In postmenopausal women, hormonal decline changes muscle function and structure. The non-steroidal selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs) Ostarine (OS) and Ligandrol (LG) have been shown to increase muscle mass and physical function while showing a relative low risk profile. Information about their effects on muscle structure and metabolism is lacking. To analyze this, two experiments were performed using ovariectomized rats as a standard model for postmenopausal conditions. In each experiment, 3-month old Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into five groups (n = 12 to 15). One group remained intact (Non-OVX), the other four groups were ovariectomized (OVX) and remained untreated for eight (OS Experiment) or nine (LG Experiment) weeks. Thereafter, rats of three of the four OVX groups were treated with OS or LG (with doses of 0.04, 0.4, or 4 mg/kg body weight/day) for 5 weeks. Then, uterus, gastrocnemius, and soleus muscles were weighed, fiber size, capillary density, and enzyme activity (lactate dehydrogenase [LDH], citrate synthase [CS], and complex I) were analyzed. In the LG experiment, intramuscular fat content was determined in the quadriceps femoris muscle. All OS treatments resulted in a higher capillary density in the gastrocnemius and longissimus muscles compared with the Non-OVX and the OVX rats, whereas all LG treatments showed a higher capillary density compared with the Non-OVX group. Muscle fiber size and distribution patterns were not changed under either SARM. The CS activity was higher in the longissimus muscle under OS treatment. LG resulted in a higher activity of CS in the gastrocnemius and of LDH in the longissimus muscle. Both SARMs showed an uterotrophic effect, OS at 4 and 0,4 mg dosages, LG at 4 mg dosage. In sum, beneficial effect on muscle vascularization was observed for both SARMs with a stronger impact for OS. LG showed more effect on muscle metabolism. However, a higher muscle weight and intramuscular fat content observed after LG treatment (4 mg) as well as an uterotrophic effect of both SARMs at higher dosages could be considered as an unfavorable side effects and might be a limitation for their application at these dosages.


From the foundation of the city of Rome in 753 BCE to the capture of the same in 476 CE, the ancient Romans came into contact with a diverse range of peoples. The Romans did not want only to conquer these peoples and incorporate them into the empire, but also they displayed a genuine interest in learning about foreigners. Roman historical narrative demonstrates clearly this prevailing curiosity. This thesis examines the representations of foreign individuals and communities in five works: SaUust, helium lugurthinum; Livy, Ab Vrhe Condita 21-30; Justin, Epitome of Pompeius Trogus, Historiae Philippicae 11-12; Tacitus, Germania; Ammianus MarcelHnus, Res Gestae 23.6. These authors represent a broad range of types of history writing (monograph, AUG history, universal history), and they span most of die history of Rome as an empire (40s BCE to the late 300s CE). Moreover, these works represent a diverse range of geographic locations in that they include the three major parts of the world as understood by the Romans: Africa, Europe and Asia. Finally, they cover—or they exist within the context of—the full range of the Roman-Foreign experience: victory (Numidia, Carthage), defeat (Persia), and non- result (Germani).This thesis demonstrates that Roman historians employ a diverse range of presentations of non-Roman individuals and communities. Roman historians appear not to have been constrained by a narrow set of rules when it comes to writing non- Romans; rather, each author can be seen to be engaging in a wider Roman discourse on the foreigner. And this discourse extends beyond the Roman world and Roman historical writing: the historians of Rome can be seen as building upon, and responding to, the so-called father of history, Herodotus, whose own narrative established firmly that exploration of the foreigner is an important part of historical inquiry. Close analysis clearly demonstrates each presentation of a non-Roman character or community to be an intricate and fascinating construction, and understanding how the foreigner is conceptualised in the work is of critical importance. On the one hand, the presentation of foreigners fits into the historian's overarching aims and objectives in his work; on the other hand, the representation of foreigners can dictate the ways in which the Roman history is narrated. Non-Romans both fit into and they provide direction for, Roman historical narrative. By studying the complexities of the presentation of non-Romans, therefore, this thesis enhances our understanding of the sophistication of Roman historical writing. Despite the continuing acknowledgement of the important role ethnography plays in writings of Herodotus and his Greek and Roman successors and imitators, there has not so far been a genre-wide detailed study of the ethnography in Greek or Roman historiography. This thesis, therefore, seeks to rectify partially this omission on the part of scholarship, and establish a foundation for future study of the non-Roman in Latin literature and Roman culture.


[FePt(2 nm)/Ag(d nm)]10 mutilayers were deposited on single crystal MgO (100) substrates by magnetron sputtering. L10-FePt/Ag nanocomposite films with a high coercivity and a perpendicular orientation were achieved by annealing the as-deposited films at 600 °C for 15 min. The result of high resolution transmitting electron microscopy (HRTEM) shows apparent mutilayer structure of the [FePt(2 nm)/Ag(5 nm)]10 film. We also found the good epitaxial growth of FePt on MgO [001] direction. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) observation on the surface morphology showed that the surface particle size and roughness degree decrease with increasing the Ag layer thickness.


Power utility companies rely on forecasting to anticipate future consumption needs, plan power production, and schedule the selling/purchasing of power. We present a novel method to forecast the power consumption of a single house based on non-intrusive load monitoring (NILM) and affinity aggregation spectral clustering, with the idea of extending it to forecasting consumption in a larger set of houses like a microgrid. First, we use a graph to model statistical relationships between appliances. Specifically, the ON/OFF time-of-day and state duration probabilities are used to compute graph edge weights and establish statistical relationships among appliances. Then, leveraging on our previous work on NILM, we disaggregate the smart meter aggregate power profile into individual appliance power profiles. With the disaggregated individual power profiles and the corresponding ON/OFF time-of-day and state duration probabilities, we next propose a method to forecast each appliance's power profiles using affinity aggregation spectral clustering. For the proposed method, we incorporate human behaviour and environmental influence in terms of calendar and seasonal contexts in order to enhance the forecasting performance. Finally, the results of appliance-level forecasting are aggregated to perform house-level forecasting. To test our proposed forecasting method, we use four publicly available datasets and compare our method against several existing approaches such as autoregressive integrated moving average, similar profile load forecast, artificial neural network, and recent NILM-based forecasting. Experimentally, we examine how well the proposed forecasting method can generalize appliance behaviours from one house to another. Results clearly show that our method is more accurate than existing approaches.


Purpose: Our aims were to: 1) describe participation in people with Parkinson disease (PD), 2) evaluate the relationship between quality of life and participation, and 3) determine which mobility measures predict participation. Methods: Participants with idiopathic PD (n=62) were tested off medication for participation (Activity Card Sort), quality of life (PDQ-39), disease severity (MDS-UPDRS), and mobility (Berg Balance Scale, Five Time Sit to Stand (FTSTS) , Six Minute Walk, forward walking velocity, dual-task walking velocity, and Freezing of Gait Questionnaire (FOGQ)). Relationships of all variables to participation were examined using Pearson correlations. Subsequent regression analysis was employed to determine which mobility measures best predicted participation. Results: Participants with PD retained, on average, 78.3% (SD = 15.6%) of total activities. Participation was negatively correlated with all PDQ-39 domains ( r range -.36 to .-78, all p < 0.005) with the mobility domain having the strongest correlation. All mobility measures were significantly correlated with participation, with the final regression model including only FTSTS and FOGQ which combined explained 37% of the variance in participation. Conclusions: Participation is highly related to mobility-related QOL and may be most impacted by ability to stand up from a chair and freezing of gait in those with PD.


Use of ORCs in waste heat recovery is widely seen as a viable and promising solution for increasing energy efficiency and emission reduction efforts, with "on-board" vehicular concepts becoming increasingly popular. In this study, the potential of an ORC harnessing exhaust energy from a diesel generator is considered. Preliminary fluid selection was based on satisfactory thermodynamic performance, and expander size requirement as the limiting parameter. Both simple and recuperative ORC systems were modelled. The effect of the exhaust temperature and the high operational pressure of the ORC model were evaluated in terms of energetic and exergetic performance. For the toluene ORC, moderate pressure values were dictated by the expander size limitation, yet this can be alleviated by high exhaust temperatures. Simple ORCs required a larger heat input and had lower exergetic efficiency. Recuperative ORCs showed better thermal efficiency and lower overall exergy destruction. The expander efficiency was identified as a vital parameter for cycle design and thermodynamic performance.


Matrix-based tablets using different concentrations of grewia gum, and the model drug ibuprofen, were prepared using a wet granulation technique. Similar formulations were also prepared using HPMC, guar gum or ethyl cellulose as the polymer matrix. In addition to tablet properties, swelling and erosion of tablets and kinetics of drug release were also investigated. In vitro drug release studies, in phosphate buffer (pH 7.2) using USP type II apparatus, revealed that grewia gum at concentrations of 16%, 32% and 48% can sustain the release of ibuprofen tablets for up to 24 hours. Release profiles were similar to those tablets containing ethyl cellulose as the matrix former. Swelling and erosion of grewia gum matrices occurred simultaneously, and ibuprofen release was by anomalous diffusion in accordance with the Korsmeyer-Peppas model. There was evidence suggesting synergism between grewia gum and guar gum in sustaining the release of ibuprofen from tablets when used in the ratio 2:1. Grewia gum may therefore prove a useful excipient, when used on its own, or in combination with other polymers, to modify drug release.


