The Reproductive Justice (RJ) framework states that it is a "human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, have children, not have children, and parent children in safe and sustainable communities." RJ is critical in addressing the glaring racial, ethnic, social and economic inequities that exist in Allegheny County and surrounding areas. Black women and femmes carry the disproportionate burden of health inequities in Allegheny County, but their lives and experiences are not centered in the development and execution of solutions. Black women/femmes throughout the county lead critical work to address a multitude of inequities, often with limited support and resources. Concurrently, they deal with multiple systems of oppression designed to devalue and derail their work. This Pitt Teaming Grant proposal is designed to: A) Uplift the ongoing work led by Black women and femmes; B) Interrogate systems that exacerbate inequities in health C) Develop plans for dismantling systems of oppression specifically in Allegheny County that have a disproportionate impact on the health and well-being of Black women/femmes. The specific aims of this proposal are: Aim 1. Investigate if and how systems (health and social) may or may not address the health and well-being of Black women and femmes in Allegheny County and surrounding areas. This will include an environmental scan of existing programs, policies and local funding resulting in Black Paper and compendium of equity assessment tools and frameworks for further use by the team and others in the larger community. Aim 2. Develop a strategic plan and health agenda focused on centering the health and well-being of Black women and femmes in Allegheny County that includes actions related to research, practice and policy. The Black Women's Health Agenda for Allegheny County will be developed through continuous community engagement and facilitation from Black-women led experts in strategic development.


The author gives a critical overview of various psychotherapeutic approaches used with persons with schizophrenia and their families. It is emphasized that these approaches are to be used in conjunction with pharmacological treatment and should always be individualized for each patient depending on the phase and severity of illness. Individual psychotherapy, particularly cognitive-behavioural modality, group therapy, and family therapy are described in some detail. Special attention is given to compliance therapy.


U.S. carbon dioxide emissions from burning natural gas to generate electricity will exceed CO2 emissions from coal-fired power plants this year, according to projections from the Energy Information Administration. When burned, natural gas creates about half the CO2 emissions of coal per unit of energy delivered, EIA notes, but this greenhouse gas advantage is being offset by natural gas's greater use. The recent bonanza of natural gas has resulted in falling prices and a shift by U.S. utilities from coal to natural gas. Until about 2005, natural gas and coal consumption were similar, EIA says, but beginning about 2007 natural gas consumption slowly exceeded coal. That trend grew and will continue, EIA says, as utilities continue to build power plants that use cheaper natural gas and shut down coal units. By the end of 2016, CO2 emissions from natural gas use will be 10% higher than those from coal, EIA


Abstract This study evaluated the effectiveness of an embedded naturalistic intervention for teaching augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) application responses to three preschool-aged males with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Parents were taught to embed opportunities for their child to communicate with a grid-based AAC application during every-day routines such as play or mealtime. Communication targets included requesting objects using two-step taxonomic navigational responses, and requesting assistance, rejecting items, or making social comments/responses using a two-step message-strip response. During intervention, parents used strategies such as time delay, prompting, reinforcement, and device proximity (faded over time) to encourage target responses. Display formats and intervention targets were selected in consideration of prior dynamic assessment results. Effects of intervention were evaluated using a multiple probe across participants design. For functional navigational AAC item requesting, all three participants showed an immediate increase in responding that maintained at high levels. Functional AAC responding for other communicative purposes also increased, but at a more gradual pace. All three participants showed generalized responding when new items were added to displays, and when display pages with a larger array of folders and vocabulary items were introduced. Generalization to labeling tasks was mixed.


Scalable video coding is a powerful solution for content delivery in many interactive multimedia services due to its adaptability to varying terminal and network constraints. In order to successfully exploit such adaptability, it is necessary to understand users' preference among various scalability options and consequently develop an optimal bit rate adaptation strategy. In this paper, we present a study of subjective quality assessment of scalable video coding, which investigates the influence of the combination of scalability options on perceived quality with the goal of providing guidelines for an adaptive strategy that selects the optimal combination for a given bandwidth constraint. In particular, the study is based on paired comparison of stimuli that is suitable for our goal due to its simplicity and easiness. We propose a new method, called Paired Evaluation via Analysis of Reliability (PEAR), which analyzes paired comparison results and produces not only quality scores but also intuitive measures of confidence of the scores for significance analysis. Results and analysis of extensive subjective tests for two different scalable video codecs and high definition contents are described, from which general consistent conclusions are drawn. The video and subjective data used in the paper are publicly available to the research community.


The Argentine Society of Infectious Diseases and other scientific societies have updated these recommendations based on data on urinary tract infections in adults obtained from a prospective multicenter study conducted in Argentina during 2016-2017. Asymptomatic bacteriuria should be treated only in pregnant women, who should also be systematically investigated; the antibiotics of choice are nitrofurantoin, amoxicillin, clavulanic/amoxicillin, cephalexin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. In procedures involving injury to the urinary tract with bleeding, it is recommended to request urine culture and, in the presence of bacteriuria, antimicrobial treatment according to sensitivity should be prescribed from immediately before up to 24 hours after the intervention. In women, cystitis can be treated with nitrofurantoin, cephalexin or fosfomycin, while trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and fluoroquinolones are not recommended; pyelonephritis can be treated with ciprofloxacin, cefixime or cephalexin in ambulatory women or ceftriaxone, cefazolin or amikacin in those who are hospitalized. In men, urinary tract infections are always considered complicated; nitrofurantoin or cephalexin are recommended for 7 days, alternatively fosfomycin should be given in a single dose. In men, ciprofloxacin, ceftriaxone or cefixime are suggested for pyelonephritis on ambulatory treatment whereas ceftriaxone or amikacin are recommended for hospitalized patients. Acute bacterial prostatitis can be treated with ceftriaxone or gentamicin. Fluoroquinolones were the choice treatment for chronic bacterial prostatitis until recently; they are no longer recommended due to the increasing resistance and recent concerns regarding the safety of these drugs; alternative antibiotics such as fosfomycin are to be considered.


There is growing international concern about the effects of human-generated sound on fish and other aquatic organisms. However, because of a striking paucity of well-designed and controlled experimental data, very little is actually known about the effects of these sounds on fish. Findings suggest that human-generated sounds, even from very high intensity sources, might have no effect in some cases or might result in effects that range from small and temporary shifts in behavior all the way to immediate death. At this point, however, it is nearly impossible to extrapolate from results with one sound source, one fish species, or even fish of one size to other sources, species, or fish sizes. The present paper briefly discusses the potential effects of sound on fish, describes some of the more recent well-controlled experimental studies, and points out areas for future study that will be needed before a real understanding of the effects of sound on fish can be developed.


Abstract In this article, the rationality of a sport-based intervention in Sweden promoting social change and social inclusion is explored. By examining statements made by representatives of the intervention, the article outlines the domains where problems are located and where social change and governing is presumed to take place. Discursive formations such as 'the self', 'the family', 'the community' and 'the place' are problematized in distinct ways and consequently formed as domains of governing intervention. These domains are made particular from the rest of society based on a presumed lack of integration as well as articulations of otherness. These deviances are pointed out and remedied within the frames of the established social order – it is, according to the discourse, not society that should be reformed, it is the individuals, the families and communities that should reform or adapt. Within the frames of such a discourse, major social reforms are neither conceivable nor desired.


Considering the importance of arithmetic in school curricula, it is crucial to understand the cognitive processes underlying its successful acquisition. Previous research suggests the involvement of spatial skills, especially during arithmetic skill acquisition. We assessed the predictive effect of mental rotation on different arithmetic components in children halfway through elementary school. At this stage, additions and subtractions are already well mastered, while multiplications and divisions are newly acquired. Although mental rotation positively correlated with arithmetic performances regardless of operation, only multiplication, division and completion performances were significantly predicted by mental rotation when controlling for age, gender as well as domain-specific symbolic number skills and visuospatial short-term memory. This highlights the differential effects of mental rotation on arithmetic and suggests a particular importance for newly acquired arithmetic material. These findings extend previous research on the relation between spatial skills and arithmetic and yield practical information for mathematical education and instruction.


The present study aims at characterizing the status of the element que in equative constructions, as represented by the examples (1) and (2) :
 (1) a) Robert est aussi intelligent que Maria.
 (2) a) Robert boit autant qu'il mange.
 This use of que seems to be located at the fringe of the already widely described properties of the indefinite proform (PI) in interrogative or relative clauses. This use can obviously not simply be reduced to an instantiation of the conjunction. The analysis of the functioning of equative que will lead to three conclusions concerning its status and its role in the connection of clauses :
 a) Que will be characterized as a scalar adverbial, restricting the range of the equality/ superiority/ inferiority with the degree of the standard it introduces.
 b) Que operates within a correlative relation and connects a secondary predication to an element of the predicative structure of the prior predication, but without reclassifying it.
 c) If a mutual dependence of the two components of the marker is needed to express the equative function, que is still syntactically governed and semantically directed by the first component (aussi/autant).


Recently, the purification to homogeneity was reported of a novel broad-specificity alpha-mannosidase from rat liver microsomal membranes [P. Bonay and R. C. Hughes (1991) Eur. J. Biochem. 197, 229-238]. The enzyme catalyzed the ordered removal of alpha 1----2-, alpha 1----3- and alpha 1----6-linked mannose residues from MannGlcNAc oligosaccharide substrates where n = 4-9. We now show by subcellular fractionation and immunocytochemistry that the novel mannosidase is present in the endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus and endosomes. Enzyme activity is enriched in a heavy Golgi membrane fraction and to lesser extent in an intermediate density Golgi membrane fraction containing GlcNAc transferase I activity and in a 'late' endosomal fraction. Low levels of enzyme activity were detectable in endoplasmic reticulum membranes and in 'early' endosomes but not in receptor-enriched and ligand-free endosomes. Assays of enzymic activity using Golgi membrane fractions in the absence and presence of Triton X-100 showed that the active site of the enzyme faces the lumen of the membrane vesicles. Antibodies directed against the purified mannosidase showed no immunological cross-reaction to known endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi mannosidases. Conversely, the purified mannosidase was not recognized by antibodies directed against endoplasmic reticulum mannosidase nor Golgi mannosidase IA.


