This master thesis focuses on interest rate modeling and portfolio risk analysis. The LIBOR Market Model is the interest rate model chosen to simulate the forward rates in the Norwegian and American market, two very different markets in terms of size and liquidity. On the other hand, the Norwegian market is highly dependent on the American market and the correlation can be seen clearly when the data sets are compared in the preliminary analysis. The data sets are from the time between 2000 and the early 2011. Risk estimates are found by Monte Carlo simulations, in particular Value at Risk and Expected shortfall, the two most commonly used risk measures. Interest rate modeling and risk analysis requires parameter estimates from historical data which means that the Financial Crisis will have a strong effect. Two different approaches are studied: Exponentially Weighted Moving Averages and (equally weighted) Floating Averages. The main idea is to cancel out trend and capture the true volatility and correlation. Risk is estimated in several different markets, first an imaginary stable market is assumed. In the next steps the Norwegian and the American market are analyzed. The volatility and correlation varies. Finally we look at a swap depending on both Norwegian and American interest rates. In order to check the risk estimates, the actual losses of the test portfolios are compared to the Value at Risk and the Expected Shortfall. The majority of the losses larger than the risk estimates occur between 2007 and 2009 which confirms, not surprisingly, that the risk measures were unable to predict the Financial Crisis. The portfolios have a short time horizon, 1 day or 5 days, and the EWMA procedure weighs the recent observations heavier, thus it performs better than the Floating Averages procedure. However, both procedures consistently underestimate the risk. Still the risk estimates can be used as triggers in investment strategies. In the final part of this thesis such investment strategies are tested. Plotting the cumulative losses and testing the strategies shows that the risk estimates can be used with success in investment strategies. However the strategies are very sensitive to the choice of the risk threshold. Nonetheless, even though the model underestimates risk, the backtesting and the plots also tell us that the estimates are fairly proportional to the real losses. The risk estimates are therefore useful indicators of the development of the exposure of any financial position, which justifies why they are the most commonly used risk measures in financial markets today.


Race has been a longstanding topic in the biology textbook curriculum. Yet, there appears to be no research investigating whether the treatment of race in modern biology textbooks impacts how students conceptualize race. In the present study, a double-blind field experiment employing mixed-methods is used to investigate the impact of textbook-based genetics learning on essentialist conceptions of race amongst adolescents. The study was carried out in an eighth grade classroom in a California Bay Area School. Students recruited for the study (N = 43) read either a racialized or a non-racialized textbook passage on human genetic diseases and completed a reading comprehension assessment. After a short distracting task they responded to items in two different race conception instruments. Controlling for race, gender, age, prior race-conceptions, and reading comprehension, statistically significant effects were observed on both race conception instruments by treatment. Students in the racialized condition exhibited stronger essentialist conceptions of race than students in the non-racialized condition. Additionally, an exploratory analysis indicated that an understanding of Mendelian heredity moderated the observed treatment effects. The findings of the present study tentatively suggest that textbook-based instruction in school biology can inadvertently reinforce essentialist conceptions of race that underlie racial bias. Implications for teaching and research are discussed. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 51: 462–496, 2014


Under what conditions can opposition politicians with ethnic constituencies form electoral coalitions? In Africa's patronage-based political systems, incumbents form coalitions by using state resources to secure the endorsement of politicians from other ethnic groups. Opposition politicians, however, must rely on private resources to do the same. This article presents a political economy theory to explain how the relative autonomy of business from state-controlled capital influences the formation of multiethnic opposition coalitions. It shows that the opposition is unlikely to coalesce across ethnic cleavages where incumbents use their influence over banking and credit to command the political allegiance of business—the largest potential funder of opposition in poor countries. Liberalizing financial reforms, in freeing business to diversify political contributions without fear of reprisal, enable opposition politicians to access the resources needed to mimic the incumbent's pecuniary coalition-building strategy. A binomial logistic regression analysis of executive elections held across Africa between 1990 and 2005 corroborates the theoretical claim: greater financial autonomy for business—as proxied by the number of commercial banks and the provision of credit to the private sector—significantly increases the likelihood of multiethnic opposition coalitions being formed.


A genetic system for the study of ribosomal RNA function and structure was developed. First, the ribosome binding sequence of the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene and the message binding sequence of 16S ribosomal RNA were randomly mutated and alternative highly functional sequences were selected and characterized. From this set of mutants, a single clone was chosen and subjected to a second round of mutagenesis to optimize the specificity of the system. In the resulting system, plasmid-encoded ribosomes efficiently and exclusively translate specific mRNA containing the appropriate ribosome binding sequences. This system allows facile isolation and analysis of mutations that would normally be lethal and allows direct selection of rRNA mutants with predetermined levels of ribosome function. The system was used to examine the effects of mutations at the sole pseudouridine (Psi) in Escherichia coli 16S rRNA which is located at position 516 of the conserved 530 loop. The nucleotide opposite Psi516 in the hairpin, A535, was also mutated. The data show that a pyrimidine (Psi or C) is required at position 516, while substitutions at position 535 reduce ribosome function by < 50%. A requirement for base pair formation between Psi516 and A535 was not indicated.


: The northwestern laryngeal voice prosthesis contains no vibrator, but produces good voice by means of a properly placed pharyngostomy. The quality of voice production is such that patients have been able to resume former occupations, i.e., teaching and coaching football. The significant difference and advantage of this prosthesis when compared with similar ones to the fistula location. The location in the hypopharynx is in a surgically safe area distant from major vessels. It can be placed at the time of original surgery and is also workable in patients who have had radiation and extensive radical surgery with total reconstruction of their gullet. The prosthesis can be used by primary total laryngectomees while learning esophageal speech or installed in those who are unable to use the electronic larynx or esophageal speech.


