Abstract In the 2003 Durban Vision the Malagasy government committed to tripling the amount of protected areas in Madagascar by 2009. This extensive expansion needs to involve an assessment of the potential impacts on the people who rely on forest resources for subsistence. Wildlife for human consumption (bushmeat) is one such resource that has received great attention on mainland Africa but has largely been ignored in Madagascar until recently. In terms of biomass, hunting in Madagascar appears to be on a lesser scale compared to areas of mainland Africa. However, because of the life-history characteristics associated with hunted primate and carnivore species in Madagascar even small-scale hunting is a major threat to long-term conservation. In this study I used semi-structured interviews to quantify annual rates of bushmeat harvest in 14 villages adjacent to the Makira Forest in north-eastern Madagascar. Interviews revealed that 23 mammal species were hunted for consumption, providing a new insight into the scale and frequency of bushmeat use. Harvest data and life-history information were sufficient to allow quantitative assessments of sustainability for four species of lemur (black and white ruffed lemur Varecia variegata, indri Indri indri, eastern bamboo lemur Hapalemur griseus and white-fronted brown lemur Eulemur albifrons) and a species of the carnivore family Eupleridae (fossa Cryptoprocta ferox). Model results suggest hunting of these species is probably unsustainable. This research presents clear evidence that hunting is a major conservation and livelihoods issue in Madagascar and needs to be considered in the planning stages of protected area development to address better the needs of local people.


【Benzotriazole (B.T.A) which has been mainly used for the stabilization processing method of excavated copper and bronze artifacts is vaporized within 2~3 years after the usage because it is unstable at the acid conditions and cannot protect the surface of artifacts. In this study, NaOH method which has been used for the steel artifacts was applied as a stabilization process for the method of copper and bronze artifacts to gush chlorine ion out. For the reproduction of excavated samples, copper and bronze plates were dipped in 0.1M HCl for 26 hrs to form CuCl, rusted at $70^{\circ}C$ with RH 75% for the formation of corrosion products, and desalted in 0.1 M NaOH solution. The concentration of chlorine ion was measured by using ionchromatography. During the desalting process, a large quantity of chlorine ions was gushed out in early period and corrosion products were not additionally generated through the re-corrosion experiment. This NaOH desalting process was found to be a method of stabilization process for copper and bronze artifacts from the formation of Tenorite (CuO) during desalting as a protection layer for corrosion.】


RAPD markers and morpho-agronomic traits were used to evaluate genetic diversity among 20 common bean cultivars (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) that included six developed in Romania, twelve in Turkey and two in CIAT Colombia. Only 4 of all the 11 random primers used in RAPD reactions showed polymorphism acceptable for an effective characterization of bean cultivars. These four primers (OPA 17, OPG 05, OPG 06, OPG 14) generated 56 DNA bands, of which 29 bands showing polymorphism (51.78%). On average, each primer generated 14 bands, of which 7.25 were polymorphic. Genetic distances were calculated using Nei&Li (1979) similarity coefficient, displayed in a dendrogram (UPGMA method).Cluster analysis based on RAPD amplification products divided genotypes in two main groups. Cluster A comprises 13 bean genotypes distributed in two subgroups and cluster B comprises 7 bean genotypes distributed in two subgroups. Genetic similarity vary greatly (44% - 96%), depending on the pairs of genotypes, on the groups and subgroups. It has lower values between genotypes of different clusters (A and B) and higher values between genotypes within each cluster. The genetic diversity obtained with these markers was similar to that provided by morpho-agronomical traits. According the UPGMA and morpho-agronomical traits, the genotypes were clustered according to on seed size and type of growth. Molecular and morpho-agronomic data sets were equally effective to quantify and organize the genetic diversity of common bean cultivars. The results suggested that the level of genetic diversity among common bean cultivars tested was sufficient for a breeding program and can be used to establish genetic relationships among them with unknown pedigrees.


Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is caused by a recently identified Coronavirus (SARS-CoV). The clinical symptoms are non-specific and during the first few days in particular, are not clinically distinguishable from those of many other viral or bacterial infections. The majority of infected patients develop pneumonia within a week of the first symptoms appearing. Since November 2002 the virus has spread from South China to almost 30 other countries, where about 8500 infected individuals have been registered; about 800 people have already died from the disease (9.5%). The number of infected persons includes a noticeably high percentage of health workers. This fact underlines the importance of good infection prevention measures for each patient contact. The implementation of hygienic measures requires attention, because the infection of personnel in Toronto hospitals still occurred after the virus and transmission routes were known. It appears that transmission can be prevented with relatively simple precautions, as long as these are consistently implemented. Early recognition and isolation of a possible source are an essential part of this. SARS is a group A notifiable disease (report if suspected). In the Netherlands the general practitioner has a prominent role in assessing and treating individuals who are infected or might be infected with SARS-CoV. A protocol and a detailed action plan are available. In addition to this hospitals should be prepared for the initial reception of a patient with SARS, who presents directly to the outpatients' clinic or Casualty Department.


There are more than enough various (syntactical, semantical, pragmatical) difficulties in constructing deontic logic. We suppose that at least some of them can be overcome by means of the temporal qualification of the relation of deontic alternativeness and by modification of the so-called "standard" models. We use a temporal structure that is discrete, branching "to the left" and infinite in both directions. The system of tense-logic based on this structure has been developed thanks to works by J.P.Burgess. The essence of our development consists of providing the system with facilities for comparing the times of events found on different "branches" of a set of possible courses of events. Our addition to the Burgess system consists of the axioms of discreteness and of axioms that circumscribe characteristics of the special operator "It is necessary that at the appointed time (so to speak 'in its own term') it will be the case that some state of affairs is obtained". For the constructed system proofs of its soundness, adequacy, and thus, completeness have been obtained. There is also the proof of its decidedness. Now it is possible to attach quite natural temporal interpretation to deontic operators and to introduce into the language used special modal-temporal operators. Completeness and decidedness of the tensed logical system apply to a system of deontic logic with above-mentioned modalities.


The aim of our study was to investigate the role of immunopathological processes in the pathogenesis of chronic sclerosing sialadenitis of submandibular glands (Küttner tumor). For this purpose, biopsy specimens from submandibular glands of 22 patients with the histological diagnosis of chronic sclerosing sialadenitis were analyzed. Paraffin-embedded tissues were immunostained for T-lymphocyte subsets (CD3, CD4, CD8), cytotoxic T cells (granzyme B), B cells (CD20, Ki-B3), and macrophages (Ki-M1P). Polymerase chain reaction and capillary electrophoresis were used to detect rearrangements of the T-cell receptor gamma chain and the CDRIII region of the immunoglobulin heavy chain. In all cases, abundant cytotoxic T cells were found, especially in close association with ducts and acini. T-cell receptor gamma chain rearrangements showed a monoclonal pattern in 6 cases (27.3%), an oligoclonal pattern in 8 (36.4%), and a polyclonal pattern in 8 (36.4%). The B-cell reaction was less pronounced and largely restricted to lymph follicles. Molecular analysis of immunoglobulin heavy chain revealed a polyclonal rearrangement in 17 cases (77.3%). In conclusion, there is an intimate relationship between the T-cell-dominated inflammatory infiltrate and acinar and duct cells. This, together with the frequent demonstration of monoclonal and oligoclonal populations of cytotoxic T cells and their histopathological behavior, suggests that chronic sclerosing sialadenitis may be the result of an immune process triggered by intraductal agents.


Background/Context Institutional missions serve many purposes within universities, but most studies focus on how mission points to direction, guidelines, or priorities. However, organizational missions have been shown to have other functions such as instructing members about actions or behaviors that are acceptable. This paper therefore examines texts for evidence of how respondents' ideas about mission go beyond just a statement of direction or priorities. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study To consider the use of metaphor in describing institutional mission, the following research questions were examined: 1. How are metaphors used to describe institutional mission? 2. What function(s) is the discourse around institutional mission being used to serve? Research Design The study is a discourse analysis of written texts and interview transcripts as part of a qualitative, comparative case study of six master's-granting institutions that are campuses within one state's public university system. Data Collection and Analysis Interviews were conducted with 36 university leaders including chief academic officers, deans, department chairs, and faculty members including at least one: (a) member of the institution's body of collegiate deans, (b) department chair and/or collegiate dean directly involved in decision making, and (c) current and/or previous president of the faculty governance body. Qualitative data analysis was conducted using an iterative data analysis method drawing from grounded theory and constant comparative analysis. Following qualitative analysis, a subsequent word count was conducted to determine the extent to which the metaphors were used. Conclusions/Recommendations Results suggest mission is a socially constructed phenomenon with a variety of different functions revealed through metaphor that engage different audiences and are closely tied to institutional context and purpose. Metaphors of mission articulated by respondents include mission as: (a) symbolic unity, (b) boundary object, (c) tool, (d) cage, (e) metamorphosis, (f) cultural artifact, (g) motivator, (h) authoritative text, (i) transaction, and (j) treaty document. Understanding the complexities of institutional mission suggests a need to reconsider it and the ways in which leaders engage with their institutional missions.


The essence of agricultural development is to improve both individual farm household welfare and in the aggregate, achieve desirable economic and social impacts. Despite the availability of literature on the farm level impact of DSR, few studies have attempted to measure the aggregate effects of adoption of DSR at the state level. A survey was conducted during 2015, comprising 150 randomly selected farmers covering three major direct seeded rice districts viz., Sri Muktsar Sahib, Bathinda and Kapurthala of Punjab state of India to understand the farm level and aggregate economic impact of DSR in Punjab. The results showed that the adoption of DSR has reduced the cost of cultivation by about 29% on an average. At the aggregate level, potential benefits from the adoption of DSR are substantial. The survey results reveal that adoption of DSR has resulted in lowering cost of cultivation of rice by Rs. 14,615/-per hectare over the transplanting method. The aggregate monetary benefits in terms of savings in cost of cultivation by adoption of DSR to the adopter farmers in Punjab is estimated to the tune of Rs. 730,750,000 for the year 2015. The findings confirm the positive impacts of DSR and the results support promoting DSR as a strategy to enhance profitability of farmers and also as a water saving technology in the face of depleting water resources for agriculture in general and rice in particular.


