There is an active and heated debate over whether socioeconomic rights should be included in modern constitutions because of their supposed "positive" character and the difficult separation-of-powers and institutional-competence concerns such rights raise. The controversy over the nature of socioeconomic rights and whether constitutions should include them is connected to the issue of how to enforce these rights when they are included. The South African Constitutional Court is the leading example of a court dealing with these enforcement issues, and its early decisions have been hailed by many, including Mark Tushnet and Cass Sunstein, as developing a uniquely effective approach to enforcing socioceconomic rights. Tushnet suggests that the Court has adopted a "weak-form" approach to enforcement that gives the legislature a substantial role to play in interpreting these rights. Sunstein similarly argues that the court has adopted an administrative-law approach that limits the Courts' role to assessing whether policies adopted by the other branches are reasonable. Many in South Africa, however, have been critical of the Court's approach, arguing that it fails to give full effect to the promise of these rights by inappropriately limiting the Court's role.On February 19, 2008 the Constitutional Court handed down its most recent decision in the socioeconomic rights area, Occupiers of 51 Olivia Road v. City of Johannesburg. City of Johannesburg, and a landmark housing settlement that the Court approved in that decision, illuminate the Court's approach to socioeconomic rights in important ways that call into question the accounts offered by both sides of this debate. This Article addresses the debate over the Constitutional Court's enforcement of socioeconomic rights and draws on City of Johannesburg litigation and other recent developments to offer a new framework for understanding the Court's approach to socioeconomic rights.Both sides of the debate have failed to adequately consider two key aspects of the Court's early cases. First, the Court has consistently left open the possibility for evolution towards stronger forms of enforcement for these rights in subsequent cases. Second, in two of these cases, the Court has concretely demonstrated its willingness to take a direct role in enforcing socioeconomic rights. Focusing on these two aspects of the early cases, it is evident that the Court has described the possibility for a mixed form of review that is potentially more robust than both sides of the debate claim.Parts II and III of this Article outline the Court's early cases and the debate that has developed around them. Part IV critiques both sides of this debate and develops a new account of the Constitutional Court's approach to socioeconomic rights. Part V analyzes recent developments in the socioeconomic rights area, including the City of Johannesburg litigation as well as recent lower-court cases, to assess the effectiveness of the Court's policentric approach.


INTRODUCTION
Optimized workflows and communication between institutions involved in a patient's treatment process can lead to improved quality and efficiency in the healthcare sector. Electronic Health Records (EHRs) provide a patient-centered access to clinical data across institutional boundaries supporting the above mentioned aspects. Interoperability is regarded as vital success factor. However a clear definition of interoperability does not exist. The aim of this work is to define and to assess interoperability criteria as required for EHRs.

METHODS
The definition and assessment of interoperability criteria is supported by the analysis of existing literature and personal experience as well as by discussions with several domain experts.

RESULTS
Criteria for interoperability addresses the following aspects: Interfaces, Semantics, Legal and organizational aspects and Security. The Integrating the Healthcare Enterprises initiative (IHE) profiles make a major contribution to these aspects, but they also arise new problems. Flexibility for adoption to different organizational/regional or other specific conditions is missing. Regional or national initiatives should get a possibility to realize their specific needs within the boundaries of IHE profiles. Security so far is an optional element which is one of IHE greatest omissions. An integrated security approach seems to be preferable.

DISCUSSION
Irrespective of the so far practical significance of the IHE profiles it appears to be of great importance, that the profiles are constantly checked against practical experiences and are continuously adapted.


Summary Following the recent discovery that the storage and flow capacity of some basement reservoirs relates to both fracture and fissure capacity, we are working towards further understanding as to how and when this paradigm shift should be applied. Our current model is based upon observations from the Rona Ridge in the UK West of Shetland. Critical questions to be addressed include: How applicable is the fissure model to other basement plays (and tight cover sequences) globally? What are the relative contributions of the fractures and fissures to storage and flow, how do they inter-relate, how can they be adequately described and how might we expect the contributions to vary in different settings?


We conducted a meta-analysis of food and agricultural demand elasticities for China, and used the results to derive estimates of income, own-price, and cross-price elasticities of demand that can be used in models of food and agricultural markets. Consistent with expectations, we find that income elasticities of demand for many food products decline as per capita income increases. The declines are relatively large for alcohol and tobacco, and smaller for livestock products. Contrary to expectations, own-price elasticities for some products become more price-elastic as per capita income increases. One explanation may be that economic development brings with it improvements in food supply chains that provide people more choices with respect to food products than those traditionally consumed in rural villages, leading to greater substitution possibilities and more price-elastic demands. Estimates for 2011 of income and own-price demand elasticities are generally reasonable, whereas deriving reliable estimates of cross-price elasticities is difficult. The estimates suggest that China's meat and dairy demands, and in turn livestock feed demands, will continue growing strongly. Policy-makers should continue to monitor the evolution of demand for these products with an eye toward ensuring food security, particularly given the sheer size of the population and relatively tight domestic food supply situation in China.


Human genes homologous to the v-erbA oncogene of avian erythroblastosis virus have been mapped to at least two human chromosomes. Recently, the ERBA2 gene was shown to encode a thyroid hormone receptor and localized to chromosome 3 by using flow-sorted chromosomes. We now demonstrate that this gene is located at 3p22----3p24.1, using both somatic cell hybrids and in situ hybridization studies. Since this localization is close to the distal border of the small cell lung cancer (SCLC) 3p14----3p23 deletion, we undertook additional studies to examine the ERBA2 gene in SCLC. Using somatic cell hybrids constructed from the SCLC line NCI-H182 as well as matched patient tumor and control tissue samples, we found that ERBA2 is variably deleted. Therefore, ERBA2 defines at the molecular level the distal border of the SCLC deletion and further implies that the putative suppressor gene is located centromeric of this locus. We also determined that, at least in NCI-H182, the 3p14 breakpoint is proximal to the constitutive 3p14.2 fragile site. These studies would indicate that the mechanism or initiation site of chromosomal rearrangement in SCLC is different from that which occurs during induction of the 3p14 fragile site by aphidicolin.


Pedilanthus tityhymaloides, a common inhabitant of tropical countries, is known for its ethnomedicinal values. Despite its uses, its milky latex is toxic to sensitive parts and its usage is restricted. Thus, to study the extent of toxicity of the plant, in-silico toxicity evaluation of its compounds is performed. The methanolic extract of the plant was analyzed by Gas Chromatography and the compounds detected are used in this study. Toxicity Estimation Software Tool (TEST), an in-silico QSAR model, was used to assess the toxicity of the compounds against Pimephales promelas. The toxicity of the plant compounds 10-Octadecenoic acid, methyl ester; Cyclopropanebutanoic acid, 2-[[2-[[2-[(2-pentyl cyclo propyl) methyl] cyclopropyl] methyl] cyclo propyl] methyl]-, methyl ester; Pentadecanoic acid, 14-methyl-, methyl ester; (4,4-Diphenyl-butyl)-(3-phenyl-piperidin-4-yl-)-amine and Rescinnamine were evaluated and their LC50 recorded were 0.57, 1.87 E-02, 0.85, 4.30 E-02 and 5.36 E-04 mg/mL respectively, concluding that these compounds are super toxic in nature.


BACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown that both salmeterol and formoterol act as partial beta 2 receptor agonists in terms of antagonising the extrapulmonary responses to fenoterol in normal subjects. The aim of the present study was to extend previous observations in evaluating the effect of prior treatment with salmeterol and formoterol on bronchodilator responses to fenoterol, a full beta 2 receptor agonist, in patients with asthma. METHODS: Ten stable asthmatic patients of mean (SE) age 37 (3.7) years and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) 59.5 (4.1)% of predicted completed the study. One hour after inhaling single doses of placebo, salmeterol 25 micrograms, or formoterol 12 micrograms, dose-response curves to repeated doses of inhaled fenoterol were constructed (cumulative doses of 100-3200 micrograms). Measurements of airway and systemic beta 2 receptor mediated responses were made at baseline, after inhalation of placebo, salmeterol, or formoterol, and after each dose of fenoterol. RESULTS: Salmeterol and formoterol produced significant bronchodilation compared with placebo (mean difference and 95% CI compared with placebo): FEV1, salmeterol 0.41 (95% CI 0.13 to 0.69) 1, formoterol 0.47 (95% CI 0.19 to 0.75) 1. Salmeterol and formoterol had no significant effect on systemic responses compared with placebo. There were no significant differences in peak airway responses to fenoterol after treatment with salmeterol or formoterol compared with placebo (mean (pooled SE)): FEV1, placebo 2.84 (0.03) 1, salmeterol 2.87 (0.03) 1, and formoterol 2.88 (0.03) 1. There were no significant differences in the area under the dose-response curve for any of the parameters during the dose-response curve following treatment with salmeterol or formoterol compared with placebo. There was no difference in the slope of the dose-response curves to fenoterol for FEV1 or forced expiratory flow (FEF25-75) after treatment with salmeterol or formoterol compared with placebo, although there was a significant (p < 0.05) attenuation of the slope in the dose-response curve for the peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR). CONCLUSIONS: Prior treatment with low doses of salmeterol or formoterol does not significantly alter bronchodilator dose-response curves to repeated doses of fenoterol in stable asthmatic patients.


