Ocean acidification has the potential to affect growth and calcification of benthic marine invertebrates, particularly during their early life history. We exposed field-collected juveniles of Asterias rubens from Kiel Fjord (western Baltic Sea) to 3 seawater CO2 partial pressure (pCO2) levels (ranging from around 650 to 3500 µatm) in a long-term (39 wk) and a short-term (6 wk) experiment. In both experiments, survival and calcification were not affected by elevated pCO2. However, feeding rates decreased strongly with increasing pCO2, while aerobic metabolism and NH4+ excretion were not significantly affected by CO2 exposure. Consequently, high pCO2 reduced the scope for growth in A. rubens. Growth rates decreased substantially with increasing pCO2 and were reduced even at pCO2 levels occurring in the habitat today (e.g. during upwelling events). Sea stars were not able to acclimate to higher pCO2, and growth performance did not recover during the long-term experiment. Therefore, the top-down control exerted by this keystone species may be diminished during periods of high environmental pCO2 that already occur occasionally and will be even higher in the future. However, some individuals were able to grow at high rates even at high pCO2, indicating potential for rapid adaption. The selection of adapted specimens of A. rubens in this seasonally acidified habitat may lead to higher CO2 tolerance in adult sea stars of this population compared to the juvenile stage. Future studies need to address the synergistic effects of multiple stressors such as acidification, warming and reduced salinity, which will simultaneously impact the performance of sea stars in this habitat.


Two different types of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) sensors using microbial electrodes were prepared. First, a microbial electrode using the bacteria–collagen membrane and oxygen electrode was used for the determination of BOD. When the electrode was inserted in a sample solution containing glucose and glutamic acid (model waste water), the current of the electrode decreased markedly with time until a steady state was reached. A linear relationship was observed between the steady state current and the concentration of the standard solution containing glucose–glutamic acid or the BOD of the solution. The BOD of industrial waste waters can be estimated within 15 min by using the microbial electrode. No decrease in current output was observed over a ten day period. The reproducibility was determined using the same sample (10% of the standard solution) and was found to be 26.2 ± 2.0 μA (7.5% of the relative standard deviation). Next, a biofuel cell utilizing microbial electrode (immobilized Clostridium butyricum–platinum electrode) was applied to the estimation of the BOD of waste waters. The current of the biofuel cell was decreased markedly with time until a steady state was reached. The steady state current was in all cases attained within 30–40 min at 37°C. A linear relationship was obtained between the steady state current and BOD. The BOD of industrial waste waters can be estimated by using the biofuel cell. Relative error of the BOD estimation was within ±10%. The current output of the biofuel cell was almost constant for 30 days.


Chapman, George B. (Cornell University Medical College, New York, N.Y.). Cytological aspects of antimicrobial antibiosis. II. Cytological changes associated with the exposure of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacillus megaterium to colistin sulfate. J. Bacteriol. 84:180-185. 1962-Broth cultures of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacillus megaterium were exposed to the antibiotic colistin sulfate. Control (unexposed) and exposed cells were fixed, dehydrated, and embedded in methacrylate. Ultrathin sections were examined in an RCA EMU2-D electron microscope. Two conspicuous cytological changes were noted in P. aeruginosa. The nuclear material was no longer demonstrable in its normal sites, leaving an empty space, and the cytoplasm lost its granularity, becoming homogeneous. In B. megaterium, the latter change was also noted. The nuclear material, however, although no longer demonstrable, did not leave an empty space. Rather, it seemed that cytoplasmic material had engulfed and masked nuclear areas. Cells which showed these changes were nonviable.


Traditionalist Chinese martial arts (TCMAs) are popular in Britain, and some advocates have made extensive claims of their body-self transformation through sustained training. Despite extensive physiological research, there are few investigations of these practices regarding their socio-cultural practice. This qualitative sociological study examines long-term British practitioners' experiences of transformation via Taijiquan (Tai Chi) and Wing Chun by addressing five issues: 1) Rationales behind practice 2) Resulting transformations 3) Explicit/implicit pedagogic strategies 4) Cultural transmission 5) Relations to broader social life. It approaches these questions through an emergent research design incorporating autobiographical vignettes as a practitionerteacher-researcher, life histories of experienced practitioners and ethnographic fieldwork of two case study schools. Following thematic, metaphorical and narrative analysis, a structurationist theoretical framework illuminates the data by incorporating sensitising concepts from diverse thinkers including Bourdieu, Frank, Giddens and Yuasa. The findings are represented through autobiographical, modified realist, impressionist and confessional writing and structure the thesis as follows: Firstly, my own story demonstrates shifts in transformation from a technique-orientated approach to a more spiritual/holistic perspective, finally emerging as a scholarly position of a thinker-martial artist. Secondly, practitioner case studies further articulate transformations along a flexible continuum of changing body-self-society relations interpreted here as three ideal types: Fighters, martial artists and thinkers. Thirdly, the connecting pedagogical issues are addressed, as well-rounded TCMA systems possess specific partner exercises to develop intercorporeal awareness and embodied sensitivity, which are explicit aspects of each association's martial habitus and body lineage. Meanwhile, socio-linguistic metaphors articulate these transformations and are also interpreted as transformations in thinking and schemes of perception. Overall, these sensitising concepts and empirical findings offer a social theory of shared cultivation that acknowledges transformation on individual, relational, institutional and art levels. This shared cultivation framework may be useful for future methodological, theoretical and empirical considerations of wider physical culture.


Abstract. The Microwave Infrared Combined Rainfall Algorithm (MICRA) consists in a statistical integration method using the satellite microwave-based rain-rate estimates, assumed to be accurate enough, to calibrate spaceborne infrared measurements on limited sub-regions and time windows. Rainfall retrieval is pursued at the space-time scale of typical geostationary observations, that is at a spatial resolution of few kilometers and a repetition period of few tens of minutes. The actual implementation is explained, although the basic concepts of MICRA are very general and the method is easy to be extended for considering innovative statistical techniques or measurements from additional space-borne platforms. In order to demonstrate the potentiality of MICRA, case studies over central Italy are also discussed. Finally, preliminary results of MICRA validation by ground based remote and in situ measurements are shown and a comparison with a Neural Network (NN) based technique is briefly illustrated.


A timing chain drive transfers motion from the engine's crankshaft to the camshaft that operates the valves. The design process of timing chain drives involves computer simulation of many design variants in order to find an optimum. Most of the simulation results can be represented as families of function graphs (data series). Previously, the analysis of those results was based on static 2D diagrams and animated 3D visualizations. They were suitable for the detailed analysis of a few simulation variants, but not for the comparison of many cases. In this paper we propose a new approach to the analysis based on coordinated linked views and advanced brushing features. Our proposed method supports the interactive analysis of many design variants. We introduce a novel view, called segmented curve view, which can display distributions in families of function graphs. The segmented curve view combines individual function graphs where for a fixed value of the independent variable, a bar extends from minimum to maximum values across the family of function graphs. Each bar is divided into segments (bins) with a color that represents the number of function graphs with the value in that segment. In the case study, we demonstrate that the new view combined with "traditional" views provides a strong support for the interactive visual exploration and analysis of a real world timing chain design problem.


2-Phenylethanol is an aromatic compound commonly used in the food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries. Due to increasing demand for natural products by consumers, the production of this flavor by microbial fermentation is gaining interest, as a sustainable alternative to chemical synthesis or expensive plant extraction, both processes relying on the use of fossil resources. However, the drawback of the fermentation process is the high toxicity of 2-phenylethanol to the producing microorganism. The aim of this study was to obtain a 2-phenylethanol-resistant Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain by in vivo evolutionary engineering and characterize the adapted yeast at the genomic, transcriptomic and metabolic levels. For this purpose, the tolerance to 2-phenylethanol was developed by gradually increasing the concentration of this flavor compound through successive batch cultivations, leading to an adapted strain that could tolerate 3.4 g/L of 2-phenylethanol, which was about 3-times better than the reference strain. Genome sequencing of the adapted strain identified point mutations in several genes, notably in HOG1 that encodes the Mitogen-Activated Kinase of the high-osmolarity signaling pathway. As this mutation is localized in the phosphorylation lip of this protein, it likely resulted in a hyperactive protein kinase. Transcriptomic analysis of the adapted strain supported this suggestion by revealing a large set of upregulated stress-responsive genes that could be explained in great part by HOG1-dependent activation of the Msn2/Msn4 transcription factor. Another relevant mutation was found in PDE2 encoding the low affinity cAMP phosphodiesterase, the missense mutation of which may lead to hyperactivation of this enzyme and thereby enhance the stressful state of the 2-phenylethanol adapted strain. In addition, the mutation in CRH1 that encodes a chitin transglycosylase implicated in cell wall remodeling could account for the increased resistance of the adapted strain to the cell wall-degrading enzyme lyticase. Finally, the potent upregulation of ALD3 and ALD4 encoding NAD+ -dependent aldehyde dehydrogenase together with the observed phenylacetate resistance of the evolved strain suggest a resistance mechanism involving conversion of 2-phenylethanol into phenylacetaldehyde and phenylacetate implicating these dehydrogenases.


Homeschooling could be an education alternatives, the substance of activities of the school. The child is learns everything under control and supervise of parent. Families must have a strong commitment within the practice. This study is a qualitative phenomenological approach focused discusses a phenomenon about homeschooling. The aim of this research is to know the methods of study used in the process of teaching and learning results gained from the learning process through homeschooling. Collecting data is using the method of observation, interview and documentation. Data analysis using qualitative descriptive method and the validity of data is done by triangulation. The results are: 1) in behavioristic kids are love learning because fun and can be anywhere. Cognitively, kids can customize his ability to learn. In humanistic kids are aware to the conditions and environments around them. 2) Learning Outcome demonstrate the kids progress in cognitive, affective and psychomotor.


