Uselessness in Reserve? An exploration of the laugh track, "media" and the frivolous

Dylan Cree, PhD
Concordia University, 2017

 Within contemporary media studies the notion uselessness is either under-examined or given short-play as representing quantifiable loss. Registered as material waste or as mechanical deficiency measured by what is useful that which is useless gets categorically parsed and dismissed as an irrelevant by-product of a medium's operations. However, by definition, uselessness resists being instrumentalized and assigned a knowable role. Furthermore, as the thesis argues, when considered materially, what is deemed useless to the optimal workings of a technological medium, whether wanted or not, surreptitiously impacts the reserve of procedures that delimit the workings of a media formation. Though the notion uselessness, as informed by Jacques Derrida's deconstruction of Etienne Bonnot de Condillac's account of the frivolous/uselessness, is paradoxical in kind and indeterminate in effect, the thesis proposes that uselessness is far more integral to media formations than contemporary discourse permit. Accordingly, media theorists need to foster other approaches that allow engaging such an aporia.
 For directly exploring uselessness in media, the laugh track holds promise as an instance in which a media formation makes useless its production. However, to examine the laugh track by how it may be illogically constituted – as opposed to conventional examinations of how the laugh track functions or serves broader interests – requires deployment of certain expansive methods and discursive tools. Accordingly, Siegfried Zielinski's media anarchaeology permits exploring the laugh track as its own paradoxical system. His approach helps to investigate the operational attributes that re-codify the laugh track's material registry as a redundant system of archivation, a uselessness in reserve. Ultimately, Zielinski's anarchic approach permits drawing radical implications beyond technological and communicative-governed formulations of media. The laugh track may be explored much like how Giorgio Agamben speculates about the gesture. For Agamben the gesture may be experienced as a "pure means" or an activity liberated from content and purpose dictated by apophantic principles. Accordingly, independently of means/end instrumentalist thinking the laugh track may be encountered by how it, integral to its mediatic operations, paradoxically maintains its productivity through a gesture – of never-ending archival actions – that renders its product useless.


This retrospective article presents the results of a pilot study on student perceptions of a corequisite model for devel- opmental writing. Qualitative survey data was collected at the beginning, middle, and end of Fall 2013 at a large public university in central Texas. A total of 21 students participated in this study. Eleven students who were near the cut-off for the placement exam were enrolled in a first-semester composition course with other students who placed directly into first-semester composition. These 11 students also agreed to meet outside of the composition classroom at a set time for the corequisite course. Another ten students who were near the cut-off for the placement exam were placed in a tra- ditional 16-week developmental writing course that served as a control. Responses were analyzed using coding practices outlined by Saldaña (2009), including initial coding, categorizing, and theming. Themes that emerged in the responses of students enrolled in the traditional 16-week developmental writing course included the following: (a) this course is pointless/a waste, (b) mismatch between placement and self-perception, and (c) transferability. Themes that emerged in the responses of students enrolled in the corequisite model included the following: (a) a lot is riding on success in the corequisite composition course, (b) unsure/nervous about expectations, and (c) improved self-efficacy at the end of the course. The major implication of this study is the importance of including student voices in the implementation of models for developmental education.


This volume focuses on the topics in data collection, analysis, and use that were raised in its companion book, Project Monitoring and Evaluation in Agriculture. It summarizes these topics in the context set by the companion volume, which documented the importance of monitoring and recommended that ambitious evaluations be done only selectively. The book further explains the data collection and analysis techniques referred to in the companion volume. It is selective; it does not provide comprehensive coverage of all methods. Furthermore, for those methods it does cover, the book advocates simplicity and economy. It emphasizes qualitative interviewing methods because most monitoring and evaluation efforts will need to use them for limited, non-random coverage of respondents. Examples of sample theory and sample selection, conversely, are mainly in terms of rates of adoption and similar indicators. In a similar vein, the book advocates greater reliance on farmer estimates when discussing crop production and yield, because the issue of concern in this context is project beneficiary responses rather than aggregate national or regional estimates. The book is meant to be consulted as a particular issue arises rather than read straight through. The subjects covered are qualitative data collection methods; structured surveys and sampling and crop measurement problems; preliminary, exploratory data analysis; formal analysis; and data presentation.


We experience the world mostly in a multisensory fashion using a combination of all of our senses. Depending on the modality we can select different exploration strategies for extracting perceptual information. For instance, using touch we can enclose an object in our hand to explore parts of the object in parallel. Alternatively, we can trace the object with a single finger to explore its parts in a serial fashion. In this study we investigated whether the exploration mode (parallel vs. serial) affects the way sensory signals are combined. To this end, participants visually and haptically explored surfaces that varied in roll angle and indicated which side of the surface was perceived as higher. In Experiment 1, the exploration mode was the same for both modalities (i.e., both parallel or both serial). In Experiment 2, we introduced a difference in exploration mode between the two modalities (visual exploration was parallel while haptic exploration was serial or vice versa). The results showed that visual and haptic signals were combined in a statistically optimal fashion only when the exploration modes were the same. In case of an asymmetry in the exploration modes across modalities, integration was suboptimal. This indicates that spatial-temporal discrepancies in the acquisition of information in the two senses (i.e., haptic and visual) can lead to the breakdown of sensory integration.


Humidity, as one of the most important physical properties of pressed solid biofuels, affects thel calorific value of the biofuel and its consistency. Biofuel humidity depends on the initial humidity of raw material, which varies and depends on many factors. Method of manufacture and place and duration of storage have a considerable effect on solid biofuel humidity as well. Humidity of pressed solid biofuels changes not only during the pressing itself, when temperature increases by compression and a part of contained moisture evaporates, but also in the course of handling and storage under unstable environment conditions with high relative air humidity, when, on the contrary, their humidity gradually increases due to their hygroscopicity. Properties of solid biofuels change with their increasing humidity - their calorific value and consistency decreasing and the share of crumbles increasing.


Objective
To evaluate the feasibility of differentiation of human adipose mesenchymal stem cells (hADSCs) into endothelial-like cells and the safety of induced cells intraocular application.

Methods
HADSCs were induced to endothelial-like cells in vitro.The experimental group was added with streptomycin, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), and the control group was added with the same amount of phosphate buffered saline (PBS), the expression of von Willebrand factor (vWF), a marker of endothelial cells, was observed in the two groups.Six C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into experimental group and control group by using the random number method, 3 mice for each group, the induced cells were injected intravitreally into C57BL/6J mice as experimental group, and the same amount of PBS buffer was injected intravitreally into C57BL/6J mice as control group.The changes of retinal cells were observed by electron microscopy.The use and care of the animals complied with Regulations for the Administration of Affair Concerning Experimental Animals by State Science and Technology Commission.

Results
After induction of hADSCs in vitro, the endothelial cell marker was expressed.VWF immunofluorescence of the experimental group showed strong green fluorescence, and the color rendering rate was 100%.The control group showed no coloration of vWF immunofluorescence, and the color positive rate was 0.After 1 month of intravitreal injection, the retinal ganglion cells and rod cells were not degraded and necrotic.

Conclusions
HADSCs can differentiate into endothelial-like cells in vitro, and there is no retinal toxicity in a short-term.

Key words:
Adipose derived mesenchymal stem cells; Endothelium-like cells; Induced differentiation; Toxicity


International law promotes global peace and security by providing mechanisms for the pacific settlement of international disputes. This Article examines these mechanisms and their place in the architecture of the international dispute resolution ("IDR") system. The Article identifies three core deficiencies of the IDR system that limit its effectiveness and capacity. First, the international legal system has prioritized the development of adjudication over other forms of dispute resolution; the judicialization of international disputes and the proliferation of courts and tribunals evidence this However, adjudication is limited in its capacity to resolve disputes that involve non-state parties and extra-legal issues. This is concerning because empirical studies show that international conflict is increasingly intra-state, and involves non-state actors and extra-legal issues. Second, states prefer mediation to adjudication as a method for resolving disputes that occur in the context of inter-state conflict. Yet the role and value of mediation have been underappreciated, and it lacks institutional support under international law. Third, the current architecture of the IDR system promotes single method approaches, which can foster fragmented IDR approaches that separate legal issues from extra-legal ones, despite their interconnected nature. It also fails to structurally incorporate emerging, hybrid IDR approaches that enhance IDR capacity. In response to these limitations, this Article argues that there is a need to restructure the IDR system to create a framework for understanding how to systematically integrate IDR methods across forums. The Article concludes by considering several challenges that this approach presents to the state-centric foundations of the international legal system.


Recent laboratory finding suggest that short-term patching the amblyopic eye (i.e., inverse occlusion) results in a larger and more sustained improvement in the binocular balance compared with normal controls. In this study, we investigate the cumulative effects of the short-term inverse occlusion in adults and old children with amblyopia. A prospective cohort study of 18 amblyopes (10-35 years old; 3 with strabismus) who have been subjected to 2 hours/day of inverse occlusion for 2 months. Patients who required refractive correction or whose refractive correction needed updating were given a 2-month period of refractive adaptation. The primary outcome measure was the binocular balance which was measured using a phase combination task, the secondary outcome measures were the best corrected visual acuity which was measured with a Tumbling E acuity chart and convert to logMAR units and the stereo acuity which was measured with the Random-dot preschool stereotest. The averaged binocular gain was 0.11 in terms of the effective contrast ratio (z = −2.344, p = 0.019, 2-tailed Related samples Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test). The average acuity gain was 0.14 logMAR equivalent (t(17) = 0.13, p < 0.001, 2-tailed paired samples t-test). The averaged stereo acuity gain was 253 arc seconds (z = −2.689, p = 0.007). Based on more recent research concerning adult ocular dominance plasticity, contrary to current practice, patching the amblyopic eye makes more sense; comparable acuity benefits, better compliance, better binocular outcome and applicable to adults as well as old children.