Among a variety of fiber sensors, the fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor has numerous advantages over other optical fiber sensors. One of the major advantages of this type of sensors is attributed to wavelength-encoded information given by the Bragg grating. Since the wavelength is an absolute parameter, signal from FBG may be processed such that its information remains immune to power fluctuations along the optical path. This inherent characteristic makes the FBG sensors very attractive for application in smart material structure, health monitoring field et al. But FBG sensors are sensitive to temperature and strain simultaneously; it is necessary to analyze the characteristics of temperature and strain of FBG applied for smart structure. Short overview of the FBG sensing principle as well as theoretical analyses is presented at first; then the paper proposes a simple, convenient, and low cost experimental method to verify the performance of FBGs. The improved high-accuracy experimental instrument of thermal deformation, which consists of an accurate temperature controlling and measuring subsystem, supporting and adjusting subsystem, collimating and positioning subsystem and fine motion and measuring sub-system, is simply introduced. The proposed experimental method involves bonding one uniform FBG to the center of the pole, which is about 89.5mm long; another FBG temperature sensor is free in the temperature-control box. The temperature in the box is -20°C-+50°C is adjusted according to experimental schedule. The characteristics of the FBG are analyzed by actual datum, which are simultaneously collected by a PC through a FBG interrogator. Comparing the data of FBG bonded to the pole with another FBG temperature sensor in the free state, the characteristics of the temperature and the thermal strain of the FBG can be obtained. The experimental result shows the FBGs used to the smart material have good agreement characteristics with theoretical calculation of the FBGs.


The intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) offers a detailed visualization of the cardiac structures, in association with hemodynamic information, allowing the precise and real-time positioning of the catheters, decreasing the time of exposure to fluoroscopy and the monitoring of acute complications during the electrophysiological procedure (i.e., formation of thrombi, pericardial effusion, cardiac tamponade), Consequently, its use has progressively increased, mainly in the ablation of atrial fibrillation and ventricular arrhythmias. It has shown to be very useful in the ablation of atrial fibrillation by providing anatomic data on the left atrium and pulmonary veins, helping in transseptal punctures, locating the ostium and antrum of the pulmonary veins, monitoring tissue injury during radiofrequency (RF) use, preventing esophageal injury by monitoring the injuries caused by RF on the left atrial posterior wall and assessing the pulmonary vein flow.


The paper describes the ongoing research project on Ninilchik Russian as a unique variety of the Russian language. We believe it is a remnant of Alaskan Russian – a language that emerged at the end of the 18th century as a result of Russian colonial presence in Alaska and served as a means of communication in Russian America until the end of the Russian period in 1867. By that time Alaskan Russian became the native language for the people of mixed Russian/Native origin residing in various parts of Alaska. Ninilchik was one such place and, due to many factors combined, became a major location where this linguistic variety kept developing and serving as a means of communication, creating and maintaining cultural identity, and holding together the community of brave, persistent, and self-sustained people. Thanks to the people of Ninilchik, Alaskan Russian is still alive in the 21st century. The paper deals with two aspects of this multifaceted linguistic phenomenon. One is a theoretical problem of the "archaeological approach" to the language data which reflects a rather short but diverse history of Alaskan Russian and involves contact studies. Another is the Ninilchik Russian Dictionary project that allows to record both items and concepts, s well as the sociocultural narratives together making up the special story of the linguistic and cultural community


Peer-to-peer systems have earlier made it possible to do more with the networks available than the typical server-client architecture allows. In the last few years, websites have developed from very static pages to complex dynamic applications. The web continues to evolve and WebRTC introduces peer-topeer communication to the browser and the web applications we run in these browsers. The web applications can utilize this technology in different ways. This project moves a known peer-to-peer algorithm, Chord, to the browser as a proof-of-concept. Moreover, it looks into using geographical location data to enhance the routing in a Distributed Hash Table (DHT). This project investigates the how to build a peer-to-peer system between browsers and how to test the system during development and after. The project proposes to use simulation and a scaled test with real browsers to test WebRTC based peer-to-peer applications. In this project, the browsers ran within Docker containers in data centers around the world. Both simulations and tests with real browsers can be used in development as well as evaluation testing. The Docker based real browser tests were helpful in indicating bugs, however, the environment were hard to debug. The results from the evaluation tests indicate that the routing enhanced with knowledge of geographical locations gives a boost in routing performance.


Background: The ageing population is growing and the dependency ratio is increasing. It is vital to promote healthy ageing of older people to relieve pressure on society. The aim of this study is to explore the effects of community-based intergenerational programmes on older adults' physical health in terms of their general self-rated health, level of physical activity and physical functioning.
Methods: A rapid literature review was performed to identify studies of intergenerational programmes for community-dwelling older adults. The search included peer-reviewed articles published in English from 1986 to 2014 with no country restriction. However, interventions for older people with dementia, as well as for anyone living in residential care were excluded. Supplementary searches were performed and a narrative synthesis was conducted.
Results: Seven studies met these inclusion criteria. Intergenerational activities, including volunteering and reminiscence components, have been associated with an overall positive trend in physical health outcomes. Individuals reported having better health, as well as decreased body aches and pain. In addition, participants reported a feeling of being "more active", with improved energy consumption, increasing the numbers of streets walked and stairs climbed. For physical functioning, older volunteers tended to show less decline in hand grip strength but inconsistent results for walking speed.
Conclusion: More studies with longer time horizons and sufficient statistical power are required to determine the optimal level of participation and to address potential barriers to maximising the benefits of intergenerational programmes for socially marginalised groups. More formal evaluations of the costs and benefits of programmes are needed, taking account of broader societal benefits to inform practice and policy for active ageing.


The impact of rising drug use on US mortality may extend beyond deaths coded as drug-related to include excess mortality from other causes affected by drug use. Here, we estimate the full extent of drug-associated mortality. We use annual death rates for 1999–2016 by state, sex, five-year age group, and cause of death to model the relationship between drug-coded mortality—which serves as an indicator of the population-level prevalence of drug use—and mortality from other causes. Among residents aged 15–64 living in the 50 US states, the estimated number of drug-associated deaths in 2016 (141,695) was 2.2 times the number of drug-coded deaths (63,000). Adverse trends since 2010 in midlife mortality are largely attributable to drug-associated mortality. In the absence of drug use, we estimate that the probability of dying between ages 15 and 65 would have continued to decline after 2010 among men (to 15% in 2016) and would have remained at a low level (10%) among women. Our results suggest that an additional 3.9% of men and 1.8% of women died between ages 15 and 65 in 2016 because of drug use. In terms of life expectancy beyond age 15, we estimate that drug use cost men 1.4 years and women 0.7 years, on average. In the hardest-hit state (West Virginia), drug use cost men 3.6 and women 1.9 life years. Recent declines in US life expectancy have been blamed largely on the drug epidemic. Consistent with that inference, our results imply that, in the absence of drug use, life expectancy at age 15 would have increased slightly between 2014 and 2016. Drug-associated mortality in the US is roughly double that implied by drug-coded deaths alone. The drug epidemic is exacting a heavy cost to American lives, not only from overdoses but from a variety of causes.


The paper challenges the proposition that customary international law is automatically a part of the common law in Canada and, by extension, other countries of the Anglo-Saxon legal family. It proposes a more nuanced approach which is better in keeping with the divergent natures of international and national law. The point of focus is a major flaw in the reasoning by Lord Denning in the Trendtex case, which is responsible for the general belief that international customs obey the logics of monism. His Lordship held that dualism could not apply to customs (unlike treaties) because of the doctrine of precedents in common law; monism is the model, otherwise stare decisis would mean that changes in the normativity on the international plane could not be reflected in the domestic law. But nowadays, stare decisis does not mean (assuming it once did) that old precedents will stand in the way of allowing judge-made law to evolve. Arguably, this was already the situation when the Trendtex case was decided in 1977, thus making Lord Denning's ruling fall flat.


With the goal of better understanding how polymers inhibit crystallization in amorphous solid dispersions, crystal growth rates of the R and S enantiomers of a model chiral compound in the presence of chiral and achiral polymers were evaluated. The crystal growth rates of enantiomers in undercooled melts were inhibited to different extents by the same mass fraction of a chiral polymer, hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose acetate succinate. This is most likely due to differences in the ability of each enantiomer to form hydrogen bonding interactions with the polymer, which in turn impacts the crystallization behavior of the low molecular weight organic compound. In contrast, the achiral polymer polyvinylpyrrolidone, and the chiral polymer, hydroxypropylmethylcellulose phthalate showed the same inhibitory impact on each enantiomer.


Elongated traces, showing a lower v-shape closed end have been identified in mid Holocene estuarine deposits exposed along the lower reach of the Quequen Grande River, Argentina (38°34'35" S and 58°42'45" W) associated with shells in life position of the infaunal bivalve Tagelus plebeius (Lightfoot). These traces, located in a stratigraphic level dated in cirea 6,900 years 14C B.P.,were originated by the burrowing activity of T. plebeius based upon the comparison of their morphological characteristics (width, general shape, colour) with those of T. plebeius and the traces resulting from its burrowing activity at present estuarine environments of the region. The high percentages of the estuarine gastropod Heleobia australis (d'Orbigny) found in the sedimentary filling of the traces come from the overlying strata, abundant in Heleobia australis remains. The traces are stratigraphically transgressive within a depth interval of up to 80 cm.


We propose a novel metric to evaluate price developments within the euro area (EA), which involves the decomposition of the overall variability of cross country inflation rates into common and idiosyncratic labor cost and markup components. The analysis yields several interesting results. First, over the period 1978-2015, inflation variability in the EA reflects most of all idiosyncratic (country-specific) developments in unit labor costs (ULC). This sharply contrasts with what we find for the US states, where price dynamics to a much greater extent reflects common developments in costs and profits, consistently with the role played by the greater mobility of capital and labor. Second, when we apply our approach to data for two subgroups of countries, namely Core and Non-core countries, we find that they both display higher intra-group homogeneity, in that the role of the subgroup-specific common components in explaining inflation variability increases, while idiosyncratic developments in ULC become correspondingly less relevant. Third, over the more recent period (1999-2015) in the Core countries the idiosyncratic component due to price markups has become the dominant driver of the variability of inflation, a pattern similar to the one we detect for the US. Our analysis also sheds light on the adjustment mechanisms to asymmetric, or country specific, shocks. Using a panel VAR approach we find that price changes driven by diverging developments of ULC are reflected into trade balance adjustments that are costly from the point of view of the smooth functioning of the currency area.