Population decline is a key contemporary demography challenge. Previous work has measured the national extent of population decline, and we know that it is more acute in Japan and Eastern Europe and is set to accelerate across many industrialized countries. Yet, little is known about the population trajectories leading to current trends of depopulation and their underpinning demographic and contextual factors. To address this gap, we aim to identify and characterize the different trajectories of depopulation in Spain from 2000 to 2020 at the small area level using sequence analysis, spatial autocorrelation analysis, decomposition techniques, and multinomial logistic modeling. We show that while Spain recorded an overall 17.2% national population growth between 2000 and 2020, 63% of municipalities experienced depopulation. We identify six trajectories of population decline, with a well-de fi ned northwest-south divide. These trajectories include mostly rural municipalities, but also certain small-and medium-sized cities. Natural decline comprises the main demographic component underpinning differences in the extent of depopulation across trajectories, and international migration plays an important role in explaining transitions to decline since the fi nancial crisis of 2008. Small and old populations, and, to a lesser extent, remoteness from cities are key features characterizing areas of high decline.


It is generally assumed that when making categorization judgments the cognitive system learns to focus on stimuli features that are relevant for making an accurate judgment. This is a key feature of hybrid categorization systems, which selectively weight the use of exemplar- and rule-based processes. In contrast, Hahn et al. (2010) have shown that people cannot help but pay attention to exemplar similarity, even when doing so leads to classification errors. This paper tests, through a series of computer simulations, whether a hybrid categorization model developed in the ACT-R cognitive architecture (by Anderson and Betz, 2001) can account for the Hahn et al. dataset. This model implements Nosofsky and Palmeri's (1997) exemplar-based random walk model as its exemplar route, and combines it with an implementation of Nosofsky et al. (1994) rule-based model RULEX. A thorough search of the model's parameter space showed that while the presence of an exemplar-similarity effect on response times was associated with classification errors it was possible to fit both measures to the observed data for an unsupervised version of the task (i.e., in which no feedback on accuracy was given). Difficulties arose when the model was applied to a supervised version of the task in which explicit feedback on accuracy was given. Modeling results show that the exemplar-similarity effect is diminished by feedback as the model learns to avoid the error-prone exemplar-route, taking instead the accurate rule-route. In contrast to the model, Hahn et al. found that people continue to exhibit robust exemplar-similarity effects even when given feedback. This work highlights a challenge for understanding how and why people combine rules and exemplars when making categorization decisions.


Assessment of the physicochemical characteristics and some heavy metals of Ossiomo River, Ologboa tributary of Benin River, Southern Nigeria was carried out from April 2012 to December 2012. Three stations were studied from upstream to downstream with a distance of about 2 kilometres between each station. A total of twenty-two (22) physicochemical parameters and some heavy metals were studied. Air temperature ranged from the mean 27.01 to 29.57 ̊C, water temperature 25.87 to 27.56 ̊C, depth 1.32 to 1.705m, flow velocity 0.08 to 0.13m/s, transparency 1.01 to 1.30m, pH 5.76 to 6.01, electrical conductivity 62.03 to 70.11μS/cm, turbidity 3.97 to 4.39 NTU, total suspended solid 5.01 to 5.80mg/l, total solid 38.82 to 42.11mg/l, total dissolve solid 29.60 to 33.84mg/l, DO 7.12 to 7.54mg/l, BOD5 1.51 to 2.60mg/l, alkalinity 48.63 to 53.28mg/l, the cations (sodium 1.35 to 1.43mg/l, potassium 0.25 to 0.26mg/l, calcium 0.92 to 1.00mg/l, magnesium 0.44 to 0.52mg/l), chloride 26.44 to 36.39mg/l, and the nutrient components (phosphorus 0.25 to 0.33mg/l, nitrate 0.16 to 0.20 mg/l, sulphate 0.88 to 0.94mg/l). Heavy metals level were generally low ranging from 0.05 to 2.61mg/l (cadmium 0.05 to 0.51mg/l, lead 0.06 to 0.09mg/l, zinc 0.11 to 0.12mg/l, copper 0.39 to 0.41mg/l, iron 2.00 to 2.61mg/l. Mean across stations were compared using Analysis of Variance and only three characteristics namely, air temperature, water temperature and flow velocity were significant. In station 1 (upstream), air temperature and water temperature were significantly higher than other 2 stations (downstream) while the flow velocity was significantly faster in station 3 than both upstream and midstream stations. A marked seasonal significant faster flow velocity was recorded in the wet than in the dry season. Furthermore, a significant (P < 0.05) pattern of seasonal variation was observed in seven (7) characteristics, total solids, calcium, magnesium, chloride, phosphate, nitrate and sulphate. Anthropogenic activities had negatively impacted on station 2 of the river, although the recorded values were still within acceptable limits. © JASEM


The coplanar-grid technique provides substantial spectral performance improvement over that of conventional detector designs and electronics when applied to gamma-ray detectors based on compound semiconductors. The technique realizes this improvement by measuring the difference between the induced charge signals &om two interdigitated coplanar-grid electrodes. By adjusting the relative gain between the two grid signals prior to subtraction, the difference signal can be made less sensitive to the poor carrier transport properties of the detector material and thus improve the spectral response of the detector. In th is paper, we discuss a variation of the coplanar-grid method in which the signal fiom only one grid electrode is read out. The signal response is optimized by changing the relative areas of the two grid electrodes and the bias applied across the detector. In this scheme, only one preamplifier is needed and signal suba t ion is not necessary. This eliminates the electronic noise contribution fhm the additional preamplifer used in the normal coplanar-grid implementation, and conventional single-amplifier detector electronics can be used. Experimental results using CdZnTe detectors are presented.


Background:Drug safety monitoring relies primarily on spontaneous reporting, but electronic health care record databases offer a possible alternative for the detection of adverse drug reactions (ADRs). Objectives:To evaluate the relative performance of different statistical methods for detecting drug-adverse event associations in electronic health care record data representing potential ADRs. Research Design:Data from 7 databases across 3 countries in Europe comprising over 20 million subjects were used to compute the relative risk estimates for drug-event pairs using 10 different methods, including those developed for spontaneous reporting systems, cohort methods such as the longitudinal gamma poisson shrinker, and case-based methods such as case-control. The newly developed method "longitudinal evaluation of observational profiles of adverse events related to drugs" (LEOPARD) was used to remove associations likely caused by protopathic bias. Data from the different databases were combined by pooling of data, and by meta-analysis for random effects. A reference standard of known ADRs and negative controls was created to evaluate the performance of the method. Measures:The area under the curve of the receiver operator characteristic curve was calculated for each method, both with and without LEOPARD filtering. Results:The highest area under the curve (0.83) was achieved by the combination of either longitudinal gamma poisson shrinker or case-control with LEOPARD filtering, but the performance between methods differed little. LEOPARD increased the overall performance, but flagged several known ADRs as caused by protopathic bias. Conclusions:Combinations of methods demonstrate good performance in distinguishing known ADRs from negative controls, and we assume that these could also be used to detect new drug safety signals.


CT and MR imaging findings of 57 sphenoidal masses were retrospectively reviewed to assess the possibility of differential diagnosis between them. Various kinds of masses such as pituitary adenoma, epipharyngeal cancer, mucocele, chordoma, chondroma, chondrosarcoma, distant metastasis, multiple myeloma, fibrous dysplasia, craniopharyngioma, hemangiopericytoma, giant cell tumor, primary sphenoidal cancer, malignant melanoma, leukemia, histiocytosis X, and giant cell tumor were included in this series. CT scanning was performed in all cases, while MR images were obtained in 48 cases using a spin-echo pulse sequence. The relative density of the masses, bony changes and calcification were evaluated on CT, and on MR images, signal intensity of the masses relative to the normal gray matter, contrast enhancement and extension/contour were evaluated. Although no single feature appeared to be specific to the masses, detection of calcification on CT, identification of the normal pituitary gland as deformed or displaced on T1-weighted images, signal intensity on T2-weighted images, and extension of the masses seemed to be useful and should be examined in terms of their ability to assist in differential diagnosis. Finally, accommodative classification of sphenoidal masses primarily based on presumed origin or mode of extension was attempted.


We have studied the ability of three different Mycoplasma species to induce proliferation of bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMM). We observed a significant mitogenic effect when BMM cells from BALB/c, DBA/2J, SJL, and C57BL/6 mice were incubated with membranes derived from Mycoplasma arginini or M. arthritidis but not when they were incubated with an equivalent amount of M. pulmonis membrane. We also determined that pretreatment of mycoplasma membrane preparations with papain eliminated the ability of these preparations to induce BMM proliferation. To determine whether these membrane fractions acted indirectly by stimulating the production of soluble factors known to stimulate proliferation of BMM cells, we performed blocking studies with antibodies directed against colony-stimulating factor 1 (CSF-1), interleukin-3 (IL-3), and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor. Our results indicate that antibodies directed against either CSF-1 or IL-3 failed to block mycoplasma-initiated proliferation of BMM cells. However, when anti-GM-CSF was added to proliferative cultures at the time of initiation, we saw a dose-dependent reduction of mycoplasma-initiated proliferation. We conclude that the ability of mycoplasma membranes to initiate the proliferation of BMM is not shared by all species of mycoplasma and that it involves the production of GM-CSF by an as yet undetermined cell.


