The security of proof-of-work blockchain protocols critically relies on incentives. Their operators, called miners, receive rewards for creating blocks containing user-generated transactions. Each block rewards its creator with newly minted tokens and with transaction fees paid by the users. The protocol stability is violated if any of the miners surpasses a threshold ratio of the computational power; she is then motivated to deviate with selfish mining and increase her rewards.Previous analyses of selfish mining strategies assumed constant rewards. But with statistics from operational systems, we show that there are occasional whales – blocks with exceptional rewards. Modeling this behavior implies a state-space that grows exponentially with the parameters, becoming prohibitively large for existing analysis tools.We present the WeRLman 1 framework to analyze such models. WeRLman uses deep Reinforcement Learning (RL), inspired by the state-of-the-art AlphaGo Zero algorithm. Directly extending AlphaGo Zero to a stochastic model leads to high sampling noise, which is detrimental to the learning process. Therefore, WeRLman employs novel variance reduction techniques by exploiting the recurrent nature of the system and prior knowledge of transition probabilities. Evaluating WeRLman against models we can accurately solve demonstrates it achieves unprecedented accuracy in deep RL for blockchain.We use WeRLman to analyze the incentives of a rational miner in various settings and upper-bound the security threshold of Bitcoin-like blockchains. We show, for the first time, a negative relationship between fee variability and the security threshold. The previously known bound, with constant rewards, stands at 0.25 [2]. We show that considering whale transactions reduces this threshold considerably. In particular, with Bitcoin historical fees and its future minting policy, its threshold for deviation will drop to 0.2 in 10 years, 0.17 in 20 years, and to 0.12 in 30 years. With recent fees from the Ethereum smart-contract platform, the threshold drops to 0.17. These are below the common sizes of large miners [3].


Tanning Bed Use, Deviance Regulation Theory, and Source Factors. (December 2008) Katharine J. Head, B.A., Texas A&M University Co-Chairs of Advisory Committee: Dr. Michael T. Stephenson Dr. Alicia M. Dorsey Tanning bed use, especially among young, white females, has become a serious health problem in the United States. Those who use tanning beds value a tanned appearance; thus, one possible way to get individuals to stop using tanning beds is to persuade them to begin using an alternative method: a sunless tanner. This study sought to use persuasive messages to encourage individuals to both stop using tanning beds and start using a sunless tanner. Deviance Regulation Theory (DRT) was used to design three messages, and source expertise was manipulated (high and low). In addition, attitudes, perceived norms, benefits and threats about tanning were examined. Results indicate that the combination of DRT message design and source expertise produced several message conditions that were effective at decreasing tanning bed use intent. No combined message condition was effective at changing sunless tanner use intent. DRT message design alone did not produce results, nor did source expertise. Tanning attitudes were influenced by reference groups, and perceived norms about tanning predicted individual's tanning bed use for several reference groups. In addition, there was an interaction between benefits and threats of tanning.


Vitrinite reflectance profiles from three drill holes in Oregon where sediments are mantled by thick sequences of volcanic rocks suggest that the sediments were subjected to an unusual diagenetic history. Anomalous, near-constant maturation profiles in sedimentary sequences more than 1300 m thick indicate that the levels of thermal maturity of organic matter in the sediments below the volcanic cover of the Pacific northwest were sufficiently high to have generated hydrocarbons. A hydrothermal mechanism appears to be the most effective form of thermal input, and supporting evidence can be found in the authigenic mineralization of the sediments. The occurrence of vertical maturation profiles in east-central Oregon may be associated with moderate-temperature geothermal systems resulting from a late Oligocene to early Miocene thermal event related to the incipient stages of basaltic volcanism of the Columbia River Group. The uniform maturation of the entire sedimentary column under the volcanic cover has broad implications for the exploration for oil and gas in the Pacific northwest because the presence of mature source rocks in these volcanically lidded basins provides some insight into the petroleum potential of the large volcanic-covered areas in Oregon, Washington, and California.


This paper describes the world's largest gait database-the "OU-ISIR Gait Database, Large Population Dataset"-and its application to a statistically reliable performance evaluation of vision-based gait recognition. Whereas existing gait databases include at most 185 subjects, we construct a larger gait database that includes 4007 subjects (2135 males and 1872 females) with ages ranging from 1 to 94 years. The dataset allows us to determine statistically significant performance differences between currently proposed gait features. In addition, the dependences of gait-recognition performance on gender and age group are investigated and the results provide several novel insights, such as the gradual change in recognition performance with human growth.


The aim of this article is to show how the design process influences the planning and development of moving images , i.e., live-action movies, animation, and television. The paper documents the significance of design in the early stages of film and television production and shows how industry practitioners value the contribution of designers in developing the narrative through visual support. The paper suggests a comparison of design and screenplay research and analysis. In addition, it touches on the subject of design fiction in the case of a project involving collaboration of production design students from The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Design, and screenwriting and producer students from The National Film School of Denmark. Finally, this article provides insight into one of the newer trans-disciplinary developments in design, namely the cross-pollination taking place between the fields of design research and film research. As a result, the paper contributes to our understanding of the expanding concept of design.


Composite Petroleum System and Assessment Units The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) estimated the undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Nile Delta Basin Province as part of a program aimed at estimating the recoverable oil and gas resources of priority basins around the world. The province encompasses approximately 250,000 square kilometers of the eastern Mediterranean area (fig. 1). It is bounded to the west by the approximate edge of the Nile Cone, to the north by the Strabo, Pytheus, and Cyprus Trenches, to the east by the Levant Basin Province boundary, and to the south by the approximate edge of compressional structures in northern Egypt (Robertson, 1998; Roberts and Peace, 2007), which also corresponds to the general updip limit of Neogene deltaic strata in Egypt. This assessment was based on published geologic information and on commercial data from oil and gas wells, fields, and field production. The USGS approach is to define petroleum systems and geologic assessment units and assess the potential for undiscovered oil and gas resources.


Background: Gout is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis and its economic burden is substantial, with estimates for the overall cost exceeding $20 billion (US) annually. Contributing to the economic burden are hospital admissions and iatrogenic events associated with pharmacotherapy. Identification of modifiable risk factors would be an important contribution to clinical practice. Objectives: The aim of this study was to identify opportunities for enhancing gout care in patients presenting to the Emergency Department (ED) with gout flares. Methods: This retrospective cohort study used data from electronic medical records (EMR) at a large community hospital. All consecutive patients visiting the medical center ED with a primary diagnosis of gout from 1/1/2016 to 7/1/2019 were included. Patients were then followed for 90 days to determine whether they were readmitted to the ED for any reason. A chart review identified whether they were on appropriate medications in terms of gout flare management. All data were summarized using descriptive statistics. A multiple logistic regression was constructed to identify risk factors for ED utilization within 90 days of the index visit. Results: A total of 214 patients were included in the analysis. Most patients were male (79%), mean age was 59.4 ± 15.6 years, and mean Charlson comorbidity index was 0.5 ± 1.14. The most common medications prescribed during the ED visit included NSAIDs (41.6%), opioids (28%), corticosteroids (26.6%), and colchicine (21%). Allopurinol and febuxostat were initiated in the ED in 4.7% and 0.9%, respectively. Discharge medications for the management of gout included NSAIDs (37%), corticosteroids (34.6%), opioids (23.8%), colchicine (14%), febuxostat (7%), and allopurinol (6.5%). Of the patients sent home with an opioid, 40% were newly prescribed. An anti-inflammatory medication was not prescribed in 29.6% of patients discharged from the ED. Readmission within 90 days was recorded in 16.8% of patients. Of these readmissions, 33.3% were gout-related and 11.1% were cardiac related. After adjusting for age and comorbidity index, patients receiving colchicine were 2.8 times more likely (OR, 2.81; 95% CI, 1.12 to 7.02; p=0.027) to return to the ED within 90 days. The most common cause of readmission in this subset was gout-related (54.5%). Conclusion: Nearly 30% of patients were discharged from the ED without an anti-inflammatory medication, whereas initiation of urate lowering therapy was rare. Opiates were used frequently, but the indication was uncertain. Only 5.6% of subjects revisited the ED for gout-related diagnoses in the subsequent 3 months. Colchicine prescription was associated with an increased risk of gout-related ED utilization within 90 days. Treatment of gout in the ED is sub-optimal and often does not follow established guidelines. Disclosure of Interests: : Luigi Brunetti Grant/research support from: Astellas Pharma, CSL Behring, Consultant of: Horizon Foundation of New Jersey, Janaki Vekaria: None declared, Peter Lipsky Consultant of: Horizon Therapeutics, Naomi Schlesinger Grant/research support from: Pfizer, AMGEN , Consultant of: Novartis, Horizon Pharma, Selecta Biosciences, Olatec, IFM Therapeutics, Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals , Speakers bureau: Takeda, Horizon


Abstract This study explores the structure characteristics of thick glaze, in terms of the case study of Chinese Southern Song Guan (SSG) ware, focusing on the bubble and its media structure, using a novel focus-tracking optical coherence tomography (OCT) system. The OCT images we obtained not only unveil the structural uniqueness of the thick-glaze SSG sample, but also establish a distinguishable structural pattern for aiding authentication. In addition, information revealed in our images provides a logical explanation for the subtle texture and tone of SSG glaze as well as insights into the technologies used in layering and firing these thick glazes.