Planning for a complex remanufacturing systems is often an NP-hard problem in terms of computational complexity and simulation is usually the only available but very time-consuming approach in many cases. Ordinal optimization offers an efficient framework for simulation based optimization approaches. In this paper, a new constrained ordinal optimization method is presented for solving remanufacturing planning problems. The scheme of "Horse Race" with Feasibility Modeal (HRFM) is developed to select the set of good enough plans. The rough set method in machine learning and knowledge discovery is applied to generate rules for feasibility determination. This method is compared with the Blind Picking with Feasibility Model (BPFM) method. Numerical testing of a practical remanufacturing system shows that the HRFM method presented in this paper is more efficient to meet the same required alignment probability.


This experiment was conducted to evaluate the egg production performance in zebrafish ( Danio rerio ) in different pH treatments. Zebrafish were reared continuously 15 days in 3 different pH treatments like control (pH 6.8-7.4), acidic (pH 5.0-6.0) and basic (pH 9.0-10.0) media and then eggs were collected from them. Numbers of egg collection from the acidic and basic media were significantly varied from the control. Collected eggs from acidic, basic and control media were then incubated at different pH treatments ranging from pH 2.0-12.0. Significant differences were observed in hatching rate and time in control medium from two other different treatments. Progressive Agriculture 26:85-89, 2015


This paper introduces development and application of ultra-high strength/high performance concrete in construction of the Xita tower high-rise building at Zhujiang New City of Guangzhou, China. The goal of the concrete construction in the Xita Tower project will be realized via research of mix proportion and optimization of pumping equipment. In regard to mix proportion of concrete, low water/cement (W/C) ratio, low water content lower than 150 kg/m3 and employment of superplasticizer are essential to acquire high strength. A series of parameters have been measured to research workability of concrete from C70 to C90, such slump, slump flow, flow time from inverted cone, L-box flow, and bleeding under pressure et al. Properties of hardened concrete should also be considered, including durability, autogenous shrinkage caused cracking, and fire resistance.


The Research&Development (R&D) phase of drug development is a lengthy and costly process. To revolutionize this process, we introduce our new concept QMLS to shorten the whole R&D phase to three to six months and decrease the cost to merely fifty to eighty thousand USD. For Hit Generation, Machine Learning Molecule Generation (MLMG) generates possible hits according to the molecular structure of the target protein while the Quantum Simulation (QS) filters molecules from the primary essay based on the reaction and binding effectiveness with the target protein. Then, For Lead Optimization, the resultant molecules generated and filtered from MLMG and QS are compared, and molecules that appear as a result of both processes will be made into dozens of molecular variations through Machine Learning Molecule Variation (MLMV), while others will only be made into a few variations. Lastly, all optimized molecules would undergo multiple rounds of QS filtering with a high standard for reaction effectiveness and safety, creating a few dozen pre-clinical-trail-ready drugs. This paper is based on our first paper, where we pitched the concept of machine learning combined with quantum simulations. In this paper we will go over the detailed design and framework of QMLS, including MLMG, MLMV, and QS.


International wine market is becoming one of the more dynamic in beverages sector. This paper is a summary of the research developed during 2004-2006 at the UPM with Argentinean exporters. The selection of UK market was due to the high degree of competition between international wines: European, American, Australian and others. Secondary information was collected from EU and Argentina publication and data bases. Primary information was obtained through face to face interviews with the main stakeholders and wine exporter entrepreneurs. UK wine market is one of the more competitive in the world and the main destinations of Argentinean exports. The presentation describes the strengths and weaknesses of the more significant wine exporters with a SWOT matrix analysis. Argentina has comparative advantages in wine production but the main problem is the wine network exporting performance. The challenge is how to design adequate strategies, involving public and private national resources and get adequate quota market in the coming future. Some specific recommendations are related to: Firms and country commercial brands, relationship exporters-UK retailers, trade brands shared by producers and commercial agents, promotion and publicity of Argentinean wines in UK. Other scenarios of future development are the improvement of firm strategic alliances, rising added value in the wine chain for exporters and communication programs with UK society.


BACKGROUND
Epigenetic regulation may be involved in modulation of gene expression during the normal cyclic changes of the human endometrium. We investigated expression of DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) in endometrium during the menstrual cycle and the influence of sex steroid hormones on DNMT in endometrial stromal cells (ESC) in culture.

METHODS
Expression of DNMT1, DNMT3a and DNMT3b was assessed by immunohistochemistry and real-time RT-PCR in endometrial tissue (n = 42 women). ESC (n = 3 women) were cultured with estradiol and medroxyprogesterone acetate (E + MPA) for 17 days, and DNMT mRNA levels were measured by real-time RT-PCR.

RESULTS
Nuclei of both epithelial and stromal cells immunostained for DNMT1, DNMT3a and DNMT3b during each phase of the menstrual cycle. Tissue levels of DNMT1 and DNMT3a mRNA were significantly lower in the mid-secretory phase than in the proliferative phase (P < 0.01). For DNMT3b, the change in mRNA levels showed a similar trend to that for DNMT3a. In ESC culture, DNMT3a and DNMT3b mRNA levels were significantly decreased by E + MPA treatment (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, respectively) at Day 8 and Day 17.

CONCLUSIONS
DNMT mRNAs declined in the human endometrium during the secretory phase, and E + MPA down-regulated DNMT3a and DNMT3b mRNAs in ESC in culture. These results suggest that DNMTs have regulatory functions in gene expression that is associated with decidualization.


Fuel cells offer an alternative to burning fossil fuels, but use platinum as a catalyst which is expensive and scarce. Cheap, alternative catalysts could enable fuel cells to become serious contenders in the green energy sector. One promising class of catalyst for electrochemical oxygen reduction is iron-containing, nanostructured, nitrogen-doped carbon. The catalytic activity of such N-doped carbons has improved vastly over the years bringing industrial applications ever closer. Stoichiometric carbon nitride powder has only been observed in recent years. It has nitrogen content up to 57% and as such is an extremely interesting material to work with. The electrochemical activity of carbon nitride has already been explored, confirming that iron is not a necessary ingredient for 4-electron oxygen reduction. Here, we synthesize carbon nitride on a carbon nanotube support and subject it to high temperature treatment in an effort to increase the surface area and conductivity. The results lend insight into the mechanism of oxygen reduction and show the potential for carbon nanotube-supported carbon nitride to be used as a catalyst to replace platinum in fuel cells.


This paper aims at imaging the dynamics of metabolic activity of cells. Using dynamic optical coherence tomography, we introduce a new multi-particle dynamical model to simulate the movements of the collagen and the cell metabolic activity and develop an efficient signal separation technique for sub-cellular imaging. We perform a singular-value decomposition of the dynamic optical images to isolate the intensity of the metabolic activity. We prove that the largest eigenvalue of the associated Casorati matrix corresponds to the collagen. We present several numerical simulations to illustrate and validate our approach.


Human-computer symbiosis is a crucial direction for the development of artificial intelligence. As intelligent systems become increasingly prevalent in our work and personal lives, it is important to develop strategies to support users across physical and virtual environments. While technological advances in personal digital devices, such as personal computers and virtual reality devices, can provide immersive experiences, they can also disrupt users' awareness of their surroundings and enhance the frustration caused by disturbances. In this paper, we propose a joint observation strategy for artificial agents to support users across virtual and physical environments. We introduce a prototype system, neighbor-environment observer (NEO), that utilizes non-invasive sensors to assist users in dealing with disruptions to their immersive experience. System experiments evaluate NEO from different perspectives and demonstrate the effectiveness of the joint observation strategy. A user study is conducted to evaluate its usability. The results show that NEO could lessen users' workload with the learned user preference. We suggest that the proposed strategy can be applied to various smart home scenarios.


Programmable data plane hardware creates new opportunities for infusing intelligence into the network. This raises a fundamental question: what kinds of computation should be delegated to the network? In this paper, we discuss the opportunities and challenges for co-designing data center distributed systems with their network layer. We believe that the time has finally come for offloading part of their computation to execute in-network. However, in-network computation tasks must be judiciously crafted to match the limitations of the network machine architecture of programmable devices. With the help of our experiments on machine learning and graph analytics workloads, we identify that aggregation functions raise opportunities to exploit the limited computation power of networking hardware to lessen network congestion and improve the overall application performance. Moreover, as a proof-of-concept, we propose Daiet, a system that performs in-network data aggregation. Experimental results with an initial prototype show a large data reduction ratio (86.9%-89.3%) and a similar decrease in the workers' computation time.


A significant portion of research-oriented toward exploring the developmental benefits attained through sport has been informed by social-ecological approaches (e.g., Holt, 2017). Accordingly, athlete development researchers must consider the structure of the activities, interactions with social agents, and appropriateness of the settings—not only as descriptive features but as aspects that influence youth outcomes (e.g., Cote et al., 2015). Considering that athlete development does not occur in a vacuum and that a range of contextual factors must be considered, this study sought to (1) demonstrate the contextual variability of "youth sport" within a mid-sized Canadian city and (2) explore participant reporting practices within a subset of journals within sport psychology. Phase 1 involved a sport scan to identify youth sport opportunities within the city and surrounding area. During Phase 2, researchers systematically reviewed articles involving youth athletes (aged 6-18) published within four peer-reviewed journals between 2000 and 2017. Phase 1 demonstrated that sport opportunities varied greatly pertaining to sport type, gender, level of competition, cost, and time commitments. The review of reporting practices in Phase 2 highlighted a tendency to list basic demographic information like gender, age, and sample size, while using vague terms to denote context (e.g., competitive level) instead of the actual elements of sport contexts (e.g., number of hours, sport tenure, ethnicity, cost). Accordingly, researchers might consider more specifically describing the contexts that they are studying, while also speaking to the role that those contexts have pertaining to athlete experiences (e.g., other sport or extracurricular involvement).Acknowledgments: This research was partially funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Canada Graduate Scholarship for Master's Students.