A calcium activated neutral proteinase (calpain II) was prepared on a large scale at a high degree of purity from rabbit skeletal muscle using an original purification procedure. "In vitro" highly purified Calpain II was optimally activated by 2 mM Ca2+ and had two subunits with a molecular weight of 80 kDa and 28 kDa. The influence of membrane acid phospholipids (phosphatidyl inositol PI, phosphatidyl serine PS) and neutral phospholipids (phosphatidyl choline) on calcium enzymatic autolysis in the presence or not of substrate was electrophoretically studied. In the absence of a substrate no degradation of the catalytic subunit (80 kDa) was observed: phosphatidyl inositol and phosphatidyl serine stimulated drastically the 28 kDa subunit degradation with a release of a common 18 kDa product. In the presence of substrate (beta-globin) the 28 kDa subunit was more protected against calcium autolysis. On the other hand, phosphatidyl serine seemed to induce simultaneously 80 and 28 kDa degradations: the released breakdown products were different from those obtained with phosphatidyl inositol and phosphatidyl choline. In presence or absence of substrate, phosphatidyl choline did not affect significantly the calpain II calcium autolysis. Further studies on calpain II-membrane binding as well as its influence on calpain - activity are in progress.


The applications of over 1000 EB accelerator processors used recently worldwide span technological fields from material modification to medical sterilization and food processing. The performance level achieved by the main manufacturers is demonstrated by some selected parameters of processors in the energy range from 0.1 MeV to 10 MeV. The design of the new generation of low cost compact in-line and stand-alone accelerators is discussed.


Abstract : The goal of this project is to develop a novel means to inhibit prostate cancer development and progression. The development of Siah1/2 inhibitors to the ubiquitin ligase Siah1/2 has been advanced by the ability to develop a Siah1/2 inhibitory peptide that effectively inhibits Siah1/2 activity, which was found to effectively attenuate the growth of prostate cancer tumors in vivo when transplanted subcutaneously or orthotopically into the prostate site. The assessment of the Siah1/2 inhibitory peptide in genetic models of mouse as in human PDX tumors is ongoing by the Partnering PIs Drs. Martin Gleave and Neil Bhowmick at the two respective sites. Parallel development of small molecule inhibitors to Siah2 is on going and will complement the work performed with the inhibitory peptide. This is a first-inclass inhibitor of the ubiquitin ligase that can be administered intravenously and that has a notable effect on prostate cancer growth in vivo.


The crystal chemistry of xonotlite is mainly controlled by its four different polytypes. Ten natural xonotlites from three different lithologies were studied in order to determine their polytypes by powder methods as X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD). The chemical compositions were obtained by electron microprobe analysis (EMPA) and show constant compositions with minor substitutions of Mn and AI. To determine the 4 ordered polytypes known for xonotlite (M2a2b2c, M2a2bc, Ma2b2c, Ma2bc), the theoretical diffraction patterns were calculated based on atom coordinates of HEJNY \& ARMBRUSTER (2001). For each polytype characteristic reflections can be chosen. The assignments were conducted by means of pattern matching. The results reveal that xonotlite mainly occurs in nature as intergrowths of two up to four polytypes. It could be demonstrated that X-ray powder diffraction is a useful and fast method to determine the different polytypes of xonotlite.


We studied the effect of the myo-inositol content of culture media on several of the functional characteristics of cultured adult rat pancreatic islets. Variations in the ambient myo-inositol concentration had no effect on insulin content, its rate of synthesis, or its secretion in response to glucose when studied in freshly isolated islets. However, myo-inositol did inhibit the incorporation of 3H-thymidine into the DNA of the fresh islet. When islets were cultured for 6 days in the absence of myo-inositol, their basal rate of insulin secretion was elevated and they were unresponsive to an elevated glucose concentration. As the myo-inositol content of the culture medium was increased from 10 to 40 μg/ml, a progressive decrease in basal insulin secretion as well as an increase in glucose-stimulated insulin secretion was observed. Similarly, the total insulin content of cultured islets increased progressively as the myo-inositol content of the culture medium was raised. The rates of incorporation of 3H-leucine into islet protein, proinsulin, insulin, and Cpeptide were found to be twice as high in the presence of 40 μg/ml myo-inositol when compared with the rates observed in the absence of this material. The incorporation of 3H-thymidine into the DNA of cultured islets was maximal when the medium contained 20 μg/ml myo-inositol, and was decreased when concentrations above or below this value were employed. These results demonstrate that the ambient myo-inositol concentration to which cultured islets are exposed in vitro exerts a strong influence on their functional characteristics. Thus, the myo-inositol content of the culture media employed should be taken into consideration in the interpretation of any studies involving cultured pancreatic islets.


A high magnetic field is a useful tool to control the crystal alignment of non-magnetic materials such as ceramics and polymers. In the case of Hydroxyapatite crystal, the a,b-axis is aligned parallel to the direction of an imposed magnetic field. This fact implies that the alignment of the c-axis is not controllable only using a high static magnetic field due to the freedom of the c-axis in a plane perpendicular to a magnetic field direction. In this study, a high static magnetic field and mold rotation was simultaneously so applied during a slip casting process as to align the c-axis of HAp poly crystals.


Compressive sensing (CS) makes it possible to more naturally create compact representations of data with respect to a desired data rate. Through wavelet decomposition, smooth and piecewise smooth signals can be represented as sparse and compressible coefficients. These coefficients can then be effectively compressed via the CS. Since a wavelet transform divides image information into layered blockwise wavelet coefficients over spatial and frequency domains, visual improvement can be attained by an appropriate perceptually weighted CS scheme. We introduce such a method in this paper and compare it with the conventional CS. The resulting visual CS model is shown to deliver improved visual reconstructions.


This paper introduces a simple and effective nonoverlapping unigram and bigram segmentation method for both monolingual Chinese and English-Chinese cross language retrieval. It also describes English-Chinese cross language retrieval experiments involving 54 topics and some 164,000 documents. The translation of English queries to Chinese is done using a Chinese-English dictionary of about 120,000 entries. A technique for extracting noun phrases is presented and applied prior to query translation. The phrasal translation outperformanced word translation by 23.6% even though most of the extracted noun phrases from the queries were not translated as phrase because of the limited coverage of the bilingual dictionary. The cross language retrieval achieved about 53% of the effectiveness of the monolingual retrieval, which suggests that there is lot of room for improvement. The two main limiting factors in English-Chinese retrieval performance are the limited coverage of the bilingual dictionary and the existence of multiple Chinese translation equivalents for many


Background Glucarpidase (Voraxaze) is effective in the treatment of methotrexate (MTX)-induced renal dysfunction but many cases this can be handled with standard treatment. Purpose To describe the progress of a patient with MTX-induced renal failure in whose management glucarpidase was not used. Materials and Methods A 13 year-old girl with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia treated with high-dose MTX. Baseline laboratory tests were normal, except for elevated transaminases and GGT. Results The patient received her first consolidation cycle with 500 mg/m2 of MTX in 30 minutes, followed by 4500 mg/m2 in 23.5 hours, oral mercaptopurine 30 mg/m²/day and triple intrathecal therapy. Simultaneously, she received hyperhydration/alkalinisation (3000 ml/m²/day).There was no pharmacological interaction to MTX. 24 hours after the MTX infusion stared, the serum creatinine level (Cr) had tripled (see the table below).The following measures were taken: hyperhydration/alkalinisation (4500 ml/m²/day), colestyramine (3 g/6 h) and folinic acid rescue at 500 mg/m²/6 h 31 hours after the start of the MTX infusion. Although the protocol provides for the possibility of administering glucarpidase, it was decided not to do this because the methotrexate level was <250μM and glucarpidase administration can be delayed until 96 hours after the start of MTX infusion. Difficulty in the subsequent monitoring, the absence of effect in renal function improvement and high cost were the reasons for delaying the treatment until at least having levels at 36 and 48 hours. Although Cr values were still high, elimination kinetics of the drug were seen as adequate. Without the use of glucarpidase, methotrexate levels were undetectable at day nine. The patient recovered her baseline renal function and did not have mucositis or liver toxicity. Conclusions An early intervention with supportive treatment based on folinic acid, hyperhydration and urine alkalinisation was effective in the management of MTX-induced renal toxicity. Abstract GRP-111 Table 1 Time since MTX infusion started (h) Cr (mg/dL) MTX levels (µM) 0 0.35 0 24 1.12 190 36 1.41 24 48 1.32 5.9 No conflict of interest.


In wireless communication networks, interference models are routinely used for tasks, such as performance analysis, optimization, and protocol design. These tasks are heavily affected by the accuracy and tractability of the interference models. Yet, quantifying the accuracy of these models remains a major challenge. In this paper, we propose a new index for assessing the accuracy of any interference model under any network scenario. Specifically, it is based on a new index that quantifies the ability of any interference model in correctly predicting harmful interference events, that is, link outages. We consider specific wireless scenario of both conventional sub-6 GHz and millimeter-wave networks and demonstrate how our index yields insights into the possibility of simplifying the set of dominant interferers, replacing a Nakagami or Rayleigh random fading by an equivalent deterministic channel, and ignoring antenna sidelobes. Our analysis reveals that in highly directional antenna settings with obstructions, even simple interference models (such as the classical protocol model) are accurate, while with omnidirectional antennas, more sophisticated and complex interference models (such as the classical physical model) are necessary. Our new approach makes it possible to adopt the simplest interference model of adequate accuracy for every wireless network.