This research was conducted to determine the initial literacy activities carried out by parents, family members, and caregivers at home. The research method used for this study is a systematic review that is implemented by capturing articles concerned in the research topic published between 2009–2019 through two electronic search engines, Science Direct and Sage Journals. Furthermore, article extractions were carried out to filter out articles that were relevant to the research question (n = 9) with five articles with mother-child participants, 1 article with caregiver-child participants, and three articles with mother or father-child participants. Data analysis in this study is done by narrative synthesis analysis. The results of this study show several activities, i.e., shared reading or book reading, grocery games, writing letters, spelling, drawing pictures, and writing spontaneously. The most popular activity is the shared reading or reading book, which has more impact on the type of book and parent involvement. Limitations and recommendations for future research are discussed in this paper.


The analysis of the influence of viscosity on diffraction of aircraft noise by edges is exemplified by the mathematical problem of diffraction of an acoustic plane wave by a thin rigid screen. The linearized equations of compressible fluid mechanics with viscosity included are considered with the overall disturbance field regarded as a sum of acoustic and vorticity fields. Each such field, for disturbances of fixed frequency, is governed by a separate Helmholtz equation, but they are coupled by the no-slip and nonpenetrability conditions at the screen's surface. With viscosity taken into account, the perturbation-induced fluid velocity near the edge is not infinite, but is nevertheless very large when the viscosity is small, even though the velocity vanishes identically at the surface.


Conclusion Our results indicate that Nectin4 is a novel diagnostic marker for EC, and their high expression in MSH2 deficient EC predicts a worse outcome of disease-free survival. These results may provide clues in identifying EC patients for adjuvant therapy.


Poster abstracts published in
Asia-Pacific Journal of Clinical Oncology
Volume 13, Issue S4
November 2017
Pages 107–224

Global recognition of the need to improve outcomes for adolescents and young adults (AYA) with cancer have led to the development of specific oncology programs and services. In Australia, Youth Cancer Services (YCS) are now established across the country. While each service has been shaped by nationally agreed principles, program development has been influenced by local policy and geographic differences. Queensland is a vast state with a widely dispersed population, presenting unique challenges providing coordinated access for youth cancer across this landscape. The Queensland YCS works in a consultative partnership model with primary treating teams, across both paediatric and adult tertiary cancer services. Understanding how cancer services approach challenges and service development can provide guidance for other developing services. In this presentation we describe the goals, development and review outcomes achieved in the service to date.

We reviewed referral data and retrieved state-wide clinical activity from the web-based data system. We compared these data with cancer registry data to identify disparities and areas for service development. The Queensland YCS received referrals for approximately 50% of all AYA patients diagnosed in the state. While patients with more complex disease are more likely to be referred to the service, there were also disparities associated with age and gender.

The service has achieved notable outcomes, however challenges remain. These includes recruitment of appropriately skilled and trained health professionals for this newly developing area of oncology. Additionally, the need to continue to advocate for this relatively small patient group and to promote awareness and understanding of the need for AYA specific services is on-going. With the widely dispersed population of Queensland and the centralisation of services, developing and testing new innovative models of care such as the use of telehealth remains a priority. There is still much work to be done.


This paper proposes an algebraic solution for the position and velocity of a moving source using the time differences of arrival (TDOAs) and frequency differences of arrival (FDOAs) of a signal received at a number of receivers. The method employs several weighted least-squares minimizations only and does not require initial solution guesses to obtain a location estimate. It does not have the initialization and local convergence problem as in the conventional linear iterative method. The estimated accuracy of the source position and velocity is shown to achieve the Crame/spl acute/r-Rao lower bound for Gaussian TDOA and FDOA noise at moderate noise level before the thresholding effect occurs. Simulations are included to examine the algorithm's performance and compare it with the Taylor-series iterative method.


Pulmonary neuroepithelial bodies (NEBs) are presumed airway chemoreceptors that express the putative O(2) sensor protein NADPH oxidase and O(2)-sensitive K(+) channels K(+)(O(2)). Although there is a consensus that redox modulation of K(+)(O(2)) may be a common O(2)-sensing mechanism, the identity of the O(2) sensor and related coupling pathways are still controversial. To test whether NADPH oxidase is the O(2) sensor in NEB cells, we performed patch-clamp experiments on intact NEBs identified by neutral red staining in fresh lung slices from wild-type (WT) and oxidase-deficient (OD) mice. In OD mice, cytochrome b(558) and oxidase function was disrupted in the gp91(phox) subunit coding region by insertion of a neomycin phosphotransferase (neo) gene. Expression in NEB cells of neo mRNA, a marker for nonfunctional gp91(phox), was confirmed by nonisotopic in situ hybridization. In WT cells, hypoxia (pO(2) = 15-20 mmHg; 1 mmHg = 133 Pa) caused a reversible inhibition ( approximately 46%) of both Ca(2+)-independent and Ca(2+)-dependent K(+) currents. In contrast, hypoxia had no effect on K(+) current in OD cells, even though both K(+) current components were expressed. Diphenylene iodonium (1 microM), an inhibitor of the oxidase, reduced K(+) current by approximately 30% in WT cells but had no effect in OD cells. Hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2); 0.25 mM), a reactive oxygen species generated by functional NADPH oxidase, augmented K(+) current by >30% in both WT and OD cells; further, in WT cells, H(2)O(2) restored K(+) current amplitude in the presence of diphenylene iodonium. We conclude that NADPH oxidase acts as the O(2) sensor in pulmonary airway chemoreceptors.


India's financial and capital market reforms since the early nineties have positively impacted on the performance of the banking sector and the capital market. Based on the 5,000 firm-level database, this article shows that high-quality firms—defined as those that are profitable, have access to the commercial paper market and face relatively stable profitability—have reduced the proportion of loans further in 1997-2001 as compared with the period of 1992-96. This tendency strengthened during the period when the IPO requirement was tightened and the stock-market boom collapsed (so that many firms increased recourse to bank loans). This indicates that the capital market has succeeded in differentiating high-quality firms from low-quality ones, thereby making it cheaper for the former to raise funds from the market. Given the frequent cases of malpractice and price riggings, however, the government still needs to make continuous efforts to improve the infrastructure by strengthening penalty associated with malpractice, tightening accounting and auditing standards, and providing timely and precise information.


There is growing reliance on the web sites for promotion of tourism and travel related product/services. Thus, identification of travel web site effectiveness attributes based on traveller/internet users' expectation is necessary. This paper explores the travel web site effectiveness attributes and their relationships with the intrinsic and extrinsic motivation of Malaysian travellers. Here an attempt is made in the context of explaining internet users' beliefs using Technology Acceptance Model with data collected from 679 internet users/travellers. Factor analysis results indicate three dimensions of travel web effectiveness were derived, namely: i) technical adequacy & customization, ii) system quality & specific content and iii) web appearance. In testing the model, multiple regression results show that the above dimensions have positive influence on individual extrinsic motivation (perceived usefulness). Meanwhile, web appearance and technical adequacy & customization have positive influence on intrinsic motivation (perceived ease of use and enjoyment) of travel web sites.


Abstract Afforestation of marginal agricultural lands is an important issue in the land use changes running in Europe at present. The aim of the presented study is the documentation of effects of site improving material Alginite three years after afforestation of agricultural land in the locality with unfavourable hydrophysical regime. The impact was evaluated on growth parameters (height increment, mortality and foliar nutrient content) of Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco), Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and a mixture of English oak (Quercus robur L.), red oak (Quercus rubra L.) and Norway maple (Acer platanoides L.) seedlings on former agricultural land in central Bohemia, Czech Republic. The research plot consists of 36 square sub-plots, each sub-plot is 400 m2 in size. Each sub-plot consists of 400 individuals, except Douglas-fir with 200 individuals. The following doses of Alginite were applied: control (variant A without Alginite), 0.5 kg of Alginite (B) and 1.5 kg of Alginite (C) on both conifers and broadleaves. The results showed that Alginite application had greater positive effect on height growth of seedlings than mortality, especially variant C. In most of the cases height increments were significantly positively affected (p < 0.05) by both variants of Alginite application only in the third year after planting. Alginite applications were also connected with differences in the foliar nutrient content, especially with higher magnesium and phosphorus values. The highest differences among Alginite variants were observed for Norway maple and English oak, while the lowest for red oak and Scots pine within all monitored parameters.


Purpose
It has been claimed that the private finance initiative (PFI) provides value for money in the overall life of the project through the lifecycle costing (LCC) process under the umbrella of lifecycle management (LCM). The available literature points to the fact that LCC is very important in getting value for money from PFI projects. However, there is no literature available on the effect of the use of LCM in PFI projects in the UK. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore the factors that influence the success of LCM in educational PFI projects.

Design/methodology/approach
The paper adopts a post-positivist approach to literature review. Purposive sampling is utilised with a mixed methodological approach. 6 qualitative inductive interviews offer key themes, which are further investigated using quantitative deductive questionnaires, of which 35 were issued and 26 were returned.

Findings
The paper provides empirical insights about the key success factors of LCM in the education sector. The results highlight the necessity of quality standardized data collection in a big data form. It highlights the need for a cultural shift from short- to long-term profit maximisation and service provision by the use of LCM in the PFI education sector.

Research limitations/implications
A purposive sample was used to maximise the validity of data collection. Although this method has garnered concise and clear results, it is understood that this study is limited into a niche sector and a set of subsequently niche professionals. It is recommended that a larger sample be utilised and the spectrum of PFI sectors be opened up to further explore the topic.

Practical implications
Further investigations across different sectors of PFI project may be viewed as a good comparison, sectors such as health, accommodation and prisons. Gathering responses across all sector types could have resulted in a greater number of responses received and offer greater validity to this study.

