BACKGROUND
The standard schedule of bortezomib requires frequent infusions and is often associated with dose-dependent, adverse effects such as sensory neuropathy and thrombocytopenia. Because of the known additive effect between bortezomib and glucocorticoid, we explored weekly bortezomib/methylprednisolone in patients with relapsed multiple myeloma.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Twenty-nine patients were treated at Indiana University with bortezomib (1.3 mg/m2) and methylprednisolone (500-2000 mg) intravenously on days 1, 8, and 15 of 28-day cycles. Response was evaluated using the Blade criteria. Twenty-one patients (70%) had previous stem cell transplantation, and 13 were in third relapse or higher.

RESULTS
A response was observed in 18 patients (62%): 1 (3%) complete response, 1 (3%) near complete response, and 16 (55%) partial responses. Six (21%) had stable disease, and 5 (17%) had disease progression. The median time to progression, which was defined from the beginning of therapy until progression, was 6.6 months (95% confidence interval, 6.4-9.2 months). The median number of treatment cycles was 6 (range, 2-12 cycles). The median overall survival was 20.2 months (lower 95% confidence interval, 13.1 months). The most common toxicities were fatigue and gastrointestinal disturbances. Grade >or= 3 adverse effects included neuropathy (2 grade 3), gastrointestinal side effects (1 grade 3), and congestive heart failure (1 grade 3).

CONCLUSION
The weekly bortezomib/methylprednisolone regimen was well tolerated and yielded a response rate comparable with the standard schedule of bortezomib alone. Our data support further investigation of this regimen in larger patient cohorts.


The order‐preserving pattern matching problem has gained attention in recent years. It consists in finding all substrings in the text, which have the same length and relative order as the input pattern. Typically, the text and the pattern consist of numbers. Since recent times, there has been a tendency to utilize the ability of the word RAM model to increase the efficiency of string matching algorithms. This model works on computer words, reading and processing blocks of characters at once, so that usual arithmetic and logic operations on words can be performed in one unit of time. In this paper, we present a fast order‐preserving pattern matching algorithm, which uses specialized word‐size packed string matching instructions, grounded on the single instruction multiple data instruction set architecture. We show with experimental results that the new proposed algorithm is more efficient than the previous solutions. ©2016 The Authors. Software: Practice and Experience Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.


Background: Urothelial carcinoma (UC) and squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) of the urinary bladder have been well studied worldwide, but little is known about adenocarcinoma aside from its clinical features. Our objective was to examine associations between adenocarcinoma and known risk factors for UC and SCC in Egypt. Methods: We used data from our multi-center case-control study in Egypt where questionnaires inquired about tobacco smoking, schistosomiasis and other exposures by 101 cases of bladder adenocarcinoma and 3,737 population-based controls. Logistic regression models estimated the adjusted odds ratio (AOR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of these associations. Results: The mean (SD) age for adenocarcinoma was 55.3 (9.8) and 54.2 (11.3) among men and women, respectively. There was an association with schistosomiasis, albeit higher for women than for men (AOR (95% CI): 4.58 (2.13 - 9.86) and 1.77 (1.05 - 2.98), respectively). Among men, smoking either cigarettes or water pipes was associated with adenocarcinoma (1.78 (0.85 - 3.75) or 1.97 (0.79 - 4.91), respectively), and the highest risk (3.34 (1.38 - 8.09)) was among those who smoked both water pipes and cigarettes. Conclusion: Smoking both cigarette and water pipe tobacco was associated with increased risk for adenocarcinoma of the bladder among males in this study, as was a history of schistosomiasis in both men and women. World J Nephrol Urol. 2015;4(3):227-231 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.14740/wjnu228w


We studied, numerically, the characteristics of the surface plasmon of a system consisting of several pair arrays of silver-shell nanocylinders. Effects from different numbers of pair arrays, illumination wavelengths, and the core refractive index of silver-shell nanocylinders are studied by using the finite-element method. Results show that the peak wavelengths shift to shorter wavelengths (blueshifted) when the number of pair arrays increases from three to six. The near-field intensities in the gaps of the proposed type 1 structure can be tuned much stronger with a redshift by varying the wavelength of the incident light. The main features of surface plasmon effects can be qualitatively understood from some simple models of three, four, five, and six pairs of silver-shell nanocylinders.


The first part of the paper (p. 10-21) tries to answer the first question of the title and describes a set of seven "knowledge-claims" made by Socrates: 1. There is a distinction between right opinion and knowledge. 2. Virtue is knowledge. 3. Nobody willingly does wrong. 4. To do injustice is the greatest evil for the wrongdoer himself. 5. An even greater evil is if the wrongdoer is not punished. 6. The just person is happy; the unjust person is unhappy. 7. The pleasant is not the good. These claims seem to be the "few" (oliga) (Men. 98 b3) but "very important" (kallista) (Grg. 472 c8) things that Socrates claims to know. The second part (p. 22-39) tries to answer the second question and defends the thesis that the supposed "knowledge" of Socrates is dianoetic, but not noetic. The main new idea of this paper is the comparison of the Socratic knowledge-claims with the upper states of the mind symbolized in the Divided Line, noesis and dianoia (cf. R. 511 d7-e1).


The Federal Government of Nigeria has long recognised the need for a wide ranging and objective assessment of livestock populations and systems covering the whole country. The problem has been how this might best be achieved. In the past, official livestock population figures have been derived indirectly from administrative records, such as vaccination returns and j gali tax payments, slaughter figures, trade movements, and import/export figures. Without exception, these sources of information are all open to question. They relate only to a limited number of livestock species, and give no indication of their levels of productivity. It was therefore decided that an independent National Livestock Resources Survey was required, employing innovative techniques of low level aerial survey, systematic sampling and complementary ground studies. The survey was put out to international competitive tender and Resource Inventory and Management Limited (RIM) was commissioned to undertake the study in collaboration with the Federal Department of Livestock and Pest Control Services (FDLPCS), as a component of the Second Livestock Development Project (SLDP). To begin with, a pilot study of livestock resources in Anambra and Niger States was conducted in 1989, to demonstrate the application of aerial and ground survey methods, and recommend how these could be extended to provide national coverage. After thorough review of the proposals and endorsement by participants of a specially convened workshop, the recommendations were accepted by the Federal Government, and a Technical Advisory Committee was established to monitor progress of the National Livestock Resources Survey, which took place during 1990 and 1992.


According to findings of research conducted in Greece in the last decade within the Adult Education and Training field, a high percentage of the certified adult trainers in Greece are graduates of Education Studies. Even though a great number of adult trainers originate from the Education field there is no - so far –comparative research neither on the multivariate relationship between the roles of the school teacher and the adult trainer, nor on their convergences and deviations.The current research attempts the comparison of the above mentioned roles, through the detection of those personal and social motives which influenced the professional journey of the school teacher-adult trainers. It will investigate the identification of the convergences and deviations, the characteristics of the school teacher which can hinder or encourage the development of the adult trainer role and the valuation of the job satisfaction gained from each one of these roles. The research sample consists of experienced full time school teachers, who all work as part time adult trainers for certified Vocational Training Centers, running "Greek as a foreign/second language" training programmes, in which the participants-trainees are repatriates, refugees, immigrants etc.Research conclusions may provide developmental opportunities to the school teacher-adult trainer's teaching alertness and general professionalism, and assist their contribution to the wider socioeconomic development and the modulation of criteria upon which each citizen will pursue their self-determination and emancipation. Conclusions can also be exploited by the Greek Education Departments of the General Secretariat for Adult Education and Training in regards to the design and development of the training programmes attended by school teachers and adult trainers. Finally they can be correlated with data found in bibliography of the two vicinal fields and contribute towards a prolific examination of their interaction.


The paper presents a numerical implementation of the ZM model for shape memory alloys that fully accounts for non-proportional loading and its influence on martensite reorientation and phase transformation. Derivation of the time-discrete implicit integration algorithm is provided. The algorithm is used for finite element simulations using Abaqus, in which the model is implemented by means of a user material subroutine. The simulations are shown to agree with experimental and numerical simulation data taken from the literature.Copyright © 2014 by ASME


In India, about 62 percent of the children in the age group of 5-14 are currently enrolled in schools, and 4 percent of children are reported to be working. The remaining 34 percent of children in this age group are neither enrolled in school nor reported as participating in work. The twin problems of child schooling and child work in India have not been adequately addressed in the literature. Another important dimension to this problem is the gender disparity in school enrollment. Available data indicate that the enrollment rate of girls is 12 percent below that of boys. This paper investigates the determinants of schooling and work participation of boys and girls using a large scale national level survey data, 1994, of the NCAER. The main contribution of this paper lies in integrating the child schooling and work participation decisions and bringing the third category of children referred to as the 'invisible' children into the rigorous econometric analysis. The widely used household demand model is applied in this study to analyze the family's decisions concerning the schooling and work participation of their children. These decisions are formulated in a dichotomous and a trichotomous choice framework and empirically estimated using maximum likelihood probit and multinomial logit methods. The likelihood ratio test suggests that the trichotomous model is the preferred formulation of the family's decisions on children's schooling and work participation. The empirical estimates based on both the models point to certain interesting findings. Parental education, and family income significantly increase the probability of children's school attendance and reduce the likelihood of children participating in work. Mother's education exerts a much stronger effect of increasing school enrollment and reducing child labor. Availability of middle schools within the village increases the school attendance and reduces child labor. The estimates of the gender specific differences in the determinants of schooling and work participation of children suggest that maternal education increases more the likelihood of a girl child's school enrollment than boys and also reduces more the work participation of girls over boys.