[Abstract] The generation of mast cells for in vitro studies comes from a variety of sources including mast cell lines (MC/9) (McCurdy et al., 2001), bone marrow-derived mast cells (BMMCs) (Supajatura et al., 2001), skin-derived mast cells (FSMCs) (Matsushima et al., 2004), peritonealderived mast cells (PMCs) (Hochdorfer et al., 2011) and peritoneal cell-derived cultured mast cells (PCMCs) (Vukman et al., 2012). PCMCs are generally used for in vitro studies because they are a more mature source of mast cells when compared to mast cells generated or obtained from other sources. They can differ, for example, in their pro-inflammatory responses to bacterial antigens and toll like receptors (TLRs) ligands (Mrabet-Dahbi et al., 2009). In comparison to BMMCs [see the protocol "Isolation and Culture of Bone Marrow-derived Mast Cells" (Vukman et al., 2014)] or mast cell lines they express a wider range of TLRs, and secrete significantly more cytokines when stimulated with TLR ligands (Mrabet-Dahbi et al., 2009). Therefore, when examining pro-inflammatory responses, mast cells generated from cells obtained from the peritoneal cavity give stronger responses. PCMCs can also be generated from knockout and transgenic mice making them a good source to examine specific factors important for mast cell function. However, due to the low yield of cells generated using this method (1 million per mouse) their use is restricted and therefore in most studies more than one source of mast cells may be required. The different sources of mast cells can display phenotypical and functional differences and therefore it is important that when designing an experiment, the correct cellular source is obtained. Here, we describe a protocol for the isolation and culture of murine mast cells from peritoneal cavity cells.


This essay explores the dialogic relationship between art and the law, and argues that an examination of Andy Warhol's Electric Chair paintings, and our collective response to the paintings, broadens the legal discourse on capital punishment in this country. The essay contends that the paintings, and their iconic status in our culture, call attention to our fascination with death in general, to state-administered death in particular, to the spectacle of capital punishment, and to our history of obtaining pleasure by gazing upon death. It also argues that Warhol poses an important question, one that implicates race and gender and religion and disability and age and comfort: Who are we comfortable visualizing in the chair?


ABSTRACT Research on the constraint President's face in matters of foreign policy is generally of the view that they are largely free to do as they please. Some research however posits that Congressional constrain on the executive is in fact much larger than it is given credit for. Using their research as a jumping off point, I re-examine this matter by asking when the President will seek ex ante Congressional authorization for the use of force. I estimate this potential effect of Congressional constraint on the President by looking at US initiated militarized interstate disputes with at least one fatality. In so doing, it is demonstrated that no Congressional constrain exists in this regard; the President rarely seeks ex ante authorization for the use of force and is therefore not truly constrained in its use. In fact, evidence is brought to bear that if anything the diversionary theory of war initiation may hold water; inflation is shown herein to be negatively linked to ex ante Congressional authorization for the use of force. It seems as though the President is less likely to ask Congress for permission to conduct deadly military operations when inflation is high.


A straightforward method of synthesising Au@Pd core – shell particles on a well characterised g -Fe 2 O 3 (0001) substrate has been developed which will enable fundamental studies into the surface chemistry of these catalytically interesting systems. Au and Pd were sequentially deposited onto a g -Fe 2 O 3 (0001) substrate in ultra high vacuum by metal vapour deposition and probed by LEIS and STM. Deposition of Au followed by heating at 573 K formed nanoparticles of 5 to 10 nm in diameter whereas subsequent deposition of Pd produced smaller nanoparticles of 2 to 4 nm diameter. At this stage, LEIS shows both metals to be present but heating the combined system to 573 K resulted in the loss of the Au signal in the LEIS and disappearance of the smaller particles from the STM images indicating the formation of Au@Pd core – shell structures.


I give a brief overview of cosmic ray physics, highlighting some key questions and how they will be addressed by new experiments.


Technological innovation is critical to a country's economic development and a firm's long-term success. This article reviews the recent literature that links institutions and innovation. Specifically, we focus on five aspects of the linkage. First, we discuss the literature that explores how the culture of a society or a corporation influences the process, features, and outcomes of innovation activities. Second, we review papers that focus on the role of demographic characteristics in innovation. Third, we describe studies examining the relation between market development and firms' incentives as well as their ability to engage in innovative investments. Fourth, we discuss the literature on how innovation is shaped by a nation's laws and policies. Finally, we review the academic papers regarding the effects of government regulations and policies on innovation activities. Overall, this article aims to provide a synthetic and evaluative review of recent academic research that links various aspects of institutions and innovation. We also provide our views on potential directions for future research in this area.


This paper presents an efficient implementation of the Wavenet generation process called Fast Wavenet. Compared to a naive implementation that has complexity O(2^L) (L denotes the number of layers in the network), our proposed approach removes redundant convolution operations by caching previous calculations, thereby reducing the complexity to O(L) time. Timing experiments show significant advantages of our fast implementation over a naive one. While this method is presented for Wavenet, the same scheme can be applied anytime one wants to perform autoregressive generation or online prediction using a model with dilated convolution layers. The code for our method is publicly available.


With this workshop, we seek to provide a forum for exchanging design principles, programming techniques, toolkits and insights derived from real world studies towards building intelligible and user-controllable pervasive computing systems. Drawing upon the state-of-the-art, our goal is to refine existing and identify new directions for research in intelligibility and control for pervasive computing that will foster further work in the community.


Tocols (tocopherols + tocotrienols) have been concentrated efficiently from rice bran oil (RBO) deodorizer distillate using solvent at low temperature. The levels of total tocols, total tocopherols, and total tocotrienols in RBO deodorizer distillate (starting material) were 31.5, 14.9, and 16.6 mg/g, respectively. Nine different solvents were tested, and acetonitrile was selected as the optimal solvent for concentrating tocols from the RBO deodorizer distillate. There was a significant (p <0.05) increase in the tocol level of the liquid fractions with decreasing temperature, for incubation temperatures up to -20 °C. In addition, significant differences (p <0.05) were observed in the relative percentages of α-tocopherol, γ-tocopherol, α-tocotrienol, and γ-tocotrienol between the raw sample and liquid fractions obtained at different temperatures using acetonitrile as the solvent. The concentration of the tocols from the RBO deodorizer distillate was temperature dependent, and a maximum of 89.9 mg/g was attained in the liquid fraction at - 40 °C. The relative percentage of tocotrienol homologs in the liquid fraction obtained at - 40 °C was approximately 80%. With acetonitrile as the solvent, the optimal temperature for concentrating the tocols from RBO deodorizer distillate was -20 °C when yield was considered.