This paper highlights the latest stage of an ongoing research project, primarily focussing on generating artificial anthropomorphic behaviour-sets for computer-generated non-player characters (NPCs). Building upon work presented in previous papers, this research highlights the latest results obtained from an investigation evaluating the anthropomorphism, (i.e. human-likeness) of several computer-controlled synthetic humans, controlled using artificial behaviour-sets generated by a new Artificial Intelligence mechanism, 'Genetic Profiling'. In addition to providing an introduction to the new mechanism, this research also serves to highlight how Genetic Profiling can potentially be applied to investigative scenarios in Computer Science projects outside the recreational games related context largely used by this project.


Endophytic fungi can produce secondary metabolites of endophytic fungi isolated from host plants. The purpose of this study is to identify and analyze the sequencing of endophytic fungi isolates with ITS and Beta-tubulin markers and phylogenetic trees. The endophytic fungi isolate DKJ1, DKJ3a, DKJ3c and DKJ4 were successfully isolated from the cardia plant (Bellucia pentamera Naudin) indicated by Aspergillus niger group, Aspergillus fumigatus group and Penicillium sp. The results of the sequencing analysis of isolates DKJ1, DKJ3a, DKJ3c, and DKJ4 were successfully amplified with an annealing temperature of 54ºC with a pair of ITS1-ITS4 primers with a molecular weight of 570 bp and a Beta-Tubulin primer with an annealing temperature of 56.1ºC molecular weight of 550 bp. From the results of identification and analysis of DNA sequencing of endophytic fungi DKJ1, DKJ3a, DKJ3c and DKJ4 with the primary pair of ITS and Beta-tubulin shows that the phylogenetic tree is different from the species obtained. ITS DKJ1 isolates have similarities with the species Aspergillus piperis CBS 112811, ITS DKJ3c has similarities with the species Aspergillus flavus var flavus strain ATCC 16833, ITS DKJ3a has similarities with Penicillium rolfsii strain NRRL 1078 species and ITS DKJ4 has similarities with Penicillium oxalicum NRRL 787 species. Whereas isolate from DKJ1 Beta-Tubulin has similarities with NRRL 4875 Aspergillus tubingensis species, DKJ3c has similarities with species of Aspergillus novoparasiticus strain DTO 223-C4 and DKJ4 has a similarity with Penicillium guaibinensis species. But there are similarities based on Cluster A (Aspergillus Group) and Cluster B (Penicillium Group) on phylogenetic trees.


Greenstone is a software for creating and maintaining distributed digital library collections. It provides a sophisticated federation mechanism for the collections. In order to support alerting notification about changes in the distributed collections, we propose a distributed directory service for the management of the distributed Greenstone installations. The Greenstone directory service (GDS) acts on top of the distributed Greenstone structure for the management of collections. This paper describes both, the initial distributed Greenstone structure and the distributed directory service.


The synthesis of a new copper(II) phthalocyaninate substituted with four 15-membered tetraazamacrocycles from 15,16-dibromo-2,5,9,12-tetra(toluene-p-sulphonyl)-2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13-dodecahydro-1H-2,5,9,12-benzotetraazacyclopentadecine is described. Quaternization of the aza groups leads to water-soluble products. The tetraaza macrocyclic substituents bind transition-metal ions (CoII, NiII, CuII and ZnII) to give pentanuclear complexes whose electronic spectra indicate the presence of monomeric units in solution. The thermal stabilities of the compounds were determined by thermogravimetric analysis.


Purpose, in simple words tell readers about the aim of this research. Research methods, give name, brand, type of tools, methods, software, review, and survey that have been used to do this research. Results and discussion, write only main results and discussion in few words. A summary of your key findings. An explanation of why your findings and key message contribute to the field/s. No formula needed and avoid quotes and extensive references. (maximum 250 words). The purpose of this research is to determine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of marketing communication in building brand image, to find out the marketing communication strategy that should be used by marketing communication departments in building brand image. Data collection methods used were observation, interviews, documentation and questionnaires. The analysis techniques used are qualitative descriptive analysis, quantitative descriptive analysis, Internal Factor Analysis Summary (IFAS) Matrix, External Factor Analysis Summary (EFAS) Matrix, Internal-External Matrix (IE), and SWOT Analysis. The results showed that there were internal and external factors that influence marketing communication conducted by the marketing communication department at The Westin Resort Nusa Dua, Bali. Based on the results of IFAS matrix analysis, the main strengths are good relations with all partners, the media, influencers, guests and also the community, while the main weaknesses are responding to complaints and providing solutions to trip advisor reviews, OTA reviews and also social media. Based on the results of the EFAS matrix analysis, it is known that the main opportunity is technological development while the minor threats faced are The Westin Resort Nusa Dua, Bali position in the competition and natural disasters such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, floods, etc. The results of the IE matrix research showed the company position in the Growth (Cell V). SWOT analysis produces 6 alternative marketing communication strategies that can be used in building brand image.


Background: Microwave energy ablation is one of the newer therapeutic options for surgically treating patients with chronic atrial fibrillation (AF) concomitant with mitral valve disease. The aim of this study was to retrospectively evaluate potential risk factors that may have influenced early as well as remote outcome in a set of patients undergoing microwave energy ablation for chronic AF. Methods: Patients (n = 42) underwent ablation on an arrested heart concomitant with mitral valve surgery. Twelve patients also underwent tricuspid valve repair or replacement. Logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate effect of potential risk factors on postablation rhythm status at discharge and at latest follow-up examination. Results: With control for age, patients with recurrent AF at discharge (10/42 [24%]) tended to have preoperative AF of significantly longer duration (odds ratio [OR], 1.64; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.15-2.35; P = .01) and greater left atrial diameter (OR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.03-1.26, P = .01) than patients in sinus rhythm (32/42 [76%]). At latest follow-up examination, risk of AF was significantly heightened with longer duration of preoperative AF (OR, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.09-1.96; P = .01) and larger left atrium (OR, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.02-1.23; P = .02) after adjustment for age, length of follow-up time, and presence of early arrhythmia recurrence. Conclusions: Results for this consecutive series of patients indicated that early and late success after surgical energy ablation may be associated with discrete patient characteristics. Longer arrhythmia duration and greater left atrial diameter seem to be factors independently influencing early and remote success, and there seems to be a self-protective effect of the presence of sinus rhythm at discharge. Further study would be valuable to confirm our findings. I N T R O D U C T I O N


ABSTRACT We analyze occupational attainment and career progression over the life course for Swedish men and women, born in 1925–1974. Careers progress (measured as improvements in occupational prestige) fast during the first 5–10 years in the labour market, and flatten out afterwards (approximately between 30–40 years of age). This is in line with the occupational status maturation hypothesis. Both class origin and educational attainment affect occupational attainment. The effects of educational attainment vary more over the career, but depend on the educational attainment level in question. Successive cohorts of women gain higher occupational prestige, and continue to gain in occupational prestige longer across their careers. We also find that cohorts that entered the labour market in times of economic downturns and restructuring (the oil crisis years and the early 1990s) had more difficulties in establishing their careers. Returns to education generally increase across cohorts, while class background differences decrease, as has been reported in earlier research.


The design of an autopilot for a space launcher during the atmospheric stage is known to be a hard control problem, which contains an important number of conflicting specifications. This difficulty is increased by the presence of flexible modes, some of them acting inside the bandwidth, and parameter uncertainties. To solve such a problem, a multi-objective approach is proposed in this paper, which combines the Youla parameterization, suitable translations of the different specifications into linear matrix inequalities (LMI), and convex optimisation using a cutting plane algorithm (CPA). These tools together can handle high order controllers without numerical difficulties. They can also efficiently provide an answer to the crucial question of the feasibility or unfeasibility of the specifications. Although they can be used for a wide class of multi-objective problems, the paper doesn't particularly focus on the theoretical developments (which can be found in recently published works) but rather on their application to the space launcher control problem.


Aim: The aim of the study was to evaluate the surface conditioned dentin and its effect on microleakage of metal copings luted with glass-ionomer cement. Objectives: (1) To evaluate the morphology of unconditioned and conditioned dentin, (2) to evaluate the elemental composition of unconditioned and conditioned dentin, (3) to evaluate and compare the microleakage of metal copings luted with glass-ionomer cement to unconditioned and conditioned dentin, (4) to correlate the effect of dentin conditioning on the microleakage of metal copings luted with glass ionomer cement. Materials and methods: The surface conditioning methods utilized were GC dentin conditioner (group II), air abrasion with 50 µm aluminum oxide (group III) and Er: YAG laser at 120 mj with 10 Hz frequency (group IV). These methods were evaluated and compared with unconditioned dentin (group I) for morphological and elemental analysis using ESEM and correlated for their effect on microleakage of metal copings luted with glass Ionomer cement (Fuji I). Results: The results of microleakage observed for each group were statistically analyzed by Leven's test, One-way ANOVA and Schiff's test. Unconditioned dentin (group I) showed the maximum microleakage. Er:YAG laser (group IV) irradiation with less power density showed significantly minimum microleakage compared to all other groups, followed by air abrasion (group III) and GC dentin conditioner (group II). Conclusion: Air abrasion and Er: YAG laser conditioning showed less microleakage than surface conditioning with dentin conditioner.


