In this paper, we describe the HCI challenges associated with the novel domain of lifelogging for older users. The SenseCam is a passively capturing wearable camera, worn via a lanyard around the neck and used to create a personal lifelog or visual recording of the wearer's life, which generates information that may be very helpful as a human memory aid. Indeed, given that memory defects are more marked in the elderly, we believe that lifelogging browsing techniques which are considerate of the elderly are imperative. Thus, the challenge tackled in this work was to design and integrate the lifelogging activity supported by new technologies in such a way that can easily be learned and used by older people, enabling them to enhance and enrich their lives with the new technologies. This work provides design practitioners of future lifelogging interfaces early sight of the lessons we have learned in making lifelogging technologies accessible to elderly non-computing literate participants.


In today's complex world, simply knowing how to use tools and knowledge in a single domain is not sufficient to remain competitive as either individuals or companies. People must also learn to apply tools and knowledge in new domains and different situations. Industry specialists report that people at every organizational level must be creative and flexible problem solvers (Lynton, 1989). This requires the ability to apply experience and a definition knowledge to address novel problems. Consequently, learning to think critically, to analyse and synthesize information to solve technical, social, economic, political, and scientific problems, and to work productively in groups are crucial skills for successful and fulfilling participation in our modern, competitive society. DOI: 10.1080/0968776950030202


The idea that difference exists between rural and urban enterprise activity is not new, the obvious comparators are measures such as social architecture, resource availability and accessibility. However, when the concept and practice of management in social enterprise is compared in these two contexts then there is opportunity to further our understanding of the contextual challenges encountered by social enterprise. In this paper six cases studies are compared and analysed: three cases are urban social enterprises and three classified as remote rural social enterprises. The urban cases are social enterprises located around Glasgow in the west of Scotland and are compared with three remote rural location studies, one on the Scottish mainland peninsula, the other in northern Scotland and the final case on a Scottish western island. We conclude that the main differences between remote rural and urban management of social enterprise are heavily nuanced by in-migration levels in both rural and urban locations, leadership and community needs and therefore deserving of context relevant policy.


Abstract Nucleoside-diphosphate kinase of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (mNdK) is a secretory protein, but the rationale behind secreting an enzyme involved in the maintenance of cellular pool of nucleoside triphosphates is not clearly understood. To elucidate the biological significance of mNdK secretion, we expressed mNdK fused to green fluorescent protein in HeLa and COS-1 cells. Interestingly, mNdK was detected in the nuclei of HeLa and COS-1 cells. Incubation of mNdK with nuclei isolated from HeLa and COS-1 cells led to in situ damage of chromosomal DNA. Surface plasmon resonance studies demonstrated that mNdK binds supercoiled plasmid DNA lacking apurinic/apyrimidinic sites with a dissociation constant of 30 ± 3.2 μm. Plasmid cleavage by mNdK was found to be dependent on the specific divalent metal ion and inhibited by a metal ion chelator. Moreover, the metal ion-dependent DNA cleavage by mNdK was mediated by superoxide radicals as detected by electron paramagnetic resonance. The cleavage reaction was inhibited under nitrogen atmosphere confirming the necessity of molecular oxygen for DNA cleavage. In view of the findings that mNdK is secreted by intracellular mycobacteria and damages the nuclear DNA, it can be postulated that mNdK may cause cell death that could help in the dissemination of the pathogen.


Numerous interpretations of John Stuart Mill´s utilitarianism have been proposed (in response to the above question) to date. The interpretation presented in this paper is distinctive in that it draws heavily upon multiple utility frameworks, a recent development in microeconomic theory. It is argued that such an analytical framework would enable Mill to advocate an absolute right to liberty, without betraying utilitarianism. This conclusion is at variance with Amartya Sen´s key Paretian liberal paradox, which establishes conflict between some minimal commitment to individual liberty and a social welfare function based upon Paretian value judgements. Generally, one would expect the social objective of utility maximisation to be consistent with the objective of maximisation of a Paretian social welfare function. However, the apparent contradiction is explained here by the fact that the approach to social welfare implied by Mill´s utilitarianism differs fundamentally from the conventional Paretian social welfare function. The analysis is also used to suggest a novel route out of the Sen paradox.


The host of one of the most followed conservative talk radio programs and number 1 bestselling author - takes on President Obama's socialist agenda, his Chicago-style strong-arm tactics, and his Lenin-like complex, showing how conservatives can save America from Obama's assault on the middle-class. In "Trickle Up Poverty", Michael Savage says a revolution is brewing. Americans are boiling mad over the way Congress and this Marxist/Leninist-oriented President are manipulating the current economic crisis to nationalize businesses. They're steamed over the fraud science used to support global warming - which is nothing more than a gigantic Ponzi scheme. They're watching their life savings evaporate while the President saddles them with $3.6 trillion in new debt. Furthermore, Savage says Obama's socialist policies are dragging down the middle-class rather than elevating the plight of those in poverty. Savage not only criticises the Obama administration's flaws, but offers prescriptions to battle them. Savage takes on: The Tea Party Movement-Talk Radio, Townhalls, Tea Parties and the Internet are a revolutionary force, the last outpost of free expression to counter Obama's Leninism, and Obama's Marxist Roots - from his Marxist college professors, his mentor the Reverend Jeremiah Wright God damn America, his Mao-loving czar Ron Bloom We kinda agree with Mao Tse-tung that power comes largely from the barrel of a gun, to his hand-picked former jobs czar Van Jones I was a communist. Savage exposes Obama's inner circle.


Modern machine learning systems such as deep neural networks are often highly over-parameterized so that they can fit the noisy training data exactly, yet they can still achieve small test errors in practice. In this paper, we study this"benign overfitting"phenomenon of the maximum margin classifier for linear classification problems. Specifically, we consider data generated from sub-Gaussian mixtures, and provide a tight risk bound for the maximum margin linear classifier in the over-parameterized setting. Our results precisely characterize the condition under which benign overfitting can occur in linear classification problems, and improve on previous work. They also have direct implications for over-parameterized logistic regression.


The residual network has witnessed a great success in computer vision particularly on classification tasks, however, it has not been well studied in regression. In this work, we show its competence in a regression task - crowds flow prediction, which has strong implication to city safety and management. The problem of crowds flow prediction is challenging due to its fast dynamics. To address this issue, we explore residual learning with Gaussian regularization and propose a novel convolutional neural network called Gaussian noise residual networks (Noise-ResNet). Compared with the benchmark ST-ResNet on crowds flow prediction, the proposed architecture has three advantages: 1) Superior performance. Especially, it attains the state-of-the-art results on benchmark dataset BikeNYC. 2) Light architecture. Noise-ResNet only utilises one residual unit rather than STResNet with multiple ones, which greatly reduces the training time. 3) Interpretable input sequences. Noise-ResNet takes an input sequence that only considers the most important periodic data and closeness data, which makes the learning process more interpretable. Furthermore, experimental results substantiate that the Noise-ResNet can outperform ResNet with dropout on the same regression task.


Reliability and availability of modern wind turbines are of increasing importance, for two reasons. The first is due to the fact that power grids around in the world depends at a higher and higher degree on wind energy, and the second is the importance of lowering Cost of Energy of the wind turbines. One of the critical components in modern wind turbines is the gearbox. Failures in the gearbox are costly both due to the cost of the gearbox itself, but also due to lost power generation during repair of it. Wind turbine gearboxes are consequently monitored by condition monitoring systems operating in parallel with the control system, and also uses additional sensors measuring different accelerations and noises, etc. In this paper gearbox data from high fidelity gearbox model of a 750 kW wind turbine gearbox, simulated with and without faults are used to shown the potential of frequency based detection schemes applied on measurements normally available in a wind controller system. This paper shows that two given faults in the gearbox can be detected using a frequency based detection approach applied to sensor signals normally available in the wind turbine control system. This means that gearbox condition monitoring/ fault detection could be included in the standard control system, which potentially can remove the cost of the additional condition monitoring system and the additional sensors used in it.


We have been trying to find new oxide compounds with large thermal expansion coefficients and low thermal conductivities by means of a material calculation technique. Among thousands of compounds in the databases, we found that there were some materials with low thermal conductivities and large thermal expansion coefficients in the group of strontium-niobium oxides. For example, Sr4Nb2O9 has a thermal expansion coefficient of 14.510-6 / and thermal conductivity of 1.0 W/mK, although a slight amount of other phases appear during long-term annealing. These thermal properties are better than those of yttria-stabilized zirconia, which is the standard material for thermal barrier coatings. To prevent the precipitation of other phases, we prepared the solid solutions, Sr4Nb2-xMxO9. In this study, the thermal conductivities and thermal expansion coefficients of these solid solutions were measured, and their thermal stabilities were evaluated by long-term annealing.


