The existence of fractionally charged particles (FCP) is foreseen in extensions of or beyond the Standard Model of particle physics. Most of the previously conducted searches for FCPs in cosmic rays were based on experiments underground or at high altitudes. However, there have been few searches for FCPs in cosmic rays carried out in orbit other than AMS-01 flown by a space shuttle and BESS by a balloon at the top of the atmosphere. In this study, we conduct an FCP search in space based on on-orbit data obtained using the Dark Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) satellite over a period of five years. Unlike underground experiments, which require an FCP energy of the order of hundreds of GeV, our FCP search starts at only a few GeV. An upper limit of 6 . 2 × 10 − 10 cm − 2 sr − 1 s − 1 is obtained for the flux. Our results demonstrate that DAMPE exhibits higher sensitivity than experiments of similar types by three orders of magnitude that more stringently restricts the conditions for the existence of FCP in primary cosmic rays.


OBJECTIVE
To clarify the clinical significance of surfactant protein-D (SP-D) and KL-6 in the diagnosis and monitoring of pulmonary fibrosis (PF) in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc), and to evaluate the differences between SP-D and KL-6.

METHODS
Serum SP-D and KL-6 concentrations were determined by ELISA in 42 SSc patients. In a retrospective longitudinal study, 83 serum samples from 6 SSc patients were analyzed during a followup period of 0.6-6.3 years.

RESULTS
SP-D and KL-6 concentrations at the first visit were higher in patients with SSc, especially those with PF, compared with healthy controls. Increased concentrations of SP-D were associated with decreased DLCO and decreased vital capacity in SSc patients more strongly than those of KL-6. The sensitivity and specificity for PF were 91% and 88% for SP-D and 39% and 100% for KL-6, respectively. In the longitudinal study, both SP-D and KL-6 concentrations were associated with activity of PF in patients with SSc. SP-D concentrations changed more rapidly than KL-6 concentrations, in parallel with the PF activity.

CONCLUSION
SP-D was a more sensitive marker for PF than KL-6. By contrast, KL-6 showed higher specificity than SP-D. Combined use of these 2 serum markers would be more helpful to diagnose and monitor the PF activity in patients with SSc than single use of each marker.


Left ventricular performance was studied non-invasively in 24 chronic alcoholics without liver disease. Twelve patients who had abstained from drinking for at least one month (group A) and 12 sex and age matched patients who had ceased drinking during the preceding 24 hours (group B) were studied at rest and during 50% submaximal exercise. Cardiac output and stroke volume were measured by first passage and left ventricular ejection fraction by multigated radionuclide cardiography. Twelve healthy sex and age matched controls were also studied. Haemodynamic variables were similar in group A and the controls, except that in group A left ventricular end systolic volume index did not decrease during exercise. In group B the heart rate was increased both at rest and during exercise and plasma noradrenaline concentrations were increased. The stroke volume index did not increase significantly during exercise in group B. In addition, the increase in left ventricular ejection fraction was smaller in group B than in controls. End systolic contraction was reduced in group B patients and diastolic blood pressure was increased. These results suggest that cardiac abnormalities in chronic alcoholics may be reversed after cessation of drinking if no chronic liver disease is present. Recent alcohol consumption increases sympathetic nervous activity, impairs cardiac contractility, and increases afterload during physical stress.


Previous studies of jointing in sedimentary rocks have shown that joint-network archi- tecture is controlled by mechanical stratigraphy, which is described by (1) the thickness and rigidity of stratigraphic units and (2) the nature of interfaces between beds. Using joint pattern to infer rigidity contrast between beds is complicated by the possibility that material properties of the beds may change between fracturing events. Observation of both an early bed-contained joint set and a differently oriented late throughgoing joint set in the same beds of growth strata in the Oliana anticline in the Spanish Pyrenees may reflect changing mechanical properties (i.e., via diagenesis) during the folding process. Using a Schmidt hammer, we assess the rigidity contrast between the individual units and show that the present-day contrast is not great enough to terminate joints at interfaces. This result is consistent with an interpretation that the late-stage throughgoing joints formed in strata with conditions similar to those of the present day and that the early bed-contained joints formed when the rigidity contrast between beds was significantly greater than that of the present day. For example, differential diagenesis rates between layers of differing grain size would produce temporally changing mechanical stratigraphy. We propose that changes in mechanical stratigraphy may have previously been unrec- ognized in other stratigraphic sections and that these changes affect joint-network archi- tecture and subsequent fluid-flow pathways.


Study Design. A radiologic analytical study. Objective. To compare the reliability of lumbar lordosis (LL) measurement in cases of spondylolisthesis using the Cobb, vertebral centroid, and posterior tangent methods. Summary of Background Data. Interobserver and intraobserver reliabilities of the several different types of lumbar curvature analysis have been reported using various methods for measurement; however, in patients with spondylolisthesis, it has not been studied till yet. Methods. A radiologic analytical study was performed in 50 patients who had spondylolisthesis (28 at L4–L5, 22 at L5–S1) with lysis in the lumbar spine. All patients had instability of more than 10° on the lumbar spine flexion and extension radiogram. A total of 26 patients who presented for backache without spondylolisthesis were considered as control group. Three observers measured the global and segmental angle for LL using various methods for measuring the LL using the Cobb, vertebral centroid, and Harrison's posterior tangent methods. All measurements were done by each of the observers on the same computer by keeping at least 2 weeks of interval between 2 sets of measurements. The interobserver and intraobserver reliability was calculated among all the 3 observers' 2 sets of measurements by using the inter- and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) test on SPSS program. Results. Five global and 17 segmental angles measured overall. Results showed an excellent ICC (>0.7) while measuring the global LL using any method, the Cobb (T12–S1 or L1–L5), vertebral centroid, and Harrison's posterior tangent (T12–S1 or L1–L5) methods, in both subject and control groups. Similarly measuring the segmental angles, it exhibited excellent intraclass correlation (ICC, >0.7) coefficient by using all 3 methods for all segmental angles in both groups. However, interclass correlation coefficient was excellent (ICCs, >0.7) in both global as well as segmental angles for vertebral centroid and posterior tangent methods in subject and control groups, but it was poor or fair for the Cobb methods in segmental angles and good or excellent in global angles. Measuring the segmental angles, standard error of mean (SEM) was <2° at all the levels by all methods in both subject and control group except the L4–L5–S1 level by centroid method in subject group where SEM >2° was found. Conclusion. Posterior tangent method should be used for the global and segmental angle analysis for the LL in cases with spinal instability because of (a) higher correlation coefficient for segmental angle measurements; (b) lower SEM at the instability level than the centroid method despite similar correlation coefficients; and (c) similar to the engineering analysis.


Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the earnings quality of companies listed on Mexico's primary stock market, the Bolsa Mexicana de Valores (Bolsa) before and during the global economic crisis of 2008. Previous research has shown that these economic events can have potentially conflicting effects on the quality of earnings of listed companies in capital markets around the world.

Design/methodology/approach
This paper operationalizes earnings quality based on earnings management. Therefore, four constructs to proxy for earnings quality are developed from previous literature, and multiple regression analysis along with tests of differences across two time periods, 2005–2007 and 2008–2010, are used to determine if there is a significant change in the accounting quality of companies listed on the Bolsa before and after the start of the global economic crisis.

Findings
Results indicate a statistically significant decrease of earnings quality on three out of the four constructs used to proxy for earnings management. There is only one construct in this category that shows a significant increase of earnings quality.

Research limitations/implications
There are different number of constructs and methodologies used to test for earnings quality. This study draws on four different constructs on two dimensions of earnings quality from previous literature, but other methodologies and constructs can potentially be used as well, such as discretionary accruals. Furthermore, there is a chance that there can be confounding factors affecting the results of this study besides the effects of the global economic crisis. Finally, the sample used in this study comprises non-financial public companies listed on the Bolsa, which can affect the generalization of the results to countries other than Mexico.

Practical implications
The results of this study can be of interest to Mexican and foreign investors, standard setters and regulators of the Bolsa, as the results show a strong incentive to manage companies' earnings using income smoothing in an emerging economy during an economic crisis even after converging to a higher-quality set of accounting standards. Results can also be of interests to investors and regulators in other Latin-American countries with economies similar to that of Mexico.

Originality/value
This is the first study to test the quality of earnings of Mexican companies before and during the global economic crisis of 2008. Thus, this study contributes to the accounting quality literature by offering evidence showing a significant increase of income smoothing during the global economic crisis for companies listed in a developing economy with a relevant history of economic crises, even when these companies were using recently converged, higher-quality accounting standards.


A 1-in. diam pump spindle fractured within the length covered by the boss of the impeller which was attached to the spindle by means of an axial screw. The pump had been in use in a chemical plant handling mixtures of organic liquids and dilute sulfuric acid having a pH value of 2 to 4 at temperatures of 80 to 90 deg C (176 to 194 deg F). The fracture was unusual in that it was of a fibrous nature, the fibers-which were orientated radially-were readily detachable. The surface of the spindle adjacent to the fracture had an etched appearance and the mode of cracking in this region suggested that failure resulted from an intergranular attack. Subsequent microscope examination confirmed the generally intergranular mode of failure. A macro-etched section near the fracture revealed a radial arrangement of columnar crystals, indicating that the spindle was a cast and not a wrought product as had been presumed. Spectroscope examination showed this particular composition (Fe-23Cr-18Ni-1.8Mo-1.2Si) did not conform to a standard specification and is apparently a proprietary alloy. It was evident that the particular mode of failure was related to the inherent structure of the material.


We demonstrate a novel, highly sensitive integrated hydrogen sensor based on a silicon ring resonator on the silicon-on-insulator platform. The hydrogen sensitive element in the sensor structure is a platinum-doped tungsten oxide catalytic coating. The catalytic combustion of hydrogen in air leads to a local temperature rise in the ring resonator. The resulting thermo-optic effect shifts the ring resonator resonance. Resonance wavelength shifts higher than a nanometer are measured for hydrogen concentrations below the 4% lower explosion limit. A potentially tunable sensitivity of around 480 pm shift per %H2 is achieved at an operating temperature of about 40degC.