PURPOSE
Conventional CT has been shown to have wide variability in measured CT attenuation, both temporally within the same scanner and between different scanners. Many radiologists have raised the concern that the increased noise and multiple variables associated with helical CT may lead to degradation in resolution, specifically causing errors in CT number values. This study was designed to specifically evaluate the performance of both types of CT scanning in this regard.

METHOD
A Picker PQ2000 helical CT scanner was used to scan a phantom containing multiple tissue-equivalent densities, allowing the measurement of CT attenuation of soft tissue, distilled water, cortical bone, medullary bone, air, and fat with a variety of techniques. A Catphan phantom was imaged with a variety of slice thicknesses (2, 4, and 8 mm), phantom positions (isocenter, y = +20 cm), and pitches (1.0, 1.5, 2.0) using both conventional and helical sequences. The entire image set was repeated with two additional annuli placed around the Catphan phantom to simulate the abdomen and the calvarium. The attenuation measurements of the same imaging parameters for helical versus conventional CT were statistically compared.

RESULTS
No statistical differences were found for the CT numbers based on scan type (conventional versus helical) for all sequences and gantry positions tested, including helical CT with pitches > 1.0. Greater CT number variability was found with the extremes of tissue density such as with air and especially cortical bone, but were not statistically significant. The addition of the abdominal and calvarial annuli created a greater variation in CT attenuation values, but again were not statistically significant.

CONCLUSION
The measurement of X-ray attenuation does not vary significantly with the use of the helical technique.


Previous work has proposed consistent query answering as a way to resolve inconsistencies in ontologies. In these approaches to consistent query answering, however, only inconsistencies due to errors in the underlying database are considered. In this paper, we additionally assume that ontological axioms may be erroneous, and that some database atoms and ontological axioms may not be removed to resolve inconsistencies. This problem is especially well-suited in debugging mappings between distributed ontologies. We define two different semantics, one where ontological axioms as a whole are ignored to resolve an inconsistency, and one where only some of their instances are ignored. We then give a precise picture of the complexity of consistent query answering under these two semantics when ontological axioms are encoded as different classes of existential rules. In the course of this, we also close two open complexity problems in standard consistent query answering under existential rules.


Inventing the Loyalists: The Ontario Loyalist Tradition and the Creation of Usable Pasts. Norman Knowles. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1997.The primary aim of the University of Toronto Press's Ontario Historical Studies Series (1971-1993) was to "describe and analyse the historical development of Ontario as a distinct region within Canada." This was necessary, it was argued, because for many years the main theme in English-Canadian historiography was the emergence of the Canadian nation. Ontario's role in the country's development precluded it from being perceived as a region. Contributor Paul Craven claimed, "Almost unconsciously, historians have equated the role of the province with that of the nation and have often depicted the interests of other regions as obstacles to the unity and welfare of Canada" (vii).The series also hoped to encourage historians not directly involved in the project to turn their attention to the province. Judging by the books reviewed here, its directors succeeded as writers continue to be interested in Ontario's past. While several aspects of the province are studied, however, in the works reviewed the extent to which the authors convey a sense of a distinct province varies from book to book.In Looking for Old Ontario: Two Centuries of Landscape Change, geograpner Thomas McIlwraith examines vernacular features of southern Ontario's built environment and the social meanings they convey. The result is a highly readable and well-illustrated book with chapters on surveying building materials, houses, barns, fences, grave markers and many other seemingly mundane topics. As McIlwraith points out, it is regrettable that the ordinary is often taken for granted because routine features of the human environment provide insights into the way in which people interacted with their environment. It will be difficult for anyone who reads this book to look at roads, mills, houses, etc., without trying to determine when they were constructed, by whom and for what purposes.Choosing sections of McIlwraith's book to highlight in a review is not easy, because most of them are worth mentioning. One chapter, for example, provides a good account of surveying techniques and the problems associated with the profession in the province's early years.(f.1) McIlwraith adds a human dimension by observing that place names reflect "what successive administrators deemed to be meaningful in their lives" (65). There is a useful map and a table tracing the types of place names these officials used. In his chapter on building materials, McIlwraith points out some of Ontario's particularities. In 1931, for example, 27 per cent of the buildings in the province were made of brick, compared with six per cent for Quebec and between one and two per cent for the rest of Canada.(f.2)McIlwraith's ideological position is not explicit but it is clear that his sympathies are with those whose lives and accomplishments usually go unmentioned. In his discussion of grave markers, for example, McIlwraith notes that extant markers "identify a biased sample of Ontarians" (230) because paupers and those less well-off (half the population, he estimates) could not afford stone monuments. He sheds new light on well-known aspects of the province's past, such as the obsession with property; on some nineteenth-century grave markers, the deceased are identified not only by name but also by the lot and concession number of their holdings.One criticism of Looking for Old Ontario is that McIlwraith attempts to do too much in a single volume. There is no doubt that McIlwraith is enthusiastic about his subject but his descriptions are too brief at times. His chapter on transportation, for example, is not as strong as it should be, largely because of lack of detail about railways, canals, ports, lighthouses and so on.In his conclusion, McIlwraith hopes that readers "have been visualizing their own examples" of what he described and in this he succeeds. …


Intravenous injection of powdered tablets intended to oral use is a common practice among drug abusers, given the greater effectiveness attributed to accelerate delivery of the drug through this route compared to oral intake. This can result in both acute and chronic changes in the pulmonary vessels and parenchyma. Various terms have been used to describe this entity and include self-induced pulmonary granulomatosis, pulmonary antithrombotic granulomatosis, pulmonary mainline granulomatosis, and angiocentric systemic granulomatosis. Acute right ventricular failure is a life threatening complication from intravenous injection of powdered medications and very few such cases have been reported in the literature.


