction with the uterine horn. The course of the uterine tube is tortuous and lies within the wall of the ovarian bursa. The uterus comprises two horns leading into a short body, terminating in a short thick-walled cervix. The uterine wall has three layers;: an outer serosal layer (perimetrium); a muscular layer (myometrium) and an inner mucosal layer (endometrium). The uterus is generally dorsal to the small intestines, with the body lying ventral to the descending colon and dorsal to the bladder. The chapter discusses Normal radiographic appearance; Contrast radiography; Indications; Ultrasonography; Overview of additional imaging modalities; Normal pregnancy; Female reproductive system diseases; and Mammary glands.


The amount of training data is one of the critical factors affecting the performance of handwritten numeral recognition system. One way to increase the training data size is adding synthesized data. In this study, synthetic data generation using morphing transformation with convex evolution is investigated. This technique uses a pair of original samples as the source and the target, and generates the synthetic samples by evolving the source towards the target. We aim to balance the data distribution. Normally, the training data has poor distribution due to the data redundancy and sparseness caused by frequent and rare samples, respectively. In terms of data clusters, some clusters are small, some are large and filling the gap between these clusters with synthetic data should smooth the clusters. Using the Support Vector Machines method, the rare samples, also called support vectors, are determined. Then, the number of rare samples is increased using morphing transformation. Using this technique a recognition rate of 99.19% has been achieved, while the initial performance without morphing was 99.07%. Morphing transformation generated more representative synthetic samples, which cannot be obtained by the other data synthesis methods such as affine and elastic distortions.


There is no doubt that sport has transformed over the last 30 years. At the
elite end of the sport continuum it has become a complex commercial enterprise,
while at the 'participation' end it has become quite sophisticated in
marketing its activities to local communities. As a consequence, sports
marketing is now a recognised and rapidly developing sector with universities
offering sports marketing degrees. However, the one area where sport
marketing is underdeveloped is in public relations and communication strategies.
For the most part, sport management students have been forced to go to
the generic management literature to further their understanding. In many
respects this has not been a bad thing, but it often means that some of the
'nuances' and special features of sport are not given sufficient focus. This book
customises its discussion of public relations and communications so that it is
directly relevant to the sport management student. It provides a concise guide
as to how public relations and communication strategies and principles can be
applied to sport management and marketing issues and problems. In short, it
demonstrates how the principles of public relations and communications can
be successfully applied in practice within a sports context.


Often a biographer or historian tells his readers as much about his times and himself as he does about the subject of his work. This seems to be true for La Salle's "Pioneer Biographers," who knew him personally and wrote within some 25 years of his death. However, for a perceptive reader they also provide much interesting and valuable information about La Salle as an educational innovator—the thing which has earned bim an important place in the history of western education.


Scaling is relevant for the analysis of plant-frugivore interaction, since the ecological and evolutionary outcomes of seed dispersal depend on the spatial and temporal scale at which frugivory patterns emerge. We analyse the relationship between fruit abundance and frugivore activity at local and landscape spatial scales in two different systems composed, respectively, by the bird-dispersed woody plants Juniperus communis and Bursera fagaroides, and their frugivore assemblages. We use a hierarchical approach of nested patchiness of fruit-resource, where patches are defined by individual plants within site, at the local scale, and by sites within region, at the landscape scale. The structure of patches is also described in terms of contrast (differences in fruit availability among patches) and aggregation (spatial distribution of patches). For J. communis, frugivore activity was positively related to fruit availability at the landscape scale, this pattern seldom emerging at the local scale; conversely, B. fagaroides showed a general trend of positive local pattern that disappeared at the landscape scale. These particular trends might be partially explained by differences in contrast and aggregation. The strong contrast among plants within site together with a high aggregation among sites would promote the B. fagaroides pattern to be only local, whereas in J. communis, low aggregation among sites within region would favour a sharp landscape-scale pattern. Both systems showed discordant patterns of fruitresource tracking among consecutive spatial scales, but the sense of discordance differed among systems. These results, and the available multi-scale frugivory data, suggest that discordance among successive scales allows to link directly frugivory patterns to resource-tracking mechanisms acting at particular scales, resulting, thus, more informative than concordance observational data, in which landscape patterns might result from accumulated effect of local mechanisms. In this context, we propose new methodological approaches for a better understanding of the hierarchical behavioural mechanisms underpinning the multi-scale resource tracking by frugivores.


BACKGROUND
Most studies on lifestyle changes in old age have been transverse. We have conducted a longitudinal study.

SUBJECTS
112 non-institutionalized subjects were studied in 1984 and again 10 years later (ages in 1984 ranged from 53-82 years).

PROTOCOL
On each occasion subjects recorded in a diary their times of retiring and rising and of taking meals, during a 'typical week'. They also recorded whether they lived alone or with somebody.