Large magnitude (Mw ∼ ≥6) earthquakes in extensional settings are often associated with simultaneous rupture of multiple normal faults as a result of static and/or dynamic stress transfer. Here, we report details of the coseismic breaching of a previously unrecognized large‐scale fault relay zone in central Greece, through three successive normal fault earthquakes of moderate magnitude (Mw 5.7–6.3) that occurred over a period of ∼10 days in March 2021. Specifically, joint analysis of InSAR, GNSS and seismological data, coupled with detailed field and digital fault mapping, reveals that the Tyrnavos Earthquake Sequence (TES) was accommodated at the northern end of a ∼100 km wide transfer structure, by faults largely unbroken during the Holocene. By contrast, the southern section of this relay zone appears to have accrued significant slip during Holocene. InSAR‐derived displacements agree with the loci of eight subtle, previously undetected, faults that accommodated coseismic and/or syn‐seismic normal fault slip during the TES. Kinematic modeling coupled with fault mapping suggests that all involved faults are interconnected at depth, with their conjugate fault‐intersections acting largely as barriers to coseismic rupture propagation. We also find that the TES mainshocks were characterized by unusually high (>6 MPa) stress‐drop values that scale inversely with rupture length and earthquake magnitude. These findings, collectively suggest that the TES propagated north‐westward to rupture increasingly stronger asperities at fault intersections, transferring slip between the tips of a well‐established, but previously unrecognized, relay structure. Fault relay zones may be prone to high stress‐drop earthquakes and associated elevated seismic hazard.


We have determined to 2.1 Å resolution the crystal structure of a dark state, kindling fluorescent protein isolated from the sea anemone, Anemonia sulcata. The chromophore sequence Met-Tyr-Gly of the A. sulcata chromoprotein was previously proposed to comprise a 6-membered pyrazine-type heterocycle (Martynov, V. I., Savitsky, A. P., Martynova, N. Y., Savitsky, P. A., Lukyanov, K. A., and Lukyanov, S. A. (2001) J. Biol. Chem. 276, 21012–21016). However, our crystallographic data revealed the chromophore to comprise a 5-membered p-hydroxybenzylideneimidazolinone moiety that adopts a non-coplanar trans conformation within the interior of the GFP -can fold. Unexpectedly, fragmentation of the polypeptide was found to occur within the chromophore moiety, at the bond between Cys and Met Our structural data reveal that fragmentation of the chromophore represents an intrinsic, autocatalytic step toward the formation of the mature chromophore within the specific GFP-like proteins.


As part of a biodiversity study in northwestern Hungary, we conducted a parasitological survey of small mammals. In both common shrews (Sorex araneus Linnaeus) and pygmy shrews (Sorex minutus Linnaeus), we found myxospores of a species of Soricimyxum Prunescu, Prunescu, Pucek et Lom, 2007 (Myxosporea) and plasmodia in the bile ducts within the liver. Spores from both species of shrewswere morphologically and morphometrically indistinguishable, but differed in their SSU rRNA gene sequences by 3.3%. We identified spores and developmental stages from the common shrew as Soricimyxum fegati Prunescu, Prunescu, Pucek et Lom, 2007, based on morphometric data and DNA sequence similarity. Spores from the pygmy shrew were only 96.7% similar to S. fegati, hence we identified them as a novel myxosporean Soricimyxum minuti sp. n. This is only the second myxosporean parasite species described from mammals.


The properties of structural materials are to a large extent determined by the solid microstructure so that the understanding of the fundamental physics of microstructure formation is critical in the field of materials engineering. A directional solidification facility dedicated to the characterization of solid-liquid interface morphology by means of optical methods has been developed by CNES in the frame of the DECLIC project. This device enables in situ and real time studies on bulk transparent materials. The aim of the project is to perform experiments in microgravity to eliminate the complex couplings between solidification and convection and to get reliable benchmark data to validate and calibrate theoretical modeling and numerical simulations. Presently, ground experiments are performed to finalize the design and the experimental procedures and to guarantee the accuracy of the measurements. These experiments also provide reference data for the study of solidification microstructure dynamics in the presence of buoyancy-driven natural convection. Recent progress is presented concerning the control of the interface shape (critical for pattern analysis), the selection of single crystal of defined orientation (critical for dendritic growth) and the analysis of the dendrite shape.


Mosquitoes locate and approach humans ('host-seek') when specific Olfactory Neurons (ORNs) in the olfactory periphery activate a specific combination of glomeruli in the mosquito Antennal Lobe (AL). We hypothesize that dysregulating proper glomerular activation in the presence of human odor will prevent host-seeking behavior. In experiments aimed at ectopically activating most ORNs in the presence of human odor, we made a surprising finding: ectopic expression of an AgOr (AgOr2) in Anopheles gambiae ORNs dampens the activity of the expressing neuron. This contrasts studies in Drosophila melanogaster, the typical insect model of olfaction, in which ectopic expression of non-native ORs in ORNs confers ectopic neuronal responses without interfering with native olfactory physiology. To gain insight into this dysfunction in mosquitoes, RNA-seq analyses were performed comparing wild-type antennae to those ectopically expressing AgOr2 in ORNs. Remarkably, almost all Or transcripts were significantly downregulated (except for AgOr2), and additional experiments suggest that it is AgOR2 protein rather than mRNA that mediates this downregulation. Our study shows that ORNs of Anopheles mosquitoes (in contrast to Drosophila) employ a currently unexplored regulatory mechanism of OR expression, which may be adaptable as a vector-control strategy. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Studies in Drosophila melanogaster suggest that insect Olfactory Receptor Neurons (ORNs) do not contain mechanisms by which Odorant Receptors (ORs) regulate OR expression. This has proved useful in studies where ectopic expression of an OR in Drosophila ORNs confers responses to the odorants that activate the newly expressed OR. In experiments in Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes, we found that ectopic expression of an OR in most Anopheles ORNs dampened the activity of the expressing neurons. RNA-seq analyses demonstrated that ectopic OR expression in Anopheles ORNs leads to downregulation of endogenous Or transcripts. Additional experiments suggest that this downregulation required ectopic expression of a functional OR protein. These findings reveal that Anopheles mosquitoes, in contrast to Drosophila, contain a feedback mechanism to regulate OR expression. Mosquito ORNs might employ regulatory mechanisms of OR expression previously thought to occur only in non-insect olfactory systems.


Ab initio calculations were carried out to study the origin of the trap at the SiO2/SiC (MOS: Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor) interface with the three different faces of the substrate, (0001), (000-1), and (11-20). In a previous report we experimentally discovered that the (11-20) face is suitable for high channel mobility. The calculation in this report showed that the MOS interface achieved the intermediate states due to distortion and thus acted like an interface trap. The interface trap density of the MOS interface on the (11-20) face substrate was smaller than those on the other faces. The interface trap densities were 2.14, 3.36, and 1.40 in units of 1015 cm-2 for the above listed substrate orientations, respectively. For clarity, the channel mobility was compared experimentally to reveal that it realized a larger value for the (11-20) substrate than the other two faces. From our results, we concluded that (11-20) face substrate was more suitable for high power device applications than the (0001) face or (000-1) face substrates.


Users need to keep track of many accounts and passwords. We conducted a series of interviews to investigate how users cope with these demanding tasks, and used Grounded Theory to analyze the interview results. We found that most users cope by reusing passwords and writing them down, but with a rich variety of behaviour and diverse personalized strategies. These approaches seem to disregard security advice, but at a detailed level they involve perceptive behaviour and careful self-management of user resources. We identify a password life cycle that follows users' password behaviour and how it develops over time as users adapt to changing circumstances and demands. Users' strategies have their limitations, but we suggest they indicate a rational response to the requirements of password authentication. We suggest that instead of simply advising against such behaviour, new approaches could be designed that harness existing user behaviour while limiting negative consequences.


The professional induction mentoring issue has a special interest both for theoreticians but- especially - for practitioners.
Following the natural logic of determinations, the theoretical interest for this process was generated by the real needs felt by beginner teachers at the time of their induction in the professional environment where they shall assume a series of roles and functions of significant responsibility.
From this point of view, any experienced teacher reminds that the professional exercise made during teaching practice probationary stages was insufficient.
The training for the teacher profession in the situative learning version creates completely new perspectives on the school educational environment - as compared to the periods when the future teacher simply visited school, as a student, to understand its rules. In such concrete job environments all the stakeholders can adopt the coaching approach which means to put the beginner teachers to try and exercise different types of professional behaviors. For this, those who play, at a certain moment, the role of mentor need to be aware of the difficulties in a professional debut.
The professional induction presupposes alternations between assimilation and accommodation at the end of which the trials and errors of beginner teacher can conduct to better educational practice.
This is why theoreticians, educational policy makers, teacher trainers, school administration, professional induction mentors, future teachers themselves...reflect on the professional debut equally... all of them searching for the shortest and most efficient ways of making the transfer of competences from the master to the disciple.
From such perspective, the coaching version brings a new approach to the professional training in the formula of assisted organizational exercise.


Symptoms, laboratory findings and clinical course of 10 pediatric patients suffering from postinfectious arthritis are described. The postinfectious arthritis is caused by an infection with Salmonella, Versina, Brucella or Shigella. The illness results from a preceding enteritis accompanied by fever. It differs from the juvenile chronic arthritis by the more clarified etiology and pathogenesis and particularly by the markedly shorter course, the lack of functional deterioration and by normal X-ray findings of the joint structure. In the parainfectious cases a similar pathogenesis is suggested, but the time relation is not as clear; the arthritis is diagnosed ahead of the enteritis. The human leucocyte antigen HLA-B 27 can frequently (90%) be proven in patients suffering from postinfectious arthritis. This is related to a genetic disposition of this type of arthritis as it can be observed in juvenile spondylitis ankylosans and in Reiter-syndrome, which can be considered as a special type of postinfectious arthritis.