ABSTRACT The involvement of CO2 as a renewable and abundant feedstock toward a carbon balanced future has led to production of several value-added products. The primary focus in the current effort is to assess fixation of CO2 and epoxides into cyclic carbonates by employing state-of-the-art metal complexes as promising catalytic systems. Our attention is restricted to Earth-abundant metals such as aluminum, cobalt, iron, zinc and few transition metals in association with different ligand skeletons used for the structural construction of the respective complexes. This review sequentially categorizes these complexes and provides a panoramic overview of their selective catalytic activities and mechanistic understandings based on experimental and theoretical evidences.


Peripheral arterial disease and critical limb ischemia are common symptoms of cardiovascular disease. Vascular surgery is used to create a bypass around occluded blood vessels to improve blood flow to ischemic muscle, thus avoiding the need for amputation. Attempts to vascularize tissues by therapeutic angiogenesis using delivery of exogenous angiogenic agents are underwhelming. A material‐based approach that provides an endogenous stimulus capable of promoting angiogenesis and increased tissue perfusion would provide a paradigm shift in treatment options available. It is reported here that microporous biodegradable films produced using thermally induced phase separation provide a localized biophysical stimulus of proangiogenic genes in vivo that is associated with increased blood vessel density and restoration of blood flow to ischemic tissue. These findings show, for the first time, that acellular, nonfunctionalized biodegradable biomaterials can provide an innovative, material‐based approach for therapeutic angiogenesis to enhance tissue reperfusion in vivo.


Comparing time surfaces at different integration time points, or from different seeding areas, can provide valuable insight into transport phenomena of fluid flows. Such a comparative study is challenging due to the often convoluted shapes of these surfaces. We propose a new approach for comparative flow visualization based on time surfaces, which exploits the idea of embedding the surfaces in a carefully designed, reformed 2D visualization space. Such an embedding enables new opportunities for comparative flow visualization. We present three different strategies for comparative flow visualization that take advantage of the reformation. By reforming the time surfaces, we not only mitigate occlusion issues, but we can devote also the third dimension of the visualization space to the comparative aspects of the visualization. Our approach is effective in a variety of flow study cases. The direct comparison of individual time surfaces reveals small scale differences and fine details about the fluid's motion. The concurrent study of multiple surface families enables the identification and the comparison of the most prominent motion patterns. This work was developed in close collaboration with an expert in fluid dynamics, who assessed the potential usefulness of this approach in his field.


To carry out the genetic screening for the common mutation in the first tyrosine kinase domain (TK1) of the fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 gene (FGFR3) in a Russian population, a cohort of 16 patients with hypochondroplasia diagnosed previously were studied, among them twelve familial cases and four sporadic cases. The heterozygous N540K FGFR3 mutation was detected in 9 cases (56.3%) due to that C1659A substitution in 6 patients and C1659G substitution in 3 patients, respectively. The ratios of familial and sporadic cases among patients which carried FGFR3 mutation were similar. Seven (43.7%) patients, negative cases of N540K mutation, were all familial cases. Our results support evidence of similar frequency of common type N540K mutation of FGFR3 in Russian hypochondroplasia and of the genetic heterogeneity of hypochondroplasia, suggesting the need for further search for responsible molecular abnormalities for phenotypically similar hypochondroplasia patients negative for TK1 domain mutation in FGFR3, reported in hypochondroplasia.


The 2019 M_w 6.4 and M_w 7.1 Ridgecrest earthquake sequence occurred in the eastern California shear zone (ECSZ). The mainshock ruptured the Little Lake fault zone, and aftershocks extended from the Garlock fault in the south to the southern end of the 1872 M 7.5 Owens Valley earthquake rupture in the north. We present data from the Southern California Seismic Network (SCSN) and partner seismic networks recorded by the SCSN in the region. These time‐series data and related products such as the SCSN earthquake picks and catalogs, available from the Southern California Earthquake Data Center, provide the most comprehensive seismic datasets for the 2019 Ridgecrest earthquake sequence.


The method of Ding for scaling-up in the near-well region is evaluated on a variety of two- and three-dimensional problems, including cases with partially penetrating wells and some with non-vertical wells. The method is found to work well for all cases tested although accuracy is in general lower for 3D cases and possibly for wells producing at constant bottom hole pressure. The computational effort involved in the scaling-up can be minimized by use of a reduced computational domain with only a slight degradation of the results. Both well index and modified horizontal transmissibility are required for satisfactory results, but use of modified vertical transmissibility appears to be unnecessary.


The main objective of the super resolution images is to enhance the quality of the multiple lower resolution images. Super Resolution image is constructed by using raw images. An Image with improved resolution is always desirable for various applications like satellite, medical etc. to enhance the qualitative features are the images. In this paper, Super Resolution Image Reconstruction (SRIR) is proposed for improving the resolution of lower resolution images. Proposed approach is described as follows. Initially, Some low resolution images of same scene which are usually translated, rotated and blurred are used to form a super resolution image. Then, the image registration operation translated, orients, scaled and rotated images in the similar way to that of source image. Next, Lifting Wavelet Transform (LWT) with Daubechies4 coefficients are applied to color components of each image due to its less memory allocation compared to other wavelet techniques. Further, Set Portioning in Hierarchical Trees (SPIHT) technique is applied for image compression as it possess lossless compression, fast encoding/decoding, and adaptive nature. The three low resolution images are fused by spatial image fusion method. The noise is removed by dual tree Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) and blurring is reduced by blind deconvolution. Finally, the samples are interpolated to original samples to obtain a super resolution image. The structural similarity for each intermediate image is compared to the source image to observe high structural similarity by objective analysis. Gabor transform is also implemented for image enhancement and edge detection.