We present an optimal and efficient approach to compute continuous shortest path vector fields on arbitrarily shaped 3D triangular meshes for robot navigation in complex real-world outdoor environments. The continuity of the vector field allows to query the shortest distance, direction and geodesic path to the goal at any point within the mesh triangles, resulting in accurate paths. In order to avoid impassable areas, our wavefront propagation method runs on a modular extendable multilayer map architecture taking different geometric cost layers into account. We describe the mathematical foundation of the geodesic distances and continuous vector field computation and demonstrate the performance in real-world and multilevel environments on our campus with a tunnel, ramps and staircases, and in a difficult, steep forest area with a stone quarry. For reproducibility, we provide a ready-to-use ROS software stack as well as Gazebo simulations.


The main objective of this study is to provide criteria for the delimitation of lexicalized instrumental manner adverbs in Polish. The ADV(Instr) figes have to be distinguished from the typical instrumentally-marked phrases and the syntactic complements of the verb, both in idiomatic as in ordinary sentences, in which they appear also in the Instrumental case. Objects, instrumental adjuncts and lexicalized instrumental manner adverbs will overlap with the usual nomenclature of semantic roles : objects, tools and manners. We will examin the criteria for the distinction between these concepts.


When young children tell their mothers that they are being sexually abused by their father, the mother faces a dilemma; if she does nothing, state child protection services can remove her children as being in need of care and protection. If police are called, she is likely to be told to leave the family home to keep her children safe. If she does, the father is likely to turn to the federal family law system1 to seek time with the children. If the mother seeks an order for supervised, or no further contact with the child to protect them from abuse, she may lose residence of the child and the child may be ordered to live with the abusing parent.


For intelligent Web browsers attempting to learn a user's interests, the cost of obtaining labeled training instances can be prohibitive because the user must directly label each training instance, and few users are willing to do so. We have been developing an approach that circumvents the need for human-labeled pages. Instead, we learn "surrogate" tasks where the desired output is already being measured by modern operating systems and Web browsers, such as the number of hyperlinks clicked on a page, the amount of scrolling performed, and the number of CPU cycles used. Our assumption is that some weighted combination of these easily obtained measurements will highly correlate with the user's interests. In other words, by unobtrusively "observing" the user's behavior we are able to automatically construct labeled training examples for learning useful functions with which we can estimate the user's interest in a Web page. We report the results of a pilot study.


The Spanish Republic and the Civil War, 1931–1939, have been the subjects of enduring interest and interpretation, especially in recent years with a proliferation of scholarly studies and popular accounts. Stanley G. Payne of the University of Wisconsin has had a most distinguished career as a historian of modern Spain. In addition to books concerned with a broad range of Spanish and European history, he has published several excellent works on this period of crisis in Spain. The first appeared in 1961 as an analysis of Spanish fascism and the most recent in 2004 as a study of Spanish Communism and the role of the Soviet Union in Spain. Payne observes that although there is a "mammoth [amount of] literature" on the Civil War, there is much less devoted to its origins, specifically to the collapse of the democratic republic. Hence this book, given to a powerful narrative account and challenging interpretation of four crucial years, 1933–36. Common understanding for many years attributed the origins of the Civil War to the machinations of Spain's political right and its apparent unwillingness to accept democratic forms and verdicts. A heavy burden of responsibility fell on key figures and parties, the Church, and the army, as if they were nearly always united in a solid array of conspiracy against democracy. The founders of the Republic, leaders of the Left, with some major exceptions, often have been portrayed as beleaguered champions of reform and renewal. Payne, who has never shunned controversy in these matters, has not been so persuaded. In Spain's First Democracy: The Second Republic, 1931–1936 (University of Wisconsin Press, 1993) he argued that although Spain's stage of development, historical factors, and the crisis-laden Europe of the 1930s worked against the success of the Republic, major groups on the left, including Socialists and liberals, essentially failed to accept the rules of a democratic order. The Collapse of the Spanish Republic updates this earlier work, even as several of the chapters are closely parallel, and in some instances nearly identical, to it. Here Azaña is no hero, but instead a victim of his own miscalculations, his "petit-bourgeois" radicalism, and reckless wager on support from revolutionary socialists. President Alcalá Zamora interfered with parliamentary practices. The government of the Left in 1936 committed staggering abuses of power, so much so that the Right had but two choices: either submit or rebel. Ultimately, rebellion led to forty years of repression. This is a serious, carefully researched, and very readable account of the onset of the Spanish tragedy. It also offers conclusions that will test cherished assumptions.


Changing dietary intake is a major challenge to individuals, households and the general public. Promoting the consumption of diets that are low in fat and high in fruits, vegetables and starchy carbohydrate, and managing overweight and central obesity, are important dietary strategies for the prevention of metabolic syndrome. Educational, behavioural and motivational tactics are required to help people achieve overall dietary change. These strategies might usefully be based on intervention models which incorporate behavioural theories and goals through personal, multiple contact with individuals or in small groups, using active involvement and specific behaviour-change strategies. Two particular aspects, namely the impact of computer-generated, personalized nutrition education and social support networks (e.g. family, health centre and community) provide useful adjuncts to traditional dietary counselling and might usefully be incorporated into diet- and lifestyle-change programmes for community-based and individualized approaches for disease prevention. The use of moderate energy-deficit diets, modest targets for weight loss (and maintenance) which can be sustained over the long term, and increased physical activity probably offers the most feasible approach for intervention aimed at reducing overall body weight.


Durable democracies display a huge variety of combinations of basic institutional formulas. A quantitative logical model shows that while there are multiple equilibrium sets of institutions, each involves some trade-off between the size of the country, the territorial structure of government and the electoral system. Specifically, the larger the country, the more important is federalism in comparison to proportional representation electoral rules for the durability of democratic institutions. The explanatory power of the model is positively tested on all current durable democratic countries. It is also illustrated with a few both fitting and deviant cases. A relevant implication is that the room for manipulation of the choice of institutions is large, but not unlimited, as the choices for a durable democracy are constrained by bounded trade-offs between the values of major institutional variables.


The influences on host immunosuppression by treatment with cyclophosphamide (200 mg/kg), steroid (prednisolone, 12.0 mg/kg for seven doses or 235 mg/kg for one dose), and adult thymectomy on tumor growth were compared. Treatment with cyclophosphamide 24 hr prior to MOPC 104E tumor transplantation produced the greatest facilitation of tumor growth. The role of prednisolone in rendering the MOPC 104E cells more vulnerable to conventional chemotherapy was also investigated. The combination of prednisolone with melphalan added measurably to the cytotoxicity of the treatment and increased the percentage of disease-free survivors. The ob served effects of prednisolone might have been due to the increase in the cycling of myeloma cells directly, or the drug may have facilitated growth of the myeloma by blocking host expansion of T-cell immunity. Alterations of the host by adult thymectomy and immunosuppression with cyclophosphamide or prednisolone led to growth facilitation of myeloma. The limited studies reported here point out the usefulness of facili tation of tumor growth to accomplish increased neoplastic cell kill and increased percentage of disease-free survivors.


Cobalt- superhard high speed steel layer has been formed on the surface of low alloy steel 20Cr2V by tungsten-molybdenum-cobalt plasma surface alloying and following plasma carbonizing. After plasma surface alloying, a homogeneous and dense surface alloying layer was formed, thickness of which is 200μm. Composition, microstructure and properties of the alloying layer were investigated. Contents of W, Mo, Co, Cr, V and C in the surface layer reach 8%,5%, 6% ,4%,1.5% and 1.5% or so respectively. The concentrations of alloy elements basically meet the requirements of high cobalt type superhard high speed steel. Constituent phases of the surface layer were martensite, M7C3 ,M2C and Cr3C2 carbides and μ phase after quenching treatment. The advanced gradient superhard high speed steel possesses not only high surface hardness, high anti-temper softening ability but also enough toughness.


This study presents novel evidence regarding the role of regional internet infrastructure in reducing regional per capita income disparities. We base our study on the assumptions that 1 the diffusion of information homogenizes regional economies through reducing the dissimilarities in institutions and culture, and 2 the telecommunication capacity, represented as the internet infrastructure of a region, facilitates this flow of information. Using the data from the 26 statistical regions of Turkey, we find evidence that internet infrastructure has contributed to regional convergence during the period 1999-2011. We also observe that the Turkish economic geography is defined by a strong core-periphery pattern and significant spatial clustering.


Abstract In this paper, the circuit design of a fractional order proportional-integrated derivation (FO-PID) controller for synchronization between different FO chaotic systems has been described. Chaotic synchronization and control are used in different applications in nonlinear physical systems such as performance tests for controllers and chaotic communication systems. FO chaotic systems have been created, and the synchronization control of these two systems has been carried out using an FO-PID controller. The total square error should be minimized in order to determine the parameters and orders of the designed FO controller circuit. The results obtained using the FO controller are better than those obtained using classical control systems. Using an FO-PID controller, the time to reach synchronization decreased significantly.