It is more than obvious to say that the signing of the Treaty was the big event of the 1840s. The initial Treaty signing at Waitangi on 6 February 1840 by Lieutenant-Governor William Hobson, representing the British Crown, and "about 45 Maori chiefs" has become a defining moment in New Zealand's history, but, as Smith notes,
[o]nly recently has the Treaty of Waitangi become central to national life ... Hastily devised at the time, the treaty sheets have become a national monument: they mean different things to different groups but have had an evolving official interpretation placed upon them.
The Treaty "is the basis of the Crown's authority and legitimised European settlement in New Zealand," but important differences between the English version and the Māori version (which most Māori signed) include differences in the translations of article one (the cession of sovereignty vs "te kāwanatanga katoa" (governorship)), and silence in the te reo Māori text "on the Crown right of pre-emption. It promised the Queen "hokonga" - the buying and selling of land that Maori were willing to part with - but not exclusively, nor even as the highest priority.


Transcript of annual speech given by Governor Benjamin R. Tillman to both houses of the state legislature in a joint session to report on the condition of the state of South Carolina.


Background and Objectives: Lack of general health and marital intimacy has a major role in causing couple burnout. Considering the importance of assessing and identifying constituents of burnout, this study aimed to determine the predictive role of general health and marital intimacy in the couple burnout among nurses. Materials and Methods: This is a correlational research in which 163 nurses were selected through convenience sampling method and then assessed by General Health questionnaire (GHQ), Couple Burnout Measurement (CBM), Marital Intimacy questionnaire (MIQ) and Demographic Characteristic Questionnaire. Data was analyzed using Pearson correlation and stepwise multiple regression analysis. Results : The results o f Pearson's correlation coefficient showed that there was a significant and negative relation between burnout and general health, marital intimacy, income and marriage duration. In addition, the results of stepwise regression indicated that four factors could predict 48 percent of couple burnout. Conclusion: According to the results, general health, marital intimacy, income and marriage duration play a considerable role in the couple burnout among nurses. Therefore, with regard to these factors, it is necessary to pay more attention to couple burnout.


Background: Aging emerges as a major independent risk factor for the incidence and prevalence of ischemic stroke and predicts poor patient outcomes. In our aging population, much of the primary injury in the acute phase of ischemic stroke may prove irreversible, yet the management of secondary pathophysiological processes is of fundamental importance to improve the prospect of successful recovery. Spontaneously occurring recurrent spreading depolarizations (SDs) were recognized as contributors of the expansion of cerebral tissue damage following subarachnoid hemorrhage, stroke or traumatic brain injury.
Hypothesis: Since the aged brain is more susceptible to ischemia- and SD-related injury, we hypothesized, that (1) the evolution of SDs and the related hemodynamic responses could be altered by aging and (2) the SD associated metabolic changes, such as tissue acidosis should also be graver in the aged ischemic brain.
Aims: We set out to determine; (1) the impact of age on the evolution of SD and the kinetics of the associated changes in local CBF in the intact and ischemic rat brain, (2) the impact of age on the SD related tissue pH changes in the intact and ischemic rat brain, and (3) the association between the SD-related pH transients and SD-related CBF responses.
Methods: Open or closed cranial windows were mounted on the parietal bone of halothane or isoflurane-anesthetized young (2-months-, n=33) and old (18-20-month-old, n=18, and 2-year-old, n= 26) Sprague Dawley or Wistar rats. Mean arterial blood pressure and arterial blood gases were monitored via a femoral artery catheter. Transient incomplete global forebrain ischemia was achieved by the bilateral occlusion of the common carotid arteries (2VO). SDs were elicited by the topical application of KCl. The evolution of SDs and –the associated local CBF changes were acquired by the measurement of DC potential and laser-Doppler flowmetry. SD-related variations in extracellular pH were acquired with pH-sensitive microelectrodes inserted into the cortex. SD-coupled intracellular pH- and perfusion changes were monitored relying on the fluorescence intensity of a pH indicator dye (Neutral Red), and laser speckle contrast analysis, respectively.
Results: Ischemia elongated the duration of the SD-related negative DC shift (66.2±22.8 vs. 21.4±4.1 s, Young 2VO vs. Young control), which was augmented further by age as seen in the Old 2VO group (95.8±46.2 s). Six types of SD-coupled CBF responses were identified, ranging from dominating hyperemia to prolonged cortical spreading ischemia with intermediate forms. Spreading ischemia evolved only in the aged ischemic group (4 of the 6 animals). Quantitative analysis of the duration of early hypoperfusion indicated that this first element of the CBF response to SD was elongated during ischemia (36.8±17.5 vs. 7.9±6.8 sec, Young 2VO vs. Young control) and became drastically longer in the Old 2VO group (1344±1047 sec), due to the prevalence of spreading ischemia.
Acid accumulation with SDs propagating across the ischemic cortex was considerably increased with respect to the intact and reperfused condition (e.g. relative amplitude of acidosis: pH 0.43±0.15 vs. 0.36±0.07 vs. 0.31±0.09, ischemia vs. intact vs. reperfused). Tissue acidosis with SD was additive to ischemia-induced acidosis thereby raising acid load to potentially cytotoxic levels (level of acidosis: pH 6.48±0.16 vs. 6.93±0.09, with SD under ischemia vs. ischemia alone prior to SD onset). In addition, tissue pH remained acidic for at least 10 min after the passage of an SD (pH 7.09±0.09 vs. 7.29±0.16, 12 min after SD vs. time control ischemia without SD), which was further deepened in the aged brain (pH 6.94±0.08 vs. 7.09±0.09, old vs. young).
Discussion: While ischemia clearly compromised the kinetics of SDs and the associated CBF response, age exerted an additional shift to more injurious CBF response types including spreading ischemia. We propose that structural and functional alteration of the cerebro-microvascular system with aging serves as a potential basis for compromised vascular reactivity. The prospect of successful recovery after stroke strongly depends on the metabolic statement of the affected tissue. Marked tissue acidosis correlates with the extent of brain injury, and has been traditionally considered as a damaging component of cerebral ischemia. In conclusion, SDs are suggested to extend ischemic lesions by increasing acid accumulation in the ischemic penumbra to toxic levels characteristic of the ischemic core. Repeated SDs typically evolving in the ischemic cortex are expected to maintain low pH, which decreases the threshold of acid-induced cell death. Finally, the aged brain may be at higher risk for SD-related injury, because the recovery of tissue pH after SD is hampered.


ABSTRACT
 This study presents the insights gained from interviewing 12 parentally bereaved children aged 5–8. All were below six years of age when bereft. Participants were interviewed through Sandtray interviews. The study finds that children are developing an understanding of what it means to live with loss, but want truthful information about the illness of their parent, and to understand the loss. They value help from the remaining parent, but also appreciate the support from daycare staff and friends. Findings further highlight that under the right circumstances, children have much to contribute when it comes to understanding their support needs.


Internet Telephony defined as real time voice or multimediacommunications over packet switched networks dates back to theearly days of the Internet. ARPA's Network SecureCommunications project had implemented, as early as December1973, an infrastructure for local and transnet real time voicecommunication. Two main sets of standards have emerged: H. 323from the ITU-T and the session initiation protocol (SIP) fromthe Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). Both includespecifications for value added services. Value added services,or more simply services, are critical to service providers'survival and success. Unfortunately, the service architecturesthat come with the ITU-T and the IETF sets of standards arerather weak. Although they are constantly evolving,alternatives and complements need to be researched. This thesiswhich is made up of a formal dissertation and 6 appendices,proposes a novel mobile agent based service architecture forInternet Telephony. The architecture addresses the issues noneof the existing architectures solves in a satisfactory manner.Furthermore it adds mobile agents to the panoply of servicecreation tools. The appendices are reprints of articlespublished in refereed magazines/journals or under considerationfor publication. The formal dissertation is a summary of thepublications. A consistent and comprehensive set ofrequirements are derived. They are TINA-C flavored, but adaptedto Internet Telephony. They are used to critically reviewrelated work and also used to motivate the use of mobile agentsas the pillars of a novel architecture. The components of thisnovel architecture are identified. The key component is themobile service agent. It acts as a folder and carriesservice(s) to which the end-user has subscribed. Mobile serviceagents need to be upgraded when new versions of service logicare available and when end-users make changes to service data.This thesis proposes a novel upgrading framework. The currentInternet infrastructure comprises a wide range of hosts. Mobileagent platforms are now available for most of thesehosts/clients including memory/processing power constrainedPDAs. Our mobile service agents need to adapt to hostvariability when roaming. A novel adaptivity framework is alsoproposed. These two frameworks are general and can be appliedto any other mobile agent which meets a basic set ofassumptions. A key advantage of a mobile agent based servicearchitecture is that it enables the developement of mobileagent based services. The thesis proposes a novel mobile agentbased multi-party session scheduler. The feasibility and theadvantages of the architecture proposed by this thesis havebeen demonstrated by a prototype on which measurements havebeen made. Future work includes the addition of a securityframework to the architecture, and refinenements to theupgrading and adaptivity frameworks. More mobile agent basedservices, especially mobile multi agent based services willalso be developed.


Purpose
Drawing on the control agency theory and the network effect theory, the purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of privacy assurance approaches, network externality and technology complementarity on consumers' self-disclosure in mobile payment (MP) applications. The authors identify four types of privacy assurance approaches: perceived effectiveness of privacy setting, perceived effectiveness of privacy policy, perceived effectiveness of industry self-regulation and perceived effectiveness of government legislation. The research model considers how these privacy assurance approaches influence privacy concerns and consumers' self-disclosure in MP applications under boundary conditions of network externality and technology complementarity.