Following the renewed interest in the volatile inventory of the Moon witnessed in the last decade, from both sample studies and data from orbital missions, it is timely to reassess the distribution and likely source(s) of light element volatiles (C, N, He, Ne, and Ar) in a diverse suite of lunar mare basalts and soils, providing new insights about volatiles indigenous to the lunar interior, volatiles produced in situ at the lunar surface, and volatiles delivered to and implanted into the lunar surface. Simultaneous static-mode mass spectrometric measurements of these key volatiles, extracted from the same aliquot of sample by high-resolution stepped combustion, enable a more detailed identification of the different volatile components present by comparing their varying release patterns across a range of temperature steps. Taken in context with other studies of different volatile elements, this new data contributes towards a greater understanding of the Earth-Moon system, with additional implications for future in situ resource utilisation at the lunar surface.

With an average δ 15 N value of +0.93 ± 9.39 ‰, the indigenous N component measured in mare basalts is most compatible with a CO carbonaceous chondrite source for nitrogen in the lunar interior, although some caveats exist. Variations in abundance and isotopic composition of indigenous nitrogen imply a heterogeneous lunar mantle. Assuming up to ~50 % loss of solar wind 36 Ar from lunar soils, nitrogen trapped in soils can be reconciled with up to 87 % being contributed from a non-solar source with an isotopic composition of between +87 ‰ and +160 ‰.

Noble gases in soils are dominated by solar wind components, with only minor amounts of cosmogenic neon being released at the highest temperature steps. In mare basalts, noble gases are a mixture of trapped, radiogenic, and cosmogenic components (from which cosmogenic production rates can be calculated and exposure ages for previously undated samples suggested


BACKGROUND: Frequently, decisions about the safety of drugs are based on isolated cases of patients that develop a disease, while they have been taken a drug. A new method to detect, using spontaneous reporting, increases in agranulocytosis risk among patients treated with calcium dobesilate is shown.

METHOD: Using data of dobesilate sales, the maximum number of patients treated in a year was calculated. Spontaneous reports of agranulocytosis associated to dobesilate notified along the period 1985-2000 were identified. The number and the maximum number of cases explained by the agranulocytosis risk in a general population were calculated using the distribution of Poisson, assuming several reporting rates. Similarly, the influence of number of patients older than 60 and the duration of exposure to the drug were analysed.

RESULTS: The number of spontaneously reporting cases of agranulocytosis associated to dobesilate, in the period 1985-2000 was not greater than the maximum number of cases predicted by the agranulocytosis risk in a general population. Probably, a high number of dobesilate-treated patients had an advanced age and/or took the drug during several months. In these conditions, it is more difficult to identify an increase of risk associated to drug.

CONCLUSIONS: To calculate the risk of agranulocytosis associated to a drug is required to consider the basal risk of agranulocytosis in a general population as well as its possible modifications in the population of patients treated with the drug.


This paper focuses on question why is descriptive (or numerical) representation of women as local political leaders higher in some cities than in others? The paper focuses on the analysis of the determinants of women's political representation on city boards of the Czech statutory cities after the last local elections of 2014. We test some hypothesis, concerning two groups of factors that can potentially affect the success of women (socioeconomic and demographic, and political contextual), thus aiming to expand theoretical and empirical research which is in the case of determinants of women's representation at the local level underdeveloped. Overall, the analysis reveals that regression models explaining presence of women on the city boards were not generally too successful, with slightly better performance of the model using socioeconomic and demographic factors. Specifically, Moravia and municipality size proved as very strong predictors of presence of women on the city boards in negative, or positive direction, respectively (although in full model municipality size variable lost its significance), supplementing by the proportion of female councillors in same elections, which increased successfulness of women as well. In contrast, the share of women in local councils and on city boards in the previous electoral term was not proven as statistical significant, similarly as party affiliations' of city boards.


To ensure beam stability in the future circular collider study of the European Organization for Nuclear Research, RE(=Y, Gd, Eu)Ba2Cu3O 7−x high-temperature superconductor was proposed as a low-surface impedance coating for its beam screen. Unfortunately, persistent currents in the superconductor will degrade the magnetic field homogeneity inside the beam chamber, endangering the stability of the beam trajectory. To counteract this effect, we have explored the possibility of using a highly conductive hybrid coating made of Cu and REBa2Cu3O 7−x . This decreases the surface impedance when compared to that of pure copper, while maintaining high magnetic field quality inside the beam screen chamber. This work formulates guidelines for hybrid coating geometries to comply with the field quality criterion of a circular accelerator during operation with dipole magnets by means of finite elements numerical analysis. We produced hybrid coating samples with compliant geometries via photolithography. Scanning Hall microscopy and radio-frequency characterization have given the first experimental confirmation that these hybrid coatings offer high field quality and present a surface resistance lower than that of copper for the beam screen of the future circular hadron collider. The excellent agreement shown between experimental results and simulations validates that the numerical analysis performed throughout this work can be used as a prediction tool for future proposed geometries.


This thesis reports the findings of a study that attempted to apply an information processing model to assess and improve the teaching and learning in a secondary school technology course. Two cognitive factors believed to have an important influence on pupil performance were measured, namely: working memory capacity (X-space) and field-dependence/independence (F.IND/F.D). The research involved 71 pupils form St. Stephen's High School in Port Glasgow and a 105 pupils from St. Columba's High School in Clydebank whose ages ranged from 13 to 14 years. Initially, the working memory capacities and field-dependent/independent learning styles of the sample from St. Stephen's High School were ascertained using a new version of the digit span test and the hidden figure test (H.F.T) respectively. These tests had been developed at the Centre for Science Education in the University of Glasgow. The results of the digit span test divided the sample into groups of low, intermediate and high working memory capacity (X=5, X=6 and X=7). The pupil's learning style categories were established from the hidden figure test, i.e. field-dependent, field-intermediate and field-independent. A technology course that focussed on gear and belt driven mechanisms was then taught to the pupils over a period of about 4 weeks. On completion of the course a test was given with questions that had been assessed for the demand (Z) which they placed on the pupils X-capacity. The information processing model was applied to the mechanisms course so that problem areas might be identified and eradicated. It was discovered that a substantial number of changes were required to remove the material thought to have caused difficulties for the pupils (noise) and to improve the general quality (signal) of the course. After considering the amount of modifications necessary it was decided that a completely new course on mechanisms had to be written. This was presented to the pupils from St. Columba's High School after the two psychological factors had been measured. A comparison of the results from both schools was then made in an effort to assess the effectiveness of the new technology course and to test the hypotheses that working memory and field-dependence/independence were related to pupil performance. An analysis of the psychological factors and pupil performance in the mechanisms tests from both schools suggested that a relationship existed between X-capacity and the Z- demand of the technology questions. It appeared that pupils who were considered to be field-dependent had inefficient memory processes and performed less effectively in the mechanisms tests. The findings implied that field-independent, high X-capacity pupils were the most successful of all the candidates in answering questions of greater complexity. Furthermore, the application of the information processing model seemed to have helped in improving pupil attainment in technology concepts.


Developing model-based automatic debugging strategies has been an active research area for several years, with the aim of locating defects in a program by utilising fully automated generation of a model of the program from its source code. We provide an overview of current techniques in model-based debugging and assess strengths and weaknesses of the individual approaches. An empirical comparison is presented that investigates the relative accuracy of different models on a set of test programs and fault assumptions, showing that our abstract interpretation based model provides high accuracy at significantly less computational effort than slightly more accurate techniques. We compare a range of model-based debugging techniques with other state-of-the-art automated debugging approaches and outline possible future developments in automatic debugging using model-based reasoning as the central unifying component in a comprehensive framework.


With seven to eight percent prevalence, the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common disorder observed in children (Okie, 2006). ADHD symptoms even remain until adulthood and include problems in maintaining attention and sitting still (Okie, 2006). Interestingly, recent research found that these typical symptoms are related to increased entrepreneurial intentions and behavior (Thurik, Khedhaouria, Torres & Verheul, 2016; Verheul et al., 2015). These findings have led to the assumption that due to a good person-job fit, entrepreneurial performance increases. Nevertheless, no study assessed the impact of ADHD on entrepreneurial performance yet. Thus, this study examines the relationship between the mental health variable ADHD and entrepreneurial performance. Hereby, the individual-level variables entrepreneurial social identity (ESI) and entrepreneurial passion (EP) and the firm-level variable entrepreneurial orientation (EO) are taken into account. By providing insights into the interplay of ADHD, entrepreneurial performance, individual- and firm-level variables, this study promotes a better understanding of ADHD in entrepreneurship.
Data has been collected using a survey that measured ADHD, ESI, EO, EP and entrepreneurial performance based on self-reports. 103 founders of micro-, small- and middle-sized businesses answered the questions online. The results have been analysed using multiple regression analysis. ADHD turned out to be of low value in predicting entrepreneurial performance. Instead, the individual-level variables ESI Darwinian and EP had a significant predictive value on performance (p<.05). High scores on EP turned out to positively moderate the ADHD-performance relationship. Interestingly, reporting the Darwinian identity was weakening performance in ADD-affected entrepreneurs. These results plead for different motivational processes in ADHD-affected entrepreneurs. To handle the problems in sustaining attention, ADHD-affected individuals need intense short-term, emotional motivation like entrepreneurial passion. Contrarily, long-term, commercial motivation in ADHD-affected individuals, like having the ESI Darwinian identity, leads to decreased entrepreneurial performance. These insights are of theoretical and practical values as they emphasize the deviating needs of ADHD-affected entrepreneurs. However, future longitudinal research that utilizes both, subjective and objective measurement tools, is needed to assess these assumptions further.