ANALYSIS
The diaries were scored to establish any effects of age or living alone on the timing and variability of their lifestyle.

RESULTS
Age was associated with changes in the sleep/wake schedule and mealtimes and a decrease of daily variation in these variables. When these changes were compared in subjects living alone and with somebody, the increase in time spent in bed and the decreases in variability of times of rising and meals were more marked in subjects living with somebody.

CONCLUSIONS
A deteriorating body clock contributes to some of these changes, but an increasingly inflexible lifestyle will offset some of the effects of this decline in circadian rhythmicity.


Context. Compared with the visible and ultraviolet ranges, fewer atomic and ionic lines are available in the infrared spectral region. Atlases of stellar spectra often provide only a short list of identified lines, and modern laboratory-based spectral features for wavelengths longer than 1 micron are not available for most elements. For the efficient use of the growing capabilities of infrared (IR) astronomy, detailed spectroscopical information on atomic line features in the IR region is needed. Aims. Parts of the infrared stellar (e.g., solar) spectra in the 1200–1800 cm −1 (5.6–8 μm) range have never been observed from the ground because of heavy contamination of the spectrum by telluric absorption lines. Such an infrared spectrum represents a great challenge for laboratory observations of new, unknown infrared atomic transitions involving the atomic levels with high orbital momentum and their comparison with the available spectra. Methods. The vapors of excited Na I atoms are produced during the ablation of the salt (sodium iodide, Na I) targets by a highrepetition rate (1.0 kHz) pulsed nanosecond ArF laser ExciStar S-Industrial V2.0 1000, pulse length 12 ns, λ = 193 nm, output energy of 15 mJ, fluence about 2–20 J/cm 2 inside a vacuum chamber (average pressure 10 −2 Torr). The time-resolved emission spectrum of the neutral atomic potassium (Na I) was recorded in the 700–7000 cm −1 region using the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy technique with a resolution of 0.02 cm −1 .T hef -values calculated in the quantum-defect theory approximation are presented for the transitions involving the reported Na I levels. Results. This study reports precision laboratory measurements for 26 Na I lines in the range of 700–7000 cm −1 (14–1.4 μm), including 20 lines not measured previously in the laboratory. This results in newly observed 7h, 6h, and 6g levels, and improved energy determination for ten previously known levels. The doublet structure of the 4f level has been observed for the first time. For transitions between the observed levels, we report calculated f -values that agree reasonably well with experiment. Conclusions. The recorded Na I line features agree with the data from the available solar spectrum atlases. The energy values of Na I 4s, 4p, 5p, 6p, 4f, 5f, and 5g levels extracted from our spectra have lower uncertainties as compared to the values reported several decades ago, but the latter values slightly differ from ours.


Studies have shown that transient speech, which is associated with consonants, transitions between consonants and vowels, and transitions within some vowels, is an important cue for identifying and discriminating speech sounds. However, compared to the relatively steady-state vowel segments of speech, transient speech has much lower energy and thus is easily masked by background noise. Emphasis of transient speech can improve the intelligibility of speech in background noise, but methods to demonstrate this improvement have either identified transient speech manually or proposed algorithms that cannot be implemented to run in real-time.We have developed an algorithm to automatically extract transient speech in real-time. The algorithm involves the use of a function, which we term the transitivity function, to characterize the rate of change of wavelet coefficients of a wavelet packet transform representation of a speech signal. The transitivity function is large and positive when a signal is changing rapidly and small when a signal is in steady state. Two different definitions of the transitivity function, one based on the short-time energy and the other on Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients, were evaluated experimentally, and the MFCC-based transitivity function produced better results. The extracted transient speech signal is used to create modified speech by combining it with original speech.To facilitate comparison of our transient and modified speech to speech processed using methods proposed by other researcher to emphasize transients, we developed three indices. The indices are used to characterize the extent to which a speech modification/processing method emphasizes (1) a particular region of speech, (2) consonants relative to, and (3) onsets and offsets of formants compared to steady formant. These indices are very useful because they quantify differences in speech signals that are difficult to show using spectrograms, spectra and time-domain waveforms.The transient extraction algorithm includes parameters which when varied influence the intelligibility of the extracted transient speech. The best values for these parameters were selected using psycho-acoustic testing. Measurements of speech intelligibility in background noise using psycho-acoustic testing showed that modified speech was more intelligible than original speech, especially at high noise levels (-20 and -15 dB). The incorporation of a method that automatically identifies and boosts unvoiced speech into the algorithm was evaluated and showed that this method does not result in additional speech intelligibility improvements.