Photogrammetry - the science of calculating 3D object coordinates from images - is a flexible and robust approach for measuring the static and dynamic characteristics of future ultra-lightweight and inflatable space structures (a.k.a., Gossamer structures) such as large membrane reflectors, solar sails, and thin-film solar arrays. Shape and dynamic measurements are required to validate new structural modeling techniques and corresponding analytical models for these unconventional systems. This article summarizes experiences at NASA Langley Research Center over the past three years to develop or adapt photogrammetry methods for the specific problem of measuring Gossamer space structures. Turnkey industrial photogrammetry systems were not considered a cost-effective choice for this basic research effort because of their high purchase and maintenance costs. Instead, this research uses mainly off-the-shelf digital-camera and software technologies that are affordable to most organizations and provide acceptable accuracy.


Genetic diversity is a critical resource for species' survival during times of environmental change. Conserving and sustainably managing genetic diversity requires understanding the distribution and amount of genetic diversity (in situ and ex situ) across multiple species. This paper focuses on three emblematic and IUCN Red List threatened oaks (Quercus, Fagaceae), a highly speciose tree genus that contains numerous rare species and poses challenges for ex situ conservation. We compare the genetic diversity of three rare oak species—Quercus georgiana, Q. oglethorpensis, and Q. boyntonii—to common oaks; investigate the correlation of range size, population size, and the abiotic environment with genetic diversity within and among populations in situ; and test how well genetic diversity preserved in botanic gardens correlates with geographic range size. Our main findings are: (1) these three rare species generally have lower genetic diversity than more abundant oaks; (2) in some cases, small population size and geographic range correlate with genetic diversity and differentiation; and (3) genetic diversity currently protected in botanic gardens is inadequately predicted by geographic range size and number of samples preserved, suggesting non-random sampling of populations for conservation collections. Our results highlight that most populations of these three rare oaks have managed to avoid severe genetic erosion, but their small size will likely necessitate genetic management going forward.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this qualitative research study was to gain an understanding of the daily life experiences of eight gay men with HIV/AIDS living alone in New York City.

METHOD
The participants ranged in age from 25 to 50 years. Data were primarily collected using in-depth personal interviews in 1996 followed by telephone interviews 1 year later. Constant-comparison and thematic analyses were used to identify themes and subthemes.

RESULTS
Two broad themes with related subthemes were generated from the data. "A Reasonably Stable Base" represented the emotional, physical, and environmental foundation that preexisted or was created as a consequence of living with HIV/AIDS. This theme played a particularly important role in the participants' lives, especially during periods of emotional and physical instability. "Finding and Maintaining Balance" was a second theme that illustrated strategies used for managing and readjusting daily routines, goals, and priorities, as well as how the participants experienced this readjustment process.

CONCLUSIONS
All of the participants developed their own daily living strategies that were comparable to intervention methods provided in occupational therapy such as energy conservation and work simplification. The findings suggest that occupational therapy practitioners could potentially assist urban gay men with HIV/AIDS with finding and maintaining stability and balance in their daily lives.


Both observations and numerical simulations are discordant with predictions of conventional stellar evolution codes for the latest stages of a massive star's life before core collapse. The most dramatic example of this disconnect is in the eruptive mass loss occurring in the decade preceding Type IIn supernovae. We outline the key empirical evidence that indicates severe pre-supernova instability in massive stars, and we suggest that the chief reason that these outbursts are absent in stellar evolution models may lie in the treatment of turbulent convection in these codes. The mixing length theory that is used ignores (1) finite amplitude fluctuations in velocity and temperature and (2) their nonlinear interaction with nuclear burning. Including these fluctuations is likely to give rise to hydrodynamic instabilities in the latest burning sequences, which prompts us to discuss a number of far-reaching implications for the fates of massive stars. In particular, we explore connections to enhanced pre-supernova mass loss, unsteady nuclear burning and consequent eruptions, swelling of the stellar radius that may trigger violent interactions with a companion star, and potential modifications to the core structure that could dramatically alter calculations of the core-collapse explosion mechanism itself. These modifications may also impact detailed nucleosynthesis and measured isotopic anomalies in meteorites, as well as the interpretation of young core-collapse supernova remnants. Understanding these critical instabilities in the final stages of evolution may make possible the development of an early warning system for impending core collapse, if we can identify their asteroseismological or eruptive signatures.


Control of messenger RNA (mRNA) stability is an important aspect of gene regulation. The gold standard for measuring mRNA stability transcriptome-wide uses metabolic labeling, biochemical isolation of labeled RNA populations, and high-throughput sequencing. However, difficult normalization procedures and complex computational algorithms have inhibited widespread adoption of this approach. Here, we present DRUID (for Determination of Rates Using Intron Dynamics), a computational pipeline that is robust, easy to use, and freely available. Our pipeline uses endogenous introns to normalize time course data and yields more reproducible half-lives than other methods, even with datasets that were otherwise unusable. DRUID can handle datasets from a variety of organisms, spanning yeast to humans, and we even applied it retroactively on published datasets. We anticipate that DRUID will allow broad application of metabolic labeling for studies of mRNA stability.


The study explored use of causal feature selection algorithms to select dominant watershed variables that drive high, medium, and low flows. A two step approach was implemented. The first step minimized variable redundancy by examining variable relevance, variable redundancy, and conditional relevance of variable pairs whose correlation was greater than 0.9. The second step used six algorithms that seek to reconstruct a Bayesian network structure around a target variable for each flow percentile. Nineteen (19) flow percentiles were used to characterize high, medium, and low flow conditions of 26 Piedmont watersheds in the Mid-Atlantic. The algorithms included: (1) Grow-Shrink (GS); (2) interleaved-Incremental Association Markov Boundary (interIAMB) (3) Incremental Association Markov Boundary with Peter-Clark (IAMBnPC); (4) Local Causal Discovery (LCD2); (5) HITON-PC; and (6) HITON-MB. A new method was developed to quantify the reliability of each algorithm and its performance was compared to existing reliability methods. The effect of the initial number of variables on the final variable set selected by each algorithm was tested. Fusion of the algorithms was used to determine the overall dominant features for each flow percentile.


We develop the stochastic formalism for U(1) gauge fields that has the Chern-Simons coupling to a rolling pseudo-scalar field during inflation. The Langevin equations for the physical electromagnetic fields are derived and the analytic solutions are studied. Using numerical simulation we demonstrate that the electromagnetic fields averaged over the Hubble scale continuously change their direction and their amplitudes fluctuate around the analytically obtained expectation values. Though the isotropy is spontaneously broken by picking up a particular local Hubble patch, each Hubble patch is understood independent and the isotropy is conserved globally by averaging all the Hubble patches.


At the heart of the on-going armed conflict in southern Thailand is a fundamental disagreement about the history of relations between the Patani Malays and the Thai kingdom.While the Thai royalist-nationalist version of history regards Patani as part of that kingdom "since time immemorial," Patani Malay nationalists look back to a golden age when the Sultanate of Patani was an independent, prosperous trading state and a renowned center for Islamic education and scholarship in Southeast Asia -- a time before it was defeated, broken up, and fell under the oppressive control of the Thai state. While still influential, in recent years these diametrically opposed views of the past have begun to make way for more nuanced and varied interpretations. Patani scholars, intellectuals and students now explore their history more freely and confidently than in the past, while the once-rigid Thai nationalist narrative is open to more pluralistic interpretations. There is growing interaction and dialogue between historians writing in Thai, Malay and English, and engagement with sources and scholarship in other languages, including Chinese and Arabic. In The Ghosts of the Past in Southern Thailand, thirteen historians who have worked on this sensitive region evaluate the current state of current historical writing about the Patani Malays of southern Thailand. The essays in this book demonstrate that an understanding of the conflict must take into account the historical dimensions of relations between Patani and the Thai kingdom, and the ongoing influence of these perceptions on Thai state officials, militants, and the local population.


Pluronic F68 is one of the most used shear protecting additives in cell culture cultivations. It is well known from literature that such surface‐active surfactants lower the surface tension at the gas‐liquid interface, which influences the mass transfer. In this study, the effect of Pluronic F68 on oxygen mass transfer in aqueous solutions was examined. Therefore, the gassing in/gassing out method and bubble size measurements were used. At low concentrations of 0.02 g/L, a 50% reduction on mass transfer was observed for all tested spargers and working conditions. An explanation of the observed effects by means of Higbie's penetration or Dankwerts surface renewal theory was applied. It could be demonstrated that the suppressed movement of the bubble surface layer is the main cause for the significant drop down of the kLa‐values. For Pluronic F68 concentrations above 0.1 g/L, it was observed that it comes to changes in bubble appearance and bubble size strongly dependent on the sparger type. By using the bubble size measurement data, it could be shown that only small changes in mass transfer coefficient (kL) take place above the critical micelle concentration. Further changes on overall mass transfer at higher Pluronic F68 concentrations are mainly based on increasing of gas holdup and, more importantly, by increasing of the surface area available for mass transfer. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 29:1278–1288, 2013


This study describes the theoretical and practical aspects of the design and computer simulation of a heuristic based navigation algorithm. An algorithm is developed which provides a convenient testing system for generalized navigation strategies on a fixed map which may be known or unknown to a system. A variety of maps are simulated and the navigation results are compared.