The Bundesgerichtshof of West Germany passed a judgement that the physician who performs an unseccessful sterilization operation, or the respective hospital, is financially responsible for children which are born in spite of the operation. This would include healthy as well as genetically and perinatally deformed children born both in and out of wedlock. The physician or hospital would be responsible not only for the support of the child, but also for reimbursing the partner for child care services rendered by the child's mother. Such payments would be due until the child's 18th birthday. The physician would in addition have to pay damages for the failure of the operation. Physicians should have patients sign a consent form waiving all rights to possible damage claims stemming from pregnancies due to the failure of the operation.


An urgent reconceptualization of the Wars on Terror from the author of "The Shield of Achilles" ("magisterial"-- "The New York Times," "a classic for future generations"--"The New York Review of Books"). In this book Philip Bobbitt brings together historical, legal, and strategic analyses to understand the idea of a "war on terror." Does it make sense? What are its historical antecedents? How would such a war be "won"? What are the appropriate doctrines of constitutional and international law for democracies in such a struggle? He provocatively declares that the United States is the chief cause of global networked terrorism because of overwhelming American strategic dominance. This is not a matter for blame, he insists, but grounds for reflection on basic issues. We have defined the problem of winning the fight against terror in a way that makes the situation virtually impossible to resolve. We need to change our ideas about terrorism, war, and even victory itself. Bobbitt argues that the United States has ignored the role of law in devising its strategy, with fateful consequences, and has failed to reform law in light of the changed strategic context. Along the way he introduces new ideas and concepts--Parmenides' Fallacy, the Connectivity Paradox, the market state, and the function of terror as a by-product of globalization--to help us prepare for what may be a decades-long conflict of which the battle against al Qaeda is only the first instance. At stake is whether we can maintain states of consent in the twenty-first century or whether the dominant constitutional order will be that of states of terror. Challenging, provocative, and insightful, "Terror and Consent" addresses the deepest themes of governance, liberty, and violence. It will change the way we think about confronting terror--and it will change the way we evaluate public policies in that struggle.


The paper focuses on the stability analysis of a certain class of catchand effort-controlled discrete stock production models for optimal management of exploited populations, which were used as official methods for Cape hake assessments in the International Commission for the Southeast Atlantic Fishery (ICSEAF) during 1988 -1990, and are still used for forecasting TACs of this species and other commercially fished stocks. In spite of the formal approach used, the problem is of the utmost practical importance as instability of a model raises the inaccuracy of the resultant estimates, providing also failures at the stage of the model fitting and total allowable catch (TAC) forecasting. So, clarification of the stability conditions of stock production models enables their more deliberate and effective use in management of marine living resources. The effort-controlled models exhibit higher stability as compared with the catch-controlled ones: the fishing effort acts as a recovering force which suppresses the perturbations initiated in the model by the inevitable errors in estimating the initial population level. Therefore, the optimal management strategies and the TAC forecasts derived from the effort-controlled models are less risky than those obtained with the use of the catch-controlled ones.


The recognition of essential hypertension as a heterogeneous entity mandates that therapy be individualized according to the subset of hypertension that characterizes each patient. Choosing the most appropriate therapeutic regimen in elderly hypertensives is complicated by a greater susceptibility to side effects from medications, and by concomitant diseases. Calcium-channel blockers address the pathophysiologic mechanisms of generic hypertension, thus providing clinicians with more specific pharmacologic tools for treating elderly hypertensives. In addition, these agents will avoid many of the side effects of other antihypertensive agents and can ameliorate certain concomitant diseases.


Objective: Pomegranate (punica granatum L.) seeds contain high of phytonutrients and phytochemicals, rich in polyphenol antioxidants namely tannins and flavonoids which also have antibacterial activity. Streptococcus sanguis is a bacterium known as one of the factors causing Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis (RAS). To examine the potential antibacterial of pomegranate seeds against S. sanguis. Material and Methods: In vitro study of pomegranate seed were extracted with maceration method using 70% ethanol as the solvent to obtain stable extract, continued with phytochemical screening against phenolic, flavonoids, alkaloids, steroids, triterpenoid, saponins and tannins. The extract was evaluated for Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bactericide Concentration (MBC) against S. sanguis ATCC 10556, using microdiluted method through 96 wells microplate. Results: Chlorhexidine was used as positive control while 70% ethanol was used as solvent as well as negative control. Phytochemical screening gave positive results for phenolics, flavonoids, steroids, saponins and tannins. Microdilution test showed the concentration of 500 ppm as MIC and MBC value at 2000 ppm. Conclusion: Pomegranate seeds extract have a growth inhibitory against S. sanguis with MIC value of 500 ppm and 2000 ppm as MBC.


This article calls for an ethnographic and theoretical investigation of removal (and specifically, deportation) that would broaden our understanding of the significance of this purportedly routine state practice. Based on fieldwork conducted in Somaliland in 2002 and 2003, it takes as its text the narratives of a group of Somalis deported from the United States and Canada following the events of September 11, 2001. As criminal aliens, the majority of these men (and one woman) had been incarcerated both as prisoners and as administrative detainees before being deported unexpectedly to stateless Somalia. Yet, the somewhat exceptional nature of this particular deportation highlights the various political and social exclusions that might be overlooked in the more regular instances of deportation (e.g., that of illegal immigrants and rejected asylum seekers). By following the trajectories of these Muslim deportees from incarceration in the host state to reincorporation/alienation at home, it points to the legal and financial domains that underpin presentday practices of deportation and the embodied and chronotopic experiences they effect. Further, this article outlines how future anthropological work on removal might proceed while underscoring the relevance of this field to the studies of citizenship and transnationalism, globalization, and governmentality.


We report on localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of silicon nanowires decorated with silver nanoparticles. Hydrogen peroxide in metal-assisted-etching method degenerates the surface of nanowires and creates oxygen-related defect sites. These defect sites enhance the infrared absorption at higher frequencies and emit visible light by band-to-band radiative recombination. Moreover, an almost 50-fold enhanced LSPR was obtained for 24 nm thick silver deposited 5 μm long silicon nanowires. This enhancement was attributed to the change in the dielectric constant of effective medium created by defect states. LSPR wavelength could be tuned by changing the silver particle size and nanowire length.


The connection between climate skepticism and climate denial and what has become known as post‐truth culture has become the subject of much interest in recent years. This has lead to intense debates among scientists and activists about how to respond to this changed cultural context and the ways in which it is held to obstruct wider acceptance of climate science. Drawing on research in the sociology of scientific knowledge, science and technology studies, social psychology, and philosophical reflections on evidential reasoning, it is argued that these debates are focused on the wrong topic. The idea of post‐truth implies that a once‐straightforward linear relationship between scientific evidence and decision‐making has been eroded. But such an idealized relationship never existed. The proper role of scientific evidence in informing belief and action in response to the prospect of anthropogenic climate change needs reconsideration. A key part of this is to make uncertainties related to processes within the climate system and their potential outcomes into the main focus of public discussion around climate change. Instead of keeping the focus of debate on how to "get the science right," such a reframing makes precautionary questions about the prospect of unacceptable losses into the main focus. This brings a variety of ethical and political values into the debate, perhaps creating better conditions for a minimal consensus about what to do.


We intent in this paper to present a pedagogical experience that links anthropology and secondary schools in combating heterosexism and violence against LGBTQ community. The project created a pedagogical space where prejudice and discrimination for reasons of gender and sexuality were debated in an educational environment. We believe that especially in these times of global attacks on women's and LBGTQs' rights and human rights, it is essential that at local level we keep on resisting and creating spaces in which reflection and deconstruction of oppressive structures are promoted. This article deals with the experience of education projects on gender and sexuality carried out by a Brazilian federal university in a city in the interior of the state of Paraná, located on the triple border of Brazil with Argentina and Paraguay. It is important to note that Paraná is a state considered as extremely conservative. We hope to show how we develop an experience of what we call "extension of the university" in Brazil, aligned with research and education on the subject of sexualities. We understand that this kind of project can be an efficient arena for applied anthropology and also as investment in educating young people as valuable human resources to combat violence and to promote peaceful communities. The experiment was carried out at the Federal University of Latin American Integration (UNILA), as an extension of a larger and older project carried out by the Nucleus of Identities of Gender and Subjectivities (NIGS) based in the Federal University of Santa Catarina.


During the past years, TCP has proven to be unable to perform properly in wireless environments, with high bandwidth-delay product paths and bandwidth variation. The recent development of advanced 3G networks and services makes it necessary to find ways to improve TCP's efficiency and resource utilization, as well as improve the user's experience and reduce latency times.This report presents a proxy-based solution called Radio Network Feedback, which aims at improving the performance of TCP over 3G networks. The solution proposes the use of a proxy to split the TCP connection between remote servers and mobile terminals. It manages to adapt the parameters of the connection to the wireless link characteristics, by making use of the information provided by the Radio Network Controller. The results are evaluated through a set of simulations that compare the performance of Radio Network Feedback to that of TCP.The simulation results show that the Radio Network Feedback solution greatly improves the link utilization when used over wireless links, compared to TCP. It manages to reduce latency times, especially during Slow Start and after and outage. It also succeeds in maintaining reduced buffer sizes,and properly adapts to varying network conditions.