Social implications
While key success factors are clearly identified, fragmentation is seen as a barrier to the wholesale collection of such data. The responsibility, obligation to collect data for the benefit of future projects is not a priority for SMEs with little or no incentive to consider the progression of the sector. Albeit, there is evidence of one particular successful constructor/SPV, which is consolidating their business and are experiencing greater and sustained success.

Originality/value
This paper identifies previously unknown key influencing factors of success for educational PFI projects in relation to LCM.


In the strategic alignment model of Henderson and Venkatraman (1993) [1] IT infrastructure has an important but only implicitly defined role. According to evolving literature, IT infrastructure serves many different purposes in large companies. We outline the main missions (roles) of the corporate-wide IT infrastructure and its contribution to IS effectiveness and study the relationship of IT infrastructure with alignment processes and strategic integration. Our empirical tests with data from almost one hundred large companies resulted in three IT infrastructure roles, which reflect the IS communality, strategic, and flexibility dimensions of the corporate-wide IT infrastructure. The roles were not symmetrically related to the IS effectiveness and alignment perspectives. IT infrastructure roles had a significant interplay with strategic integration in improving IS effectiveness. However, the interplay of IT infrastructure roles with alignment perspectives had only marginal effects. Implications of the results for research and practice are discussed.


Turkey has undergone inadequate development during a process of rapid urbanization and growth since the 1950s, parallel to reduced construction costs for residential buildings. This has contributed to household energy consumption in Turkey growing to twice the global average, and twice the averages of European Union member states. In response, the Energy Efficiency Law and other energy performance regulations were enacted in 2007. As a part of "Assessing the Inven- tory for Renewable Energy Utilization in Existing Residential Buildings and Setting Up Local Design Parameters," supported by the Yildiz Technical University Scientific Research Projects Coordination Depart - ment, Istanbul's Beykoz District was chosen as the case area. Using solar energy for heating purposes is popular in Beykoz for a number of reasons, including the prevalence of mostly detached buildings and abundant green space, as well as less building density and fewer stories, compared to the city center. Four buildings were studied in order to identify improvements that would allow for a reduction in cooling and heating loads in existing residential buildings in the con - text of building envelopes. Research of the four existing residential buildings executes similar results. Results of the study of a multi-fam- ily residential building in the neighborhood of Kanlica is presented. Determined by the calculation of cooling-heating loads and carbon emissions, improvements designed to efficiently utilize solar energy where the building envelope permits are identified. These improve- ments address window space, eaves, and characteristics, as well as exterior wall insulation thickness, draft prevention, shading, land - scaping features, and control of solar energy. Average monthly and annual heating-cooling requirements were calculated using IESVE simulation software. The improvements yielded a 72% drop in annual heating energy consumption and a 24% drop in annual cooling energy consumption, resulting in an average drop of 62% in CO 2 emissions. ABSTRACT OZ


One of the most dangerous natural hazard is earthquake. The damages caused by earthquakes are uncountable. The occurrence of earthquake causes loss of lives and damages to manmade structures. One of the most widely accepted solution for reducing the damages caused by earthquake on Civil Engineering structures is Base isolation. Among the wide variety of base isolation systems, Lead rubber bearing plays an important role. The performance of lead rubber bearing during earthquake is evaluated by the finite element modelling and non-linear analysis in ANSYS workbench 17.0 in this study. The behaviour of lead rubber bearing is compared with that of laminated rubber bearing.


Background Trachomatous trichiasis (TT) and ocular Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct) infection in the Solomon Islands are scarce, whereas trachomatous inflammation–follicular (TF) is prevalent. Methods We enrolled 1511 people aged ≥1 year from randomly selected households in 13 villages in which >10% of the population had TF prior to a single round of azithromycin MDA undertaken six months previously. Blood was collected from people of all ages to be screened for anti-Pgp3 antibodies. Photographs were collected from people of all ages for analysis of scarring severity. Results Conjunctival scars were visible in 13.1% of photographs. Mild (p<0.0001) but not severe (p=0.149) scars increased in prevalence with age. Anti-Pgp3 antibody seroprevalence was 18% in 1–9 year olds, increased sharply around the age of sexual debut, and reached 69% in those over 25 years. Anti-Pgp3 seropositivity did not increase significantly between the ages of 1–9 years, and was not associated with scarring in children (p=0.472) or TF in children (p=0.581). Conclusions Signs of trachoma are common in the Solomon Islands but occur frequently in individuals who have no serological evidence of prior ocular infection with Ct. WHO recommendations for directing MDA provision based on signs alone may not be suitable in this context.


The wastewater sector accounts for 25% of the global energy demand in the water sector. Since this consumption is expected to increase in the forthcoming years, energy optimization strategies are needed. A truly effective planning of energy improvement measures requires a detailed knowledge of a system, which can only be achieved through energy audit and real-time monitoring. In order to improve the identification of critical issues related to the use of energy resources within a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), the paper shows the results of a monitoring campaign performed on a large WWTP in southern Italy. Data obtained for the audit cover a 4-year timeframe (2014-2017). Energy-environmental performance has been evaluated through the benchmarking of: system variables, specific consumptions, and operational indicators. Moreover, by using a real-time data measurement and acquisition system it has been possible to evaluate the real performance of the most energy-intensive apparatus of the plant (a turbo-blower), over a period of 8 months. The main results indicate that (a) the plant is mainly affected by a massive capture of infiltrations, working in conditions close to the maximum hydraulic capacity, (b) real-time energy measurements are necessary to accurately characterize plant consumptions and adequately assess their critical aspects.


Companies use social media (e.g., Twitter) to engage with potential applicants and build their reputation as attractive employers. To analyze how Twitter message content influences engagement with these messages, we employ computational linguistics and analyze N=216,828 Tweets collected from the human resource (HR) Twitter accounts of Fortune 500 companies. Our results show that, surprisingly, job-focused content creates less engagement than content focusing on relational aspects at work. We further demonstrate that distinct (vs. generic) content positively affects engagement, whereas emotional content negatively affects engagement. These effects are conditioned on firms' employer image and not on job posting content. In contrast to prior research, our results suggest that less emotional and more distinct (company-specific) communication is beneficial for increasing engagement. We advance our understanding of the functioning of Twitter as an increasingly popular employer image impression management platform and extend research on employer image management on the Internet.


The lysis–lysogeny decision of bacteriophage λ has been a paradigm for a developmental genetic network, which is composed of interlocked positive and negative feedback loops. This genetic network is capable of responding to environmental signals and to the number of infecting phages. An interplay between CI and Cro functions suggested a bistable switch model for the lysis–lysogeny decision. Here, we present a real-time picture of the execution of lytic and lysogenic pathways with unprecedented temporal resolution. We monitor, in vivo, both the level and function of the CII and Q gene regulators. These activators are cotranscribed yet control opposite developmental pathways. Conditions that favor the lysogenic response show severe delay and down-regulation of Q activity, in both CII-dependent and CII-independent ways. Whereas CII activity correlates with its protein level, Q shows a pronounced threshold before its function is observed. Our quantitative analyses suggest that by regulating CII and CIII, Cro plays a key role in the ability of the λ genetic network to sense the difference between one and more than one phage particles infecting a cell. Thus, our results provide an improved framework to explain the longstanding puzzle of the decision process.


The present study conducted a qualitative analysis of faculty members? perceptions, beliefs and instructional concerns regarding academic integrity in their classrooms following their observation of their students engaged in a 45-minute interactive presentation on academic integrity. Overall, seven overarching themes and a series of sub-themes were identified including the following: comfort level and knowledge about academic integrity issues (for faculty and for students), impressions about the interactive presentation, student engagement in the presentations, learning outcomes for faculty, safeguards against misconduct, and issues, consequences and proposed solutions to concerns. Key findings within these themes suggest that faculty members perceived themselves to be confident in their own understanding of what constitutes academic integrity; however, there were inconsistencies regarding whether their students had the requisite knowledge to make appropriate decisions. Faculty members were surprised by the frank and engaged interactions of their students during the interactive presentations. Only half of the faculty found the presentation content enhanced their own current knowledge. Faculty identified several methods they use to safeguard against academic misconduct, and identified the importance of both faculty and the institution providing a consistent and clear model to promote academic integrity in students. Discussion explores insights gained as a context for informing instructional practice.


Christ Church academics have been working on updating physical activity teaching resources, launched today by the Council of Deans of Health and Exercise Works!, to enable healthcare professionals to provide consistent messaging on physical activity during pregnancy.

The resource forms part of a series of teaching guides for the #MovementforMovement campaign, which supports teaching on undergraduate health and medicine programmes across the UK, and aims to help healthcare graduates effectively promote physical activity for the prevention, treatment and management of disease, and in the promotion of good health.

Dr Marlize De Vivo and Dr Hayley Mills, from the School of Human and Life Sciences, were commissioned to update the teaching resources relating to physical activity during pregnancy. This follows the release of the Department of Health's new guidelines for physical activity during pregnancy earlier this year.

Drs De Vivo and Mills stated that: "Pregnancy is considered by many healthcare policymakers as a unique opportunity to promote healthy lifestyle behaviours. However, messaging relating to various health behaviours during pregnancy has often been ambiguous and at times contradictory.

Historically, there has been a tendency to view physical activity as a potential risk during pregnancy, and on that basis even active women have reduced their engagement with physical activities. However, data increasingly suggests health and wellbeing benefits for both mother and baby.