Modern approaches to the development of nature management are focused on the formation of a system of sustainable development of regions. Forest territories act as an edifier, which has a global impact on the state of all ecosystems under the conditions of increasing anthropogenic pressure, reducing biodiversity and reducing the productivity of natural ecosystems When creating the ecological frameworks of territories, various research methods are proposed: information-analytical, comparative-geographical, the method of route survey of the territory, and cartographic. The reduction in the area of natural ecosystems leads to a significant reduction in the biodiversity of the most diverse groups of organisms. The extinction and significant reduction of species (very often even background for certain territories) leads to a decrease in genetic biodiversity, and, as a consequence, a disruption to evolutionary processes.


In the second half of the nineteenth century, the ideas of both the liberals and the German Historical School (laissez-faire vs. protectionism) began to find an increasingly receptive audience in the Ottoman Empire. This was accompanied by a radical change in the approach to the concept of private land ownership. This article aims at discovering traces of this change in the economic literature produced by Ottoman political economists and social thinkers of the second half of the nineteenth century. The otherwise contrasting approaches of liberal writers, such as Serandi Arsizen (Sarantis Archigenes), Sak?zl? Ohannes Efendi and Mehmet Cavid Bey, on the one hand, and of the protectionist writers, such as Ahmet Mithat Efendi and Musa Akyigitzade, who were inspired more by the German Historical School (and by Friedrich List, in particular), on the other, are examined in order to display similar perceptions of private land ownership in Ottoman economic thought. State-induced private propertization of land received strong support from Ottoman intellectuals from different schools of thought, and the inviolability of property rights in land is considered sine qua non for economic development.


Decorating single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) with appropriate nanoparticle species or polymeric layers can induce unique chemical sensitivities and/or catalytic activities. The approach of decorating SWNTs with various chemically sensitive materials is advantageous because undecorated SWNTs are only inherently sensitive towards a limited range of molecules. Because they are electrically conductive and optically active, the enhanced chemical sensitivity of decorated SWNTs can be exploited for the development of chemical sensors or catalytic platforms. Of particular interest are the transduction mechanisms between the decoration layer and underlying SWNTs, which serves to signal the adsorption and/or reaction of particular molecular species at the SWNT surface.A variety of techniques have been employed to characterize the properties of decorated SWNTs towards the development of chemical sensors and catalytic platforms. In particular, a combination of optical spectroscopy, electrochemistry and solid-state electrical transport measurements provide real-time information into the charge transfer occurring at the decorated SWNT surface. This information provides valuable mechanistic insight into the electronic processes that dictate sensor response or catalyst efficiency.Using the above-mentioned techniques, we have demonstrated that charge transfer between SWNTs and adsorbing gaseous species creates simultaneous and complimentary changes in the optical spectroscopy and electrical transport properties of SWNTs. Moreover, our approach has allowed us to developed mechanistic descriptions of the interaction between adsorbing gas molecules and the decorated SWNT networks. The decorated SWNT system has potential applications in the field of chemical sensors and heterogeneous catalysis, and a fundamental understanding of the chemical processes may lead to better chemical sensors and/or catalysts.


Despite the recent advances of deep reinforcement learning (DRL), agents trained by DRL tend to be brittle and sensitive to the training environment, especially in the multi-agent scenarios. In the multi-agent setting, a DRL agent's policy can easily get stuck in a poor local optima w.r.t. its training partners – the learned policy may be only locally optimal to other agents' current policies. In this paper, we focus on the problem of training robust DRL agents with continuous actions in the multi-agent learning setting so that the trained agents can still generalize when its opponents' policies alter. To tackle this problem, we proposed a new algorithm, MiniMax Multi-agent Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient (M3DDPG) with the following contributions: (1) we introduce a minimax extension of the popular multi-agent deep deterministic policy gradient algorithm (MADDPG), for robust policy learning; (2) since the continuous action space leads to computational intractability in our minimax learning objective, we propose Multi-Agent Adversarial Learning (MAAL) to efficiently solve our proposed formulation. We empirically evaluate our M3DDPG algorithm in four mixed cooperative and competitive multi-agent environments and the agents trained by our method significantly outperforms existing baselines.


Summary

Three experiments were conducted, in each of which subjects first rated an issue using the evaluation scales of the semantic differential and subsequently wrote sets of arguments concerning the issue They their rated each argument for strength of then-agreement or disagreement with it The results in all studies showed that subjects wrote a greater number of attitude-consistent arguments than attitude-inconsistent arguments (a balancing effect) The preponderance of attitude-consistent arguments increased as attitude became more extreme In all studies strength of agreement with either pro or con arguments was a function of attitude, but strength of disagreement was not Subjects wrote more arguments with which they agreed than arguments with which they disagreed (a positivity effect), but this effect only occurred when subjects were not specifically instructed to partition arguments into those they agreed with and those they disagreed with. Level of dogmatism or intolerance of ambiguity did not affect the number of attitude-consistent versus attitude-inconsistent arguments written or strength of agreement/disagreement with them. Results were discussed in terms of a balance model of information processing and the effects of the social situation on the recall process


A Thesis Submitted To the School Of Arts and Sciences in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Master of Arts Degree in International Relations


Commercial trawling on the Atlantic slope areas off Brazil intensified in the late 1990's owing to the expansion of coastal trawling areas and the operations of a chartered foreign fleet. Between 2000 and 2003, 59 fishing trips conducted by 10 chartered trawlers were intensely monitored by observers and satellite vessel monitoring systems, totaling 9,069 tows and 30,085.2 trawling hours. Fishing operations occurred in northern, northeastern, southeastern, and southern sectors of the Brazilian coast in 60–1,173 m depths. Total retained and processed catch were 8,074.6 t and 6,479.8 t, respectively. Argentine hake, Merluccius hubbsi; and Argentine shortfin squid, Illex argentinus, were the primary species taken contributing to 41.1% and 28.6% of the overall catch, respectively. The silver John dory, Zenopsis conchifera; monkfish, Lophius gastrophysus; Brazilian codling, Urophycis mystacea; and the black grouper, Epinephelus nigritus, composed 23% of total processed catch, and the remaining 7.2% was composed of deep-sea shrimps (family Aristeidae) and other teleosts and elasmobranches. The occupation of slope areas included an early exploratory phase, followed by directed phases of the upper slope (300–500 m), aiming principally at the Argentine hake, and the lower slope (>700 m), targeting valuable concentrations of deep-sea aristeid shrimps. The role of chartering for slope trawling development was critically addressed. We conclude that chartered vessels were efficient explorers and were particularly important in areas not available to the technologically limited national fleet. Because the charters were market-oriented and had elevated profit demands, however, those vessels quickly turned from exploration to exploitation and competed with national trawlers in shallower areas and produced significant impacts on Brazil's modest deep-sea resources.


Pansy (Viola ×wittrockiana) is a greenhouse crop commonly grown under black shade net; it often requires the use of chemical plant growth regulators to maintain a compact growth habit. Nonchemical efforts to alter plant morphology, such as height, would provide a more sustainable solution than chemical application. The objective of these studies was to evaluate the effects of different colors of shade nets on controlling growth and flowering of pansy. In Expt. 1, 'Clear Yellow', 'Buttered Popcorn', and 'Deep Orange' pansy plugs were placed under 30% blue or black shade net or, as a control group, where grown with no shade net. In Expt. 2, the same three cultivars of pansy were grown under 50% black, red, pearl, or aluminized shade net. Data were collected on plant height, plant width, flower number, plant survival, soil plant analysis development chlorophyll meter (SPAD) readings, and light quality. In Expt. 1, the blue shade net reduced height to flower and height to leaves, but also decreased flower number and plant survival as compared with black shade net. All plants under no shade died. In Expt. 2, SPAD, an indicator of plant quality by estimating leaf greenness, was found to be lower under black shade net, whereas pearl shade net led to a decrease in plant height and no effect on the number of flowers. Light quality, including red-to-far-red ratio, varied among shade treatments, whereas light intensity was reduced under aluminized, black (50%), and red shade nets compared with other shade treatments. Blue and pearl shade nets both reduced plant height, but blue shade net also reduced plant survival and flowering.


OBJECTIVE
To estimate sensitivity and specificity of 4 commonly used brucellosis screening tests in cattle and domestic water buffalo of Trinidad, and to compare test parameter estimates between cattle and water buffalo.

ANIMALS
391 cattle and 381 water buffalo.

PROCEDURE
4 Brucella-infected herds (2 cattle and 2 water buffalo) and 4 herds (2 of each species) considered to be brucellosis-free were selected. A minimum of 100 animals, or all animals > 1 year of age, were tested from each herd. Serum samples were evaluated for Brucella-specific antibodies by use of standard plate agglutination test (SPAT), card test (CT), buffered plate agglutination test (BPAT), and standard tube agglutination test (STAT). A Bayesian approach was used to estimate sensitivity and specificity of diagnostic tests without the use of a gold standard, assuming conditional independence of tests.

RESULTS
Sensitivity and specificity estimates in cattle, respectively, were SPAT, 66.7 and 98.9; CT, 72.7 and 99.6; BPAT, 88.1 and 98.1; and STAT, 80.2 and 99.3. Corresponding test estimates in water buffalo, respectively, were SPAT, 51.4 and 99.3; CT, 90.4 and 99.4; BPAT, 96.3 and 90.7; and STAT, 75.0 and 98.8. Sensitivity of the CT and specificity of the BPAT were different between cattle and water buffalo with at least 95% probability.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Brucellosis serologic test performance varied by species tested, but BPAT had the highest sensitivity for screening cattle and water buffalo. Sensitivity and specificity of more than 2 screening tests can be estimated simultaneously without a gold standard by use of Bayesian techniques.