Abstract Knowledge is a vital component of organizational success embedded within the human resources of a firm (Grant, 1996). Knowledge is lost by organizations when it is not used or when knowledgeable individuals turnover. Knowledge Management Systems (KMS) are designed to help organizations capture, store, distill, and distribute knowledge embedded within their employees. The effectiveness of KMS is dependent on individual learning and individual-specific learning preferences. Furthermore, as the world becomes more globalized and the job candidate pool from which organizations hire becomes more culturally diverse, the extent to which western models of organizational behavior hold becomes less clear. Using a multi-national survey, this study aims to determine to what extent learning preferences are dependent on culture. If learning preferences are dependent on culture, KMS designs that ignore culture may result in incomplete or ineffective knowledge transfer and learning outcomes. Our findings contribute to the KMS literature by suggesting that KMS design should be conducted with the goal of effectively facilitating learning across cultures. Specific KMS design recommendations include incorporating group activities and providing more flexibility, depending on the culturally derived learning preferences of specific users.


Biogas production through anaerobic digestion (AD) has emerged as one of the renewable energy production technology of choice because through AD biogas as a renewable fuel. The current study focused on the feasibility of biogas production from water lettuce, Pistia stratiotes L. water lettuce contains 49.4% carbohydrates, 16.5% protein, lipid 3.6%, fiber 17.8% and ash 23.8%, and furthermore these compositions are an ideal feedstock for biogas production. The fresh water lettuce was harvested after that dried then powdered before fermentation in mesophilic batch reactors. Experiments were carried out as batch runs in laboratory-scale digesters with the addition of inoculums. Total gas yield was 9667.33 mL, during 45 days digestion time. The maximum methane content was reached 66.35%. Based on these results, water lettuce is very suitable as a substrate for biogas production.


This paper derives its link of direction of arrival (DOA) and direction of departure (DOD) estimation problem for multiinput multi-output (MIMO) radar to the trilinear model. With the exploitation of this link, we present a trilinear decompositionbased blind algorithm for angle estimation in MIMO radar. After the algorithmic presentation and discussions for identifiability results, trilinear decomposition-based angle estimation under different array conditions has also been investigated. Our proposed algorithm works well without either spectral peak searching or pair matching, has better angle estimation performance than ESPRIT, and even supports small sampling sizes. Simulation trials testify that the merits of our algorithmic performance are in collaboration with theoretical findings.


How can visual ethnography help us to understand the nature and the complexity of the (ethnic/gendered/classed) experience of growing up? Drawing on two ethnographic projects, we discuss the purposes and the difficulties of the particular methodology of auto-visual ethnography which we deployed. Our specific focus was the relationship and the tension between the representation and the individual everyday experiences. Through focusing upon the micro worlds of the young people themselves within their wider 'parent' cultures, their engagement with home, school, and outside leisure activities, were revealed to be strategically (if sometimes unconsciously) part of much larger overlapping social spheres and powerful cultural influences. The pre-teenage and teenage female participants were invited to document any aspects of their worlds on cameras and video.


Objectives: Implementing energy conservation in foundries, identification of energy losses from induction furnace in the form of conduction and radiation heat losses. Method/Approach of Energy Audit: The energy audit in this work consists of two phases and this piece of work focuses on the second phase which consists of identification and determination of conduction and radiation heat losses from induction furnace. A comparison for different values of furnace lining thickness shows conduction losses for each value of furnace lining thickness. The radiation losses are identified and the combined total losses are calculated. Findings/Observations: The conduction losses remain practically the same for all the operating temperatures of the furnace for a given thickness of furnace lining. The conduction losses are different for different values of furnace lining thickness. They increase as the lining thickness of furnace is increased. Radiation losses remain practically the same for all values of lining thickness for the entire operating temperature range. Radiation losses occur from the furnace opening and increases as the temperature of the furnace is increased. Thus, for the original thickness of 63 mm, the maximum and minimum heat efficiency is 93.1% at 1200°C and 86.27% at 1500°C respectively. The furnace does operate at an overall average heat efficiency of about 90% with a deviation of about ±3% for a given value of thickness. Application/Improvements: A good energy management is the key towards energy conservation and it starts with an energy audit. The detailed energy audit analysis reveals good amount of energy saving in foundry and allied industries.


Spermatozoa must possess many attributes to fertilize an egg but few laboratory methods can assess all of these attributes simultaneously and objectively. Most laboratory methods used to assess the quality of semen in veterinary andrology can be inaccurate and time-consuming. Laboratory techniques which evaluate only one sperm attribute, often provide results that have a weak correlation with fertility. Therefore, semen used for artificial insemination should not be assessed based on the results of one method only but rather on the comprehensive results of several laboratory tests. Flow cytometry is a modern method of analysing diJ169fferent types of cells, including sperm cells. It is based on the scattering of light and fluorescence, the outcome of which yields results that are recorded and evaluated by computer technology which makes an objective assessment. Flow cytometry in combination with fluorescence microscopy and fluorescent probes provides a comprehensive, accurate, objective, and rapid analysis of the ejaculate. In a short time frame it allows us to test thousands of sperm for their structure and properties, even with a minimal amount of semen. This method enables the evaluation of several indicators simultaneously in a population of sperm as a whole or for each sperm individually. It informs us about the selected indicators of sperm quality in the sample by examining the membrane integrity, DNA, mitochondria, acrosome, oxidative stress, and other properties. Flow cytometry has become an important method of evaluating the functional and morphological properties of sperm and is used for research in veterinary science as well as for a routine assessment of the semen quality.


The physical interaction between GTPase-activating protein (GAP) and lipids has been characterized by two separate analyses. First, bacterially synthesized GAP molecules were found to associate with detergent-mixed micelles containing arachidonic but not with those containing arachidic acid. This association was detected by a faster elution time during molecular exclusion chromatography. Second, GAP molecules within a crude cellular lysate were specifically retained by a column on which certain lipids had been immobilized. The lipids able to retain GAP on such columns were identical to those which were shown previously to be most active in blocking GAP activity. The association between lipids and GAP was dependent upon magnesium ions. Lipids unable to inhibit GAP activity were also unable to physically associate with GAP. The tight association of GAP with these lipids was predicted by and helps to rationalize their ability to inhibit GAP activity.


A standardized solution of a vital dye which escapes with some difficulty from the lymphatics of the ear of the mouse has been utilized in tests of the permeability of the lymphatic wall under various conditions. It has been found that this permeability is subject to great change. The slight pressure that suffices to prevent lymph flow from the ear,—an organ in which such flow goes on normally,—soon results in increased permeability of the obstructed lymphatics without as yet any perceptible dilatation of these vessels. Mechanical stimulation as for example a stroke with a blunt wire, or scratching so light as not to break the epidermis, results in a practically immediate, great increase in lymphatic permeability, which is sharply localized to the region pressed upon. This increase in permeability, though so great that even hemoglobin is let pass by the lymphatics, endures but a few hours. Warming the ear to 43°C. or exposure to mild sunlight increases permeability considerably. Slight chemical irritation increases it greatly, though not so much that particulate matter is let pass. The edema developing as result of lymphatic obstruction or mechanical, thermal, or chemical stimulation is preceded by and associated with a large increase in lymphatic permeability. The facts are discussed in relation to their bearing upon fluid accumulation within the tissue. It is plain that influences within the realm of the normal suffice to increase lymphatic permeability and that those which lead to edema cause a very great increase in it. In proportion as this increase occurs the lymphatics cease to be channels demarcated by a semipermeable membrane. It seems certain that the changes must be in some part responsible for the local accumulation of fluid. There exist possibilities, on the other hand, of a correlation between the functionings of the blood and lymph vessels under certain pathological conditions, as during the resorption of edema.


The model of production decision making for the expected utility maximizing firm under output price uncertainty is applied to a panel Pennsylvania dairy operators. The model generalized duality implemented in this paper has the advantage of generating a system of supply and variable factor demand functions that consistently account for the presence of output price risk. The application to Pennsylvania dairy operators indicates that output price risk measured by the second and third moments of individual operators' historical output price series is not an important factor in production decision making. In addition to not maximizing expected utility, these operators are not expected profit maximizers.


The current transition of electrical power systems toward smart grids is encompassing a fundamental change in their structure, as well as operation. This is setting the path to be followed by the hardware and software embedded in electrical power systems, as well as technology adaptation to the "open-source" customers' needs and consumption patterns. This chapter is following the evolution of energy sector, accompanied by constant improvements of technology, which is providing increasingly complex hardware, which embeds power quality improvement devices, for an efficient operation of electrical power assets. This chapter presents a comprehensive survey of continuous advances of renewable energy sources and storage technology which have started the transformation of end users into energy-efficient and clean prosumers, underlining the subsequent energy markets support of peer-to-peer energy trading through novel technologies as blockchain.


The impact of human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) on individuals, communities and organisations is a major bone of resentment the world over. Human capital planning (HCP) focuses on helping managers set the direction for an organisation in regard to its future. Human Resources needs but lamentably this is made difficult because of the HIV/AIDS pandemic which among other devastating effects is short life expectancy which leads to high turnover within organisations. To reduce this catastrophe, a collaborative effort has been made by International organisations, the government and the private sector to provide measures to fight the impact of HIV/AIDS. These measures have been largely effective and include initiatives such as obtaining. Political support by leaders, engaging multiple economic sectors, educating the youth on HIV/AIDS, fighting stigmatization, enhancing poverty and improving free counselling interventions just but to mention a few. The achievements brought by these measures to date in Zimbabwe include reduction of workplace discrimination against HIV/AIDS infected people, formation of the National AIDS Control Programme by the Ministry of Health in 1987 and implementation of a mandatory 3% AIDS levy to support HIV prevention.