The evolution of our health care system toward managed care has placed primary care "gatekeeper" physicians in a position where they must examine and treat patients with diseases that are ordinarily treated by medical and surgical subspecialists. Many of these physicians may be poorly prepared to accept this new responsibility. The Association of Univesity Professors of Ophthalmology (AUPO) has published a Policy Statement on Medical Student Education that suggests the minimum level of competence expected of general physicians when dealing with ophthalmologic problems. A recent survey of directors of residency programs in family practice, internal medicine, and pediatrics revealed that the training of primary care physicians (as opposed to academicians or subspecialists) has become a nearly universal programmatic goal. Most program directs believe that less than half of their residents meet the AUPO standard at the completion of medical school, and a significant minority do not meet the AUPO standard at the completion of their residency. An overwhelming majority of program directors believe that additional training in ophthalmology and other subspecialties should be incorporated into the training programs of primary care physicians. Ophthalmologists and other subspecialists should develop programs at the medical student level directed toward the education of primary care physicians, and should participate in the training of primary care physicians, as well as their own subspecialty residents. In the future, the primary care physician must be considered part of the "eye care team." Enhancing the ophthalmologic education of primary care physicians is in the best interest of quality patient care.


Abstract Physical and numerical modeling of fluviodeltaic depositional systems, conducted under constant conditions of relative sea-level fall, sediment discharge, and water discharge, demonstrates that "sustained" alluvial aggradation is the inherent stratigraphic response of alluvial rivers that are steeper than the receiving basin. High alluvial gradients are primarily a consequence of high sediment supply relative to available water discharge (low rate of terrestrial diffusion). During the course of the experiments, fluvial grade was never reached, fluvial incision was never observed, and aggradation occurred independently of shoreline position. The experiments revealed detachment of the shoreline from the alluvial river as an autogenic response of certain fluviodeltaic systems to steady relative sea-level fall, creating a "non-deltaic" alluvial-river system that continues to aggrade beyond shoreline detachment. We term this behavior "autodetachment." Autodetachment is a consequence of sustained, extensive alluvial aggradation during relative sea-level fall. Sediment supply was increasingly partitioned into the ever-enlarging alluvial profile to the detriment of the delta front prior to shoreline detachment. Thus, as relative sea level fell, the length of the delta front decreased to zero. Simultaneously, alluvial aggradation also led to decreasing rates of delta progradation. Therefore, as the delta front disappeared, the rate of shoreline regression exceeded the rate of progradation, producing a "bedrock" river between the detached alluvial river and the shoreline. The Canterbury Plains of New Zealand is a natural-world system with alluvial gradient greater than shelf gradient. Geometric modeling suggests that autodetachment could have occurred at the Canterbury Plains within the timescale of Quaternary glacio-eustatic sea-level falls, and therefore, is a realistic stratigraphic response at the scale of natural-world systems. Our model demonstrates that deltas with these geometric parameters become poorly supplied during regression, and large lowstand deltas should not be expected for these types of systems. The results of this study complement existing autostratigraphic theory, and provide an alternative to allogenic drivers for geomorphic and architectural evolution of fluviodeltaic wedges.


THE MAJORITY of the concern in pediatric urology is centered around infections and anomalies, the former occupying the greater portion of the practicing pediatrician9s problem in this field. Therefore, discussion was aimed mainly at pyelonephritis, with queries on other facets of genito-urinary pathology being mentioned. A review of the literature reveals that pyelonephritis is the commonest cause of death in uremia. While it kills twice as many patients as glomerulonephritis, it occupies only about a third of the literature given to these two problems. The statistics of a number of widely accepted authorities reveals that of all the patients admitted to hospitals, 1% have a urinary tract infection and 5% of all patients treated by pediatric services have a urinary tract infection. Pyelonephritis is more common in the female than in the male in the ratio of 9:1. In the female it is more common in the years from 0-12 and from 25-70 years of age. Very few males have pyelonephritis except those with congenital anomalies, and in the older age group those with gonorrheal obstructions and prostatic enlargement. The manifestations of congenital obstructions to urine flow usually present themselves in the ages from 0-6 years. CAUSES OF PYELONEPHRITIS Natural Causes The Short Rrethra of the Female: In females under 8 or 9 years of age, the urethra is about 1 cm long and some females have such a short urethra that it is essentially only a urethral sphincter. In 10 females less than 10 years of age, all 10 had dye in their bladders, after they sat down and stood up 20 times in 6 inches of dyed water. What is not understood is why more females do not get infection, if this is the answer to more frequent infections in females than in males. Overdistention of the Bladder: Marked overdistention of the bladder causes vesicoureteral reflux. This condition is more common in adolescents who do not have enough social experience, i.e. those who would not feel free to excuse themselves from company in order to urinate. Involuntary Residual Urine: In the male patient who has severe paraphimosis and dysuria, an increase in residual urine is often found. Also following circumcision, the skin of the glans penis often exfoliates, leading to urethral meatal ulceration causing dysuria which is followed by a residual urine.


I was invited to participate in this Symposium a month or so before the event. At that time however, I knew little about J D Bernal. I vaguely remembered a brief conversation on the topic over a decade ago with Professor Vittorio Luzzati as we ambled around the gardens at the Palace of Varsailles. Vittorio likely knew Bernal through his friend Rosalind Franklin who worked with Bernal at Birbeck College. But beyond that I knew nothing about the man or his science. And so it was most fortunate that Andrew Brown's book J D Bernal: The Sage of Science appeared in 2005 and I was able to call on it. Indeed, much of the material included in this chapter is based on that source and on Dorothy Hodgkin's biographic memoir of J D Bernal, her postgraduate supervisor. Given that this chapter is to be published in a Physics journal I thought it appropriate to provide some background to the theme of my presentation, structural biology. Accordingly, I will begin with an introduction to proteins, one of structural biology's central characters, and to which Bernal devoted much energy and attention. How the molecular structure of a protein determines its activity and function will then be described. Bernal's major contribution in this area was to X-ray crystallography, the primary method by which a protein's structure is determined. The method, and aspects of its development, will be described. I will also make reference to some of Bernal's additional contributions in related fields. Finally, Vincent Casey, the symposium organizer, asked that I comment on how structural biology might impact on society. I will attempt to address that at the close of my presentation.


Joint activities have been investigated primarily in the context of household-based models of travel demand. The joint decision requires agreement about several issues. Each participant, on the one hand, tries to cooperate with others to reach an agreement on the joint activity and, on the other hand, tries to maximize his or her own benefit. Given such a semicooperative environment, the methods of joint activity scheduling cannot be directly extended. Negotiation is a suitable approach to reach an agreement on multiple issues and decide on a joint activity. This study adopted a multiplayer, multi-issue, multilateral negotiation model by which agents sequentially submitted proposals in consecutive rounds until a deadline. A new credit mechanism for the agents under conditions of incomplete information was proposed. Credit encouraged agents to do favors by compromising in return for agreement on other issues. Some preliminary experimental results show how three agents focusing on four issues related to a joint activity come to an agreement on those issues. The study demonstrates that the number of agreements is improved and that the average number of rounds before an agreement is reached is much smaller than that in a process in which no credit system is used.


Introduction: Medium-chain acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase deficiency (MCADD) is an inborn error of fatty acid oxidation requiring carbohydrate (CHO) to avoid disabling encephalopathy with non-ketotic hypoglycemia. We report diagnosis and management of T1DM in an MCADD patient. Case Presentation: Our patient was born prior to MCADD newborn screening. She did well until 2 months of age when she slept 12 hours without feeding and BG 20 mg/dl in ER required IV glucose. By 1 1/2 y/o she had 3 similar events. Pediatric endocrine identified MCADD. She avoided severe hypoglycemia by attending to CHO intake especially during illness. At 8 y/o, she noted glucosuria without ketonuria. Her test results were normal with hemoglobin A1c (HgbA1c) 5.3%. She responded well to adjusted CHO diet until 13 y/o when she noted lethargy with persistent high BG. T1DM was diagnosed with her HgbA1c 6.7%. We hypothesized long-acting glargine insulin could assist BG control without hypoglycemia. She responded well to insulin to maintain HgbA1c less than 7.5% until 15 years of age when she expressed compliance problems to present. Results: Her MCADD presented with non-ketotic hypoglycemia events, normal plasma carnitine but elevated MCADD specific octanoyl-acyl-carnitine levels. A known MCADD mutation was identified. At 13 y/o her BG 335 mg/dl, abnormal insulin release and positive pancreas islet directed antibodies were consistent with T1DM. After 1 year glargine therapy alone she required additional insulin to maintain excellent T1DM control. Discussion: MCADD requires early detection to reduce risk for tragic mortality and morbidity. Our patient requires CHO favored diet but is not obese as sometimes reported with MCADD. Management of her T1DM with MCADD requires insulin monitored to avoid hypoglycemia. T1DM is rarely or not reported in patients with MCADD. Conclusion: BG control in MCADD patients must focus on avoiding hypoglycemia but consider T1DM or other DM when an MCADD patient has persistent hyperglycemia. Disclosure G.W. Moll: None.