Community Music Therapy (CoMT) practices are continuing to develop within the international music therapy community. However, the development and implementation of music therapy through a CoMT lens in the United States has not been widely written about. Only a handful of published studies and clinical reports detail music therapy programs that seemingly fit within a CoMT framework. In comparison to more traditional approaches to music therapy practice, CoMT practices in the United States are underrepresented. This thematic analysis informed by a hermeneutical method was undertaken to begin a dialogue with music therapists who consider their music therapy practice to fall within the boundaries of CoMT, in order to increase awareness of ways in which CoMT principles are being implemented within the US healthcare and educational systems. We interviewed 6 board certified music therapists asking them to 1) define CoMT, 2) explain role relationships (therapist, client, and community), and 3) speculate on how their approach to the work could influence health policy and access to services in the United States. Our findings suggest that participatory, performative, and social action elements of CoMT are evident in the clinical work of the music therapists who were interviewed, and that there is a place for CoMT practices within the United States healthcare system.


This paper examines the recent trend of adding leverage to fixed income allocations of multi-asset class portfolios of large asset owners. We show that the optimality of adding leverage from a volatility-reduction perspective depends on the correlations between bonds and equities, the relative volatility of bonds versus equities, and the weights of the two asset classes in the portfolio. If correlations between bonds and equities are negative, adding leverage could reduce the volatility of a portfolio, especially if the weight in fixed income assets is low, leverage is moderate, and bonds have a low risk relative to equities. Negative correlations also increase the likelihood that adding leverage will improve the risk-return profile of the portfolio. Asset owners considering adding leverage to their fixed income allocation can examine these influences to decide whether negative correlations between bonds and equities, a low ratio of bond to equity volatility, and higher risk-adjusted returns of bonds relative to equities are likely to persist.


The steady thermal stress distributions and effect factors in a ZrO2/FGM/Ti-6Al-4V composite ECBC plate with temperature-dependent material properties under convective heat transfer boundary were investigated by the NFEM and the Sinpson method. From numerical calculation, when , T0=300K, Ta=350K and Tb=1 750K, the thermal stress distributions in the composite FGM plate were obtained. The results are as follows. With the increase of the FGM gradient layer thickness and when M=1, the temperature distributions in the composite plate are more reasonable. With the increase of the FGM gradient layer M, the thermal stresses on the ceramic surface tend toward reduction, and compared with the thermal stress of M=0.2, the thermal stress of M =5 reduces by 17.8%. When we take into account the effect of temperature-dependent material properties, compared with the results of constant material properties, the maximum compressive stress on the surface of metal reduces by 74.2%, and the maximum compressive stress on the surface of ceramics reduces by 45.3%. With the increase of FGM layer porosity P, the change of stress at the bonding interface of the three-layered plate increases, and the stress curves appear peak values. Compared with A=0, when A=3.99, the compressive thermal stress on the metal surface reduces by 42.0%, and the compressive thermal stress on the ceramic surface increases by 154.7%. Compared with the nongraded two-layered ceramic/metal composite plate, the thermal stress of the ZrO2/FGM/ Ti-6Al-4V composite plate is very gentle. Compared with , when , the maximum compressive stress on the surface of metal reduces by 49.98%, and the maximum compressive stress on the surface of ceramics increases by 182.3%. The results provide the foundations of theoretical calculation for the design and application of the composite plate.


Producing agents that can generalize to a wide range of environments is a significant challenge in reinforcement learning. One method for overcoming this issue is domain randomization, whereby at the start of each training episode some parameters of the environment are randomized so that the agent is exposed to many possible variations. However, domain randomization is highly inefficient and may lead to policies with high variance across domains. In this work, we formalize the domain randomization problem, and show that minimizing the policy's Lipschitz constant with respect to the randomization parameters leads to low variance in the learned policies. We propose a method where the agent only needs to be trained on one variation of the environment, and its learned state representations are regularized during training to minimize this constant. We conduct experiments that demonstrate that our technique leads to more efficient and robust learning than standard domain randomization, while achieving equal generalization scores.


This research is an empirical test of the international image theory. It builds on and extends the Alexander, Levin, and Shana's (in press) work on the Lebanese images of the U.S., Lebanese perceptions of the Lebanon - U.S. structural relations, and the Lebanese social and religious identifications, by replicating their work in Turkey and extending it to assessing Turks's action tendencies and emotions toward the U.S. The goal is to examine the structure of theory components - perceived structural relations, images, and action tendencies - and their inter-relationships, as well as to attempt to build one more block in the formal incorporation of emotions into image theory framework, and inclusion of social identifications as independent individual variables having an impact on the formation of images and action tendencies. A sample of two hundred twenty six undergraduates at a private university in Turkey participated in the survey. All the participants filled out a questionnaire assessing their perceptions of Turkey - U.S. structural relations, images, action tendencies, and emotions they experienced toward the U.S., as well as the degree of their identifications with their religious group, national/ethnic group, with the Arab world, the Western world, and identification with the Americans. The results indicate that the respondents in this sample endorse an imperialist image and both resistance and cooperation action tendencies toward the U.S. The structure of images and action tendencies is found to be slightly different from the typical ideal images and action tendencies described by the theory; however, supporting image theory's basic assumption that images are a function of the inter-group relationships and serve to justify these relationships and the behavioral tendencies they provoke. Strong evidence is provided on the need for the incorporation of emotions and social identifications into image theory framework.


Low-angle eolian deposits of a sand sheet constitute an areally extensive (710 km 2 ), transitional facies between high-angle eolian dunes and non-eolian deposits near Great Sand Dunes National Monument, Colorado. The bulk of the low-angle eolian deposits of the sand sheet lie in a 15-km-wide belt between the main dune mass at Great Sand Dunes and the Rio Grande River 45 km to the southeast, or "upwind." These low-angle eolian deposits have a number of distinctive sedimentary features which are useful in interpreting ancient rocks, including: (1) coarse-grained, high-index ripples (commonly horizontal); (2) gently dipping, curved or irregular surfaces of erosion (several meters in length) within the deposits; (3) abundant bioturbation traces, formed mainly by insects and plant roots; (4) patches or zones (extending up to 1 m below the ground surface) of bioturbated sand resulting from destruction of laminae by grass root growth; (5) convex upward laminations; (6) small scale cut-and-fill structures, perhaps due to scour around plant roots and subsequent infill; (7) gently dipping, poorly laminated layers resulting from adjacent grainfall deposition; (8) sets of normal- and inverse-graded laminae 1- to 4-mm-thick; (9) discontinuous thin 1- to 4-mm-thick layers of coarse sand intercalated with fine sand; (10) intercalation of non-eolian materials, including silty pond sediment and gravelly stream deposits; (11) occasional intercalation of high-angle eolian deposits. Low-angle eolian deposits of the sand sheet originate mainly by gentle deceleration of wind, in the lee of small topographic features, which produces a different style of deposition compared to the more extreme flow separation at the brink of a dune slipface. Low to moderate velocities, typical of those observed during this study, generally remove fine sand from exposed areas, and deposit the sand in nearby topographically lower or sheltered places, resulting in more texturally homogeneous sets of laminae (type "a") overlying more texturally heterogeneous deposits (type "b"). Recognition of low-angle eolian deposits may assist in identification of margins of ancient dune fields. From an economic point of view such information may be of value in predicting either (a) stratigraphic continuity of high-angle eolian reservoir rock, or (b) proximity of high-angle eolian rock.


How can firms ensure that they master the capabilities for collaboration and learning that are essential for their future competitive success? These authors advocate benchmarking professional service firms (PSFs) that already have those capabilities. PSFs, with their flat structure, service-oriented workforce, and participative decision making, are models for larger organizations that want to become leaner and more flexible.

The authors studied three successful firms in investment banking, law, and medicine to find similar ways in which all three had created a "generative cycle" of mutually reinforcing, self-sustaining employee and client development. Key to the cycle is how the firm enhances individual expertise through collaboration and how the firm leverages individual learning to create a capacity for collaborative learning.

The elements the authors found to be most important are:

1. Selecting the best. All three firms had clear criteria for identifying the "best" candidates and hiring employees carefully. They looked for people with analytic talent for technical work, human qualities for relationship work, and entrepreneurial talent to build the organization.

2. Developing individual competencies over time. The firms were committed to investing in each professional throughout his or her career. The firms developed individuals by having senior managers work closely with new staff, believed in learning at all levels, and provided continuous feedback.

3. Retaining top performers. Partners at the firms all had a sense of stewardship and felt committed to something meaningful. All the firms encouraged participative decision making and respect for others' opinions. The reward systems were also equitable and supported collaboration. The combination of these factors made the firms places where people wanted to stay.

4. Leveraging individual expertise to solve complex problems. The partners at all three firms felt that their advantages came from being able to handle complexity. It was not members' individual expertise but the collective wisdom of all members that helped the firms to excel.

5. Generating new ideas. Through collaboration at all levels, the firms developed more innovative and more integrated solutions. The infusion of new talent and examination of processes also enhanced learning.

6. Providing superior value to clients. Through their broad expertise, which resulted from a capability for learning and collaboration, the firms developed better relationships with clients.

7. Attaining and retaining the best clients. The culmination of the generative cycle is a firm's ability to provide superior results to clients and, eventually, to attract the clients with the most complex problems. Those clients can push a firm to achieve new levels of expertise.

Liedtka et al. see a business organization as a community that is held together by a shared concern for both the outcomes it achieves for clients and its members' personal development and learning. The generative cycle is essential to a firm that is committed to developing people and creating value for clients.