The clinical and physiological responses to disodium cromoglycate have been examined in 77 children with asthma. Those in whom definite clinical benefit was observed were the highly labile (Group 2) subjects with normal or near normal ventilatory function between attacks. 60% of these responded well and since they constitute 80% of children with asthma who attend hospital, approximately half of those children may be expected to benefit. The response in the severe (Group 3) asthmatics, with impairment of function between attacks, was poor, only one-quarter deriving benefit. Disodium cromoglycate is not indicated in mild (Group 1) asthma. Disodium cromoglycate is a valuable drug in the treatment of childhood asthma in suitably selected subjects. No important side-effects or tissue reactions have been observed.


Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare cancer with limited effective treatment options and poor prognosis. ACC incidence is 1 to 2 cases per million making randomized clinical trials difficult to conduct. The current standard first line treatment for metastatic ACC showing tumor response and improved progression free survival (PFS) is etoposide-doxorubicin-cisplatin (EDP) plus mitotane. Multiple efforts to find a targeted treatment for ACC have not shown impressive responses. Immunotherapy agents such as checkpoint inhibitors programmed cell death – 1 receptor (PD-1) and programmed cell deathligand 1 have shown significant responses in multiple malignancies including melanoma, non-small-cell-lung cancer, Hodgkin's lymphoma to name a few. We present a case of a female patient with metastatic ACC involving the lungs, lymph nodes, and liver who progressed after EDP-mitotane, then had a significant decrease in tumor burden with anti-PD-1 agent pembrolizuamb.


Scattered eastward off the southern tip of Florida and bounding the northern shore of the Caribbean Sea is a chain of 4 islands composing the greater Antilles, Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico. Jet flying time from Miami to Kingston in Jamaica is just over an hour. For the casual visitor, the tropical island of Jamaica promises a carefree holiday of sun, rum, and perpetual calypso. Yet behind the smiles of the natives in attendance there is a reconstructive surgical challenge to be found that is indeed horrendous. For an understanding of these people and their deformities, a glance at the history of this island is essential. Jaymaca, "Island of Springs" Christopher Columbus in the spring of 1494 first sighted the Island of Jamaica. The Spaniards that followed Columbus were fortune hunters lusting for gold. Finding this floral island with little to plunder, some remained as settlers, enslaving the aboriginal


ABSTRACT Conservativism has gained significant influence on education-policy making and debates about education in many Anglophone countries. While conservative educational governments have advanced some neoliberal governance trends, they have also introduced characteristic neoconservative education elements, notably in the area of curricular content. This article focuses on the impact of conservative ideology on curriculum and assessment policies in English secondary education and specifically explores schools' first reactions to the introduction of a policy initiative that is emblematic of neoconservatism, the English Baccalaureate. The empirical discussion relies on a mixed methods study on the reception of the latest assessment and curriculum policies in English secondary schools. The findings suggest that the current reforms are transforming school subject hierarchies, resource allocation across subjects, and what counts as knowledge in English secondary schools, and introducing a new culture of subject—and by implication, teacher and student—'worth'.


Jesus and the Ethics of the Kingdom, by Bruce Chilton and J. I. H. McDonald (SPCK [1987], £7.95, pp. 148, ISBN 0-281-04305-1) is the second volume in the series 'Biblical Foundations in Theology'. For these authors, a key motif in understanding Jesus's teaching about the kingdom is that of performance. The kingdom is 'a single magnet with two poles. At one end is the divine performance of the Kingdom, an inceptive reality which attracts hope. At the other end is human performance, an enacted response which itself elicits action' (p. 24). The parables are described


With recent developments in wireless networks field and in sensing technology, new and innovative medical applications based on the wireless sensor networks (WSN) technology are being developed in the research lab or commercial sectors. The key problem of WSN based application in the medical and health care domain is to get the message with the bounded delays and/or real-time data such as the signal of falls, the alarm of heart attacks traversed to the cluster at where the emergence unit located while delivering the steady flows of data with a certain level of Quality of Service (QoS). In this paper, we address this problem by proposing to use a periodic scheduling-Time Division Cluster Schedule (TDCS), to avoid the flow collision while meeting the end-to-end delay deadlines. The proposed scheduling mechanism has been studied on simulated Wireless sensor networks with a cluster tree topology on which the OPEN-ZB simulation model is adopted. The preliminary results shown that it is feasible to guarantee the real time medical data delivered on time over the low data rate wireless sensor networks when deployed at medical and/or health care domain, under the governance of the TDCS mechanism.


Hypocalcemia is seen in patients with leukemia and is usually due to renal impairment or to low serum albumin concentrations. Four patients are reported who had hypocalcemia but without these usual explanations. One patient had chronic lymphatic leukemia and overwhelming infections which led to death. The other three patients had chronic myelogenous leukemia in an accelerated phase of the disease characterized by increasing blast cells in circulation, massive hepatosplenomegaly, and myelofibrosis. The cause of the hypocclcemia is unknown.


Some contemporary writings in Kannada are evocative testimonies to the complexities of life in India. Yet, they remain marginal and have not been incorporated into the English Sociological or anthropological discussionson either regional or Indian society and culture. As social commentaries, several Kannada writings highlight the complexities and contradictions of societies and combine cultural criticism and sociological reflexivity. Drawing on multiple sources such as folk and oral traditions, personal experiences and observations, and even classical literature, the essays in this book bridge the gap between representations of oral and literary sources. Many of the essays encapsulate the experiences and voices of a range of persons, and represent issues, trends, events and processes that remain under-represented in English-language social science writings on India


A theory for error detection in linear digital state variable systems is described. With the aid of a tool called the gain matrix, it is shown that the effect of error propagation along different paths of the circuit can be analyzed. For circuits with operator fanout, it is shown that despite the fact that single faulty operators cause multiple state variables to be erroneous, no more additional check variables are required than for circuits without operator fanout. It is further shown that hardware optimization can be performed by sharing hardware functions between the original state variable system and its error detection circuitry. The analysis is performed for both single and multiple faulty operators. A scheme for error correction that performs error correction in real time is proposed. Experimental results that illustrate the practical viability of the proposed scheme are discussed. >


Arius dussumieri was landed by a Karli dol netter from a single haul from a depth of 24-
26 m at a distance of 40-50 km toward Gujarat. Karli dol is a fixed floating bag net, which is used by artisanal fishermen at Bassein Koliwada for catching pomfrets. The operation of this net is restricted to a depth of about 24-36 m.


Shock tube experiments were performed to investigate the blast response of corrugated steel cellular core sandwich panels filled with a silicone based syntactic foam at room and high temperatures. The syntactic foam filler was prepared by mixing a two-part silicone mixture with glass microspheres; its microstructure, and mechanical properties were also characterized. The syntactic foam-filled sandwich panels were loaded via air shock pressure by using the shock tube with a fixture capable of testing materials at temperatures up to 900℃. High-speed photo-optical methods, digital image correlation techniques, were used in tandem with optical band-pass filters and high intensity light sources for providing sufficient contrast at elevated temperatures. Back-face deformation images were captured using two synchronized high-speed cameras while a third camera captured the side view deformation images. The shock pressure profiles and digital image correlation analysis were used to obtain the impulse imparted to the specimen, transient deflection, in-plane strain and out-of-plane velocity of the back-face sheet. It was observed that using the syntactic foam as a filler material decreased the front face and back face deflections by 42% and 27%, respectively, as compared to the empty sandwich panel. At high temperatures, the silicone-based syntactic foam decomposes into silica, a stable and non-hazardous byproduct. The highest impulse was imparted to the specimen at room temperature and subsequently lower impulses with increasing temperatures were observed. Due to the increased ductility of steel at high temperatures, the specimens demonstrated an increase in back face deflection, in-plane strain and out-of-plane velocity with increased temperatures, with weld failure being the primary form of core damage.


The Escherichia coli Umu proteins play critical roles in damage-inducible SOS mutagenesis. To avoid any gratuitous mutagenesis, the activity of the Umu proteins is normally kept to a minimum by tight transcriptional and posttranslational regulation. We have, however, previously observed that compared with an isogenic recA+ strain, the steady-state levels of the Umu proteins are elevated in a recA730 background (R. Woodgate and D. G. Ennis, Mol. Gen. Genet. 229:10-16, 1991). We have investigated this phenomenon further and find that another coprotease-constitutive (recA*) mutant, a recA432 strain, exhibits a similar phenotype. Analysis revealed that the increased steady-state levels of the Umu proteins in the recA* strains do indeed reflect an in vivo stabilization of the proteins. We have investigated the basis for the phenomenon and find that the mutant RecA* protein stabilizes the Umu proteins by not only converting the labile UmuD protein to the much more stable (and mutagenically active) UmuD' protein but by directly stabilizing UmuD' itself. In contrast, UmuC does not appear to be directly stabilized by RecA* but is instead dramatically stabilized in the presence of UmuD'. On the basis of these observations, we suggest that formation of a UmuD'C-RecA*-DNA quaternary complex protects the UmuD'C proteins from proteolytic degradation and as a consequence helps to promote the switch from error-free to error-prone mechanisms of DNA repair.


In this paper a control algorithm for the efficiency improvement of permanent magnet synchronous generators (PMSG) is presented. The proposed algorithm reduces the losses of the generator without affecting its performances. In details, after a description of a dynamic model of the PMSG, which has been purposely modified in order to take into account the iron losses, the basic equations and the constraints to obtain the loss minimization are presented and discussed. Some simulations of a specific PMSG employing the proposed algorithm are performed. The results of these simulations show that enhancement of the efficiency up to 3% can be reached in comparison to a PMSG using a traditional control strategy.