Author(s): Weiss, Stanley J.; Reilly, Mark P.; Kearns, David N. | Abstract: This special issue of the International Journal of Comparative Psychology is based on presentations delivered at the Focus Session of the 2004 Winter Conference on Animal Learning and Behavior (WCALB) held in Winter Park, Colorado. The Associative Mechanisms and Drug-Related Behavior Focus Session began with an invited address by Shepard Siegel titled The Ghost in the Addict: Drug Anticipation and Drug Addiction. He described an impressive body of research showing that conditioning mechanisms underlie drug tolerance and withdrawal. Siegel's address underscored the important contribution of associative mechanisms to drug-related behavior and set the stage for the six papers presented in this issue. Siegel began by describing his landmark study that first demonstrated the "situational specificity of tolerance" (Siegel, 1975). In that study, tolerance to morphine was only observed when rats were injected with morphine in an environment where they had previously experienced morphine. In contrast, no tolerance to morphine was observed when rats were injected in a novel environment. This result demonstrated that environmental factors might be as important, or even more important, than pharmacological factors in the expression of tolerance to drugs. Siegel pointed out that these results were anticipated by Subkov and Zilov (1937) who demonstrated conditioned tolerance of epinephrine-induced tachycardia. Siegel hypothesized that this situational specificity of tolerance was mediated by conditioned compensatory responses (CCRs) that counteracted the analgesic effects of morphine. According to this conditioning account of tolerance, the environmental stimuli present before and during morphine (the unconditioned stimulus or US) administration should act as Pavlovian conditioned stimuli (CSs). Through these pairings, the CSs come to elicit a conditioned response (CR) that opposes the direct effects of morphine. Therefore, since morphine itself produces analgesia, the environmental CSs that are paired with morphine come to elicit hyperalgesia. These oppositional processes then summate to produce a zero net effect, which manifests itself as tolerance, when morphine is administered in the presence of cues previously paired with morphine.A critical prediction of the CCR analysis of tolerance is that an effect opposite to the direct effects of morphine (e.g., hyperalgesia) should be observed if the morphine-paired CSs are presented without the morphine (e.g., saline injection substituted for morphine). This is because the full expression of the CCR should be elicited with nothing to counteract them. Siegel (1975) showed that hyperalgesia is indeed observed when previously morphine-paired stimuli are presented in the absence of morphine to morphine-tolerant rats. He has called these unopposed CCRs "withdrawal symptoms" (Siegel, 1999). Thus, for Siegel, tolerance and withdrawal are both manifestations of a CCR—tolerance is observed when the CCR is elicited in the presence of the drug and withdrawal symptoms are observed when the CCR is elicited in the absence of the drug (Siegel, 1999; 2002). Siegel proceeded to review numerous studies conducted over the past 30 years supporting the view that drug tolerance reflects the processes of classical conditioning. Principally, this evidence comes from studies showing that tolerance is affected by learning contingencies in the same way that other nondrug Pavlovian CRs are affected by these contingencies. This reveals generality of process through "functional contiguity" (Sidman, 1960). These learning phenomena include, but are not limited to, extinction, external inhibition, latent inhibition, partial reinforcement effects, blocking, sensory preconditioning as well as electrophysiological and pharmacological manipulations (Siegel, 1975, 1989, 1991; Siegel a Larson, 1996; Dafters et al., 1983; Siegel et al., 2000). So where is the ghost in Siegel's address? In describing his experience with opium addiction, Jean Cocteau wrote "the dead drug leaves a ghost behind. At certain hours it haunts the house" (Cocteau, 1958, p. 60). Siegel materializes the ghost by reframing it in terms of Pavlovian conditioning. For Siegel, the 'ghost' refers to the CRs elicited by drug-associated CSs resulting from extended drug experiences. The candidates for conditioned stimuli can be numerous and include the complex of stimuli present when drugs are taken, such as people, places, sounds and smells. He also posited that the CSs may be interoceptive in nature. Siegel presented his recent research on interoceptive drug-associated cues that logically extend his research on Pavlovian conditioning of exteroceptive cues. This work essentially shows that interoceptive cues can indeed acquire CS functions in ways similar to exteroceptive cues. He considered two types of interoceptive cues, those associated with self-administration and drug onset cues. Self administration cues are stimuli arising from the active administration of the drug (such as movement of the body and other proprioceptive stimuli). Evidence was presented that self-administration cues contribute to tolerance and symptoms of withdrawal (Weise-Kelly a Siegel, 2001; MacRae a Siegel, 1997). Siegel then described research demonstrating the CS function of drug onset cues. In a prototypical experiment, rats receive chronic injections of a large dose of morphine (50 mg/kg). On test days, a much smaller dose (e.g., 5 mg/kg) is given. The small dose of morphine precipitated opiate withdrawal as evidenced by the behavioral and thermic data. This finding is expected if the interoceptive stimulation produced by the small dose was similar to the early drug-onset cues associated with the administration of the large dose. In other words, the early drug-onset cues are analogous to exteroceptive morphine-paired stimuli and elicit CCRs (i.e., precipitate withdrawal) when presented without the US (see Sokolowska, Siegel, a Kim, 2002). Siegel's keynote address provided convincing evidence that drugassociated stimuli, environmental and internal, play a critical role in drug tolerance and withdrawal. The six papers presented in this issue are concerned with a variety of effects of drug-related stimuli, including place conditioning (Bevins), selective associations produced by cocaine-associated stimuli (Weiss, Kearns, Cohn, Panlilio a Schindler), conditioned tolerance to the ataxic effects of alcohol (Brooks), the drug as a CS (Tomie, Mohamed, a Poherecky), and the conditioned reinforcing properties of drug-paired stimuli (Shelton a Beardsley, Newman a Beardsley, and Bevins). Siegel's address and the spectrum of learning paradigms represented by these six articles confirm the central role learning and associative mechanisms play in drug-related behavior. They also illustrate that this is an active area of research that needs people with diverse backgrounds and interests including classical and operant conditioning, behavioral pharmacology and drug abuse. Clearly, people other than metaphysicians acknowledge that the "ghost" is alive and well, and worthy of study.


Yoga is increasingly becoming a popular method of addressing mental health symptoms. While there is research to support the use of yoga for depression, there is limited literature examining yoga in combination with talk therapy groups as a treatment for depression. The results of this case study series (n=4) provide support for the clinical efficacy of yoga in combination with talk therapy. Treatment consisted of 6 weeks of group sessions (90-min sessions each week) with weekly home practice. Each group consisted of yoga, meditation, breathwork, and emotional processing. Decreases in depressive symptoms and increases in self-compassion were found. The findings of the case study are relevant because growing numbers of clients are presenting with depression and seeking alternative treatments.


Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is an aggressive disease with very limited treatment options. SCLC responsiveness to immuno-oncology agents suggests this indication may be amenable to a T-cell based therapy. Genetically modified T cells that express chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) have shown impressive efficacy in multiple hematological malignancies. To translate this approach for SCLC treatment, we are exploring Delta-like ligand 3 (DLL3) as a therapeutic target. DLL3 is highly expressed in SCLC and several other types of neuroendocrine cancers, with limited normal tissue RNA expression in brain, pituitary and testis. A large panel of antibodies that bind to DLL3 were generated, formatted into CARs, and tested in in vitro short-term and long-term cytotoxicity assays using target cells that express high, medium or low levels of DLL3. A subset of CAR T cells were highly active and displayed long-term killing potential. These were tested in vivo and robust efficacy was seen in both subcutaneous and systemic SCLC models. To understand the potential for toxicity in pituitary and brain, subcutaneous or intracranial tumors expressing DLL3 were implanted in mice and human/mouse cross-reactive DLL3 CAR T cells were injected into the tumor-bearing animals. In both models, T cell infiltration into intermediate and posterior pituitary was detected. However, no tissue damage in brain or pituitary was observed and hormone-secretion function of pituitary was not ablated. We believe toxicity is significantly derisked but as an additional safety assurance, CAR T cells were further engineered to contain an off-switch, by which CAR T cells are eliminated upon administration of Rituximab. Multiple off-switch CAR formats were evaluated, and optimal formats determined independently for each CAR. In summary, DLL3 is a target for SCLC with limited normal tissue expression and toxicity. Multiple DLL3 CAR T cells have been characterized. A subset of these CAR T cells showed robust in vitro and in vivo activity and were chosen for further evaluation as potential clinical candidates. Citation Format: Yi Zhang, Silvia Tacheva-Grigorova, Zea Melton, Bryan Smith, Tao Sai, Tom Van Blarcom, Rafael Amado, Barbra Sasu, Siler Panowski. Screening and characterization of AlloCAR T targeting DLL3 for the treatment of small cell lung cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr 6599.


ABSTRACT This article provides a snapshot of the market structure and regulatory approaches around novel and emerging tobacco and nicotine products, both globally and in Latin America, with a focus on excise taxation. Using data from leading market research companies, the WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic 2021, and country laws and decrees, the article analyses the evolution and market structure of heated tobacco products (HTPs), electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), and electronic non-nicotine delivery systems (ENNDS). This is followed by a summary review of regulatory approaches adopted by countries toward these products, with a particular focus on excise tax policies currently implemented. Based on the well-established knowledge about tobacco taxation best practices and on WHO's recent recommendations on the taxation of novel and emerging tobacco and nicotine products, the authors then discuss possible elements of a good tax policy approach for countries to consider.


Whey is the soluble fraction of milk separated from the caseins during manufacture of rennet-coagulated cheese, (sweet whey) or use of acids (acid whey). Whey proteins are widely used in a variety of foods, primarily for their superior functional properties such as gelling and emulsification. Solubility is the major protein attribute affecting all functional properties. In this study, the effect of storage at different temperatures on sweet and acid whey proteins solubility and gel electrophoresis pattern was investigated. Acid whey was produced by adjusting the pH of pasteurized milk to 4.6 and sweet whey was produced by adding microbial rennet to the pasteurized milk held at 37°C for 1 h. Whey samples were stored at -18, 4, 25, 40 and 60°C. At different time intervals, samples were removed and used for protein solubility determination and SDS-PAGE. Results showed that the solubility of proteins of  both  whey  types   stored   at -18 and

 60°C significantly decreased, such that at -18oC, 50 and 61% decrease for sweet and acid whey protein solubility, respectively, occurred after 6 weeks. These decreases were 44 and 55% for samples stored at 60°C for 5 days. The decrease in solubility at 4, 25 and 40°C was less drastic. At all temperatures, decrease in protein solubility followed a first order kinetic. The activation energies for loss of protein solubility were 6.3 to 6.4 kcal/mol for sweet and acid whey proteins. The SDS-PAGE patterns indicated significant denaturation and aggregation of major whey proteins during storage.