Present-day designers require deep reasoning methods to analyze circuit timing. This includes analysis of effects of dynamic behavior (like glitches) on critical paths, simultaneous switching, and identification of specific patterns and their timings. This paper proposes a novel approach that uses a combination of symbolic event propagation and temporal reasoning to extract timing properties of gate-level circuits. The formulation captures the complex situations like triggering of traditional false paths and simultaneous switching in a unified symbolic representation in addition to identifying false paths, critical paths, as well as conditions for such situations. This information is then represented as an event-time graph. A temporal logic on events is proposed that can be used to formulate a wide class of useful queries for various input scenarios. These include maximum/minimum delays, transition times, duration of patterns, etc. An algorithm is developed that retrieves answers to such queries from the event-time graph. A binary decision diagram-based implementation of this system has been made. Results on the International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (ISCAS)85 benchmarks are presented


This study investigates whether Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual (LGB) young adults are more at risk of bullying than their heterosexual peers using Next Steps, a nationally representative longitudinal dataset from England. The experiences of more than 7,200 young adults from across England who were born in 1989–90 are examined. At age 20, the young adults were asked about their sexual identity and whether they had been bullied in the previous 12 months and during secondary school. The findings show that young LGB adults had a 52 per cent chance of having been bullied in the past year at age 20, compared to a 38 per cent chance for their heterosexual peers, after taking into account other characteristics that may make someone more likely to be targeted, such as gender, ethnicity, disability, or family socioeconomic background. The situation had improved slightly since their school years. Between the ages of 14 and 16, young people who later went on to identify as LGB had a 56 per cent chance of having been bullied in the past year, compared to a 45 per cent chance for their heterosexual peers. Moreover LGB young people were at considerably greater risk of being bullied frequently – that is, once or more every fortnight – during secondary school. LGB young people were found to be more than twice as likely as their heterosexual classmates to be regularly physically bullied and excluded from social groups. This paper also examines the association between being bullied and life satisfaction: the findings show that by the time they reached age 20, young LGB adults were less likely than their heterosexual peers to report being "very satisfied" with how their lives had turned out so far. However, all young adults – regardless of sexual identity – were less likely to be very satisfied with their lives if they had been bullied. In summary, although all people are less likely to be bullied as they get older, young LGB adults remain at higher risk than their peers. These findings suggest that in order to tackle the problem, anti-bullying interventions cannot be focused only at schools and their pupils. Policymakers, employers, further education institutions and others working with young adults need to do just as much in order to challenge discrimination at all ages.


The synthesis of perylene 3,4:9,10-tetracarboxylic acid bisimides (PBIs) dendronized with first-generation dendrons containing 0 to 4 methylenic units (m) between the imide group and the dendron, (3,4,5)12G1-m-PBI, is reported. Structural analysis of their self-organized arrays by DSC, X-ray diffraction, molecular modeling, and solid-state (1)H NMR was carried out on oriented samples with heating and cooling rates of 20 to 0.2 °C/min. At high temperature, (3,4,5)12G1-m-PBI self-assemble into 2D-hexagonal columnar phases with intracolumnar order. At low temperature, they form orthorhombic (m = 0, 2, 3, 4) and monoclinic (m = 1) columnar arrays with 3D periodicity. The orthorhombic phase has symmetry close to hexagonal. For m = 0, 2, 3, 4 ,they consist of tetramers as basic units. The tetramers contain a pair of two molecules arranged side by side and another pair in the next stratum of the column, turned upside-down and rotated around the column axis at different angles for different m. In contrast, for m = 1, there is only one molecule in each stratum, with a four-strata 2(1) helical repeat. All molecules face up in one column, and down in the second column, of the monoclinic cell. This allows close and extended π-stacking, unlike in the disruptive up-down alteration from the case of m = 0, 2, 3, 4. Most of the 3D structures were observed only by cooling at rates of 1 °C/min or less. This complex helical self-assembly is representative for other classes of dendronized PBIs investigated for organic electronics and solar cells.


The first division of Pelvetia zygotes is an unequal div-ision which produces two cells with distinct developmental fates. The smaller rhizoid cell gives rise to the holdfast of the mature plant, and the larger thallus cell is the pro-genitor of the stipe and fronds. We have investigated the role of the cytoskeleton in determining the orientation of this invariant division. Prior to mitosis, microtubule-organizing centers (MtOCs) associated with the nuclear envelope undergo a precise realignment from transverse to axial with respect to the rhizoid/thallus axis. This is accomplished by a 90 deg rotation of the entire nuclear/MtOC complex. After rotation, each MtOC serves as a spindle pole during mitosis, and subsequently cytokinesis bisects the spindle. Both nocodazole and cytochalasin D cause incorrect alignment of MtOCs, indicating that both microtubules and microfilaments are required for nuclear/MtOC rotation. These inhibitors also result in aberrant orientation of the first division plane. Microtubules visualized by confocal microscopy connect the rotating nucleus to the apical cortex and may provide the force for rotation.


Blood vessels may be found throughout the entire body and their importance to human life is undeniable. This is evident in the fact that a malfunctioning blood vessel can result in mild symptoms such as shortness of breath or chest pain to more severe symptoms such as a heart attack or stroke, to even death in the severest of cases. Furthermore, there are a host of pathologies that have been linked to the human vasculature. As a result many researchers have attempted to unlock the mysteries of the vasculature by performing studies that duplicate the physiological structural, chemical, and mechanical properties known to exist. While the ideal study would consist of utilizing living, blood vessels derived from human tissue, such studies are not always possible since intact human blood vessels are not readily accessible and there are immense technical difficulties associated with such studies. These limitations have opened the door for the development of microdevices modeled after the human vasculature as it is believed by many researchers in the field that such devices can one day replace tissue models. In this review we present an overview of microdevices developed to mimic various types of vasculature found throughout the human body. Although the human body contains a diverse array of vascular systems for this review we limit our discussion to the cardiovascular system and cerebrovascular system and discuss such systems that have been fabricated in both 2D and 3D configurations.


In Minnesota, technological and economic shifts in the grain supply chain have altered the way grain producers and sellers navigate their local freight network. In particular, many producers have been increasing their personal trucking capacity and taking longer trips to intermodal and domestic market options. This logistical reshaping of local grain supply chains pressure transportation officials to reconsider the consequences for road infrastructure and congested freight corridors. Studies are discussing the potential of disaggregated commodity flow survey (CFS) data as a critical tool in understanding small-scale freight movement and informing infrastructural investment decisions. Utilizing ArcGIS's Network Analyst and Hot spot tools to analyze inter-county grain trucking, our study effectively differentiates highly active freight corridors. The model is used to further inform an ongoing infrastructure development project in the Twin Cities metro area by contextualizing road usage within the economic framework of the grain supply chain. However, this study finds CFS data alone fails to account for shifting supply chain conditions, and their consequent impact on the road network. Employing United States Department of Agriculture crop production and cropland data, this study additionally builds an original, computational model that simulates corn producer shipment reaction to market price competition within two key grain-producing counties. Results visualize how producers, during spot months, may be incentivized to haul longer distances to more competitive markets—especially emerging biofuel industries. This lesson proves crucial for state and local transportation officials who wish to identify freight infrastructure development opportunities that invigorate and accommodate growth in Minnesota's expanding agricultural industry cluster.


A crisis situation calls for multiple decisions to be made and communicated rapidly. Despite its lack of visibility and explanation there is an art to communication and decision making in dynamic high pressured situations, which I term Multimodal Decision Making. Multimodal Decision Making provides an holistic approach to understanding decision making in time pressured, uncertain conditions where incident commanders find themselves having to distinguish between what is read at face-value and what is intuitively understood to be happening. I interviewed Inspectors from within a large Australian fire fighting organisation and found their visual perception and somatic awareness to be integral to their understanding of what was happening and their subsequent communication of decisions. Through the analysis of a fireground incident I will demonstrate the vital importance of visual perception and somatic awareness when contradictory and incomplete information has to be processed and communicated quickly.


We compared genotyping by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of the amplified omp1 gene with serotyping by dot enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (dot-ELISA) to determine the suitability of RFLP analysis for epidemiologic study. Fifteen prototypes of Chlamydia trachomatis and 30 clinical isolates were used in this study. To serotype with dot-ELISA, chlamydia antigen was spotted onto a series of replicate nitrocellulose membrane patches and reacted with 11 mAbs that distinguish the 15 known serovars of C. trachomatis. For RFLP analysis, the amplified chlamydia omp1 gene was digested with AluI to differentiate serovars A to K and L1 to L3. Serovars of C, H, I, J, and L3 were further typed by RFLP analysis after digestion with HinfI, and a combination of EcoRI and DdeI. PCR-based RFLP could identify serotype of 28 among 30 clinical isolates tested. The remaining two untypical isolates were probably due to double infections or mechanical transferring error. Serotyping of C. trachomatis isolates shows that serovars E, D, F, and H are the most prevalent types found in urogenital samples in Korea. In this study, we show that RFLP analysis of amplified omp1 gene may be useful in genotyping C. trachomatis isolates.