OBJECTIVE
There is considerable epidemiological and neuropsychological evidence that attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is best considered dimensionally, lying at the extreme end of a continuous distribution of symptoms and underlying cognitive impairments. The authors investigated whether cortical brain development in typically developing children with symptoms of hyperactivity and impulsivity resembles that found in the syndrome of ADHD. Specifically, they examined whether a slower rate of cortical thinning during late childhood and adolescence, which they previously found in ADHD, is also linked to the severity of symptoms of hyperactivity and impulsivity in typically developing children.

METHOD
In a longitudinal analysis, a total of 193 typically developing children with 389 neuroanatomic magnetic resonance images and varying levels of symptoms of hyperactivity and impulsivity (measured with the Conners' Parent Rating Scale) were contrasted with 197 children with ADHD with 337 imaging scans. The relationship between the rates of regional cortical thinning and severity of symptoms of hyperactivity/impulsivity was determined.

RESULTS
Youth with higher levels of hyperactivity/impulsivity had a slower rate of cortical thinning, predominantly in prefrontal cortical regions, bilaterally in the middle frontal/premotor gyri, extending down the medial prefrontal wall to the anterior cingulate; the orbitofrontal cortex; and the right inferior frontal gyrus. For each increase of one point in the hyperactivity/impulsivity score, there was a decrease in the rate of regional cortical thinning of 0.0054 mm/year (SE=0.0019 mm/year). Children with ADHD had the slowest rate of cortical thinning.

CONCLUSIONS
Slower cortical thinning during adolescence characterizes the presence of both the symptoms and syndrome of ADHD, providing neurobiological evidence for dimensionality of the disorder.


Decreasing energy consumption and advancing thermal comfort are the most important aims of building engineering. Previously reported studies by many researchers have found that different usages of convective heat transfer coefficient (CHTC) correlations in heating system simulations have considerable impacts on calculated heating load in buildings. Hence, correct utilization of CHTCs in real size room enclosures has great importance for both energy consumption and thermal comfort. In this study, a modeled room was numerically heated from one vertical wall and cooled from the opposite wall in order to create a real room simulation. While cooled wall simulate heat losses of the room, heated wall simulates the heat source of enclosure. Effects of heated and cooled wall temperatures and characteristic length on CHTC and Nusselt number in the enclosure were numerically investigated for two (2-D) and three dimensional (3-D) modeling states. CHTCs and Nusselt numbers of a real size room with the dimensions of 6.00 by 2.85 by 6.00 were found with FLUENT CFD and graphics of change were drawn. As result, difference between 2-D and 3-D solutions was found approximately 10%. This was attributed as the effect of air flow pattern effects over other surfaces in the enclosure that can not be counted at 2-D solutions. The change of CHTC at different characteristic lengths was illustrated as well.


Specification and Description Language (SDL) is a high abstraction level system design language that provides graphical presentation form. Protocol design using this formal language ensures the compatibility between the requirements of the initial design and the final implementation. It reduces the design time by isolating the implementation details at the beginning. The flexibility of enhancement to the initial design is also able to achieve during the whole development cycle. Design methodology using SDL is proposed for the implementation of our 802.11 medium access control (MAC) protocol. This paper defines the chosen methodology and establishes the reason of using this formal language. The functional correctness of our SDL implementation is simulated and verified using commercial development tools. The results of our preliminary implementation in the target system show consistency with the simulated model.


The amount of time allocated to vigilance, foraging, and locomotion as a function of group size were studied in the quokka (Setonix brachyurus), a small, moderately social, macropodid marsupial, on Rottnest Island. Despite living in isolation from most predators for up to 7000 years, quokkas exhibited typical group size effects of aggregation: they foraged more and showed less visual vigilance as group size increased. Group size effects, therefore, may result from factors other than antipredator benefits. In groups larger than 10, quokkas, uniquely among macropodids, allocated virtually all of their time to foraging and none to looking. Given virtually no predation risk on Rottnest Island and no antipredator benefit from aggregation, competition for food or other resources may also be important factors influencing time allocation in quokkas. Quokkas seemingly retained some apparent antipredator behaviour: they remained sensitive to the distance they were from cover and to the time of day when allocating time to foraging and looking.


Background: The purpose of this manuscript is to present a newly instituted program for resident scholarly activity that includes a curriculum designed to enhance resident training with regard to research while meeting requirements established by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), the governing body responsible for regulation of post-graduate medical education and training in the United States. Methods: A scholarly activity program was designed with the following goals: (i) enhance the academic training environment for our residents; (ii) foster interests in research and academic career paths; (iii) provide basic education on research methodology and presentation skills. To guide program design, an electronic survey was created and distributed to the residents and faculty in the Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), a 750-bed public teaching hospital in the state of South Carolina in the United States. Results: Survey respondents were in strong support of a required resident scholarly activity project (70% in favor), felt non-traditional projects were valuable (84.1% of respondents), and were proponents of required scholarly activity summary presentations (58%). This program requires that residents engage in a scholarly activity project under the guidance of a mentor. Resident success is maximized through in-house education initiatives focusing on presentation and research skills, protected time to work on the project, and oversight by a radiology research committee. All residents present a summary of their work near the end of their residency training. Discussion: Changes to the radiology resident certification process create an opportunity for incorporating new policies aimed at enhancing resident education. The scholarly activity program outlined in this manuscript is one such initiative designed to meet ACGME requirements, provide an introduction to research, and establish a scholarly activity project requirement.


Background In Italy respiratory diseases are the third cause of death, 50% of which is caused by Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). COPD is an irreversible inflammation that causes narrowing of the airways and has a slow and progressive course. In Siracusa the high incidence of COPD may be due to the petrochemical plants in the area. Drug treatment allows us to improve quality of life and to reduce mortality, but often the prescriptions do not adhere to the GOLD Guidelines (GL) for COPD treatment. Purpose To assess the budgetary impact of the treatment used and of the GOLD GL treatment. Materials and Methods The authors obtained, by administrative databases and mathematical models: The prescriptions of medicines for COPD (ATC R03) in 2010 in Azienda Sanitaria Provinciale (ASP) Siracusa; The number of patients with COPD; The number of patients for each stage of severity; The budget impact of the treatment used and the GOLD GL treatment, which recommends: using SAMAs/SABAs(short-action antimuscarinics/antiadrenergics) in the mild stage; adding LAMAs/LABAs(long-action antimuscarinics/antiadrenergics) from the moderate to very severe stage; to add FDCs (fixed combination drugs)/ICSs (inhaled corticosteroids) in severe and very severe stages. Results 5895 patients had COPD, of whom: 1484 in mild stage; 2672 in moderate stage; 1155 in severe stage; 584 in very severe stage. The spending for drugs prescribed for COPD was €2,702,627 of which €1,787,967 was for FDCs/ICSs. If the prescriptions were 100% adherent to GOLD GL spending would have been €1,309,304, of which €434,029 for FDCs/ICSs, with a saving of €1,393,323. Conclusions If the prescriptions of FDCs/ICSs adhered to GOLD GL, spending would have been 50% less. The adherence to GOLD GL ensures the patient a proper prescription and allows high savings. The authors are developing a training-information project aimed at encouraging doctors to prescribe appropriately. No conflict of interest.


This paper introduces an asynchronous orthogonal decision-feedback detector (AODFD) for asynchronous CDMA multiuser detection. The AODFD based on entire message-length detection is studied first. A realizable scheme, sliding-window AODFD, is then proposed and its performance is analyzed. In spite of its simple structure, the sliding-window AODFD can perform as desirably as ADDFD, which has a much higher complexity. The reduced complexity of the sliding-window AODFD is due to the use of orthogonal matched-filtering and a short window size. Different from ADDFD that requires computational intensive z-transformed matrix inversion and spectral factorization, AODFD uses the agile Gram-Schmidt procedure. It is possible for AODFD to adopt a simple updating algorithm and parameter updating is no longer always necessary when users leave the system. The comparisons are also made with other orthogonal-based detectors and the bit error probability results show that the AODFD is an attractive multiuser detector.


This paper argues in favour of a generalized agencification of Europe, i.e., in favour of a move to a strictly functional approach to European integration. This change of approach is the natural consequence of a change of the main criterion used to assess the consequences of integration: from evaluation in terms of process to evaluation in terms of actual results. The priority previously assigned to process made it possible to claim that the continuous expansion of supranational powers had produced a steady flow of benefits. The new focus on results makes it increasingly difficult to appeal to the indefinite goal of 'ever closer union'. The crises of monetary union and massive immigration from the Middle East have dramatically revealed the deep divisions still separating the members of the Union. The older member states claim that the solution is to be found in a multi-speed approach to integration. Such an approach cannot solve the basic problem, which is the lack of agreement on the final destination of the integration process. I argue that until the member states reach such an agreement, the focus of collective action should shift from the present emphasis on supranational institutions and policy harmonization to a decentralized system of operational agencies, tackling specific problems and being directly responsible for the results they achieve. Once the benefits of this mode of integration are generally recognized, it becomes meaningful to advocate close cooperation also in the political sphere — as long as one does not repeat the neofunctionalist mistake of assuming that close economic relations sooner or later must lead to political integration. Instead of trying to transfer to the European level all the key economic policies of the nation- state, collective efforts should concentrate on what Europe needs most if it is still to play a significant role internationally: a truly common foreign and security policy.