Western Sahara: War, Nationalism, and Conflict Irresolution. By Stephen Zunes and Jacob Mundy. Syracuse Studies in Peace and Conflict Resolution. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2010. Pp. xxxvii, 319; maps, bibliography, glossary, index. $49.95. In the autumn of 2010, several thousand Western Saharans (known as Saharawis) set up an encampment at the settlement of Gdaim Izik, a few kilometers east of the territorial capital of El-Ayoun, in order to protest the actions of Morocco, which has occupied the former Spanish colony since late 1975 and whose disputed status has produced a diplomatic impasse of over three decades' duration. The Gdaim Izik camp was designed by its organizers to be a nonviolent way of resisting the political repression, economic corruption and favoritism, and general lack of development and opportunities by Morocco, which has characterized the occupation. News of the camp- as well as the conditions that led to its establishment- spread rapidly by means of electronic social media unheard of only a decade ago, including Facebook and Twitter as well as cell phones and Internet videos. All of this publicity had been steadily restricting- probably permanently- the ability of Morocco to control which information about the territory was accessible to outsiders. But on November 8, Rabat's formidable security forces struck back, forcibly dismantling the camp and injuring and arresting perhaps hundreds of protesters. At least two dozen persons on both sides were killed, and rioting soon spread to the center of El-Ayoun in what was the worst outbreak of unrest in Western Sahara in many years. The actions at Gdaim Izik also captured the attention, however temporarily, of the international mainstream news media, focusing renewed attention on the struggle between Morocco and the Polisario Front, which has always advocated an independent Western Sahara. Gdaim Izik was also an eerie forerunner of the massive unrest in North Africa that toppled Tunisia's dictatorship in January 2011 and Egypt's a month later, and put several other North African and Middle Eastern regimes, including those in Libya, Syria and Bahrain, under severe popular pressure. With the situation in Western Sahara and the region as a whole in such flux, it is essential for interested persons to have a one-volume history and analysis of this long conflict that is both factually correct and takes account of not only Morocco and Polisario, but also other regional and external actors, including France and the United States. The authors of Western Sahara: War, Nationalism, and Conflict Irresolution largely succeed in giving the reader a comprehensive tour d'horizon of the dispute, one that begins with the 1975-91 war between Morocco and Polisario and continues with chapters describing the political rivalries in North Africa, which strongly affected the conflict, the policies of external actors, the development of Saharawi nationalism, and the "expressions" of that nationalism with respect both to events in the Moroccan-occupied zone of Western Sahara and in Polisario' s system of refugee camps in the Tindouf region of southwestern Algeria. There is also an extensive treatment of the United Nations effort during the 1990s (and beyond) that at first sought to hold a referendum of self-determination among the indigenous inhabitants of the territory (an endeavor that foundered due mostly to Morocco's extravagant demand that tens of thousands of persons previously disqualified from voting should be allowed to cast ballots after all), followed by a plan for the institution of some form of internal autonomy for the territory under overall Moroccan sovereignty. Prospects for the realization of this alternative are dim, not only because of Polisario's categorical rejection of the concept but also due to the reluctance of some UN Security Council members to countenance a non-referendum solution to the conflict. The chapters describing and analyzing this issue (pp. …


My thesis exhibition consists of creating a surreal world to express the mad reality we live with every day. This world deals with my own deeply felt contradictions. These contradictions include; life/death, love/hate, reality/fantasy, fear/courage, war/peace, good/bad, heaven/hell, confinement/freedom, and even Caucasian/Native American. All these dichotomies hinder one's ability to feel secure and whole, and though I present these contradictions as personal, in the end they are universal. I convey these contradictions through an installation. The genre of installation sets up and controls an environment and gives the viewer a world to examine. In my installation the viewer ventures through a tunnel-like path that surrounds a garden space of surreal beauty. It is often said that we are not afforded the luxury of stopping to smell the roses any more. I choose to give my audience roses, but only after I take them on a disquieting journey through thorns. I am allowing the viewer to walk through the landscape of my mind in as vivid a way as possible, perhaps causing them to be as uncomfortable with the fragility of life as I often am.
Both the tunnel-like sculptures surrounding the garden and the garden itself consist of components made of porcelain and glass. Individual "beads" of hand built and carved porcelain are painted with layers of colored porcelain slips. The layers of color are sanded back to reveal a surprising colors and patterns directly related to the carving underneath
Lampworked glass pieces separate the porcelain forms. Steel rods in various shapes and sizes have been welded and bent to serve as the armature for the beads. Dark and threatening forms are arranged as a boundary, a tunnel-like path, leading the viewer down the path around a garden. The garden's sculptural forms are light, airy, and colorful incorporating surreal flora and fauna also created as beads. Each sculptural form can stand on its own as an individual piece, but when placed together, they create a cohesive experience for the audience.
My influences for this work are many. I draw upon painters such as Frida Kahlo, Georgia O'Keefe, and Salvadore Dali; upon glass workers such as Janis Miltenberger, Kari Russell-Poole, and Robert Mickelson; and sculptors including Liza Lou, Kiki Smith, Tara Donovan, and Michael Sherrill. Other inspirations include beadwork, which I have done all my life and which is in part responsible for the colors I utilize in my work; Mexican culture and art from growing up in Southern California and the swamps of southern Georgia, where my ancestors originate; and Native American art and culture from my lineage. All of these influences have led me to this work I have created for my thesis.


The rapid growth in demand for broadband wireless services coupled with the recent developmental work on wireless communications technology and the static allocation of the spectrum have led to the artificial scarcity of the radio spectrum. The traditional command and control model (Static allocation) of spectrum allocation policy allows for severe spectrum underutilization. Spectrum allocated to TV operators can potentially be shared by wireless data services, either when the primary service is switched off or by exploiting spatial reuse opportunities. This paper describes a hybrid access scheme based on CSMA/CA and TDMA MAC protocols for use in the TV bands. The approach allows secondary users (SU) to operate in the presence of the primary users (PU) and the OPNET simulation and modelling software has been used to model the performance of the scheme. An analysis of the results shows that, the proposed schemes protect the primary user from harmful Interference from the secondary user. In terms of delay, it was found that packet arrival rates, data rates and the number of secondary users have significant effects on delay.


BACKGROUND
Adding the atypical neuroleptic risperidone to a serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI) has benefited patients with treatment-refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Since olanzapine and risperidone have similar serotonergic and dopaminergic receptor binding profiles, we tested the hypothesis that olanzapine augmentation would be beneficial in treatment-unresponsive OCD.

METHOD
For this 8-week trial, we recruited 10 adult OCD patients (DSM-IV criteria) unresponsive to fluoxetine (> or =60 mg/day) for > or =10 weeks, which was continued throughout the trial. Other psychotropic medications were discontinued. Subjects had OCD for > or =1 year, a Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) score of > or =18, and no organic, psychotic, or other primary Axis I disorder. Two weeks after olanzapine, 2.5 mg/day, was added, and in the absence of responder status (Y-BOCS score decrease > or =25%) and limiting side effects, we increased the dose to 5 mg/day, and after 2 more weeks, to 10 mg/day for 4 weeks.

RESULTS
The subjects had failed a mean of 3.3 SRI trials (range, 1-5) and had a mean +/- SD baseline Y-BOCS score of 29.0 +/- 4.9. Nine patients completed the trial. The subjects' mean +/- SD endpoint Y-BOCS score was 24.4 +/- 8.0 (a 16% decrease). The 3 responders' Y-BOCS scores dropped 68%, 30%, and 29%, but only 1 patient was rated "much improved." He maintained this improvement during a 6-month follow-up period taking olanzapine, 5 mg/day. Improvement in OCD was independent of improvement in mood symptoms. Six patients (60%) experienced significant weight gain.

CONCLUSION
Olanzapine augmentation may benefit treatment-unresponsive OCD. Double-blind, placebo-controlled trials are warranted along with trials comparing risperidone and olanzapine augmentation.


Cimetidine is a H2-receptor antagonist used in the management of peptic ulcer and other acid hypersecretory conditions. It was previously thought to have no effect on gastric motility. However, other reports have shown that a change in the study protocol may affect the absorption of co-administered drugs via an effect thought to occur by a decreased rate of gastric emptying. The present study therefore seeks to evaluate the effect of Cimetidine on Paracetamol pharmacokinetics when it is administered one hour prior to Paracetamol administration and compare this to the effect produced when Hyoscine bromide; which is known to delay gastric emptying is administered prior to Paracetamol. Sixteen healthy volunteers participated in the study which was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, 1g of Paracetamol was administered orally to the volunteers and in the second phase, the volunteers were divided into two groups of eight subjects each and the first group was given 400mg of Cimetidine orally 1 hour prior to Paracetamol administration while the second group received 10mg of Hyoscine bromide orally prior to Paracetamol administration. Plasma concentration of Paracetamol was determined using a validated spectrophotometric method. Pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated using standard non-compartmental model equations. The study found that delayed administration of Paracetamol after administration of Cimetidine led to statistically significant changes (p<0.05) in some of the pharmacokinetic parameters especially the absorption parameters such as Ka, t1/2α, Cmax and Tmax as compared to the control group receiving Paracetamol alone. These effects mirror the effects produced when the anticholinergic agent Hyoscine bromide was administered prior to Paracetamol admnistration. However, the elimination parameters of Paracetamol were not significantly altered by Cimetidine.


Biomass mapping using satellite imagery is a rapidly evolving field that has been greatly facilitated in recent years by the advent of LiDAR remote sensing coupled with co-located field measurements. The biomass map of Africa that we published in 2008 did not take direct advantage of coincident field and LiDAR measurements, as our more recent efforts have. The criticisms of our earlier map by Mitchard et al (2011 Environ. Res. Lett. 6 049001) are duly noted and worthwhile, although they are also limited in several respects that we describe. Most notably, they assess our map with field data sets that are only representative of a subset of conditions across the study domain, thus they not only inadequately characterize undisturbed tropical forest regions but also the diverse disturbance dynamics that are captured in satellite imagery. We point out the limitations of their assessment and focus on a way forward, moving beyond both inadequate field sampling and remote sensing to an approach the captures the full range of dynamics by directly coupling field and satellite measurements.


For the past few years, consumer products such as computers, mobile phones, and cameras have drastically decreased in size and their functionalities have increased. In addition, mini-invasive techniques in surgery have led to a growing need for small, highly reliable components that can go through arteries or veins. In general, there are nearly no highly technological products that do not benefit from miniaturization. However, one cannot simply scale down electrical or mechanical components from "macroscale" because physical forces do not scale down at the same amplitude. Therefore, the efficiency of actuators depends on their size. Consequently, there is a need for new actuating technologies adapted to the microworld that can replace usual actuators such as electromagnetic motors. Among these technologies, smart materials such as piezoceramics, magnetostrictive, electrostrictive, and shape-memory materials are of particular interest. This article describes the use of shape-memory alloys (SMA) for microengineering applications.A brief description of SMA properties is given. Some usual design principles are addressed. A literature survey and a concept of monolithic microdevices concludes the article.