This book is a study of Raganuga Bhakti Sadhana, which the author describes as a religio-dramatic technique of the Gudiya Vaishnava people in Bengal. An unusual combination of interests in theatre and religion, together with a genuinely detached viewpoint, have enabled the author to produce a study that is unique in its approach. In India, religion has always been at the centre of life, and theatre too an inherent part of life. Common to both is ritual. Rituals in India are not only an integral part of religion and the origin of different traditional forms of theatre, but they also function as coded information, leading to the achievement of moksha or salvation. The ritual shows the way of life. It has a philosophy of its own kind. In this book the author's approach to the philosophy which lies behind Raganuga Bhakti Sadhana is both interesting and helpful. He first discusses religion and drama in South Asia, and refers especially to Bharatmuni's Natyashastra one of the oldest books on theatre in India, which dates back to between 200 BC and AD 200. He then considers some major theories and issues relevant to an understanding of the approach of the Hindu theologian of the sixteenth century, Rupa Goswamin, who established the technique of Raganuga Bhakti Sadhana — 'a way of salvation conceptually based on acting' that would 'enable Bhakta [devotees] to enter and participate in the dramatic world of the 'Vraja-lila', thereby generating the essential Sthayi-bhava of love for Krishna, the foundation of the ultimately meaningful experience The rest of the book is devoted to the analytical study of Raganuga Bhakti Sadhana, describing the whole technique in detail. This not only reveals the author's scholarship in theatre the Rasa Theory of Sanskrit drama in particular but also shows his deep understanding of religion. His reference to the work of Stanislavski is certainly helpful to a foreign readership wishing to understand the concept of Raganuga Bhakti Sadhana. This book stimulates readers to know more about Indian theatre, religion, and culture from a different perspective.


Abstract Diffusion tensor imaging was used to investigate white matter (WM) integrity in adults with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and healthy adults as controls. Adults with TBI had sustained severe vehicular injuries on the average of 7 years earlier. A multivariate analysis of covariance with verbal IQ as the covariate revealed that adults with TBI had lower fractional anisotropy and higher mean diffusivity than controls, specifically in the three regions of interest (ROIs), the centrum semiovale (CS), the superior frontal (SPF), and the inferior frontal (INF). Adults with TBI averaged in the normal range in motor speed and two of three executive functions and were below average in delayed verbal recall and inhibition, whereas controls were above average. Time since injury, but not age, was associated with WM changes in the SPF ROI, whereas age, but not time since injury, was associated with WM changes in the INF ROI, suggesting that the effects of WM on time since injury may interact with age. To understand the utility of WM changes in chronic recovery, larger sample sizes are needed to investigate associations between cognition and WM integrity of severely injured individuals who have substantial cognitive impairment compared to severely injured individuals with little cognitive impairment. (JINS, 2009, 15, 130–136.)


We present new X-ray observations obtained with Chandra ACIS-S of the HD 189733 system, consisting of a K-type star orbited by a transiting Hot Jupiter and an M-type stellar companion. We report a detection of the planetary transit in soft X-rays with a significantly deeper transit depth than observed in the optical. The X-ray data favor a transit depth of 6%–8%, versus a broadband optical transit depth of 2.41%. While we are able to exclude several possible stellar origins for this deep transit, additional observations will be necessary to fully exclude the possibility that coronal inhomogeneities influence the result. From the available data, we interpret the deep X-ray transit to be caused by a thin outer planetary atmosphere which is transparent at optical wavelengths, but dense enough to be opaque to X-rays. The X-ray radius appears to be larger than the radius observed at far-UV wavelengths, most likely due to high temperatures in the outer atmosphere at which hydrogen is mostly ionized. We furthermore detect the stellar companion HD 189733B in X-rays for the first time with an X-ray luminosity of log LX = 26.67 erg s−1. We show that the magnetic activity level of the companion is at odds with the activity level observed for the planet-hosting primary. The discrepancy may be caused by tidal interaction between the Hot Jupiter and its host star.


The experience of students submitting written homework is compared to those using online homework platforms at a college in the northeastern United States. Results indicate that online homework platforms can increase student engagement in the course when students are satisfied with the platform's functionality and when students believe the web-based tool matches their own learning style. Findings suggest that students not inclined towards e-textbook use might be willing to set aside their preferences and try an online homework platform if they believe that the experience will be compatible with their learning style. Given the links between perceptions of learning style and platform functionality with positive student perceptual outcomes, results suggest faculty may be able to increase their students' sense of efficacy towards online homework by demonstrating a positive attitude toward the platform, and showing their own engagement with web-based tools.


Abstract Imaging spectrometer data from the ISM instrument on Phobos 2 were used to characterize spatial variations in near-infrared spectral properties of the martian surface, to determine the correspondence between near-infrared and visible-wavelength spectral variations, and to assess lithologic variations in the surface materials. All data were radiometrically calibrated and corrected for effects of atmospheric gases using previously described methods. The data were also corrected photometrically to a standard geometry, and the estimated contribution of light backscattered by atmospheric aerosols was removed to isolate the reflectance properties of surface materials. At shorter near-infrared wavelengths, the surface varies between three major spectral types which correspond to known visible color units. Dark gray materials have 1- and 2-μm absorptions consistent with a pyroxene-containing lithology, and bright red dust has a shallow 0.9-μm absorption consistent with a poorly crystalline ferric mineralogy. Dark red soils are spectrally similar to dust although lower in albedo. In some cases their 0.9-μm ferric iron absorption is deeper and offset toward longer wavelengths than in dust. These attributes agree well with those determined in situ for comparable materials at the Mars Pathfinder landing site. At longer wavelengths, significant regional heterogeneities are observed in the slope of the spectral continuum and the depth of the 3-μm H2O absorption. The 3-μm band is stronger in bright red soils than in most dark gray soils, but the strongest absorptions are found in intermediate-albedo dark red soils. Observed spectral variations suggest the presence of at least four surface components, dust, pyroxene-containing rock and sand, one or more crystalline ferric minerals, and a water-bearing phase. These are broadly consistent with four surface components that have been inferred from ground-based, orbital, and landed spectral studies and from in situ compositional measurements. We also conclude from our analysis that most albedo and spectral variations result from the coating of dark mafic rock materials by bright ferric dust. Dark red regions, however, are inferred to have dust-like compositions but lower albedos, due in part to intermixture of a dark, crystalline ferric mineral. Both of these major conclusions are strongly supported by landed investigations by Mars Pathfinder. The layered materials in Valles Marineris are the only geologic formation with distinctive spectral properties, including an enhanced 3-μm H2O band and pyroxene absorptions which imply a mineralogy distinct from materials in the surrounding highlands. These properties provide important evidence for the layered materials' origins and are most consistent with mechanisms that involve volcanism restricted to the interiors of the chasmata.


Introduction: Genitourinary tract infections are among the most common causes of infertility in men. These infections could also cause disorders in various parameters, such as the number, motility, viability, and morphology of sperms, as well as the function of the semen, epididymitis, and prostatitis. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of the bacterial and viral infections associated with the herpes virus, Chlamydia trachomatis, and Mycoplasma genitalium in the seminal fluid of infertile men with unknown cause. Methods: In this descriptive-analytical study, 60 seminal fluid samples were collected from the infertile men referring to an infertility treatment center in Kerman, Iran during May-November 2016. Multiplex-PCR was carried out using specific primers to identify the herpes virus, Chlamydia trachomatis, and Mycoplasma genitalium. Data analysis was performed in SPSS. Results: Out of 60 tested samples, eight cases (13.3) were positive for the investigated organisms. Among the positive samples, three cases (37.5) had HSV-1, three samples (37.5) had C. trachomatis, one case (12.5) had M. genitalium, and one sample (12.5) had HSV-2. Conclusion: Findings of the present study regarding the presence of bacterial and viral organisms in the seminal fluid could lay the groundwork for the screening of asymptomatic infections and appropriate treatment before initiating assisted reproductive therapy.


Motivation: A variety of pocket detection algorithms are now freely or commercially available to the scientific community for the analysis of static protein structures. However, since proteins are dynamic entities, enhancing the capabilities of these programs for the straightforward detection and characterization of cavities taking into account protein conformational ensembles should be valuable for capturing the plasticity of pockets, and therefore allow gaining insight into structure-function relationships. Results: This paper describes a new method, called MDpocket, providing a fast, free and open source tool for tracking small molecule binding sites and gas migration pathways on MD trajectories or other conformational ensembles. MDpocket is based on the fpocket cavity detection algorithm and a valuable contribution to existing analysis tools. The capabilities of MDpocket are illustrated for three relevant cases: i) the detection of transient sub-pockets using an ensemble of crystal structures of HSP90 ii) the detection of known xenon binding sites and migration pathways in myoglobin, and iii) the identification of suitable pockets for molecular docking in P38 Map kinase. Availability: MDpocket is free and open source software and can be downloaded at http://fpocket.sourceforge.net. Contact: email@example.com Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.


The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between monthly Dairy Herd Improvement (DHI) subclinical mastitis and new infection rate estimates and daily bulk tank somatic cell count (SCC) summarized by statistical process control tools. Dairy Herd Improvement Association test-day subclinical mastitis and new infection rate estimates along with daily or every other day bulk tank SCC data were collected for 12 mo of 2003 from 275 Upper Midwest dairy herds. Herds were divided into 5 herd production categories. A linear score [LNS = ln(BTSCC/100,000)/ 0.693147 + 3] was calculated for each individual bulk tank SCC. For both the raw SCC and the transformed data, the mean and sigma were calculated using the statistical quality control individual measurement and moving range chart procedure of Statistical Analysis System. One hundred eighty-three herds of the 275 herds from the study data set were then randomly selected and the raw (method 1) and transformed (method 2) bulk tank SCC mean and sigma were used to develop models for predicting subclinical mastitis and new infection rate estimates. Herd production category was also included in all models as 5 dummy variables. Models were validated by calculating estimates of subclini-cal mastitis and new infection rates for the remaining 92 herds and plotting them against observed values of each of the dependents. Only herd production category and bulk tank SCC mean were significant and remained in the final models. High R 2 values (0.83 and 0.81 for methods 1 and 2, respectively) indicated a strong correlation between the bulk tank SCC and herd's subclinical mastitis prevalence. The standard errors of the estimate were 4.02 and 4.28% for methods 1 and 2, respectively , and decreased with increasing herd production. As a case study, Shewhart Individual Measurement Charts were plotted from the bulk tank SCC to identify 3944 shifts in mastitis incidence. Four of 5 charts examined signaled a change in bulk tank SCC before the DHI test day identified the change in subclinical mastitis prevalence. It can be concluded that applying statistical process control tools to daily bulk tank SCC can be used to estimate subclinical mastitis prevalence in the herd and observe for change in the subclinical mastitis status. Single DHI test day estimates of new infection rate were insufficient to accurately describe its dynamics.