The new Department of Health guidelines bring those for physical activity during pregnancy in line with those for the general population that is, accumulating 150 minutes of moderate intensity of activity per week. Some pregnancy considerations and adaptations are noted in the guidelines, however, they support the maintenance of physical activity among previously active women whilst encouraging those not previously engaged to start gradually. The updated "Movement for Movement" resources enable these same consistent messages to be taught directly to students in the healthcare professions.

Teaching and disseminating the updated guidance allows for a confident delivery of consistent evidence-based physical activity messages to expectant mums. This in turn, paves the way in normalising physical activity during pregnancy in the wider society."

Drs De Vivo and Mills will be presenting further work focusing on the psychology of physical activity and Pregnancy behaviour at the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences – European Federation for Sport Psychology (BASES-FEPSAC) conference on November 28th 2017.

/Ends

• The #MovementForMovement aims to build capacity in delivering physical activity interventions by all future health care workers through working as a community of practice both professionally and educationally. The resources are available for free to all universities with health programmes.
• The #MovementForMovement resources are available to all undergraduate schools of medicine and health that train health care students (such as doctors, nurses, midwives, dentists, pharmacists and allied health professionals as defined by the NHS).
• Exercise Works! promotes the use of physical activity in preventing and treating disease. For further details, http://www.exercise-works.org/
• The Council of Deans of Health is the voice of the deans and heads of UK university faculties for nursing, midwifery and the allied health professions. For further information about the work of the Council of Deans of Health please see councilofdeans.org.uk.

Canterbury Christ Church University
Canterbury Christ Church University is a modern university with a particular strength in higher education for the public services.
With 17,000 students across Kent and Medway, its courses span a wide range of academic and professional subject areas.
• Over 94% of our UK undergraduates were in employment or further studies six months after completing their studies*.
• We are one of the South East's largest providers of education, training and skills leading to public service careers.
*2015/16 Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education survey

Media contact
Jeanette Earl
Media Relations Manager
Canterbury Christ Church University
01227 782391


The present study deals with the properties assessment of a new generation aluminium-copper alloy, developed by ALCAN and designed 2139, welded by the bobbin tool technique of the FSW process. Considering the best performances of this age formable alloy after T8 aging, both the T4 and T8 tempers prior to welding are assessed. Therefore, the behaviour under static and fatigue load conditions and also in damage tolerance including both fracture toughness and fatigue crack propagation of the FSW bobbin tool weld on 2139 after T8 post aging and on the T8 as welded condition are discussed. The corrosion resistance of the welds is investigated through an accelerated corrosion test with intent to evaluate the intergranular corrosion sensitivity of the weld and the impact of an artificial aging on the properties developed by the T8 as welded condition is also presented.


This study examined the effects of fishing activities and socio-economic characteristics of teenagers who engage in fishing on their academic performance in Ibeno Local Government Area (L.G.A.) of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Two communities were purposively selected and stratified random sampling was used to select fifty six teenage students who participate in fishing industry/activities. Sources of primary data were structured questionnaires and interviews. Analytical techniques used are descriptive statistics and logit regression technique. Results show that academic performance is statistically and inversely related to frequency of fishing per week and family size but directly and significantly related to fishing as a means of supporting academics. Recommendations include a national population policy option aimed at reducing family size and encouraging non-governmental organizations, philanthropists as well as business corporations to work unitedly with different levels of government in providing free education at lower levels and scholarships for higher studies to ease the suffering of teenagers who fish to support/finance their education.


The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of lead exposure on hemopoetic system (through the index delta-Aminolevulinic acid dehydratase δ-ALAD activity & hemoglobin concentration (Hb) ) and on iron status (levels of iron Fe, Ferritin Fr, Total iron binding capacity TIBC, percentage of transferine saturation TF%) in 44 Iraqi worker at lead batteries factory. Workers divided into two groups: smokers(n=21) mean aged (37.33±4.82 year)and non smokers(n=23) mean aged(40.78±7.89 year) and 45 healthy subjects mean aged (33.97±5.08)as control group . Activity of δ-ALAD ratio shows significant decrease (p ˂ 0.05) ,while Hb and hematocrit Hct were non significant (p ˃ 0.05) in smoker workers more than non smoker as compared to control . The results show a non significant decrease (p ˃ 0.05) in the sera levels of iron S.Fe, TS%, Fr in all workers as compared to control , the amount of decreasing for smoker more than non smoker except ferritin levels. A significant increases in the level of TIBC in workers as compared to control, this elevation is more in smoker than non smoker workers. In smoker workers, there was a significant positive correlation between the blood lead levels BLLs and Hb, Hct,TIBC whereas a significant negative correlation was observed between BLLs and S.Fe, TS%. In conclusion, the results of this study reveal the importance of monitoring the level of iron status in smoker peoples who dealing or exposure to lead due to the probability injured with anemia and used δ-ALAD ratio to predict the efficiency of their heme synthesis as a new marker for the diagnosis of early stage of anemia. Key Word :lead exposure , δ-ALAD, Iron Status.


We formally define the gradual removal problem in wireless networks, where the smallest number of users should be removed due to infeasibility of the target-SIR requirements for all users, and present a distributed power-control algorithm with temporary removal and feasibility check (DFC) to address it. The basic idea is that any transmitting user whose required transmit power for reaching its target-SIR exceeds its maximum power is temporarily removed, but resumes its transmission if its required transmit power goes below a given threshold obtained in a distributed manner. This enables users to check the feasibility of system in a distributed manner. The existence of at least one fixed-point in DFC is guaranteed, and at each equilibrium, all transmitting users reach their target-SIRs consuming the minimum aggregate transmit power. Furthermore, in contrast to the existing algorithms, no user is unnecessarily removed by DFC, i.e., DFC is Pareto and energy-efficient. We also show that when target-SIRs are the same for all users, DFC minimizes the outage probability. Simulation results confirm our analytical developments and show that DFC significantly outperforms the existing schemes in addressing the gradual removal problem in terms of convergence, outage probability, and power consumption.


To the Editor.— The article by Schweitzer et al in the AugustArchives(35:982-985, 1978) was interesting and thought-provoking. Preliminary studies of our own, however, along with earlier results obtained by Gur et al,1lead us to raise some serious questions related to the interpretations offered by Schweitzer et al of their own results. Gur et al recorded eye movement by videotape and found that subjects tended toward unidirectional eye movements more frequently when the experimenter faced the subject. Subjects moved their eyes primarily to the right or primarily to the left regardless of question type (verbal, spatial, numerical). Eye movements tended to be more bidirectional and differentially correlatable with question type if the experimenter sat behind the subject. We have extended and generalized this finding in our own research (unpublished data, 1977). Our subjects were 28 right-handed men between the ages of 18 and 24 years. Slides of letters


: Deer-vehicle collisions are a major concern throughout much of the World, accounting for human injury and death, damage to vehicles, and immeasurable waste of deer as a wildlife resource. Throughout the planning of our research project, we reviewed the primary literature to identify strategies with the most potential to reduce deer-vehicle collisions. Our review is available online as an annotated bibliography at: http://www.forestry.uga.edu/h/ research/wildlife/devices/GADOTLiteratureReview.pdf. Our findings indicated that most states in the U.S. have attempted to minimize deer-vehicle collisions through a variety of techniques. However, most studies have not empirically examined the efficacy of such techniques and many deer-deterrent devices were not designed with an understanding of the sensory capabilities of deer. Many previous studies also were isolated in scope or were inadequately replicated to afford statistical validity. Hence, the questions regarding efficacy of many deer deterrent devices remain largely unanswered and there still exists a need for research on mitigation strategies based on the sensory abilities of deer. Until these research results become available, management efforts to minimize deer-vehicle collisions should focus on (1) implementing proper deer-herd management programs; (2) controlling roadside vegetation to minimize its attrac-tion to deer and maximize visibility for motorists; (3) increasing motorist awareness of the danger associated with deer-vehicle collisions; (4) thoroughly monitoring deer-vehicle collision rates; and (5) encouraging communication and cooperation among governments, wildlife researchers, highway managers, motorists, and others involved in the issue of deer-vehicle collisions. We are conducting a research project designed to provide a more thorough understanding of the physiological processes driving white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) roadway behavior. Our ultimate goals are to use this knowledge to develop improved strategies designed to reduce deer-vehicle collisions.


Logistics and Supply Chain Management has become a vital component in every industry in the globalised world. It is a key strategic tool for companies to deliver services and resources to stakeholders and a source of competitive advantage, consequently any failures to optimise or develop a supply chain can lead to a loss of customers, revenue and market share.The healthcare industry, specifically pharmaceuticals, is one such industry which is highly dependent on a stable and secure supply chain to deliver both products and services. However, on an extended level the pharmaceutical supply chain is often described as less mature than the automotive or aviation industry's - both the part of the distribution channel connecting manufacturers to healthcare providers, as well as the one linking those to patients accessing medicine via authorised pharmacies.In several countries this was at least partly due to underdeveloped Information Technology (IT) infrastructure provided by the national health care providers. IT is often the driving force and backbone of any supply chain infrastructure - without the ability to compute vast amounts of data in real-time it becomes difficult for a supply chain to remain efficient and functional.Sweden is among the countries, which have upgraded their IT, adapted their law and thus allowed for the home delivery of sensitive prescription only (PO) medicine to patients which is, for example, already in use in England.To analyse the circumstances for an introduction of home delivery and its implications for the supply chain a dual case study adopting an abductive approach was carried out on both the corporate and retail level of PO medicine administration - namely, private pharmacy chains in Sweden, as well as a significant player in the pharmaceutical logistics industry.