Abstract In this paper, we have established into the identification of cracks and obstacles in rail tracking system. This system comprises of GSM modem, ultrasonic sensor, proximity sensor, PIC microcontroller to bring into the operation the crack detection and obstacle detection. The GSM modem contributes in transmission of railway geometric parameter of crack detection to the control room. Ultrasonic and Proximity sensors are used to detect the obstacles and crack in the track. If the cracks or obstacles are detected, the receiver sends the information to the microcontroller. The microcontroller manages the information from the sensor. The information sends to the control room or server when cracks or obstacles are detected through GSM. To store the data, about the cracking and obstacles detection, we use DBMS, which is interface with microcontrollers. Keywords: Ultrasonic sensor; Proximity sensor; GSM modem; PIC Microcontroller; DBMS. Cite this Article S. Ramachandran, G. Kaviya, S. Keerthana, S. Sivaranjani. Automatic Identification of Obstacles and Crack Sensing Scheme in Rail Tracking System. Journal of Network Security . 2019; 7(2): 6–10p.


We report a case of a 26-years old male patient with rhabdomyolisis with myoglobinuria associated with acute renal and respiratory failure, that occurred three days after upper airway infection. In the clinical and laboratory investigation of the patient, including electromyography and muscular biopsy, the diagnostic lead to a metabolic myopathy due to an enzymatic deficiency related to a disorder of lipid metabolism. The patient improved successfully with institution of advanced life support, including ventilatory assistance, dialysis, dietary adjust and L-carnitine reposition.


Two new species of freshwater crayfish are described from the Ozarks Plateau of northern Arkansas and southern Missouri. Both species are restricted to the mainstem of rocky streams that are at least fourth-order or greater in size. Recent genetic and morphological investigations of the coldwater crayfish, Faxonius eupunctus Williams, 1952, indicated that it was actually composed of several undescribed species. Faxonius eupunctus is herein restricted to just the Eleven Point River system. Faxonius roberti, new species is found in the mainstem of the Spring and Strawberry river systems in northern Arkansas. It differs from F. eupunctus by lacking a male Form-I gonopod with a distal spatulate mesial process, and presence of two spines on the dorsal side of the merus, where F. eupunctus typically has 1 spine. Faxonius wagneri, new species is known from a 54 mile (86 km) stretch of the Eleven Point River mainstem, ranging from just southeast of Greer, Missouri to just north of Birdell, Arkansas. Faxonius wagneri can be differentiated from both F. eupunctus and Faxonius roberti sp. nov. by using the male Form-I and Form-II gonopods, the shape of the chelae, and the female annulus ventralis. In F. wagneri, the terminal elements of the first pleopod are almost twice as long as those in F. eupunctus and F. roberti, with the tips of the appendage reaching the posterior base of the first perieopod when the abdomen is flexed forward, whereas, in the other two species, these elements only reach the base of the second pereiopod. The species also possesses two spines on the dorsal side of the merus of the first pereiopod, which helps distinguish it from F. eupunctus.


Implant is an object or material inserted into the body for prosthetic, therapeutic, diagnostic or experimental purposes. Implants are one of the dosage forms used to achieve effective concentration for long time. Implant dosage forms are useful for patients having difficulty in taking drugs orally, and it allows the avoidance of frequent dosage by sustained supply. Types of implants are insitu forming implant and solid implants. The rate of release of drugs from the implant is based on various mechanism i.e. diffusion controlled, chemically controlled, osmotically controlled, magnetically controlled. Compression, solvent association method, injectionmolding, hot-melt extrusion these are the various process techniques have been used to prepared implant drug delivery system. Examples of implantable drug delivery devices are Norplant, compudose, Synchro-mate, Alzet osmotic pump, GLIADEL wafer implant, DURIN implants etc.


New exact solutions are exhibited within the framework of finite viscoelasticity. More precisely, the solutions correspond to finiteamplitude, transverse, linearly-polarized, inhomogeneous motions superposed upon a finite homogeneous static deformation. The viscoelastic body is composed of a Mooney-Rivlin viscoelastic solid, whose constitutive equation consists in the sum of an elastic part (MooneyRivlin hyperelastic model) and a viscous part (Newtonian viscous fluid model). The analysis shows that the results are similar to those obtained for the purely elastic case; inter alia, the normals to the planes of constant phase and to the planes of constant amplitude must be orthogonal and conjugate with respect to the B-ellipsoid, where B is the left Cauchy-Green strain tensor associated with the initial large static deformation. However, when the constitutive equation is specialized either to the case of a neo-Hookean viscoelastic solid or to the case of a Newtonian viscous fluid, a greater variety of solutions arises, with no counterpart in the purely elastic case. These solutions include travelling inhomogeneous finite-amplitude damped waves and standing damped waves.


Effective treatment of dyestuff containing textile dyeing industry effluents require advanced treatment technologies such as adsorption for the removal of dyestuffs. Powdered commercial coal based activated carbon has been the most widely used adsorbent for the removal of dyestuffs from dyeing industry effluents. As an alternative to commercial coal based activated carbon, activated carbon prepared from dried tannery sludge was used as an adsorbent for dyestuff removal from simulated textile dying industry effluent in this study. The color removal performance of tannery sludge derived activated carbon and commercial coal based activated carbon has been investigated using parameters such as adsorbent dosage, initial dye concentration, pH and temperature. It was found that tannery sludge derived activated carbon exhibits dye removal efficiency that is about 80–90 % of that observed with commercial coal based activated carbon. The amount of dye adsorbed on to tannery sludge derived activated carbon is lower compared with commercial activated carbon at equilibrium and dye adsorption capacity increased with increase of initial dye concentration and temperature, and deceasing pH. It was found that the Langmuir isotherm appears to fit the isotherm data better than the Freundlich isotherm. The leachate of heavy metals from tannery sludge derived activated carbon to the environment is very low, which are within the standard limit of industrial effluent and leachable substances. KEY WORDS: Adsorption, Tannery sludge derived activated carbon, Commercial coal based activated carbon, Adsorption isotherms, TCLP Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2008 , 22(3), 369-378.