Design/methodology/approach
An online survey with 647 sample users was conducted to empirically validate the model. The target respondents were current consumers of a popular MP application. The empirical data were analyzed by a structural equation modeling approach.

Findings
The empirical results reveal several major findings. First, privacy assurance approaches can effectively decrease privacy concerns, which ultimately formulates consumers' self-disclosure in MP applications. Second, network externality and technology complementarity weaken the effect of perceived effectiveness of privacy setting on privacy concerns. Third, network externality and technology complementarity strengthen the relationship between perceived effectiveness of government legislation and privacy concerns, while they have non-significant interaction effect with perceived effectiveness of privacy policy and industry self-regulation on privacy concerns.

Practical implications
MP providers and stakeholders can harness the efficacy of privacy assurance approaches in alleviating privacy concerns and promoting consumers' self-disclosure in MP applications.

Originality/value
The authors' work contributes to the information privacy literature by identifying effective privacy assurance approaches in promoting consumers' self-disclosure in MP applications, and by highlighting boundary conditions of these privacy assurance approaches.


To find the characteristics of scratching behavior in hairless mice (HR-1), compound 48/80 and some putative chemical mediators of allergic reaction were injected intradermally into the backs of mice, and the number of scratching behaviors was measured. As reference mice, NC/Nga, ICR, and ddY mice were used. Scratching behavior in HR-1 and ICR mice was increased dose-dependently by compound 48/80. The same result was also observed with NC/Nga and ddY mice. However, the response in NC/Nga and ddY mice was far less than those of HR-1 and ICR mice. Similar to NC/Nga and ddY mice, HR-1 mice showed less sensitivity to histamine than ICR mice. On the other hand, the HR-1 mice showed a high response to serotonin compared with those of the NC/Nga and ddY mice. The scratching behavior in HR-1 mice induced by substance P was increased, but the effect was less potent than those in NC/Nga, ICR, and ddY mice. These results suggest that the scratching behavior induced by compound 48/80 in HR-1 mice is mainly attributable to serotonin.


The chapter contextualizes Lukacs's "Ontology of Social Being" within current social ontological debates. It identifies two problems for a critical social ontology: the totality issue (in how far social entities are part of an integrated totality in society) and the normativity issue (in how far social entities are constituted by social norms). The chapter first argues that Lukacs' solution to the normativity problem - grounding normativity in human labor - can best be understood as resting on a theory that grounds the normativity of intentions in the mutual recognition of needs. Second, it argues that Lukacs's claims of totality can be reconstructed by adopting an social externalist analysis of intentions.


The purpose of this paper has been to study how users experiences and behaviors are influenced by a "like" function, when publication of images in social media with the photo app Instagram as the selected base. In this study respondents has been part of a study regarding their experiences and behavior related to "like" function in Instagram. The results of the question form have then been analyzed to find patterns in their behavior and to exemplify/reinforce different type of user-behavior found in related scientific articles.The study has shown that the behavior of Instagram users is affected by the "like" function, when they believes that the function is a status marker that raises the interest for certain users by the number of likes. Through my results, I have been able to amplify and illustrate several theories of Goffman, Buckingham and Gripsrud which are presented in the report.


Treatment of male Wistar rats with a single dose of lead nitrate caused a marked enlargement of the liver, which reached its maximum 3 days after the administration of the metal salt. This grossly anatomic effect was accompanied by biochemical changes such as an increase in total protein and DNA content, with a maximum at 3 and 4 days, respectively. A partial regression of liver weight and total DNA and protein content occurred 7 days after lead administration; a significant increase in DNA concentration was found after 1 week, while no variation in protein, when expressed as milligrams per gram liver, was observed in lead-treated rat liver. An increase in DNA synthesis, as monitored by the incorporation of labeled thymidine, was also observed. An enhancement in the specific radioactivity of DNA was evident at 24 hours and appeared maximal at 36 hours after the administration of lead nitrate. The ability of lead to stimulate liver cell proliferation was shown by a significant increase of cells entering mitosis, with a peak at 48 hours. This mitogenic stimulus occurred in parenchymal as well as in nonparenchymal cells, thus showing that this effect was not unique to a particular liver cell populations. No detectable cell necrosis, as monitored by histologic observation, was seen in the liver of lead-treated rats, thus indicating that the cellular proliferation induced by lead is not due to a regenerative response. Only a slight elevation in the levels of serum glutamate-pyruvate transaminase (GPT) was observed by biochemical analysis.


Abstract Although the amygdalae play a central role in threat perception and reactions, the direct contributions of the amygdalae to specific aspects of threat perception, from ambiguity resolution to reflexive or deliberate action, remain ill understood in humans. Animal studies show that a detailed understanding requires a focus on the different subnuclei, which is not yet achieved in human research. Given the limits of human imaging methods, the crucial contribution needs to come from individuals with exclusive and selective amygdalae lesions. The current study investigated the role of the basolateral amygdalae and their connection with associated frontal and temporal networks in the automatic perception of threat. Functional activation and connectivity of five individuals with Urbach–Wiethe disease with focal basolateral amygdalae damage and 12 matched controls were measured with functional MRI while they attended to the facial expression of a threatening face–body compound stimuli. Basolateral amygdalae damage was associated with decreased activation in the temporal pole but increased activity in the ventral and dorsal medial prefrontal and medial orbitofrontal cortex. This dissociation between the prefrontal and temporal networks was also present in the connectivity maps. Our results contribute to a dynamic, multirole, subnuclei-based perspective on the involvement of the amygdalae in fear perception. Damage to the basolateral amygdalae decreases activity in the temporal network while increasing activity in the frontal network, thereby potentially triggering a switch from resolving ambiguity to dysfunctional threat signaling and regulation, resulting in hypersensitivity to threat.


SUMMARY Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis is a facultative intracellular bacterium that causes caseous lymphadenitis in sheep and goats. This study was designed to evaluate the validity of PCR assay protocol for the direct detection of C. pseudotuberculosis in 147 samples of lymph nodes (prescapular and mediastinal) from carcasses of naturally infected sheep and to compare its performance with the traditional bacteriological culture technique. C. pseudotuberculosis was isolated in 81 samples mainly from prescapular nodes and a specific 203 bp PCR amplified pld gene DNA fragment was detected in 85 samples. The total agreement score between the 2 methods was 95.92%, the relative PCR sensitivity and specificity to culture being 98.76% and 92.42%, respectively. The positive and negative predictive probabilities given by PCR were 98.4% and 94.1%, respectively. The C. pseudotuberculosis detection limit given by PCR was 2.1x10 4-2.1x103 CFU/ mL in sheep lymph tissue samples. In conclusion, the PCR assay proved to be a sensitive and rapid method for the detection of C. pseudotuberculosis in lymph node samples from naturally infected sheep.


The Maunakea Spectroscopic Explorer (MSE) project has completed its Conceptual Design Phase. This paper is a status report of the MSE project regarding its technical and programmatic progress. The technical status includes its conceptual design and system performance, and highlights findings and recommendations from the System and various subsystems design reviews. The programmatic status includes the project organization and management plan for the Preliminary Design Phase. In addition, this paper provides the latest information related to the permitting process for Maunakea construction.


This guide is designed to help you to complete your research assignment for the First Year Experience courses at the College of Allied Health Sciences. Apply the tips on finding and evaluating resources to your other research projects. Good luck with your first research assignment.


Background Greater awareness of the importance of stroke prevention in AF, greater screening, and the availability of warfarin for primary prevention over the past 2 decades should have reduced the incidence of AF-related ischaemic stroke despite the ageing population. Methods We studied all AF-related incident ischaemic strokes (IIS) from 2002 to 2008 in the Oxford Vascular Study (OXVASC) and compared our findings with results from a previous population-based study in the same population in 1981–1986 (Oxford Community Stroke Project; OCSP). Results AF-related stroke accounted for 29.4% (210/715) of IIS in OXVASC (mean/SD age=79.8/9.9) vs 17.9% (85/474) in OCSP (77.3/9.0): relative rate =1.64 (1.32–2.04, p<0.0001). However, after adjustment for ageing of the underlying population between the studies the rates were similar (1.19, 0.96–1.48, p=0.109). Of the 154 OXVASC patients with incident ischaemic stroke and prior AF, 116 had a CHADS2 score of ≥2, of whom only 19 (16.4%) had been on warfarin for primary prevention. Conclusions There has been no reduction in age-adjusted incidence of AF-related ischaemic stroke in Oxfordshire over the last 25 years and absolute numbers have increased substantially. Underuse of anticoagulation in primary prevention in eligible patients is a major barrier to effective stroke prevention in the face of an ageing population with high rates of AF.


Irrigation is an important adaptation strategy to improve crop resilience to global climate change. Irrigation plays an essential role in sustaining crop production in water‐limited regions, as irrigation water not only benefits crops through fulfilling crops' water demand but also creates an evaporative cooling that mitigates crop heat stress. Here we use satellite remote sensing and maize yield data in the state of Nebraska, USA, combined with statistical models, to quantify the contribution of cooling and water supply to the yield benefits due to irrigation. Results show that irrigation leads to a considerable cooling on daytime land surface temperature (−1.63°C in July), an increase in enhanced vegetation index (+0.10 in July), and 81% higher maize yields compared to rainfed maize. These irrigation effects vary along the spatial and temporal gradients of precipitation and temperature, with a greater effect in dry and hot conditions, and decline toward wet and cool conditions. We find that 16% of irrigation yield increase is due to irrigation cooling, while the rest (84%) is due to water supply and other factors. The irrigation cooling effect is also observed on air temperature (−0.38 to −0.53°C) from paired flux sites in Nebraska. This study highlights the non‐negligible contribution of irrigation cooling to the yield benefits of irrigation, and such an effect may become more important in the future with continued warming and more frequent droughts.