By World War I, managers wanted young women with some high school education for new "light manufacturing" jobs in the office. Women could be paid significantly less than men with equivalent educations and the "marriage bar"--the practice of not hiring or retaining married women--ensured that most of them would leave the workplace before the issue of higher salaries arose. Encouraged by free training gained in high schools and by working conditions better than those available in factories, young working-class women sought out office jobs. Facing sexual discrimination in most of the professions and higher-level office jobs, middle-class women often found themselves "falling into" clerical positions. Sharon Hartman Strom details office working conditions and practices, drawing upon archival and anecdotal data. She analyzes women office-workers' ambitions and explores how the influences of scientific management, personnel management, and secondary vocational education affected office workplaces and hierarchies. Strom illustrates how businessmen manipulated concepts of scientific management to maintain male dominance and professional status and to confine women to supportive positions. She finds that women's responses to the reorganized workplace were varied; although they were able to advance professionally in only limited ways, they used their jobs as a means of pursuing friendships, education, and independence.


The fire classes and numerical criteria given in the regulations and guidelines of part E1 of the National Building Code of Finland (NBCF) specify limitations to the use of wood in the façades of buildings belonging to the fire class P1, but they do not, however, prevent the use of wood. The issue is the way how the essential requirement of safety in case of fire is shown to be satisfied. There are two alternative ways to show this: the other, more common way, is to design and execute the building by applying the fire classes and numerical criteria provided by the regulations and guidelines. The other way is to design and execute the building on the basis of design fire scenarios, which shall cover conditions likely to occur in the relevant building (the performance-based way). In this case, one can employ solutions that differ from the fire classes and numerical criteria given in part E1 of the National NBCF provided that they are proven to be safe. A prerequisite for the use of the alternative fire safety design approach is that there is solid, validated material to base the design on. The objective of this study is to produce such material concerning use of wooden façades in residential multi-storey buildings built according to the requirements of the P1 fire class with non-combustible load-bearing structures. The work that has been carried out as a fire risk analysis concerning the impact on fire safety of an installation of a wooden façade. The risk analysis and associated calculations are made using state-of-the-art techniques in the fire safety sciences and technology. The results obtained show that with respect to the overall fire safety of a P1class residential multi-storey building, the role of the combustible façade material is insignificant: the minute increment in the probabilities of fire spread from the room-of-fire-origin to the apartments above is small as compared to the influence of several other factors which are not regulated by the Fire Regulations. For example, the small amount of wood on the façade that is likely to contribute the external flaming would cause a much higher risk if it was installed as allowed by the Fire Regulations as a lining inside the apartments. It is shown that the results obtained for the selected example building can be generalised to other buildings with reasonably similar characteristics.


We developed a conceptual framework for evaluating the process of ecological restoration and applied it to 10 examples of restoration projects in the northern hemisphere. We identified three major phases, planning, implementation, and monitoring, in the restoration process. We found that evaluation occurred both within and between the three phases, that it included both formal and informal components, and that it often had an impact on the performance of the projects. Most evaluations were short-term and only some parts of them were properly documented. Poor or short-term evaluation of the restoration process creates a risk that inefficient methods will continue to be used, which reduces the efficiency and effectiveness of restoration. To improve the restoration process and to transfer the knowledge to future projects, we argue for more formal, sustained evaluation procedures, involving all relevant stakeholders, and increased and improved documentation and dissemination of the results.


[1] Critical to spectral interpretations of geologic surfaces on the Earth and Mars is an understanding of the relationship between the composition of weathered rock surfaces and whole-rock mineralogy. In this study, thermal infrared spectroscopic and remote-sensing analyses were used to determine the composition of weathered granitoid rock surfaces in the Sacaton Mountains, Arizona. A linear spectral deconvolution approach was employed to determine the mineralogies of naturally exposed, weathered surfaces and artificially exposed, fresh rock surfaces. Deconvolution results from fresh rock surfaces yield similar bulk mineralogy to results from point counting of rock slabs and thin sections. Deconvolution of weathered rock spectra indicate that compared to fresh samples, weathered surfaces are deficient in plagioclase feldspar and are enriched in clay minerals. The differential weathering of feldspar minerals impacts the interpretation of whole-rock mineralogy and the spectral classification of bedrock geology, which, for plutonic rocks, is dependent on the relative proportions of different feldspars. Deconvolutions of multispectral remote-sensing or laboratory data show a deficiency of total feldspar in the weathered rock units but lack sufficient spectral resolution for the discrimination between different feldspars. These results demonstrate that the differential breakdown and removal of primary minerals in rock surfaces due to weathering can affect the interpreted rock petrology from remote-sensing studies. The relationships observed in our granitic samples could be applied to any rock type and may be important to consider for remote sensing of Mars.


Accelerated lifetime testing of five crystalline silicon module designs was carried out according to the Terrestrial Photovoltaic Module Accelerated Test-to-Failure Protocol. This protocol compares the reliability of various module constructions on a quantitative basis. The modules under test are subdivided into three accelerated lifetime testing paths: 85°C/85% relative humidity with system bias, thermal cycling between −40°C and 85°C, and a path that alternates between damp heat and thermal cycling. The most severe stressor is damp heat with system bias applied to simulate the voltages that modules experience when connected in an array. Positive 600 V applied to the active layer with respect to the grounded module frame accelerates corrosion of the silver grid fingers and degrades the silicon nitride antireflective coating on the cells. Dark I–V curve fitting indicates increased series resistance and saturation current around the maximum power point; however, an improvement in junction recombination characteristics is obtained. Severe shunt paths and cell-metallization interface failures are seen developing in the silicon cells as determined by electroluminescence, thermal imaging, and I–V curves in the case of negative 600 V bias applied to the active layer. Ability to withstand electrolytic corrosion, moisture ingress, and ion drift under system voltage bias are differentiated according to module design. The results are discussed in light of relevance to field failures.


Systems which synthesize logic implementations from specifications have moved, under the pressure of production requirements, from Boolean minimizers to procedures attempting to satisfy a wider range of criteria. Gate or cell count, taken as a measure of area, continues to be a major factor in design acceptability, but timing constraints, testability, wirability, and efficient use of available primitives are important as well. Additional information, such as "don't care" conditions, can be used to improve the design quality. This paper describes how these requirements are specified to and enforced by the Logic Synthesis System (LSS), a tool which has been used in production on gate array chips. Trade-offs between varying requirements, and their effect on the logic produced, are discussed and illustrated with a standard set of examples.


We consider the statistical mechanics of a single classical particle placed in an N dimensional gaussian random potential. This is a model system showing several features of glassy systems. The connection between replica symmetry breaking and the complexity of stationary points and minima is revealed in this model by random matrix methods.


Recently, several optimization approaches for portfolio selection have been proposed in order to alleviate the estimation error in the optimal portfolio. Among such are the normconstrained variance minimization and the robust portfolio models. In this paper, we examine the role of the norm constraint in the portfolio optimization from several directions. First, it is shown that the norm constraint can be regarded as a robust constraint associated with the return vector. Secondly, the norm constraint is combined with the value-at-risk (VaR) and conditional value-at-risk (CVaR) minimizations. For the combinations, a nonparametric theoretical validation is posed based on the generalization error bound for the ν-support vector machine. Thirdly, the proposed approach is applied to the tracking portfolio problem and computational experiments are conducted. Through the experiments, we see that the norm-constrained minimization of the CVaR-based deviation with a parameter tuning strategy outperforms the traditional models in terms of the out-of-sample tracking error.


We used light and electron microscopic techniques to study the composition of cytoplasmic nucleoloids during meiotic division in Olea europaea. Nucleoloids were found in two clearly distinguishable morphological varieties: one similar in morphology to the nucleolus, and composed mainly of dense fibrillar component, and another surrounded by many ribosome-like particles. Cytochemical and immunocytochemical techniques showed similar reactivities in nucleoloids and the nucleolus: both are ribonucleoproteic in nature, and possess argyrophillic, argentaffinic and highly phosphorylated proteins. Immunohistochemical techniques failed to detect DNA in either structure. In situ hybridization to a 18 S rRNA probe demonstrated the presence of ribosomal transcripts in both the nucleolus and nucleoloids. These similarities in morphology and composition may reflect similar functionalities.


Software developers working on unfamiliar systems are challenged to identify where and how high-level concepts are implemented in the source code prior to performing maintenance tasks. Bug localisation is a core program comprehension activity in software maintenance: given the observation of a bug, e.g. via a bug report, where is it located in the source code?

Information retrieval (IR) approaches see the bug report as the query, and the source files as the documents to be retrieved, ranked by relevance. Current approaches rely on project history, in particular previously fixed bugs and versions of the source code. Existing IR techniques fall short of providing adequate solutions in finding all the source code files relevant for a bug. Without additional help, bug localisation can become a tedious, time- consuming and error-prone task.

My research contributes a novel algorithm that, given a bug report and the application's source files, uses a combination of lexical and structural information to suggest, in a ranked order, files that may have to be changed to resolve the reported bug without requiring past code and similar reports.

I study eight applications for which I had access to the user guide, the source code, and some bug reports. I compare the relative importance and the occurrence of the domain concepts in the project artefacts and measure the effectiveness of using only concept key words to locate files relevant for a bug compared to using all the words of a bug report.

Measuring my approach against six others, using their five metrics and eight projects, I position an effected file in the top-1, top-5 and top-10 ranks on average for 44%, 69% and 76% of the bug reports respectively. This is an improvement of 23%, 16% and 11% respectively over the best performing current state-of-the-art tool.

Finally, I evaluate my algorithm with a range of industrial applications in user studies, and found that it is superior to simple string search, as often performed by developers. These results show the applicability of my approach to software projects without history and offers a simpler light-weight solution.