BACKGROUND
An estimated 1% to 3% of all individuals will receive a diagnosis of epilepsy during their lives, which corresponds to approximately 50 million affected people worldwide. The real prevalence is possibly higher because epilepsy is underreported in developing countries. Although most will achieve adequate control of their disease though the use of medication, approximately 25% to 30% of all those with epilepsy are refractory to pharmacological treatment and will continue to have seizures despite the use of two or more agents in adequate dosages. Over the last decade, researchers have tested the use of polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) supplements for the treatment of refractory epilepsy, with inconsistent results. There have also been some concerns about the use of omega-3 PUFA compounds because they reduce platelet aggregation and could, in theory, cause bleeding.

OBJECTIVES
To assess the effectiveness and tolerability of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (eicosapentaenoic acid-EPA and docosahexanoic acid-DHA) in the control of seizures in people with refractory epilepsy.

SEARCH METHODS
We searched the Cochrane Epilepsy Group Specialised Register (from inception up to November 2015), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (2015, issue 11), MEDLINE (1948 to November 2015), EMBASE (1980 to November 2015), SCOPUS (1823 to November 2015); LILACS (Literatura Latino-Americana e do Caribe de Informação em Ciências da Saúde) (1982 to November 2015); ClinicalTrials.gov; World Health Organization (WHO) International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (November 2015). No language restrictions were imposed. We contacted study authors for additional and unpublished information and screened the reference lists of retrieved citations for potentially eligible studies not identified through the electronic search.

SELECTION CRITERIA
All randomised and quasi-randomised studies using PUFAs for the treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Two review authors were involved in study selection, data extraction and quality assessment of the included trials. The following outcomes were assessed: seizure freedom, seizure reduction, improvement in quality of life, potential adverse effects, gastrointestinal effects, drop-out rates and changes in plasma lipid profile. Primary analyses were by intention to treat.

MAIN RESULTS
Eight studies were identified as potentially relevant; three fulfilled the selection criteria and were included in the review. Two placebo-controlled, double blind trials involving adult participants were conducted in developed countries, while one placebo-controlled, single blind trial involving children was conducted in a developing country (Egypt). Bromfield 2008 randomised 27 American adults to receive 2.2 g/day of omega-3 PUFAs (EPA:DHA in a 3:2 ratio) or placebo. Yuen 2005 randomised 58 people in the UK to approximately 1.7 g/day omega-3 PUFAs (1g EPA and 0.7g DHA) or placebo. Reda 2015 randomised 70 Egyptian children to receive 3 ml/day of 1200 mg fish oil (providing 0.24 g DHA and 0.36 g EPA) or placebo. The three studies recruited a total of 155 subjects (85 adults and 70 children); 78 of them (43 adults and 35 children) were randomised to PUFAs and 77 (42 adults and 35 children) to placebo. All participants were followed for up to 12 weeks. Seizure freedom was reported by only one study, with a high risk of bias, involving exclusively children. The risk estimate for this outcome was significantly higher in the children receiving PUFA compared to the control group (risk ratio (RR) 20.00, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.84 to 140.99, 1 study, 70 children). Similarly, PUFA supplementation was associated with a significant difference in the proportion of children with at least 50% reduction in seizure frequency (RR 33.00 95% CI 4.77 to 228.15, 1 study with a high risk of bias, 70 children). However, this effect was not observed when the data from two studies including adult participants were pooled (RR 0.57, 95% CI 0.19 to 1.75, I² 0%, 2 studies, 78 participants, low-quality evidence). One of our three primary outcomes (adverse effects related to bleeding) was not assessed in any of the studies included in this review. There were no significant differences between the PUFA and control groups in relation to gastrointestinal effects (RR 0.78, 95% CI 0.32 to 1.89, 2 studies, 85 participants, low-quality evidence).Supplementation with PUFA did not produce significant differences in mean frequency of seizures, quality of life or other side effects.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
In view of the limited number of studies and small sample sizes, there is not enough evidence to support the use of PUFA supplementation in people with refractory epilepsy. More trials are needed to assess the benefits of PUFA supplementation in the treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy.


Previous studies of students' higher education choices have been mainly examined in the US, European and Australian context, with few related empirical research studies in the context of China (Hemsley-Brown and Oplatka, 2015). Although there is no lack of various online surveys about the reasons driving students towards postgraduate education in China, little is known about how far their decisions were shaped by their specific circumstances which is the purpose of this study, which investigates the main factors influencing students' decision-making about postgraduate education at G University in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province. To achieve this aim, three main research questions were asked: what motivated students to undertake PG education, why did they choose their particular subjects for PG studies, and why did they choose G University as their place of study?
This study employs an-in depth case study approach. The research was conducted in two stages. In the first stage, questionnaires were distributed among the first-year postgraduate students at G University to get a general idea of what motivated them to undertake PG education and why they chose their particular subjects and place of study. In the second stage, 30 students who indicated their willingness in the questionnaires to participate in follow-up interviews were interviewed to explore the responses to the questionnaires in greater depth.
The findings of this research were analysed from the theoretical aspects of human, cultural and social capital, as well as the related Chinese concept of guanxi. The findings indicated that students' decisions to undertake PG education was mainly to enhance their employment competitiveness and to gain jobs with higher salaries and better advancement opportunities. In addition, the findings indicated that personal interest influenced either by their family's education or school teacher's instruction constituted the main reason for choosing their specific fields of study. The findings also showed that family social capital and the social capital formed in the school context exerted great influence on students' choices of postgraduate education. Further, students chose G University as their place of study mainly for its academic reputation, the quality of its faculties and resources, and its convenient location.
The data indicated that students' choices of postgraduate education were influenced by their individual economic, social and cultural backgrounds, or the interplay between human, cultural and social capital from the theoretical aspect. Enquiring into the students' choices of postgraduate education in the specific Chinese social and cultural context contributes to the literature on students' choices of higher education. It is hoped that the findings will provide some informed knowledge for students who plan to invest in their future employability through postgraduate education in China, as well as for the Chinese further and higher education system, which may gain a better understanding of its students and so be able to provide a better service to them.


Reducing the widening gap between processor and memory speed has been steering processors' design over the last decade, as memory accesses became the main performance bottleneck. Out-of-order architectures attempt to hide memory latency by dynamically reordering instructions, while inorder architectures are restricted to static instruction schedules. We propose a software-hardware co-design to break out of the hardware limits of existing architectures and attain increased memory and instruction level parallelism by orchestrating coarse-grain out-of-program-order execution in software (SWOOP). On in-order architectures, SWOOP acts as a virtual reorder buffer (ROB) while out-of-order architectures are endowed with the ability to jump ahead to independent code, far beyond the reach of the ROB. We build upon the decoupled access-execute model, however, executed in a single superscalar pipeline and within a single thread of control. The compiler generates the Access and Execute code slices and orchestrates their execution out-of-order, with the support of frugal microarchitectural enhancements to maximize efficiency. SWOOP significantly improves the performance of memory-bound applications by 42% on in-order cores, and by 43% on out-of-order architectures. Furthermore, not only is SWOOP competitive with out-of-order cores which benefit from double-sized reorder buffers, but it is also considerably more energy efficient.


The excessively long reviewing times for diagnosis of capsule endoscopy present a clinical problem. A new method, "adaptive speed", which automatically controls display rates of the video capsule endoscopy images, was proposed to address the problem. In this paper, we investigate the effectiveness of this method versus a standard-view using the existing system. The main activities of examining doctors during a series of evaluations using both systems are recorded. For comparisons, logged actions are analyzed to show three criteria: 1. Diagnostic time, 2. Ability to capture abnormal regions, and 3. Operability for the examining doctors. We conclude that adaptive speed reduces examination time by ten minutes from that of the existing system, while the number of abnormalities found are similar. As well, examining doctors need less effort because of the systems efficient operability.


HAIRCARECUBETM (HCC) is a new additive for hair products that allows the active ingredient to penetrate into the hair. During the course of percutaneous absorption studies, we discovered that lyotropic liquid crystal promotes the skin's absorptiveness to medicines. We conducted a study to determine whether or not lyotropic liquid crystal could be applied as a penetration-enhancing agent in hair, and as a result we have succeeded in developing HCC. In place of hair dye, we used fluorescein-HCC to evaluate hair permeability, and strong fluorescence was observed as deep as the core of the hair. Moreover, the strength of the fluorescence was dependent on HCC concentration. This result did not change under acidic or basic conditions. In addition, the same trends were observed when using an oxidative hair dye. Furthermore, when HCC was used together with hydrolyzed keratin, which repairs hair damage, a stronger restorative effect was observed. These results confirmed that HCC has the effect of promoting the permeation of pigments and other active ingredients into hair. HCC is expected to be very useful as an additive for developing functional cosmetic hair products.


Background
Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) shape the developing gut microbiome and influence immune function. Aside from genetic Secretor status, the factors influencing HMO synthesis and secretion are largely unknown.

Objective
We aimed to identify modifiable and nonmodifiable factors associated with HMO concentrations.

Methods
This prospective observational study included a representative subset of 427 mothers participating in the CHILD birth cohort (mean age: 33 y, 73% Caucasian). Breast milk was collected at 3-4 mo postpartum. Concentrations of 19 predominant HMOs were measured by rapid high-throughput HPLC. Secretor status was defined by the presence of 2'-fucosylactose. Associations with maternal, infant, and environmental factors were explored using multivariable regression. Breastfeeding duration was explored as a secondary outcome.