Surveillance is an essential component of all infection control programme with the aim to identify outbreaks and to establish baseline rate of infections in a health care facilities. The surveillance data can be used to identify preventable health care associated infections (HCAIs) so that resources are targeted in high priority areas. Different methods of surveillance exist and the type of surveillance method depends on the local factors, i.e. the type and size of hospital, case mix and availability of resources. Targeted surveillance aimed at high risk areas, procedure directed or specific type of infections associated with high morbidity or mortality are more cost effective and are manageable in various healthcare settings worldwide. Substantial and sustained reduction of HCAIs can only be achieved if both outcome and process surveillance are used.


The effects of tilorone hydrochloride (TH), a powerful interferonogenic agent exhibiting also immune modulatory properties, on GvH reaction was studied, using the popliteal lymph node assay in mice. Administration of TH at ten days 0 or +2 relative to cell transfer to recipient mice led to a significant dose-dependent reduction of GvH reaction, whereas treatment of prospective donor mice at day -4 or -2 induced an enhanced GvH re activity of donor spleen cells. This effect was found not to be due to an altered proportion in the spleen cell inoculum of B and T lymphocytes, which latter are responsible for induction for GvH reaction. However, since normal parental lymphocytes are prepared for an enhanced GvH reactivity by addition of TH-treated macrophages, a stimulatory effect of the latter cells via macrophage-derived mediators, induced by TH, is suggested.


The untimely death of Marlene DeLuca in 1987 has deprived the scientific community of an outstanding expert on bioluminescence. Earlier in that year she was honoured as thethirty-ninth recipient of the Otto Mitchell Smith Lectureship Award at Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma.

On 20 March 1987 Dr DeLuca presented a scientific lecture entitled 'Firefly Luciferase-Mechanism of Action, Cloning, and Expression of the Active Enzyme' and a popular lecture at the banquet that evening entitled 'Light and Life'. She was selected for her excellence in research, her oral presentation ability, and her personableness. Marlene was the first woman so honoured.

To honour Dr Otto M. Smith the Alpha Delta Chapter of Phi Lambda Upsilon, a national chemistry honorary organization, inaugurated The Otto Mitchell Smith Lectureship in 1948 at Oklahoma State University. Former awardees include Nobel Laureates H. C. Brown, Stanford Moore, and Arthur Kornberg and the following prominent biochemists/molecular biologists: Robert A. Alberty, University of Wisconsin; Daniel E. Koshland, Brookhaven National Laboratory; Sol Spiegelman, University of Illinois; Carl Djerassi, Stanford University; and John T. Edsall, Harvard University. The lectureship honours Dr O. M. Smith, who was Director of the Research Foundation, professor, and Head of the Departments of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering.

As a tribute to Dr DeLuca's outstanding contibution to bioluminescence we reproduce here the edited text of her Otto Mitchell Smith Lectureship and a selected bibliography of her work on firefly bioluminescence.


North Kalimantan Province, notably Tarakan City marine waters, is one of the important fishing ground in boundary area among Sulu Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion. It produces approximately 100 mt/annum of Bombay duck ( Harpadon nehereus ) with valued of US$ 750,000. The sustainability of this fishery is a crucially concern given the following: substantial economic contribution, significant dependence of small-scale fishers on this species for their livelihoods. The fishing intensities considerable and growing threats to their habitats. To evaluate the vulnerability of individual species to over exploitation, the spawning potential ratio (SPR) approach applied to describe the status of its existing fisheries. This approach provides the ability to determine fishing mortality as reference points to enhance its sustainability. The objective of this study is to understand this fish biomass resilience to harvesting. The calculated SPR based on the value of estimated length of first capture or Lc at 208 mm is equivalent to the SPR of 28%. With a base line of stocks are generally thought to risk recruitment declining when SPR <20%, recent finding indicated that the existing fishery can be generally described as nearly fully exploited. In recognition of this sector's has an ecological importance and socio-economic significance, the sustainable development of Bombay duck fisheries should be initiated through developing local fishery committee to provide a their local fishery management plan.


Huntington's disease (HD) is an inherited, neurodegenerative disorder that results from the degeneration of striatal neurons, mainly GABAergic neurons. The study of neurochemical activity has provided reliable markers to explain motor disorders. To treat neurodegenerative diseases, stem cell transplants with bone marrow (BM) have been performed for several decades. In this work we determine the effect of mononuclear bone marrow cell (mBMC) transplantation on the rotational behavior and neurochemical activity in a model of Huntington's disease in rats. Four experimental groups were organized: Group I: Control animals (n = 5); Group II: Lesion with quinolinic acid (QA) in the striatum (n = 5); Group III: Lesion with QA and transplant with mBMC (n = 5); Group IV: Lesion with QA and transplant with culture medium (Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM) injection) (n = 5). The rotational activity induced by D-amphetamine was evaluated and the concentration of the neurotransmitter amino acids (glutamate and GABA) was studied. The striatal cell transplantation decreases the rotations induced by D-amphetamine (p < 0.04, Wilcoxon matched pairs test) and improves the changes produced in the levels of neurotransmitters studied. This work suggests that the loss of GABAergic neurons in the brain of rats lesioned with AQ produces behavioral and neurochemical alterations that can be reversed with the use of bone marrow mononuclear cell transplants.


The a priori signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) plays an important role in many speech enhancement algorithms. In this paper, we present a data-driven approach to a priori SNR estimation. It may be used with a wide range of speech enhancement techniques, such as, e.g., the minimum mean square error (MMSE) (log) spectral amplitude estimator, the super Gaussian joint maximum a posteriori (JMAP) estimator, or the Wiener filter. The proposed SNR estimator employs two trained artificial neural networks, one for speech presence, one for speech absence. The classical decision-directed a priori SNR estimator by Ephraim and Malah is broken down into its two additive components, which now represent the two input signals to the neural networks. Both output nodes are combined to represent the new a priori SNR estimate. As an alternative to the neural networks, also simple lookup tables are investigated. Employment of these data-driven nonlinear a priori SNR estimators reduces speech distortion, particularly in speech onset, while retaining a high level of noise attenuation in speech absence.


Full-duplex (FD) cellular networks are considered in which an FD base station (BS) simultaneously supports a set of half-duplex (HD) downlink (DL) users and a set of HD uplink (UL) users. The transmitter and the receiver of the BS are equipped with reconfigurable antennas, each of which can choose its transmit or receive mode from several preset modes. Under the no self-interference assumption arisen from an FD operation at the BS, the sum degrees of freedom (DoF) of FD cellular networks is investigated for both no channel state information at the transmit side (CSIT) and the partial CSIT. In particular, the sum DoF is completely characterized for the no CSIT model and an achievable sum DoF is established for the partial CSIT model, which improves the sum DoF of the conventional HD cellular networks. For both no CSIT and partial CSIT models, the results show that the FD BS with reconfigurable antennas can double the sum DoF even in the presence of user-to-user interference as both the numbers of DL and UL users and preset modes increase. It is further demonstrated that such DoF improvement indeed yields the sum rate improvement at the finite and operational signal-to-noise ratio regime.


Understanding how abiotic disturbance and biotic interactions determine pollinator and flowering‐plant diversity is critically important given global climate change and widespread pollinator declines. To predict responses of pollinators and flowering‐plant communities to changes in wildfire disturbance, a mechanistic understanding of how these two trophic levels respond to wildfire severity is needed. We compared site‐to‐site variation in community composition (β‐diversity), species richness and abundances of pollinators and flowering plants among landscapes with no recent wildfire (unburned), mixed‐severity wildfire and high‐severity wildfire in three sites across the Northern Rockies Ecoregion, USA. We used variation partitioning to assess the relative contributions of wildfire, other abiotic variables (climate, soils and topography) and biotic associations among plant and pollinator composition to community assembly of both trophic levels. Wildfire disturbance generally increased species richness and total abundance, but decreased β‐diversity, of both pollinators and flowering plants. However, reductions in β‐diversity from wildfire appeared to result from increased abundances following fires, resulting in higher local species richness of pollinators and flowers in burned than unburned landscapes. After accounting for differences in abundance, standardized effect sizes of β‐diversity were higher in burned than unburned landscapes, suggesting that wildfire enhances non‐random assortment of pollinator and flowering‐plant species among local communities. Wildfire disturbance mediated the relative importance of mutualistic associations to β‐diversity of pollinators and flowering plants. The influence of pollinator β‐diversity on flowering‐plant β‐diversity increased with wildfire severity, whereas the influence of flowering‐plant β‐diversity on pollinator β‐diversity was greater in mixed‐severity than high‐severity wildfire or unburned landscapes. Moreover, biotic associations among pollinator and plant species explained substantial variation in β‐diversity of both trophic levels beyond what could be explained by wildfire and all other abiotic and spatial factors combined. Synthesis. Wildfire disturbance and plant–pollinator interactions both strongly influenced the assembly of pollinator and flowering‐plant communities at local and regional scales. However, biotic interactions were generally more important drivers of community assembly in disturbed than undisturbed landscapes. As wildfire regimes continue to change globally, predicting its effects on biodiversity will require a deeper understanding of the ecological processes that mediate biotic interactions among linked trophic levels.


In this paper, assessed are the stability of vehicle and track according to vertical support stiffness difference on the transition between conventional and zero-longitudinal resistance (ZLR) rail fastener on bridge. For this, the spring constants of rail fastener have been determined according to different load ranges - KTX load (with or without impact factor) and test load of EN standards - from results of laboratory test on rail pad, the stability analysis of vehicle and track has been performed according to numbers or installation length of ZLR fasteners using vertical vehicle-track coupled model to consider train-track interaction. The analysis results reveal that only the wheel load variation slightly exceed the limit value when 2 ZLR fasteners are used with spring constant determined within the EN test load range, but, in all other cases, all evaluation items are satisfied. Thus, it can be said that the stability of vehicle and track will not be degraded by ZLR fastener.


Abstract : A software evaluation methodology has been developed at SRI International for evaluating contributions to the ARPA/DMA Image Understanding Testbed. This paper describes the criteria that have shaped the evaluation methodology. Diverse examples of evaluation results are presented for the GHOUGH object detection System from the University of Rochester, the PHOENIX segmentation system from Carnegie-Mellon University (CMU), and the RELAX relaxation package from the University of Maryland.