ABSTRACT Despite the welfare of the child being afforded special legal and moral importance, it appears that the law is currently not objective in its application to children. There is an undeniable link between healthy child development and education, with the latter greatly impacting on mental health and general well-being. Drawing on the example of the differential treatment of gifted children in an educational context, I argue that the legal framework with regard to learning disabilities and cognitive impairments operates contrary to the proclaimed goal of protecting and promoting the welfare of the child. This, I argue, constitutes unjustified discrimination, especially since there is a case to be made that highly cognitively able children could be considered disabled under a social model of disability. Whilst the group of affected children is small at present, developments in cognitive enhancement technologies mean that many more children might in the future be affected. Since the law currently fails gifted children, it will by analogy also likely fail cognitively enhanced children.


The exchange of thiolates and thiols has long been held as a nearly ideal reaction in dynamic covalent chemistry. The ability for the reaction to proceed smoothly in neutral aqueous media has propelled its widespread use in biochemistry, however, far fewer applications and studies have been directed towards its use in material science which primarily is performed in organic media. Herein, we present the exploration of this dynamic exchange in both small molecule and polymer settings with a wide sampling of thiols, thioesters, organic bases, and nucleophilic catalysts in various organic solvents. Effects of the character of the thiol and thioester, pKa or nucleophilicity of the catalyst, and heat on the reaction were investigated. The mechanism regarding the previously unexplored effectiveness of nucelophilic catalysts, such as quinuclidine or DABCO, to affect the thiol-thioester exchange was also explored. Finally, the use of the thiol-thioester exchange in a network polymer to reduce applied stresses or change shape of the material following polymerization was shown and the ability of basic and nucleophilic catalysts to promote these effects were benchmarked. The influence of polarity in these networks was also explored, with the rate of exchange shown to be easily tuned by the addition of diluents with varying polarities. Presented here is a so-called "user's guide" to the thiol-thioester exchange; we hope that this guide is instructive to practitioners in the field of material science which seek to utilize the thiol-thioester exchange in both linear and network polymers.


This paper reports on the organization of CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) University courses in funerary archaeology held at the Division of Palaeopathology of Pisa University. We outline the different steps involved in the practical implementation of the proposed approach, which include choice of topic, linguistic content, tasks and strategies, and we describe the ways in which CLIL can be used both in the classroom and in archaeological fieldwork excavations for teaching of the discipline and practical experience with leading scholars in the field. Each two-hour lesson slot is divided into four parts, devoted to both the receptive (reading, listening) and productive (writing, speaking) skills, which constantly expose the students to language, helping them understand the contents of the discipline. It is necessary to take into account the additional difficulties students attending the courses might have, which are due to their having to learn basic and academic language skills and new subject concepts at the same time. All the material relevant to the course is simplified and adapted to the needs and language of the students, who are supported by authentic materials in the form of text-books, articles, tutorials, illustrations, audio and video recordings, and by a number of activities ranging from gap-filling exercises, matching words with their definitions, jumbled sentences, sentence formation, preparation of posters, powerpoint demonstrations. The trainees are also involved in increasing an ongoing bilingual English-Italian glossary and contextualized English grammar. Working individually, then in pairs and in small groups, they are responsible for the different areas of the discipline. Funerary archaeology is the study of death, ancient burials and human skeletal remains, body disposal, etc., and includes skeleton anthropology, bone diagenesis, taphonomic anthropology, as well as other features comprising excavation phases, techniques and tools employed, field archaeology.


Exposure to ambient ozone (O3) pollution causes airway inflammation, epithelial injury, and decreased lung function. Long-term exposure is associated with increased mortality and exacerbations of respiratory conditions. While the adverse health effects of O3 exposure have been thoroughly described, less is known about the molecular processes that drive these outcomes. The aim of this study was to describe the cellular and molecular alterations observed in murine airways after exposure to either 1 or 2 ppm O3. After exposing adult, female C57BL/6J mice to filtered air, 1 or 2 ppm O3 for 3 hours, we assessed hallmark responses including airway inflammatory cell counts, epithelial permeability, cytokine secretion, and morphological alterations of the large airways. Further, we performed RNA-seq to profile gene expression in two critical tissues involved in O3 responses: conducting airways (CA) and airway macrophages (AM). We observed a concentration-dependent increase in airway inflammation and injury, and a large number of genes were differentially expressed in both target tissues at both concentrations of O3. Genes that were differentially expressed in CA were generally associated with barrier function, detoxification processes, and cellular proliferation. The differentially expressed genes in AM were associated with innate immune signaling, cytokine production, and extracellular matrix remodeling. Overall, our study has described transcriptional responses to acute O3 exposure, revealing both shared and unique gene expression patterns across multiple concentrations of O3 and in two important O3-responsive tissues. These profiles provide broad mechanistic insight into pulmonary O3 toxicity, and reveal a variety of targets for refined follow-up studies.


Purpose We aimed to identify prognostic factors for survival and recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after liver transplantation (LT) for patients with HCC and hepatitis C virus-related cirrhosis (HCV-cirrhosis). Methods This retrospective cohort study followed all adult patients with HCV-cirrhosis who underwent LT because of HCC or had incidental HCC identified through pathologic examination of the explanted liver at a university hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, over 11 years (1998-2008). We used Cox regression models to assess the following risk factors regarding HCC recurrence or death after LT: age, Model for End-stage Liver Disease score, Child-Pugh classification, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), whether patients had undergone locoregional treatment before transplantation, the number of packed red blood cell units (PRBCU) transfused during surgery, the number and size of HCC lesions in the explanted liver, and the presence of microvascular invasion and necrotic areas within HCC lesions. Results Seventy-six patients were followed up for a median (interquartile range (IQR)) of 4.4 (0.7-6.6) years. Thirteen (17%) patients had HCC recurrence during the follow-up period, and 26 (34%) died. The median survival time was 6.6 years (95% CI: 2.4-12.0), and the 5-year survival was 52.5% (95% CI: 42.3-65.0%). The final regression model for overall survival included four variables: age (hazard ratio (HR): 1.02, 95% CI: 0.96-1.08, P = 0.603), transplantation waiting time (HR: 1.00, 95% CI: 1.00-1.00, P = 0.190), preoperative AFP serum levels (HR: 1.01, 95% CI: 1.00-1.02, P = 0.006), and whether >4 PRBCU were transfused during surgery (HR: 1.15, 95% CI: 1.05-1.25, P = 0.001). The final cause-specific Cox regression model for HCC recurrence included only microvascular invasion (HR: 14.86, 95% CI: 4.47-49.39, P < 0.001). Conclusion In this study of LT for HCV-cirrhosis, preoperative AFP levels and the number of PRBCU transfused during surgery were associated with overall survival, whereas microvascular invasion with HCC recurrence.


In a noninvasive brain-computer interface (BCI), EEG feature extraction is a key part for improving classification accuracy and resulting information transfer rate, and it has a crucial and decisive role. In this paper, three different methods were proposed that combine spatial filtering with autoregressive model for EEG feature extraction. Six subjects participated in the BCI experiment during which they were asked to imagine movements of left hand and right hand. Each subject carried out four sessions and each session contained 120 trials. EEG data recordings were used for off-line analysis and the 10 leads around C3 and C4 were chosen for feature extraction. Autoregressive model coefficients and the parameters derived from other three methods were proposed as classification features. Fisher discriminant analysis (FDA) was used as linear classifier. The results show that classification accuracy rates obtained from the three proposed methods are far higher than those acquired from autoregressive model coefficients. At the same time the classification results of each subject are very stable, proving the effectiveness of these novel feature methods.