Heritable mutations, known as inborn errors of metabolism, cause numerous devastating human diseases, typically as a result of a deficiency in essential metabolic products or the accumulation of toxic intermediates. We have isolated a missense mutation in the Drosophila sugarkill (sgk) gene that causes phenotypes analogous to symptoms of triosephosphate isomerase (TPI) deficiency, a human familial disease, characterized by anaerobic metabolic dysfunction resulting from pathological missense mutations affecting the encoded TPI protein. In Drosophila, the sgk gene encodes the glycolytic enzyme TPI. Our analysis of sgk mutants revealed TPI impairment associated with reduced longevity, progressive locomotor deficiency, and neural degeneration. Biochemical studies demonstrate that mutation of this glycolytic enzyme gene does not result in a bioenergetic deficit, suggesting an alternate cause of enzymopathy associated with TPI impairment.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Vitamin K-dependent matrix Gla protein (MGP) acts as a calcification inhibitor in vitro and in vivo. The present study was performed to (1) determine plasma levels of the inactive, dephosphorylated, uncarboxylated MGP (dp-ucMGP) in a cohort of patients at different stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and (2) evaluate the association between dp-ucMGP levels on one hand and aortic calcification and mortality on the other.

DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS
107 patients (67 +/- 13 years; 60% male; 32% at CKD stages 2 to 3, 31% at stages 4 to 5, 37% at stage 5D) were assayed for dp-ucMGP and underwent multislice spiral computed tomography scans to quantify aortic calcification at baseline. They were prospectively monitored for mortality.

RESULTS
Plasma dp-ucMGP levels augmented progressively with CKD stage, with a significant difference from CKD stage 4. CKD stage, hemoglobin, age, and coumarin use were independently associated with plasma dp-ucMGP levels. Furthermore, plasma dp-ucMGP and age were positively and independently associated with the aortic calcification score. During follow-up (802 +/- 311 days), 34 patients died (20 from cardiovascular events). In a crude analysis, [plasma dp-ucMGP] > 921 pM was associated with overall mortality; this association was lost after adjusting for both age and the calculated propensity score.

CONCLUSIONS
Plasma dp-ucMGP increased progressively in a CKD setting and was associated with the severity of aortic calcification. Plasma dp-ucMGP could thus be a surrogate marker for vascular calcification in CKD.


The development of nonviral gene delivery systems is essential in gene therapy, and the use of a minimally invasive imaging methodology can provide important clinical endpoints. In the current study, we present a new methodology for gene therapy—a delivery system using nanobubbles and ultrasound as a nonviral gene delivery method. We assessed whether the gene transfer allowed by this methodology was detectable by PET and bioluminescence imaging. Methods: Two kinds of reported vectors (luciferase and human Na/I symporter [hNIS]) were transfected or cotransfected into the skeletal muscles of normal mice (BALB/c) using the ultrasound–nanobubbles method. The kinetics of luciferase gene expression were analyzed in vivo using bioluminescence imaging. At the peak of gene transfer, PET of hNIS expression was performed using our recently developed PET scanner, after 124I injection. The imaging data were confirmed using reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction amplification, biodistribution, and a blocking study. The imaging potential of the 2 methodologies was evaluated in 2 mouse models of human pathology (McH/lpr-RA1 mice showing vascular disease and C57BL/10-mdx Jic mice showing muscular dystrophy). Results: Peak luciferase gene activity was observed in the skeletal muscle 4 d after transfection. On day 2 after hNIS and luciferase cotransfection, the expression of these genes was confirmed by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction on a muscle biopsy. PET of the hNIS gene, biodistribution, the blocking study, and autoradiography were performed on day 4 after transfection, and it was indicated that hNIS expression was restricted to the site of plasmid administration (skeletal muscle). Similar localized PET and 124I accumulation were successfully obtained in the disease-model mice. Conclusion: The hNIS gene was delivered into the skeletal muscle of healthy and disease-model mice by the ultrasound–nanobubbles method, and gene expression was successfully visualized with PET. The combination of ultrasound–nanobubble gene transfer and PET may be applied to gene therapy clinical protocols.


There are instances when one wants to consider homogeneous, with regard to some functional relationship, groups. For example in representative farm modelling one is interested in specifying groups of farms that have the same input/output relationship. This paper questions the logic behind the established approaches. It argues that one should use the underlying functional relationship to derive such groupings. Directly grouping farms with regard to their production function (or any other functional relationship of interest) not only asks the relevant question directly, but also makes the classification issue explicitly dependent on the choice of functional form. It provides a clear definition of what kind of homogeneity and/or representativeness were are looking at. If we want farms with similar production function either because this is the characteristic we are interested in or because we intend to model their production function in a follow–on simulation model, this is clearly the type of question we have to ask. This paper proposes using finite regression mixture models to specify and estimate farm groups with regard to pre-specified functional relationship. We illustrate the proposed approach with regard to the production function. The properties and advantages of the proposed approach are discussed and explained.


Abstract. Building urban growth models typically involves a process of historic calibration based on historic time series of land-use maps, usually obtained from satellite imagery. Both the remote sensing data analysis to infer land use and the subsequent modelling of land-use change are subject to uncertainties, which may have an impact on the accuracy of future land-use predictions. Our research aims to quantify and reduce these uncertainties by means of a particle filter data assimilation approach that incorporates uncertainty in land-use mapping and land-use model parameter assessment into the calibration process. This paper focuses on part of this work, more in particular the modelling of uncertainties associated with the impervious surface cover estimation and urban land-use classification adopted in the land-use mapping approach. Both stages are submitted to a Monte Carlo simulation to assess their relative contribution to and their combined impact on the uncertainty in the derived land-use maps. The approach was applied on the central part of the Flanders region (Belgium), using a time-series of Landsat/SPOT-HRV data covering the years 1987, 1996, 2005 and 2012. Although the most likely land-use map obtained from the simulation is very similar to the original classification, it is shown that the errors related to the impervious surface sub-pixel fraction estimation have a strong impact on the land-use map's uncertainty. Hence, incorporating uncertainty in the land-use change model calibration through particle filter data assimilation is proposed to address the uncertainty observed in the derived land-use maps and to reduce uncertainty in future land-use predictions.