The woody vegetation of Lake Nakuru National Park occurs along rivers, lakeshores and flood plains. Four different sites within the Acacia xanthophloea woodlands were selected for the study. Vegetation structure was not significantly different in the four woodlands used for the study, but these sites differed in the relative density of Acacia trees. Regeneration of A. xanthophloea differed in each site, with the highest regeneration rates found in the nonfenced plots where browsing took place.


The potential challenge at the fag end of orthodontic treatment is to restore the tooth structure as was prior to the beginning of the treatment. The aim of the article is to give a proper insight into the methodology of debonding not only from the orthodontist's point of view but also keeping in mind the general practitioners who follow the procedure. At times, cases which are very well treated end up with enamel fractures or tears during debonding. Among the several methods recommended, the simplest and most effective and popular method has been discussed in this article as a clinical tip.


The aim of this study was to determine the suitable class on Prigi watershed and planned the Prigi watershed area.
This study used survey method; i.e a) photograph interpreting, the result was land use map, land farm map, and geology map and drainage pattern b) semi detail survey on the field
c) data collecting; the data was soil profile, mini profile and soil baring d) data evalution ; and for measure erosion used USLE method.
This study was conducted for 5 month (Pebruary '99 — Juni ' 99) on Prigi area (8°11' — 8°23' LS and 111°41' — 111°41' BT) Watulimo Trenggalek.
The conclusion was (1) Prigi watershed was Inceptisols, the relief was vary from smooth — wavy, the recharge area has already pollute by human and there is no agroecosystem balance; because of on site and off site wasted (2) Land suitable classes of this area was consist of IV class — VIII (3) This area was suggesting as agroforestry area (4) It is needed to use biological conservation or mechanical conservation as alternatif method.3
Key Words : Land suitable, Conservation, Recharge Area.


The Minerva-Australis telescope array is a facility dedicated to the follow-up, confirmation, characterization, and mass measurement of planets orbiting bright stars discovered by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS)—a category in which it is almost unique in the Southern Hemisphere. It is located at the University of Southern Queensland's Mount Kent Observatory near Toowoomba, Australia. Its flexible design enables multiple 0.7 m robotic telescopes to be used both in combination, and independently, for high-resolution spectroscopy and precision photometry of TESS transit planet candidates. Minerva-Australis also enables complementary studies of exoplanet spin–orbit alignments via Doppler observations of the Rossiter–McLaughlin effect, radial velocity searches for nontransiting planets, planet searches using transit timing variations, and ephemeris refinement for TESS planets. In this first paper, we describe the design, photometric instrumentation, software, and science goals of Minerva-Australis, and note key differences from its Northern Hemisphere counterpart, the Minerva array. We use recent transit observations of four planets, WASP-2b, WASP-44b, WASP-45b, and HD 189733b, to demonstrate the photometric capabilities of Minerva-Australis.


Dietary behaviours are strongly patterned by socioeconomic status (SES). However, the role of SES in the self-regulation of health promoting dietary behaviour is not fully understood. This systematic review with meta-analysis investigated whether four individual-level measures of SES (income, occupation, education and race) moderate the relationships between Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) variables and health promoting dietary behaviour in adults. A systematic literature search identified 65 studies from 51 articles providing information on TPB variables, SES and health promoting dietary behaviour. Random-effects meta-analyses were conducted to generate pooled correlations corrected for sampling and measurement error. Results showed that all TPB variables were significantly associated with health promoting dietary behaviour, with intention having the strongest correlation with behaviour (21% of variance explained), followed by perceived behavioural control (PBC) (11%) attitude (7%) and subjective norm (2%). Random-effects meta-regression was used to investigate the moderating effects of individual-level measures of SES on these correlations. Results showed that none of the SES indicators were significant moderators of the relationship between TPB variables and health promoting dietary behaviour. These results suggest that associations between social-cognitive predictors and healthy dietary behaviour are not patterned by individual-level SES measures.


Rod photoreceptor phosphodiesterase (PDE6), the central enzyme of visual transduction in vertebrate photoreceptors, associates with the disk membranes of the rod outer segment (ROS) of the photoreceptor cell. This association insures the high efficiency of activation by the G-protein, transducin, and the precise control of its inactivation. In addition to binding to transducin during visual excitation, PDE6 is hypothesized to be regulated by other interacting proteins. The first aim of this research was to isolate and identify the proteins that interact with PDE6 during various stages of the visual signaling pathway. We evaluated methods for solubilizing PDE6 and its binding partners from the ROS disk membrane, and analyzed the protein composition by immunoprecipitation or size exclusion chromatography. Our results suggested that additional, as-yet unidentified, proteins bind to PDE6 in its nonactivated and activated states. This work led to enhanced protocols for purifying rod and cone PDE6 from photoreceptor cells. The second aim of the study was to evaluate the importance of the Glutamic Acid-Rich Protein-2 (GARP2) as a PDE6-interacting protein. First, we confirmed earlier observations that GARP2 is a high-affinity PDE6 interacting protein, and is present in amounts sufficient to stoichiometrically bind PDE6. Addition of purified GARP2 to ROS membranes containing PDE6 demonstrated that it is able to inhibit the basal activity of the nonactivated PDE6 holoenzyme. In contrast with a previous report, GARP2 does not alter the ability of transducin to activate PDE6. These results suggest a role for GARP2 in reducing the spontaneous activation of dark-adapted PDE6, thereby serving to increase the light sensitivity of rod photoreceptors as "single photon detectors.". The final aim was to investigate the molecular mechanism by which GARP2 interacts with PDE6 and regulates its catalytic properties. We found that GARP2 exerted a destabilizing effect on the regulatory cGMP binding sites of the PDE6 catalytic dimer, as well as interacting directly with two distinct subdomains of the inhibitory subunit of PDE6. These latter interactions are believed to account for the observed ability of GARP2 to enhance the affinity of the inhibitory subunits for the catalytic dimer of PDE6.


The induction and augmentation of tumor non‐specific immunity and of tumor‐specific immunity by intrapleural, intraperitoneal and subcutaneous injection of interleukin‐2 (IL‐2) gene‐modified Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) cells (LLC‐IL2) was tested in C57BL/6 mice. Intrapleural injection of LLC cells induced lung tumors with a malignant effusion, intraperitoneal injection induced peritoneal tumors with ascites and subcutaneous injection induced subcutaneous tumors. Intrapleural injection of irradiated LLC‐IL2 cured pre‐existing lung LLC tumors and extended the survival of the mice but did not affect survival of mice with pre‐existing peritoneal tumors nor did it affect the growth of s.c. tumors. Intraperitoneal injection of irradiated LLC‐IL2 cured pre‐existing LLC peritoneal tumors and extended the survival of the mice but did not affect survival of mice bearing lung tumors nor did it affect the growth of s.c. tumors. Subcutaneous injection of irradiated LLC‐IL2 did not affect the growth of preexisting s.c. tumors and also did not improve survival of mice bearing the lung or peritoneal tumors. Injection with irradiated LLC‐IL2 by all routes, i.e., intrapleural, intraperitoneal and s.c., protected against subsequent re‐challenge with LLC. Eight days after the initial immunization (early stage of immunization), non‐adherent mononuclear cells in the peritoneal cavity of the mice treated with intraperitoneal injection of irradiated LLC‐IL2 displayed enhanced cytotoxicity against LLC, B16‐F10 and P815 cells, while the cytotoxic activity of spleen cells in the same mice did not change. The efficiency of induction of tumor‐specific immunity was the strongest after intraperitoneal immunization and weakest after s.c. immunization. In vitro analysis using the spleen cells of mice immunized with irradiated LLC‐IL2 suggested that CD8+ T cells play a key role in tumor‐specific immunity. Int. J. Cancer 73:844–849, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


The arginine-glycine-aspartic acid motif at the C terminus of coxsackievirus A9 capsid protein VP1 has been shown to play a role in specific attachment of the virus to alpha(v)beta3 integrin on the host cell surface. The C-terminal region of the VP1 protein has also been shown to be highly antigenic by using peptide scanning techniques. To find out whether this region contains a neutralizing epitope, three overlapping peptides covering the C-terminal end of VP1 were synthesized and rabbit antisera were raised against these peptides. Neutralization of the virus was observed with all three antipeptide antisera in A549 cells and with two antisera in RD cells.


An investigation of wind flow and sand transport over a low to high density Ammophila dominated foredune on the Łeba barrier, Poland, utilizing multiple anemometers and sand traps is presented. The study provides the first high resolution data on modified saltation and suspended sand transport over a foredune under conditions of both canopy and skimming flow. Topographic acceleration of flow and topographic steering over the foredune were observed during oblique incident above threshold flow conditions. The concentration of sand in aeolian transport decreases with height to a minimum that is reached at different elevations above the ground, depending on Ammophila grass density. Of the three Ammophila (marram) grass densities investigated, nearly half (46%) of the total sand‐transport rate occurred above the lower density Ammophila grass, whereas up to 70% of the total transport occurred above the higher density marram grass. This likely results from both elastic collisions of sand grains with grass leaves over the Ammophila canopy and the different positions of the canopy rebounding surface, which is sensitive to even slight changes in wind speed. In addition, as plant density increases, there is less flow penetration into the canopy, vegetative forcing (similar to topographic forcing) of vertical flow is greater, and sand in both modified saltation and suspension is forced higher above the canopy in skimming flow. The maximum sand transport above the vegetation canopy increased in elevation from 32 to 48 to 53 cm as the vegetation density increased from low to moderate to high, respectively. The study also demonstrates that in skimming flow, relatively more sand is transported at higher elevations above a canopy surface than above a bare sand surface.