 Key words: Whey protein, solubility, kinetics, SDS-PAGE, activation energy.


appears or not, and the relationship between performance and the cognitive status in each of the areas evaluated by the screening test for dementia cognitive. Ten ATD patients participated in this experiment, compared with ten control subjects. A Card Test (based on the Iowa Gambling Task) was used. Subjects had to choose among different options that implied more or less risk. Furthermore, a screening test was used. The results reflected the fact that subjects with ATD in an initial stage showed a tendency to risk in decision making and they did not develop any election strategy pattern. It seems that the way in which patients make their decisions is related to the cognitive damage and the degree in which Alzheimer affects the different brain areas.


Introduction: The euro and Ukraine crises, compounded with the rise of Euroskepticism, have led to a panic
wave about the future of Europe as a zone of peace and prosperity but also about the European
Union as a viable political experiment. This panic wave is encapsulated in the titles of a number
of recent books, articles and op-eds written by eminent scholars: The Decline and Fall of Europe,
by Richard Youngs; Europe as a Small Power, by Asle Toje; The Coming Erosion of the
European Union, by Stephen Walt; Europe crise et fin? d'Etienne Balibar; Europe, le continent
perdu, de Philippe Maystadt; or The Decline of Europe, by Walter Laqueur. Andrew Moravcsik
must feel quite lonely these days with a cheery article entitled "Europe as superpower"…
Before we start cheering or lamenting the imminent downfall of Europe, a bit of historical
perspective is needed. In The End of the West, David Marquand writes:
By 1913, Europe's share of global GDP was more than twice those of India and China put
together. (It was twice that of the United States.) The British Empire covered one-quarter
of the earth's land surface; the City of London was the linchpin of the world's first truly
global market. The Russia Empire – not fully European, but ruled from its far-western
capital in European St Petersburg – extended from Warsaw in the west to the Pacific
Ocean on the east. France ruled vast territories in North and West Africa as well as much
of Southeast Asia. Soft power mimicked hard power. French was the language of
diplomacy and culture, German of philosophy, and English of political economy. Of the
great transformative ideologies of the age, liberalism was a British invention,
republicanism a Franco-Italian one, and socialism and national Franco-German ones.
(Marquand 2011: 5).
Compared to that, the European Union is indeed in decline. In this paper, I propose to situate the
EU's current predicament in the historical perspective of Europe as a political region. To do so, I
2
draw from historical sociology's theoretical insights and empirical findings, in particular those of
Michael Mann and his study of the sources of social power. I conceptualize Europe as a node in
four power networks of historically varying sizes: military, economic, ideological, and political.
Based on rudimentary data, I argue that we are not witnessing a real decline of Europe as a region
but a weakening of Europe's 400-year old global system of influence. Second, contrary to what
current images of European crisis and marginalization suggest, this decline has been slow,
gradual, and is not more pronounced than in the 1950s. Third, Europe remains a preeminent node
in the world's economic, military, and especially ideological and political networks. It is not as
big as the US, but it hasn't been for at least 50 years. It is declining relative to China, but it still
surpasses it.
As we know, decline is not only an issue of objective indicators. So in the second part of
the paper, I turn to the subjective dimension of how Europeans are expected to cope with their
less-significant-than-thought but genuine decline. To begin to address this question, I argue that
IR theory must again be complemented with the insights of historical sociology. This
combination allows me to show that, while elites have pursued a fairly liberal strategy of
retrenchment offset by strong involvement in global ideological and political networks, the rise of
declinist language among intellectuals and right-wing politicians may fuel other strategies that
will make Europe's transition to a "normal" political region more difficult.


In a test of their global-/local-processing-style model, Förster, Liberman, and Kuschel (2008) found that people assimilate a primed concept (e.g., "aggressive") into their social judgments after a global prime (e.g., they rate a person as being more aggressive than do people in a no-prime condition) but contrast their judgment away from the primed concept after a local prime (e.g., they rate the person as being less aggressive than do people in a no prime-condition). This effect was not replicated by Reinhard (2015) in the Reproducibility Project: Psychology. However, the authors of the original study noted that the replication could not provide a test of the moderation effect because priming did not occur. They suggested that the primes might have been insufficiently applicable and the scenarios insufficiently ambiguous to produce priming. In the current replication project, we used both Reinhard's protocol and a revised protocol that was designed to increase the likelihood of priming, to test the original authors' suggested explanation for why Reinhard did not observe the moderation effect. Teams from nine universities contributed to this project. We first conducted a pilot study (N = 530) and successfully selected ambiguous scenarios for each site. We then pilot-tested the aggression prime at five different sites (N = 363) and found that it did not successfully produce priming. In agreement with the first author of the original report, we replaced the prime with a task that successfully primed aggression (hostility) in a pilot study by McCarthy et al. (2018). In the final replication study (N = 1,460), we did not find moderation by protocol type, and judgment patterns in both protocols were inconsistent with the effects observed in the original study. We discuss these findings and possible explanations.


Survival of the fittest or survival of the nicest? Since the dawn of time, human beings have contemplated the mysteries of altruism - but it was Darwin who posed the question most starkly. From the selfless ant to the stinging bee to the man laying down his life for a stranger, evolution has yielded a goodness that in theory should never exist. "The Price of Altruism" follows the incredible story of the eccentric American genius, George Price, as he strives to answer evolution's greatest riddle. From the heights of the Manhattan Project to the inspired equation that explains altruism, to the depths of homelessness and despair in London, his life and death embody the paradoxes of Darwin's enigma. Price's personal and professional journey are intricately woven into the sweeping arc of modern politics and science. From the Beagle in the southern seas to the court of the Russian Tsar to the chambers of London's Royal Society; from Brazilian jungles to Jamaican mountains; from Marxist manifestos to Nazi heresies and from First World War trenches to Vietnam demonstrations. The scientific quest to fathom the mysteries of altruism encompasses sneaky amoebas and Russian anarchists, sentry gazelles and tyrannical despots, brain imaging, Game Theory, the Bomb and the Holy Bible. Featuring some of the most brilliant minds of the modern age, it is the riveting tale of mankind's search for the origins of kindness.


Context: Direct laryngoscopy (DL) remains the most popular method of endotracheal intubation despite the availability of easier methods like intubating laryngeal mask airway (ILMA)—a blind intubation aid with a high success rate of intubation even when employed by novices. Aim: This study compared the overall success rate of intubation using ILMA and DL during elective surgeries requiring intubation. Study Design: This was a comparative randomized study. Patients and Methods: Following the institutional ethical approval, 86 American Society of Anaesthesiologists physical status (ASA) I and II patients were randomized into DL and ILMA groups. Each received intravenous fentanyl 2 μg/kg, glycopyrrolate 4 μg/kg, intravenous propofol 3 mg/kg, suxamethonium 2 mg/kg to a maximum of 100 mg. Intubation was with DL in the first group and ILMA in the second group. Anesthesia was maintained with isoflurane and muscle relaxation with atracurium. The overall success rate, the success rate at the first attempt of intubation, time for intubation, and airway complications were assessed. Statistical analysis: Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.0. The quantitative variables were analyzed using the Student's t-test and qualitative using the Chi-square test. A P value less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results: The success at insertion was 100% in the DL group and 95.3% with ILMA at the first attempt (P = 0.15). The success rate of intubation at the first attempt was 100 and 79.1% in the DL and ILMA groups, respectively. The mean time for intubation was 19.93 ± 6.17 and 46.54 ± 11.63 s in DL and ILMA, respectively (P = 0.001). Six patients (14%) had airway complications in the ILMA group. Conclusion: The overall success rate of intubation via ILMA is comparable to that of DL. In patients with normal airways, DL remains a comparatively faster and easier technique to secure the airway with tracheal intubation than ILMA.


Objective The aim was to evaluate the predictive value of cord blood albumin and bilirubin in identifying infants greater than or equal to 35 weeks for subsequent hyperbilirubinemia. Background Hyperbilirubinemia is the most common cause for readmission during the early neonatal period. Early discharge of healthy term newborns after delivery has become a common practice for socioeconomic reasons. Patients and methods A prospective cohort study was carried out on 75 neonates, greater than or equal to 35 weeks, with 34 female and 41 male neonates, delivered in Menoufia University hospital during the period from June 2016 to December 2017. Full history taking, clinical examination immediately after birth, and laboratory investigations were recorded. Results With cord albumin less than 2.8 g/dl, 81.8% of cases developed significant hyperbilirubinemia, whereas levels greater than 3.3 mg/dl were considered safe with no incidence of hyperbilirubinemia. Moreover, in the total group, the highest sensitivity (83.3%) was for cut-off value of cord bilirubin (CB) at 1.88 mg/dl, with positive predictive value of 72.9%, whereas the highest specificity (84.8%) was for cut-off value of CB–cord albumin at −0.6, with negative predictive value of 74.1. In high-risk group, the highest sensitivity (88.9%), highest positive predictive value (94.1%), highest specificity (85.7%), and negative predictive value (75%), were for cut-off value of CB–cord albumin at − 0.82. Conclusion Cord blood albumin and bilirubin examination can be used as an early useful indicator to predict significantly hyperbilirubinemia in neonates. Researches on large scale should be done for more clarification on the predictive value of cord blood albumin and bilirubin for early prediction of significant hyperbilirubinemia.