Radiofrequency (RF) catheter ablation has been widely used in the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias. In atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT), the experience has been predominantly in adults. The cardiac electrophysiological records of 18 consecutive children undergoing RF catheter AV node modification for AVNRT were reviewed. The patients (10 females, 8 males) were 8.2–17.9 years of age (mean 13.6 ± 3.0), weight 15.2–88.1 kg (mean 52.2 ± 20.8), and height 103–190 cm (mean 157.1 ± 21.7). Thirteen were on antiarrhythmic medications (1–3, average 1.5 drugs/day). All drugs were discontinued 48 hours prior to the ablations. The procedures were performed under sedation and local anesthesia. Pre‐ and post‐AV node modification electrophysiological studies were performed in all procedures. The 18 patients underwent a total of 25 procedures (1.39 ± 0.61 per patient): the anterior approach aimed at the antegrade fast pathway in the first four patients and the posterior approach aimed at the slow pathway in the remainder. Thenumber of energy applications was 8–54 (19.8 ± 10.7) per procedure. The maximum energy used in each procedure was 30–50 watts (33.8 ± 8.4). The average energy was 24–50 watts (33.0 ± 6.8). The fluoroscopy time was 7.1–73.4 minutes (29.9 ± 20.0) per procedure, for a total catheterization time of 228–480 minutes (300.3 ± 59.1). Preablation spontaneous or induced AVNRT (cycle length 310.4 ± 55.0 msec) was seen in all except one who had the arrhythmia (cycle length 270 msec) on surface ECG. In 22 of 25 studies, the AH interval measured 67.4 ± 13.2 msec pre‐ and 98.7 ± 58.4 msec post‐AV node modification (P < 0.02). Procedures were initially successful in 16 (89%) of 18 patients. One patient developed complete AV block requiring DDD pacemaker and has since recovered normal AV conduction. Transient third‐ or second‐degree block was seen in four. Other complications included airway obstruction in one and excessive emesis in another. In follow‐up of 2–26 months (13.0 ± 7.3), one patient underwent surgical ablation for failed initial RF catheter ablation, and two underwent successful RF procedures for recurrences. RF catheter AV node modification for AVNRT in children is a useful technique. Under ideal circumstances, it is safe and efficacious. Follow‐up to determine the potential long‐term complications is necessary.


For over a century, Neandertal rib remains have engendered frequent discussions of "barrel-shaped" thoraces, largely in the absence of systematic comparison and hard data. We present here a description of the relatively complete ribcage of the Near Eastern Shanidar 3 Neandertal. We also furnish metric and non-metric comparisons of the Shanidar 3 ribs with other Near Eastern and European Neandertals, the Nariokotome (Homo erectus/ergaster) specimen, Levantine archaic/early modern humans, early and later European modern humans, and a sample of recent Euroamerican males. It is clear from these comparisons that Neandertals share with modern humans the fundamentally human thoracic "bauplan" that first evolved in the early Pleistocene. Yet it is also apparent that the ribcage of Neandertals differ in several anatomical details from those of fully modern humans. Rib curvature, posterior angle, mid-shaft cross-sectional size and shape, and muscle scarring varies considerably among Neandertals and across all samples when considered in isolated ribs. However, normalized metric and discrete patterning across the greater thorax clearly distinguishes Neandertals from our comparative samples. This is most marked in the inferior thorax where Neandertals (and probably earlier Homo) exhibit larger, more rounded and rugose ribs, and a greater costal area (thoracic volume). Greater lower rib cross-sectional robusticity and muscle scarring indicates relatively elevated ventilatory levels. Greater thoracic volume in Neandertals probably reflects greater body mass compared with modern humans since lung volume scales isometrically to body mass among mammals. Neandertal and modern human pulmonary capacity, normalized for body mass differences, was therefore roughly equivalent in the context of detailed differences in thoracic shape. To the extent that cold-climate adaptation is involved, Near Eastern Neandertals appear less "hyper-polar" in thoracic shape than their European counterparts as is also true for several other body proportion measures that are clinally distributed across the known Neandertal range.


Sacks's essay offers a reading of Sigmund Freud's Moses and Monotheism to argue that it offers a critique of sovereign violence. Taking as a point of departure the hermeneutic and interpretive violence occasioned in Israel's "Operation Pillars of Defense" in November 2012, and the statement offered by Israeli Minister Eli Yishai that "the goal of the operation is to send Gaza back to the Middle Ages. Only then will Israel be calm for forty years," this article considers that violence in relation to the older European, philological legacies it receives and imparts. By considering and drawing upon the readings of Freud's Moses and Monotheism pursued by Edward W. Said, Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi, Michel de Certeau, Judith Butler, and others, Sacks argues that Freud's text both repeats and teaches us to place in question the categories that operate and render legible acts of sovereign violence in the institution of the colonial state.


El Salvador has undergone a deep economic transformation over recent decades, from a model based on agro-exports to an open, transnational service-based economy. This transformation has occurred in a context dominated historically by a small group of elite families that formed family-owned diversified business groups (DBGs). This paper studies the leading groups' strategies in confronting transnationalisation. It shows that the DBGs have adapted to the new realities through a combination of sector shifts, internationalisation and the adoption of different kinds of relationships with multinationals. In spite of this, there is little evidence that the DBGs have become less important or subordinate to multinational corporations. Rather, they have, in different ways, exploited their local and regional knowledge and networks to confront competition at home and expand at the regional level.


In his inaugural lecture (delivered in Afrikaans at the University of Pretoria on 16th February, 1995), Professor Dippenaar defends his doctrine, philosophy, objectives, and methodology, as was required of a newly appointed professor in the days of old. Briefly, he recounts the growth and achievements of the Department of Material Science and Metallurgical Engineering at the University of Pretoria; he sketches its strategic guidelines and the obstacles encountered; he outlines the opportunities for the metallurgical industry in South Africa and the need for environmental control; and he descriptionbes how modelling techniques, together with expert systems, can aid both the industry and the community. He ends on an optimistic note, saying that his Department will continue to strive to transform adversities into opportunities, and to give its students a view of new horizons beyond the foundations laid by their teachers.


BACKGROUND
In this study, the magnitude and spatial distribution of theta power in the resting EEG were examined to explore the changes in the neurophysiological status of the alcoholic brain. Some state- and trait-related issues of theta power increases in the EEG of alcoholics were also examined.

METHODS
Absolute theta (3-7 Hz) power in eyes-closed EEGs of 307 alcohol-dependent subjects and 307 age- and gender-matched unaffected controls were compared by using a repeated-measures ANOVA for the entire region and three subregions (frontal, central, and parietal) separately. Supplementary to the main analysis, the effect of three clinical variables on absolute theta power was examined separately for each gender by using correlation and regression analyses. Gender differences in the theta log power difference between alcoholics and controls were explored by using regional repeated-measures ANOVA.

RESULTS
Increased absolute theta power was seen in alcohol-dependent subjects at all scalp locations. The theta log power increase in male alcoholics was prominent at the central and parietal regions and in female alcoholics at the parietal region when compared with the respective matched controls. Correlation of drinking variables with log theta power exhibited no group-specific differences.

CONCLUSIONS
Increased tonic theta power in the EEG may reflect a deficiency in the information-processing capacity of the central nervous system in alcoholics. The theta power increase may also be an electrophysiological index of the imbalance in the excitation-inhibition homeostasis in the cortex. It is likely that the theta power increase is a trait-related phenomenon and is expressed to differing degrees in the two genders.


This study assessed parking facilities in commercial banks along selected road corridors in Ibadan metropolis. The study examined the nature of parking in the selected commercial banks; assessed the compliance to parking space requirements for commercial banks; analysed spatio-temporal dimension of parking congestion in commercial banks; examined the impact of parking facilities on the immediate environment of banks; and determined the measure to cope with the observed parking challenges. The study obtained both primary and secondary data. Quantitative data were obtained through administration of questionnaire to 280 bank users and residents within the bank using random sampling technique and based on purposive sampling of four major corridors in Ibadan metropolis. The questionnaire were analysed using both descriptive and inferential techniques. Decision rule for acceptance or rejection of hypothesis was to accept alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis if the p-value of correlation test (r) is <0.05 level of significance and vice versa. The hypothesis was tested at 0.05 level of significance and the data collected was analyzed using T-test. The study also employed Correlation analysis to test the hypothesis. The result of the study showed that there is a difference in parking capacities across the selected banks (t(13)=14.570, p = .000) at 0.05 level of significance. The correlation analysis revealed that there is a perfect positive relationship between awareness and compliance to planning regulations on parking provisions (r(13) = 1.000, p = .000). It was observed that only a few bank made provision for adequate parking facilities, this led to complaints from some customers and also reduce the numbers of vehicle owners going to the banks in their vehicle. Also, it was observed that majority of the bank managers are not aware of the availability of planning regulations guiding the provision of parking facilities in banks, hence do not comply to the parking requirements. It is therefore recommended that planning approval is taken before carrying out a development plan.


Standard shaped charge of 50mm diameter, widely used in evaluation of explosive/munitions vulnerability against metal jet, is extensively studied with the help of LS-DYNA software and field tests. Four different shaped liners with cone angles including 46 degrees, 48 degrees, 50 degrees, and 60 degrees respectively, configured with RDX-based and HMX-based PBXs, are simulated to find optimum jet velocity and width. Simulation results show that shaped charge jets of liner cone angles of 46 degrees and 48 degrees configured with HMX-based explosive, are more excellent than the other configuration of liner cone angles and RDX-based explosive. In field tests velocity and width of metal jet tip are elaborately measured by the help of X-ray radiograph, whose Vj2d value is a very important parameter detemining penetration capability of metal jet. Field test results show that shaped charge jet of liner cone angles of 46 degrees configured with HMX-based explosive, having a desirable Vj2d value no less than 360mm3/μs2 and penetraion against larger than 127mm thick steel plate.