Abstract Objective To assess the impact of the complex survey design used in the 2007 Australian National Children's Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey (ANCNPAS07) on prevalence estimates for intakes of groups of foods in the population of children. Design The impacts on prevalence estimates were determined by calculating design effects for values for food group consumption. The implications of ignoring elements of the sample design including stratification, clustering and weighting are discussed. Setting The ANCNPAS07 used a complex sample design involving stratification, a high degree of clustering and estimation weights. Subjects Australian children aged 2–16 years. Results Design effects ranging from <1 to 5 were found for the values of mean consumption and proportion of the population consuming the food groups. When survey weights were ignored, prevalence estimates were also biased. Conclusions Ignoring the complex survey design used in the ANCNPAS07 could result in underestimating the width of confidence intervals, higher mean square errors and biased estimators. The magnitude of these effects depends on both the parameter under consideration and the chosen estimator.


This panoramic survey provides a first point of entry into the fascinating richness and complexity of the Jewish philosophical, theological and Kabbalistic tradition. Beginning in the first century with the Hellenistic philosopher Philo, Fifty Key Jewish Thinkers traces the major intellectual events of the last two thousand years, including the growth of Medieval Jewish philosophy, the early modern mystics, the radicals, the Hasidic leaders, the Enlightenment and secular and religious Zionism. From Maimonides to Martin Buber, and from Baruch Spinoza to Elie Wiesel, this volume carries the standard found in Fifty Key Contemporary Thinkers (Routledge, 1994) and is ideally suited for anyone interested in Jewish thought or history.


In this paper, we introduce the concept of wsa-supplements and investigate the objects of the class of short exact sequences determined by wsa-supplement submodules, where a submodule U of a module M is called a wsa-supplement in M if there is a submodule V of M with U+V=M and U∩V is weakly semiartinian. We prove that a module M is weakly semiartinian if and only if every submodule of M is a wsa-supplement in M. We introduce CC-rings as a generalization of C-rings and show that a ring is a right CC-ring if and only if every singular right module has a crumbling submodule. The class of all short exact sequences determined by wsa-supplement submodules is shown to be a proper class which is both injectively and co-injectively generated. We investigate the homological objects of this proper class along with its relation to CC-rings.


This integrative review synthesized relevant studies in the last decade associated to nurses' experience with the electronic health record using Robert and Lesage's dimensions of User Experience: functional, physical, perceptual, cognitive, psychological, and social. A comprehensive search was conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidance across four electronic databases. We included articles if they were specific to nurses' electronic health record experience and workflow, published between January 2008 and June 2018, and available in English. The search resulted in 793 records with 26 articles included in the final analysis. Articles ranged from quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods, and quality improvement studies. Across studies, the suboptimal design of the electronic health record affected the functional experience of nurses, often resulting in interruptions. The navigational design contributed to nurses' perceptual experience leading to many workarounds and workflow mismatches. Most of the studies reported overall satisfaction with the electronic health record that represented the psychological dimension of nurses' experience. Communication barriers due to the use of the electronic health record prevented nurses from having meaningful interaction with other clinicians and patients. Although nurses reported substandard user experience, many stated that reverting to a linear paper-based system was not an option.


Traps of the carnivorous hydrophyte Utricularia vulgaris Linnaeus (Lentibulariaceae) have structures termed antennae and bristles around their trapdoors that increase their rate of entrapment of the substrate-dwelling prey Chydorus sphaericus (Chydoridae, Crustacea). The kind and number of these structures are important in determining capture rate. Experimental data and corresponding behavioral observations support Darwin's hypothesis that antennae and bristles function as a "funnel" leading potential prey toward the trapdoor and their capture by offering the prey a favorable substrate that exploits their natural locomotor and feeding behavior.


The writings of ethnographer Sergej Sergel after his travels in Finnmark, Norway, and Finland (1907–1908) deserve more attention among western scholars. Coming from the professional ethnographic chair of learning in St. Petersburg, he gave fresh, thorough, and humane insights into the various ways the Sami adapted to their harsh environment. He had not chosen to go west in order to find the original Sami culture, but was sent there and solved his commission by using a variety of methods to describe the differences between especially the Sea Sami and their nomadic coethnics. This article aims to compare his pictures, report, and book with complementary source material in order to exercise source criticism and put his findings into context.


An expert strength and conditioning coach can be an important component of a sports performance and medicine staff that will train their athletes to help them become more resilient to injury. Previous research in a variety of sports has shown that teams with players that have fewer games missed due to injury have achieved greater success. The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship exists between games missed due to injury by offensive and defensive starters on National Football League (NFL) rosters and a NFL team's ability to win during the 2010-19 NFL seasons. A Spearman rank-order correlation analysis set at (p ≤ 0.01) level of significance indicated that fewer games missed by starters in the NFL is correlated with multiple variables associated with winning such as games won per season and playoff appearances. These results were obtained after analyzing all 32 NFL teams from the 2010-19 seasons. Descriptive statistics were also used to further analyze the data set and found that teams ranked in the top-five in terms of fewest injuries outperformed the remainder of the teams in the NFL according to multiple variables associated with winning. The data in this study supports that NFL organizations should look to reduce the games missed due to injury of their athletes, which may be accomplished through hiring expert sports performance and medicine staff members, such as a strength and conditioning. hire an expert strength and conditioning coach capable of reducing the risk of athletes getting injured in order to increase their team's chances of winning.


Grim national statistics about the U.S. opioid crisis are increasingly well known to the American public. Far less well known is that U.S. war veterans are at ground zero of the epidemic, facing an overdose rate twice that of civilians. Post-9/11 deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq have exposed servicemembers to injury-related chronic pain, psychological trauma, and cheap opium supplies, each of which may fuel opioid addiction. This study is the first to estimate the causal impact of combat deployments in the Global War on Terrorism on opioid abuse. We exploit a natural experiment in overseas deployment assignments and find that combat service substantially increased the risk of prescription painkiller abuse and illicit heroin use among active duty servicemen. War-related physical injuries, death-related battlefield trauma, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder emerge as primary mechanisms. The magnitudes of our estimates imply lower-bound combat exposure-induced health care costs of $1.04 billion per year for prescription painkiller abuse and $470 million per year for heroin use.


Salmonella strains have been actively studied as live carriers of heterologous antigens for a possible vaccine application. Especially, Salmonella Typhimurium , a facultative anaer-obe, has been adapted as an antitumor agent capable of preferentially proliferating within tumors and inhibiting their growth. To enhance the cancer therapeutic efficacy of S. Typhimurium , combinations of gene-directed protein or microRNA therapies and auxotrophic strains of S. Typhimurium have been generated by genetic engineering. Until now, the idea of using bacteria including Salmonella in the treatments of cancer and other diseases has been considered a novel approach. Here, we describe this application based on Salmonella engineering for treatments of cancer or atopic dermatitis.


From 1945 to 2000, the extent of Paraguay's Atlantic Forest was reduced from 73,000 to 12,000 square kilometers. Deforestation rates were exceptionally high from the late 1960s through to the end of the century. During this period, dual agricultural frontiers pushed into the region from both east and west, resulting in a production landscape defined by two principal commodities: soybeans and cotton. This article considers the expansion and contraction of these industries and addresses their impacts on the region's forest cover. Findings suggest that the role of cotton and smallholder agriculture has been greatly diminished as a driver of land cover change in the region since 1990. High rates of forest loss were sustained, however, partly as a result of continued pressure for agricultural expansion for soy production.


he major purpose of this project was to assess and review the principal role of ICT in supplementing the General Quality Improvement program (GEQIP) in Western Harerghe, Ethiopia. The project also further analyzed the contribution of Information Communication Technology (ICT) to the indicators of GEQIP like quality, equity, access and internal efficiency. Challenges and prospects in ICT adoption to educational system was also area of focus in the project. Enabling Policy conditions availability in the GEQIP document to implement ICT for educational quality improvement was also assessed. To investigate the above issue, relevant data were collected from secondary data sources like previous studies, journals, government reports websites, books and other related were used. From the history and philosophical ground of education and its aids in the country, if it is applied properly, ICTs have a positive impact on attaining GEQIP target in the Western Hararghe, Ethiopia. The status of GEQIP implementations supported by ICT in the area in relation to regional wise was pointed out in some parameters. The SWOT analysis of ICT application was briefed in relation to the area. Especially, the key challenges in ICT adoption to supplement GEQIP target was listed like infrastructure, capacity building, language and contents, cost effectiveness and sustainability. Finally, the project concluded that ICTs have a great role and relevance to GEQIP target. However, the ICT materials like plasma-TV, internet laboratory, computers and specialized libraries for ICT lessons are not available or insignificant to students' number and need. The institutional readiness in capacity building and skilled manpower is also not promising currently in relation to high skill gap in the project site. It recommends that filling the skill gap both in technical and political commitment, Stakeholders' involvement and capacitating ICT with fund. It also recommends that the policy makers should revise the ICT lesson in the educational system.


Immunoglobulin K genes are constructed during lymphocyte differentiation by the joining of two DNA elements, VK and JK, to form both a VKJK coding unit and a reciprocal recombination product. The two products formed in single VK-to-JK joining events can be directly isolated through the use of a retrovirally introduced recombination substrate. The structural analysis of a number of recombinants and the derivation of secondary recombination products define some of the basic features of the mechanism of immunoglobulin gene assembly.