Introduction
This paper addresses the conference theme of constructs in assessment by seeking to identify criterial features at C1. It reports on a project which aimed to identify key criteria of written and spoken English at C1. The project hoped to bring clarity to our understanding of an under-specified and under-described level (Weir, 2005, Green, 2012). This new understanding could aid test developers when creating tests. The project was an extension of the British Council / EAQUALS Core Inventory for General English (Core Inventory). It aimed to provide data-based evidence conducted with learners to support existing theoretical work.
Methodology
MA TESOL students with IELTS scores of 6.5 or above were invited to take a test of written and spoken English. The test had been created to satisfy the requirements of an external validation agency. The scripts were analysed with ATLAS ti software to identify which of the features described as core in the Core Inventory are found in the scripts and with what level of frequency. The software was used on both the written and audio data
Results and Conclusions
The language points which could be considered criterial tended to be those relating to argumentation and expressing feelings and attitudes precisely. There is some evidence to suggest that giving advice could be considered to be criterial. Perhaps the significance of the project lies in the creation of an approach to identifying criterial features by using the Core Inventory.


Internationalisation is at the centre of debate on the future of higher education as an area of important strategic and organisational activity in the rapidly changing global and local landscapes within the knowledge-based economy. Internationalisation encompasses multiple dimensions of universities' strategies, and there is limited understanding on how these different dimensions influence universities' activities in a holistic way. Drawing on a case study of the University of Nottingham with its campuses in the UK, Malaysia and China, this paper examines the changing scope of its internationalisation strategies and how these strategies have affected four key institutional activities, namely, student learning, staff mobility, quality assurance, and community engagement. The study unpacks the concept of internationalisation through the lenses of stakeholder relationships and leadership theory and illustrates challenges of internationalisation as perceived by the university leaders and key stakeholders. Questions are raised about the sustainability of internationalisation strategies, in particular with regard to enhancing the quality of the student learning experiences in local contexts.


High leakage current in deep sub-micron regimes is a significant contributor to the power dissipation of CMOS circuits as the CMOS technology scales down.Consequently,the identification and modeling of different leakage components is very important for estimation and reduction of leakage power,especially for low power applications.This paper explores nanometer scale CMOS circuits leakage mechanisms and device and circuit techniques to reduce leakage power consumption.


Abstracting neural networks with constraints they impose on their inputs and outputs can be very useful in the analysis of neural network classifiers and to derive optimization-based algorithms for certification of stability and robustness of feedback systems involving neural networks. In this paper, we propose a convex program, in the form of a Linear Matrix Inequality (LMI), to certify incremental quadratic constraints on the map of neural networks over a region of interest. These certificates can capture several useful properties such as (local) Lipschitz continuity, one-sided Lipschitz continuity, invertibility, and contraction. We illustrate the utility of our approach in two different settings. First, we develop a semidefinite program to compute guaranteed and sharp upper bounds on the local Lipschitz constant of neural networks and illustrate the results on random networks as well as networks trained on MNIST. Second, we consider a linear time-invariant system in feedback with an approximate model predictive controller parameterized by a neural network. We then turn the stability analysis into a semidefinite feasibility program and estimate an ellipsoidal invariant set for the closed-loop system.


ABSTRACT A detailed stratigraphic study of the Upper Devonian Lock Haven Formation in the Appalachian basin provides new interpretations applicable to understanding sedimentation and stratigraphic architecture in the foreland-ramp setting. The common occurrence of graded beds, hummocky cross stratification, and shell lags indicates that storm processes played an important role in deposition. Gradational-based, coarsening-upward shoreface sequences of interbedded sandstone and mudstone formed during gradual fall in relative sea level. In contrast, sharp-based regressive sequences consist of laminated sandstone facies overlying a submarine erosion surface that developed in response to more rapid fall in relative sea level. Transgressive sequences become finer grained upward from conglomerate lag, which was deposited on a basal transgressive surface, to heterolithic facies and mudstone facies. A combination of eustasy and tectonic subsidence of the foreland ramp produced changes of relative sea level. These fluctuations provided a means for transporting sand onto the ramp and for producing repetition of stratigraphic patterns in the Lock Haven Formation. The Upper Devonian clastic succession, which includes both the Lock Haven Formation and the Catskill Formation, represents northwestward progradation of shoreline to nonmarine environments as sediment supply to the foreland ramp exceeded the rate of formation of accommodation. Compared to passive-margin shelves, thick fine-grained successions such as the Lock Haven Formation are more likely to form in foreland basins, where tectonic subsidence provides a mechanism for creating accommodation. Sediment influx from uplifted areas and absence of a slope break on the foreland ramp results in a higher rate of fine-grained clastic sedimentation than occurs on shelves of passive margins.


In this paper, we consider two sets of corresponding 3D line segments of equal length. We derive a closed-form solution for the coordinate transform (rotation and translation) that gives the best match between the two sets; best in the sense of a least-squares distance measure between the sets. We use these results as the basis to construct efficient algorithms for solving other problems in computer vision. Specifically, we address the problem of matching polygonal arcs, that is, the problem of finding a match between a short arc and a piece of long arc.


We discuss the efficiency of a novel parallel/distributed application control method, based on global state monitoring. Processes report their local states to monitors. The monitors construct global states, analyze them and send control signals to processes when necessary. The addition of a special fast control network, responsible for transferring control information, is proposed in this paper. The efficiency is tested in simulation of sample branch and bound parallel computations. We show, that multicast capability of a network plays an important role in the resulting system efficiency. Other network parameters, such as latency or bandwidth, are significant only under proper conditions. We identify these conditions, demonstrating that 5-9 times speedup can be obtained by addition of a fast control network.


The purpose of this paper is to use a series of business interviews in the UK and Denmark as a means of interrogating the categorisation of rural businesses presented in an earlier publication which sought to understand the rural character of different businesses. Rather than defining a rural business purely on its geographical location, the engagement of a business within a rural economy and its relations with both rural and urban environments are more complex issues. A wider conceptualisation how rural social relations, cultural influences and landscape values forms the basis for analysing how these assets can create value for rural businesses. Understanding these issues can better inform organisations that are seeking to support the rural economy and rural communities. It can also guide business owners themselves as to how they might benefit from being a part of, or associated with, the rural economy in capturing the possibilities linked to a growing urban population. The findings reveal how landscape assets are intertwined in the business concepts as positive drivers despite many voices within rural and economic research pointing at disadvantages relating to distance, sparseness of infrastructure or service provision. The research analysis draws on actor-network theory and this tool reveals promising prospects for future place-based studies in how landscape assets can be enacted in the development of the rural economy.


In its monolayer form, graphene is a one-atom-thick two-dimensional material with excellent electrical, mechanical, and thermal properties. Large-scale production of high-quality graphene is attracting an increasing amount of attention. Chemical vapor and solid deposition methods have been developed to grow graphene from organic gases or solid carbon sources. Most of the carbon sources used were purified chemicals that could be expensive for mass production. In this work, we have developed a less expensive approach using six easily obtained, low or negatively valued raw carbon-containing materials used without prepurification (cookies, chocolate, grass, plastics, roaches, and dog feces) to grow graphene directly on the backside of a Cu foil at 1050 °C under H(2)/Ar flow. The nonvolatile pyrolyzed species were easily removed by etching away the frontside of the Cu. Analysis by Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy indicates that the monolayer graphene derived from these carbon sources is of high quality.


Aim: The current study was carried out to develop transgenic cotton plantlets with glyoxalase I (gly I) gene using Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Methodology: Seeds of cotton were inoculated on MS medium and the explants such as shoot tip (3-5 mm), hypocotyl and leaf were aseptically removed from in vitro plantlets. The pre-cultured and infected explants with Agrobacterium harboring gly I gene and the shoot tip were inoculated on MS media for shoot initiation and subcultured on elongation medium with growth hormones, and antibiotics. Healthy and well-grown shoots were subcultured on medium with indole butyric acid (IBA) (0.3 mgl-1) for root formation and the plantlets were hardened in plastic cups with sterile soil. The putative transgenic plantlets were analyzed histochemically for gus gene and the PCR analysis was performed for gly 1 gene. Results: The transformation efficiency of cotton ranged 48.57 to 64.53 %. The regenerated plantlets showed the presence of gus gene in terms of blue coloration in shoots, whole leaf and leaf segments. The PCR was performed in putative transgenic plant lets with both gus gene as well as gly I gene primers. The PCR results showed the presence of 1031 bp DNA band with gus gene primers and 800 bp DNA band with the gly I gene primers. Interpretation: The current study has proven the reproducible procedure for the Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer and regeneration of Indian cotton varieties. The PCR results revealed the presence of glyoxalase I gene in the transformants. Key words: Cotton varieties, Glyoxalase I gene, PCR analysis, Regeneration, Transformation


OBJECTIVE
Brain arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) carry a risk of rupture and subsequent morbidity or mortality unless fully treated. AVMs in pediatric patients are known to occasionally recur after obliteration. The objective of this study was to characterize the risk of AVM recurrence following angiographically confirmed obliteration in children.