Background: For pragmatic clinical research comparing commonly used treatments, questions exist about if and how to notify participants about it and secure their authorization for participation. Objective: To determine how patients react when they seek clinical care and encounter one of several different pragmatic clinical research studies. Research Design: In an online survey using a between-subjects experimental design, respondents read and responded to 1 of 24 hypothetical research scenarios reflecting different types of studies and approaches to notification and authorization (eg, general notification, oral consent, written consent). Subjects: English-speaking US adults 18 years and older. Measures: Willingness to participate in the hypothetical study, acceptability of the notification and authorization approach, understanding of the study, perceptions of benefit/harm, trust, and perception of amount of study information received. Results: Willingness to participate did not differ by notification and authorization approach. Some (21%–36%) of the patients randomized to general notification with an explicit opt-out provision were not aware they would be enrolled by default. Acceptability was greatest for and similar among notification and authorization approaches that actively engaged the patient (eg, oral or written consent) and lower for approaches with less engagement (eg, general notification). Problems of understanding were found among 20%–55% of respondents, depending on the particular scenario. Most respondents (77%–94%) felt that participation in the hypothetical study posed no risks of harm to their health or privacy. Conclusions: Current attitudes about notification and authorization approaches and difficulties understanding pragmatic clinical research pose significant challenges for pragmatic research. Data from this study provide a starting point to developing solutions to these surprisingly complex issues.


This paper addresses a case study in which a contemporary, high-performance glass curtain wall and a composite metal panel cladding system were installed over an existing failed 1960s masonry wall with aluminum windows. In addition to consideration of the typical performance requirements for air and water infiltration and thermal insulation, the new wall systems were designed to meet glass shard retention requirements and to accommodate improvements to the structural frame required by the General Services Administration. These performance requirements were all met while creating a more inviting exterior appearance, improving the interior work environment, extending the building's service life, and reducing energy consumption. Problems of the original design and construction, extent of previous remediation attempts, findings of the investigation of the existing building, and the development of remediation options are discussed to provide background to selection of the over-cladding approach for remediation. Opportunities and limitations posed by the existing building, LEED requirements, glass shard retention, construction strengthening, full and uninterrupted occupancy, as well as other challenges inherent in the over-cladding of an existing high-rise building on a tight urban site are identified and discussed, and positive results are identified.


Recovery of the hematopoietic system up to 35 days following whole body irradiation of mice was investigated by measuring the repopulation ability of femoral bone marrow in irradiated recipients. The assay was performed five days after transfusion by testing for incorporation of 125iodo-deoxyuridine (125IUdR) into DNA of femoral marrow and spleen. The DNA incorporating cells are progeny of transfused stem cells or early precursors. For non-irradiated donors 125IUdR incorporation in the recipient spleens was proportional to the number of transfused cells between 0.05-1.0 x 10(6)/mouse but decreased with larger grafts (5-30 x 10(6). Yet, in the femur 125IUdR incorporation remained proportional over the range of 0.5-30 x 10(6) transfused cells. Recovery was discontinuous and not complete 35 days after irradiation. A possible explanation is injury to stem cells that still permits these cells to produce progeny within a milieu of high proliferation stimulus.


This Policy Brief discusses a few simple measures to improve both the commercial and investment banking landscapes, with or without formal separation. Covering deposits with quality collateral would make them safer and would help create an easier guarantee and resolution mechanism at the larger eurozone level. Strong central counterparties and transparency requirements would improve market mechanisms and market discipline in capital markets and investment banking. Specific governance measures would also help improve the financial sector. Finally, a better control of bank solvency, together with improved capital market transparency and accessibility, should encourage the progressive deleveraging of commercial banks, and enhance the long term funding of the economy by capital markets.


New contributions presented define the character of the depositional system and stratigraphic architecture of Middle to Upper Ordovician foreland succession of the Ottawa Embayment, central-east Canada. The Ordovician foreland succession is the local expression of the cratonic Tippecanoe I Megasequence that extends across southern Laurentia, developed within a retro-arc basin. This study investigates craton-interior intrabasinal response of sedimentation to tectonic, climatic, depositional and eustatic controls, and compares the stratigraphic fabric with equivalent strata along strike to the south in the much larger Appalachian Basin.
The foreland stratigraphy is divided into eight (I-VIII) transgressive-regressive depositional sequence comprise platform succession and one (IX) regressive sequence forms basin succession. This define a tectonic cycle of net platform deepening over ~15 my, and subsequent basin-fill spanning ~3 my.
This study reaffirms placement of the Sauk-Tippecanoe I (S-T) Megasequence boundary within the upper Beekmantown Group. Examination of the upper Turinian-Chatfieldian (Upper Ordovician) succession in the embayment reveals three stages of carbonate-platform development of which the intermediate stage (Watertown Formation, L'Orignal Formation, coeval Rockland Formation and lower Hull Formation) illustrates more intrabasinal (and structural) control on sedimentation compared to bounding stages that document regional continuity with extrabasinal stratigraphy.
The upper Turinian-Chatfieldian interval was also examined using δ13C chemostratigraphy to provide higher resolution of stratigraphic correlation. Four positive excursions (E1 to E4) are mapped through the Ottawa Embayment into two outliers to the northwest along the Ottawa-Bonnechere graben. Chatfieldian Excursion E3 is the local expression of the regional (if not global) Guttenberg δ13C excursion (GICE). Improved resolution of the Guttenberg δ13C excursion in the embayment demonstrates amalgamated (E3 and E4) excursions across disconformities. Lateral variation in the magnitude of δ13C excursions reflect local modulation of regional (or global) events in response to changes in circulation, productivity, and accumulation rates. In comparison with laterally equivalent sedimentary basins in southern Laurentia, the Middle to Upper Ordovician foreland succession of the Ottawa Embayment illustrates an elevated sensitivity to syndepositional structural control. Tectonism played an important role on base level relative to an otherwise net eustatic rise through the Middle and Late Ordovician.


The Galactic cosmic ray (CR) fluxes observed in the vicinity of the Earth encode the space and time averaged properties of their sources and are also shaped by the effects of their propagation in the Galaxy. A combined study of the spectra of different particle types (protons, primary and secondary nuclei, electrons, positrons and antiprotons) is essential to determine the roles of the source and of propagation in the formation of the fluxes. Several authors are now claiming that these combined studies have essentially solved the problem, and that the properties of CR propagation, and the source spectra for all particle types are nowwell determined in a broad energy range, with significant uncertainties only at high energy. In this contribution we analyse critically these results, and conclude that the problem of determining in good approximation the average CR source spectra (and therefore also the main properties of CR propagation) remains open, with very large uncertainties. Solving this problem has profound implications for the properties of the Galactic CR accelerators (that have not yet been firmly identified) and for our understanding of the Milky Way magnetic structure. Future observations, especially of electrons and positrons in the multi–TeV range and of unstable isotopes like beryllium in the few GeV range should soon allow to solve the problem.


Syphilis is a systemic disease caused by the transmission through sexual contact of Treponema pallidum . It has a high incidence in men who have sex with other men, and is associated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. The diagnosis depends on serological tests or confirmation of the spirochete in histological samples. The primary lesion courses after a latency period of 2 to 6 weeks, and the secondary disseminated phase, usually associated with mucocutaneous lesions and lymphadenopathy, may involve any organ. Symptomatic syphilitic hepatitis is a rare manifestation, the diagnosis of which is a challenge. It is characterized by a marked elevation of alkaline phosphatase, moderate elevation of transaminases, and no bilirubin changes. Histologically, portal inflammation and non-caseous granulomas predominate without associated necrosis. The case described is a rare manifestation of secondary syphilis, in the form of hepatitis in a sexually active HIV-infected patient with good response to the recommended benzathine penicillin treatment. J Med Cases. 2019;10(7):222-223 doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/jmc3254


The correlation between pharmacokinetics and dynamics of furosemide was investigated in anaesthetized dogs. After intravenous administration (i.v.) of furosemide (5 mg/kg), the plasma concentration declined rapidly with bioexponential decay. The half-life (t1/2 beta) of the late phase of elimination was 0.931 +/- 0.187 h and the apparent volume of distribution at steady state was 0.25 +/- 0.043 l/Kg. The total clearance (Cltot) was 0.435 +/- 0.031 l/h/kg, in which the renal clearance was 0.260 +/- 0.020 (about 60% of Cltot). The change in rate of urinary excretion of furosemide was similar to the plasma concentration decay curve. The diuretic effect of furosemide was accompanied by an extreme increase in the excretion rate of sodium and chloride, but not potassium. The relationships between the diuretic response and the plasma concentration or the urinary excretion rate of furosemide was depicted by sigmoidal dose-response curves in both cases. The half-maximum effect was obtained at 1.5 micrograms/ml of plasma concentration or at 80 micrograms/min of excretion rate of furosemide.


Microstructures of Fe-Cr-Ni and Fe-Mn alloys subjected to severe plastic deformation under pressure have been studied by high pressure torsion and twist extrusion. This processes have similar deformation schemes, but very different pressure levels. The paper shows that this has a dramatic effect on the value of the residual high pressure e-phase in Fe-Mn alloys that underwent severe plastic deformation using these methods. Under roughly the same equivalent deformation of 5-6 units, the value of the residual e-phase in HPT with 20 GPa pressure reaches 100%. In TE with 1.5 GPa, it does not exceed 50%.