We present a novel, low-power and untethered pneumatic haptic device, namely the ACTIVE-Hand, for realistic and real-time 3D gaming experience. Currently, body-motion based 3D gaming systems primarily use visual feedback to provide partly immersive gaming experiences. Tactile feedback systems in Virtual Reality provide immersion with high tactile resolution, but they are expensive and difficult to setup and calibrate. The conceptually economical modular design of the ACTIVE-Hand allows easily configurable tactile feedback as per application requirements. Contrary to commercial systems like Wii™ which provide global vibrations as a proxy for synthetic tactile feed-back, the ACTIVE Hand is comparably lightweight, yet scalable to meet localized tactile resolution requirements. The ACTIVE-Hand provides controllable pulses for dynamic virtual interactions such as pressing virtual buttons and hitting moving virtual balls. We successfully demonstrate the paradigm of dynamic tactile interactions in virtual environments through a 3D Pong game by integrating the ACTIVE-Hand with Kinect™ camera.Copyright © 2012 by ASME


In this study, the forced air thin layer dryer was used for determining the appropriate
drying condition of Andrographis paniculata. The quality of dehydrated A.paniculata
was evaluated with andrographolide as reference compound. High performance liquid
chromatography was used for the determination of andrographolide contained in
A.paniculata. A suitable storage condition for preserving andrographolide in ground
dried A.paniculata was also determined over a three-month storage study period.
Three drying temperatures (55, 65 and 75°C) and air velocities (1.0, 1.5 and 2.0m/s) were
utilized for the drying experiment with the observed air relative humidity of 66-80%.
Drying temperature was found to be an important parameter affecting the drying time and
the quality of A.paniculata. The andrographolide content was reduced by 37.54, 53.59
and 62.72% from the initial amount (17.5 ± 3.4 % wt/dry wt) for the drying temperatures
of 55, 65 and 75°C, respectively. However, from the heating cost point of view, 75°C temperature and 1.0m/s air velocity was the appropriate drying condition for
A.paniculata. since the cost per unit andrographolide remaining for that drying
temperature was the lowest. On the other hand. a larger amount of andrographolide can
be maintained with drying condition of 55°C drying temperature and 1.0m/s air velocity.
Andrographolide was satisfactorily maintained at three selected storage conditions
(5±2°C; 25±2°C with 60±5% RH; 30±2°C with 60±5%RH), which A.paniculata was
kept in air tight glass bottle; without any significant reduction of this compound after
three months. Therefore, ambient condition (30 ±2°C, 60±5% RH) is acceptable for
storage of A.paniculata with respect to andrographolide preservation.


Globalization causes the world to appear flat without borders. Currently, business actors have the freedom to choose investment locations that can increase vantage for the company. This paper aimed to bring insight into Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)'s decision in relocating to Indonesia and the impact towards the company's performance. The research approaches are: 1) imitating referenced companies, and 2) supply chain as variables in the selection of investment destination. This study was done in quantitative method. The population of this study was FDI companies in Jababeka Industrial Area. Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was chosen in statistical data processing stage. This study concluded that (i) FDI is likely to ignore imitating approach in choosing Indonesia as investment location (ii) Supply chain becomes the main consideration of FDI in choosing Indonesia as investment destination, (iii) agglomeration of similar FDI is likely to benefit organizational competitiveness and (iv) FDI that choose Indonesia as investment destination using supply chain approach gains an advantage of higher organizational competitiveness.


Barleria dinteri is a medicinal plant with distribution in the Limpopo, Gauteng and Mpumalanga
provinces of South Africa as well as in Botswana, Swaziland and Namibia with exclusive specific
habitation on limestone-rich soil. The plant species is used by traditional healers for wound healing
and treatment of some intestinal tumours, as well as to relieve joint pains and toothache. The present
study was aimed at the metabolite profiling of the different tissues (branches, flowers, leaves, roots) of
Barleria dinteri using GC-MS analysis. Different extracts of the plant parts samples were subjected to
GC-MS analysis and detected compounds were compared for presence amongst the different tissues.
The results of the study revealed that all different parts (branches, flowers, leaves and roots) of B.
dinteri, possess compounds that are detectable through GC-MS analysis with most compounds detected
in the aerial parts, particularly the flowers. The results of the current study could serve as a basis for
the possible plant parts substitution of the roots of B. dinteri with the aerial parts and the exploration
of the pharmacological properties of the flowers for sustainable uses of the plant species for medicinal
purposes.


We consider a previously experimentally realized discrete model that describes a mechanical metamaterial consisting of a chain of pairs of rigid units connected by flexible hinges. Upon analyzing the linear band structure of the model, we identify parameter regimes in which this system may possess discrete breather solutions with frequencies inside the gap between optical and acoustic dispersion bands. We compute numerically exact solutions of this type for several different parameter regimes and investigate their properties and stability. Our findings demonstrate that upon appropriate parameter tuning within experimentally tractable ranges, the system exhibits a plethora of discrete breathers, with multiple branches of solutions that feature period-doubling and symmetry-breaking bifurcations, in addition to other mechanisms of stability change such as saddle-center and Hamiltonian Hopf bifurcations. The relevant stability analysis is corroborated by direct numerical computations examining the dynamical properties of the system and paving the way for potential further experimental exploration of this rich nonlinear dynamical lattice setting.


Abstract. Semantic 3D city models are increasingly applied for a wide range of analysis and simulations of large urban areas. Such models are used as a foundation for development of city digital twins, representing with high accuracy the landscapes and urban areas as well as dynamic of the city in terms of processes and events. In this context, this paper presents a 3D city model, which is a starting point for development of digital twin of Sofia city. The 3D model is compliant with CityGML 2.0 in LOD1, supporting integration of the buildings and terrain and enriching the buildings' attributes with address information. District Lozenets of Sofia city is chosen as a pilot area for modelling. An approach for 3D transformation of proprietary geospatial data into CityGML schemas is presented. The integration of the buildings and terrain is an essential part of it, since the buildings often partially float over or sink into the terrain. A web application for user interaction with the 3D city model is developed. Its main features include silhouetting a single building, showing relevant overlay content, displaying shadows and styling of buildings depending on their attributes.


Some current models of working memory argue that a passive short-term store is not involved in more dynamic working memory tasks. Other models argue that standard short-term memory and working memory tasks rely on common storage facilities. We examine these issues by exploring two signature effects of passive short-term storage in simple span, complex span, and Brown-Peterson tasks. The finding that all three tasks show word length and phonological similarity effects suggests that common processes or storage mechanisms are involved in all tasks. The implications for models of working memory are discussed.


Trypanosoma brucei is the protozoan parasite that causes sleeping sickness in humans and Nagana in cattle in sub-Saharan Africa. The genome of this diploid parasite has been sequenced and T. brucei has been shown to follow a Mendelian genetic system. This has made the use of classical genetic approaches to finding genes that confer phenotypic traits possible in T. brucei. A genetic map has already been assembled for the non-human infective sub-species of T. b. brucei and this has been used successfully for quantitative trait analysis to identify genetic loci that contribute to parasite specific traits.
Variation in virulence between different species, sub-species and strains of trypanosomes is well reported in the literature but the genetic basis underlying these differences has not been extensively studied. However, it is clear that trypanosome virulence is influenced by both host and parasite genetic factors. One study examining the genetic basis of difference in virulence between T. brucei parasite strains was conducted by Morrison et al. (2009). This study found T. brucei genetic loci that were associated with different virulence phenotypes: anaemia, splenomegaly, hepatomegaly and reticulocytosis. The work detailed in this thesis is based on one of the Quantitative Trait Loci (QTLs) identified in the 2009 study, the QTL on chromosome 3 that is associated with enlargement of the host spleen (splenomegaly).
This thesis describes the generation of new restriction fragment length polymorphism markers and adaptation of SNP sequencing for use in fine mapping the T. brucei virulence associated QTL, specifically the locus associated with splenomegaly (at that stage covering approximately 300 MB with 383 genes). These new markers were used in combination with existing markers to narrow down the splenomegaly QTL identified by Morrison et al. (2009) to a region 50 kb and 52 genes and from these identified a candidate gene.

This thesis then goes on to describe the design and application of a novel allele replacement approach to studying the contribution of different alleles of the identified candidate to the splenomegaly phenotype. This approach has not been used before to examine T. brucei genes. Constructs were designed and produced to enable allele replacement of the candidate gene, and a genotyping validation pipeline established to enable evaluation of construct integration. Alleles of the candidate gene were replaced in two different T. brucei strains with a different allele of the same gene. Multiple clones of four different strains of allele replacement (AR) parasites were generated, two in two different progeny clone backgrounds (77 and 86). For each wild-type (WT) clone, a specific allele of the candidate gene was replaced with either a different allele of the same gene or, as a transfection control, with the same allele to rule out any contribution of the transfection process to the splenomegaly phenotype. This resulted in a panel of successfully transfected clones that are a platform for robustly testing the influence of the candidate gene alleles on the splenomegaly phenotype. These AR clones were then used in an in vivo experiment to assess any changes to the splenomegaly phenotype caused by the introduction of a different allele into the different genetic backgrounds. The resulting phenotypic measurements were unexpected and the implications of those results is discussed in the final discussion.


Age increases the risk for cognitive impairment and is the single major risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most prevalent form of dementia in the elderly. The pathophysiological processes triggered by aging that render the brain vulnerable to dementia involve, at least in part, changes in inflammatory mediators. Here we show that lipoxin A4 (LXA4), a lipid mediator of inflammation resolution known to stimulate endocannabinoid signaling in the brain, is reduced in the aging central nervous system. We demonstrate that genetic suppression of 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX), the enzyme mediating LXA4 synthesis, promotes learning impairment in mice. Conversely, administration of exogenous LXA4 attenuated cytokine production and memory loss induced by inflammation in mice. We further show that cerebrospinal fluid LXA4 is reduced in patients with dementia and positively associates with memory performance, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and AD-linked amyloid-α. Our findings suggest that reduced LXA4 levels may lead to vulnerability to age-related cognitive disorders and that promoting LXA4 signaling may comprise an effective strategy to prevent early cognitive decline in AD.