Reliability and validity of triage systems is important because this can affect patient safety. In this thesis, these aspects of two emergency department (ED) triage systems were studied as well as methodological aspects in these types of studies. The consistency, reproducibility, and criterion validity of the Manchester Triage System (MTS) were studied in chapter 2. The consistency and reproducibility appeared to be 'substantial' and 'high'. However, substantial percentages mistriage occurred. This was further studied in chapter 3 by reviewing weighting schemes for calculating a weighted kappa. It was found that the existing weighting schemes rewarded mistriage too extensively. Therefore, triage weighted kappa was developed and applied. Triage weighted kappa decreased the reliability of triage systems substantially. Besides these shortcomings, the value of kappa depends on the distribution of the data. Therefore, in chapter 4 an approach was developed on how to interprete and compare the reliability of triage systems. The reliability should be interpreted by plotting the kappa against the minimum, normal, and maximum kappa, to obtain information about the skewness of the data. Comparisons between systems can be made by calculating a normal kappa a so that equal chance corrections are obtained. Because this approach affects sample size calculations, in chapter 5 sample size calculation methods for reliability studies were reviewed. Currently no sample size calculation methods exist for reliability studies conducted to ordinal measurement scales such as triage systems. When calculating sample sizes it is important to take into account the dependence of kappa on the distribution of data by setting the null- and alternative hypothesis to the maximum kappa or by setting the confidence interval width to a maximum of 0.10. In chapter 6 the construct validity of the MTS and Emergency Severity Index (ESI) were studied. The ESI was more strongly associated with hospital admission than the MTS. Concerning ED mortality, patients in the more urgent categories of both systems were at increased risk of dying. A small number of patients did not require ESI resources but were admitted to the hospital or sent to the outpatient department. In chapter 7 it appeared that these patients were most likely elderly, referred, or presenting with 'post operative complications, wound care problems and plaster problems'. Because of this small but structural flaw the ESI guidelines needs revisions concerning these patient groups. Chapter 8 focussed on pain assessments at triage with the MTS. Pain was assessed in nearly one third of the patients who required an assessment according to the guidelines. Nurses mentioned several reasons for not assessing pain at triage including overtriage, time constraints and difficulties with interpreting pain. The reported reasons indicated that the MTS guidelines should describe more precisely how to assess pain. Although both systems' guidelines need revisions, the studies described in this thesis indicate that the ESI is more reliable and valid than the MTS. Methodologically, one should critically review existing weighting schemes before applying one, and account for the distribution of data when interpreting reliability. These suggestions will reflect the reliability more in accordance with clinical practice.


A method is presented for generating shaped command inputs which significantly reduce or eliminate endpoint vibration. Desired system inputs are altered so that the system completes the requested move without residual vibration. A short move time penalty is incurred (on the order of one period of the first mode of vibration). The preshaping technique is robust under system parameter uncertainty and may be applied to both open and closed loop systems. The Draper Laboratory''s Space Shuttle Remote Manipulator System simulator (DRS) is used to evaluate the method. Results show a factor of 25 reduction in endpoint residual vibration for typical moves of the DRS.


This paper exploits a far-reaching French reform as well as a very rich set of administrative data to evaluate the impact of a corporate tax credit aimed at reducing labor costs on several outcomes: employment, profit and wages. The effects of the Competitiveness and Employment Tax Credit (CETC), a refundable tax credit based on the wagebill, introduced in France in 2013, are estimated thanks to double (and triple) difference methodologies, instrumented by the intensity of the intention to treat, thanks to data at the firm and individual levels on the period 2010-2014. Our results show that this relatively large tax break about 17 billion euros per year does not succeed in boosting employment in the first two years after being set. However they suggest that firms used the CETC to restore their margins. Moreover wages have increased significantly in more intensively treated firms, particularly those of white-collar employees. These results cast doubts regarding the effectiveness of such tax credits to boost employment. More importantly, they also provide new quasi-experimental evidence regarding rent sharing in the labor market.


'Snap-On' robotic modules that can integrate distally with existing commercially-available endoscopic equipment have the potential to provide new capabilities such as enhanced dexterity, bilateral manipulation and feedback sensing with minimal disruption of the current clinical workflow. However, the desire for fully-distal integration of sensors and actuators and the resulting form factor requirements preclude the use of many off-the-shelf actuators capable of generating the relevant strokes and forces required to interact with tools and tissue. In this work, we investigate the use of millimeter-scale, optimally-packed helical shape memory alloy (SMA) actuators in an antagonistic configuration to provide distal actuation without the need for a continuous mechanical coupling to proximal, off-board actuation packages to realize a truly plug-and-play solution. Using phenomenological modeling, we design and fabricate antagonistic helical SMA pairs and implement them in an at-scale roboendoscopic module to generate strokes and forces necessary for deflecting tools passed through the endoscope working port, thereby providing a controllable robotic 'wrist' inside the body to otherwise passive flexible tools. Bandwidth is drastically improved through the integration of targeted fluid cooling. The integrated system can generate maximum lateral forces of 10N and demonstrates an additional 96 degrees of distal angulation, expanding the reachable workspace of tools passed through a standard endoscope.


We integrate published stable isotopic, chemical, mineralogical, and biotic data from the onset of the Paleocene‐Eocene thermal maximum (PETM) at Site 690, Maud Rise in the Southern Ocean. The integrated data set documents a sequence of environmental steps including warming of the ocean from the surface downward, and modification of its thermal and nutrient structure, acidification of the deep ocean, and the onset of continental weathering. The age of the events with respect to the onset of the PETM is calibrated with three different age models. The relative and absolute timing of the steps are compared with simulated temperature, salinity, calcite saturation, and dissolved PO4 and O2, at different depths in the ocean, generated with the UVic Earth System Climate Model of intermediate complexity. The simulation supports the top to bottom transfer of heat and carbon, and generally agrees with age models in terms of the durations of leads and lags in temperature, C‐isotope, and biotic responses. Moreover, the simulation shows that stratification increased and the nutricline strengthened at the onset of the PETM. These environmental changes explain the abundance of deep‐dwelling nannoplankton and foraminifera during the early part of the event. The modeled calcite saturation is consistent with a harsh deep‐sea habitat at the time of the benthic foraminiferal extinction.


Troublesome Disguises examines psychiatric conditions which are not necessarily uncommon, rare or exotic but are challenging for the clinician who may struggle to reach a diagnosis and to set up management strategies. However, with familiarity, these conditions can and should be recognised. This new edition is an exercise in consciousness-raising as well as a warning to beware of diagnostic systems which, despite their many virtues, may become too influential and may perpetuate errors which are to the detriment of patients. For the clinician struggling to understand and treat patients who fail to fit the usual diagnostic categories, Troublesome Disguises provides wise instruction in the virtue of entertaining doubts, as well as practical advice for the assessment and management of atypical cases.


Development policy of the European Union (EU) is just not confined to the development assistance programme dedicated purely for philanthropic purposes but has wider dimensions attached to it; It is one of the most imperative instrument of the European foreign policy and determines its relationship with the developing countries. This implies equally to the EUSouth Asia engagements, which evolved to third generation relationship from simple first generation commercial cooperation agreements. For analysing contemporary linkages of the EU with different South Asian countries, it is crucial to comprehend the role of development policy in South Asia. This book not only focuses on the development policy but also an effort is made to evaluate its relevance, impact and implications. As it is said 'To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive and the true success is to labour'. This book is also an outcome of 4/5 years of intense research on the subject. It will help the students of European studies since there is not enough literature available on the subject. It is a good reader for policy makers dealing with the development policy of the European Union. This book is also useful for South Asians associated with Non-government Organisations (NGOs) and voluntary groups, which are working in collaboration with the European Union.


The Biginelli Reaction is a one-pot acid catalysed cyclocondensation of � -keto ester, urea and aromatic aldehyde which leads to the synthesis of functionalised 3,4-dihydro-2(H)-pyrimidinones (DHPMs). This three-component reaction for the synthesis of dihydro- pyrimidinone and corresponding dihydropyrimidinethiones has now been known for more than a century since first reported in 1893. Owing to the increasing use of Green technology approach, due to its various merits over Classical methodology and as a need for sus- tainable Chemistry, this reaction has received renewed interest for preparing DHPMs in an environmentally thoughtful manner with im- proved yields. The classical reaction has been modified in the recent past by using various catalysts and several structural variants in dif- ferent solvents to synthesize large number of Biginelli type compounds. Also, these DHPMs (synthetic and natural) possess a wide range of pharmacological activities. We hereby wish to compile, in this present review, the literature available methods related to large number of Biginelli type compounds synthesized using eco-friendly technologies. This protocol couples the benefits of Biginelli reaction with that of greener approach for organic transformations, thus facilitating efficient synthesis of bioactive compounds in environmentally be- nign way.


Mean shape-gain vector quantization (MSGVQ) is extended to include negative gains and square isometries. Square isometries together with a classification technique based on average block intensities enable us to enlarge the MSGVQ codebook size without any additional storage requirements while keeping the complexity of both the codebook generation and the encoding manageable. Variable rate codes are obtained with a quadtree segmentation based on a rate-distortion criterion. Experimental results show that our scheme performs favorably when compared to previous product code techniques or quadtree based VQ methods.


This work presents the architecture used in the ongoing e-learning EduCa Project. The approach is based in a strong use of ontologies for the retrieval, management and clustered of electronic educational resources according to user's cultural aspects. Cultural aspects are preferences and ways of behavior determined by the person's culture. In this project, the cultural aspects are just the features that distinguish between the preferences of users from different regions.