OBJECTIVE
To introduce a large body of work that explores the modelling of expenditure on health services per person living with major causes of disease or injury as a valid basis for conclusions regarding future health expenditure in Australia.

METHODS
Separate projections were calculated for important health conditions (or groups of conditions) by type of expenditure (hospital care, medical services, pharmaceuticals, aged care homes and other health services). Analyses accounted for expected changes in the number of affected cases, the proportion of cases treated, the volume of health services per treated case and excess health price inflation.

RESULTS
Total health expenditure in Australia is expected to increase from 9.4% of GDP in 2002-03 to 10.8% of GDP in 2032-33. This represents a 15% increase in the "health : GDP" proportion over the projection period, or an annual growth of 0.5%. Two-thirds of this growth is accounted for by expected increases in population size and population ageing.

CONCLUSIONS
The lower annual growth in the "health : GDP" proportion compared with other estimates for Australia (range, 0.9% to 1.7%) was attributed to different assumptions regarding non-demographic growth factors, particularly volume per case. Explicit modelling of these factors separately for each condition ensured that assumptions remained within plausible limits.


Different samples of digitalis vary widely in their therapeutic effectiveness when given orally to man, and the development of biologic methods for the assay of digitalis shows that different specimens of the drug also vary greatly in activity on the animal heart, the most active being at least three times as potent as the weakest specimen. This wide divergence in activity was believed to account for the observed variability in the therapeutic efficiency of the drug, and it was hoped that the general adoption of one or another method of biologic assay would eliminate the uncertainty of therapeutic effects. While this has not been accomplished, it is now unusual for the therapeutist to find a very weak specimen of digitalis, and it is exceptional for the most active specimen to exceed the weakest by more than 50 per cent. The average high grade digitalis of the present time is generally


Democratic management as a way of organizing the public school can be translated in its contemporary historicity as a collective action that demands changes in the autocratic and hierarchical structure of the school unit. In this article, we analyze the process of constructing legislation on democratic school management in contexts of local educational reforms, based on Brazilian and Spanish cases. Methodologically, we understand educational legislation as documents that incorporate discourses with legitimate authority, especially of the State, and that spread conceptions of the world as a result of disputes over hegemony in the field of 1 This is an unofficial English translation provided by the authors and has not been peer-reviewed. The democratic management of the public school in contexts of local educational reforms 2 educational policies. In terms of results, our study points out that throughout the process of producing legislation for the democratic management of schools, the two countries showed advances and setbacks regarding the specification of the school actors who should participate in decision-making processes, as well as the instances of participation in school management.


Abstract The emperor penguin colony at Coulman Island is reputedly the largest known. This reputation is based on intermittent ground and aerial surveys performed since 1958. From an aerial survey obtained on 28 October 2010 we discovered that the total number of chicks was 56% of the lowest previous estimate of 2006 and only 41% of the most recent estimate in 2008. All of the counts tallied since 1983 were determined either by ground counts or from aerial film or digital photographs, or estimates from adult counts. We also determined the sea ice conditions in autumn, which is close to the time the adults arrive to breed. We present three hypotheses of what might have happened from 2008–10 to cause the step change in chick production, the small recovery of chick numbers in 2011, and the complete recovery of number of adults from 2010–11. We conclude that local circumstances may have strongly influenced the breeding behaviour of the emperor penguins in 2010 and to a lesser degree in 2011 when many adults elected not to breed.


In the last two decades, the social and economic benefits of formal education in sub-Saharan Africa has been debated. Anecdotal evidence points to low and time varying returns to education in Africa. Unfortunately, there has been little econometric evidence to support these claims at the micro level. Here I focus on Nigeria, a country that holds 1/5 of Africa's population, and use instruments based on the exogenous timing of the implementation and withdrawal of free primary education across regions in this country to precisely estimate the returns to education in the late 1990s. In addition, claims of time differences in returns are investigated. The results show that the average returns to education are particularly low in the 90s, in contrast to conventional wisdom for developing countries (3.6 % for every extra year of schooling in 1998). In addition, there have been significant changes in returns to education for head of households over short time periods. These results shed new light on both the changes in demand for education in Nigeria and the increased emigration rates from African countries that characterized the 90s.


The distribution of residual stress in thick pre-stretched aluminum plate needs to be accurately measured in order to control the machining distortion. In the measuring process, the dynamic resistance strain instrument was used to accurately measure the releasing process of stress and collect the strain changes data with the time changing. Not only the status and the distribution of 3D residual stress, but also the releasing velocity trend of 3D residual stress are obtained, which is very significant in engineering.


Background: Thiopurines (azathioprine and mercaptopurine) are frequently used immunosuppressive drugs to maintain remission in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Half of the conventional thiopurine-derivative users have to discontinue treatment within 5 years, mainly because of intolerable adverse events. Over recent years, different strategies to optimize thiopurine treatment were suggested, yet, studies describing the clinical effectiveness of these strategies remain scarce. The aims of this study were to compare tolerability and sustained clinical benefit of conventional thiopurine derivatives therapy among two 5-year real-life intercept cohorts and to assess the clinical value of specifically allopurinol cotherapy. Methods: In this retrospective single-center cohort study, we analyzed data from patients in whom weight-based thiopurine monotherapy was initiated between 2005 and 2009 (cohort 1) or between 2010 and 2014 (cohort 2). The initiation of the second cohort was synchronic to the start of allopurinol-based optimization in our center. Optimization strategies were extracted from patient charts. Results: In total, 105 patients were included (60 in cohort 1, and 45 in cohort 2). Metabolite measurement was performed in 37% versus 84% of the patients (P < 0.001). Subsequent optimization strategies were applied in 33% versus 58% of the patients because of inadequate metabolite concentrations, intolerance, or ineffectiveness (P = 0.01). Allopurinol was coadministered to therapy in 18 patients (40%) in the second cohort. Therapy was switched to thioguanine in 11 versus 6 patients (P > 0.05). Overall, total duration was longer in the second cohort (10.8 versus 34.1 months, P < 0.001). The number of ongoing thiopurine users (20% versus 49%) and sustained clinical benefit (13% versus 38%) were higher in the second cohort (both P < 0.05). This was mainly because of a decrease in hepatotoxicity after optimization (P < 0.01). Conclusions: Optimization of thiopurine therapy by the use of therapeutic drug monitoring with subsequent administration of allopurinol cotherapy successfully enhanced sustained clinical benefit and tolerability in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.


Can international law continue to bind the U.S. to reduce carbon emissions after it terminates the Paris Climate Agreement? President Trump's recent statement that the U.S. immediately will halt implementation of the Paris Agreement lends urgency to this question: meeting global carbon emission reduction goals in accordance with the Paris Agreement would be close to impossible without U.S. participation. Global leaders have expressed outrage at the U.S. announcement, insisting that the U.S. continue to make efforts to meet its Paris goals. Despite the practical importance of the question, the scant scholarship on the topic so far has failed to provide a realistic path to hold the U.S. legally accountable for a defection from its Paris Agreement commitments. Part of the literature highlights the lack of substantive U.S. legal constraint under the law of treaties. The remainder proposes purely political processes to entice the U.S. to cooperate with global climate efforts.
This Article for the first time theorizes that the question can be answered by focusing on the legal significance of global reliance on the U.S.' Paris Agreement commitments. It submits that the Paris Agreement was built to encourage strong reliance interests. The U.S. acted to foster reliance upon its commitment to the Paris Agreement goals. Other states in turn relied upon representations by the U.S. By inducing other states to rely upon its commitments, the U.S. has now become bound under the international law of unilateral declarations to meet these commitments. The Article further submits that continued and ambitious state practice to reduce carbon emissions in reliance upon global Paris Agreement commitments will give rise to a new rule of customary international law. This rule of customary international law will obligate each state, including the U.S., equitably and proportionately to contribute to global carbon emission reduction efforts.
The Article shows that (1) the U.S. has bound itself by an international law unilateral declaration to continue to reduce carbon emissions notwithstanding President Trump's recent statement of intent to the contrary; (2) sufficiently many states have relied upon U.S. action to deny the U.S. the ability to terminate its unilateral commitment for at least four years; and (3) if a sufficient number of states have met or exceeded their own commitments by that time, the U.S. will become bound permanently by a carbon custom to continue to fulfill its initial commitments and to match the trajectory set by customary international development. The Article thus demonstrates that, consistent with the initial reaction to the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, existing commitments by the U.S. to reduce carbon emissions in the implementation of the Paris Agreement have more than political force at international law.


Objectives: The environment plays a key role in survival and brain development for premature infants. Recent interest lends consideration to non pharmacological interventions as a beneficial alternative. This study seeks to investigate the effect of lullaby music on the physiological response and weight gain of premature infants in Mashhad, Iran. Method: In this study, 44 very low birth weight infants 34 weeks of gestational age that were admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of Imamreza Hospital in Mashhad, Iran were enrolled. Infants were randomly assigned to one of two groups: the Music group and the Control group. Lullaby music was played through earphones for the Music group. This continued for 8 days at 20 minutes per day. The Control group received routine auditory stimulation. Neonates in the two groups were in stable condition and kept in their isolettes. Infants were monitored for 40 minutes; 10 minutes baseline, 20 minutes into the intervention and 10 minutes post intervention. Data measures were heart rate, respiration rate, oxygen saturation and body weight. Result: The two groups differed significantly in the respiratory rate (p = 0.01) and oxygen saturation (p = 0.001). There were no significant differences in the heart rate (p = 0.24) and weight gain (p = 0.093) between the two groups. Conclusion: Preterm infants respond to lullaby music as evidenced by the changes in their respiratory rates and oxygen saturations. Although this study did not demonstrate an improvement in weight gain, further studies are recommended to examine the effect of music on other growth and developmental aspects.