In Staphylococcus aureus, beta-lactamase (Bla) is typically associated with transducible plasmids that also encode metal resistance or with the more recently described conjugative, gentamicin resistance plasmids. The beta-lactamase gene of Enterococcus faecalis, which has been shown to be highly homologous to bla from the S. aureus plasmid p1258, is also encoded on conjugative, gentamicin resistance plasmids. To determine if the enterococcal Bla-encoding plasmids are similar to those from staphylococci, Bla-encoding plasmids from both species were compared by restriction endonuclease digestion followed by hybridization to Bla and gentamicin resistance gene probes and to one of the enterococcal Bla-encoding plasmids. Although similarities were noted in the restriction endonuclease digestion patterns among the transducible staphylococcal plasmids (pI524, pI258, and pII147) and among the conjugative Gmr staphylococcal plasmids, neither of these restriction patterns was similar to those of the enterococcal plasmids. Although the enterococcal plasmids showed extensive similarities by hybridization, the staphylococcal plasmids showed little or no similarity to the enterococcal plasmids except for bla and the gentamicin resistance genes. Whether enterococci acquired a different type of Bla-encoding plasmid or whether bla was acquired by transposition or by homologous recombination into enterococcal plasmids is unknown.


ABSTRACT Sorghum is one of the potential foods with a higher protein content than rice. Sorghum seeds can be milled and cooked as sorghum rice. This study was aimed to obtain information on the inheritance of morphological and agronomic characters from the population derived from crosses of wide genetic background. The study consisted of the formation of F1 population and evaluation of morphological and agronomic characters in the segregated population (F2) of the three selected F1 genotypes. The location of the research was at IPB Experimental Field, Leuwikopo. The performance of the F1 genotypes were between the two parents, except for the yield components of PI-150-20-A x Numbu and PI-150-20-A x Kawali were higher than the parental lines. The performance of the F2 generation population was also between the parental lines, but with a wider distribution. The sorghum seed color is controlled not only by additive and dominant gene action, but also by epistatic gene action. The character of seed weight per panicle is controlled by epistatic gene action. In the F2 population of the crosses of PI-150-20-A x Numbu and PI-150-20-A x Kawali and PI-10-90-A x Numbu, the seed weight character is inherited with moderate heritability value. Based on genes action dan heritability, bulk or single seed descent method are suitable for yield improvement of the populations. Keywords: gene action, heritability, seed color, segregation, sorghum


Direct bonding of two mirror-polished wafers, without any external applied energy and at low temperature, is an attractive technique for the new generation of ICs, due to the flexibility that the technique offers. This technique can be used for advanced CMOS applications and for MEMS ones, that are MOS compatible. The bonded structure can be obtained using wet or dry activation techniques. The aim of the paper is to provide a method that assures pairs of bonded wafers in case of using a normal thick wafer (/spl sim/300 /spl mu/m) and a thin one (less than 100 /spl mu/m).


Most behavioral models used in information systems (IS) research have focused primarily on the role of conscious intentions in determining whether users will adopt or continue using a particular IS. Only recently have IS researchers begun exploring subconscious, automatic predictors of behavior such as habit. Perhaps the biggest constraint has been the lack of a universally accepted, theoretically based, and valid measurement instrument for the study of this complex psychological phenomenon. This paper builds on recent advances in the understanding of habitual behavior from social psychology, by proposing the development of an improved habit measure to be applied in an IS setting. The validated measure will then be used to examine how habit can counteract intentions and inhibit the adoption and use of systems that have been deemed important to a company's success. Specifically, we hypothesize that habitual use of an existing system will negatively impact both intentions to use, and actual usage of, a new system. By better understanding habit's inhibiting influence on IS acceptance, strategies can be developed for the specific purpose of breaking these preexisting habits, and encouraging the development of new ones.


ABSTRACT Reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton is an early cellular response to a variety of extracellular signals. Dissection of pathways leading to actin rearrangement has focused largely on those initiated by growth factor receptors or integrins, although stimulation of G protein-coupled receptors also leads to cytoskeletal changes. In transfected Cos-7SH cells, activation of the chemoattractant formyl peptide receptor induces cortical actin polymerization and a decrease in the number of central actin bundles. In this report, we show that cytoskeletal reorganization can be transduced by G protein βγ heterodimers (Gβγ), phosphoinositide 3-kinase γ (PI3-Kγ), a guanosine exchange factor (GEF) for Rac, and Rac. Expression of inactive variants of either PI3-Kγ, the Rac GEF Vav, or Rac blocked the actin rearrangement. Neither wortmannin nor LY294002, pharmacologic inhibitors of PI3-K, could inhibit the actin rearrangement induced by a constitutively active Rac. The inhibition of cytoskeletal reorganization by the dominant negative Vav variants could be rescued by coexpression of a constitutively active form of Rac. In contrast, a Vav variant with its pleckstrin homology (PH) domain missing constitutively induced JNK activation and led to cytoskeletal reorganization, even without stimulation by PI3-Kγ. This suggests that the PH domain of Vav controls the guanosine exchange activity of Vav, perhaps by a mechanism regulated by D3 phosphoinositides generated by PI3-K. Taken together, these findings delineate a pathway leading from activation of a G protein-coupled receptor to actin reorganization which sequentially involves Gβγ, PI3-Kγ, a Rac GEF, and Rac.


The author developed a three-dimensional model for the description of fast plastic deformation of metals in the case of cutting. Shear strain occurring as a result of shear stress has a reverse effect on stress, while the temperature of the material is increasing. These counteracting effects may lead to thermomechanic instability, which may result in aperiodic chaotic conditions besides periodic fluctuation due to the non-linear nature of the process. Apart from bifurcation and multi-cycle periodic deformation, the model also describes aperiodic chaotic deformation, which is proven by experimental results.


In today's world an enterprise's success not only depends on its internal productivity and performance, but also on its ability to partner with others. In order to remain competitive, enterprises thus need to share information with buyers and suppliers so that processes can be aligned, and there is maximum information availability to support business decisions. Interoperability is the concept at which organizations have achieved such connectivity.
Semantic conflicts are an important barrier to overcome when aiming for interoperability. When two or more independently developed information systems are connected, semantic conflicts occur. These differences in the meaning and understanding of exchanged information can lead to wrong business decisions and have high impact, and thus have to be avoided. In this research we make a first attempt to create a methodology that guides the problem holder in this process of semantic conflict identification and resolution.
The methodology we developed consists of four stages. In the first stage the problem holder formalizes the objectives of the interoperability project and defines the concepts to be exchanged. In the second step these concepts are isolated in each participating information system and expressed in an Entity Relationship diagram. In the third step the concepts in the different systems are compared at four different levels: the entity-, attribute-, data format-, and data value level. At each level we indicate the potential semantic conflicts and provide tools to identify them. In the fourth stage the user creates a visual overview of all discovered conflicts. Finally, we propose conflict resolution techniques for each conflict identified by the methodology.
To validate the usability of the methodology in practice, we applied it to a data integration project of Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs and the SUWI Gegevensregister in the Netherlands. The results indicate that the methodology is well capable of identifying semantic conflicts between two systems. Compared to the findings from the case holder itself, we discovered similar semantic relationships and conflicts. A few differences indicate suggestions for improvement, most importantly a confirmation of the results after each stage with a domain expert. Further validation was performed by an expert review to measure the general belief in the usefulness of the methodology. Results indicate that the general structure of the method was found to be useful, but that further development is needed to increase its ability to recognize semantically similar concepts in the different systems.
This research makes a first attempt to develop a standard approach for the identification of semantic conflicts, and thereby contributes to the framework for interoperability by targeting the conceptual barriers at the service level. It also provides a new way to categorize semantic conflicts. Instead of segregating by the characteristics of the conflict, we categorize by the entity-, attribute-, data format-, and data value level. Furthermore, the methodology presented in this research help organizations aiming for interoperability to identify semantic conflicts in a more efficient way, and provides suggestions for how to resolve each type of conflict. Finally, we suggest further research for the development of instrument guidelines and tools to support the user in the use of the methodology.


Scientific datasets are growing rapidly in scale and complexity. Consequently, the task of understanding these data to answer scientific questions increasingly requires the use of compression algorithms that reduce dimensionality by combining correlated features and cluster similar observations to summarize large datasets. Here we introduce a method for both dimension reduction and clustering called VAE-SNE (variational autoencoder stochastic neighbor embedding). Our model combines elements from deep learning, probabilistic inference, and manifold learning to produce interpretable compressed representations while also readily scaling to tens-of-millions of observations. Unlike existing methods, VAE-SNE simultaneously compresses high-dimensional data and automatically learns a distribution of clusters within the data — without the need to manually select the number of clusters. This naturally creates a multi-scale representation, which makes it straightforward to generate coarse-grained descriptions for large subsets of related observations and select specific regions of interest for further analysis. VAE-SNE can also quickly and easily embed new samples, detect outliers, and can be optimized with small batches of data, which makes it possible to compress datasets that are otherwise too large to fit into memory. We evaluate VAE-SNE as a general purpose method for dimensionality reduction by applying it to multiple real-world datasets and by comparing its performance with existing methods for dimensionality reduction. We find that VAE-SNE produces high-quality compressed representations with results that are on par with existing nonlinear dimensionality reduction algorithms. As a practical example, we demonstrate how the cluster distribution learned by VAE-SNE can be used for unsupervised action recognition to detect and classify repeated motifs of stereotyped behavior in high-dimensional timeseries data. Finally, we also introduce variants of VAE-SNE for embedding data in polar (spherical) coordinates and for embedding image data from raw pixels. VAE-SNE is a robust, feature-rich, and scalable method with broad applicability to a range of datasets in the life sciences and beyond.