Flooding is the most common of all natural disasters and accounts for large numbers of casualties and a high amount of economic damage worldwide. To be 'flood resilient', countries should have sufficient capacity to resist, the capacity to absorb and recover, and the capacity to transform and adapt. Based on international comparative research, we conclude that six key governance strategies will enhance 'flood resilience' and will secure the necessary capacities. These strategies pertain to: (i) the diversification of flood risk management approaches; (ii) the alignment of flood risk management approaches to overcome fragmentation; (iii) the involvement, cooperation, and alignment of both public and private actors in flood risk management; (iv) the presence of adequate formal rules that balance legal certainty and flexibility; (v) the assurance of sufficient financial and other types of resources; (vi) the adoption of normative principles that adequately deal with distributional effects. These governance strategies appear to be relevant across different physical and institutional contexts. The findings may also hold valuable lessons for the governance of climate adaptation more generally.


More (rather than fewer) material resources are thought to be the key driver in innovation project performance. Recent empirical evidence, however, suggests that the influence of material resource availability on innovation projects is not as simple and straightforwardly positive as it may seem. We build on the concept of an innovation project team's resource elasticity to disentangle the material resource–innovation output conundrum. This concept is analogous to the marketing concept of price elasticity and points to four types of innovation project teams based on their resource elasticity: In resource‐elastic teams, the relationship between material resources and innovation outcomes is positive (hence, they are 'resource driven' when able to dispose of adequate material resources or 'resource victims' when lacking these material resources). In contrast, and as a significant departure from previous work, resource‐inelastic teams show no or even a negative relationship between material resource adequacy and team performance (thus, the teams are 'resourceful' if they can perform with limited material resources or 'resource burners' if they show low success with adequate material resources). Because neither adequate nor inadequate material resources seem to be a reliable predictor of success, we synthesize empirical research efforts that point to each team type's key characteristics to derive novel implications for managing innovation projects.


Nuclear particles hitting the silicon in a electronic device can cause a change in the data in a memory bit cell or in a flip-flop. The device is still working, but the data is corrupted and this is called a soft error. A soft error caused by a single nuclear particle is called a single event upset and is a growing problem. Research is ongoing at Saab aiming at how susceptible random access memories are to protons and neutrons. This thesis describes the development of equipment for measuring cosmic-ray effects on DRAM in laboratories. The system is built on existing hardware with a FPGA as the core unit. A short history of soft errors is also given and what causes it. How a DRAM works and basic operation is explained and the difference between a SRAM. The result is a working system ready to be used.


Objectives: Investigation of the effects of hyperoxia during resuscitation from hemorrhagic shock in swine with preexisting coronary artery disease. Design: Prospective, controlled, randomized trial. Setting: University animal research laboratory. Subjects: Nineteen hypercholesterolemic pigs with preexisting coronary artery disease. Interventions: Anesthetized, mechanically ventilated, and surgically instrumented pigs underwent 3 hours of hemorrhagic shock (removal of 30% of the calculated blood volume and subsequent titration of mean arterial blood pressure ≈40 mm Hg). Postshock resuscitation (48 hr) comprised retransfusion of shed blood, crystalloids (balanced electrolyte solution), and norepinephrine support. Pigs were randomly assigned to "control" (FIO2 0.3, adjusted for arterial oxygen saturation ≥ 90%) and "hyperoxia" (FIO2 1.0 for 24 hr) groups. Measurements and Main Results: Before, at the end of shock and every 12 hours of resuscitation, datasets comprising hemodynamics, calorimetry, blood gases, cytokines, and cardiac and renal function were recorded. Postmortem, organs were sampled for immunohistochemistry, western blotting, and mitochondrial high-resolution respirometry. Survival rates were 50% and 89% in the control and hyperoxia groups, respectively (p = 0.077). Apart from higher relaxation constant &tgr; at 24 hours, hyperoxia did not affect cardiac function. However, troponin values were lower (2.2 [0.9–6.2] vs 6.9 [4.8–9.8] ng/mL; p < 0.05) at the end of the experiment. Furthermore, hyperoxia decreased cardiac 3-nitrotyrosine formation and increased inducible nitric oxide synthase expression. Plasma creatinine values were lower in the hyperoxia group during resuscitation coinciding with significantly improved renal mitochondrial respiratory capacity and lower 3-nitrotyrosine formation. Conclusions: Hyperoxia during resuscitation from hemorrhagic shock in swine with preexisting coronary artery disease reduced renal dysfunction and cardiac injury, potentially resulting in improved survival, most likely due to increased mitochondrial respiratory capacity and decreased oxidative and nitrosative stress. Compared with our previous study, the present results suggest a higher benefit of hyperoxia in comorbid swine due to an increased susceptibility to hemorrhagic shock.


Two types of depth cues contributed to the spatial perception of objects in scene: absolute cues, which theoretically provide information about the exact location of a point in space, and relative cues, which give depth information with respect to other points in space. The viewing parameters, such as the viewing distance or frustrum angle, can change the effect of these depth cues. The influence of disparity, object rotation, motion parallax, and the frustrum angle on a simulated telemanipulation task is examined. The results show that disparity is a powerful cue that can improve task performance. Object rotation and head motion parallax neither enhanced nor degraded performance. The frustrum angle affected the completion time but not error performance.<<ETX>>


Rabbit peritoneal polymorphonuclear leucocytes were induced to aggregate by a variety of bacterial species. In the absence of serum, Gram-negative bacteria were more effective at inducing aggregation than Gram-positive. The most effective micro-organism tested, Acinetobacter sp. 199A, was readily phagocytosed and also induced extracellular secretion of the granule enzymes peroxidase and lysozyme. Isolated endotoxin from this bacterial species was highly effective in inducing aggregation and granule enzyme release. Endotoxin-induced aggregation was associated with a large increase in the amount of lactoperoxidase-catalysed iodination of surface protein. Only one iodinatable protein was detected, of molecular weight 150 000. It is postulated that phagocytosis of Gram-negative bacteria, followed by granule enzyme release, accelerates the rate of membrane recycling and that this brings new adhesive protein to the surface more rapidly.


The main objective of this Study is to organize the breathing and relaxation operations and to weaken the scare factor of beginners in swimming sport. A training program was established for a pre- determined period of four weeks, 4 times a week and 20 minutes each meeting. The investigated group of 15 beginners, enrolled in swimming (1) course of Summer term (2006) at the Faculty of Physical Education in Yarmouk University / Jordan, were subjected to practical skills of pursuing certain Aqua Yoga exercises with the extraordinary music. The results, based on applying this kind of Yoga exercises, show that the free motion of swimmer's legs and hands within a certain consequence and their potential interactions with water have an advantageous effect on organizing the breathing and the relaxation operations, especially by the beginners. Based on the study findings the researcher recommends that this kind of exercises should be followed as a new training methodology to effectively accelerate the learning process of swimming sport.


Renal bone disease represents one of the major complications of end-stage renal disease, accounting for the numerous and various changes at bone level, determined by abnormal calcium and phosphorus homeostasis and by changes in calcitriol and PTH synthesis. PTH represents as well a major uraemic toxin, exerting profound systemic effects, particularly at the cardiovascular level. PTH synthesis is mainly controlled by changes in calcium-phosphorus balance and calcitriol production by the kidneys. Several others factors are important in the development of secondary hyperparathyroidism: acidosis, autonomisation of PTH secretion and peripheral (target-organ) resistance to PTH actions. Although bone biopsy represents the definitive diagnostic test to differentiate between osteitis fibrosa, low-turnover bone disease and bone involvement unrelated to disturbed calcium metabolism (i.e. beta 2-microglobulin-related amyloidosis), plasma intact PTH generally exhibits a reasonably good relation with bone histology parameters. Moreover serum bone-specific alkaline phosphatase isoenzyme, serum pyridinoline and the novel serum markers for bone turnover are highly specific and correlate with bone histomorphometry parameters, so that, preventive and therapeutic strategies should be re-evaluated based solely on biochemical parameters.


Concerning with the imagery within advertisements which bring vivid description of an object of human's senses of sight, smell, touch, taste, hearing, move, and feel; the advertisements are designed to generate consumption of products and services. There are 7 types of imagery such as internal imagery, visual imagery, auditory imagery, tactile imagery, olfactory imagery, gustatory imagery, and kinesthetic imagery. The language brings readers' senses to think economically and then decide to buy.

In line with it, this study is very important to be conducted as it is focused on the types and the use of the types of imagery in advertisements. Furthermore, this study used descriptive-qualitative method design since the data are in the form of words or utterances rather than numbers. The data were taken from the columns of the advertisement of The Jakarta Post issued on April 1st to 24th, 2008 editions for several reasons; first, in linguistics study, the language of the advertisements is included transactional discourse since its stress is on the message from advertisers to consumers. Second, advertisement is a form of written communication that develops at the same time with the advance of technology, whether in oral or written ways. Third, the language of advertisements, which is compact and persuasive, is different from the most of the other language used in every day life, i.e. the language is discrete. The numbers of the data were 79 columns of advertisement. After identifying those data based on the characteristics of imagery types, the researcher reduced it into 50 columns. The researcher herself became the instrument in the process of data collection and data analysis.

Thus, this study was aimed to find out the imagery types and the use of imagery types in advertisement of The Jakarta Post issued on April 1st to 24th, 2008 editions. Intensive reading was the most appropriate step in analyzing the columns of advertisement to find out the imagery types. To confirm the 7 types of imagery that is identified, the researcher explained the keyword in the texts of advertisement in The Jakarta Post by giving a symbol of imagery based on the characteristics identified. Furthermore, the researcher was interpreting messages in each advertisement. The last is drawing conclusion based on the research findings.