An investigation was carried out with the postharvest mangoes (viz., the Langra and the Khirshapat) treating with different levels of Bavistin DF solution (namely, 250, 500, and 750 PPM) for obtaining results on the biochemical and mineral content changes as well as storability of postharvest mango. The results of the experiments exhibited that only the single effect of varieties was found to be significant in most of the parameters studied. The Langra enriched a greater quantity of crude fiber, lipid, water-soluble protein, phosphorus, and potassium constituents over the Khirshapat. It is revealed that the expansion of mineral contents in the mango was intimately associated with ripening during storage. The results also noticed to be an increasing trend of lipid and protein content in mango pulp with the advance of storage period using Bavistin DF.


OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effects of the petroleum ether extract of Cissus quadrangularis on the proliferation rate of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, the differentiation of marrow mesenchymal stem cells into osteoblasts (osteoblastogenesis) and extracellular matrix calcification. This study also aimed to determine the additive effect of osteogenic media and Cissus quadrangularis on proliferation, differentiation and calcification. METHODS MSCs were cultured in media with or without Cissus quadrangularis for 4 weeks and were then stained for alkaline phosphatase. Extracellular matrix calcification was confirmed by Von Kossa staining. marrow mesenchymal stem cells cultures in control media and osteogenic media supplemented with Cissus quadrangularis extract (100, 200, 300 μg/mL) were also subjected to a cell proliferation assay (MTT). RESULTS Treatment with 100, 200 or 300 μg/mL petroleum ether extract of Cissus quadrangularis enhanced the differentiation of marrow mesenchymal stem cells into ALP-positive osteoblasts and increased extracellular matrix calcification. Treatment with 300 μg/mL petroleum ether extract of Cissus quadrangularis also enhanced the proliferation rate of the marrow mesenchymal stem cells. Cells grown in osteogenic media containing Cissus quadrangularis exhibited higher proliferation, differentiation and calcification rates than did control cells. CONCLUSION The results suggest that Cissus quadrangularis stimulates osteoblastogenesis and can be used as preventive/ alternative natural medicine for bone diseases such as osteoporosis.


This article describes the results of a study that tested the responses to 14 seafood concepts among young adults and families with young children in Denmark, Norway, and Iceland. This study was aimed at gaining insight into the evaluation of new seafood product concepts by individuals with low seafood consumption. Based on consumer-reported values and previous concept-testing, 14 seafood product concepts were tested by 296 consumers in a web-based experiment. Consumers' preferences depended on the size of fish, the presence of information, and the fish species offered. Young adult consumers evaluated the product concepts differently than parents of young children. Three consumer clusters, based on attitudinal variables, were identified explaining the differences in the evaluation of the product concepts. The outcome of this study will be used to develop a product for realistic in-home testing.


Sickle cell anemic is a common disorder among hemoglobinopatias, characterized by a genetic mutation which affects the function of the red blood cells, causing episodes of vaso-occlusion and predisposing sufferers to infections. This study aims at describing the day-to-day life of families with children and adolescents with sickle cell anemia. This was a descriptive, exploratory, qualitative investigation. Data collection was achieved by recording semi-structured interviews with relatives of ten under 18-year-old patients with sickle cell anemia attended in the Hemope Clinic in October 2006. The selection criteria of interviewees were that they lived with and were first degree relatives of the patient. The exclusion criterion was that the patient was at risk of death. The sample size followed the criteria of saturation discussed by Mynaio. The technique of "Analysis of Content" described by Bardin was used in the evaluation. The interviews were completely transcribed and grouped according to their similarities, searching for relevant feelings originating from codes and themes: 1. Theme: Involvement of the family (Exclusiveness of attention; codes: overprotection, relinquishing other roles, overload of mother, learning with the illness); 2: Theme: Impact of the illness (chronic illness affecting family; codes: non-acceptance, fear of death); 3. Theme: Facing challenges (Support networks, Healthcare services; codes: spiritual, professional, and family support; hospital structure). We verified difficulties in the acceptance of the illness by the family and the burden of the mother with necessary patient care. In conclusion, healthcare assistance models should allow the family to act as a co-participant in the care of the patient in order to facilitate the patient's adaptation to the disease.


Purpose

The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the efficiency of secondary education schools in Chile. Since the early 1980s, several educational reforms have been passed with the main objective of improving the quality, equity and efficiency of the Chilean education system. This has initiated a debate about the efficient use of public educational resources. In response, this study provides insights into identifying the most efficient types of schools based on a set of different inputs and outputs.

Design/methodology/approach

This quantitative research study used data envelopment analysis (DEA), which estimates a single index of efficiency to identify schools performing at superior levels compared to other schools with similar characteristics. Two sets of models are created for evaluating efficiency. The first set of analyses provides a longitudinal efficiency comparison based on student performance on two national standardized tests as outputs, and the second model incorporates socioeconomic characteristics of students attending different schools as inputs in the efficiency estimation.

Findings

Based on the longitudinal models, it was found that private schools are more efficient and more consistent in maintaining their efficiency over time than other types of schools. In addition, when accounting for socioeconomic factors, publicly subsidized schools were more efficient than public schools.

Practical implications

The Chilean parliament is currently discussing new educational reforms that focus on more efficient use of educational resources to improve educational quality and equity. The results provided in this study generate useful evidence for policymakers and other stakeholders regarding school efficiency and the appropriate allocation of public resources to support diverse students served by different types of secondary educational institutions.

Social implications

Education is a key factor affecting social mobility and socioeconomic improvement of societies. Schools are called upon to improve their performance to promote these social goals. Accordingly, more novel forms of research on efficiency are necessary to assess how well schools are transforming their inputs into performance outputs.

Originality/value

This study provides a longitudinal analysis of educational efficiency using DEA with a national data set of Chilean schools to evaluate how consistent the schools are in maintaining their levels of efficiency over time. In addition, one DEA model accounts for a social "vulnerability" index at the student level to better understand how efficiently secondary schools use their resources. The insights gained provide data-driven answers to support more informed educational decision-making and policy processes in Chile.


We investigate multitarget search on complex networks and derive an exact expression for the mean random cover time that quantifies the expected time a walker needs to visit multiple targets. Based on this, we recover and extend some interesting results of multitarget search on networks. Specifically, we observe the logarithmic increase of the global mean random cover time with the target number for a broad range of random search processes, including generic random walks, biased random walks, and maximal entropy random walks. We show that the logarithmic growth pattern is a universal feature of multi-target search on networks by using the annealed network approach and the Sherman-Morrison formula. Moreover, we find that for biased random walks, the global mean random cover time can be minimized, and that the corresponding optimal parameter also minimizes the global mean first passage time, pointing towards its robustness. Our findings further confirm that the logarithmic growth pattern is a universal law governing multitarget search in confined media.


Malankholia (Melancholia) has been defined as a disorder in which the mental functions are deranged and the afflicted person is more prone towards constant grief, fear and dubious aggression and the ability to analyze and interpret things is grossly affected as enunciated by Jalinus (Galen) quoted by Zakaria Razi (850-923 A.D) in his world renowned treatise "Kitab Al-Havi." The term melancholia literally means "black humour" which is the predominant causative factor. Mental ill-health is one of the most disturbing and disabling disorders of life. It affects not only the concerned person but also the family and the society as a whole with social stigma attached to it. The problem is steadily on the rise due to factors such as urbanization, industrialization and increase in lifespan, together with breakup of the joint family system, with implication of multiple genes has augmented the psychiatric disorders. The prevalence of psychiatric illness is almost same globally, about 8 to 10 per 1000 population. Unani an age old traditional system of medicine has described this disorder in its classical text not only the concept but also its management with various modes of treatment which if pursued will mitigate the suffering humanity to a great extent. The present review manuscript is an attempt to highlight the available literature from the Unani perspective.


Background and Aim: Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disease with its associated fractures 8 times higher in women than men. Doing physical activity to maintain bone mass and strength are vital and help individuals in prevention of osteoporosis-related fractures. Although some studies have shown a positive relationship between physical activity and bone mineral density (BMD), some revealed physical activities are ineffective on BMD. Thus a systematic study to clarify the contradictions and determine the effect of physical activity on bone mineral density is required. The purpose of this study was to review the effects of physical activity on bone mineral density, pain and quality of life in patients with osteoporosis Materials and Methods: In this review, articles that were published in international and Iranian journals of Pub med, Springer, Elsevier, Science Direct, Magiran, Noor mags, SID with standard keywords were used. Results: Most of the findings from various studies, indicated positive effects of physical activity on bone mineral density, reduced pain and improved quality of life for people with osteoporosis. Conclusion: although compounded exercises and researches that have been done on young people suggested a positive effect on bone mineral density, in the researches on which the exercise period was similar, a positive effect did not show in elderly. Sports activities for people with osteoporosis should be selected according to the characteristics such as age, purpose (treatment or prevention) and limits of patient. Since there is a significant positive effect of exercise on bone mineral density, It is recommended to study the exercise effects in various environments (land, water, and mixed).


OBJECTIVES
Evaluate nationwide 12-year trend and hospital-level variation in head computed tomography (CT) utilization among infants admitted to pediatric hospital NICUs. We hypothesized there was significant variation in utilization.

METHODS
We conducted a retrospective cohort study examining head CT utilization for infants admitted to the NICU within 31 United States children's hospitals within the Pediatric Health Information System database between 2010 and 2021. Mixed effects logistic regression was used to estimate head CT, head MRI, and head ultrasound utilization (% of admissions) by year. Risk-adjusted hospital head CT rates were examined within the 2021 cohort.