Results
Overall, 72% of mothers were Secretors and the mean ± SD duration of any breastfeeding was 12.8 ± 5.7 mo. HMO profiles were highly variable; total HMO concentrations varied 3.7-fold and individual HMOs varied 20- to >100-fold. Secretor mothers had higher total HMO concentrations than did non-Secretors (mean: 15.91 ± 2.80 compared with 8.94 ± 1.51 μmol/mL, P < 0.001) and all individual HMOs differed by Secretor status, except for disialyllacto-N-tetraose (DSLNT). Most HMO concentrations were lower in milk collected later in lactation, although some were higher including DSLNT and 3'-sialyllactose. Independent of Secretor status and lactation stage, seasonal and geographic variation was observed for several HMOs. Parity, ethnicity, and breastfeeding exclusivity also emerged as independent factors associated with some HMOs, whereas diet quality and mode of delivery did not. Together, these factors explained between 14% (for 6'-sialyllactose) and 92% (for 2'-fucosyllactose) of the observed variation in HMO concentrations. Lower concentrations of lacto-N-hexaose or fucodisialyllacto-N-hexaose were associated with earlier breastfeeding cessation.

Conclusions
HMO concentrations vary widely between mothers and are associated with multiple characteristics beyond genetic Secretor status, as well as feeding practices and environmental factors. Further research is warranted to determine how these associations affect infant health. This study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03225534.


Background It has been suggested that panic disorder can cause or contribute to hypertension or resistance to antihypertensive drugs. Objective To compare the prevalences of panic disorder, panic attacks, anxiety and depression between patients with resistant hypertension and age- and sex-matched patients with non-resistant hypertension. Design A case–control study of patients attending the Sheffield Hypertension Clinic, using self-completed postal questionnaires to assess panic disorder, anxiety and depression. Patients Cases with resistant hypertension were defined as patients who presently or previously had systolic blood pressure above 160 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure above 90 mmHg despite the use of three or more antihypertensive agents at full dose. For each of 136 cases, one control with non-resistant hypertension, defined as controlled to ≤ 160/90 mmHg by one or two antihypertensive agents, was identified by a bias-free method. Cases and controls were matched for age and sex. Main outcome measures Lifetime and current prevalence of panic attacks, the prevalences of panic disorder, anxiety and depression by Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale scores, and the severity and frequency of panic attacks. Results Of the resistant hypertensive patients, 33% had experienced a panic attack compared with 39% of the control non-resistant hypertensives (resistant – non-resistant −6%, 95% confidence interval −19 to +7%). Twelve per cent of the resistant patients and 14% of controls fulfilled the criteria for a current or previous diagnosis of panic disorder (resistant – non-resistant −2%, 95% confidence interval −11 to +7%). There were also no significant differences between the groups in the prevalences of current panic attacks, panic attacks rated as moderate or worse, spontaneous panic attacks and in the frequency of panic attacks. There remained no significant difference between the groups for panic attacks and panic disorder when the analysis was limited to those patients who had idiopathic hypertension. The two groups did not differ significantly in scores for anxiety and depression measured by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Conclusion We observed no differences in the prevalences of panic, anxiety and depression between patients with resistant hypertension and non-resistant controls. These factors are probably not implicated in resistance to drug treatment. However, the prevalences of panic disorder and panic attacks were remarkably high in both groups of patients attending a hospital hypertension clinic. The relationship between panic disorder and hypertension deserves further study in a general hypertensive population.


A series of 12 monoclonal antibodies was made against mucous and serous components of rhesus monkey trachea. These antibodies were used to localize secretory products in the respiratory epithelium by immunohistochemical methods. Mucous cells of the tracheal surface epithelium and submucosal glands were shown by histochemical methods to be a homogeneous population containing periodate-reactive sulfated glycoconjugates. Immunohistochemical staining using the monoclonal antibodies on glycol methacrylate sections serial to those stained histochemically revealed a more antigenically heterogeneous population of secretory cells. Four distinct staining patterns were observed with the 12 monoclonal antibodies. Eight antibodies reacted with most, but not all, mucous and serous cells. Two antibodies recognized subpopulations of secretory cells. One antibody stained tracheal mucous cells with a concentration of reaction product on the luminal border, and one antibody stained only serous cells within the glands. Ten of the 12 antibodies were shown to react in an ELISA with the high molecular weight void volume containing mucous glycoproteins separated on a Sepharose CL-4B gel filtration column. None of the antibodies recognized blood group antigens. We conclude: (1) that production of a large panel of monoclonal antibodies to respiratory tract mucins from primates is feasible, (2) that the monoclonal antibodies will recognize epitopes on biochemically identifiable glycoproteins, and (3) that the intracellular mucous products of tracheal secretory cells exhibit greater heterogeneity than is detectable by conventional histochemistry.


This paper studies the determinants of foreign land acquisition for large-scale agriculture. To do so, gravity models are estimated using data on bilateral investment relationships, together with newly constructed indicators of agro-ecological suitability in areas with low population density as well as land rights security. Results confirm the central role of agro-ecological potential as a pull factor. In contrast to the literature on foreign investment in general, the quality of the business climate is insignificant whereas weak land governance and tenure security for current users make countries more attractive for investors. Implications for policy are discussed.


Single copies of all the papers listed here can be obtained, subject to charge and copyright regulations, from the actuarial profession's libraries. Issues may be borrowed by members. Tel: 0131 240 1311 or 020 7632 2114; email: firstname.lastname@example.com


Stationkeeping is an important capability for various functions involving the operation of undersea vehicles. This involves an accurate estimation of the vehicle displacement. In this paper we propose a monocular vision system for determining the motion of an underwater remotely operated vehicle. The camera motion is estimated with a feature-based method which requires the extraction and the matching of relevant features. The performance of the algorithm is presented with simulated and synthetic images.


Background: The present study was designed to examine the purpose of intensive care unit (ICU) admission and the prevalence of disease in postoperative patients admitted to general surgical-medical ICU. Methods: Between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2007, 646 cases of 612 patients admitted to a general postoperative patients admitted to general surgical-medical ICU were examined. The patients were classified into two groups, ICU treatment and ICU monitoring groups according to Knaus' suggestion which defines the kinds of treatment done exclusively in ICU. Patients' demographics, preoperative American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status classification (ASA) grade, prevalence of disease and emergent operation rate were analyzed. Results: 255 patients (39.5%) were included in the ICU treatment group and 391 cases (60.5%) in the ICU monitoring group. The prevalence of respiratory, gastrointestinal, and central nervous diseases was higher significantly in the ICU treatment group. In addition, the average of ASA grade and the duration of operation were higher significantly in the ICU treatment group. Conclusions: Admission rate only for monitoring was higher than one for intensive treatment. An alternative strategy should be considered to care for postoperative patients who need just close monitoring.


The variation of the electrical properties of fiber reinforced polymers when subjected to load offer the ability of strain and damage monitoring. This is performed via electrical resistance and electrical potential measurements. On the other hand Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) have proved to be an efficient additive to polymers and matrices of composites with respect to structural enhancement and improvement of the electrical properties. The induction of CNTs increases the conductivity of the matrix, transforming it to an antistatic or a conducting phase. The key issue of the structural and electrical properties optimization is the dispersion quality of the nano-scale in the polymer phase. Well dispersed CNTs provide an electrical network within the insulating matrix. If the fibers are conductive, the CNT network mediates the electrical anisotropy and reduces the critical flaw size that is detectable by the change in conductivity. Thus, the network performs as an inherent sensor in the composite structure, since every invisible crack or delamination is manifested as an increase in the electrical resistance. The scope of this work is to further exploit the information provided by the electrical properties with a view to identify strain variation and global damage via bulk resistance measurements. The aforementioned techniques were employed to monitor, strain and damage in fiber reinforced composite laminates both with and without conductive nanofillers.


As of late Taguchi techniques are utilized to choose ideal preparing conditions with thin scattering for powerful plan. Then again, imaginative improvement with short-term, minimal effort, work sparing and vitality sparing is additionally required on the planet. In this exploration, the product for creative instrument utilizing Taguchi techniques is created and assessed. There are two sections in the inventive device; the Part 1 is the management for creation and the Part 2 is the examination for examination with respect to the impact of the control components. In the Part 1, the Taguchi techniques were initially computed the normal and the standard deviation with respect to all mixes utilizing all parameters. The administration of generation was at last used to choose the ideal blend of all parameters for achievement rate, exactness, fabricating time and aggregate cost. Likewise, the spring back of warm press shaping on magnesium compound plate was explored for assessing this framework in the investigation. It is finished up from the outcome that this framework successfully anticipated ideal process conditions in every need and the anticipated outcomes adjusted to the aftereffects of the spring back test. In the Part 2, this part is firstly expert for selecting essential control variables, and the following trial chooses the ideal blend of the control calculates by more detail trial. The ideal condition for cooling framework at cutting was examined for assessing this development apparatus in the analysis. It is finished up from the outcome that this framework was valuable for improvement with transient and lower cost and this instrument could rapidly and precisely choose the ideal cooling condition.


: Sexual stages of a Sarcocystis of passerine birds were demonstrated by feeding muscle cysts from cowbirds (Molothrus ater) and grackles (Cassidix mexicanus) to opossums (Didelphis uirginiana). Opossums were examined at necropsy at 36 h, 13.5 days, and 29.5 days post-inoculation (PI). Large numbers of macro- and microgamonts were present in the small intestine 36 h PI, while only sporocysts and oocysts were present 13 days or more PI. Microgamonts in different stages of development were in the intestinal epithelium above the nucleus and macrogamonts were atthe baseofthe epithelial cells or in the lamina propria. Oocysts and sporocysts were in the core of the villus, beneath the basement membrane. Descriptions are given of the sexual stages as they appear in sections and smears.