MAP inference over discrete Markov networks with large label sets is often applied, e.g., in localizing multiple key points in the image domain. Often, approximate or domain specific methods are used to make the problem feasible. An alternative method is to preselect a limited (much smaller) set of suitable labels, which bears the risk to exclude the correct solution. To solve the latter problem, we propose a two-step approach: First, the reduced label sets are extended by a novel "refine" label, which — when chosen during inference — marks nodes where the label set is insufficient. The energies for this additional label are learned in conjunction with the network's potential weights. Second, for all nodes marked with the "refine" label, additional local inference steps over the full label set are performed. This greedy refinement becomes feasible by extracting small subgraphs around the marked nodes and fixing all other nodes. We thoroughly evaluate and analyze our approach by solving the problem of localizing and identifying 16 posterior ribs in 2D chest radiographs.


Performance measurement (PM) is the process of attributing value to organizational phenomena such as people, resources, and activities. Over the past two decades, research on PM has shifted from defining the measurement process and designing measurement tools to understanding the implications of the process. However, more research is needed, particularly to illuminate the intricacies between people and performance measurement. This study therefore adopts a social constructionist approach to explore individuals' subjective responses to the measurement process in social enterprises. Social enterprises offer a rich context because of the complexity of stakeholders who contribute to the definition, financing, and accomplishment of performance, and the requirement to evidence the social, in addition to the financial, outcomes of their work. It is assumed that what is important to the measurement process is how it shapes individuals' experiences of the organization, the meanings allocated to organizational phenomena, and relationships with others. A naturalistic multiple case study methodology is adopted to investigate the lived experiences of individuals involved in measurement processes. Semi-structured interviews, observations, and documentary analysis are conducted to collect data, which is then triangulated into thick descriptions of people's uses of PM. The various measurement mechanisms utilized (e.g., key performance indicators, social value measurement tools, meetings, and funder reports) are found to be associated to particular meanings (e.g., social welfare, commercial, or public sector logics), and people's uses of the mechanisms found to involve an individual level interpretation. This interpretation will depend upon where in the organization an individual is located, the beliefs the individual has in relation to the object being measured (i.e., the measurand), and furthermore affect their emotions and attitudes. The measurement process is therefore characterized as an experiential one, and its results found to depend not only on the structure of the practice (e.g., formal or informal), but on the subjective elements implicated (i.e., symbols, meanings, and beliefs of individuals involved in the measurement process and measurands). Three themes are elaborated which elucidate how and why people respond in multiple ways to performance measurement. Firstly, measurement is a multi-tiered process which occurs at an organizational and individual level simultaneously; therefore, measurement designed to be aligned solely with organizational strategy is insufficient to guarantee a positive response. Secondly, measurement generates an array of responses due to the (mis)alignment between type of properties measured by a measurement mechanism (e.g., cost, quantity, quality, efficiency) and what people view as important. As measurement mechanisms carry particular meanings, the properties of objects which are measured (and then communicated or discussed) do not always align with what individual's interacting with the measurement process see as important in relation to the measurand. Three overarching responses are uncovered: 1) reinforcement (alignment of the measured property and the individual's beliefs: positive response in the form of motivation and engagement); 2) reconcilement (mediated alignment of the measured properties across multiple people's beliefs): positive response through coordination and collaboration; and 3) inhibition (misalignment of the measured property and an individual's beliefs): negative response through negative emotions and wasted resources. Finally, the conditions which lead to positive experiences of measurement are investigated in-depth and explained by a new concept: personally powered performance. Ultimately, when people's beliefs are aligned with what the measurement mechanism captures, this activates a personal level of interest and energy within the individual throughout the measurement process, thereby enhancing their experience of performing. This activation of personal power is expressed through positive emotions, strengthened relationships, motivation for goal achievement, and better organizational performance. Theoretically, this research proposes that a subject be invoked into the theory of performance measurement by highlighting that the process is not only about organizations understanding performance, but also about how people value and understand their own experience of performing towards organizational aims. For social value measurement processes this is especially important, as the measured object typically concerns the subjective wellbeing of beneficiaries. Understanding the ways in which measurement enhances people's capacities to understand themselves, others, and organizations in more meaningful ways is central to ensuring the measurement process has beneficial effects.


Aims. Despite extensive observations over the last decades, the central questions regarding the power source of the large IR luminosity of Ultra Luminous Infra Red Galaxies (ULIRGs), and their evolution, are still not fully answered. In this paper we will focus on massive star formation as a central engine and present an evolutionary model for these dust-enshrouded star formation regions. Methods. An evolutionary model was created using existing star formation and radiative transfer codes (STARBURST99, RADMC and RADICAL) as building blocks. The results of the simulations are compared to data from two IRAS catalogs. Results. From the simulations it is found that the dust surrounding the starburst region is made up from two components. There is a low optical depth (tau = 0.1, which corresponds to 0.1% of the total dust mass), hot (T similar to 400 K) non-grey component close to the starburst (scale size 10 pc) and a large scale, colder grey component (100 pc, 75 K) with a much larger column (tau = 10). The simulations also show that starburst galaxies can be powered by massive star formation. The parameters for this star forming region are difficult to determine, since the IR continuum luminosity is only sensitive to the total UV input. Therefore, there is a degeneracy between the total starburst mass and the initial mass function (IMF) slope. A less massive star formation with a shallower IMF will produce the same amount of OB stars and therefore the same amount of irradiating UV flux. Assuming the stars are formed according to a Salpeter IMF (Psi(M) proportional to M(-2.35)), the star formation region should produce 10(9) M(circle dot) of stars (either in one instantaneous burst, or in a continuous process) in order to produce enough IR radiation. Conclusions. Our models confirm that massive star formation is a valid power source for ULIRGs. In order to remove degeneracies and further determine the parameters of the physical environment also IR spectral features and molecular emissions need to be included.


Various studies have found that organic agricultural methods produce healthier soils with a higher content of organic matter, cause less soil erosion and create less environmental pollution from chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Farms that use organic production methods may also have a greater biodiversity of birds, predatory insects, soil organisms and plants, and emit less greenhouse gases due to lower fossil energy inputs compared to conventional agricultural methods. Studies have also found that purchasing local food reduces the greenhouse gas emissions associated with food transportation, and benefits rural communities and economies. This study seeks to promote organic production methods and local food systems in order to take advantage of the environmental and social benefits of both in order to decrease the negative environmental impact of our food production and distribution systems. The purpose of this study is to determine whether supporting the development of certain types of local food distribution systems can increase the amount of organic agricultural production in Ontario. The main objective of this study is to develop policy recommendations that may be effective in increasing the availability of local, organic food in Ontario and in supporting the development of the local food distribution systems that are used most by organic producers. A high percentage of organic farms use a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) sales method and 75 percent of CSA farms in Ontario use organic production methods. CSA farms are mainly concentrated in five areas across Ontario. These five areas each have an established customer base, existing infrastructure, and individuals who have knowledge of alternative sales methods and distribution systems. These areas also have a strong network of communication between local producers and the communities that exist in these areas are educated about local food. All of these factors increase the success of a potential local food distribution system. For these reasons, the five areas identified in this study are prime locations for developing local food distribution systems.


In 2007-2009, a field warming experiment was performed in Nanjing of Jiangsu Province, China to investigate the effects of asymmetric warming (all-day warming, AW; daytime warming from 6:00 to 18:00, DW; and nighttime warming from 18:00 to 6:00, NW) on the growth and development of winter wheat under free air temperature increase (FATI). Asymmetric warming increased the effective tillers and decreased the ineffective tillers. In CK plot, the ineffective tillers were 2.6, 1.7 and 3.5 times of those in AW, DW and NW plots, while the effective tillers were decreased by 13.7%, 3.2%, and 0.5%, respectively. Asymmetric warming also increased the plant height, flag leaf area, and the total green leaf area and green leaf ratio at flowing stage. In treatments AW, DW, and NW, the plant height was increased by 5.6%, 4.5%, and 1.3%, flag leaf area increased by 45.7%, 39.4% and 26.1%, total green leaf area increased by 25.1%, 29.8%, and 17.3%, and green leaf ratio increased by 37.7%, 43.3%, and 38.7%, respectively, compared with CK. As for the yield components, the spikelet number per panicle and the filled grain number per panicle in treatments AW, DW and NW were increased by 4.1%, 5.7%, and 1.7%, and by 2.2%, 5.3%, and 2.6%, respectively. Though the grain/leaf ratio in treatments AW, DW, and NW was decreased by 15.3%, 8.5%, and 11.3%, the thousand-grain mass in the treatments was increased by 6.9%, 6.2% and 11.8%, and thus, the yield per unit was increased by 27.0%, 40.1%, and 18.3%, respectively, compared to the CK. Our results suggested that under anticipated warming, the winter wheat productivity in eastern China would be further enhanced.