Indonesian government officials determined in the early 1970s that an increase in marriage age as well as in the use of contraceptives would be needed to reduce the countrys growth rate. In 1974 the Marriage Law Reform Act increased the minimun marriageable age but compliance was rare. In 1981 Pathfinder initiated a campaign to address this. The 1st objective was to educate influentials (e.g. religious leaders). The 2nd objective was to gather information and promote discussion of societal norms that lead to early marriage and childbearing. The underlying assumptions were that non-compliance arose from a lack of knowledge about the marriage law and that norms promoting early marriage and fertility were amenable to change. The program reviewed in this working paper covers 6 projects with 5 prominent Indonesian organizations--3 womens groups a national public health association and a branch of the Family Planning Coordinating Board. The activities began with national seminars to discuss objectives. National and local-level activities followed ranging from the publication of a national bulletin to training marriage counselors. Womens groups incorporated the education program into their ongoing functions. Program effects were widespread. Evaluators assessment in 1984 found that the controversial topic of adolescent fertility has been intensively discussed at national and local levels. Their recommendations include: focusing work on large-impact organizations evaluation of certain projects support for various projects concentrating on key issues. The training project management should be integrated into Pathfinders schedule. Studies should be performed to make sure this desin is not too ambitious. Baseline data should be incorporated. The 2-year approach should be extended to 5 since the impact of marriage age legislation will not be felt for several years.


Abstract Taking a perspective drawn from Basil Bernstein, the paper locates itself at the boundary between teaching as transmitting disciplinary knowledge and teaching as a set of generic 'good practice' principles. It first discusses the value of undergraduate sociology-based social science knowledge to individuals and society. This discussion leads to highlighting the importance of pedagogical framing for realising the value of sociological knowledge. A longitudinal three-year study in four different status universities suggested that studying undergraduate sociology-based degrees can give students access to what Bernstein called 'pedagogic rights' of personal enhancement; social inclusion; and political participation. Access to the rights is through the formation of a 'specialised disciplinary identity' whereby the student becomes a person who knows and understands specific content, which is applied to lives and society, and who has developed the skills and dispositions of a social scientist. In pedagogical terms more evidence of equality than inequality was found: despite some subtle differences, whatever the status of the university attended, the same disciplinary identity was projected and students' perceptions of the quality of their teaching strongly mediated the formation of a disciplinary identity and access to pedagogic rights.


ED07-02 Background: Colorectal neoplasia is the second leading cause of cancer related deaths in the United States, resulting in approximately 149,000 new cases and about 55,000 deaths each year. This disease persists despite the wide practice of routine screening with colonoscopy. In addition to polyps, cancer may arise from sporadic flat lesions or from foci of chronic inflammatory bowel disease, both of which are endoscopically invisible on conventional white light endoscopy. An optical molecular imaging strategy that uses peptides that preferentially bind to pre-malignant mucosa and can be detected by endoscopic and confocal fluorescence imaging represents a new approach for the prevention and early management of this disease. Peptides offer many advantages over that of conventional probe development techniques, such as antibody or small molecule, that include low immunogenicity, short plasma half life, high complexity, good mucosal penetration and ease of use. Phage display is an unbiased, combinatorial approach for developing selective binding peptides. Methods: The selection of specific binding peptides is performed by biopanning the phage library, which contains a large number and diversity of peptides expressed by M13 bacteriophage, against target tissues. First, non-specific peptides are cleared from the library by biopanning against cells in culture (CRL 7869) that have intestinal morphology. Cultured cells are used to provide the large surface area needed to remove over 99% of the original library. Next, the remaining phage from the supernatant are biopanned first against biopsy specimens of normal colonic mucosa to remove additional non-specific binding phage, and then against pinch biopsies of colonic adenomas (dysplasia). The phage that binds to dysplastic mucosa are then eluted with acid, and screened for optimal binding affinity and avidity against 10 micron frozen sections of excised adenomas. Several candidate peptides associated with phage that exhibit the highest target-to-background ratio were sequenced, synthesized, purified by HPLC, and conjugated to FITC. After informed consent, 10 patients scheduled for routine endoscopy were sent for serum CBC, chemistries, and liver function tests. The candidate peptide (100 μM in 5 ml normal saline) was then topically administered by spraying onto adenomas found on routine colonoscopy of a patient undergoing routine screening and those with known flat lesions. After about a 1 minute of incubation period, the lesion is first imaged remotely by wide area fluorescence to demonstrate the ability to localize the lesion and then by a flexible, fiber-optic confocal microendoscope inserted through the instrument channel of the endoscope to observe sub-surface binding in the adenoma and surrounding normal colonic mucosa. A pinch biopsy was then taken from each site imaged, and compared with the appropriate confocal image. Follow up blood tests are taken 24 hours to assess for potential toxicity from the peptide reagents. Results: Endoscopic fluorescence images were collected from regions of colonic mucosa in vivo that varied in surface area from approximately 3 to 75 cm2, and revealed increased fluorescence intensity at the site of the adenomas compared to that of the surrounding normal mucosa. At a depth of 50 microns, the confocal fluorescence microscopy images showed increased fluorescence intensity in a pattern corresponding to the colonocytes surrounding the dysplastic crypts compared to that of the normal crypts. The target-to-background ratio between dysplastic and normal colonocytes measured on confocal images collected at the border of the adenoma, was ~7 with an average SNR of ~5. No differences were observed in fluorescence intensity of dysplastic and normal at the border with administration of a peptide that had the same amino acids but with the sequence scrambled. Furthermore, no differences were seen in the fluorescence intensity at the border of hyperplastic polyps. These results were confirmed on conventional confocal microscopy images collected ex vivo from the pinch biopsy. Finally, no toxicity associated with peptide administration was found. Conclusions: In vivo endoscopic images can detect fluorescence peptides that are topically administered onto colonic adenomas during routine colonoscopy. Furthermore, preferential peptide binding to dysplastic foci can be observed by confocal microendoscopy. This integrated optical imaging strategy provides a targeted approach to localize and identify pre-malignant mucosa in the colon and has potential to improve our ability to prevent the occurrence and to manage the consequences of this disease.


Plastic have many advantages including good water resistance, ease of processing and low cost. The problem with plastic bag is that, it has great environmental impact as millions of plastic wastes were discarded. Polybag for example can take up from 500 to 1000 years to decay or degrade in agricultural farm which can create serious environmental pollution. The purpose of this study was to investigate the degradable properties of Liner Low Density Polyethylene (LLDPE) filled with Sago SS (SS) and Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVOH). Two processing stage were performed in this research. The first stage covers the preparation and testing on properties of Hybrid Master Batch (MB) film of SS/PVOH formulation. Hybrid MB films were formulated by varying ratios of maximum SS/PVOH of 70%. The second stage covers the preparation and testing of Hybrid Blend Film (BF) of SS/PVOH. For the first stage, combination of LLDPE, SS and PVOH first compounded using twin screw extrusion and fabricated into Hybrid MB films with fixed amount of LLDPE with SS and PVOH varies between 10% to 60%. The Hybrid MB films then test for their tensile properties (ASTM D-1780), Water Absorption (ASTM D-570-95) and Thermal Properties (ASTM D 3418) and Biodegradability (ASTM D5338-98). Tensile properties test shows that increasing the amount of SS in LLDPE films will reduce the tensile strength of the blends as Hybrid MB A exhibited the highest tensile strength of 6.7 MPa while lowest strength was found for Hybrid MB E of 5.1 MPa corresponding to highest starch content of 60% and PVOH 10%. Increasing water absorption of Hybrid MB films were observed with increasing of SS amount in SS/PVOH formulation. Degradability of Hybrid MB films after soil burial for 30 days were observed to be increased with increasing amount of SS due to enzymatic attack of microorganism on the film. DSC result had shown films filled with higher amount of SS exhibited reduction in the melting temperature of the blends. For second stage experimental, Hybrid BF were fabricated using film blowing extrusion and formulated employing 10% Hybrid MB with PE resin and then tested for Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Measurement (ASTM D 6400), Soil Burial (ASTM D 5338-98), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR – ASTM 1252-98) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Hybrid blend films were exposed to free Carbon Dioxide atmosphere for 45 days, whereas Soil Burial test was carried out for 1 year. Increasing SS amount on LLDPE films also increase the Carbon Dioxide generation by microorganism after 45 days. From FTIR spectrum displayed after 360 days of degradation, the intensity of the peaks significantly decreased and broadens at peak 3302, 1462, 1261, and 1020 cm-1due to OH and C-O bend as a result from degradation of SS by microorganism. Morphological structure of Hybrid BF was viewed using SEM shown that after 360 days of degradation, there was a lot of detachment of SS from LLDPE matrix as degradation has taken place in the blend films. Hybrid BF A which has 20% of SS exhibits only 3 % of CO2generation compare to Hybrid BF E which contain 60% of SS display more active decomposition activity of 12 % CO2 generation. The optimum filler content was found to be 60% (Hybrid E) which drop in mechanical properties showing high degradability occurred.This is a useful formulation for bio degradable polybag bags and agricultural mulch application.