Based on the researcher's analysis, the researcher concluded that internal sensation; visual imagery; gustatory imagery; olfactory imagery; auditory imagery; and kinesthetic imagery were found in the advertisements of The Jakarta Post issued on April 1st to 24th, 2008 editions. In addition, internal imagery was the most effective imagery that is used in the advertisements of The Jakarta Post issued on April 1st to 24th, 2008 editions. However, tactile imagery does not found in the advertisement of The Jakarta Post issued on April 1st to 24th, 2008 editions. In accordance with the findings that some kinds of imagery were used in advertisements as specific detail word that brings effectiveness and efficiency. Imagery strengthens the readers' concreteness in the composition of text description.


Potential application of Carbon Nanotubes as a drug delivery system is limited by their hydrophobity and their natural tendency to aggregate in the bundles. Dispersion and solubility of Singlewall Carbon Nanotubes (SWCNT) in Phosphate Buffered Saline (PBS) solution via non covalent and covalent interactions was investigated. Galactosyl-β1-Sphyngosine (glycolipid precursor of cerebrosides, structured with a hydrophobic chain, a hydrophilic head and an amine group between them) was used. Pristine SWCNTs were wrapped with Galactosyl-β1-Sphyngosine (Gal-Sphy), whereas the carboxylic groups of the functionalized CNTs were activated in order to interact with amine groups of Galactosylsphyngosine and render the coating stronger. Samples dispersion was characterized by optical absorption spectroscopy (OAS). The comparison and efficiency of the dispersion stability of the functionalized material in respect to the pristine SWCNTs will be presented. We exploited Raman Spectroscopy to evaluate relative purity of the samples, and the Infrared analysis to characterize the presence of the functional groups on the tubes surface. The morphology of the samples was studied using high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM).


In East Asia, the religious and intellectual history of women has been less seriously dealt with compared to that of men. In Korea, the focus has been most often on elite men who reinforced Confucian patriarchal ideals. Unfortunately, the Confucian hierarchy excluded women from the intellectual world and reinforced inequality and double standards at all levels. This paper gives a voice to the marginalised women who converted to Catholicism during the late eighteenth/early nineteenth century, but who have, once more, been overlooked at the expense of elite men. It will firstly outline how Confucian constructions of "good" women subjugated and delimited their possibilities vis-a-vis men. By engaging with contemporary critical theory, it articulates how marginalised women, who took the lead in spreading the Catholic faith, risking, and often losing their lives in doing so, unsettled Confucian constructions as they endeavoured to realise a new value system based on the Christian teaching of equality: this was considered "dangerous knowledge," and seen as a threat to the state. This study focuses on two women in particular: Colombe Kang Wansuk (1760-1801) and Luthgarde Yi Suni (1781?-1802), who show us various ways in which Catholicism was transforming the lives of women, dissolving rigid binary notions of gender, allowing everyone to participate in the intellectual and spiritual world through the use of Han'gŭl, as well as developing a new religious modus vivendi for women and men.


The purpose of the present investigation was to determine the relationship between skeletal muscle characteristics, adiposity, and in vivo insulin action. Percutaneous muscle biopsies of the vastus lateralis (VL) and gastrocnemius (G) muscles were obtained from twenty-two sedentary male subjects. Insulin sensitivity (SI) and glucose effectiveness (SG) were determined from minimal model analysis, and indexes of regional and overall adiposity were obtained. SI was positively related to the citrate synthase activity from the VL (r = 0.50, P < 0.01) but unrelated to the citrate synthase activity from the G (r = 0.28). Similarly, SI was inversely related to the percentage of type IIb fibers in the VL (r = -0.47, P < 0.01) but unrelated to the percentage of type IIb fibers in the G (r = 0.06). SG was unrelated to fiber type, oxidative capacity, or adiposity. These data suggest that oxidative capacity and other characteristics related to VL skeletal muscle fiber type are determinants of in vivo insulin action but that this relationship cannot be extended to all muscle groups. Finally, neither skeletal muscle characteristics nor adiposity appears to be a determinant of SG in sedentary males.


This paper investigates the evolution of the multitude of alternative building certification/ assessment rating systems around the world. In addition, the paper compares best practices, with a particular focus on the two most commonly used and/or modified environmental assessment systems n LEED (Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design) and BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method). In order for these certification/assessment rating systems to continue to push for innovation, it will be important that they begin to converge and speak the same language, so this paper will explore the different philosophies and business models from which they have evolved. Similarities will be identified, topics of significant difference will be highlighted, and strengths and weaknesses of each system currently being applied will be described. Issues that remain to be tackled by the rating systems n e.g. such as a need to move beyond checklists to better performance indicators that measure performance more holistically n are identified for further research.


Abstract During recent decades, rough livestock grazing has decreased markedly on unimproved land (i.e. natural and semi-natural habitats) across most of Europe, whilst the number of wild cervids has increased. However, we still know little about the overall changes in the herbivore pressure and how herbivore regimes vary between biogeographic regions. We have quantified the spatio-temporal variation in herbivore pressure indirectly by estimating the metabolic biomass of large herbivores in mountain, coastal and inland municipalities of Norway every 10th year during 1949-1999. We quantified how much livestock biomass has decreased, whether this corresponded to increasing cervid biomass, and whether the proportion of grazing relative to browsing has changed within the herbivore community. Total metabolic biomass of livestock and cervids (MBAtotal) decreased from 126 kg/km2 in 1949 to 107 kg/km2 in 1999 (∼85% of MBAtotal in 1949). Changes differed markedly between regions. Herbivore pressure in the coastal region nearly halved from 1949 to 1999, while the decrease was minor in the inland and mountain regions. Livestock grazing more than halved, whereas the metabolic biomass of cervids increased by 276% from 1949 to 1999. Cervids dominated the community of large herbivores on unimproved land in Norway in 1999 (54% of MBAtotal). Livestock dominated in the mountain (52% of MBAtotal) and in the coastal region (54% of MBAtotal) in 1999, while cervids dominated in the inland region (67% of MBAtotal). Most herbivore foraging consisted of grazing in 1949 (89% at a national scale). This proportion was reduced to 54% by 1999. Percent browsing was especially high (> 90%) in several municipalities in southeastern Norway in 1999. The increase of wild cervids is exceptional in a historical perspective, and managers have to adapt to wild cervids being the major ecosystem engineers in many landscapes.


BACKGROUND
Cystic lymphangiomas (CL) rarely present as intra-abdominal masses. Abdominal CL is often discussed in conjunction with mesenteric cysts; however, their histology, location and age of presentation differ significantly. In an attempt to establish a best diagnostic and treatment modality, we report our experience dealing with intra-abdominal CL during a 5-year period.

METHODS
Between January 1998 and December 2003, 12 patients, 7 boys and 5 girls, with a diagnosis of CL were reviewed. Modes of clinical presentation, location of CL, methods of diagnosis, surgical intervention and histological examination were all analyzed.

RESULTS
The ages of the 12 patients ranged from 8 days to 6 years. Eleven of the 12 patients were symptomatic with abdominal pain, abdominal distention or palpable mass , dysuria and severe acute abdominal pain mimicking appendicitis. Abdominal ultrasound was done preoperatively in all patients. At laparotomy, 5 CL were located in the omentum, 5 in the mesentery, and another 2 in the retroperitoneum. All omental CL were completely excised without difficulty. CL removal required resection of both the cyst and intestine in 2 patients. One of 2 retropritoneal CL was removed with small areas of the posterior wall of the cyst remaining on the inferior vena cava (IVC). There were no major postoperative complications, deaths, or recurrences in this series.

CONCLUSIONS
Intra-abdominal CL are usually involved in young children and are usually symptomatic. A preoperative diagnosis is possible with ultrasound study. Complete excision of the cysts with or without intestinal resection is mandatory to prevent recurrence. The long-term prognosis is excellent.


As trains are continually designed for higher and higher speeds the problems of railway carriage vibration are on the increase. Lateral vibrations in a railway carriage are noticeable to passengers if the vibration frequencies are lower than approximately 20 Hz. Below this frequency discomfort is a common problem for the passengers and below approximately 1 Hz motion sickness is a problem. The passive solution of stiffening the carriage chassis to shift the vibrational frequencies higher up results in inflated manufacturing and running costs, and opposes higher travel speeds due to increased weight. Semi-passive solutions such as modifying the structural dynamics of the carriage body by decoupling heavy underfloor equipment do not reduce the vibrations sufficiently. However, by appending a multi-reference feedforward active vibration control system, one way expect a substantial reduction in the lateral vibration level. Using a dynamic computer model of a railway carriage simulating the lateral vibration, and using as input bogie acceleration data measured on a running train, multiple-input/single-output coherence spectra were shown to constitute a suitable set of reference signals for an active control system. Control simulations based on the Feedforward Multiple-Input/Single-Output Filtered-x LMS Algorithm are carried out using different reference signal combinations. The control results indicate lateral vibration attenuation on the order of 15dB at the objective frequency of 10Hz.


Abstract. Being able to accurately estimate parameters characterising land surface interactions is currently a key scientific priority due to their central role in the Earth's global energy and water cycle. To this end, some approaches have been based on utilising the synergies between land surface models and Earth observation (EO) data to retrieve relevant parameters. One such model is SimSphere, the use of which is currently expanding, either as a stand-alone application or synergistically with EO data. The present study aimed at exploring the effect of changing the atmospheric sounding profile on the sensitivity of key variables predicted by this model assuming different probability distribution functions (PDFs) for its inputs/outputs. To satisfy this objective and to ensure consistency and comparability to analogous studies conducted previously on the model, a sophisticated, cutting-edge sensitivity analysis (SA) method adopting Bayesian theory was implemented on SimSphere. Our results did not show dramatic changes in the nature or ranking of influential model inputs in comparison to previous studies. Model outputs examined using SA were sensitive to a small number of the inputs; a significant amount of first-order interactions between the inputs was also found, suggesting strong model coherence. Results showed that the assumption of different PDFs for the model inputs/outputs did not have an important bearing on mapping the most responsive model inputs and interactions, but only the absolute SA measures. This study extends our understanding of SimSphere's structure and further establishes its coherence and correspondence to that of a natural system's behaviour. Consequently, the present work represents a significant step forward in the global efforts on SimSphere verification, especially those focusing on the development of global operational products from the model synergy with EO data.