Aim To design and introduce for all patients referred to a hospice community team an intervention that facilitates advance care planning (ACP), and to evaluate the feasibility and utility of this innovation. Design Piloting of the implementation of structured ACP, followed by a longitudinal mixed-methods evaluation. We introduced into routine practice a structured aide memoire (to facilitate ACP) and recording sheet. We evaluated this intervention prospectively collecting detailed process and outcomes data and conducted serial interviews with patients, their case linked carers and CNS. Interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed and analysed. Findings We routinely attempted ACP from initial contact. In only 18% of patients could this be initiated at 1st visit due to various barriers The documentation of PPC increased compared with before (58% vs 30%) but the ACP prompt was only used in 8%. The serial interviews identified barriers to ACP for patients, carers and the CNS. A fear of dying and the patient perception of who should undertake ACP emerged as important patient barriers while there are specific challenges to care planning in patients with organ failure and the frail elderly with cancer. Conclusions Facilitated ACP with prompts proved less useful for initiating conversation for CNS in palliative care. However the introduction of structured documentation improved the recording and communication of care preferences. Significant barriers to ACP exist which may persist despite skilled facilitation. More research and education is necessary before ACP can become routine for all who desire it.


The threat of dangerous climate impacting on, economies and communities require urgent collective action to reduce anthropogenic greenhouse gases mainly from energy production and use. The UK energy policy has a strong focus on energy security and climate change with an emphasis to accelerate a transition from a fossil fuel to low-carbon based electricity supply system. The development of a low-carbon electricity supply system faces a multiplicity of challenges ranging from policy instability and capital investment. At the backdrop of these complex transitional challenges, this research tracks the evolution of the UK electricity sector to a low-carbon 2050 future. It examines the dynamics affecting the electricity generation system as it adopts and adapts to a regime of domestically engineered low-carbon policies designed to develop a near carbon neutral electricity supply infrastructure by 2050.
This thesis explores the resilience of the UK electricity generation infrastructure as it is exposed to security of supply risks particularly at a time when the system is threatened by potential capacity shortfalls arising from the eminent closure of aging nuclear and coal power plants, with the latter facing total demise in the wake of the crippling European pollution regulations targeting large combustion fossil fuel plants. The large scale deployment of variable renewable energy technologies for the electricity generation sector has a potential to impact on the security of supply.
This research uses the 'Energy Optimisation Calculator' (EOC), a quantitative approach to develop a least-cost and pollution electricity generation portfolio for the UK 2050 future, taking into account the technological, investment, and environmental constraints that characterise an energy system under transition. The flexibility of the model adopted allows for the dynamics that affect the electricity generation sector to be analysed in an integrative manner, providing results that shed insight into the projected outlook of the electricity generation sector as it decarbonises. The model develops different energy scenarios to reflect on the potential pathways the energy supply system could follow to achieve the energy policy objectives. The results generated from this thesis provide an up to date, focused and integrated perspective on how the electricity system could potentially evolve as it transitions towards a low-carbon future.


Endometriosis is a common gynecological disorder that has been associated with endometrial, breast and epithelial ovarian cancers in epidemiological studies. Since complex diseases are a result of multiple environmental and genetic factors, we hypothesized that the biological mechanism underlying their comorbidity might be explained, at least in part, by shared genetics. To assess their potential genetic relationship, we performed a two-sample mendelian randomization (2SMR) analysis on results from public genome-wide association studies (GWAS). This analysis confirmed previously reported genetic pleiotropy between endometriosis and endometrial cancer. We present robust evidence supporting a causal genetic association between endometriosis and ovarian cancer, particularly with the clear cell and endometrioid subtypes. Our study also identified genetic variants that could explain those associations, opening the door to further functional experiments. Overall, this work demonstrates the value of genomic analyses to support epidemiological data, and to identify targets of relevance in multiple disorders.


Abstract. The paper presents a method for a short-term tsunami forecast based on sea level data from remote sites. This method is based on Green's function for the wave equation possessing the fundamental property of symmetry. This property is well known in acoustics and seismology as the reciprocity principle. Some applications of this principle on tsunami research are considered in the current study. Simple relationships and estimated transfer functions enabled us to simulate tsunami waveforms for any selected oceanic point based only on the source location and sea level data from a remote reference site. The important advantage of this method is that it is irrespective of the actual source mechanism (seismic, submarine landslide or other phenomena). The method was successfully applied to hindcast several recent tsunamis observed in the Northwest Pacific. The locations of the earthquake epicenters and the tsunami records from one of the NOAA DART sites were used as inputs for the modelling, while tsunami observations at other DART sites were used to verify the model. Tsunami waveforms for the 2006, 2007 and 2009 earthquake events near Simushir Island were simulated and found to be in good agreement with the observations. The correlation coefficients between the predicted and observed tsunami waveforms were from 0.50 to 0.85. Thus, the proposed method can be effectively used to simulate tsunami waveforms for the entire ocean and also for both regional and local tsunami warning services, assuming that they have access to the real-time sea level data from DART stations.