RESULTS
Between 2010 and 2021, there were 338 644 NICU admissions, of which 10 052 included head CT (3.0%). Overall, head CT utilization decreased (4.9% in 2010 to 2.6% in 2021, P < .0001), with a concomitant increase in head MRI (12.1% to 18.7%, P < .0001) and head ultrasound (41.3% to 43.4%, P < .0001) utilization. In 2021, significant variation in risk-adjusted head CT utilization was noted across centers, with hospital head CT rates ranging from 0% to 10% of admissions. Greatest hospital-level variation was noted for patients with codes for seizure or encephalopathy (hospital head CT rate interquartile range [IQR] = 11.6%; 50th percentile = 12.0%), ventriculoperitoneal shunt (IQR = 10.8%; 50th percentile = 15.4%), and infection (IQR = 10.1%; 50th percentile = 7.5%).

CONCLUSIONS
Head CT utilization within pediatric hospital NICUs has declined over the past 12-years, but substantial hospital-level variation remains. Development of CT stewardship guidelines may help decrease variation and reduce infant radiation exposure.


The combination of substances, capable of stimulating the growth of enterobacteria and consisting of reducing agents (sodium thiosulfate and sodium sulfate), the vitamin preparation of yeast extract, polyatomic alcohol (glycerol) and ion exchange resin AB-17-8, is proposed. The addition of this combination of substances to culture media based on clots of animal blood has made it possible to achieve more intensive growth of Escherichia and Proteus than on classical meat culture media.


This paper investigates Rotorcraft Pilot Coupling (RPC) with different Flight Control System (FCS) modes. A generic 16DOF nonlinear helicopter model configured with Rate Command Attitude Hold (RCAH), Attitude Command Attitude Hold (ACAH) and Translational Rate Command (TRC) mode has been developed to run simulations on triggering PIO. In addition, ROVER has been extended to multi-axis ROVER to detect PIO. The control mode sensitivity and tolerability to pilot time delay, actuator saturation, actuator rate limit, control authority of the Stability and Control Augmentation System (SCAS) and sensor dynamics are studied. Results show that: 1) the tolerance to the pilot time delay is highest for the TRC mode, followed by ACAH and RCAH; 2) inner vehicle trigger factors (actuator saturation, actuator rate limit, control authority and sensor dynamics) play a more important role than external trigger factors (pilot time delay) in triggering PIO; 3) inner vehicle trigger factors make the RCAH, ACAH and TRC mode more sensitive to pilot time delay; 4) the tolerability of different control modes to abnormal actuator saturation is the same; 5) for actuator rate limit and control authority, the TRC mode has the highest tolerance, followed by ACAH and RCAH; 6) TRC mode and RCAH mode have the same tolerability to abnormal sensor dynamics while the tolerability of ACAH is lower. These findings offer guidance for designing pilot-in-the-loop simulator experiments that will further investigate RPCs related to different control modes.


The main problem of the traditional radiation pyrometry is that fatal errors will be caused by the unknown or varying emissivity. Based on the combined neural networks (CNNE model), we propose an improved method for emissivity modelling. The model structure and the optimum algorithm are described. This method being used,the spectral emissivity and temperature can be fast computed accurately from the spectral radiation measured.


Objective: Thermal therapies are rapidly gaining importance in oncology as an alternative to radio-therapy and surgery. The possibility to locally deposit thermal energy in a non-invasive way opens a path towards new therapeutic strategies with improved reliability and reduced associated trauma leading to improved efficacy, reduced hospitalisation and costs. Liver and kidney tumors represent a major health problem because not all
patients are suitable for curative treatment with surgery. Currently, radio-frequency is the most used method for percutaneous ablation and the development of a completely non-invasive method based on MR guided high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) treatments is of particular interest, since the energy source is located outside the body. This project addressed technological challenges for the treatment of liver and kidney, related to their motion and their location within the thoracic cage.
Material and methods: This project proposed safe and non-invasive methods for MR-guided thermal ablation of malignant tumors of liver and kidney with HIFU. Real-time MRI was used to precisely control heat deposition with HIFU within the targeted pathological area despite the motion of these organs, in order to provide an effective treatment with a reduced duration and an increased level of safety for the patient. New technologies were studied for the development of matrix transducers able to generate high acoustic power.
Discussion: 3D Real-Time MRI guidance of a HIFU intervention as well as inter-costal firing were realized in vivo in pig liver during breathing under real-time MR thermometry over sustained periods of several minutes. The ability to generate acoustic power as high as up to five time the usual level was demonstrated in vitro thanks to the development of the new transducer technology proposed in this project.
Conclusion: A fully MR-integrated HIFU treatment platform dedicated to the treatment of cancer in mobile abdominal organs was developed.


Direct numerical simulation of droplet-laden isotropic turbulence Michael S. Dodd Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Associate Professor Antonino Ferrante Aeronautics & Astronautics Interaction of liquid droplets with turbulence is important in numerous applications ranging from rain formation to oil spills to spray combustion. The physical mechanisms of droplet-turbulence interaction are largely unknown, especially when compared to that of solid particles. Compared to solid particles, droplets can deform, break up, coalesce and have internal fluid circulation. The main goal of this work is to investigate using direct numerical simulation (DNS) the physical mechanisms of droplet-turbulence interaction, both for non-evaporating and evaporating droplets. To achieve this objective, we develop and couple a new pressure-correction method with the volume-of-fluid (VoF) method for simulating incompressible two-fluid flows. The method's main advantage is that the variable coefficient Poisson equation that arises in solving the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations for two-fluid flows is reduced to a constant coefficient equation. This equation can then be solved directly using, e.g., the FFT-based parallel Poisson solver. For a 1024 mesh, our new pressure-correction method using a fast Poisson solver is ten to forty times faster than the standard pressure-correction method using multigrid. Using the coupled pressure-correction and VoF method, we perform direct numerical simulations (DNS) of 3130 finite-size, non-evaporating droplets of diameter approximately equal to the Taylor lengthscale and with 5 % droplet volume fraction in decaying isotropic turbulence at initial Taylor-scale Reynolds number Reλ = 83. In the droplet-laden cases, we vary one of the following three parameters: the droplet Weber number based on the r.m.s. velocity of turbulence (0.1 ≤ Werms ≤ 5), the dropletto carrier-fluid density ratio (1 ≤ ρd/ρc ≤ 100) or the dropletto carrier-fluid viscosity ratio (1 ≤ μd/μc ≤ 100). We derive the turbulence kinetic energy (TKE) equations for the two-fluid, carrier-fluid and droplet-fluid flow. These equations allow us to explain the pathways for TKE exchange between the carrier turbulent flow and the flow inside the droplet. We also explain the role of the interfacial surface energy in the two-fluid TKE equation through work performed by surface tension. Furthermore, we derive the relationship between the power of surface tension and the rate of change of total droplet surface area. This link allows us to explain how droplet deformation, breakup and coalescence play roles in the temporal evolution of TKE. We then extend the code for non-evaporating droplets and develop a combined VoF method and low-Mach-number approach to simulate evaporating and condensing droplets. The two main novelties of the method are: (i) the VOF algorithm captures the motion of the liquid gas interface in the presence of mass transfer due to evaporation and condensation without requiring a projection step for the liquid velocity, and (ii) the low-Mach-number approach allows for local volume changes caused by phase change while the total volume of the liquid-gas system is constant. The method is verified against an analytical solution for a Stefan flow problem, and the D law is verified for a single droplet in quiescent gas. Finally, we perform DNS of an evaporating liquid droplet in forced isotropic turbulence. We show that the method accurately captures the temperature and vapor fields in the turbulent regime, and that the local evaporation rate can vary along the droplet surface depending on the structure of the surrounding vapor cloud. We also report the time evolution of the mean Sherwood number, which indicates that turbulence enhances the vaporization rate of liquid droplets.


Following the results of a desk-based assessment and walkover survey (OA North 2005) the Specialist Advisor (Archaeology) at Lancashire County Archaeological Service
(LCAS) recommended that a topographic survey and programme of evaluation be carried out of the proposed raw water transfer pipeline routes. The routes of the proposed water
transfer pipelines runs between Laneshaw Wastewater Teatment Works (SD 90016 36376) and Coldwell reservoir (94961 41232), and the Briercliffe Service Reservoir (SD 88576 35348) and Haggate (SD 85994 34921). The survey was designed to record
topographically the areas of archaeological potential identified by the previous deskbased assessment and visually confirmed by walkover survey. The topographic survey
was carried out in October 2005.
The proposed pipeline is situated to the east of Colne and Trawden, on an area of high ground dominated by moorland. The topographic survey targeted 31 sites for recording.
Sites 11, 12, 15, 26, 33-35, 39, 95, 101, 106, 118, 119, 122, 124-125 and 149 were all areas of ridge and furrow or field boundaries thought to date to a short period of
agricultural expansion that took place during the late eighteenth to early nineteenth centuries. The remaining sites comprised a lynchet of unknown date (Site 123), field
boundary walls (Sites 126 and 127), quarries (Sites 83,142-144,146), and a sunken trackway (Site 145).
Sites subject to a photographic survey included a spring and drinking trough (Site 97), a farmstead with outbuildings (Site 130), and two stiles (Sites 135 and 137). Despite
further intensive inspection a further nine (Sites 41, 25, 65, 64, 69, 92,120, 124, 150) were found to be unsuitable for the survey.
In addition, three field boundaries, an earthwork platform and a earthwork bridge feature were located in the same area as Site 26. They have been fully surveyed and appended to
the record for Site 26.