EDITOR,—Following a recent study demonstrating the lack of eYcacy of dexamethasone in bronchiolitis, Everard has commented that there is little evidence that any specific treatment for bronchiolitis is of major clinical benefit. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has issued guidelines for the use of ribavirin in respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) bronchiolitis. These guidelines have not been widely accepted in the UK and the indications for ribavirin use remain controversial. To investigate this further we have recently conducted a nationwide survey of UK paediatricians' attitudes and use of ribavirin, related to their experience of bronchiolitis. A structured questionnaire was sent to all UK consultant hospital paediatricians, requesting one reply from each hospital unit. Paediatricians were asked which groups of children at risk of severe RSV disease (from the AAP guidelines), who had been hospitalised with RSV bronchiolitis, they would routinely treat with ribavirin. We also asked how many children with bronchiolitis they had admitted, ventilated, or treated with ribavirin during the winter 1 October 1993 to 30 April 1994. Replies were received from 73% of all hospitals. For the following high risk groups the percentage of paediatricians who indicated that they would routinely use ribavirin in the treatment of an infant hospitalised with RSV bronchiolitis was: congenital heart disease 62%, bronchopulmonary dysplasia 69%, cystic fibrosis 62%, immunodeficiency 67%; for those severely ill requiring fractional inspiratory oxygen >0.5 35%, and with raised carbon dioxide tension 30%, neonates 15%, infants with multiple congenital abnormalities 9%, and with significant neurological disease 7%. From the replies, we estimated (by extrapolating from the infant population of each district), that there were 20 000 infants admitted, 640 ventilated and 620 treated with ribavirin in the UK during the 1993–4 season. From a similar questionnaire we sent to pharmacy departments (response rate 84%), we estimated that 1700 vials of ribavirin were dispensed for use in children, at a cost of over a third of a million pounds, although many of the larger units in the UK are no longer using ribavirin at all. The results of this survey demonstrate that only two thirds of UK paediatricians would routinely use ribavirin for children with underlying heart or lung disease and those with immunodeficiency. For the other clinical indications recommended or suggested by the AAP, most paediatricians in this country would not routinely use ribavirin. This study confirms that there is considerable uncertainty and variation in the use of ribavirin in high risk infants among UK paediatricians. Mortality rates for high risk infants with RSV bronchiolitis seem now to be lower than previously quoted. American critical care paediatricians remain unconvinced about the safety and eYcacy of ribavirin, and are unhappy with the AAP guidelines. There are no published data on the cost eVectiveness of ribavirin treatment. As the mortality of RSV bronchiolitis now appears very low, a large double blind placebo controlled trial assessing the clinical and cost eVectiveness of ribavirin treatment in high risk infants is both ethical and essential for evidence-based decision making.


The paper brief is one out of the first approaches in Turkey to popularize HVDC-light transmissions. It deals with three areas. (1) Lab design and PSCAD modeling of a special bridge controlled AC-DC three load (star-delta) rectifier. It uses a group of 9 valves (instead of a group of 6 valves of common bridge), three lines of former AC transmission, the earth and three DC loads between the lines and earth (or a star-delta inverter). (2) Lab design and PSCAD modeling of a special controlled bridge DC-AC star-delta inverter between three DC source and AC network. It also uses a group of 9 valves (instead of common group of 6 valves), three input DC lines (and the earth) and three outputs AC transmission lines. (3) Comparison of the bridges construction and modeling results of traditional HVDC-light transmission (6 valves rectifier, traditional DC line and 6 valves inverter) and designed AC-DC-AC transmission (9 valves rectifier, AC line and 9 valves inverter). The proposed star-delta rectifier and inverter can be implemented in common electrical applications such as HVDC transmission, supply of isolated loads, asynchronous grid connection, infeed of small-scale distributed generators (DG), infeed to city centers, for DC grids, converting the AC lines into HVDC light lines, etc.


This dissertation explores the design of new media technologies for engaging the public on the political aspects of urban sustainability. Focusing on new media's "responsive aesthetics", it asks, how are interactive experiences designed to mediate the underlying political culture of sustainability? In order to provide initial answers to this question, this dissertation draws on phenomenological approaches to the philosophy of technology, critical theory and contemporary work in HumanComputer Interaction (HCI), to develop a framework for considering the politicizing aspects of interactive experiences. At its centre is a conception of interactivity as a form of world disclosure that mediates being, perception, action and meaning. The validity and utility of the conceptual framework is demonstrated with a variety of case studies that include Mash Notes, a public interactive installation; MetroQuest, a sustainability decision support tool; public engagement processes facilitated by UBC's Collaborative for Advanced Landscape Planning (CALP); and several "serious" games. The design of interactive experiences is discussed on the background of what is identified here as an incipient turn to experience in environmental communication. Perceived as a response to the decline of the dominant science communication paradigm, known as the information deficit model, the turn to experience is explained as an appeal to resonant, felt, meaningful aspects of the public's perception of, and engagement with, environmental issues. It is illustrated by two communicative strategies: the first aims to evoke resonant experiences with politicizing effects, while the second aims to create consonance between the public's everyday experiences and the issues underpinning political decision-making. The dissertation's critical analysis of the relations between politics and design aims to provide environmental communicators with a better understanding of the potentials and limitations of designing interactive experiences to engage the public on sustainability, and provide technology designers with a more comprehensive and nuanced conception of the political significance of their creations.


When measuring the best linear approximation of systems suffering from nonlinear distortions a specific class of periodic multiharmonic signals is normally used. These are signals with uniformly distributed random phases, termed random phase multisines. In this paper, it is shown that measurements of the best linear approximation of nonlinear systems can also be obtained by using a special type of low crest factor multisines. These signals are compared to random phase multisines and their properties are analysed in detail.


Policies regulating greenhouse gas emissions apply to a small subset of emitting sources. This raises a formidable concern: emissions can "leak" from regulated to unregulated sources. We provide a theoretical basis for deriving industry-specific measures of leakage risk and for calibrating the output-based subsidies that are currently used to mitigate leakage. Using US energy price variation as a proxy for variation that would be induced by a domestic carbon price, we show how theoretically consistent leakage-mitigating subsidies can be calibrated. We simulate the impacts of a domestic carbon price on US manufacturing with and without these subsidies. Absent mitigation, emissions leakage is substantial. Output-based subsidies targeted on the basis of our leakage risk measures significantly reduce this leakage risk. In contrast, the current practice of coarsely targeting subsidies on the basis of emissions intensity and trade exposure delivers a small fraction of leakage mitigation benefits while incurring significant costs.


The market values of online platforms, such as Yahoo, stem from their ability to monetize the clicks they generate for firms advertising on their sites. We exploit a unique dataset on clicks from one of Yahoo's price comparison sites to estimate the determinants of clicks received by online retailers. We find that a firm enjoys a 60% jump in its clicks when it offers the lowest price at the site. This discontinuity is consistent with a variety of models that have been used to rationalize the price dispersion observed in online markets. We also show that one may use estimates of the determinants of a firm's clicks to obtain bounds on its underlying demand parameters, including own- and cross-price elasticities. Our results have potentially significant ramifications for online retailers, platforms, and policymakers: Failure to account for discontinuities distorts parameter estimates by 50 to 100 percent.


The andalusite-sillimanite-type low-pressure Daulet Suite underlies the Kokchetav ultrahigh-pressure—high-pressure (UHP-HP) massif of northern Kazakhstan. The Daulet Suite is composed of pelitic-psammitic gneisses or schists and quartz schist with minor amounts of metacarbonate and metabasite. About 300 thin sections were examined from the Daulet metapelites; rocks were divided into two mineral zones. Zone A is characterized by andalusite + cordierite + biotite, and zone B by sillimanite + cordierite + biotite with excess K-feldspar, quartz, and plagioclase in both zones. K-feldspar appears with andalusite at lower temperatures than the first formation of sillimanite. Pressure-temperature conditions of the Daulet metamorphism range from 580 to 680°C at a nearly constant pressure of ~2 kbar. Comparison of compositions of solid-solution minerals with a buffered assemblage indicates that the metamorphic grade increases towards the boundary with the overlying UHP-HP unit. Detailed mapping revealed that the primary structure of both the Kokchetav UHP-HP massif and its surrounding units is subhorizontal; the UHP-HP unit has been thrust over the Daulet Suite with a top-to-the-north movement. The thermal structure of the Daulet Suite is subhorizontal and metamorphic grade increases upwards—i.e., toward the boundary with the UHP-HP unit—whereas the thermobaric maximum of the UHP-HP unit occurs at an intermediate structural level. The upward increase in metamorphic grade within the Daulet Suite implies contact metamorphism by the tectonic juxtaposition of the "hot" Kokchetav UHP-HP unit at shallow crustal levels.


ABSTRACT This qualitative study explores the school-based instructional leadership role of Heads of Department (HODs) in the implementation of different History syllabi. It seeks to establish the practices that History HODs carry out in order to improve the teaching and learning of the subject. HODs are subject specialists who are responsible for establishing and ensuring high standards of teaching and learning in their subjects. This study is a response to the claim that History HODs often fail to rise to expectations in ensuring effective curriculum implementation in the subject. Qualitative data was collected through the study of circulars and policy documents and by conducting structured, in-depth interviews with fifteen key informants sampled from selected schools in the Glen View/Mufakose district in Harare. The key finding from this study is that the HODs were the de facto instructional leaders during the implementation of the History syllabi and that their level of involvement determines the success and/or failure of History syllabi. The paper concludes by asserting that HODs play a critical role in the implementation of History syllabi, since they are at the chalk face and directly supervise the implementation of changes in the subject as illustrated at five secondary schools used in the study. Keywords: HOD; Instructional leadership; Implementation; History Syllabus; Supervision.


PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to see whether there was a correlation between the performance of persons on the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery In-Training Examination (OMSITE) and their performance on the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Written Qualifying Examination (ABOMS WQE).

METHODS
All OMSITE scores for residents in their last years of training during the years 1992 to 1998 and their scores on the ABOMS WQE were tabulated by American College Testing (ACT) (Iowa City, IA) and submitted for analysis. The data were analyzed using Pearson's correlation coefficients to determine any relationship between the 2 scores. Likelihood ratios were calculated to show the probability of candidates passing the ABOMS WQE based on their OMSITE score.

RESULTS
There were 765 scores provided by ACT for the years 1992 to 1998. A significantly positive correlation existed between the OMSITE and ABOMS WQE raw scores for those taking the ABOMS WQE for the first and second times, but not for subsequent attempts. Persons who scored a raw score of over 211 on the OMSITE all passed the ABOMS WQE on their first attempt. Those with a raw score of less than 134 on their OMSITE all failed the ABOMS WQE on their first attempt.

CONCLUSION
A highly positive correlation exists between candidate performance on the OMSITE and the ABOMS WQE.


The purpose of this study was to examine the experience of burnout in adolescent/young adult performing arts (i.e. a World-Class junior drum & bugle corps) at the beginning of their competitive training season. Specifically, this study took particular interest in investigating the predictive influence of psychological variables such as performance anxiety, psychological coping skills, and coping functions in predicting who was more prone to burnout as well as who returned or dropped out after the competitive season. Data were drawn from an archive of 144 drum corps performers, representing one world class drum and bugle corps at the beginning of their competitive summer training and season. Findings revealed that performance anxiety and psychological coping skills were significant predictors of burnout in performing artists and accounted for 36% of the variance in burnout. Specifically, the psychological coping skill of coachability significantly predicted burnout above and beyond the other five psychological skills measured. Findings also demonstrated that burnout (specifically, reduced sense of accomplishment) and the psychological coping skill of confidence both significantly predicted performers who continued on to the next season. Together, burnout and psychological coping skills accounted for 15% of the variance on continuation. The results of this study offer valuable contributions to the research in this area as no study has examined burnout, psychological coping, performance anxiety, and continuation within this particular performing arts setting. Practical implications include interventions which address early symptoms of performance anxiety and burnout. Instructors may also intervene by building their performer's confidence levels throughout the season as well as adjusting coaching styles to meet the needs of at risk performers. This may not only reduce burnout symptoms, but influence whether a performer continues or drops out the next season.


From the relative absence of serious women writing in the early mainstream East African literature in English, starting the last quarter of the twentieth century, women writing has flourished to gain deserved space in the East African literary canon. In the writing of Kenya's Marjorie Oludhe Macgoye, Uganda's Mary Karooro Okurut, and Tanzania's Elieshi Lema, literature in English by women has exponentially broadened, thematically and aesthetically, to adequately carry and represent the East African woman person's so ciohistorical and economic experiences as well as her private/public narratives. This literature perceives the woman in both the specific and broader historical and cultural realms of the East African society. It shows how she, with intellectual and emotional maturity, interrogates practices and institutions that are, in most cases, patriarchally constructed, in order to evolve a gender inclusivist and all-encompassing human space. Three works by these authors – Macgoye's The Present Moment (1987), Okurut's The Invisible Weevil (1998), and Lema's Parched Earth: A Love Story (2001) – clearly stand out in their contribution to the mapping of unique paradigms in (re)defining the East African woman's experience in her relation and engagement with the public sphere. This article demonstrates how these writers, through the women figures in the texts, subvert, actively resist, and engage with power/authority and, in the process, manage to re-evaluate the dominant zeitgeist, oppositionally establishing the East African woman as an active and speaking subject in the ongoing re-imagining and re-writing of the East African post-colonies.


Release of copper and its effect on functional integrity of human sperms in vitro were assessed following co-incubation of semen with CuT 380A. After 30 min of incubation with semen, release of copper ions from CuT 380A was found to be 9.2 to 40 times higher compared to control incubations with PBS. Sperm function tests, when simultaneously performed following loss of motility in sperms (> 95%) after 120 min of copper exposure, depicted a significant (P < 0.001) reduction in sperm viability and hypo-osmotic swelling (HOS) response. However, the affected sperm populations revealed no significant alterations in other functional tests like acrosomal status or nuclear chromatin decondensation. It is therefore concluded that the high release of copper from CuT 380A drastically lowers sperm motility, viability and HOS response but only marginally affects the acrosome status or nuclear chromatin condensation in short term incubations.


The article aims to discuss the expression of rumours, concerning the Venstre politician Trine Skei Grande, claiming that she had sex with a drunk 16–17 year old boy in a field. The rumours were brought up in the media, in connection with the 2018 government negotiations, where Skei Grande was a central participant, and probably also due to the metoo dicussions that at the time had taken place for months. The study analyses the wavering movement, from attaching great significance to trustworthiness in the rumours on the one side, and rejecting them on the other side. The study also discusses in what way the presumed event (woman with political power having sex with a drunk teenage boy in a field) is viewed as sexual harrassment, and how the traditional script for sexual harassment (male harasses female) funtions in this particular case.


textabstractCrohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), the two main subtypes of inflammatory bowel
disease (IBD), are chronic relapsing inflammatory disorders of the gastrointestinal tract that have
a peak age of onset in the second decade of life in children. There is strong evidence to support
that dysregulation of the normally controlled immune response to commensal bacteria in a genetically
susceptible individual drives IBD. Patients typically suffer from frequent and chronically
relapsing flares, resulting in abdominal pain, diarrhea, rectal bleeding and weight loss. In CD, inflammation
is transmural and often discontinuous. In UC, inflammatory changes typically involve
the superficial mucosal and submucosal layers of the intestinal wall. CD most commonly involves
the ileum and colon, but can affect any region of the gut. UC classically involves the rectum and
inflammation may extend as far as the caecum in a typical continuous pattern. Patients with IBD
may have various extra-intestinal symptoms such as oral ulcers, uveitis, arthalgias or arthritis and
sclerosing cholangitis.
IBD is heritable, 5 to 20% of the patients have a family history of the disease. This positive family
history of IBD is more frequently observed in patients with CD than in UC. In IBD, there is a significantly
higher rate of disease concordance in monozygotic twins compared with dizygotic twins.


This study examines the effects of risk preference and loss aversion on individual responses to differently framed, yet economically equivalent, incentive contracts. We extend prior research by examining contracts with combinations of bonus, penalty, and clawback incentives. Contracts framed as a combination of bonus and penalty incentives, especially those framed as a clawback, are less attractive to participants than contracts with bonusor penalty-only incentives. Further, research suggests that individuals' contract preferences are due primarily to loss aversion. We test this conjecture with a new measure of loss aversion. Results indicate that our measure of loss aversion is well calibrated to encompass variation in loss aversion. In addition, participants' loss preferences explain a significant portion of the differences in observed behavior. Importantly, this relation is less significant for clawback contracts, indicating that other preferences may be driving individuals' strong reactions to these contract frames.


Medical and economic efficiencies of one of the Tyumen hospitals are analyzed. The medical efficiency of outpatient and inpatient clinics was evaluated in terms of a new set of parameters determined by Russian specialists. These parameters were calculated on the basis of annual reports, the values were compared with standard values and analyzed for every year.


The warpage of thermoset composite structures during the manufacturing process is a direct consequence of residual stress development. The capability to predict residual stresses is crucial to the manufacture of dimensionally accurate composite structures. This paper is focused on understanding the fundamental issues leading to residual stresses in thermoset polymer composites and their effect on the dimensional accuracy of the manufactured components. Unlike most existing work, which use simplified geometrical and/or material models or focused merely on the cooldown process, a three dimensional coupled thermo-chemo-viscoelastic model is developed to simulate the heat transfer, curing, residual stresses and deformation of a composite part during the entire cure cycle. The predicted values of curvature for cross-ply graphite-epoxy laminates agree well with experimental observations. The numerical result indicates that a significant fraction of the residual stress develops before cooldown. Detailed studies are also performed to examine the springforward phenomenon in L-shaped composite parts. The finite element results showthat mold design (male vs. female mold), mold thermal expansion, part thickness, and fiber orientation all play an important role on the final shape of the parts, while cure cycle parameters such as dwell temperature, pressure, and cooling rate have less effect on springforward.


Revised! ENH-14, a 3-page illustrated directory by L.E. Trenholm and J. Bryan Unruh, describes this practice used to provide green winter turf color for Florida lawns — selecting ryegrasses, timing, seedbed preparation, dethatching, seeding, watering, maintenance, and reestablishing permanent grass. Published by the UF Department of Environmental Horticulture, November 2007.


The fifth-generation (5G) revolution represents more than a mere performance enhancement of previous generations: it will deeply transform the way humans and/or machines interact, enabling a heterogeneous expansion in the number of use cases and services. Crucial to the realization of this revolution is the design of hardware components characterized by high degrees of flexibility, versatility and resource/power efficiency. This chapter proposes a field-programmable gate array (FPGA)-oriented baseband processing architecture suitable for fast-changing communication environments such as 4G/5G waveform coexistence, noncontiguous carrier aggregation (CA) or centralized cloud radio access network (C-RAN) processing. The proposed architecture supports three 5G waveform candidates and is shown to be upgradable, resource-efficient and cost-effective. Through hardware virtualization, enabled by dynamic partial reconfiguration (DPR), the design space exploration of our architecture exceeds the hardware resources available on the Zynq xc7z020 device. Moreover, dynamic frequency scaling (DFS) enables the runtime adjustment of processing throughput and power reductions by up to 88%. The combined resource overhead for DPR and DFS is very low, and the reconfiguration latency stays two orders of magnitude below the control plane latency requirements proposed for 5G communications.