The increasing popularity of both large and small textbooks of dermatology seems to reflect a renewed interest in this field on the part of the practitioner and the medical educator. But undoubtedly it also reflects a need for a compact, current book to fill the void between the encyclopedic volume and the oversimplified "skin chapter" in the traditional medicine text. Sauer's remarkable attempt to narrow the gap is again manifest throughout this much improved third edition of his Manual , written for medical students and nondermatologist physicians. Much up-to-date, practical, and succinct information on many common and not-so-common skin diseases and lesions has been compiled in this book. It is easy to read, well organized, and generously illustrated, with good quality photographs. Descriptions of disease and discussion on diagnosis are clear and, in general, proportionate to the importance of the entity. Dermograms illustrating the distribution of common dermatoses are a helpful


We have demonstrated the use of ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) trajectories to compute the vibrational energy levels of molecular systems in the context of the semiclassical initial value representation (SC-IVR). A relatively low level of electronic structure theory (HF/3-21G) was used in this proof-of-principle study. Formaldehyde was used as a test case for the determination of accurate excited vibrational states. The AIMD-SC-IVR vibrational energies have been compared to those from curvilinear and rectilinear vibrational self-consistent field/vibrational configuration interaction with perturbation selected interactions-second-order perturbation theory (VSCF/VCIPSI-PT2) and correlation-corrected vibrational self-consistent field (cc-VSCF) methods. The survival amplitudes were obtained from selecting different reference wavefunctions using only a single set of molecular dynamics trajectories. We conclude that our approach is a further step in making the SC-IVR method a practical tool for first-principles quantum dynamics simulations.


The experiments presented here examine how managers and executives can improve the effectiveness of their negative written communications (i.e., refusal of employees' requests) by incorporating the concept of fit into their message framing. By applying regulatory focus theory, the authors suggest that an outcome-based fit between the message and the recipient leads to more favorable work outcomes. The results of Experiment 1 show that employees retain greater feelings of psychological empowerment when they receive a written refusal framed in terms that match (versus mismatch) their current regulatory focus. Moreover, data from Experiment 2 demonstrate that employees perceive a written refusal as more fair when it is framed in terms that match (versus mismatch) their activated regulatory focus. However, this effect was not found when an employee's request was approved, an observation that stresses the importance of regulatory fit in negative managerial communications specifically. Finally, this article discusses management implications for designing successful negative written managerial communications.


The study describes habitat use and temporal occurrence of calling males for an austral anuran assemblage in the Neotropics, southern Brazil. Three study sites (S1 – a permanent river and a stream, S2 – a dam and backwater, S3 – two permanent ponds periodically connected) were sampled between August 2005 and July 2006. The site S3 presented the richest and most diverse assemblage and habitat use within studied sites, and was partitioned by species groups. Richness and abundance of calling males for overall assemblage were seasonal, concentrated in spring and summer and correlated with photoperiod. Temperature, rainfall and air humidity were not correlated with the richness and abundance of calling males. Photoperiod also explained the calling seasons when species were analyzed individually. Habitat use and temporal occurrence were complementary in the partitioning of breeding resources, explaining species coexistence.


Skřivan M., Englmaierová M., Skřivanová V. (2018): Negative effect of phytase superdosing in laying hens. Czech J. Anim. Sci., 63, 182–187. Hisex hens, aged 24 weeks, were divided into 6 groups. Each group consisted of 4 cages with 10 hens per cage with dimensions and equipment meeting the EU directives. This 2 × 3 factorial experiment included two levels of calcium (Ca; 35 or 42 g/kg) and 3 different additions of 6-phytase OptiPhos® (Ph; 0, 300, and 1500 phytase units (FTU)/kg) to the diet. The content of nonphytate phosphorus (NPP) in all diets was the same (1.8 g/kg). The experiment lasted 12 weeks. A significant interaction of Ph × Ca (P = 0.029) was observed in hen-day egg production. A diet with 35 g/kg Ca and the highest dose of Ph (1500 FTU/kg) resulted in a lower hen-day egg production (84.1%) than did the other treatments (91.5–88.6%). Phytase superdosing negatively influenced egg mass production (P = 0.001) and the feed conversion ratio (P = 0.018). Neither Ph nor Ca influenced eggshell ash content. Both additions of Ph into mixed feed decreased Haugh units (P < 0.001). A higher content of Ca in the diet increased shell thickness (P = 0.024) and shell breaking strength (P = 0.039), while Ph addition increased shell percentage (P = 0.004) and shell breaking strength (P = 0.009). The results of this experiment demonstrate the unsuitability of Ph superdosing in mixed feed for laying hens.


This paper presents a qualitative exploration of how perimenopausal women
construct and re-construct their health identity. Using a narrative approach, 30
women between the ages of 35 and 55 were interviewed twice. A narrative
methodology was employed involving the study of tones and images in the
narrative accounts, in addition to thematic analysis. The research shows that
women consider reproductive health to be pathological, but of paramount
importance in the construction of the health identity. The embodiment of these
reproductive milestones in the world is explored through examining, personal,
interpersonal, positioned and situated (Murray, 2000) tones, themes and images
throughout the accounts. Additionally, themes of health strategising were
explored and revealed the importance of both wellbeing and illness in social
constructions of the health identity. A reflexive approach to the research
grounds this study in Oldham, a socially and economically deprived
regeneration area in the UK, and enables the voices of previously unheard
women to emerge through the research in a person-centred account of health
identity construction.


In the framework of the ESA FLPP program an experimental investigation of the aerothermodynamic phenomena on the IXV configuration during reentry phase has been conducted in the hypersonic wind tunnel H2K at DLR Cologne. To study the control behavior of the vehicle with flaps at different flight conditions, a variation of the flap deflection and the angle of attack have been applied. Tests have been carried out at Mach 8.7 and three different Reynolds number steps. Besides natural transition special devices were used on the model to trip the boundary layer. The test duration was up to 20 seconds. The model is made of a material with low thermal conductivity in order to measure the surface temperature distribution by means of IR thermography and to avoid any lateral heat dissipation inside the structure. Using this data the heat flux rate has been determined taking into account temperature-dependent material characteristics, assuming a semi infinite wall and radiative cooling to the environment. The flow topology has been analyzed using Schlieren images.


In this paper, I examine political corruption as a consequence of societal fractionalization in the 48 contiguous United States. I employ three measures of societal fractionalization—income inequality, racial fractionalization, and religious fractionalization—in an effort to determine whether the demographic characteristics of a given state can predict the amount of corruption it reports. I examine two measures of corruption—federal convictions, and perceived corruption. I find strong support for a connection between income inequality and both measures of corruption, such that increased income inequality is associated with an increase in both real and perceived corruption. Racial and religious fractionalization are both positively and significantly correlated with at least one measure of corruption, but not to the extent of income inequality. I control for several combinations of variables designed to examine different aspects of the United States, particularly with respect to the differences in racial diversity, religious diversity, and key differences between the northern and southern regions of the country. I conclude with a brief discussion of my results and their implications for future study.


Abstract. In this study, twenty microsatellite loci were used to define genetic diversity among 56 water buffalo samples. Their somatic tissues (the skin and cartilage tissues from ears) and DNAs were deposited in Turkish Gene Banks. Samples of healthy animals were collected from three different geographic regions: Northern Turkey, North-Western Turkey and Eastern Thrace. Three (loci CSSM57, ETH3) to ten (locus CSSM47) different alleles were identified per micro-satellite locus in a total of 103 alleles. PIC values for the micro-satellite loci analysed ranged from 0.14 (CSSM32) to 0.82 (CSSM47) with a mean of 0.4945. In all of the populations for each of the loci, the observed heterozygosities (HO) were greater than the expected heterozygosities (HE), indicating that populations suffered from bottleneck. HE per population ranged between 0.5359 in the Black Sea Region and 0.5208 in the Aegean-South Marmara Region. Within the population, inbreeding estimates (FIS) was positive in only four of the 20 loci analysed. Individuals of the different geographic populations did not cluster on the neighbour joining tree which was constructed on the basis of allele sharing distances. Population differentiation was further visualized by Factorial Correspondence Analysis and determined by the pairwise estimations of fixation index (FST) and Nei's standard genetic distance (Da). The results revealed that populations have inertia (as depicted by Factorial Correspondence Analysis), they are differentiated significantly but little (by pairwise FST values) and the least genetic distance is between Black Sea Region and Thrace Region. Comparative studies indicated that the genetic diversity of water buffalo harboured in the Gene Banks of Turkey is at the lower end of the diversity spectrum. This study thus highlights the usefulness of heterologous bovine microsatellite markers to assess the genetic variability in Anatolian water buffalo breeds. Furthermore, the results can be utilized for future breeding strategies and conservation.