The aim of this project was to examine the roles of working memory capacity, depressive symptoms, and rumination (state and trait) in inhibitory difficulties with self-relevant emotional words following a rumination/distraction manipulation using the negative affective priming cognitive task. It was hypothesized that brooding would predict inhibitory difficulties with negative rather than positive self-relevant words in a non-clinical undergraduate sample (N = 148). Additionally, it was proposed that state rumination would play a mediating role in the relationship between brooding and inhibitory difficulties with emotional words, a relationship that would be further moderated by working memory capacity. Though brooding marginally predicted negative bias scores using multiple regression, this valence-specific finding was not confirmed with multi-level statistical analysis. Results failed to support the proposed moderated meditational model, a finding that may be impacted by restricted range of dysphoric affect in the sample. However, results from linear regression indicated that brooding predicted state rumination regardless of condition.


Over the last three decades, a large number of evolutionary algorithms have been developed for solving multi-objective optimization problems. However, there lacks an upto-date and comprehensive software platform for researchers to properly benchmark existing algorithms and for practitioners to apply selected algorithms to solve their real-world problems. The demand of such a common tool becomes even more urgent, when the source code of many proposed algorithms has not been made publicly available. To address these issues, we have developed a MATLAB platform for evolutionary multi-objective optimization in this paper, called PlatEMO, which includes more than 50 multiobjective evolutionary algorithms and more than 100 multi-objective test problems, along with several widely used performance indicators. With a user-friendly graphical user interface, PlatEMO enables users to easily compare several evolutionary algorithms at one time and collect statistical results in Excel or LaTeX files. More importantly, PlatEMO is completely open source, such that users are able to develop new algorithms on the basis of it. This paper introduces the main features of PlatEMO and illustrates how to use it for performing comparative experiments, embedding new algorithms, creating new test problems, and developing performance indicators. Source code of PlatEMO is now available at: http://bimk.ahu.edu.cn/index.php?s=/Index/Software/index.html.


"Augmented reality (AR),Mixed Reality (MR) and their mix and combination with other disruptive technologies offer an enormous potential for supporting instructors and trainees in modern education and working environments such as of aircraft maintenance technicians or automotive service technicians. In this paper we investigate and show some examples on how the performance and training of such instructors and trainees can be actively supported. Furthermore we will discuss the new challenges for training designers. The augmentation of the physical world with interactive, context-aware information (e.g. 2D and 3D content) provides multifaceted possibilities, on various ubiquitous and pervasive computing environments. While there is still the broad opinion that these concepts are just situated in the world of science fiction (SciFi) and SciFi movies, we will relate these techniques to existing technologies and prototypes in research. Terms like outernet, print + or 2.0, augmented goggles, wearable technology are not just remaining pure buzzwords anymore. We will demonstrate how different prototypes applying low cost rapid prototyping methods can be applied as powerful performance assistance and training support instruments, whereby discussing the requirements and user-needs analysis phases as well as human–computer interaction and interaction design issues, user modelling, usability engineering, prototyping and evaluation issues. Different scenarios are possible and provide the basis to generate storyboards. One of the key factors is hereby to analyse typical tasks and activities of users and utilize familiar user interaction paradigms for accessing information, such as using a book or assisting the work with task sheets. For example by augmenting the material that is printed in the book with additional graphical 3D interactive information which can be viewed and manipulated by the instructor and/or trainee, one can provide a link between traditional learning and technology-enhanced learning. Basing on theoretical and empirical research it is possible then to design via first moodboards and scribbles relevant prototypes. A qualitative and quantitative analysis can be used to define a basic design process for such new environments and settings. Moreover, MR and AR along with Mobile Tagging (MT) combined with Pervasive Computing provide the possibility to realize a Physical World Connection (PWC) between Reality and Virtuality. In the field of aviation and automotive industry, this offers manifold possibilities for maintenance and service personnel to get access to assistive technologies in a very intuitive way to enhance their operation, work, training, and knowledge. Assistance for the large variety of job tasks can be provided to a certain extent by offering augmentation of the different senses like vision and audition, providing a media-rich interface. Although the roots of Mixed Reality and Augmented Reality are based on prototype applications in the aircraft industry in the early 1990s, the impact of these emerging technologies on special target groups has not yet been investigated and validated by many research groups. With a specific focus on these user communities, applications are considerably more influenced by both usefulness and usability of technology. Consequently, it is argued that key issues in developing such applications are the tracking methodology, the display technology, interaction (devices and framework) and most of all ensuring good usability. In this paper, a concrete example in a aviation and automotive environment will be presented as a case study for investigating and validating these key issues. Preliminary results of semi-structured interviews and observations in real training and work settings indicate a lack of information concerning existence of such technologies and environments, but show big interest and potential for such educational and workplace innovations, while concrete visions or user requirements for future augmented education environments remain open and are subject of our further research steps.


Since the third international conference on Financing for Development in Addis Ababa (July 2015) and the proclamation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs, September 2015), the aid industry has a new mantra: "From Billions to Trillions" , and Blended Finance is declared to be the outspoken path to get there. The catalytic use of Belgian Development cooperation towards the private sector and an SDG engagement of the private sector requires a comprehensive Blended Finance policy. This paper wants to contribute to such a policy, by clarifying concepts, giving some necessary theoretic background, giving an overview of the state of global Blended Finance and situate Blended Finance in the Belgian and European context...


Development of dual-mode or multi-mode imaging contrast agents is important for accurate and self-confirmatory diagnosis of cancer. We report a new multifunctional, dendrimer-based gold nanoparticle (AuNP) as a dual-modality contrast agent for magnetic resonance (MR)/computed tomography (CT) imaging of breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. In this study, amine-terminated generation 5 poly(amidoamine) dendrimers modified with gadolinium chelate (DOTA-NHS) and polyethylene glycol monomethyl ether were used as templates to synthesize AuNPs, followed by Gd(III) chelation and acetylation of the remaining dendrimer terminal amine groups; multifunctional dendrimer-entrapped AuNPs (Gd-Au DENPs) were formed. The formed Gd-Au DENPs were used for both in vitro and in vivo MR/CT imaging of human MCF-7 cancer cells. Both MR and CT images demonstrate that MCF-7 cells and the xenograft tumor model can be effectively imaged. The Gd-Au DENPs uptake, mainly in the cell cytoplasm, was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. The cell cytotoxicity assay, cell morphology observation, and flow cytometry show that the developed Gd-Au DENPs have good biocompatibility in the given concentration range. Our results clearly suggest that the synthetic Gd-Au DENPs are amenable for dual-modality MR/CT imaging of breast cancer cells.


We assessed the hormonal status of adult female volunteers before and during a 3-wk period of weight gain induced by mixed diet overfeeding. Forty-six percent of the 4.3-kg average weight gain experienced by these subjects consisted of lean body mass (LBM) and it is of interest that there were also increases in plasma Somatomedin-C/Insulin-like Growth Factor (SM-C/IGF-1) and testosterone concentrations as well as insulin. We suggest that it was the combined anabolic effect of these three hormones that facilitated the increase in LBM. Of the other assays done, increases were recorded for urinary 17-ketosteroids, 17-hydroxysteroids, epinephrine, and creatinine, whereas there were no changes in serum cortisol or triiodothyronine (T3), or urine norepinephrine; serum thyroxine (T4) fell slightly. Thus it appears that energy surfeit as well as energy deficit (reported by others) has an effect on blood hormone concentrations.


In this paper, the authors analyze the Condominios as economic associations adapted to the characteristics of family agriculture in the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina. Firstly, they analyze the process of modernization of Brazilian agriculture that took place in the 1960s and 1970s under the military governments, giving special attention to the selective and exclusive effects this process had on small farmers. Within the framework of this process, they then go on to study the development of cooperativism and demonstrate how the consolidation of macro-cooperative models reflected the interests and characteristics of modernized, export-oriented agriculture. Thirdly, they analyze the origins and development of Condominios as an alternative to the large agricultural cooperatives in the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina. Finally, the authors discuss these models of association, which are adapted to the characteristics of small farms and place them in the context of the old Chayanov's views on the family agriculture and the peasantry.


Dynamic capacity is totally different from quasi-static capacity of ship structural components, although most ultimate strength analyses at present by researchers are performed under quasi-static conditions. To investigate the dynamic ultimate strength characteristics, the dynamic ultimate strength analyses of stiffened plates subjected to impact load were studied based on a 3-D nonlinear explicit finite element method (FEM) in this paper. The impact load in the present work is characterized as a half-sine function. A series of nonlinear finite element analyses are carried out using Budiansky-Roth (B-R) criterion. The influence of impact durations, model ranges, boundary conditions, initial imperfections and impact loads on the dynamic ultimate strength of stiffened plates are discussed. In addition, the ultimate strength of stiffened plates under the in-plane impact combined with lateral pressure was also calculated, which shows lateral pressure has a negligible effect on the dynamic ultimate strength of stiffened plates subjected to the impact load with short durations. Other important conclusions can be obtained from this paper, which are useful insights for the development of ultimate strength theory of ship structures and lay a good foundation for the study of dynamic ultimate strength in the future.