The thesis is primarily concerned with the rate of uptake of nutrients by plant roots in relation to the ability of soil to supply nutrients to roots by diffusion and by mass flow. In Chapter One, some current concepts of the chemistry and availability of plant nutrients in soil are briefly discussed. Particular attention is paid to work that stresses the role of the dynamic processes of diffusion, and the mass flow of dissolved nutrients in the transpiration stream, in supplying nutrients to roots. In Chapter Two, diffusion coefficients of nutrients in soil are discussed. In Chapter Three, the mathematical description of nutrient flow to a root system in soil is discussed. An equation is developed which relates the mean nutrient inflow into a root system to the concentration of nutrients initially present in the soil solution, to the mean concentration of nutrients in the soil solution at the surface of the root system,to the mean rate of flow of water to the roots, to the diffusion coefficient of the nutrient in the soil, and to the age of the roots. The mean nutrient inflow into a root system is defined as the mean rate of flow of nutrients into unit length of root. In Chapter Four, an experiment is described in which all the terms in the above mentioned equation were measured apart from the mean root surface concentration of nutrients. In the experiment, the growth and nutrient uptake of leek plants growing outdoors in a moist, fertilised, silty loam soil was followed. The plants were grown in large pots containing an ample reservoir of soil water, so that watering was unnecessary during growth. The growing period was from early May to mid-July. The nutrient uptake rate was followed by harvesting, and analysing for nutrients, samples of ten plants taken at approximately ten day intervals. Root length was measured at each harvest after washing the roots free from the soil. The pots were weighed every few days to determine the water lost by transpiration. At intervals during the growing period soil samples were taken from the pots, and the soil solution was extracted and analysed. From separate experiments, diffusion coefficients for nutrients in the soil were calculated. The data from the experiments yielded all the terms in the above mentioned equation except mean root surface concentration which could be calculated. The nutrients considered were N, P, K, Ca, Na, Mg, S and Cl. It was found that mass flow supplied on average more of all nutrients to the roots than they absorbed apart from K and P, which were supplied mainly by diffusion. For those nutrients that were found to be supplied by mass flow in excess of uptake, calculations indicated that the resultant mean accumulations at the root surface did not give rise to a solution concentration at the root surface greater than 120% of the initial concentration in the soil. In contrast it was calculated that the root surface concentration of K was less than half its initial level in the soil. P had a concentration dependent diffusion coefficient which meant that the quantity of P diffusing to a root had to be calculated numerically using a computer. The results of such a calculation are given in Chapter Five. It was found that even if the roots acted a zero sink for phosphate, the theoretical mean inflow of phosphate was somewhat less than the observed mean inflow. In Chapter Seven an experimental investigation is described into the accumulation of sulphate at the surface of a root in conditions of high mass flow. Autoradiography using S35 was the technique used. In accordance with theory, accumulations became large only when the soil was fairly dry. One of the difficulties in the mathematical analysis of nutrient flow to roots is the uncertainty about the inherent absorbing power of roots of different ages. In Section Three, experiments are described in which the uptake of short segments of leek root of different ages was measured. The leeks for these experiments were grown in solution culture and the mean inflow into the roots was measured by sampling and analysis as described for the pot experiment in soil. Some plants from solution were then selected and short segments of the roots of different ages were sealed into tubes containing two radioactively labelled nutrients, the rest of the root system being grown in unlabelled nutrient solution. P32, and either K42 or Sr85, Sr85 being taken as a label for Ca, were the labelled nutrients used. The plants were harvested after twenty four hours of exposure to labelled nutrients and the quantity of label absorbed was measured. There were no significant differences in the mean absorption of different aged roots, but different root segments varied very widely in their uptake in a way that could not be connected with their age. The possibility of such variation in absorbing power in roots in soil and its consequences in soil are discussed at the end of Chapter Eleven. In Chapter Twelve values for the mean inflow of nutrients into roots from a wide range of published experiments are tabulated. The rates are also given as specific absorption rates, this term meaning the rate of flow of nutrient into unit fresh weight of root. Similar values of mean inflow and specific absorption rate have been measured in widely different conditions, ranging from a few minutes uptake from solution to several weeks uptake from soil. Plant factors which affect mean nutrient inflows are discussed and possible future developments along the lines suggested by the experiment in Chapter Four are considered. In the final Chapter the evidence is stated on which is based current theory of nutrient flow to roots by mass flow and diffusion. In conclusion the insight the theory provides into the concept of nutrient availability in soil, into root competition for nutrients and into ideas about root system efficiency is considered.


Abstract. The aim of the study is to formulate an approach to the monitoring of internal micro discontiniuties in a hybrid 2-D/3-D image of ground penetrating radar (GPR) data gathered on historical monument groups, and to indicate methodologically rearranging amplitude-color scale and its opacity functions to activate micro fractures in monument groups including three colossal women, three men, and 24 lion statues in Mustafa Kemal ATATURK's mausoleum (ANITKABIR) in Ankara, Turkey. Additionally, this paper illustrates the use of petrographic research to describe the monument and its groups. To achieve the aim, data measurements were carried out on the monument groups with spaced 10 cm profiles and 1.6 GHz antenna. The 3-D image was transparent 3-D volumes of the GPR data set that highlighted internal micro fractures and cavities in the statues. Rearranging appropriate amplitude-color scale and formulating the opaque of the data sets were the keys to the transparent 3-D data visualizations. As a result, the internal fractures and cavities were successfully visualized in the three women, three men and twenty-four lion statues. Micro fractures were observed particularly at the rim of the vesicular of the rocks under a polarizing microscope.


Multi-spectral imaging systems typically require the cumbersome integration of disparate filtering materials and detectors in order to operate simultaneously in multiple spectral regions. Each distinct waveband must be detected at different spatial locations on a single chip or by separate chips optimised for each band. Here, we report on a single component that optically multiplexes visible, Mid Infrared (4.5 μm) and Terahertz (126 μm) radiation thereby maximising the spectral information density. We hybridise plasmonic and metamaterial structures to form a device capable of simultaneously filtering 15 visible wavelengths and absorbing Mid Infrared and Terahertz. Our synthetic multi-spectral component could be integrated with silicon complementary metal-oxide semiconductor technology where Si photodiodes are available to detect the visible radiation and micro-bolometers available to detect the Infrared/Terahertz and render an inexpensive, mass-producible camera capable of forming coaxial visible, Infrared and Terahertz images.


In this paper, we consider memristors, meminductors, and memcapacitors and their properties as port-Hamiltonian systems. The port-Hamiltonian formalism naturally arises from network modeling of physical systems in a variety of domains. Exposing the relation between the energy storage, dissipation, and interconnection structure, this framework underscores the physics of the system. One of the strong aspects of the port-Hamiltonian formalism is that a power-preserving interconnection between port-Hamiltonian systems results in another port-Hamiltonian system with composite energy, dissipation, and interconnection structure. This feature can advantageously be used to model, analyze, and simulate networks consisting of complex interconnections of both conventional and memory circuit elements. Furthermore, the port-Hamiltonian formalism naturally extends the fundamental properties of the memory elements beyond the realm of electrical circuits.


This thesis concerns the study of reaction mechanisms by means of kinetic isotope effects (KIEs). Studies of the nucleophilic bimolecular substitution (SN2) reaction had the dual purpose of improving our fundamental understanding of molecular reactivity and assessing the ability of kinetic isotope effects to serve as mechanistic tools. The transition state of the SN2 reaction between a cyanide ion and ethyl chloride in tetrahydrofuran was found to be reactant like and only slightly tighter than has been found previously for the same reaction in dimethyl sulphoxide. One conclusion was that the transition-state structure in this reaction was predicted fairly well by the theoretical calculations, even without solvent modelling. The SN2 reactions between cyanide ions and para-substituted benzyl chlorides were found to have reactant-like transition states, of which the Cα-Cl bond was most influenced by the para-substitution. Theoretical calculations indicated that the chlorine KIEs could be used as probes of the substituent effect on the Cα-Cl bond if bond fission was not too advanced in the transition state. Furthermore, the nucleophile carbon 11C/14C KIEs were determined for the reactions between cyanide ions and various ethyl substrates in dimethyl sulphoxide.Precision conductometry was employed to estimate the aggregation status of tetrabutylammonium cyanide in tetrahydrofuran and in dimethyl sulphoxide, which is of interest as tetrabutylammonium cyanide is frequently used as the nucleophilic reagent in mechanistic investigations and synthetic reactions. The tendency for ion-pair formation was found to be very slight, significant, and very strong in dimethyl sulphoxide, water, and tetrahydrofuran, respectively. The nitrogen kinetic isotope effect on monoamine oxidase B catalysed deamination of benzylamine was determined in an attempt to obtain conclusive evidence regarding the mechanism of the oxidation. Monoamine oxidase is an important drug target in connection with the treatment of, for example, depression and Parkinson's disease, and knowledge on how the enzyme effects catalysis would facilitate the design of highly selective and efficient inhibitors.


†The comprehension of medicine instructions is essential for the safe and effective use of medicines. In cases where low literacy constitutes a possible barrier to understanding written medicine information fully, the inclusion of pictograms may facilitate comprehension. Twenty-three internationally available pictograms and 23 corresponding locally developed images were evaluated in 304 low-literate respondents from eight different South African language groups. Demographic data were collected and an English literacy test was administered to those respondents who had stated that they could read English. Interviewees were shown the 46 pictograms in random order and were asked for their interpretation. Preference for either the international or local version was assessed. Correct interpretation of individual pictograms ranged from 14% to 97%. Images which had been developed locally were more successful in eliciting correct interpretations than those obtained from an international source (USP pictograms). Only 2 of the 23 USP pictograms achieved the 85% criterion of the American National Standards Institute compared with 12 of 23 locally developed counterparts. Local pictograms were preferred over the American ones in all cases. Standard of education had a significant influence on interpretation, whereas no significant differences in interpretation could be attributed to cultural diversity between the African language groups. Almost all respondents (98%) reacted positively to the idea of having pictograms on their medicine labels. The success of the local pictograms highlighted the value of a rigorous and consultative design and test process. Results from one African language group can reliably be extrapolated to other groups in South Africa.


Floating suspension bridges, one of several new designs to make it possible to cross deep and wide fjords, consist of three spans and supported by two tension leg platforms and two fixed traditional concrete pylons. Geometric nonlinearities, nonlinear aerodynamic and hydrodynamic forces and nonlinear mooring systems can become of high importance. Time domain methods are commonly applied when nonlinearities need to be considered. The main challenge in time domain simulation of the floating suspension bridge is the modelling of frequencydependent aerodynamic self-excited forces and hydrodynamic radiation forces. This paper shows how rational functions fitted to aerodynamic derivatives and hydrodynamic added mass and potential damping can be converted to state space models to transform the frequency-dependent forces to time-domain. A user element is implemented in the software ABAQUS to be able to include the self-excited forces in the dynamic analysis. The element is developed as a one node element that is included in the nodes along the girder and the tension leg platforms. The responses of the floating suspension bridge under turbulent wind forces and first-order wave excitation forces are calculated in a comprehensive case study and compared with results obtained using a multi-mode frequency domain approach to illustrate the performance of the presented time-domain methodology.