We extend multiplicative exponential linear logic (MELL) by a non- commutative, self-dual logical operator. The extended system, called NEL, is defined in the formalism of the calculus of structures, which is a generalisation of the sequent calculus and provides a more refined analysis of proofs. We are then able to extend the expressiveness of MELL by modelling a broad notion of sequentiality. We show some proof theoretical results: decomposition and cut elimination. The new operator represents a significant challenge: to get our results we use here for the first time some novel techniques, which constitute a uniform and modular approach to cut elimination, contrary to what is possible in the sequent calculus.


The sport industry has never seen growth such as eSports'. Using synchronized monitoring of two biological processes on a 25-year-old gamer, we investigated how his brain (via EEG) and eyes (via pupil dilation) interacted dynamically over time as an integrated network during NBA2K playing time. After the spectral decomposition of the different Brain and Eye signals into seven frequency bands, we calculated the bivariate equal-time Pearson's cross-correlation between each pair of EEG/Eye spectral power time series. On average, our results show a reorganization of the cortico-muscular network across three sessions (e.g., new interactions, hemispheric asymmetry). These preliminary findings highlight the potential need for individualized, specific, adaptive, and periodized interventions and encourage the continuation of this line of research for the creation of general theories of networks in eSports gaming. Future studies should recruit larger samples, investigate different games, and explore cross-frequency coordination among other key organ systems.


ABSTRACT This study reports on the use of PCR to directly detect and distinguish Campylobacter species in bovine feces without enrichment. Inhibitors present in feces are a major obstacle to using PCR to detect microorganisms. The QIAamp DNA stool minikit was found to be an efficacious extraction method, as determined by the positive amplification of internal control DNA added to bovine feces before extraction. With nested or seminested multiplex PCR, Campylobacter coli, C. fetus, C. hyointestinalis, and C. jejuni were detected in all fecal samples inoculated at ≈104 CFU g−1, and 50 to 83% of the samples inoculated at ≈103 CFU g−1 were positive. At ≈102 CFU g−1, C. fetus, C. hyointestinalis, and C. jejuni (17 to 50% of the samples) but not C. coli were detected by PCR. From uninoculated bovine feces, a total of 198 arbitrarily selected isolates of Campylobacter were recovered on four commonly used isolation media incubated at three temperatures. The most frequently isolated taxa were C. jejuni (152 isolates) and C. lanienae (42 isolates), but isolates of C. fetus subsp. fetus, Arcobacter butzleri, and A. skirrowii also were recovered (≤2 isolates per taxon). Considerable variability was observed in the frequency of isolation of campylobacters among the four media and three incubation temperatures tested. With genus-specific primers, Campylobacter DNA was detected in 75% of the fecal samples, representing an 8% increase in sensitivity relative to that obtained with microbiological isolation across the four media and three incubation temperatures tested. With nested primers, C. jejuni and C. lanienae were detected in 25 and 67% of the samples, respectively. In no instance was DNA from either C. coli, C. fetus, or C. hyointestinalis detected in uninoculated bovine feces. PCR was more sensitive than isolation on microbiological media for detecting C. lanienae (17%) but not C. jejuni. Campylobacters are a diverse and fastidious group of bacteria, and the development of direct PCR not only will increase the understanding of Campylobacter species diversity and their frequency of occurrence in feces but also will enhance the knowledge of their role in the gastrointestinal tract of livestock and of the factors that influence shedding.


In this paper, a normalized stochastic gradient algorithm is proposed for learning in feedforward neural networks. By using a new methodology based on the martingale convergence results, asymptotic properties of the algorithm are analyzed. It is proved that, in general, the sequence of the algorithm states converges with probability one to the set of zeroes of the gradient of the criterion function locally on the event where it is bounded. Then, these results are applied to learning in multilayer perceptrons.


Low stress repeated impact experiments and test were carried out on medium carbon steel and stainless steel samples which is clad with high-strength Co-based or Ni-based alloy. The results showed that under low stress repeated impact load, which is much lower than the yield strength of material, plastic deformation will be occurred on the coating and part of its below base material. The average plastic deformation degree caused by each impact is increased at first, and then declined with the increase of impact times. Accumulated impact will lead to macroscopic plastic deformation and material hardening. The degree of deformation and the size of deformation area are related to the impact stress value and the material's strength. The degree of deformation and hardening decline from the exterior to the interior, and only occur on the impact surface and a certain depth below, forming a 'deformable area'. Based on our analysis, we consider that low stress repeated impact deformation is a kind of accumulative fatigue damage. The energy absorbed by material under repeated impact load, is larger than that absorbed at the same peak value of stress under static load or static fatigue load. Moreover, the energy absorbability is inversely proportional to the impact distance. Repeated impact may increase the movability of atom, reduce the critical shearing stress, that make the dislocation be initiated and increased easily.


40 experimental rats had 80 silicon prostheses implanted in the hind legs for the purpose of studying the peculiarities of a capsule developing round the implant over one to twelve weeks. The silicon implant was found to help develop a smooth-walled inter-tissue capsule with a concentric pattern of collagen fibres and fibroblasts without the development of any epithelium-like lining on the inner surface of the wall. The thickness of the capsular wall becomes stabilized after six to eight weeks, never exceeding the 350 microns to 400 microns mark. The capsular wall is supplied from a concentrically growing capillary groove. The clinical material summarizes experience of 15 cases (24 fingers) of inveterate flexor tendon damage in digits II-V in the "critical" zone (II). The authors used a new method of rotated pedicled tenotransplant fixation to the distal phalanx. This permitted to dispense with plast-of-Paris immobilization, to start rehabilitation earlier, and to score excellent and good results in twelve patients (80%) (21 fingers) within five to six weeks of the second stage of tenoplasty.


The relation between aid and tax has been largely debated in the literature, given its far-reaching consequences: the presence of a crowding-out effect of aid on domestic revenue would seriously impair the sustainability of the development process. This paper explores this relation by adopting a case-study approach, which overcomes some of the common limits of the cross-country literature. I use time series data for Ethiopia for 1960-2009, a longer time series than most country studies of this kind. The estimation is based on an error correction model that allows separating long-run equilibrium relations and short-run dynamics. The analysis shows that both foreign grants and loans have a positive relation with tax revenue in Ethiopia. This effect seems to be robust to endogeneity and to structural breaks, although clearly establishing causality remains a challenge. The results show that aid has a beneficial effect on tax revenue, which may be due to its role in supporting fiscal reforms and improvements in tax administration.


We report primary production and respiration of Posidonia oceanica meadows determined with the non-invasive aquatic eddy covariance technique. Oxygen fluxes were measured in late spring at an open-water meadow (300 m from shore), at a nearshore meadow (60 m from shore), and at an adjacent sand bed. Despite the oligotrophic environment, the meadows were highly productive and highly autotrophic. Net ecosystem production (54 to 119 mmol m–2 d–1) was about one-half of gross primary production. In adjacent sands, net primary production was a tenth- to a twentieth smaller (4.6 mmol m–2 d–1). Thus, P. oceanica meadows are an oasis of productivity in unproductive surroundings. During the night, dissolved oxygen was depleted in the open-water meadow. This caused a hysteresis where oxygen production in the late afternoon was greater than in the morning at the same irradiance. Therefore, for accurate measurements of diel primary production and respiration in this system, oxygen must be measured within the canopy. Generally, these measurements demonstrate that P. oceanica meadows fix substantially more organic carbon than they respire. This supports the high rate of organic carbon accumulation and export for which the ecosystem is known.


The illegal wildlife trade is a prevalent crime that has not been explored by mainstream criminology, which ignores environmental harms that remain legal. The emerging field of green criminology considers harms, but mostly in a speciesist manner. Using two case studies of wildlife trafficking in Russia Far East (fur and falcon), this research moves beyond these limits. This is accomplished by adopting an ecocentric stance that recognizes the intrinsic value of all species and their right to humane treatment and a life free from suffering. Additionally, this book presents three structural harms that are problematic in regards to wildlife trafficking; danger to the environment; cruelty to animals; and threat to national and human security through the connection to corruption, transnational crime, organized criminal networks, and terrorism. By exploring who is involved, how it occurs, and where it takes place, distinct typologies are created that provide a basis for further examination. Solutions are offered to improve the policies and enforcement that affect wildlife trafficking, as are recommendations for addressing the supply and demand for illegal wildlife and wildlife products.


Background and Purpose— The atherosclerotic process is associated with both morphological and functional changes in the carotid artery. We evaluated the relationship between these parameters of the carotid artery and the extent of coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with preserved left ventricular function. Methods— The study population consisted of 104 stable patients with CAD who had preserved left ventricular function (left ventricular ejection fraction ≥45%). All patients underwent carotid ultrasound for evaluation of carotid artery plaque score defined by the sum of plaque thickness, maximum percent area stenosis, and carotid arterial stiffness index β calculated by a combination of changes in carotid arterial diameter and blood pressure. Results— Plaque score and percent area stenosis correlated with the extent of CAD defined as the number of diseased coronary vessels (P<0.001 and 0.002, respectively), but arterial stiffness β did not (P=0.39). Using logistic regression analyses adjusting for confounding coronary risk factors and arterial stiffness β, plaque score and percent area stenosis were independently correlated with multivessel CAD (P=0.001 and 0.004, respectively). Conclusions— Carotid artery plaque burden, but not arterial stiffness, is associated with the extent of CAD, suggesting morphological rather than functional changes in the carotid artery may be a more accurate predictor of the extent of CAD and multivessel CAD independent of left ventricular function.