This paper presents a generic model for clustering that requires no direct knowledge of the nature or representation of the data. In lieu of such knowledge, the relevant-set clustering(RSC) model relies solely on the existence of an oracle that accepts a query in the form of a data item, and returns a ranked set of items relevant to the query. In principle, the role of the oracle could be played by any similarity search structure, or even a commercial search engine whose ranking function and relevancy scores are kept secret. The quality of cluster candidates, the degree of association between pairs of cluster candidates, and the degree of association between clusters and data items are all assessed according to the statistical significance of a form of correlation among pairs of relevant sets and/or candidate cluster sets. A scalable clustering heuristic based on the RSC model is also presented, and demonstrated for very large, high-dimensional datasets using a fast approximate similarity search structure as the oracle.


The importance of activation loop phosphorylation in the regulation of protein kinase D (PKD/protein kinase C (PKC) μ) activity has become controversial. In order to clarify the mechanism(s) of PKD activation, we developed a novel phosphospecific antibody recognizing phosphorylated Ser748 in PKD (pS748). Western blot analysis with the pS748 antibody, carried out with a variety of PKD forms and in a variety of cell types including full-length PKD transfected in COS-7 and HEK 293 cells, a green fluorescent protein-PKD fusion protein transfected in either Swiss 3T3 fibroblasts or Madin-Darby canine kidney epithelial cells, and endogenous PKD expressed in A20 lymphocytes and Rat-1 fibroblasts, indicated that Ser748 phosphorylation was absent from unstimulated cells. In contrast, dramatic increases in Ser748 phosphorylation were induced by phorbol esters, bombesin, or cross-linking of B lymphocyte antigen receptors or by cotransfection with active PKCε or PKCη. Western analysis using a second phosphospecific antibody, which primarily recognizes PKD phosphorylated at Ser744, revealed that Ser744phosphorylation accompanies Ser748 phosphorylation during PKD activation in vivo. Ser744/Ser748 phosphorylation requires PKC but not PKD activity, indicative of transphosphorylation. Our results provide new experimental evidence indicating that activation loop phosphorylation at Ser744 and Ser748 occurs during PKD activation in vivo and support the notion of a PKC-PKD phosphorylation cascade.


Successful revascularization improves ischemic symptoms in the pediatric patients with moyamoya disease. However, it is not clear whether the revascularization prevents future intracranial hemorrhage from the residual moyamoya vessels. The purpose of this study is to investigate perioperative morphological and hemodynamic changes in the moyamoya vessels. Four pediatric patients (age < 15 years old) with bilateral moyamoya disease were selected for this study. To quantify the number of moyamoya vessels, T1-weighted transverse images at the level of the basal ganglia and the thalamus were selected and characteristic flow voids in the lentiform nucleus were counted. Resting CBF and cerebrovascular reserve capacity (CRC) were measured pre- and 1 year after surgery using Xenon-CT CBF method with acetazolamide test. The ratio of deep CBF/cortical CBF was calculated as an index of hemodynamic stress distribution. The one-year follow-up studies showed that 1) the number of moyamoya vessels decreased on the operative side, but did not change on the non-operative sides in all cases; 2) the ratio of deep CBF/cortical CBF decreased on the operative sides, but did not change in the non-operative sides; and 3) the CRC increased on both sides. This observation suggests the possibility that revascularization surgery may be effective for preventing the future risk intracranial hemorrhage.


We study critical phenomena in gravitational collapses of stellar objects based on numerical solutions of the Einstein equations. We discovered that stellar objects with large kinetic energy described by an equation of state (EOS) commonly used in describing neutron star matter may undergo critical collapses. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study showing that critical collapses can occur without postulating an exotic EOS. We further showed that the critical collapses can occur due to an adiabatic change of the EOS, without fine tuning of the initial conditions. This opens the possibility that a neutron-star-like compact object with substantial kinetic energy, e.g. one newly formed in a supernova or in a binary coalescence, may undergo a critical collapse in processes which change the EOS, such as cooling. We investigated the properties of the critical solutions of this system. We found, surprisingly, that there are branches of critical solutions, and a complicated phase diagram not been seen in other critical collapse studies. The numerical simulations were carried out based on the full set of the Einstein equations coupled to the general relativistic hydrodynamic equations. The code we


Teaching university lecturers how to teach subject-specific writing Lena Manderstedt, Annbritt Palo Standards of student literacy are falling, due to an increased number of students described as non-traditional entrants not knowing how to write (Lea & Street, 1998). Extensive research into academic literacy practices has been carried out, including genre pedagogy (Martin, 2009), the effectiveness of feedback (Hattie & Timperley, 2007) and the role of assessment as a key to develop and improve student learning. Academic literacies models, including digital literacies, have been adopted and used in course design and in the design of writing instructions (Lea & Jones, 2011; Wingate, 2012). However, students still lack academic writing skills.Although Lulea University of Technology (LTU) set up a language lab in 2006, and the lab was appreciated by students, it is not the most efficient way to teach academic writing. Therefore, a pedagogical project, aiming to help students develop their academic writing proficiency, and to help subject teachers learn how to scaffold subject-specific academic writing started in 2014.  The first part of the project, directed at students, took place in the autumn of 2014. The results pinpoint the importance of contextualizing and scaffolding subject-specific writing through deliberative discussions. Students also emphasised the need for subject-oriented writing in order to develop academic literacy.   The second part of the project involved the design of a University Pedagogy course, based on research and on the outcome of the first part. The aim of the course is to teach university lecturers how to teach subject-oriented writing, by systematic training in contextualizing subject-oriented writing, designing instructions, and dialogues focussing texts within their respective disciplines. The course is to be given in 2015 or 2016.The aim of this roundtable-presentation is to get valuable feedback on the planned course design. We wish to discuss examples of teaching subject-specific writing in different fields, and how to frame the teaching thereof within the academic disciplines. Some problems addressed in the course design concern the use of teaching hours, the need for pedagogic training and the development of a meta language in order to teach and talk about writing. References Hattie, John; Timperley, Helen. (2007). The Power of Feedback. In Review of Educational Research, Vol. 77(1), p. 81-112.Lea, Mary R.; Jones, Sylvia. (2011). Digital literacies in higher education: exploring textual and technological practice. Routledge. Studies in Higher Education, 2011, Vol.36(4), p.377-393. Lea, Mary R.; Street, Brian V. (1998). Student Writing in Higher Education: an academic literacies approach. In Studies in Higher Education, Vol. 23(2), p. 157- 172.Martin, John R. (2009). Genre and language learning: A social semiotic perspective. In Linguistics and Education: An International Research Journal, Vol.20(1), p. 10-21.Wingate, Ursula. (2011). Using Academic Literacies and genre-based modelsfor academic writing instruction: A 'literacy' journey. In Journal of English for Academic Purposes, Vol.11(1), p. 26-37.


This paper reports on the degradation processes of heterogeneous III-V/Silicon loop-mirrors laser-diodes designed as the optical sources for next-generation Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs) operating at 1.55 μm. By submitting the devices to a series of constant-current accelerated aging experiments we were able to identify a common set of degradation mechanisms, including: (i) an increase in threshold current, (ii) a decrease of the subthreshold emission, (iii) a decrease in the operating voltage of the device and (iv) a small decrease in the slopeefficiency of the laser. The strong correlation between these degradation processes suggests that the loss in optical performance experienced by the devices can be attributed to a decrease in the non-radiative carrier lifetime, as a consequence of the generation/propagation of defects towards the active region of the laser diodes.


This paper examines two explanations for the recent spate of complaints about cross-border monetary policy spillovers and calls for international monetary policy coordination, a development that contrasts sharply with the monetary system in the 1980s, 1990s and until recently. The first explanation holds that deviations from rules-based policy at several central banks created incentives for other central banks to deviate from such policies. The second explanation either does not see deviations from rules or finds such deviations benign; it characterises recent unusual monetary policies as appropriate, explains the complaints as an adjustment to optimal policies, and downplays concerns about interest rate differentials and capital controls. Going forward, the goal for central banks should be an expanded rulesbased system similar to that of the 1980s and 1990s, which would operate near an international cooperative equilibrium. International monetary policy coordination – at least formal discussions of rules-based policies and the issues reviewed here – would help central banks get such equilibrium.


This book develops a fresh and challenging perspective on the city. Drawing on a wide and diverse range of material and texts, it argues that too much contemporary urban theory is based on nostalgia for a humane, face-to-face and bounded city. Amin and Thrift maintain that the traditional divide between the city and the rest of the world has been perforated through urban encroachment, the thickening of the links between the two, and urbanization as a way of life. They outline an innovative sociology of the city that scatters urban life along a series of sites and circulations, reinstating previously suppressed areas of contemporary urban life: from the presence of non-human activity to the centrality of distant connections. The implications of this viewpoint are traced through a series of chapters on power, economy and democracy. This concise and accessible book will be of interest to students and scholars in sociology, geography, urban studies, cultural studies and politics.


Smoking is one of the leading risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, including ischemic heart disease and hypertension. However, in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients, smoking has been associated with better clinical outcomes, a phenomenon termed the "smoker's paradox." Given the known detrimental effects of smoking on the cardiovascular system, it has been proposed that the beneficial effects of smoking on outcomes is due to age differences between smokers and non-smokers and is therefore a smoker's pseudoparadox. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between smoking status and clinical outcomes in ST-segment elevation (STEMI) and non-STEMI (NSTEMI) patients treated by percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), using a national multi-ethnic Asian registry. In unadjusted analyses, current smokers had better clinical outcomes following STEMI and NSTEMI. However, after adjusting for age, the protective effect of smoking was lost, confirming a smoker's pseudoparadox. Interestingly, although current smokers had increased risk for recurrent MI within 1 year after PCI in both STEMI and NSTEMI patients, there was no increase in mortality. In summary, we confirm the existence of a smoker's pseudoparadox in a multi-ethnic Asian cohort of STEMI and NSTEMI patients and report increased risk of recurrent MI, but not mortality, in smokers.