A nonplanar Flash memory architecture with ultrahigh-density (~1.5 × 1012 cm-2) NiSi nanocrystals (NCs) as the floating gate is demonstrated using a triangular-shaped Si nanowire array as the memory transistor channel. The memory device shows good programming, erasing, and retention characteristics. This result suggests that nonplanar devices can extend NC memory scaling limit.


Neural networks are an important and powerful family of models, but they have lacked practical ways of estimating predictive uncertainty. Recently, researchers from the Bayesian machine learning community developed a technique called Monte Carlo (MC) dropout which provides a theoretically grounded approach to estimating predictive uncertainty in dropout neural networks [Gal and Ghahramani, 2016]. Some researchers have developed ad hoc approximations of these uncertainty estimates for use in convolutional neural networks [Feinman et al., 2017; Leibig et al., 2017]. We extend their research to a multi-class setting, and find that ad hoc approximations of predictive uncertainty in some cases provides useful information about a model's confidence in its predictions. Furthermore, we develop a novel approximation of uncertainty that in some respects performs better than those currently being used. Finally, we test these approximations in practice and compare them to other methods suggested in the literature. In our setting we find that the ad hoc approximations perform adequately, but not as well as those already suggested by experts.


Objectives: Enteric parasites are a major cause of diarrhoea in HIV/AIDS patients with low CD4 counts. Parasitic infections in HIV-infected individuals can reduce their quality of life and life span, especially those who are severely immunosuppressed with a CD4 T-lymphocyte count < 200cells/μl. This study presents CD4 counts and enteric parasitic infections in HIV-infected individuals. Methodology: A total of 480 subjects were recruited at the General Hospital, Nasssarawa Toto, Nigeria. Stool samples collected were analyzed macroscopically and microscopically for consistency and the presence of enteric parasites; while the accompanying CD4 values were enumerated using the coulter manual CD4 count method. Results: The overall prevalence rate of enteroparasites was 24% (115/480). The parasites detected were Hookworm (6.5%), Entamoeba histolytica (4.4%), Schistosoma mansoni (2.9%), Giardia lamblia (2.5%), Entamoeba coli (2.3%), Isospora belli (1.7%), Strongyloides stercoralis (1.0%), Faciola spp. (1.0%), Dipylidium caninum (0.6%), Cyclospora spp. (0.4%), Ascaris lumbricoides (0.4%), and Enterobius vermicularis (0.2%). Most (80%) of the patients infected with these parasites had a CD4 count of less than 200 cells/μl. Similarly, majority (65%) of patients with diarrhoea had a CD4 count of less than 200 cells/μl. Patients with CD4 counts of 201 cells/μl and above were less affected. However, these differences were not statistically significant (p>0.05). Conclusions: Low CD4 counts in HIV-infected patients can lead to enteric infections. This information strengthens the importance of monitoring CD4 counts and intestinal parasites. Routine CD4 testing will greatly improve the prognosis of HIV positive patients.


With the exception of the scholarly editions of his plays and a handful of essays on the better-known works, Philip Massinger's dramatic output has received little critical attention in the twentieth century. This collection of critical essays attempts a full reappraisal of the critical position. The essays come from the leading Massinger scholars and are introduced by a brief biography which places the playwright in the context of early Stuart theatre. Important general aspects of Massinger's dramaturgy - his strikingly individual language; attitude to male and female bonding; political views and collaborative work - are discussed, in addition to separate essays on the tragicomedy The Maid of Honour, his best-known tragedy The Roman Actor, and the two comedies A New Way to Pay Old Debts and The City Madam. Four hundred years after his birth this book will show that the hitherto underrated Massinger was the chief dramatist for England's major theatrical company from the death of Fletcher until the closing of the theatres in 1642, and a theatrical poet of major importance.


The paper presents an interactive game-like application to learn, perform and evaluate modern contemporary singing. The Human Beat Box (HBB) is being used as a case study. The game consists of two main modules. A sensor module that consists of a portable helmet based system containing an ultrasonic (US) transducer to capture tongue movements, a video camera for the lips, Kinect camera for face gestures, and a microphone for sound. A 3D environment game module is used to visualize a 3D recording studio as game world with all of its unique elements like guitars, mixer, amplifier, speakers and a microphone in front of the 3D avatar to simulate the recording ambience. The game also features a 2D virtual tutor to help the learner by giving oral and written feedback during the game. He also gives feedbacks during the practice session to improve the student's performance. The game is still at its early stages of development and it is been tested using simple HBB plosive sounds for percussion such as "PTK".


Real-time extraction of features from range images can play an important role in computer vision tasks such as localisation and navigation. Developing operators that can characterise features in a range image, such as jump, crease, or smooth edges, is challenging, due to both the irregular spatial distribution of range image data and the nature of the features themselves. We present adaptive gradient operators that can automatically change shape to accommodate irregular data distribution; through appropriate analysis of the output responses, we show that the operators can also be specialised to characterise particular types of range image features.


Despite the ongoing development of strategic management research over the last few decades, there is a relative shortfall in the state of knowledge on strategy in the nonprofit sector. Non-profit organisations (NPOs) are distinct from for-profit organisations as they invest in people rather than in profits. For-profit strategic
management techniques that are brought to NPOs are often criticised for being ineffective in the sector. Consequently, the need for competent strategic management
in NPOs is urgently needed. One way of addressing this shortfall is to examine strategic management in NPOs through the lens of intellectual capital (IC). Encompassing three primary interrelated components named as human capital, structural capital and relational capital, IC promotes the creativity possessed by all organisational members to account for an organisation's future non-financial prospects. This paper argues that IC allows NPOs to keep their values, identity and distinctiveness in the non-profit sector. Consequently, value would be added to
strategic decision-making processes in NPOs.


While enjoying the convenience brought by the Internet of Things (IoT), people also encounter many problems with wireless sensor networks (WSNs), the foundation of IoT. Security problems are especially of concern. In this article, we focus on location privacy, which is a major security issue in WSNs, and propose a k-means cluster-based location privacy (KCLP) protection scheme for IoT. To protect the source location, fake source nodes are used to simulate the function of the real sources. Then, to protect the sink location privacy, fake sink nodes and a specific transmission pattern are utilized. In order to improve safety time, a k-means cluster is applied to create clusters and fake packets that must pass through the area. Compared to contrasting algorithms, the KCLP scheme can increase the safety time and reduce delay at minor expense in energy consumption.


The growing interest in exploring thermal face biometrics is mostly due to the robustness of thermal imagery to face spoofing attacks. However, this robustness lies in the acquisition of thermal properties by the thermal sensor and is limited to presentation attacks. In this paper, we propose a new type of attack on thermal face recognition systems, performed at the post-sensor level. In the visible spectrum, this attack would be carried out by simply injecting a face image of the claimed identity into the communication channel right after the sensor. However, unlike visible face images that are abundantly available on the web, thermal face images are not easy to obtain. Therefore, we propose to generate synthetic thermal attacks by converting visible face images into the thermal spectrum. To perform visible-to-thermal spectrum conversion, we use a cascaded refinement network trained using contextual loss. In a scenario where the attacker has prior knowledge about the spoofing countermeasure of the system, we introduce a new loss computed at the local binary pattern (LBP) maps level to fool an LBP-based spoofing attack detection algorithm. The vulnerability of thermal face biometric systems to the proposed attack is then assessed using two existing baselines of spoofing attack detection. When compared to the challenging presentation attack using silicone masks, the equal error rate has increased from 0.20% to 11.60% and from 2.28% to 58.54% when exposed to the proposed synthetic attack, using the two spoofing attack detection baselines.


Several recent analyses of paleomagnetic data support the concept of Pangea, an assemblage of most of the world's continents that was mobile in terms of large-scale internal deformation and with respect to paleolatitude. The main feature of internal deformation involved the transformation from a Pangea B–type configuration in the late Paleozoic, with northwestern South America adjacent to eastern North America, to a more traditional Pangea A–type configuration in the early Mesozoic, with northwestern Africa adjacent to eastern North America. Pangea B thus seems to coincide in time with extensive low-latitude coal deposition and high southern-latitude Gondwana glaciations, whereas Pangea A coincides with generally drier conditions over the continents and no polar ice sheets. Although the configuration of Pangea may have been more stable as an A-type configuration in the Early and Middle Jurassic prior to breakup, the paleomagnetic evidence suggests that there was appreciable latitudinal change of the assembly. Such changing tectonic boundary conditions emphasize the practical importance of age registry of paleoclimate data in making valid comparisons with model results. A simple zonal climate model coupled with the geocentric axial dipole hypothesis for establishing paleolatitudes in precisely controlled paleogeographic reconstructions can explain many of the climate patterns in both


The main purpose of this study is to understand and evaluate the factors affecting consumer's preference of fast food items in Kathmandu Valley. Taste, price, ambience and location have been taken as independent variables and brand preference has been taken as dependent variable in the study. The study has been adopted the descriptive and causal research design. Samplesize has been taken 226 under the study. Primary data for the research has-been collected using structured questionnaire from fast food consumer within Kathmandu Valley of University students. To analyze the collected data, descriptive statistics, and Pearson correlation as well as regression analysis has been conducted to identify the relationship and effect between independent variables (taste, price, ambience and location) and dependent variable (consumer preference). SPSS has been used to process the data and to find the result of the data analysis.
By the correlation analysis there is significant relationships between independent variables (taste, price, ambience and location) and dependent variable (brand preference). Based on regression analysis, taste, ambience and location have significant and positive impact on consumer preference for fast food items. It means consumers are much more concerned and aware about these factors while consuming the fast food. Similarly, price has less or no effect on consumer preference for fast food items for the respondents taken under the study.