abstract:This paper examines a number of African-authored narratives (novels and film) in the light of recent thinking about futurism and the role of speculative fiction as a means of envisioning the future. Uppinder Mehan, coeditor of the first ever anthology of "postcolonial science fiction and fantasy," So Long Been Dreaming, notes that postcolonial writing has rarely "pondered that strange land of the future" and warns, "If we do not imagine our futures, postcolonial peoples risk being condemned to be spoken about and for again" (Mehan 270). Kodwo Eshun, in a seminal essay, expands on this to argue that, while the "practice of countermemory as . . . an ethical commitment to history, the dead and the forgotten" has traditionally relegated futurism to the sidelines of black creativity, this has been progressively challenged by "contemporary African artists . . . [for whom] understanding and intervening in the production and distribution of this dimension constitutes a chronopolitical act" (292). The paper proposes that this chronopolitical act (what in literature we now call speculative fiction) has its roots in African modes of storytelling that draw on myth, orality, and indigenous belief systems that lend themselves to the invention of personal mythologies, the rewriting of history in the light of future realities, and the use of extrarealist or magical phenomena as part of the everyday. Since these elements characterize many novels not thought of as speculative, this suggests that futurism has been a strain in African writing from its inception. The turn from mythic revisioning to speculative fiction as a distinct and recognizable genre in the 21st century has notably been embraced by women writers such as Nnedi Okorafor and Lauren Beukes, in whose work gender/femininity is a determinant in the projection of imagined futures. The paper examines how speculative narrative strategies in a range of texts are brought to bear on specific historical situations on the African continent (those characterized, for example, by genocide, civil war, cross-continental migration, urban dereliction, xenophobia, violence, and the occult) and the potential futures to which they point. The paper argues, therefore, that such narratives, rather than being relegated to the category of fantasy, deserve attention as key indicators of futuristic thinking.


A sizable charge asymmetry in top quark pair production has been observed at the Tevatron. The experimental results seem to exceed systematically the Standard Model theory predictions by a significant amount and have triggered a large number of suggestions for 'new physics'. The effect is also visible at the LHC, and preliminary results have already been presented by the ATLAS and CMS collaborations. In this talk, we review the present status of the theoretical predictions, and their comparison with the experimental measurements.


This paper uses the concept of the Gini Coefficient and data from the 1991 Farm Costs and Returns Survey (FCRS) to measure the role of off-farm income and that of other income sources in the size distribution of farm operator households' total personal income. Disaggregated FCRS data by region and by level of participation in off-farm employment show that nonparticipating farm operator households have, as a group, higher income inequality than participating households. The results also indicate that, irrespective of the off-farm work status of the farm operator household, the distribution of income among households in the North Central region is least unequal and that in the West is most unequal.


Patients with cystic fibrosis are frequently affected with pancreatic insufficiency and are predisposed to the development of diabetes mellitus (DM) and bone demineralization. Cystic fibrosis–related diabetes mellitus is a clinical entity distinct from type 1 and type 2 diabetes, with important implications for the nutritional and pulmonary health of cystic fibrosis patients. This form of diabetes owes largely to insulin deficiency, but alterations in insulin sensitivity and hepatic glucose production have also been described. Therapy for cystic fibrosis–related diabetes differs substantially from type 2 DM, with careful attention to prandial glycemic excursions crucial to controlling its metabolic effects. Bone disease, including osteopenia and osteoporosis, also occurs with increased frequency in cystic fibrosis, owing to defects in intestinal absorption, chronic inflammation, lung disease, low body weight, and gonadal dysfunction. The pathogenesis, implications, diagnosis, and therapy of cystic fibrosis–related bone demineralization are discussed, with attention to recommended approaches to prevention of and treatment of established bone disease.


The invitation to write this essay came from Alan Haydon and Jenny Lomax, curators of 'Kenneth Martin & Mary Martin: Constructed Works', a landmark exhibition that examines the development of these two major figures in the history of British abstract art. The curators asked Hugonin to explore parallels between his own paintings and Kenneth Martin's late series 'Chance, Order, Change.' His text, although short, was an important practice-led contribution to a catalogue that gave the views of contemporary artists priority over historical information. Haydon's and Lomax's idea was to juxtapose the constructivism of both artists (including Kenneth Martin's kinetic mobile sculptures and Mary Martin's relief sculptures and architectural maquettes) and Hugonin's writing responded to the sense of occasion created by this joint exhibition of two influential artists. In his essay the researcher argues that Kenneth Martin was a particularly inventive user of number-oriented methods. Hugonin explores a favourite work 'Chance, Order, Change 27 (Green) History Painting' (1983) contrasting Martin's approach with his own experience of the creative interaction of intuition and logic. The research embedded in the essay arises from a series of experiments that resulted in a major series of new paintings: Untitled XII (02-05), XIII (03-05), XIV (05), and XV (06-07). This last work is illustrated alongside Hugonin's text. Hugonin is a visiting professor in the division of visual arts and his theoretical engagement with the nature of systems-based art practices has provided supervisory support for an AHRC funded doctoral project by Lavell entitled: 'The Power of Naming: what happens when an artist incorporates forensic science methodology into his studio practice?' This practice-led PhD contrasts, but also tries to reconcile, certain creative resemblances between systems art and obsessive serial offence. Hugonin is part of Lavell's interdisciplinary supervision team which includes both criminologists and fine artists.


The external costs of electricity generation can be characterised by the resulting social and environmental impacts. The most significant impacts are the air pollutions impact on health, built in environment, crops, forests, agricultural areas and on global warming. The primary impact considered is the air pollution's effect on human health. The monetised value of the health impact, the external costs are calculated for two regional coal power plants, the effects are examined on the EU level with the ExternE methodology.


Although it is widely acknowledged that spatial heterogeneity in floodplain erosional resistance should affect the planform evolution of meandering rivers, past studies have not systematically explored the importance of this effect. Using a physically‐based model of river meandering and stochastically‐generated heterogeneous landscapes, we analyze in detail how spatial variability in erosional resistance influences meander evolution and the emergence of planform complexity. The simulated planforms are remarkably similar to natural freely‐meandering rivers, both visually and in their spectral signatures. We quantify the dependence of meander morphology on both the scale of erosional heterogeneity and the magnitude of erosional variability in external forcing. We also show how the sensitivity of autogenic meandering processes to stochastic variability in the environment leads to different patterns of planform evolution even in landscapes with the same mean spatial heterogeneity and magnitude of variability. The results demonstrate that heterogeneity in erosional resistance has a major influence on meander evolution and should be incorporated into morphodynamic models to enhance our understanding of meandering dynamics at the landscape scale.


abstract This paper presents a late-20th century interpretation of Shakespeare's Hamlet using Bruce Fink's account of the Lacanian theory of character structures, the work of Robert Hare on white-collar psychopathy, Lucie Cantin on the pervert-hysteric couple, and that of other authors. In this example of applied psychoanalysis, Hamlet's character is described as vacillating between that of the obsessional and the hysteric. However, his delay in seeking revenge for his father's murder is understood as the result of his having to deal with Claudius, his father's brother, murderer, and replacement on the throne of Denmark, whose character is perverse and psychopathic. The play provides a fine illustration of emotional and behavioural effects in a group of people when, as a group and as individuals, they are engaged and manipulated, unawares, by such a person. Such situations are not infrequent in contemporary relationships, institutions, governments and in the histories of psychoanalytic patients. I gave this paper originally, entitled Hamlet's Desire, using clips from a number of filmic versions of Hamlet, to illustrate and discuss psychoanalytic interpretations through the generations as different social and professional interests led to new interpretations. I was stimulated to do this by reading Lacan's analysis in 6 chapters of his Seminar VI entitled Desire and its Interpretation. (1958-59). Freud's analysis of Hamlet, in the early part of the 20th century, articulated the complications arising because of Hamlet's desire for his mother, his inability to act being the result of his unresolved Oedipus complex. Killing his uncle, his mother's new husband, would represent killing himself, the son who guiltily desired his mother and was rivalrous with his father and his substitutes. This dynamic was excellently illustrated, most prominently in the closet scene, in Laurence Olivier's film production of Hamlet, with himself as Hamlet and Eileen Hurlie as Gertrude, in 1948. Lacan's analysis was in the mid-century with the influences on him characteristic of that period. With a subtle turning of the psychoanalytic prism, he said that Hamlet was unable to act because of problems in his own desire, and that these were the result of his mother's desire, for him, for his uncle and for herself. These dynamics were illustrated especially well in Zeffirelli's 1990 production of Hamlet, in the scene in which Gertrude, played by Glenn Close, tried to talk Hamlet, played by Mel Gibson, out of his depression in the first Act, and also in the closet scene when she kissed him full on the mouth to try to calm him down. While working on this, and also because of social and professional influences on me, I came to what I see as a late 20th century interpretation. I started with another set of concepts developed in Lacan's early work - character structures as we encounter them in clinical practice and in institutions, and, more specifically, the nature and effects on the others of the introduction into a group of people a perverse and psychopathic character such as Claudius. These dynamics were well illustrated by a recent, 2000 film production of Hamlet by Michael Almereyda. In this film the court of Elsinore is replaced by the Denmark Corporation in NYC and the Elsinore Hotel; the CEO is killed and replaced by his brother Claudius, played by Kyle McLaughlin. Hamlet is played by Ethan Hawke. In the scene in which Claudius questions Hamlet about the whereabouts of Polonius's body, he actually punches Hamlet in the stomach. Lacan describes three major groups of structures of the subject: 1. the neurotic/normal, which he subdivides into the hysteric and the obsessional. 2. the perverse 3. the psychotic The division is based on their differences in respect of: each according to their relation to the phallus, the object desired by the mother; each according to their stalemating conflict in one of the three stages of the Oedipus complex; and each according to their relationship to the Name-of-the-Father (the paternal metaphor) and later, to the big Other. …