BACKGROUND
More than half of opioid misusers last obtained opioids from a friend or relative, a problematic reflection of the commonly known opioid reservoir maintained by variable prescription rates and, notably, excessive postoperative prescription. We examined the postoperative opioid-prescribing approaches among podiatric physicians.

METHODS
We administered a scenario-based, anonymous, online questionnaire via an online survey platform. The questionnaire consisted of five patient-foot surgery scenarios aimed at discerning opioid-prescribing approaches. Respondents were asked how many opioid "pills" (dosage units) that they would prescribe at the time of surgery. We divided respondents into two opioid-prescribing approach groups: one-size-fits-all (prescribed the same dosage units regardless of the scenario) and patient-centric and procedure-focused (prescribed varied amounts of opioid dosage units based on the patient's opioid history and the procedure provided in each scenario). We used the Mann-Whitney U test to determine the difference between the opioid dosage units prescribed at the time of surgery by the two groups.

RESULTS
Approximately half of the respondents used a one-size-fits-all postoperative opioid-prescribing approach. Podiatric physicians who used a patient-centric and procedure-focused approach reported prescribing significantly fewer opioid dosage units in scenarios 1 (partial toe amputation; -9.1; P = .0087) and 2 (incision and drainage with partial fifth-ray resection; -12.3; P = .0024), which represented minor procedures with opioid-naive patients.

CONCLUSIONS
Podiatric physicians who used a one-size-fits-all opioid-prescribing approach prescribed more postoperative opioid dosage units regardless of the scenario. Given that the patient population requiring foot surgery is diverse and may have multiple comorbidities, the management of postoperative pain, likewise, should be diverse and nuanced. The patient-centric and procedure-focused approach is suited to limit excess prescribing while defending the physician-patient relationship.


This article is devoted to the numerical simulation of time-dependent convective Bingham flow in cavities. Motivated by a primal-dual regularization of the stationary model, a family of regularized time-dependent problems is introduced. Well posedness of the regularized problems is proved, and convergence of the regularized solutions to a solution of the original multiplier system is verified. For the numerical solution of each regularized multiplier system, a fully discrete approach is studied. A stable finite element approximation in space together with a second-order backward differentiation formula for the time discretization are proposed. The discretization scheme yields a system of Newton differentiable nonlinear equations in each time step, for which a semismooth Newton algorithm is used. We present two numerical experiments to verify the main properties of the proposed approach. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq 000: 000–000, 2011


Background: Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) stoves have been promoted in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) as a clean energy alternative to biomass burning cookstoves. Objective: We sought to characterize kitchen area concentrations and personal exposures to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) within a randomized controlled trial in the Peruvian Andes. The intervention included the provision of an LPG stove and continuous fuel distribution with behavioral messaging to maximize compliance. Methods: We measured 48-hour kitchen area NO2 concentrations at high temporal resolution in homes of 50 intervention participants and 50 control participants longitudinally within a biomass-to-LPG intervention trial. We also collected 48-hour mean personal exposures to NO2 among a subsample of 16 intervention and 9 control participants. We monitored LPG and biomass stove use continuously throughout the trial. Results: In 367 post-intervention 24-hour kitchen area samples of 96 participants' homes, geometric mean (GM) highest hourly NO2 concentration was 138 ppb (geometric standard deviation [GSD] 2.1) in the LPG intervention group and 450 ppb (GSD 3.1) in the biomass control group. Post-intervention 24-hour mean NO2 concentrations were a GM of 43 ppb (GSD 1.7) in the intervention group and 77 ppb (GSD 2.0) in the control group. Kitchen area NO2 concentrations exceeded the WHO indoor hourly guideline an average of 1.3 hours per day among LPG intervention participants. GM 48-hour personal exposure to NO2 was 5 ppb (GSD 2.4) among 35 48-hour samples of 16 participants in the intervention group and 16 ppb (GSD 2.3) among 21 samples of 9 participants in the control group. Discussion: In a biomass-to-LPG intervention trial in Peru, kitchen area NO2 concentrations were substantially lower within the LPG intervention group compared to the biomass-using control group. However, within the LPG intervention group, 69% of 24-hour kitchen area samples exceeded WHO indoor annual guidelines and 47% of samples exceeded WHO indoor hourly guidelines. Forty-eight-hour NO2 personal exposure was below WHO indoor annual guidelines for most participants in the LPG intervention group, and we did not measure personal exposure at high temporal resolution to assess exposure to cooking-related indoor concentration spikes. Further research is warranted to understand the potential health risks of LPG-related NO2 emissions and inform current campaigns which promote LPG as a clean-cooking option.


In this short note we study two questions about the existence of subgraphs of the hypercube $Q_n$ with certain properties. The first question, due to Erdős–Hamburger–Pippert–Weakley, asks whether there exists a bounded degree subgraph of $Q_n$ which has diameter $n$. We answer this question  by giving an explicit construction of such a subgraph with maximum degree at most 120.
The second problem concerns properties of $k$-additive spanners of the hypercube, that is, subgraphs of $Q_n$ in which the distance between any two vertices is at most $k$ larger than in $Q_n$. Denoting by $\Delta_{k,\infty}(n)$ the minimum possible maximum degree of a $k$-additive spanner of $Q_n$, Arizumi–Hamburger–Kostochka showed that  $$\frac{n}{\ln n}e^{-4k}\leq \Delta_{2k,\infty}(n)\leq 20\frac{n}{\ln n}\ln \ln n.$$ We improve their upper bound by showing that     $$\Delta_{2k,\infty}(n)\leq 10^{4k} \frac{n}{\ln n}\ln^{(k+1)}n,$$where the last term denotes a $k+1$-fold iterated logarithm.


Environmental migrants are caught at the nexus of the climate crisis and the global migrant crisis. The problems of the migrant crisis are recognized globally as they are linked to the complex issues being addressed by the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. The complexity of the issues makes it difficult to grasp the breadth and depth of this crisis. As a result, it can be understood as one of the "wicked problems" requiring us to respond through a lens that recognizes the interconnections of humans and the broader ecosystems within the physical surroundings. When approaching the migrant crisis from this perspective, professionals are challenged to create transdisciplinary, community-based response systems which are holistic, multi-pronged, and inclusive of migrants' voices and strengths. Storytelling provides a venue for highlighting migrants' voices, engaging in change, and creating the space for individual and collective healing. Social workers are increasingly being called upon to become trained in this practice and to engage in complex change systems alongside other disciplines and community members. As they provide prevention, mitigation, resettlement, and relief efforts, social workers become a part of a global community of leaders engaged in transformative change. By working to address these challenges, they are securing a better world not only for environmental migrants, but also for our planet as a whole.


Digital images are widely used in the medicine area but these could be degraded by several factors. The images affected in its luminosity generate a problem for its correct analysis, since they have a short dynamic range and low contrast. The need to obtain good quality images and the tendency to increase the resolution of images, require new techniques to solve this problem in less time, that´s why there is a need to looking for paradigms that would can take advantage of parallel computing such as Pulsed-Coupled Artificial Neural Networks. In this work, two methods based on the Intersection Cortical Model are proposed and implemented to enhance the luminosity in medical human brain image. Experiments shown that the proposed models are highly competitive.


A particular kind of street network is examined, where strong differentiation between scales of syntactic structure is evident: supergrids of primary roads, with inserted local streets. Computational formulae are provided to describe simple regular systems and clarify the nature of the syntactic differentiation of scales. The focus is on the linear extension of streets and also on distances measured according to direction changes. A small sample of examples from Chicago, Los Angeles, Beijing and Seoul as well as the Doxiadis plan for sector G7 of Islamabad and the Perry-Whitten neighborhood plan for New York are also analyzed, leading to estimates of a number of remarkably consistent parameters that can function as benchmarks for design exploration or theoretical experimentation. An experiment whereby the fabric of the historic centers of small French towns is inserted into a supergrid at 0.5 mile intervals is also described to explore the scale and character of inserted systems in comparison to historic urban fabrics. The work leads to a methodological proposition. Supergrids can best be conceptualized by decomposing the analysis of closeness centrality (integration) into two components: the mean directional distances associated with the supergrid as an independent system, and the mean directional distances from inserted streets to the nearest supergrid element (step depth in DepthMap). Decomposition responds to a theoretical idea: cognitive maps comprise a skeleton system relative to which other parts can be 'placed' and related. Decomposition also responds to a practical purpose: in order to design one must work with intuitively accessible parameters that can be controlled within the site and scope of the design.


What makes some people more successful language learners than others? Scholars and practitioners of adult second language learning traditionally have cast the issue of individual differences in terms of such constructs as aptitude, motivation, learning strategies, learning styles, meta-linguistic awareness, and personality traits (e.g., extraversion), as well as a range of other social and affective variables (Ehrman, Leaver & Oxford, 2003). These are complex constructs that often lack a clear description of the underlying mechanisms. In this short overview we will take a cognitive perspective and link individual differences in adult L2 learning to individual differences in cognitive abilities. Examining cognitive factors that are predictive of L2-learning success can help to illuminate the mechanisms that underlie the learning process. At the same time, recognising and understanding the links between cognitive abilities and language learning may help teachers and learners to adjust their teaching methods and the learning environment in ways that are beneficial to individual learners. Although we are still far from being able to make specific evidence-based recommendations, reviewing what is known about cognitive predictors of successful language learning may be a useful start.