This paper analyzes the impacts of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) on bilateral trade, focusing on Japan's FTAs. We first examined the effects of Japan's FTAs, using a dataset of Japan's exports and imports, not only on all products as a whole but also on major products for a period 1995-2016. From the analysis at the aggregate level, we found that effects of Japan's FTAs are heterogeneous among the FTA partners, and that Japan enjoyed trade creation effects of FTAs on exports/imports with more than half of the FTA partners. We also investigated the dynamic effects of FTAs by the period of years from the enforcement. The results demonstrate that positive effects tend to increase gradually for some products. Moreover, we conducted the corresponding analysis for the same period, incorporating not only Japan's trade but also trade between third countries. We found that unlike the analysis only for Japan's exports or imports, the trade creation effects of FTAs disappeared for some FTA partners, while they were robust for others. These findings suggest that Japan's FTAs did not make sufficient contributions to the expansion of Japan's trade with FTA partners when we consider FTA partners' trade with other countries. In other words, even when Japan's trade with FTA partners increased, FTA partners' trade with countries other than Japan increased more. As we have emphasized in a series of our studies on FTAs, to realize the trade expansion effects of FTAs, it is crucial to facilitate the use of FTAs, for instance, by constructing user-friendly rules of origin or provide support for the use of the FTAs.


The hyperactivity, incoordination, recovery, and mortality produced by four alpha-cyanopyrethroids usually used for Chagas disease vector control (beta-cypermethrin, beta-cyfluthrin, lambda-cyhalothrin, and deltamethrin) were evaluated on third instar nymphs of Rhodnius prolixus. All pyrethroids modified the locomotor activity of the nymphs, which increased linearly as a function of the log of insecticide concentration. lambda-Cyhalothrin showed the lowest values of Effective Concentration 50%, Lethal Concentration 50%, Effective Time 50%, and Lethal Time 50% when insecticides were applied by contact with treated filter papers. Recovery from incoordination was observed after topical application of the insecticides. The recovery was inhibited by the simultaneous application of piperonyl butoxide, suggesting that biotransformation by mixed-function microsomal oxidases is involved in the process of recovery.


Low central nervous system (CNS) serotonin levels have been associated with impulsive, aggressive and self-injurious behavior (SIB). Persons with Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) often engage in self-injury by severe compulsive skin picking and gouging and often manifest compulsive eating, hoarding, and explosive outbursts. Some of the compulsive behaviors seen in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) bear similarity to behaviors associated with PWS: Skin picking, trichotillomania, and onychophagia (nail biting). There is abundant evidence that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are effective in treating OCD. Three cases are described in which persons with PWS responded favorably to SSRI treatment. Two persons showed a significant decrease in skin picking. The third case showed a significant decrease in hoarding and explosive outbursts. Strategies are discussed for investigating the possibility of a shared neurochemical basis for the self-injurious, aggressive, and compulsive behaviors in persons with PWS. PWS may provide a relatively homogenous model for the study of skin picking and explosive outbursts among other populations.


Low loss highly tunable microwave material can be fabricated using dielectric laminate structure in which effective dielectric constant /spl epsiv//sub ef/ is efficiently controlled. The proposed combined structure usually consists of two dielectric parts with an air gap between them. This gap has to be arranged in such a way that provides the largest perturbation in the electromagnetic filed. By means of fast piezo electric mini-actuator, the size of the air gap is changed. As a result, the /spl epsiv//sub ef/ of given structure strongly varies that is used for device control. Wideband low loss waveguide phase shifters, highly tunable dielectric resonators, and based on them 20%-tunable filter are realized experimentally.


To study the electrical behavior of nanoscale carbon fibers (NCF)/epoxy nanocomposites under mechanical load, NCF/epoxy materials were produced using different mechanical dispersion methods like pearl mill and three roll mill. Various preliminary mechanical tests with simultaneous resistance measurements have been conducted. The influence of the filler content, the dispersion quality and the filler geometry on the electrical properties of NCF/epoxy composites was investigated as a function of the mechanical loading. The strain sensitivity strongly depended on the filler content and the filler geometry. In cyclic loading tests at low strains the resistance showed a reversible and linear behaviour. At higher strains irreversible resistance changes were observed. In addition, the specific surface resistance corresponded even during unloading with the highest strain level applied so far. This indicates the potential of NCFs/epoxy nanocomposites to monitor the loading history of a sample.


Modern Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs), such as Intel SGX, gain more and more popularity in the blockchain community and their adoption has already been started. Combining smart-contract execution with TEEs promises efficient solutions for protecting data privacy in distributed ledgers, as an alternative to much more costly cryptographic protocols. This paper describes practical challenges that arise from the combination of smart contracts with TEEs. In particular, we discuss existing solutions and their conceptional differences of on-chain and off-chain execution followed by technical challenges on attestation, key management, and non-deterministic execution.


In this paper we present a new storytelling approach, called Hypermedia Novel (HYMN), that extends the classical narration concept of a story. We develop an underlying modular concept – the narration module – that facilitates a new manner of reception as well as creation of a story. The HYMN focuses on the recipient and his role of consuming a story and a heterogeneous group of creative authors by providing narration modules and their interfaces without defining the granularity of the modules. Using several kinds ofmultimedia elements and a hyperlink structure, we present a first demonstrator that implements this new concept. We also discuss improvements, e.g. MPEG-4/7, that support both reception by the audience, and the process of creating the story by a dispersed team of authors.


Background. Neuroblastoma is the most deadly solid tumor of childhood. In the 25% of cases it is associated with MYCN amplification (MA), resulting in the disregulation of several genes involved in cancer progression, chemotherapy resistance and poor prognosis causing the disregulation of several genes involved in cancer progression and chemotherapy resistance and resulting in a poor prognosis. Moreover, in this contest, therapy-related p53 mutations are frequently found in relapsed cases conferring an even stronger aggressiveness. For this reason, the actual therapy requires new antitumor molecules. Therefore, rapid, accurate, and reproducible preclinical models are needed to evaluate the evolution of the different subtypes and the efficacy of new pharmacological strategies. Procedures. We report the real-time tumorigenesis of MA Neuroblastoma mouse models: transgenic TH-MYCN mice and orthotopic xenograft models with either p53wt or p53mut, by non-invasive micro PET and bioluminescent imaging, respectively. Characterization of MYCN amplification and expression was performed on every collected sample. We tested the efficacy of a new MYCN inhibitor in vitro and in vivo. Results. MicroPET in TH-MYCN mice permitted the identification of Neuroblastoma at an early stage and offered a sensitive method to follow metabolic progression of tumors. The MA orthotopic model harboring multitherapy-related p53 mutations showed a shorter latency and progression and a stronger aggressiveness respect to the p53wt model. The presence of MA and overexpression was confirmed in each model and we saw a better survival in the TH-MYCN homozigous mice treated with the inhibitor. Conclusions. The mouse models obtained show characteristics of non-invasiveness, rapidity and sensitivity that make them suitable for the in vivo preclinical study of MA-NB. In particular, our firstly reported p53mut BLI xenograft orthotopic mouse model offers the possibility to evaluate the role of multitherapy-related p53 mutations and to validate new p53 independent therapies for this highly aggressive Neuroblastoma subtype. Moreover, we have shown potential clinical suitability of an antigene strategy through its cellular and molecular activity, ability to specifically inhibit transcription and in vivo efficacy with no evidence of toxicity.


My colleagues and I thank Drs Ryan and Dwarakanathan for sharing their experience with sclerosing thyroid cysts with us. We are pleased that they have found the technique using tetracycline to be "salutary." The observation of an acute pain response to the instillation of tetracycline in two patients is of interest and is similar to the response observed in one of our subsequent patients who likewise had no long-term untoward effects. We agree that the cause of the pain is probably extravasation of the sclerosing solution into the surrounding tissues with subsequent irritation of sensory neural tissue. We also agree that to avoid extravasation the cyst should be only partially evacuated, a maneuver that helps to maintain the needle tip in the cyst cavity during the instillation procedure. The suggestion to mix local anesthetic with the sclerosing agent is intriguing and would be expected to diminish the occasional painful response


This article reviews the history of university development in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and discusses the impact of neoliberal policies. This will be followed by an examination of the problems facing universities in the region. The following questions will be explored: (a) Are the existing universities in SSA serving the development needs of the region? (b) Are these universities up to the task of moving SSA out of the predicaments it faces such as famine, HIV/AIDS, poverty, diseases, debt, and human rights abuses? Finally, the article argues that for universities to play a role in the development of the region, a new paradigm that makes university education a public good should be established.


Clinical data suggest an equipoise between single-use (disposable) and reusable flexible ureterorenoscope (fURS) in terms of scope characteristics, manipulation, view and clinical outcomes. The procedural cost of reusable fURS is dependent on the initial and repair cost, maintenance and scope sterilization and on the number of procedures performed/repair. We conducted a systematic review on the procedural cost ($) of fURS based on the individual authors reported data on the number of procedures performed before repair and to see if it is a feasible option compared to single use fURS. A systematic review carried out in a Cochrane style and in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) checklist using Medline, Scopus, CINAHL, EMBASE and Cochrane library for all English language articles. All papers on fURS cost analysis were searched from 2000-2018 (19 years), which mentioned the cost of fURS based on the number of procedures performed and the repairs needed (procedure/repair) as reported by the individual authors. Six studies reported on both the number of procedures performed with number of repairs needed and the cost calculated/procedure in the given time period. The number of uses/repair in various studies varied between 8-29 procedures and the cost per procedure varied between $120-1,212/procedure. A significant trend was observed between the decreasing cost of repair with the number of usages. With studies reporting on a minimum of 20 cases/repair the mean cost was around $200/procedure. This is contrast to the disposable scopes such as Lithovue ($1,500-2,000/usage) and Pusen ($700/usage). The cost of reusable fURS is low in centres performing a high volume of procedures. Similarly, when a reasonable volume of procedures is performed before scope repair, the cost is lower than the disposable scopes. Although, the disposable and reusable scopes seem to be comparable in terms of their performance, this review proves that reusable fURS are still more cost effective than disposable scopes.