Social change in South Africa brings to light the multiplicity of world-views operating in our society, which individuals encountering a variety of social contexts are faced with. This raises questions about the choices black South Africans face in response to influences from Western and traditional African culture. This issue was approached through examining helpseeking choices made between different health care sectors that stem from different world-views. This would indicate whether individuals are drawing on a variety of belief systems. The sources of their beliefs are put into context by looking at the communities of practice that influence their local knowledge. Help-seeking is also influenced by the identities the individual may ascribe to, which are derived from the multiple positions held by them in different social contexts. In this research the use of health-care sectors by four black women attending psychotherapy is examined. Their use of these sectors reflects a potential multiplicity of world-views. Semistructured interviews were conducted, focusing on participants' prior experience of different help options, and their current perceptions of traditional African healing and psychology. The texts were analysed using a qualitative hermeneutic method, the reading guide. Data was looked at through three main themes, the individual's relationship to the health care sectors, their knowledge of different world views, and the identities they adopted which may be influential in their choice of a healer. It was found that in two participants there was some movement away from traditional beliefs, with one rejecting the traditional healers who did not help her, once she has discovered therapy, and another identifying herself completely with Western medicine. In contrast, one participant illustrated a rediscovery of traditional healing, whilst still attending psychotherapy. This suggests that shifts in knowledge are not necessarily away from traditional beliefs. It was also found that the two participants who had experienced a broader variety of social contexts and identified with multiple belief systems, tended to use a variety of Western and traditional healing sources and selected the healing option they felt was most appropriate to a particular problem. It is argued therefore that having a variety of knowledge and beliefs places individuals in a more powerful position to determine their choice of action than those with a limited range of knowledge.


The purpose of this study was to determine the consumption levels of fruits and vegetables (fruits and vegetables) and their relationship to health and wellbeing of elderly people of different socio economic background in Ilala district, Dar es Salaam. The study was a cross-sectional descriptive research design with a convenient sample in purposively selected urban and semi-urban Ilala district, Dar es Salaam. Data collection included medical observation and physical examination for health status and questionnaires for assessment of well-being, levels of fruits vegetables intake per day and wealth status. A total of 165 people aged 60 to 95 elderly individuals participated in this study. The findings of this study reveal that fruits and vegetables intake among elderly individuals in Ilala District, Dar es salaam was lower (2.61 1.19) than the recommended minimum of five daily servings varied greatly with economic status (p<0.001). In conclusion, the health and well being of Ilala, Dar es Salaam elderly is poor. They take insufficient levels of fruits and vegetables servings per day, less than WHO recommended servings of at least 400 g, or at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day. Higher price and poverty is a major constrain of fruits and vegetables intake. Therefore raising awareness, improving perception benefits concerning fruits and vegetables consumption and developing public policies to make fruits and vegetables more affordable for low-income families should be encouraged.


The increased environmental awareness has drawn researchers' attention to bio-based polymers and several polymers such as polylactic acid (PLA), Mater-bi and polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) have been studied extensively. It is not easy to replace conventional petro-based polymers and it is therefore likely that both petro- and bio-based polymers will coexists for a long time. The usage of bio-based polymers is however growing and this may have implications for the plastic recycling industry. The recycling of petro-based polymers is relatively well studied and, where it is cost effective, conventional, petro-based polymers are being recycled in the industry. However, the recycling of bio-based plastics and composites needs to be studied more in detail. While several bio-based polymers can be biologically degraded, it is of interest to study the mechanical recycling of these polymers. In order to minimize the energy usage and the consumption of renewable materials mechanical recycling can be a good option. PLA is an attractive polymer as it is both biodegradable and prepared from renewable materials. This polymer has received a lot of attention and several reviews have been written. Research has shown that neat PLA can be reprocessed several times without significant loss of mechanical properties. Biocomposites based on PLA reinforced with natural fibres have been studied extensively in the literature and there can be many industrial applications of these biocomposites, such as automotive components and materials for construction applications. However, the mechanical recycling of biocomposites is not well studied. Most studies in the literature concerns the recycling of polymers reinforced with wood flour. DuraPulp is a commercial quality consisting PLA fibres mixed with cellulose fibres. This biocomposite material can be processed with for example compression moulding. Adding cellulose fibres to the polymer matrix may significantly change how the material can be recycled. The purpose of this study was to study the mechanical recycling of this material. Sheets were first prepared from Durapulp. The sheets were then compression moulded, grinded and reprocessed again with compression moulding. The mechanical and thermal properties were characterized after each cycle. The feasibility to recycle Durapulp mechanically will be discussed.


This in vitro experimental study on 24 extracted sound human maxillary central incisors was conducted to evaluate the effects of two Recaldent ® products and artificial saliva on the hardness of enamel. All hardness measurements were taken with Vickers hardness tester. A two stage blinding procedure was performed. Data was entered into MS Excel spreadsheet and processed using SPSS software version 15.0. One way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Student t test and Bonferroni test were performed. The difference in enamel microhardness between baseline and demineralization in the groups A 1 , A 2 , A 3 were 1.1, 0.4, 1.1 respectively. The mean difference in enamel microhardness measured afterremineralisationin the groups A 1 , A 2 , A 3 were 3.8, 2.9, 0respectively. CPP-ACP and CPP-ACFP increase the microhardness of enamel. Artificial saliva increases the hardness of enamel, but to a lesser extent than CPP-ACP and CPP-ACFP. There is no difference between the remineralising capacity of CPP-ACP and CPP-ACFP.


Polyorchidism is a rare congenital anomaly frequently associated with maldescent testis, hernia, and torsion. Reports in the literature show an increased risk of testicular malignancy in the presence of polyorchidism. This entity has characteristic sonographic features and the diagnosis is often made on the basis of sonography. Magnetic resonance imaging might also be used for the diagnosis, but is more helpful in cases associated with cryptorchism or neoplasia. A conservative approach is the treatment of choice in uncomplicated cases.


Wave energy has the potential to contribute considerably to the UK's energy mix. The marine environment is already subjected to many anthropogenic pressures. There is a need to develop the industry as sustainably as possible. A key concern is the potential for underwater noise to affect marine life. A wave energy converter (WEC; BOLT Lifesaver, Fred Olsen Ltd.) was deployed at the Falmouth Bay marine renewable energy test site (FaBTest). The underwater sound levels were recorded at this site for a two week baseline period, a five-day installation period and intermittent operational and non-operational activity from March 2012 November 2013. The recordings were also analysed for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) indicator third octave bands of 63-Hz and 125-Hz for shipping noise. The median and modal sound levels in Falmouth Bay were found to be loudest in the frequency range 100 Hz 1 kHz and affected by local shipping activity. During installation activity, the sound levels were louder at all frequencies recorded as compared to similar periods with no installation activity, with a mean difference of 6.9 dB Hz-1 in the range 10 Hz to 48 kHz. Long term marine renewable energy construction projects may affect the MSFD indicator bands. There was little overall difference in the average sound levels for the operational and non-operational periods as the median PSD levels were louder by an average of 0.04 dB Hz-1 during the operational activity as compared to the non-operational activity. The results of this study indicate that the effect of a single WEC device on the overall sound levels in Falmouth Bay is relatively low considering the substantial presence of shipping in the area. However, in the immediate vicinity of the device (<200 m), the sound produced was found to be of significance to marine animals. It therefore requires considering in future deployments, particularly at a site with little anthropogenic activity.


MCrAlX powder compositions (M= Ni; Co and X= Y; Hf; Si or combination) are often thermally sprayed (TS) via vacuum plasma spray (VPS); low pressure plasma spray (LPPS) or high velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) to produce high temperature oxidation and hot corrosion resistant bond coats (BC) for thermal barrier coatings (TBCs). Cold spray (CS) technology is currently considered as a promising alternative to the traditional TS solutions having the advantage of delivering oxide-free and very dense metallic coatings at relatively lower costs compared to VPS and LPPS. Here; we first present high-pressure CS deposition of NiCoCrAlY and NiCoCrAlYHfSi and discuss the influence of feedstock properties on the deposited BCs. CFD numerical simulation is employed to tailor the spray conditions based on the feedstock characteristics. Secondly; we present the laser assisted cold spray (LACS) deposition of NiCoCrAlYHfSi BCs using a low-pressure CS system. We show that LACS can be successfully used to deposit this particular powder while eliminating nozzle erosion and low deposition efficiency disadvantages observed during conventional CS. Lastly; high temperature isothermal oxidation of a TBC architecture having LACS BC is presented.


This video was created as part of Professor Gary Woods' ELEC305 Spring 2017 group video assignment. Students were challenged to create a video for a college audience that explains "how something works" and how it is used in the "real world."


This thesis examines teachers' voices on the latest curriculum reform and how teachers experience the impact of the reform on their teaching. The aim of this study is to contribute to knowledge about the conditions of the implementation of a new reform and how the reform controls and empowers teachers' teaching. I examine the issue using the concepts from curriculum theory and implementation theory as well as visible and invisible pedagogy. Primary school teachers, Grades 1-3 (n=224) within an entire municipality responded to an extensive questionnaire concerning their relation to the reform. The questionnaire was developed from qualitative interviews and questionnaires with open questions. The new curriculum reform tends towards increased control but the results show that the majority of teachers consider both the curriculum and the national examinations for Grade 3 as a support in their teaching and assessment. Most teachers express that the recent curriculum increases their professionalism. Yet there is a tension between positive and negative experiences of the reform, as some teachers express that the new curriculum and the national tests limit their professional freedom while other teachers express that they would like even more detailed support and guidance. There are also teachers who think it is too early to introduce goals, in the form of knowledge requirements and national tests, because it violates the students' right to develop at their own pace based on their prerequisites. Further, most teachers in the study state that they have been affected by the goals and the national tests, but at a school level a common plan in mathematics and routines to discuss the goals of mathematics education is often lacking. The study also shows that national tests are not used in order to improve the mathematics results of the whole school. The factor analysis shows that there are differences between teachers' voices depending on their age, their teaching experience, and if they are graduated before or after the reform of 1994. The different expressions can be linked to teachers' voices of teacher professionalism, of student learning and maturity. The results of the study are of interest for various actors at different educational levels like politicians, curriculum authors and principals. By taking part of the study they have the opportunity to gain more knowledge of how to create good conditions to support teachers to enact the curriculum in their classrooms.