This paper investigates the performance of IEEE 802.11 in multi-hop scenarios and shows how its aggressive behavior can throttle the spatial reuse and reduce bandwidth efficiency. An adaptive, layer-2, distributed coordination scheme for 802.11 using explicit medium access control (MAC) feedback is then proposed to pace the transmissions on adjacent nodes, thereby assisting the MAC protocol to operate around its saturation state while minimizing resource contention. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme outperforms the original 802.11 MAC.


Animal welfare related issues have been intensely discussed in recent years as a consequence of changes in public attitudes and regulatory reforms that are taking place in many countries. A combination of public opinion pressure and trade policy has driven requirements for regulation and the World Trade Organization (WTO) assigned the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) to develop guidelines that could be used as international standards. However, trade disputes related to animal welfare are not likely to be resolved under the auspices of OIE, and access to international markets may be questioned in a way that does not necessarily reflect attitudes to animal production in emerging economies, such as those in South America. This paper presents an overall view of basic welfare issues and points out specific items related to the present scenario of norms and regulations that are being implemented in South America, where the growing poultry industry is an important economic activity.


Six macroelements and twelve microelements were identified in thirty-six Hungarian acacia honeys collected from ten counties by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). One-Way ANOVA (LSD and Dunnett T3 test) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) were used to determine the statistically verified differences among the honey samples with different geographical origin.
Significant differences were established among the samples from different counties in Na, P, S, Fe, Ni, Cu and Sr concentrations. Based on the macroelement content of honeys, the separation of samples with different geographical origin was not successful because the percent of correctly categorised cases was only 64.9%. However, examining the As, B, Ba, Cu, Fe Mn, Ni and Sr concentration, the separation of different groups was convincing since the percent of correctly classified cases was 97.2%. Thus, the examination of microelement concentration may be able to determine the geographical origin of acacia honeys.


In 2013, we undertook research in a New Zealand University to gain insights into students' understandings of informal learning, its connection to formal learning and how they engaged in informal learning using digital and mobile technologies. A total of 765 students (postgraduate, undergraduate and first-year students) completed a questionnaire. Follow-up interviews were conducted with 30 of these students. A total of 90% of the questionnaire participants undertook informal learning to support their formal learning or for their personal development. The undergraduate and first-year interview participants reported that they primarily engaged in informal learning to support their formal coursework. However, the postgraduate participants made arbitrary links between their informal learning and formal learning. The three groups of participants used the same digital technologies to engage in informal learning, including laptops, desktop computers and mobile phones, while the dominant means of conducting informal learning was accessing the Internet and using online tools such as Google and Wikipedia. Fewer students used social networking sites (such as Facebook or Twitter) or mobile digital technologies (such as iPads and tablets) for informal learning.


To design a high-precision reference, the various error sources have been analyzed and compensated with a compact 111 mV resistor-trim scheme and the upper and lower extremes of the reference precision are also temperature-compensated. At room temperature, the yield of ±0.5% precision is 96% and ±0.2% is 78%.


Saline/sodic soils are often remediated by applying gypsum, improving drainage, and irrigating with high quality water. However, these management approaches may not be effective or feasible in dryland soils supersaturated with gypsum. A field study, conducted between 2017 and 2021, investigated the effect of phytoremediation on soil and plant health in a landscape containing productive, transition, and saline/sodic soils. Phytoremediation treatments–corn (Zea mays) and two perennial grass mixes (mix 1 slender wheatgrass [Elymus trachycaulus] and beardless wildrye [Leymus triticoides], and mix 2 slender wheatgrass, creeping meadow foxtail [Alopecurus arundinaceus], western wheatgrass [Agropyron smithii], and green wheatgrass [Elymus Hoffmannii])-were planted and compared with a no-plant control treatment across three soil zones. Perennial grasses were dormant seeded in the winter of 2017 and 2018, and corn was grown in 2018, 2019, and 2020. Soil samples (0 to 15 cm) were collected on July 24, 2018, July 23, 2019, July 24, 2020, and April 15, 2021. Across soil zones, corn production was 5,990 (grain + stover), 3,900 (stover only), and 6,150 (grain + stover) kg ha-1 in 2018, 2019, and 2020, respectively, whereas perennial grass biomass yields averaged 1,220, 9,065, and 7,375 kg ha-1 in 2018, 2019, and 2020, respectively. Due to high rainfall that occurred from the fall of 2018 through the summer of 2019, the depth to the water table decreased and the soil electrical conductivity (EC1:1) (-0.83 ± 0.149 dS m-1) and exchangeable sodium (Na+) (-656 ± 220) decreased in all treatments. In addition, from 2018 to 2019, the risk of soil dispersion (lower Na+/EC1:1 ratio) was less in treatments with growing plants (p = 0.02) than plots without plants. With drier conditions from the fall of 2019 through the spring of 2021, the depth to groundwater increased, the EC1:1 decreased in the transition soil but increased in the saline/sodic soil (p = 0.001), and the Na+/EC1:1 ratio increased in the productive and transition soils and was static or decreased in the saline/sodic soil (p = 0.001). In conclusion, this and related work showed that phytoremediation when combined with high natural rainfall reduced soil EC1:1 and the exchangeable Na+ in all soils; however, these benefits may be short lived, and as the water tables dropped in 2020, EC1:1 increased in the saline/sodic zones. Laboratory and linked research from the study site also showed that fertilizing saline sodic soils can result in very high nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, and reseeding degraded soil to perennial plants provides soil cover that reduces the risk of erosion and provides habitat for wildlife.


Cordia rothii Roxb. found wild in the forest region, drupe usually single seeded containing mucilage. To isolate mucilage pulp is removed and the seed were macerated with water then filter. Acetone precipitation method is used to isolate mucilage from filtrate and dried in vacuum dryer at 40°C. The physicochemical characteristic of mucilage has performed such as swelling index, solubility, loss on drying. This study was carried out to compare the binding effects of isolated mucilage with starch. Granule properties such as angle of repose, moisture content, bulk and tapped densities and tablet properties which included weight uniformity, friability, disintegration times, and dissolution rates using standard methods. Mucilage of varying concentrations of 8, 10 and 12%w/w were used to produce aceclofenac granules by wet granulation method and compressed into tablets at arbitrary pressure load unit of 6 tons. An increase in binder concentration led to decrease in friability and increase in disintegration time of the tablets. The results indicate that mucilage obtained from Cordia rothii fruit possesses comparable binding properties.


In Whiteness Interrupted Marcus Bell presents a revealing portrait of white teachers in majority-black schools in which he examines the limitations of understandings of how white racial identity is formed. Through in-depth interviews with dozens of white teachers from a racially segregated, urban school district in Upstate New York, Bell outlines how whiteness is constructed based on localized interactions and takes a different form in predominantly black spaces. He finds that in response to racial stress in a difficult teaching environment, white teachers conceptualized whiteness as a stigmatized category predicated on white victimization. When discussing race outside majority-black spaces, Bell's subjects characterized American society as postracial, in which race seldom affects outcomes. Conversely, in discussing their experiences within predominantly black spaces, they rejected the idea of white privilege, often angrily, and instead focused on what they saw as the racial privilege of blackness. Throughout, Bell underscores the significance of white victimization narratives in black spaces and their repercussions as the United States becomes a majority-minority society.


Title of dissertation: MORE THAN HUMAN CAPITAL: GLOBAL SOCIAL MOBILITY AND CATEGORICAL INEQUALITY AMONG SOUTH KOREANS Chang Won Lee, Doctor of Philosophy, 2012 Dissertation directed by: Professor Roberto Patricio Korzeniewicz Department of Sociology Social scientists in the modernization school argue that industrialization and modernization lead societies to be "open" societies characterized by equal opportunities and a central importance of individual efforts and achievements in social mobility. They assume, using nation-states as the unit of analysis, that stratification takes place primarily and exclusively within nations. This study, by contrast, perceives stratification and social mobility as processes taking place globally. Shifting its focus from national dimensions to global and transnational dimensions, this study investigates the global social mobility of South Koreans, including Korean immigrants in the United States. This study situates income earnings and social mobility of non-migrant South Koreans and Korean immigrants in the United States within broader patterns of transnational and global social mobility, and reassesses the relative weight of categorical attributes (e.g. country) with that of human capitals (e.g. college education). The results suggest that how social stratification, despite the modernization of South Korea and the United States, remains shaped by categorical inequalities. In this sense, achievement and ascription, as criteria of selection, continue to be fundamental to global stratification. The role of achievement is far more modest than usually assumed when compared to the continuing impact of categorical attributes such as race/ethnicity and nationality. MORE THAN HUMAN CAPITAL: GLOBAL SOCIAL MOBILITY AND CATEGORICAL INEQUALITY AMONG SOUTH KOREAN


We investigate the influence of initial fraction of cooperators on the evolution of cooperation in spatial prisoner's dilemma games. Compared with the results of heterogeneous networks, we find that there is a relatively low initial fraction of cooperators to guarantee higher equilibrium cooperative level. While this interesting phenomenon is contrary to the commonly shared knowledge that higher initial fraction of cooperators can provide better environment for the evolution of cooperation. To support our outcome, we explore the time courses of cooperation and find that the whole course can be divided into two sequent stages: enduring (END) and expanding (EXP) periods. At the end of END period, thought there is a limited number of cooperator clusters left for the case of low initial setup, these clusters can smoothly expand to hold the whole system in the EXP period. However, for high initial fraction of cooperators, superfluous cooperator clusters hinder their effective expansion, which induces many remaining defectors surrounding the cooperator clusters. Moreover, through intensive analysis, we also demonstrate that when the tendency of three cooperation cluster characteristics (cluster size, cluster number and cluster shape) are consistent within END and EXP periods, the state that maximizes cooperation can be favored.