Pro-criminal attitudes and inefficiency in social skills or problem-solving skills are associated with criminal conducts. Targeting on these factors, Cognitive-Behavior Treatment (CBT) programs are effective interventions for adult and young offenders. However, the effectiveness of CBT programs in Chinese correctional facilities is unknown. The present study, as a pilot one, evaluates a CBT program consisting of six sessions to treat young delinquents in South China. In Guangzhou, 60 male delinquents were divided into experimental and comparison group. Problem-solving skills, social skills and pro-criminal attitudes were measured and compared before and after the program for both groups. Measured by Social Maladjustment Scale (SOC) and General Self-efficacy Scale (GSES), the experimental group showed significant improvements in social skills and problem solving skills, while those of the comparison group remained constant. The results of the pilot study were encouraging and demonstrating the potential of CBT programs to be effective treatment for young delinquents in South China. Implications for future research and cross-cultural generability of CBT are discussed.


This is the first comprehensive study of prosthetics and assistive technology in classical antiquity, integrating literary, documentary, archaeological, and bioarchaeological evidence to provide as full a picture as possible of their importance for the lived experience of people with disabilities in classical antiquity. The volume is not only a work of disability history, but also one of medical, scientific, and technological history, and so will be of interest to members of multiple academic disciplines across multiple historical periods. The chapters cover extremity prostheses, facial prostheses, prosthetic hair, the design, commission and manufacture of prostheses and assistive technology, and the role of care-givers in the lives of ancient people with impairments and disabilities. Lavishly illustrated, the study further contains informative tables that collate the aforementioned different types of evidence in an easily accessible way.


The present issue focuses on the contribution made by art/cultural initiatives to the development of multiple identity in some of the European cities having in mind the subjectivity of the artists and plurality of the surrounding cultures. The art/cultural projects (AES- Russia, Europe Art Train – Holland, Life Station – Austria and some others) with intercultural dimension have a special character to offer because: they are dealing with meaning, and enable dialogue between people in different social groups. The examples will be taken from different European countries, which aim to reinterpret the reality of life, to show, answer, and question its contradictions. The attention will be focused on their political, educational and aesthetic contribution to the community construction having in mind their desire for new intercultural policy and practices. Every artist crosses borders daily but those who choose to cross cultural borders (language, expression, music, tradition) enter into a fertile, but dangerous field. Artists do not aim specifically to produce multicultural work but since they are living in specific time, and since art is rooted in real life, the realities of everyday life are transposed into their work. This paper is fundamentally interested in the role that art projects can play in a modern society and promotes the initiative that links an artistic dimension to a form of interactive social urban situation. All projects are representing 'laboratories' that use public spaces. It is more than obvious that the social and the economic fields are not separated from the cultural one beside the tendency that is putting them in opposition as artists and the world rather than artists in the world. In the last two decades, the world of the arts has economised rapidly. Increasingly, artists have turned the economy into a subject of their own work. Art/cultural projects engage people's creativity, and so lead to problem-solving. They encourage questioning, and the imagination of possible future actions. They offer self-expression, which is an essential characteristic of the active citizen. Some experiences from the art/cultural field are shifting attention towards the people themselves: their imagination, motivation, demands, fantasies and only then the city is becoming a cultural product, a community construction.


The purpose of this study was to evaluate the electric activity (EMG) in the temporal and amplitude aspects of the vastus medialis obliquus (VMO), vastus lateralis longus (VLL) and vastus lateralis obliquus (VLO) muscles during forward step tasks: stepdown (SFD) and step-up (SFS), and backward step tasks: step-down (SPD) and step-up (SPS). Twenty seven females were evaluated and separated in two groups: fifteen normal subjects – Control Group (21.13 ± 2.17 years) and twelve subjects with Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome – PPS (21.08 ± 2.31 years). The height of the step was regulated for two angles 45o and 75o of knee's flexion joint. A metronome was used to help the volunteers about the time to performance the tasks, a eletrogoniometer was used in the control of the knee angle and a pressure sensor was used to determinate the start and the end of the electromyography register. The electric activity was recorded by surface (Ag/AgCl) electrodes, an EMG apparatus with 8 channels (EMG System Brazil) and a software of acquisition data – AqDados 7.02. The EMG data was processed by the software Matlab 6.1 that calculated both the onset timing of the muscles and the integrated of the EMG signal. The EMG was normalized by the mean of the three muscle contractions and was calculated de ratio VMO/VLL and VMO/VLO for comparisons between groups and exercises. The relative onset timing was determinate by the difference VMO-VLO and VMO-VLL. The t-tests showed that in the step up exercise (75o of the knee flexion), there are differences when compared the groups, either in frontal step VMO/VLL (p= 0.000) and VMO/VLO (p = 0.000), than posterior step VMO/VLL (p = 0.000) and VMO/VLO (p = 0.000). In the control group there is a prevalence of an early contractions of de VMO muscle, however in the PPS group, the VMO onset occurred at the same time or after the VLO and VLL muscles in the mayor of the cases. The Anova three-way and Duncan post hoc showed that in step at 45o, the ratio VMO/VLO (p = 0,000) and VMO/VLL (p = 0,016) was greater then step at 75o in both groups. When compared the steps in 45o and 75o into the groups, were found differences either in the VMO:VLO ratio (p = 0,000) than VMO:VLL ratio (0,016) with greater values in the step at 45o. The comparison between the exercises performed in the same step height showed that both VMO:VLO and VMO:VLL ratios always was greater in the SFS than SFD (p = 0,01), SPS (p = 0,04) and SPD (p = 0,000). There is no difference between SFD and SPS (p = 0,570) or SPD (p = 0,090). In the Control group the SPS was smaller then SPD, on the other hand, in the SDFP group the SPS was greater than SPD (p = 0,30). Our results suggest that there is a difference in the motor control between groups about muscle recruitment either in frontal than posterior step-up at 75o. In the amplitude aspect, the step at 45o seem to recruit selectively the VMO muscle in comparison with VLL and VLO, thus, this step height should be used preferentially in the SDFP treatment programs. Regarding of the mode of execution, the frontal step (SFS) seems to be the most indicated when the objective is the selective activation of the VMO muscle mainly in the step at 45o.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this exploratory study was to evaluate Florida-licensed occupational therapy practitioners' perceptions of the impact of various continuing education activities on their continuing competency.

METHOD
A self-report mail survey was used to evaluate occupational therapy practitioners' perceptions of various continuing education activities in three domains: (a) learning, (b) application, and (c) results. The respondents' perceptions of the impact of specific continuing education activities were compared.

RESULTS
As rated by the respondents, formal programs 1 or more days in length had a significantly greater impact than most informal continuing education activities. On-the-job training (in the domain of application) and being mentored had a significantly greater impact than formal educational programs less than 3 hr in length.

CONCLUSION
Informal continuing education activities, in some cases, are perceived to have as effective an impact on continuing competency of occupational therapy practitioners as formal continuing education activities.


Traditional economic theory posits that people make decisions by maximizing a utility function in which all of the relevant constraints and preferences are included and weighed appropriately. Behavioral economists and decision-making researchers, however, are interested in how people make decisions in the face of incomplete information, limited cognitive resources, and decision biases. Empirical findings in the areas of behavioral economics and judgment and decision making (JDM) demonstrate departures from the notion that man is economically rational, illustrating instead that people often act in ways that are economically suboptimal. This article outlines findings from the JDM and behavioral-economics literatures that highlight the many behavioral impediments to saving that individuals may encounter on their way to financial security. I discuss how behavioral and psychological issues, such as self-control, emotions, and choice architecture can help policymakers understand what factors, aside from purely economic ones, may affect individuals' savings behavior.


The study investigated the impact of computer technology on productivity improvement as reflected in the billing process and total quality bills invoiced per month in the Gaborone headquarters of Botswana Power Corporation and Water Utilities Corporation. It examined the input-output relationship with computers as one of the inputs. The other input is labour represented by the Meter Reading Hours and the Supervisory Hours. The study drew on the economic production theory and time series approach to determine the contributions of the inputs to output. The study relied on unpublished information and interviews rather than the use of publicly or commercially available data as the primary data source. The results as evidenced by the regression parameters suggest that inputs and their characteristics satisfactorily explained the productivity improvement of the billing process in the two corporations. The results, however, show no significant statistical evidence that computer technology is positively linked to improvement in total quality bills invoiced per month. Interview conducted revealed that some aspects of the workplace practices within the two corporations also exerted significant influence on the inputs. This suggests that computer technology alone is an insufficient predictor of productivity improvement. The study extends research on information technology (IT) impact on productivity improvement to public sector in Africa, and perhaps, is the first attempt to compare the impact of computer technology on productivity improvement among government utility corporations in Africa. The study would assist African governments in fashioning appropriate policies on investments in IT and to review existing ones.


The oil spill has severely caused environmental damage to ocean water resources resulting in significant negative influence on the ecosystem and putting the life of human at high risk. Hence, the development of efficient and low-cost adsorbents is an instrumental and essential task to purify oil-contaminated water. The corporation of magnetic particles into the adsorbents has recently considered as an innovative approach which facilitate phase separation under a magnetic field thus allowing easy and efficient recovery of the used adsorbents from polluted water in large scale. In this study, the expanded graphite (EG) and magnetic NiFe2O4 based composite prepared from available graphite source of Vietnam has been found as a potential adsorbent to remove crude oil (CO) and diesel oil (DO). The EG/NiFe2O4 was fabricated via a facile two-step process: (1) the expansion of graphite and (2) the decoration of magnetic NiFe2O4 on EG. The physical properties of as-obtained EG/NiFe2O4 were characterized by using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-Ray Powder Diffraction (XRD), Vibrating-Sample Magnetometer (VSM) and nitrogen adsorption/desorption analysis. The effect of processing conditions including contact time, dosage of heavy oil and salinity of water on the adsorption capacity of the as-synthesized EG/NiFe2O4 composite for CO and DO was also investigated.