We examine the link between labour market developments and new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and software in 16 European countries over the period 2011-2019. Using data for occupations at the 3-digit level in Europe, we find that on average employment shares have increased in occupations more exposed to AI. This is particularly the case for occupations with a relatively higher proportion of younger and skilled workers. This evidence is in line with the Skill-Biased Technological Change theory. While there is heterogeneity across countries, very few countries show a decline in the employment shares of occupations more exposed to AI-enabled automation. Country heterogeneity for this result appears to be linked to the pace of technology diffusion and education, but also to the level of product market regulation (competition) and employment protection laws. In contrast to the findings for employment, we find little evidence for any correlation between wages and potential exposures to new technologies.


This study contributes to the development of a 'fundamental, atomistic basis' to inform macro-scale models that can provide significant insights about the effect of dislocation microstructure evolution during plastic deformation. Within a mesoscale model, multi-dislocation interactions can be studied which are capable of driving high-stress effects such as dislocation nucleation under low applied stresses, due to stress-concentration in dislocation pile-ups at interfaces. This study establishes a methodology to evaluate a phenomenological model for atomic-scale crystal defect interactions from molecular dynamics simulations, which is a critical step for mesoscale studies of plastic deformation in metals. Dislocations are affected by thermally activated processes that become energetically favorable as the stress approaches a threshold value. The nudged elastic band technique is ideal for evaluating the energetic activation parameters from atomic simulations. With this method, the activation energy and volume were obtained for the process of homogeneous nucleation of a full dislocation loop in pure FCC aluminum. Using the (atomistic) activation parameters, a constitutive mathematical model is developed for simulations at the mesoscale, to evaluate the critical (local) shear stress threshold. The constitutive model is effective for extrapolating from an atomistic timeframe of femtoseconds to experimentally accessible timespans of seconds.


In the face of the threats posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Solidarity has become the term of the hour The World Health Organization organized a "solidarity series of events", under the hashtag "together at home", and chose the title "Solidarity" for the ambitious global initiative to find a treatment to the virus, establishing a "Solidarity" response fund Within countries, solidarity was raised as a value requiring the imposition of various social distancing measures and limitations, needed, it was argued, in order to protect both society as a whole, as well as individuals who were especially vulnerable to the virus The different approaches taken by countries in responding to the COVID-19 crisis can, in part, be explained by the different social perceptions regarding the importance of social solidarity and the duties that stem from it The notion of solidarity, explored below, underlies the web of mutual commitments among members of a community, and, in the case of states, among members of the political community This article examines the role solidarity can play when recognized as a constitutional value Narratives of solidarity are prevalent in constitutions world-wide, both implicitly and explicitly Despite this prevalence, constitutional scholarship has payed relatively little attention to the notion of solidarity The article aims to take a step in filling this gap It calls for recognition and discussion of the significance, potential and perils of recognizing solidarity as a constitutional value and of applying it in constitutional adjudication The article argues that despite the liberal aversion of the notion of solidarity, which is understandable in light of potential abuses of the concept to justify limitations of individual freedom, solidarity is a precondition for the existence of just societies and for distributive justice, as well as for ensuring that human rights are equally and inclusively realized The article argues that the relationship between collective identity and solidarity is complex, that solidarity is a multi-layered phenomenon, and that these complexities can and should be reflected in the constitutional manifestation of solidarity Constitutions do and should refer to more than one layer of solidarity, and courts can and should play a part in instilling substance in these layers Where solidarity is recognizing as a value, it can serve to examine the effect of laws and policies on under-privileged members of society, and as a source for deriving duties towards them Finally, the article argues that although constitutional solidarity may intuitively be expected to endorse only intra-state solidarity, that is, solidarity among members of the political community, constitutions can and do endorse notions of transnational solidarity The article argues that constitutionalism can thus be an important source of "bottom-up" transnational and global solidarity


The inclusion of heavy quarks, such as the charm quark, poses difficulties in Lattice QCD simulations. These need to be overcome in order to make predictions of hadronic observables including a charm quark such as the decay constants fD and fDs. We first establish the region of validity of simulating heavy quarks with domain wall fermions (DWFs) in a feasibility study. We then carry out dynamical simulations with RBC/UKQCD's Nf = 2+1f  ensembles at three lattice spacings (a −1 = 1.73 − 2.77 GeV) including two physical pion mass ensembles. From this we make a prediction for the decay constants fD and fDs and, using experimental input, the corresponding CKM matrix elements. In the first part of this work we investigate the suitability of domain wall fermions (DWF) as a lattice regularisation for heavy quarks. We generate four quenched QCD gauge ensembles with the tree-level improved Symanzik gauge action and inverse lattice spacings in the range 2.0 − 5.7 GeV. On these we carry out an exploratory study to identify a region in the DWF parameter space that displays minimal cut-off effects. We find this region for the domain wall height M5 = 1.6 allowing for bare heavy quark masses satisfying amh In the second part of the presented work we simulate heavy-light and heavy-strange pseudoscalar mesons on RBC/UKQCD's 2 + 1f ensembles with pion masses as low as 139 MeV and inverse lattice spacings ranging from 1.73 GeV to 2.77 GeV. From this data we extract the decay constants fD and fDs. We devise two different fit ansatze to process this data and carry out a full systematic error analysis. We find fD = 208.7(2.8)stat (+2.1−1.8)sys MeV, fDs = 246.4(1.9)stat (+1.3−1.9)sys MeV and f Ds/fD = 1.1667(77)stat (+60−46)sys. Finally, using experimental input we extract the corresponding CKM matrix elements. We find |V|cd = 0.2185(50)exp. (+35−37)lat and |V |cs = 1.011(16)exp. (+11− 9)lat where the first error comes from the experimental input and the second from our determination of the decay constants. We compare our results with the existing literature and find good agreement between our central values and competitive errors. This work constitutes the basis of RBC/UKQCD's wider charm physics program.


BACKGROUND & AIMS
High-throughput sequencing technologies have identified thousands of infrequently mutated genes in hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs). However, high intratumor and intertumor heterogeneity, combined with large numbers of passenger mutations, have made it difficult to identify driver mutations that contribute to the development of HCC. We combined transposon mutagenesis with a high-throughput screen of a small-hairpin RNA (shRNA) library to identify genes and pathways that contribute to HCC development.

METHODS
Sleeping beauty transposons were mobilized in livers of transgenic mice predisposed to develop hepatocellular adenoma and HCC owing to expression of the hepatitis B virus surface antigen. This whole-genome mutagenesis technique was used to generate an unbiased catalogue of candidate cancer genes (CCGs). Pooled shRNA libraries targeting 250 selected CCGs then were introduced into immortalized mouse liver cells and the cells were monitored for their tumor-forming ability after injection into nude mice.

RESULTS
Transposon-mediated mutagenesis identified 1917 high-confident CCGs and highlighted the importance of Ras signaling in the development of HCC. Subsequent pooled shRNA library screening of 250 selected CCGs validated 27 HCC tumor-suppressor genes. Individual shRNA knockdown of 4 of these genes (Acaa2, Hbs1l, Ralgapa2, and Ubr2) increased the proliferation of multiple human HCC cell lines in culture and accelerated the formation of xenograft tumors in nude mice. The ability of Ralgapa2 to promote HCC cell proliferation and tumor formation required its inhibition of Rala and Ralb. Dual inhibition of Ras signaling via Ral and Raf, using a combination of small-molecule inhibitor RBC8 and sorafenib, reduced the proliferation of HCC cells in culture and completely inhibited their growth as xenograft tumors in nude mice.

CONCLUSIONS
In a 2-step forward genetic screen in mice, we identified members of the Ral guanosine triphosphatase-activating protein pathway and other proteins as suppressors of HCC cell proliferation and tumor growth. These proteins might serve as therapeutic targets for liver cancer.


Existing analysis on the error performance of space-time block codes has focused on deriving error-rate upper bounds for a general system or exact error probabilities for some special cases. The authors introduce a general method to calculate the exact error probability for orthogonal space-time block codes in multiple-input multiple-output systems which employ coherent and differentially coherent phase shift keying (PSK) modulation over flat Rayleigh fading channels. These results enable one to evaluate the performance of space-time block-coded systems with different coding rates and an arbitrary number of transmit and receive antennas.


Abstract Rice production in China has more than tripled in the past five decades mainly due to increased grain yield rather than increased planting area. This increase has come from the development of high-yielding varieties and improved crop management practices such as nitrogen fertilization and irrigation. However, yield stagnation of rice has been observed in the past ten years in China. As its population rises, China will need to produce about 20% more rice by 2030 in order to meet its domestic needs if rice consumption per capita stays at the current level. This is not an easy task because several trends and problems in the Chinese rice production system constrain the sustainable increase in total rice production. Key trends include a decline in arable land, increasing water scarcity, global climate change, labor shortages, and increasing consumer demand for high-quality rice (which often comes from low-yielding varieties). The major problems confronting rice production in China are narrow genetic background, overuse of fertilizers and pesticides, breakdown of irrigation infrastructure, oversimplified crop management, and a weak extension system. Despite these challenges, good research strategies can drive increased rice production in China. These include the development of new rice varieties with high yield potential, improvement of resistances to major diseases and insects, and to major abiotic stresses such as drought and heat, and the establishment of integrated crop management. We believe that a sustainable increase in rice production is achievable in China with the development of new technology through rice research.