The emergence of Government Regulation No. 41 of 2007 about the organization Regional device provides a new spirit for the region to establish the organizational structure according to the needs. This regulation provides for the freedom to determine their own structure. Thus local government really can be more flexible in determining the organizational structure according to the needs of each region. However, analysis show organizational structure formed in Banyumas and Pubalingga  added even more local government  budgets.  Local government performance is not better in serving the public as users of services.  Because the existing structure instead many became major problems in the organization to the exclusion of performance. Actually Banyumas and Purbalingga has developed an organizational structure  in accordance with Regulation  No. 41 of 2007. But in translating these rules have some differences. Among them are related to the establishment of priorities, grouping and certain institutions such as agricultural extension agencies, sports agencies and community development office. In general, the issue of successful visits of the two structures is overlap each other instead of duty or have a business or a job that is not contained in the structure. This causes the existing structure has a workload that  is not evenly distributed within the organization. Besides the preparation of organizational structure  is still impressed by the political arena alone. Local governments need more innovative and creative  in exploiting opportunities discretion.  It is necessary to create organizational structure become more efficient and effective  in accordance  with regional needs and capabilities.


With the advent of the V type engine, a new method to measure the clearance volume in cylinders was needed. It was suggested that this measurement could be made by a process which consisted essentially of simultaneously changing both a known and unknown volume of gas by a known amount and then calculating the magnitude of the unknown from the resulting difference in pressure between the two. An instrument based on this design is described.


The Activities on the highway that involve vehicles often have congestion problems due to the tightening of the quantity of vehicles on the highway. In addition, there are also problems of order and violations, the use of improper routes, such as vehicles entering the lane that are not intended for the vehicle. Therefore, researchers designed a vehicle detection application in real time based on Android using the YOLO method (You Only Look Once). The analysis carried out using 200 datasets, 4 classes, 10 batches, and 200 epochs. The training process was carried out up to 4000 steps, and the storage of checkpoints to the form of file protob was done at steps 800, 1000, 1200, 1400, 1600, 1800, 2000, 3000, and 4000. Bounding boxes successfully detected and classified objects correctly. This test is done using a Xiaomi Redmi 4X smartphone with a video resolution measuring 768x432 pixels.


The existence of the celestial bodies is known due to the light they emit. But light is a small part of a bigger phenomenon known as electromagnetic radiation. The representation of all kinds of electromagnetic radiation as a function of its frequency is called the electromagnetic spectrum. If we only studied the visible part of the spectrum, we would ignore a great deal of information. The celestial bodies emit radiation in all the regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, with very different intensity. To capture these data, astronomers design new types of telescopes that capture radiation at different wavelengths, among them the radiotelescopes that, as the name indicates, detect radio waves. The radiotelescope can be compared to a regular radio set. A radio station sends information by means of radio waves. The radio set captures these waves by means of its antenna, processes it and reproduces the information (music, etc.) in audible form. In the field of radioastronomy, interesting observations can be carried out: radio emission from stars, nebulas, pulsars, distant galaxies and stars, radiogalaxies, the Milky Way, the Sun, Jupiter, etc.


It has been hypothesized that maturational processes within the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis and thymus are reciprocally regulated via neural pathways. To test this hypothesis, in the thymi of adult rats orchidectomized (ORX) at age of 1 (ORX-1), 7 (ORX-7) and 30 days (ORX-30): (i) noradrenaline (NA), dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5-HT) contents and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity were measured and (ii) the distribution of monoamine- and AChE-containing nerves and cells was examined by a sucrose phosphate glyoxylic acid (SPG) method and enzyme histochemistry, respectively. In all groups of ORX rats, the thymus weight was significantly increased over that in sham-ORX control rats. In the ORX-1 rats, the increase in the thymus weight was accompanied by a proportional increase in the content of both catecholamines and 5-HT; consequently the concentration of each of them remained unaltered. In these animals, the density of both SPG-stained thymus nerve fibers and cells also remained unchanged. In the ORX-7 rats, the rise in the thymus weight was followed by a proportional increase in the content of all monoamines, except for NA which was reduced. Therefore, in these rats neither the thymus concentrations of DA nor that of 5-HT differed from controls, while the concentration of NA was significantly decreased. The reduction in both NA content and concentration reflected a diminished density of SPG-positive nerve profiles. In the ORX-30 rats, the increase in thymus weight was neither paralleled by a proportional increase in the DA content nor in 5-HT, while the content of NA was decreased. Thus, in their thymi the concentration of both NA and DA, as well as that of 5-HT, were significantly reduced. In parallel with these changes, a decreased density of thymic SPG-positive nerve fibers and cells was found. In all ORX rats, the pattern of intrathymic distribution of SPG-positive fibers and cells remained unchanged. Orchidectomy affected neither the activity of AChE (expressed per gram of tissue) nor the density of AChE-positive nerves and cells in the thymus. As the changes in the density of adrenergic nerve fibers in the thymus from ORX rats were not followed by similar alterations in the density of AChE-containing nerve fibers, it does not seem likely that NA and AChE are colocalized in the thymus nerve fibers. The results also suggest that there is a critical period during ontogenesis when changes within the HPG axis evoked by orchidectomy can affect the sympathetic nerve input to the rat thymus and therefore, most likely, development and function of the organ.


A quantitative understanding of the thermodynamics of biochemical reactions is essential for accurately modeling metabolism. The group contribution method (GCM) is one of the most widely used approaches to estimating standard Gibbs energies and redox potentials of reactions for which no experimental measurements are available. Previous work has shown that quantum chemical predictions of biochemical thermodynamics are a promising approach to overcome the limitations of GCM. However, the quantum chemistry approach is significantly more expensive. Here we use a combination of quantum chemistry and machine learning to obtain a fast and accurate method for predicting the thermodynamics of biochemical redox reactions. We focus on predicting the redox potentials of carbonyl functional group reductions to alcohols and amines, one of the most ubiquitous carbon redox transformations in biology. The method relies on semi-empirical calculations calibrated with Gaussian Process (GP) regression against available experimental data. Our approach results in higher predictive power than the GCM. We demonstrate the high-throughput applicability of the method by predicting the standard potentials of more than 315,000 redox reactions involving ∼70,000 compounds, obtained with a network expansion algorithm that iteratively reduces and oxidizes a set of natural seed metabolites. We provide open access to all source code and data generated.


The paradigmatic defendant in a patent lawsuit is a vertically integrated manufacturer. But much economic activity is conducted collaboratively by a supply chain of vertically disintegrated firms, and sometimes multiple firms are implicated in infringing activities, by making, selling, or using patented technology, or by contributing to or inducing another firm's infringement. Often patent owners have the option of suing some or all of the members of a supply chain who contribute to the design, creation and marketing of a new technology.
Businesses increasingly contemplate the risk of patent infringement when they negotiate contractual relations to form a supply chain. Upstream and downstream firms recognize they may be jointly liable for patent infringement because of their relationship to each other and their connection to the new product. An interesting and difficult question is: how should they manage infringement risk to maximize their joint profit? Which firm should control litigation? Or should they plan for joint control? Should they share responsibility for damages and litigation expenses? If yes, what determines each party's share. This Article provides guidance regarding the choice of efficient terms in indemnification agreements that respond to two objectives: efficient risk management and effective bargaining against a patent-plaintiff.


Baby Boomers have left a unique imprint on US culture and society in the last 60 years, and it might be anticipated that they will also put their own stamp on retirement, the last phase of the life cycle. Yet because Boomers have not all fully retired, we cannot yet judge how they will fare as retirees. Instead, we focus on how this group compares with prior groups on the verge of retirement, that is, at ages 51-56. Accordingly, this chapter evaluates the stock of health which Early Boomers bring to retirement and compare these to the circumstances of two prior cohorts at the same point in their life cycles. Using three sets of responses from the Health and Retirement Study, we find some interesting patterns. Overall, the raw evidence indicates that Boomers on the verge of retirement are in poorer health their counterparts 12 years ago. Using a summary health index designed for this study, we find that those born 1948 to 1953 share health risks with the War Baby cohort. This suggests that most of the health decline instead began before the late 1940's. A more complex set of health conclusions emerges from the specific self-reported health measures. Boomers indicate they have relatively more difficulty with a range of everyday physical tasks, but they also report having more pain, more chronic conditions, more drinking and psychiatric problems, than their HRS earlier counterparts. This trend portends poorly for the future health of Boomers as they age and incur increasing costs associated with health care and medications. Using our health index, only those at the 75th percentile or higher are likely to be characterized as having good or better health.


This paper presents an efficient method for automatically annotating Arabic news stories with tags using Wikipedia. The idea of the system is to use Wikipedia article names, properties, and re-directs to build a pool of meaningful tags. Sophisticated and efficient matching methods are then used to detect text fragments in input news stories that correspond to entries in the constructed tag pool. Generated tags represent real life entities or concepts such as the names of popular places, known organizations, celebrities, etc. These tags can be used indirectly by a news site for indexing, clustering, classification, statistics generation or directly to give a news reader an overview of news story contents. Evaluation of the system has shown that the tags it generates are better than those generated by MSN Arabic news.


The revolution of the Internet in the late 1990s brought consumers together in unique and unprecedented ways. The evolution of the sharing economy in the early twenty-first century builds upon the Internet's revolution by connecting consumers and unused resources in a readily accessible and efficient manner.At the same time, the sharing economy puts new pressures on local governments in choosing how to respond to this evolution. One method of evaluating local government responses is through a paradigmatic example. In this Essay, that case study is Uber: a novel and unabashedly antagonistic transportation service that offers on-demand taxi access through a cell phone application. Uber is no stranger to starting fights — and winning. Uber has simultaneously fought the taxi industry, regulators, its rivals, and even its customers. Local governments should not be on the losing side of that laundry list. This Essay focuses on local government responses to Uber and the new sharing economy. Both Uber's impact on the taxi industry and municipal reactions provide insight into the larger question of how local governments respond to rapid advances in technology.