Background: There is limited information about the clinical profile of hyponatraemia in Qatar. Objectives: The aim of this study was to describe the clinical presentation and aetiology of moderate and severe hyponatraemia in patients admitted to Hamad general hospital. Patients And Methods: This descriptive observational hospital-based study was conducted at Hamad general hospital from June 2007 to July 2008; it involved all adult patients who were admitted to Hamad general hospital with moderate and severe hyponatraemia. Results: During the 12-month study period, 53 consecutive patients with moderate and severe hyponatraemia were admitted to Hamad general hospital. 33 (62.3%) were males and 20 (37.7%) were females). The mean age of the patients was 56± 20 years (range of 17-93 years). Females had a significantly higher mean age than males (63.9±16.9 versus 51.6±21.2, p = 0.02). Hyponatraemia due to extra-renal sodium loss was the most frequent cause of hyponatraemia, it was found in 18 (33.9%) patients; whereas the aetiology of hyponatraemia remained unknown in four patients. Of all, 31 (58.4%) patients had moderate hyponatraemia, whereas 22 (41.6%) patients had severe hyponatraemia. Impairment of consciousness was found in 13 (24.5%), it ranged from confusion to coma in 13 patients with impairment of consciousness, 10 (76.9%) had severe hyponatraemia and 3 (9.6%) had moderate hyponatraemia. Conclusions: Hyponatraemia due to extra-renal loss was the most frequent cause of hyponatraemia in our study; it was more prevalent among elderly patients than in younger patients. No significant gender related difference differences were found in the relative frequency rates. Moreover, no significant differences were found between moderate and severe hyponatraemia with respect to consciousness impairment.


Simulation has always been an indispensable tool in the design and analysis of telecommunication networks. Due to performance limitations of the majority of simulators, usually network simulations have been done for rather small network models and for short timescales. In contrast, many difficult design problems facing today's network engineers concern the behavior of very large hierarchical multihop networks carrying millions of multiprotocol flows over long timescales. Examples include scalability and stability of routing protocols, packet losses in core routers, of long-lasting transient behavior due to observed self-similarity of traffic patterns. Simulation of such systems would greatly benefit from application of parallel computing technologies, especially now that multiprocessor workstations and servers have become commonly available. However, parallel simulation has not yet been widely embraced by the telecommunications community due to a number of difficulties. Based on our accumulated experience in parallel network simulation projects, we believe that parallel simulation technology has matured to the point that it is ready to be used in industrial practice of network simulation. This article highlights work in parallel simulations of networks and their promise.


Landward vergence in accretionary wedges is an uncommon phenomenon not readily explained by classical Mohr-Coulomb critical wedge theory. Predominantly landward- vergent thrust faults are observed along the Cascadia convergent margin from 45°N to 48°N. We present depth-migrated multichannel seismic images of the internal structure of the accretionary wedge offshore Washington collected during the ORWELL project in 1996. These reveal a high p-wave velocity (≥4 km/s) basal layer that thickens landward and serves as a decollement for a series of overlying landward-vergent thrust faults. Analog modeling using a ductile basal layer consisting of silicone putty produces an array of trenchward-propagating, landward-vergent thrusts and offers a plausible mechanical model for the evolution of these structures. The rheological properties of a basal calcareous mudstone layer offshore Cascadia are discussed in relation to the mechanics of landward vergence and to rapid loading due to the prograding Nitinat and Astoria deep-sea fans. A viscoelastic layer beneath the accretionary wedge is considered to be capable of rupturing during great interplate earthquakes and thus represents an increased risk for both the maximum size of such an event and for the generation of tsunamis.


In this paper, we propose a MCFQ I/O scheduler that is implemented by modifying the existing Linux CFQ I/O scheduler. MCFQ observes whether the user requested I/O bandwidth weight is well distributed. Based on the I/O bandwidth observation, we improved I/O performance of the existing bandwidth distribution ability by dynamically controlling the I/O time-slice of the virtual machine. The use of SSDs as storage has been increasing dramatically in recent computer systems due to their fast performance and low power usage. As the usage of SSD increases and prices fall, virtualized system administrators can take advantage of SSDs. However, studies on guaranteeing SLA(Service Level Agreement) services when multiple virtual machines share the SSD is still incomplete. In this paper was conducted to improve performance of the bandwidth distribution when multiple virtual machine are sharing a single SSD storage in a virtualized environment. In particular, it was observed that the performance of the bandwidth distribution varied widely when garbage collection occurs in the SSD. In order to reduce performance variance, we add a MoTS(Manager of Time Slice) on existing CFQ I/O scheduler.


Abstract. A system is presented for spotting and searching keywords in handwritten Arabic documents. A slightly modified dynamic time warping algorithm is used to measure similarities between words. Two sets of features are generated from the outer contour of the words/word-parts. The first set is based on the angles between nodes on the contour and the second set is based on the shape context features taken from the outer contour. To recognize a given word, the segmentation-free approach is partially adopted, i.e., continuous word parts are used as the basic alphabet, instead of individual characters or complete words. Additional strokes, such as dots and detached short segments, are classified and used in a postprocessing step to determine the final comparison decision. The search for a keyword is performed by the search for its word parts given in the correct order. The performance of the presented system was very encouraging in terms of efficiency and match rates. To evaluate the presented system its performance is compared to three different systems. Unfortunately, there are no publicly available standard datasets with ground truth for testing Arabic key word searching systems. Therefore, a private set of images partially taken from Juma'a Al-Majid Center in Dubai for evaluation is used, while using a slightly modified version of the IFN/ENIT database for training.


Enhancement of heat transfer in the tube heat exchanger is studied experimentally by using discrete twisted tapes. Three different positions were selected for inserting turbulators along tube section (horizontal position by α= 00, inclined position by α= 45 0 and vertical position by α= 900). The space between turbulators was fixed by distributing 5 pieces of these turbulators with pitch ratio    PR = (0.44). Also, the factor of constant heat flux was applied as a boundary condition around the tube test section for all experiments of this investigation, while the flow rates were selected as a variable factor (Reynolds number values vary from 5000 to 15000). The results show that using discrete twisted tapes enhances the heat transfer rate by about 60.7-103.7 % compared with plane tube case. Also, inserting turbulators with inclined position offers maximum heat transfer rate by 103.7%.


Abstract Thermodynamic and phase diagram experimental data relevant to the Zr–O binary system have been assessed. A set of Gibbs energy functions describing the phases in this system is presented. The adjustable parameters of the models are obtained by least-squares fit to the experimental data. The liquid phase is described by Hillert's partially ionic liquid model. The interstitial solid solution model is applied to the metallic zirconium solid solutions bZr and αZr. The ordering αZr is described by a three-sublattice model with Bragg-Williams treatment of ordering. The two modifications of the zirconium dioxide, αZrO2 and bZrO2, are modelled as stoichiometric phases. The modification cZrO2 is described by the Wagner-Schottky model expressed in the compound-energy formalism. The gas phase is treated as an ideal solution of the species Zr, Zr2,O1, O2, O3, ZrO and ZrO2. The calculated phase diagrams and values for the thermodynamic properties are compared with experimental data.


We present a deterministic, log-space algorithm that solves st-connectivity in undirected graphs. The previous bound on the space complexity of undirected st-connectivity was log4/3(ṡ) obtained by Armoni, Ta-Shma, Wigderson and Zhou (JACM 2000). As undirected st-connectivity is complete for the class of problems solvable by symmetric, nondeterministic, log-space computations (the class SL), this algorithm implies that SL = L (where L is the class of problems solvable by deterministic log-space computations). Independent of our work (and using different techniques), Trifonov (STOC 2005) has presented an O(log n log log n)-space, deterministic algorithm for undirected st-connectivity.
 Our algorithm also implies a way to construct in log-space a fixed sequence of directions that guides a deterministic walk through all of the vertices of any connected graph. Specifically, we give log-space constructible universal-traversal sequences for graphs with restricted labeling and log-space constructible universal-exploration sequences for general graphs.


An agent's actions can be influenced by external factors through the inputs it receives from the environment, as well as internal factors, such as memories or intrinsic preferences. The extent to which an agent's actions are "caused from within", as opposed to being externally driven, should depend on its sensor capacity as well as environmental demands for memory and context-dependent behavior. Here, we test this hypothesis using simulated agents ("animats"), equipped with small adaptive Markov Brains (MB) that evolve to solve a perceptual-categorization task under conditions varied with regards to the agents' sensor capacity and task difficulty. Using a novel formalism developed to identify and quantify the actual causes of occurrences ("what caused what?") in complex networks, we evaluate the direct causes of the animats' actions. In addition, we extend this framework to trace the causal chain ("causes of causes") leading to an animat's actions back in time, and compare the obtained spatio-temporal causal history across task conditions. We found that measures quantifying the extent to which an animat's actions are caused by internal factors (as opposed to being driven by the environment through its sensors) varied consistently with defining aspects of the task conditions they evolved to thrive in.


Middleware supports based on mobile agents (MAs) have recently emerged with the goal of allowing application developers to easily manage and control the properties and behaviors of mobile systems, especially in novel wireless and ubiquitous scenarios. Several MA systems have grown independently with no widely recognized standardization and still lack functions for easy integration. The primary consequence is that one MA platform tends to offer middleware facilities scarcely compatible with other MA systems. Moreover, MA tools are sometimes difficult to employ by common users who have to overcome a significant knowledge gap before properly exploiting MA-specific functions. The paper proposes a solution to open up the usage of MA systems via the bridge of the emerging Web services (WS) standard technology to achieve interoperability. We have developed an integration infrastructure, called WSMI, with the twofold goal of exporting the MA functions with a WS interface and of simplifying the access to legacy WS components from any MA system. This promotes the uniform access to different MA system functions, independently of the specific MA implementation. We have thoroughly evaluated the WSMI prototype performance, also by comparing the WSMI integration functions with similar non-WS-based facilities: the increased dynamicity and openness of our integration infrastructure have demonstrated to largely counterbalance the overhead introduced by WS adoption.


The capabilities of the conceptual link between threshold gates and sorting networks are explored by implementing some arithmetic demonstrators. In particular, both an (8 × 8)-multiplier and a (15, 4) counter which use a sorter as the main building block have been implemented. Traditional disadvantages of binary sorters such as their hardware intensive nature are avoided by using νMOS circuits. It allows both an improving of previous results for multipliers based on a similar architecture, and to obtain a new type of counter which shows a reduced delay when compared to a conventional implementation.