"Crofters and the Land Question" takes as its subject the record of land- and landlord-centred conflict in the Scottish Highlands. The body of the text concentrates on the events of the decades between the 1860s and the 1920s, and concludes with a detailed look at one particular land-centred conflict in the aftermath of the Second World War. The foreword establishes the present-day state of play with regard to the land question in the Highlands; while the first chapter introduces some themes relevant to the historical record of landlord-centred conflict. The second chapter covers the long period of conflict-rehearsal prior to the riots at Sollas in North Uist; while the third examines in greater detail the landlord-centred disputes at Strathaird, Bernera and Glendale which form the overture to the generalised anti-landlord agitation of the following years. The fourth chapter considers the events surrounding the trouble at Braes in Skye along with the victory represented by the formation of a Royal Commission to investigate crofters' grievances; while the fifth focuses on the growth of the Land League. The sixth chapter covers the agitation leading to the passing of the Crofters' Act in 1886; the seventh covers the high point of landlord-centred conflict as a mass movement; while the following chapter introduces some wider themes beyond the immediate cockpit of popular struggle in the Highlands, along with a look at the growing (and continuing) interest of the early nationalist and socialist movements in the Highland land struggle. Chapter nine examines the record of landlord-centred conflict in the 1890s; chapter ten takes the story on to the outbreak of the Great War; chapter eleven briefly considers the Highland wartime experience and its effect on Highland consciousness, as well as examining the land question during the war and the immediate post-war period; while chapter twelve takes the story of land-agitation forward to its finale (as a generalised phenomenon, at least) during the 1920s. The final chapter, by way of coda to this long record of anti-landlordism, examines in detail the Knoydart land-raid. The afterword serves briefly to contextualise this record with reference to our own times; suggests work remaining to be done in the context of the socio-political formation of the indigenous Highland community of today; and looks briefly at the wider Scottish significances of that community's record of landlord-centred conflict. The central thesis of "Crofters and the Land Question" is that there is a long and deep anti-landlord tradition in the Highlands; that this tradition was under-pinned with an identity that can justly be identified as one of agrarian radicalism and nationalism - and that this tradition, in one way or another, lives on to the present day.


Zinc sulfide (ZnS) thin films were deposited on a glass and n-type Silicon wafer substrates at temperature range from 50 - 200 C o using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. The structural, morphological, optical and electrical properties of the films have been investigated. The XRD analyses indicate that ZnS films have zinc blende structures with plane (111) preferential orientation, whereas the diffraction patterns sharpen with the increase in substrate temperatures. The Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) Images shows the particle size and surface roughness of the deposited ZnS thin film at substrate temperature 50 and 150 C o were about 62.90nm, 74.68nm respectively. Also we noticed that the surface roughness is increased at substrate temperature 150 C o compared with temperature 50 C o . At 200 C o the formed films exhibit a good optical property with 80% transmittance in the visible region. The electrical properties confirmed that they depend strongly on the bias voltage and the amount of current produced by a photovoltaic device which is directly related to the number of photons absorbed. C-V results demonstrated that the fabricated heterojunction is of abrupt type.


In this paper ,we ared study on the reinforcement of a large opening with which the opening ratio is (W)0.8 with numerical calculation. We analyzed the Mechanical characteristics of opened shell It shows the stress concentration is seen clearly on point A which is between Connecting Inside surface of pipe and shell ,and point B, which is between Connecting outside surface of pipe and shell. And the stress concentration on point A is more than on point A when the opening ration(W) is 0.8.And it is calculated reinforcing effect and analyze the limitation when the opening ration by pressure area method(Referred to PAM).It is obtained the limitation of PAM by comparing numerical calculation to PAM.


Magnetic surveys were carried out at the Beit Alfa basalt quarry near Beit She'an, Israel. This site was chosen for a series of experimental explosions in the framework of a large-scale inland seismic calibration experiment under supervision of the Geophysical Institute of Israel (GII). The explosions were carried out as part of a joint project of the Natural Resources Authority (Jordan), GII (Israel), and LLNL (USA) called "Seismic Calibration Using Mining Explosions in the Middle East" and supported by the USAID MERC program.


Skillful writers think very carefully about what their readers want from documents written for those readers. Often, this consideration is confined to the substance of the writer's message to the reader — in other words, what the writer will say to the reader. But a good writer also considers how that message will be communicated to the reader. This "how" includes the appearance of the document in which the message is conveyed, including the typeface and spacing used for the text in the document.As lawyers, our readers are often "law-trained" readers, such as other lawyers and judges. Like other accomplished writers, we lawyers carefully consider what we're going to say to these readers in the memoranda and briefs we write for them. But how often do we truly consider how we're going to convey our message to them? How often do we ponder what an effective memo or brief should look like rather than merely what it should say?Good document design is a key skill for attorneys to learn. Long gone is the era in which document design was constrained by the limited capabilities of the typewriter. In the digital world of the 21st century, word processing applications give us the basic tools that professional typographers use, allowing us to create documents that are aesthetically pleasing and easier to read. This article will discuss basic document design principles that will allow you to more effectively convey your message to a law-trained reader.


Multiple chemotherapeutic agents have been reported to cause pulmonary injury, usually manifested as interstitial pneumonitis and fibrosis. Several unique presentations have been described for mitomycin, methotrexate, and the combinations of mitomycin and vinca alkaloids. Mechanisms of lung injury remain mostly speculative, although ongoing investigations may someday elucidate such pathways of injury. With a greater understanding of how these agents damage lung tissue, physicians may be able to more safely administer these drugs to patients. The drugs which have been shown to cause pulmonary injury most frequently are BCNU, mitomycin (with and without vinca alkaloids), and methotrexate. All physicians using cytotoxic drugs must be aware of the potential for lung injury with these agents.


Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, in Partial
Fulfilment of the Requirements of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
Johannesburg, 1992


Applying the principles of evidence-based medicine has the potential to drastically improve quality of care and patient outcomes. For this reason, evidence-based medicine has been held as one of the 15 most important developments in medicine within the past 100 years. In August of 2010, a broad coalition of leaders from numerous organizations representing societies, boards, journals, foundations, and academic institutions met in Colorado Springs, Colorado, for the first Evidence-Based Plastic Surgery Summit. The summit signaled a sea change in the approach of organized plastic surgery to the promotion of evidence-based medicine within the specialty. It was determined that a strategic, coordinated, and sustained effort to drive an evidence-based medicine culture would accelerate adoption and advance quality of care and patient safety. Over the past 2 years, many of the goals of the initial summit have been met. In order to take our evidence-based medicine efforts to the next level, a second summit was recently held to redefine goals, focus efforts, address barriers, and launch new initiatives with broad consensus. This article documents the outcomes of the second Evidence-Based Plastic Surgery Summit.


Technical Notes and Manuals are produced by IMF departments to expand the dissemination of their technical assistance advice. These papers present general advice and guidance, drawn in part from unpublished technical assistance reports, to a broader audience. This new series was launched in August 2009.


Scientific elaboration of "public will" would enhance the concept's analytical usefulness and contribute to improved understanding in various fields, including political science and public policy. Previous work has utilized the term but has jumped the crucial stage of formally defining public will as a conceptual variable. This project constructs a definitional system that breaks the concept into components and offers operationalizations and assessment targets. Analysis begins with consideration of social systems and their direct ties with other definitional components like shared recognition of the problem and of proposed means of addressing the problem. Resolve to address the situation and to sustain collective action are also essential components. The project then applies the definitional system through a brief case study of firearm control and considers various scholarly implications. The definitional system emphasizes the simultaneous existence of multiple "publics" and argues against using public will synonymously with majority public opinion.


Background: Type 1
diabetes (T1D) is a chronic disease with increasing incidence and major impact
on the health care costs. Aim: To estimate the direct cost of pediatric T1D in
the Greek National Health System (NHS) and its distribution by service
category. Methods: This is a retrospective cost-of-illness study, focusing on
the direct costs from the healthcare system's point of view. All patients aged 0
- 16 years, diagnosed with T1D, who were followed in the Diabetes Outpatients'
Clinic of the University Pediatric Department of one of the two main Pediatric
Hospitals in Athens, for a two-year period (1st January 2011 to 31st December 2012) were included. Results:
Total diabetes-related direct costs per person-year were estimated at €2,712
(95% CI 2468 - 2956). Diabetes healthcare provider and education visits
including laboratory tests, accounted for only 7.6% of total costs. Cost for
hospitalizations was only 1.7%. Medication costs were 17% of total costs and
were the highest for multi-injection therapy. Supply costs accounted for 73.7%
of the total costs and were the highest for insulin pump therapy (p = 0.000).
12.4% of patients were admitted yearly for diabetes related cause and the mean
length of hospitalization was 0.18 days per person-year (95%CI: 0.05 - 0.3).
Conclusion: This is a preliminary study based on a single institution's data,
which however constitutes a major referral center, thus dealing with a balanced
sample of the Greek pediatric diabetic population. Considering that standards
of diabetes care are common throughout the NHS, the management of patients in
our hospital represents the common practice for pediatric diabetes in Greece.
Data are suggesting that cost for hospitalization and outpatients' care for T1D
patients followed in the public sector was rather low compared to other
countries, the medication cost was at similar or lower levels and the cost of
supplies was generally higher.