METHODS
Consecutive pediatric AVMs treated at a single center were identified from a prospective database. Patients with angiographically confirmed AVM obliteration following treatment were included in this study. Associations between AVM recurrence and patient or procedural factors were characterized using the two-tailed Fisher exact test or Mann-Whitney U-test. A literature search was conducted using PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and the Clarivate Web of Science with defined search criteria, and eligible studies were included alongside this study cohort in a meta-analysis. Rates of AVM recurrence following obliteration were pooled across studies with a random-effects model and reported with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

RESULTS
Recurrence after angiographic confirmation of AVM obliteration was observed in 10.4% (7/67) of pediatric AVMs treated at the authors' center. Patients with recurrent AVMs were significantly younger than those without recurrence (p = 0.002). In the meta-analysis, which included 1134 patients across 24 studies, the rate of recurrence was 4.8% (95% CI 3.0%-6.7%). The rate of AVM recurrence following radiosurgery was 0.7% (95% CI 0%-1.6%), which was significantly lower than the 8.5% rate (95% CI 5.0%-12.0%) following microsurgery.

CONCLUSIONS
Recurrence of obliterated brain AVMs is common in children. Recurrence is more common in young children and following microsurgery.


The Bayesian analysis of a state-space model includes computing the posterior distribution of the system's parameters as well as its latent states. When the latent states wander around R n there are several well-known modeling components and computational tools that may be protably combined to achieve this task. When the latent states are constrained to a strict subset of R n these models and tools are either impaired or break down completely. State-space models whose latent states are covariance matrices arise in nance and exemplify the challenge of devising tractable models in the constrained setting. To that end, we present a state-space model whose observations and latent states take values on the manifold of symmetric positive-denite matrices and for which one may easily compute the posterior distribution of the latent states and the system's parameters as well as ltered distributions and one-step ahead predictions. Employing the model within the context of nance, we show how one can use realized covariance matrices as data to predict latent time-varying covariance matrices. This approach out-performs factor stochastic volatility.


Addictive behaviors, including relapse, are thought to depend in part on long-lasting drug-induced adaptations in dendritic spine signaling and morphology in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). While the influence of activity-dependent actin remodeling in these phenomena has been studied extensively, the role of microtubules and associated proteins remains poorly understood. We report that pharmacological inhibition of microtubule polymerization in the NAc inhibited locomotor sensitization to cocaine and contextual reward learning. We then investigated the roles of microtubule end-binding protein 3 (EB3) and SRC kinase in the neuronal and behavioral responses to volitionally administered cocaine. In synaptoneurosomal fractions from the NAc of self-administering male rats, the phosphorylation of SRC at an activating site was induced after 1 d of withdrawal, while EB3 levels were increased only after 30 d of withdrawal. Blocking SRC phosphorylation during early withdrawal by virally overexpressing SRCIN1, a negative regulator of SRC activity known to interact with EB3, abolished the incubation of cocaine craving in both male and female rats. Conversely, mimicking the EB3 increase observed after prolonged withdrawal increased the motivation to consume cocaine in male rats. In mice, the overexpression of either EB3 or SRCIN1 increased dendritic spine density and altered the spine morphology of NAc medium spiny neurons. Finally, a cocaine challenge after prolonged withdrawal recapitulated most of the synaptic protein expression profiles observed at early withdrawal. These findings suggest that microtubule-associated signaling proteins such as EB3 cooperate with actin remodeling pathways, notably SRC kinase activity, to establish and maintain long-lasting cellular and behavioral alterations following cocaine self-administration. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Drug-induced morphological restructuring of dendritic spines of nucleus accumbens neurons is thought to be one of the cellular substrates of long-lasting drug-associated memories. The molecular basis of these persistent changes has remained incompletely understood. Here we implicate for the first time microtubule function in this process, together with key players such as microtubule-bound protein EB3 and synaptic SRC phosphorylation. We propose that microtubule and actin remodeling cooperate during withdrawal to maintain the plastic structural changes initially established by cocaine self-administration. This work opens new translational avenues for further characterization of microtubule-associated regulatory molecules as putative drug targets to tackle relapse to drug taking.


Spherical dielectric particles, nanofibers, and nanorods have been widely used as embedded scattering objects in nanostructured thin film solar cells. Here we propose micron-scale rod-like dielectric particles as a more effective alternative to the spherical ones for light trapping in thin film solar cells. The superior performance of these micro-rods is attributed to their larger scattering efficiency relative to the spherical particles as evidenced by full-wave optical calculations. Using a one-pot process, 1.7 μm-long bullet-shaped silica rods with 330 nm diameter are synthesized and their concentration in a N719-sensitized solar cell is optimized. A solar cell with an optimal concentration of rod-like particles delivers 8.74% power conversion efficiency (PCE), given the 6.33% PCE of the cell without any scattering particle. Moreover, a silver layer is deposited by chemical reduction of AgNO3 (Tollens' process) on the rear-side of the counter electrode, and hence the PCE of the optimal cell reaches 9.94%, showing 14% extra improvement due to the presence of the silver back-reflector. The rod-like scattering particles introduced here can be applied to other sensitized solar cells such as quantum-dot and organometallic perovskite solar cells.


The development of biogas production in Germany has reshaped agricultural land use and production schemes since the implementation of the Renewable Energy Sources Act in 2000. It is associated with a widespread introduction of silage maize as a major substrate. While it contributes significantly to the renewable energy production, intensive maize-for-biogas production comes at the expense of loss of area for food production, is associated with negative ecological effects due to intensive and large-area monoculture, and is also associated with an increase in land prices. However, due to missing data, little is known about the plot-based distribution and development of silage maize for biogas production and, therefore, the local effects remain largely unstudied. This paper aims to identify the plot-level based likelihood of silage maize cultivated for biogas production in the Brandenburg region of Germany from 2008 through 2018. For this ongoing study, we developed and applied a spatially explicit multicriteria approach using plot-level land use information from Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS) data and additional datasets on biogas plants. Our initial results show that within the 10 years of this study, the area which was most likely used for biogas silage maize production has tripled. We also find biogas silage maize production has been concentrated in the northwest and central-east of the region, and we identified distinct silage maize hotspots within the area. To the knowledge of the authors, this is the first attempt at biogas production. From our study, we can derive some of the spatially explicit effects of the Renewable Energy Sources Act on local land use dynamics over time. This may be an important asset for comparative and future studies on the effects of policy-driven land use changes on ecological and land price outcomes which will be subject of further analyses.


Temperature-resolved small angle neutron scattering (SANS) has been used to study the nucleation, growth kinetics and crystallite morphology in the Y–Fe system. Crystallization from amorphous Y67Fe33 to the YFe2 Laves phase via a novel 'YFe' intermediate phase has been followed to completion as a function of temperature from 180 to 500 °C. The SANS results agree well with published kinetic neutron diffraction data. Below 390 °C, diffraction data suggest that SANS arises solely from the contrast between crystalline Y and the Fe-rich amorphous matrix. Between 390 and 410 °C all temperature variables are seen to form a sharp peak. This suggests that critical scattering occurs at Tc≈400 °C. This critical scattering implies that full crystallization of Y67Fe33 occurs over a very narrow (∼20 °C) temperature range.


PURPOSE
Increases in neu/erbB-2 have been implicated in breast cancer prognosis, but do not predict all recurrences. On the basis of evidence that p53 mutation is involved in the development of human neoplasia, we examined the prognostic value of p53 alterations in combination with neu/erbB-2 amplification.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
A consecutive series of women were observed for recurrence and death (median follow-up of 85 months) and tumors from 543 individuals were analyzed for p53 mutation status and neu/erbB-2 amplification. Exons 4 through 10 of the p53 gene were analyzed by single-stranded conformational polymorphism and mutations were confirmed by DNA sequencing. The association of p53 mutation status and neu/erbB-2 amplification with risk of recurrence and death was examined in survival analyses with traditional and histologic markers as prognostic factors.

RESULTS
p53 mutations occurred in 24.5% of the axillary node-negative breast carcinomas. Mutations were more frequent in carcinomas with neu/erbB-2 amplification: 38.9% compared with only 20.9% in those without neu/erbB-2 amplification. We found elevated risks of disease recurrence and overall mortality in patients with both p53 mutation and neu/erbB-2 amplification in their tumor compared with patients with neither or only one of the alterations. This increase persisted with adjustment for other prognostic factors (relative risk, 2.32; P =.002 for recurrence; relative risk, 2.22; P =.004 for death).

CONCLUSION
Evaluation of tumors for p53 mutations may be beneficial to identify women at higher risk of disease recurrence and death when the tumor has neu/erbB-2 amplification, but in the absence of neu/erbB-2 amplification, the presence of p53 mutation may not provide additional independent prognostic information.


Coca, of the genus Erythroxylum, is a stimulant and painkiller that played key roles within the Inka state. As reported by the early Spanish chroniclers, coca was the most important plant offering during public rituals. Likewise, important landmarks within the Inka domain regularly received offerings of this precious leaf. Its high value is indicated by the fact that not only the living chewed the leaves on a regular basis, but also the dead carried coca leaves in their mouths. We still do not know when coca leaves were first used in the Peruvian central highlands. This uncertainty is largely due to the lack of coca leaves recovered from highland archaeological sites. Several leaves recently found at Convento in the northern part of the Ayacucho Valley are the first direct evidence from an archaeological context that, based on ceramic stylistic grounds, dates to sometime between the end of the Early Intermediate Period (ca. 1–550 ce) and the beginning of the Middle Horizon Period (ca. 550–1100 ce). The botanical identification also indicates that the source of the coca was the Pacific coast. This paper reports this unique finding and discusses its implications.