The protracted Western Sahara dispute, which has for over three decades pitted Morocco against the Sahrawi independentistas of the Polisario Front, epitomises the impotence of state-led conflict resolution efforts. The European Union (EU) has voluntarily remained withdrawn from the processes of transformation of this southern neighbourhood conflict, unable to surpass the politics of its inherent inter-governmentalism. This paper examines the alternative role played by local civil society organisations (CSO) in the transformation of the Western Sahara conflict. It analyses the input of a methodologically-informed selection of Moroccan and Sahrawi CSOs with a view to identifying the potential of more effectual EU involvement in the dispute, notably through cooperation with the relevant CSOs. The findings of this study point to the overwhelmingly fuelling role played by local CSOs in this particular conflict, but identify ways in which more peace-building civil actors could be empowered by the EU. These CSOs are often of grass-root origins with little or no links to the establishments on both sides of the conflict.


Colloidal suspensions are encountered in a multitude of natural, biological, and industrially relevant products and processes. Understanding what affects the flow behavior, or rheology, of colloid suspensions, and how this flow behavior can be manipulated, is important for successful formulation of products such as paint, polymers, foods, and pharmaceuticals. This book is the first devoted to the study of colloidal rheology in all its aspects. With material presented in an introductory manner, and complex mathematical derivations kept to a minimum, the reader will gain a strong grasp of the basic principles of colloid science and rheology. Beginning with purely hydrodynamic effects, the contributions of Brownian motion and interparticle forces are covered, before the reader is guided through specific problem areas such as thixotropy and shear thickening; special classes of colloid suspensions are also treated. The techniques necessary for measuring colloidal suspension rheology are presented along with methods to correlate and interpret the results. An essential guide for academic and industrial researchers, this book is also ideal for graduate course use.


The nature of a person's employment, or lack of it, represents a critical factor influencing the quality of his life. The importance of employment arises not only from the income which work provides for an individual, but also from a variety of other attributes. This paper seeks to draw attention to the broader range of benefits which employment can generate and to consider their significance in the context of some areas of rural policy. After a brief discussion of the non-financial benefits of employment, it is argued that, if current trends continue, the relative importance of these benefits may be expected to increase. This would reduce the relevance of policy studies which ignore these issues and influence the appropriate organisation of some forms of economic activity. Part-time employment in the rural sector is highlighted as an area where these trends have already had important effects. The paper concludes with a consideration of the implications for adjustment policy and alternative lifestyles.


Contour mapping of surgical resection of cortex is very important in neurosurgery outcome evaluation. Based on advanced MR and PET imaging technologies and our landmark-constrained brain conformal mapping, we present a practical and accurate approach to map the resection contour on the cortical surface from post-surgery brain images to presurgery ones. The approach can accommodate and combat the possible changes of the brain in shape and size over time. To free the user from manually defining the resection contours, we propose an automatic identification algorithm based on dynamic region growing on the cortical surface. We also present an effective method to calculate the area of the region enclosed by the resection contour on the cortical surface. The overall framework provides surgeons an accurate assessment of the agreement between functional PET abnormalities and the extent of surgical resection


On 9 August 2017, a day after Kenyans cast their vote, the first author received a gruesome photo from a human rights activist in Mathare17 depicting the body of a young man whose head had been completely bashed in. A second later, the female activist sent a picture of a protester near Number 10, a neighbourhood in Mathare, at Juja Road and another one of a police officer in riot gear approaching her (the activist) as she tried to document what was happening. During a later phone conversation, she explained that Opposition supporters, mostly neighbours and friends in Mathare, had gathered at different spots to discuss their concerns over alleged irregularities in the process of vote tallying by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC). According to the activist, police in riot gear had been waiting in lorries by the roadside and as soon as they got wind of these small groupings, went into Mathare to disperse them by force. In the chaos that followed, one police officer allegedly broke a door to a house, whereas two others started hitting people with huge pieces of wood, wounding several and killing one. Her narration was corroborated by several eyewitnesses during later interviews conducted in November 2017.


Extrinsic resonance effects observed in a low-frequency subresonant mechanical spectrometer are reported. High resolution of the mechanical spectrometer enables precise measurement of small values of the mechanical loss tangent ( tanϕ = 1- 2 × 10-4) and the apparent high values of the loss tangent detected for extrinsic resonance effects in the vicinity of the eigen frequencies of the spectrometer. Forced oscillations can be used as a 'signal quality test' to validate the quality of exponentially damped harmonic oscillations in the resonant mode.


Parchorin, p64 and the related chloride intracellular channel (CLIC) proteins are widely expressed in multicellular organisms and have emerged as candidates for novel, auto-inserting, self-assembling intracellular anion channels involved in a wide variety of fundamental cellular events including regulated secretion, cell division and apoptosis. Although the mammalian phosphoproteins p64 and parchorin (49 and 65K, respectively) have only been indirectly implicated in anion channel activity, two CLIC proteins (CLICI and CLIC4, 27 and 29K, respectively) appear to be essential molecular components of anion channels, and CLICI can form anion channels in planar lipid bilayers in the absence of other cellular proteins. However, these putative ion channel proteins are controversial because they exist in both soluble and membrane forms, with at least one transmembrane domain. Even more surprisingly, soluble CLICs share the same glutaredoxin fold as soluble omega class glutathione-S-transferases. Working out how these ubiquitous, soluble proteins unfold, insert into membranes and then refold to form integral membrane proteins, and how cells control this potentially dangerous process and make use of the associated ion channels, are challenging prospects. Critical to this future work is the need for better characterization of membrane topology, careful functional analysis of reconstituted and native channels, including their conductances and selectivities, and detailed structurelfunction studies including targeted mutagenesis to investigate the structure of the putative pore, the role of protein phosphorylation and the role of conserved cysteine residues.