Platelet activating factor (PAF) holds the leading role among allergy mediators in pathogenesis of bronchial asthma. PAF ability to induce bronchospasms is manifested in the presence of intact platelets. Platelet function in patients with atopic and nonimmunologic aspirin-induced asthma was investigated. Aggregation increase (platelet activation) correlating with IgE level and mediator release from target cells of I order was stated to be the most important component of pathologic process in atopy. Under the influence of aggregation inducers (ADP and adrenaline) in platelets of patients with atopic asthma the level of cAMP is reduced, greater amounts of TxB2 and PGF2 alpha are produced. In cyclo-oxygenase blockade their production is not stopped. The decrease of platelet ability to aggregate is observed in patients with nonimmunologic aspirin-induced asthma. In non-stimulated platelets high levels of PGF2 alpha and TxB2 are noted. Their production is somewhat reduced and cAMP level is elevated during action of aggregation inducers on platelets preincubated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Metabolism disorder of membrane phospholipids affects platelet activity to fix Ig and to decrease receptor accessibility for action of aggregation inducers. Efficacy of therapy by different anti-allergic drugs depends greatly on the drug ability to normalize platelet function. Analysis of platelet functions is of great importance for diagnosis of atopic and nonimmunologic forms of bronchial asthma and for choice of adequate therapy.


Is Dietrich Bonhoeffer a »public theologian«? This question is part of the present discussion about Public Theology, which refers to Bonhoeffer for its central causes. Finding structural parallels in both structure and content between Bonhoeffer's theology and Public Theology, this contribution determines that the references to Bonhoeffer by Public Theology are legitimate. It concludes with a plea for a christologically shaped Public Theology informed by Bonhoeffer.


Proposing a proper method for face recognition is still a challenging subject in biometric and computer vision applications. Although some reliable systems were introduced under relatively controlled conditions, their recognition rate is not satisfactory in the general settings. This is especially true when there are variations in pose, illumination, and facial expression. To alleviate these problems, a hybrid face recognition system is proposed which benefits from the superiority of both convolutional neural network (CNN) and support vector machine (SVM). To this end, first a genetic algorithm is employed to find the optimum structure of CNN. Then, the performance of the system is improved by replacing the last layer of CNN with an ensemble of SVMs. Finally, using concepts of error correction, decision is made. The potential of CNN as a trainable feature extractor provides a flexible recognition system that can recognise faces with variations in pose and illumination. Simulation results show that the system achieves good recognition rate and is robust against variations in terms of facial expressions, occlusion, noise, and illuminations.


The levels of glycosylated hemoglobin (GlHb), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), urine glucose, serum triglycerides, cholesterol, and HDL-cholesterol were monitored in several hundred patients attending an adult diabetic clinic. Thirty-five percent of the patients were being treated with insulin, 30% with diet alone, and 20% with sulfonylurea. Therapy was changed during the study in the remaining 15%. The levels of GlHb and FPG were significantly lower in the patients treated with diet alone than in the other groups. The overall coefficient of correlation (r) between FPG and GlHb was 0.64, with the highest r (0.70) for the diet group and the lowest r (0.55) for the insulin group. A follow-up study showed that in about 50% of the patients GlHb and FPG levels changed in different directions from one visit to the next. The absence of glycosuria was noted in two-thirds of the patients, while in 78% of the patients GlHb values were above the normal range. A weak but positive correlation was found between GlHb and serum triglycerides and cholesterol. There was no significant correlation between GlHb and HDL-cholesterol. The HDL-cholesterol levels were significantly lower in male than in female diabetic subjects, but no significant difference was found between the diabetic and nondiabetic subjects of the same sex. The results of this study suggest that (1) although there is a positive correlation between GlHb and FPG, the two tests cannot be used interchangeably in the evaluation of diabetic control; and (2) in the majority of the patients the absence of glycosuria tends to create the false assurance of satisfactory blood glucose control.


One of the most important provisions incorporated in the reform of the German health sector has been the introduction of a per case prospective payment system for hospitals with the exception of admissions to psychiatric care. The reasons for the exclusion of psychiatric care are unclear, but it is as a result all the more interesting to look at the experience of Hungary, where in-patient psychiatric care has been financed on the basis of diagnosis-related groups (DRGs) for the past seven years. The article describes how in the early 1990's the funding of the Hungarian health service was reorganized from being a state-financed system with a set budget to a system financed by contributions. Parallel to this development, service-related financing was introduced. In the hospital sector this involved DRGs. At the beginning of 1993 the Hungarian DRGs comprised only 437 categories, but this has since increased to 758. Furthermore, other characteristics are listed which, apart from the number of groups, differentiate the Hungarian DRGs from the AP-DRGs. Among other things, service-related financing includes non-typical areas such as psychiatry. In this case, it covers in-patient psychiatric care in an unusual combination of DRGs in the acute case category (50% of all beds in psychiatric units in Hungary are for acute cases) with daily nursing charges in the chronic case category. An analysis is given in the article of 16 homogeneous diagnostic categories in psychiatric care, followed by experiences gathered in conjunction with the application of this approach in this particular sphere, with special reference to three problem areas. These are as follows: the trend towards diagnoses with a relatively high weighting; the practice of charging for psychiatric DRGs in somatic wards; and, finally, the perpetuation of poor service structures and practices through DRGs. In general, evidently the introduction of psychiatric DRGs may also be recommended in Germany because of the danger that otherwise psychiatry might be marginalized and isolated in a corner for chronic medical cases. As the only discipline or specialist sphere with a non-service based budget there is a real threat that funding would be kept low. Thus, under the superior financial conditions in Germany, the disadvantages registered in Hungary would not occur or would become manifest only in a milder form. However, it is important that prior to implementation costing is done with extreme care to determine the relative weighting and duration of treatment for each of the categories and that following introduction of DRGs there is a regular control of coding practices, structure of diagnoses and case-mix changes.


The kinetics and mechanism of thermal inactivation of Penicillium canescens alpha-galactosidase in the temperature range of 55-65 degrees C have been studied. The kinetic scheme of alpha-galactosidase thermal inactivation was proposed which included the reversible dissociation of active hexamers into associating monomers and irreversible denaturation of monomers. The kinetic constants of thermal inactivation have been determined. The effect of enzyme concentration and purification efficiency has been investigated. A possibility of defence of protein molecule from thermal inactivation in the presence of BSA, glycerol, melibiose, raffinose and stachyose is shown.


—the present structural geometry of the Sierra Blanca Basin is an inward plunging, asymmetric synclinorium, where the eastern limb generally dips more steeply than the western limb. Basin subsidence has preserved 900–1300 m of Cretaceous strata unconformably overlain by 140–800 m of lower to middle Eocene fluvial strata, which in turn are overlain by >1 km of lava flows and volcaniclastic sedimentary rocks related to the Sierra Blanca volcanic field. Northwest-to north-trending anticlines and synclines provide evidence for Laramide contraction on the western margin of the basin. Northeast-trending anticlines and synclines are also found along the eastern side of the basin, generally parallel to the transpressional Pecos buckles. The synclinal structure of the Sierra Blanca Basin has been modified by extensional faulting, characterized by five fault sets: (1) north-to northeast-striking, extensional faults along the eastern margin of the basin and in the interior of the Sierra Blanca massif, many coinciding with and paralleling a major dike swarm between Ruidoso and Capitan; (2) relatively long normal faults, such as the alamogordo and Godfrey Peak faults, that strike northwest to northeast in the central and south - western parts of the basin; (3) large-displacement, northwest-striking, oblique-normal faults north of the Three Rivers drainage; (4) low-displacement, west-striking faults south of Oscura that parallel dikes radiating from the center of the Sierra Blanca volcanic field; and (5) northeast-trending faults at the southern margin of the basin. we interpret a more complex structural history for the basin than past workers, who have restricted basin formation to the laramide, based largely on past interpretations that Sierra Blanca volcanic strata are not deformed and unconformably overlie lower-middle Eocene strata. We show that lower volcanic strata are indeed deformed and argue that the unconformity at the base of volcanic strata is likely restricted to the southern margin of the basin, where northward tilting created paleotopography. Northwest-oriented extension between 38 and 34 Ma resulted in normal throw for the northeast-striking faults of set 1, down-dropping the eastern part of the basin; related fracturing and jointing facilitated ascension of voluminous magmas associated with Sierra Blanca volcanism. The common observation that dikes locally fill northeast-striking normal faults is consistent with dilation preceding and accompanying igneous activity. Subsidence rates may possibly have waned between 34 and 30 Ma, coincident with a change to more alkalic volcanic composition, based on slower stratal accumulation rates and the presence of unconformities. The north-striking Godfrey Peak fault was active after 28.2 Ma. The northwest-striking Jackass Mountain fault was active around 28.5 Ma, based on a dike of that age that intrudes the fault zone and is brecciated by movement along that fault. By Quaternary time only the alamogordo fault remained active.