Objective: Gene expression patterns differ in the two types of skeletal muscle fiber. The Wnt signaling pathway, which includes low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 6 (LRP6), has been associated with cell differentiation and glucose metabolism in skeletal muscles. We examined the relationships between muscle fiber types and LRP6 expression. Methods: Adenosine triphosphatase was assayed histochemically, and the levels of expression of LRP6 and myosin were analyzed immunohistochemically, in frozen sections of muscle fiber obtained from 16 muscle biopsy samples. The expression pattern of LRP6 in C2C12 cells was assayed by immunocytochemistry. Results: LRP6 was expressed only in type II fibers. Type IIc fibers showed variations in LRP6 expression. Expression of LRP6 was observed at the stage of myoblast differentiation. Conclusion: Antibody to LRP6 may be useful for identifying type II skeletal muscle fibers. LRP6 may influence glucose metabolism in type II fibers of human skeletal muscles.


To expand our understanding of fission–fusion behavior and determine its variability among primates, studies of both individual‐based and group‐based fission–fusion are necessary. We conducted a parallel tracking study of male and female Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata yakui) during the non‐mating season to clarify the general features of separate ranging by males of this species, an example of fission–fusion behavior, and to reveal its associated costs and benefits. Males frequently engaged in short‐term separate ranging, leaving the company of females and ranging on their own for periods averaging 68 min in duration. However, the males did not venture outside the group's home range. When ranging separately from the group, males spent more time feeding, particularly on fruit, stayed longer in each feeding tree, and fed at a lower rate than when ranging with the group. These behavioral changes suggest that males can avoid within‐group feeding competition by ranging alone. However, this behavior was also associated with higher traveling costs, and these separated males were more vulnerable to intergroup competition and had fewer opportunities for social interaction. The frequency of separate ranging was lower when highly clumped food plant species were the main food source. Lower‐ranked males, who received more aggression when ranging with the group, exhibited a higher frequency of separate ranging. This behavioral flexibility with respect to group cohesion may allow males to reduce the costs of group living without completely losing the benefits. Specifically, by ranging alone, males may acquire sufficient feeding time without being disturbed by other group members. Conversely, when ranging with the group, males can access grooming partners and advantages in intergroup competition. Am. J. Primatol. 76:374–384, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


The Author discusses the relationship between the productivity of the labour factor and its remuneration. The analysis is focused on a comparison of agriculture to the national economy and its selected sectors. Both static and dynamic approaches are applied. The relationship between the productivity of the labour factor and its remuneration gives information whether the remuneration results from the productivity. Producer's equilibrium, zero profit conditions and the problem of the allocation and distribution in the sectoral perspective are the theoretical basis for such an analysis. It is demonstrated whether (and to what extent) labour productivity is the source of funding remuneration in a given sector. Secondly, the analysis allows to assess rationality of the allocation of the labour factor and distribution of value added among sectors. The results can indicate i.a. whether agriculture benefits or loses from such a distribution. The analysis consists of two parts. In the first step the Author derives analytical formulas similar to the idea of the unit labour costs and presents theoretical proof. In the second step, empirical study is conducted based mainly on the graphical illustration.


Parents and family are very important for a young person's health and development, but knowledge is scarce on how young people perceive them. The aim of this study is to give voice to adolescent girls' and boys' perceptions of how parents and families should be. Nineteen adolescents were interviewed. A descriptive design and a qualitative content approach were used to analyse the interview material. To make the approach participatory, young students were involved as partners. They did some pilot interviews, and their conclusions were used during the planning of the study. The results show that adolescents regard their parents and family as very important to them. Everybody in the family has shared responsibility for it, and it is important to spend time together, i.e., 'to do family'. Moreover, parents have special obligations; in particular, they have a duty to ensure a good future for their children.


As the cells of higher organisms prepare to divide, they face a tremendous logistic problem: How to copy all of their DNA once—and only once—and at exactly the right time in the cell cycle. Now, in work done mainly in yeast, researchers are finding that this exquisite control of DNA replication is achieved by a complex of proteins interacting with specific short DNA sequences. They've also identified several of the proteins that form the complex, and begun to show how they tie into the machinery of the cell cycle. Work with mammals and other higher eukaryotes is less advanced, but early results suggest that these species use similar proteins for controlling DNA replication.


1 Various factors such as climate and resource availability influence the geographical distributions of organisms. Species sensitive to small temperature variations are known to experience rapid distribution shifts as a result of current global warming, sometimes leading to new threats to agriculture and forests. Tomicus piniperda and Tomicus destruens (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Scolytinae) cause economic damage to pines in Europe and around the Mediterranean Basin. However, their respective potential distributions have not yet been studied at a large scale. The present study aimed to investigate the influence of climatic and host factors on the geographical distributions of both Tomicus species in Europe and around the Mediterranean Sea, and to establish maps of suitable areas. 2 Using 114 published localities where the presence or absence of both species was unambiguously recorded, we gathered WorldClim meteorological records to correlate the occurrence of insects with bioclimatic variables and to build potential distribution maps. 3 The two studied Tomicus species presented parapatric distributions and opposite climate demands, with T. destruens occurring in locations with warmer temperatures, whereas T. piniperda occurs under a colder climate. Amongst the investigated climate variables, temperature appeared to be most correlated with both species distributions. 4 The potential ranges of both species were further restricted by the availability of pine hosts. It appeared that setting new pine plantations in regions where T. destruens or T. piniperda are still absent could favour a rapid expansion of their distributions. Our data will be useful when aiming to apply management strategies adapted to each species, and to forecast their potential range expansions/contractions as a result of climate warming.


Background: Multiple myeloma (MM) is a malignant neoplasm characterized by the clonal expansion of plasma cells that can release monoclonal immunoglobulins (monoclonal component) or part of theme. Since 2001, the k and λ serum free light chains (sFLC) evaluation and their ratio (rFLC) have made up the laboratory analysis more sensitive and precise in MM patients. The role of rFLC has been widely studied and discussed and now it is validated in the literature. Instead, the value of free light chains difference (dFLC), especially in MM is less known yet. The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship between the dFLC and the kidney damage parameters in patients with MM, in comparison with the rFLC value.
Methods: We conducted a retrospective population-based study on 58 MM patients and we individuated two groups obtained considering the measures of dFLC and rFLC in relation to abnormal and normal values of some renal function markers, such us Bence-Jones proteinuria (BJ), albuminuria, proteinuria and serum creatinine. The Mann-Whitney test was used to test the difference between two independent samples.
Results: We observed a significant greater mean score of dFLC in patients with abnormal levels of BJ (2322.91>297.47, p=0.0001), albuminuria (2650.61>671.37, p=0.0016) and proteinuria (2327.19>593.14, p= 0.0025), while there was no significant difference for serum creatinine (1636.18<1870.85, p=0.994). Instead, no differences were observed for the rFLC parameter.
Conclusion: The data obtained allow us to conclude that dFLC can be considered a potential predictor of renal damage in MM patients, even better than rFLC.


No theological position is immune to question or free from problems. I admit that open theism has questions that we have yet to answer and areas that need further development. Ware's paper brings out a few of these, and I appreciate his thinking on these points. On the other hand, several of Ware's criticisms are simply mistaken, while others apply just as much to traditional Arminianism. All criticisms come from a particular point of view, so it is important to state Ware's perspective right off the bat: he is a strong Calvinist neo-evangelical in the Calvinist scholastic tradition. 1 Ware's God is one who controls every single detail of what we do, including the very words I am now writing, such that nothing ever happens which God did not specifically ordain to occur prior to creation. God's meticulous providence encompasses even our sin and evil. God wants us to sin for some, unknown to us, good reason—it is all part of God's great plan to redeem some and damn the majority of humans. Ware rejects as absolutely unbiblical the Arminian views of human freedom, enabling grace, conditional election, and unlimited atonement. It is important to get these points on the table, because many readers will fail to see that these beliefs are behind his criticisms of open theism. Ware does not claim that he disagrees with open theism on every point. He says that openness and "classical theism" agree on divine aseity, selfsufficiency, and creatio ex nihilo . Futhermore, he correctly acknowledges that openness and traditional Arminianism agree on these points as well as the centrality of the love of God and libertarian freedom as essential for moral responsibility, love, and genuine personal relationships. Of course, open theism agrees with both classical and freewill (Arminian) theism on many more points than these, but it is good of Ware to bring this up, since it is often ignored. It is common for Calvinist critics to claim that open theism rejects the "classical theism" upon which Christianity is built. 2 Does openness reject classical theism? Was Christianity built upon it? Classical theism is a view of God begun by Philo of Alexandria, developed further by Augustine,


We explore the possibility that the US political system can usefully be characterized as oligarchic. Using a material-based definition drawn from Aristotle, we argue that oligarchy is not inconsistent with democracy; that oligarchs need not occupy formal office or conspire together or even engage extensively in politics in order to prevail; that great wealth can provide both the resources and the motivation to exert potent political influence. Data on the US distributions of income and wealth are used to construct several Material Power Indices, which suggest that the wealthiest Americans may exert vastly greater political influence than average citizens and that a very small group of the wealthiest (perhaps the top tenth of 1 percent) may have sufficient power to dominate policy in certain key areas. A brief review of the literature suggests possible mechanisms by which such influence could occur, through lobbying, the electoral process, opinion shaping, and the US Constitution itself.