Research on design of pipes has gained importance from the last decade. The pipe tends to flatten when they are forced to bend and this geometrical change has a significant role in the pipe design. It is necessary to bend pipes in order to transmit liquid or gas from one place to other. In the present study, special attention has been given to pipe bends with high stress concentration due to different loading conditions. Thus the process piping systems has been chosen for the analysis as they were used to transport hazardous materials. The damage to such piping system can cause serious loss to economy and human lives. The geometrical imperfection associated with bending of pipes is ovality and the degree of ovality determines the acceptance of pipes. Thickening and thinning effect causes additional problems like large plastic deformation and loss of flexibility respectively and hence the estimation of best degree of ovality is required. In this work effect of ovality is estimated by taking the internal fluid pressure and inplane bending moment into account. The optimum percentage of ovality which is desired for pipes has been estimated. The cross section of the pipes at the mid plane of the pipe bend is modeled with different percentages of ovality (six models) and structural analysis is performed. Based on the results (Deformation, Von Mises Stress and Stress Intensity) an optimum percentage of ovality is found out. In the present study the results are evaluated and compared for three factors deformation, stress intensity and percentage of ovality in the pipe bends.


An inverse analysis algorithm is proposed to identify the material parameters of functional graded materials (FGMs). The inverse analysis of the material parameters is formulated as the problem of minimizing the objective function defined as a square sum of differences between the measured displacement and the computed displacement by a finite element model. Levenberg-Marquardt method is used to solve the minimization problem. The sensitivities of displacements with respect to the material parameters are based on the finite difference approximation method. A numerical example is given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.


Background: We have recently reported that the dietary supplement Meltdown® increases plasma norepinephrine (NE), epinephrine (EPI), glycerol, free fatty acids (FFA), and metabolic rate in men. However, in that investigation measurements ceased at 90 minutes post ingestion, with values for blood borne variables peaking at this time. It was the purpose of the present investigation to extend the time course of measurement to 6 hours, and to include women within the design to determine if sex differences to treatment exist. Methods: Ten men (24 ± 4 yrs) and 10 women (22 ± 2 yrs) ingested Meltdown® or a placebo, using a randomized, cross-over design with one week separating conditions. Blood samples were collected immediately before supplementation and at one hour intervals through 6 hours post ingestion. A standard meal was provided after the hour 3 collection. Samples were assayed for EPI, NE, glycerol, and FFA. Five minute breath samples were collected at each time for measurement of metabolic rate and substrate utilization. Area under the curve (AUC) was calculated. Heart rate and blood pressure were recorded at all times. Data were also analyzed using a 2 (sex) × 2 (condition) × 7 (time) repeated measures analysis of variance, with Tukey post hoc testing. Results: No sex × condition interactions were noted for AUC for any variable (p > 0.05). Hence, AUC data are collapsed across men and women. AUC was greater for Meltdown® compared to placebo for EPI (367 ± 58 pg·mL1·6 hr-1 vs. 183 ± 27 pg·mL-1·6 hr-1; p = 0.01), NE (2345 ± 205 pg·mL-1·6 hr-1 vs. 1659 ± 184 pg·mL-1·6 hr-1; p = 0.02), glycerol (79 ± 8 μg·mL-1·6 hr-1 vs. 59 ± 6 μg·mL-1·6 hr-1; p = 0.03), FFA (2.46 ± 0.64 mmol·L-1·6 hr-1 vs. 1.57 ± 0.42 mmol·L-1·6 hr-1; p = 0.05), and kilocalorie expenditure (439 ± 26 kcal·6 hrs-1 vs. 380 ± 14 kcal·6 hrs-1; p = 0.02). No effect was noted for substrate utilization (p = 0.39). Both systolic and diastolic blood pressure (p < 0.0001; 1–16 mmHg), as well as heart rate (p = 0.01; 1–9 bpm) were higher for Meltdown®. No sex × condition × time interactions were noted for any variable (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Ingestion of Meltdown® results in an increase in catecholamine secretion, lipolysis, and metabolic rate in young men and women, with a similar response for both sexes. Meltdown® may prove to be an effective intervention strategy for fat loss, assuming individuals are normotensive and their treatment is monitored by a qualified health care professional. Published: 5 August 2009 Lipids in Health and Disease 2009, 8:32 doi:10.1186/1476-511X-8-32 Received: 30 June 2009 Accepted: 5 August 2009 This article is available from: http://www.lipidworld.com/content/8/1/32 © 2009 Bloomer et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.


In the study area, sheep flocks are managed under traditional extensive systems with no or minimal inputs and improved technologies, which results in low productivity. The available natural pasture lands are overloaded with livestock beyond optimum carrying capacity that has resulted in overgrazing and land degradation. This indicates the critical need of supplemental feed during feed-deficient period. The objective of the research was assessment of productive performance through on-station feedlot and natural pasture grazing effect on weight gain and carcass yield characteristics evaluation. The average daily weight gain (ADG), total body weight change and final body weights of supplemented groups significantly higher than (p < 0.05) non-supplemented groups. Hence, supplemented and non-supplemented Awassi crossbreds had higher daily weight gain and followed by supplemented Wollo highland group. Between genotypes, there is significant difference (p < 0.05) of rib-eye area, empty body weight, hot and cold carcass weight and cold carcass dressing percentage. Conversely, Wollo highland sheep has exhibited compensatory growth rate than others. Awassi crossbred lambs has higher weight gain and faster growth performance followed by Washera crossbred one. Therefore, local breed productive performance improvement practices have to continue and need adjustment of breeding strategies with a definite breeding plan.


simplifications. Those of us who teach in the field of Japanese Studies confront these iconic images in the cultural baggage our students carry into the classroom, most recently from the lavish Tom Cruise vehicle The Last Samurai. Efforts to establish authenticity in this big-budget Hollywood production, with its elaborate sets and meticulously-filmed battle sequences on remote New Zealand locations, collide with an implausible tale of the American hero who goes "native" and survives to teach the Emperor about true Japanese values. But the film also immerses us in a sympathetic portrayal of cultural encounter and transformation, one that reflects many popular and appealing images of Japan. For Japanese Studies, the problem of incorporating popular perceptions acquired through historical fiction is familiar territory. James Clavell's Shogun (1975) conveyed a great deal more detail about Japan in 1600 than can be absorbed in a single showing at the multiplex, and, to the surprise of many of their literary colleagues, historians weighing its merits in the teaching of early modern Japan generally found in its favor (Smith 1980). One of the strongest recommendations for Shogun was its opening a door for students to encounter more scholarly and critical accounts of early modern Japan. The Last Samurai offers similar opportunities to engage students, and to illustrate how popular perceptions provide points of departure for a more intelligent, critical appraisal of Japanese history and myths. These top ten lessons are not meant to offer a cinematic critique, but rather to identify areas where, as the film's director has admitted, "history sometimes took a backseat to drama" (Potier 2003:3), and to flag recent scholarship that aids in appraising mythic representations. Lessons of THE LAST SAMURAI


TEST ANXIETY AND OTHER FACTORS AS PREDICTORS OF OUTCOME FOR AN UNDERGRADUTE UNIVERSITY'S EXAMINATION OF WRITING COMPETENCY Carrie D. Smith Virginia Consortium Program in Clinical Psychology, 2009 Director: Dr. Desideria Hacker Testing in American schools has increased dramatically in recent years (Cizek & Burg, 2006), increasing the need for research in test anxiety (TA). Writing apprehension, a subcategory of TA, may be of particular concern among students at all levels of education given the recent addition of writing assessments on the SAT and GRE tests. Very few recent studies have examined demographic correlates of TA and the demographics of students in higher education have been changing for some time. These changes include an increase in all categories of nontraditional students. Nontraditional students, by definition, face a particular set of challenges in attending college. They tend to have significant family responsibilities, work and/or other obligations beyond those of traditional students (Ryan, 2003), leaving less time and energy to focus on academics. The research findings on age trends have been variable. However, some research shows a slight decline in the prevalence of TA in the college years (Hembree, 1988; Zeidner, 1998). Early studies have shown that African American students, in general, show higher levels of TA than Caucasian students (Payne, Smith, & Payne, 1983; Rhine & Spaner, 1983). There is minimal research that examines TA specifically for writing exams, or writing apprehension. Earlier studies found that writing apprehension is highly negatively correlated with performance on writing competency assessments and general essays (Daly, 1978; Faigley, Daly, & White, 1981). Given this, it is important to consider the factors that impact writing competency. Graham and Harris (2000) noted much support in the literature for the impact of transcription, or handwriting abilities, on writing competency but also point to self-regulation as another key factor in writing competency. They observed that skilled writers tend to have better self-regulation skills than less skilled writers. In a related area, White and Bruning (2005) found that students' belief systems concerning writing are related to the quality of their writing. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between TA, writing apprehension, trait anxiety, and other factors on the outcome of a writing competency examination. The study also assessed the relationship between variables related to nontraditional college students, and TA and writing apprehension. One hundred thirty-seven students at an undergraduate Historically Black College or University (HBCU) participated in the study. Each participant was registered to take the Examination of Writing Competency (EWC) in the semester in which they participated. Participants completed a demographic survey and several measures assessing trait and test anxieties, writing self-regulation, and writing apprehension. The results indicated that only selfregulation during writing was significantly related to writing competency. The relationship was significant only for participants' total score on the EWC and did not predict whether they passed or failed the exam. A discussion of the results, including limitations of the study and directions for future research are presented.