An analysis of a katabatic flow is made through data provided by a high resolution mesoscale simulation of the isle of Majorca in the western Mediterranean sea. It is found that a quasi-steady state is reached in the second part of the night and that the katabatic flow interacts with a cold pool formed at the end of the slope, in the center of the Palma basin. The application of a two-layer model following the framework set out in Mahrt (1982) shows that the main term of the momentum budget equation is the buoyancy force, which is generally balanced by the stress divergence and the advection term. The entrainment at the top is small and the scale analysis shows that the flow is in a shooting regime, in agreement with the hydraulic theory. Finally, an oscillatory behaviour of the wind speed and potential temperature is well correlated with the changes in the slope angle and it is adapted with the waves generated above in the lee side of the mountain.


The use of speech source localization (SSL) and its applications offer great possibilities for the design of speaker local positioning systems with wireless acoustic sensor networks (WASNs). Recent works have shown that data-driven front-ends can outperform traditional algorithms for SSL when trained to work in specific domains, depending on factors like reverberation and noise levels. However, such localization models consider localization directly from raw sensor observations, without consideration for transmission losses in WASNs. In contrast, when sensors reside in separate real-life devices, we need to quantize, encode and transmit sensor data, decreasing the performance of localization, especially when the transmission bitrate is low. In this work, we investigate the effect of low bitrate transmission on a Direction of Arrival (DoA) estimator. We analyze a deep neural network (DNN) based framework performance as a function of the audio encoding bitrate for compressed signals by employing recent communication codecs including PyAWNeS, Opus, EVS, and Lyra. Experimental results show that training the DNN on input encoded with the PyAWNeS codec at 16.4 kB/s can improve the accuracy significantly, and up to 50% of accuracy degradation at a low bitrate for almost all codecs can be recovered. Our results further show that for the best accuracy of the trained model when one of the two channels can be encoded with a bitrate higher than 32 kB/s, it is optimal to have the raw data for the second channel. However, for a lower bitrate, it is preferable to similarly encode the two channels. More importantly, for practical applications, a more generalized model trained with a randomly selected codec for each channel, shows a large accuracy gain when at least one of the two channels is encoded with PyAWNeS.


Rapidly rotating early-type stars with strong magnetic fields frequently show H α emission originating in centrifugal magnetospheres (CMs), circumstellar structures in which centrifugal support due to magnetically enforced corotation of the magnetically confined plasma enables it to accumulate to high densities. It is not currently known whether the CM plasma escapes via centrifugal breakout (CB), or by an unidentified leakage mechanism. We have conducted the first comprehensive examination of the H α emission properties of all stars currently known to display CM-pattern emission. We find that the onset of emission is dependent primarily on the area of the CM, which can be predicted simply by the value BK of the magnetic field at the Kepler corotation radius RK. Emission strength is strongly sensitive to both CM area and BK. Emission onset and strength are not dependent on effective temperature, luminosity, or mass-loss rate. These results all favour a CB scenario; however, the lack of intrinsic variability in any CM diagnostics indicates that CB must be an essentially continuous process, i.e. it effectively acts as a leakage mechanism. We also show that the emission profile shapes are approximately scale-invariant, i.e. they are broadly similar across a wide range of emission strengths and stellar parameters. While the radius of maximum emission correlates closely as expected to RK, it is always larger, contradicting models that predict that emission should peak at RK.


Glycosylation of flagellin in Campylobacter jejuni is essential for motility and virulence. It is well-known that flagellin from C. jejuni 81−176 is glycosylated by pseudaminic acid and its acetamidino derivative, and that Campylobactor coli VC167 flagellin is glycosylated by legionaminic acid and its derivatives. Recently, it was shown, by use of a metabolomics approach, that C. jejuni 11168 is glycosylated by dimethyl glyceric acid derivatives of pseudaminic acid, but the sites of glycosylation were not confirmed. Here, we apply an online liquid chromatography electron capture dissociation (ECD) tandem mass spectrometry approach to localize sites of glycosylation in flagellin from C. jejuni 11168. Flagellin A is glycosylated by a dimethyl glyceric acid derivative of pseudaminic acid at Ser181, Ser207 and either Thr464 or Thr 465; and by a dimethyl glyceric acid derivative of acetamidino pseudaminic acid at Ser181 and Ser207. For comparison, on-line liquid chromatography collision-induced dissociation of the tryptic digests was performed, but it was not possible to assign sites of glycosylation by that method.


BACKGROUND
Research has shown that many college students do not meet recommended national guidelines for physical activity. The objective of this pilot study was to examine the short-term efficacy of a brief motivational intervention (BMI) designed to increase physical activity.

METHODS
Participants were 70 college students who reported low physical activity (83% women, 60% African American). Participants were randomly assigned to either the BMI condition or to an education-only (EO) condition. They completed measures of physical activity at baseline and 1-month follow-up.

RESULTS
Those in the BMI condition reported more vigorous-intensity physical activity at a 1-month follow-up than those in the EO condition.

CONCLUSIONS
The findings from this study provide preliminary support for the efficacy of a BMI designed to increase physical activity among college students. Future studies should continue to examine and refine the intervention in an effort to improve health-related behaviors among this group.


The guiding principle of compulsory purchase of interests in land in England and Wales is that of fairness, best stated in the words of Lord Justice Scott in Horn v Sunderland Corporation when he said that the owner has "the right to be put, so far as money can do it, in the same position as if his land had not been taken from him". In many instances, land acquired by compulsion subsequently becomes surplus to the requirements of the acquiring authority. This may be because the intended development scheme was scrapped, or substantially modified, or that after the passage of time the use of the land for which the purchase took place is no longer required. More controversially it may be that for 'operational reasons' the acquiring authority knowingly purchased more land than was required for the scheme. Under these circumstances, the Crichel Down Rules ('the Rules') require government departments and other statutory bodies to offer back to the former owners or their successors, any land previously so acquired by, or under the threat of, compulsory purchase.


Since the early days of the Charter, uncertainty prevailed about constitutional exemptions as a remedy for breaches of the section 12 guarantee against "cruel and unusual treatment or punishment". It was unclear whether an offender could be exempted from the application of a mandatory minimum sentence that would produce an unconstitutional result in the unique circumstances of the case. The Supreme Court of Canada recently decided this issue, ruling in R. v. Ferguson that constitutional exemptions are unavailable under section 12. However, the author argues that uncertainty lingers in the wake of Ferguson because the Supreme Court failed to resolve the underlying issue, which is how to address sentencing provisions that operate constitutionally in most cases but have unconstitutional effects in rare cases. Viewed in its jurisprudential context, Ferguson suggests that section 12 provides little protection to individuals whose exceptional circumstances render the application of a mandatory minimum sentence cruel and unusual.


The 2007 U.S. Attorney firing scandal raised the specter of political bias in the prosecution of officials under federal corruption laws. Has prosecutorial discretion been employed to persecute enemies or shield allies? To answer this question, I develop a model of the interaction between officials contemplating corruption and a prosecutor deciding whether to pursue cases against them. Biased prosecutors will be willing to file weaker cases against political opponents than against allies. Consequently, the model anticipates that in the presence of partisan bias, sentences of prosecuted opponents will tend to be lower than those of co-partisans. Employing newly collected data on public corruption prosecutions, I find evidence of partisan bias under both Bush (II) and Clinton Justice Departments. However, additional evidence suggests that these results may understate the extent of bias under Bush, while overstating it under Clinton.


The technic of perfusing isolated rat livers has been used to study amino acid metabolism in livers from rats which have been maintained on a 3′-Me-DAB diet and on a low protein-low choline diet producing experimental cirrhosis. The precancerous rat liver shows a marked depression of urea synthesis and a decreased production of C14O2 from l-lysine-6-C14 during the course of 6-hr. experiments. At the end of the experiment these livers have significantly elevated liver free amino acid concentration. These findings are paralleled in the cirrhotic rat liver.

In the precancerous livers incorporation of l-lysine-6-C14 into both liver and plasma proteins is 2–3 times greater than into the liver and plasma proteins of normal livers. Similarly, the cirrhotic livers show increased incorporation into liver proteins and unimpaired incorporation into plasma proteins.

The data are indicative of an underlying biochemical defect in the amino acid catabolism of the precancerous and cirrhotic rat livers. This defect seems to involve the metabolism of α-amino nitrogen and may reflect an impairment in the transamination or deamination systems of these livers or an impairment in one of the subsequent reactions leading to the synthesis of urea.


Duplication 22q11.2 syndrome is the result of a microduplication of the same chromosomal region that is deleted in DiGeorge and Velocardiofacial syndromes. We describe a patient with dysmorphic features who was diagnosed with pre‐B acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and developed cystinuria and pancreatitis during treatment. Duplication 22q11.2 has not been previously described in association with hematologic abnormalities. Chromosomal microarray technology was used to diagnose duplication 22q11.2 syndrome. In this era of advanced genomics, this technology has become an important method for helping to determine the molecular basis of diseases, best treatments and ultimately patient outcomes. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2011;56:470–473. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Revealed and stated preference techniques are widely used to assess willingness to pay (WTP) for non-market goods as input to public and private decision-making. However, individuals first have to satisfy subsistence needs through market good consumption, which affects their ability to pay. We provide a methodological framework and derive a simple ex post adjustment factor to account for this effect. We quantify its impacts on the WTP for non-market goods and the ranking of projects theoretically, numerically and empirically. This confirms that non-adjusted WTP tends to be plutocratic: the views of the richest – whatever they are – are more likely to impact decision-making, potentially leading to ranking reversal between projects. We also suggest that the subsistence needs-based adjustment factor we propose has a role to play in value transfer procedures. The overall goal is a better representation of the entire population's preferences with regard to non-market goods.