This paper presents the 2.65-MHz self-oscillating electronic ballast with constant-lamp-current control for metal halide (MH) lamps. To avoid the inherent acoustic-resonance problem of MH lamps, the switching frequency is chosen to be above 1MHz. Furthermore, in order to satisfy higher magnitudes of maximum electromagnetic interference limitation at frequencies of between 2.5 to 3.0MHz, the ballast's switching-frequency level was selected to be 2.65MHz, which falls within the frequency range "chimney," for radio-frequency lighting systems, such as electrode-less fluorescent lamps. The conventional self-oscillating electronic ballast is disadvantageous because the lamp current varies according to the input voltage. This difference in lamp current causes poor color rendering index for the lamp. In order to solve this issue for the self-oscillating electronic ballast, the constant-lamp-current control circuit is proposed to provide constant lamp current. Finally, a 20W self-oscillating ballast with the proposed constant-lamp-current control for MH lamps is implemented in order to demonstrate the ability to avoid acoustic resonance and to provide constant levels of lamp current


After the release of the previous report to the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) on progress achieved by Chinese scientists in ionospheric researches (Liu LB and Wan WX, 2016), in the recent two years (2016–2017) many interesting new investigations into various ionospheric related issues have been completed. In this report, about 100 publications are summarized. The topics highlighted are as follows: Ionospheric space weather, ionospheric dynamics, ionospheric climatology and modelling, ionospheric irregularity and scintillation, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) related ionospheric issues and other techniques, and radio wave propagation in the ionosphere. An outstanding feature is that more and more observations from the Meridional Project supported the ionospheric investigations.


BACKGROUND:The number of spine operations performed in the elderly population is rising. OBJECTIVE:To identify and describe perioperative and postoperative complications in patients 70 years and older who have undergone minimally invasive lumbar interbody spine fusion. METHODS:A retrospective analysis was performed on 66 consecutive patients aged 70 years or older who underwent a minimally invasive interbody lumbar fusion. Electronic medical records were analyzed for patient demographics, procedures, and perioperative and postoperative complications. RESULTS:Between 2000 and 2009, 66 patients with an average age of 74.9 years (range, 70-86 years) underwent 68 lumbar interbody fusions procedures. The mean follow-up was 14.7 months (range, 1.5-50 months). The minimally invasive approaches included 41 cases of extreme lateral interbody fusion and 27 minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusions. We observed 5 major (7.4%) and 17 minor (25%) complications. The 5 major complications consisted of 4 cases of interbody graft subsidence and 1 adjacent level disease. There were no intraoperative medical complications. There were no myocardial infarctions, pulmonary embolisms, hardware complications requiring removal, wound infections, major visceral, vascular, neural injuries, or death in the study period. CONCLUSION:Minimally invasive interbody fusions can be performed in the elderly (ages 70 years and older) with an overall low rate of major complications. Graft subsidence in this population when not supplemented with posterior instrumentation is a concern. Age should not be a deterrent to performing complex minimally invasive interbody fusions in the elderly.


The trapping, processing, and delivery of nitric oxide (NO) bioactivity by red blood cells (RBCs) have emerged as a conserved mechanism through which regional blood flow is linked to biochemical cues of perfusion sufficiency. We present here an expanded paradigm for the human respiratory cycle based on the coordinated transport of three gases: NO, O₂, and CO₂. By linking O₂ and NO flux, RBCs couple vessel caliber (and thus blood flow) to O₂ availability in the lung and to O₂ need in the periphery. The elements required for regulated O₂-based signal transduction via controlled NO processing within RBCs are presented herein, including S-nitrosothiol (SNO) synthesis by hemoglobin and O₂-regulated delivery of NO bioactivity (capture, activation, and delivery of NO groups at sites remote from NO synthesis by NO synthase). The role of NO transport in the respiratory cycle at molecular, microcirculatory, and system levels is reviewed. We elucidate the mechanism through which regulated NO transport in blood supports O₂ homeostasis, not only through adaptive regulation of regional systemic blood flow but also by optimizing ventilation-perfusion matching in the lung. Furthermore, we discuss the role of NO transport in the central control of breathing and in baroreceptor control of blood pressure, which subserve O₂ supply to tissue. Additionally, malfunctions of this transport and signaling system that are implicated in a wide array of human pathophysiologies are described. Understanding the (dys)function of NO processing in blood is a prerequisite for the development of novel therapies that target the vasoactive capacities of RBCs.


OBJECTIVES
This study investigated socio-economic factors associated with the placement of fissure sealants in a population of South African adolescents.

METHOD
The study participants were high school students aged 12 to layers who provided baseline data during 2005 in a tobacco-use prevention trial, and consented to oral examination (n=1103). Information was obtained using a self-administered survey questionnaire, including demographic data, data on oral health behaviour, the employment status of parents/guardians, and the family structure of the household and on health insurance enrolment. The main outcome measure was the presence of a fissure sealant on any tooth, recorded using the WHO oral examination protocol. Data were analysed using chi-square statistics and multiple logistic regression analysis (p<0.05).

RESULTS
Overall, only 3.5% (n=37) of the study participants had a fissure sealant, and only 31.3% (n=345) had ever made a dental visit. Those who had attended seeking mostly preventive care were significantly more likely to have a fissure sealant than those who had visited mostly when they were in pain (14.2% vs. 2.9%; p<0.001). In the multi-variable adjusted analysis, those reporting to have parents who are both employed (OR = 2.76; 2.26 - 3.38), and reporting regular preventive dental visits (OR = 3.55; 2.28 -5.58) were positively associated with receiving fissure sealant, while those who self-identified as black (OR = 0.04; 0.01 - 0.13), were significantly less likely to present with a fissure sealant as compared with other ethnicity/race groups.

CONCLUSIONS
Higher socio-economic status and regular access to preventive care were significantly associated with the placement of fissure sealants in the studied population.


The bulk of 401(k) assets were invested in stocks. On average, at year-end 2016, 67 percent of 401(k) participants' assets were invested in equity securities through equity funds, the equity portion of balanced funds, and company stock. Twenty-seven percent of assets were in fixed-income securities such as stable-value investments, bond funds, money funds, and the fixed-income portion of balanced funds. More 401(k) plan participants held equities at year-end 2016 than before the financial market crisis (year-end 2007), and most had the majority of their accounts invested in equities. For example, more than three-quarters of participants in their twenties had more than 80 percent of their 401(k) plan accounts invested in equities at year-end 2016, up from less than half of participants in their twenties at year-end 2007. Overall, more than 90 percent of 401(k) participants had at least some investment in equities at year-end 2016. About two-thirds of 401(k) plans, covering about three-quarters of 401(k) plan participants, included target-date funds in their investment lineup at year-end 2016. At year-end 2016, 21 percent of the assets in the EBRI/ICI 401(k) database were invested in target-date funds and more than half of 401(k) participants in the database held target-date funds. Also known as lifecycle funds, these funds are designed to offer a diversified portfolio that automatically rebalances to be more focused on income over time. A majority of new or recent hires invested their 401(k) assets in balanced funds, including target-date funds. For example, at year-end 2016, 71 percent of recently hired participants held balanced funds in their 401(k) plan accounts. Balanced funds made up 45 percent of the account balances of recently hired 401(k) participants at year-end 2016. A significant subset of that balanced fund category is invested in target-date funds. At year-end 2016, 38 percent of the account balances of recently hired participants were invested in target-date funds. 401(k) participants' investment in company stock continued at historically low levels. Six percent of 401(k) assets were invested in company stock at year-end 2016, the lowest share observed in the database. This share has fallen by 69 percent since 1999 when company stock accounted for 19 percent of assets. Recently hired 401(k) participants contributed to this trend: they tend to be less likely to hold company stock. At year-end 2016, in plans offering company stock, less than one-quarter of recently hired 401(k) plan participants held company stock, compared with about 40 percent of all 401(k) participants.


This study explores a relatively little understood aspect of climate change: to what extent physical changes in the climate impact on firm behavior. To explore the impact of physical changes in climate, changes in both temperature and rainfall are studied with respect to adaptive behavior. For a sample of 207 wine firms operating in South Australia, this study finds that changes in temperature and rainfall are associated with adaptive practices. Further, because of the nature of acquiring and leveraging information and knowledge on climate change to affect adaptation, the study predicts that absorptive capacity will moderate the relationship between climatic changes and adaptive practices. This postulate finds support. The study advances research on climate change and firm behavior. Contributions of the findings are discussed along with limitations and future research opportunities.


The standard theory of pulsations deals with the frequencies and growth rates of infinitesimal perturbations in a stellar model. Modes that are calculated to be linearly driven should increase their amplitudes exponentially with time; the fact that nearly constant amplitudes are usually observed is evidence that nonlinear mechanisms inhibit the growth of finite-amplitude pulsations. Models predict that the mass of convection zones in pulsating hydrogen-atmosphere (DAV) white dwarfs is very sensitive to temperature (i.e., ), leading to the possibility that even low-amplitude pulsators may experience significant nonlinear effects. In particular, the outer turning point of finite-amplitude g-mode pulsations can vary with the local surface temperature, producing a reflected wave that is out of phase with what is required for a standing wave. This can lead to a lack of coherence of the mode and a reduction in its global amplitude. In this paper we show that (1) whether a mode is calculated to propagate to the base of the convection zone is an accurate predictor of its width in the Fourier spectrum, (2) the phase shifts produced by reflection from the outer turning point are large enough to produce significant damping, and (3) amplitudes and periods are predicted to increase from the blue edge to the middle of the instability strip, and subsequently decrease as the red edge is approached. This amplitude decrease is in agreement with the observational data while the period decrease has not yet been systematically studied.