Rice bran contains components such as oryzanol antioxidants, tocopherols, tocotrienols, phytosterols, polyphenols, and squalene. Oryzanol is a very powerful antioxidant and oryzanol is only found in rice bran oil. This research aims to know the antioxidant activity of the extract chloroform:methanol in the bran and find the endurance of antioxidant against a wide variety of pH and temperature. The method used is descriptive research through experimental tests in the laboratory. Samples taken from the side of rice mills in the form of bran and then macerated with chloroform: methanol. After that tested the antioxidant activity of the compounds made by the method of DPPH with various concentration 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 ppm. Furthermore, the endurance test of antioxidant compounds at various pH and temperature using the best concentration of antioxidant compounds. Based on the results, rice bran oil extract concentration of 50 ppm has antioxidant activity of 4.69%. Average yield the highest antioxidant activity shown in heating conditions with a temperature of 30oC for 30 minutes is equal to 32.25%. As well as the highest antioxidant activity was also shown at pH 5 in the amount of 25.1%. Keywords: DPPH, Oryzanol, Rice bran


Organic matter transformations and nutrient cycling in soils depend on the activity of soil
organisms. Deterioration of soil fertility lowers the biological activity and results in lower
productivity. In the absence of adequate organic matter, the processes of conversion of nutrients
to plant-available forms and their retention are very low. To enhance the activity of soil
organisms especially that of beneficial microbial populations, the addition of high quality
organic amendments is very important. Even though there are plenty of organic materials
available in tea lands, there is inadequate information on their suitability and influence on the
biological properties of soils.

The present research has attempted to determine the extent to which the microbial activity and
productivity of tea soils in Australia and Sri Lanka can be manipulated by use of readily
available soil amendments. Trials were conducted using grass and leguminous mulching
materials with different C/N ratios, in combination with two pH amendments (dolomite and
'MinplusTM' – a finely ground volcanic rock dust - both applied at rates of 2500 kg ha-1 only for
the pot trials and 1000 kg ha-1 for the other trials) and an inoculum of biologically active rain
forest soil. The nursery stage of tea (Camellia sinensis) propagation was studied in a
shadehouse at James Cook University, Townsville, Australia, and young tea (unpruned, 1 year
after planting) and mature tea (pruned bushes, 5 years since planting) were studied in a field in
Sri Lanka.

In the nursery trial, mulching materials consisting of finely chopped Brachiaria decumbens (a
grass), Calliandra calothyrsus (a legume), and tea prunings were applied at a rate of 35 tonnes
fresh weight ha-1 year-1 to pots with or without tea seedlings.

The grass mulch with Minplus improved soil organic carbon, CEC, soil pH, microbial biomass
carbon, plant available phosphorus, and total nitrogen contents of the soil and enhanced the
growth of plants when compared to the effects of Calliandra legume and tea mulch. All the
combinations of mulches with dolomite reduced plant growth even though they enhanced some
soil properties. Application of grass and legume mulches increased the beneficial population of
gram positive bacteria, fungi, and mycorrhiza. Grass mulch also improved the growth of tea as
measured by shoot weight and total biomass. The addition of a rainforest inoculum to the
soils of the nursery tea plants increased the soil microbial biomass carbon and growth of tea
plants even in the absence of any mulch.

The field trials in Sri Lanka demonstrated the extent of the changes induced by mulches and
soil pH modifiers in soil microbial properties, including the abundances of functional groups of
microbes (bacteria, fungi, mycorrhizae), soil microbial biomass carbon, and microbial
respiration. In addition organic carbon, soil pH, nitrogen and mulch decomposition rate were
measured. The mulching materials tested were: refuse tea (25 tonnes ha-1 year-1), Mana grass
(Cymbopogon confertiflora), and branches of Dadap (Erythrina lithosperma), a leguminous tree
(35 tonnes fresh weight ha-1 year-1). In addition to these treatments, lemon grass (Cymbopogan
nardus) 20,000 plants ha-1 as live mulch in young tea and a Trichoderma fungal culture in the
mature tea were used. For young tea and mature tea, Mana and Dadap were applied four times
and Refuse tea three times per study period and the lemon grass was planted at the start of the
trial on a 15 x 15 cm spacing in the young tea; Trichoderma was applied once to the mature tea
trial at a rate of 500 g of spore culture / plant.

The results indicated that Dadap and Refuse tea raised the yield of tea significantly by 16% and
19% respectively in young tea, and by 14% in mature tea for both mulches. The mulches
enhanced soil pH, microbial biomass carbon, soil respiration and also suppressed the most
detrimental gram negative bacterial populations one year after the application of treatments in
young tea and increased soil nitrogen by refuse tea in mature tea trial. The quality of tea
increased in tea grown under the control and lemon grass mulch treatment in young tea and in
Trichoderma fungus-treated plots in mature tea.

Minplus rock dust and the rainforest soil inoculum enhanced the growth of the nursery plants.
The most suitable mulching materials to accelerate the biological activity were found to be
those with C/N ratios below 20, and low in lignin and unoxidisable polyphenol. Therefore, the
suitable materials for use as mulches on tea lands are Brachiaria grass, refuse tea, and Dadap
legume. They also suppressed the development of pathogenic bacterial populations particularly
gram negative bacteria. These materials also improved the biological properties of soil and
thereby enhanced the growth and yield of tea.


One of the most significant attributes of digital computation is that it has disrupted extant work practices in multiple disciplines, including history. In this contribution, I argue that far from being a trend that should be resisted, it in fact should be encouraged. Computation is presenting historians with novel opportunities to express, analyze, and teach the past, but that potential will only be realized if scholars assume a new research mandate, that of design. For many historians, such a research agenda is likely to seem strange, if not beyond the pale. There are tasks that fall properly within the domain of the Historian's Craft and the design of workflows for digital platforms and expressive forms for digital narratives are not among them. In Section One, via the writings of Harold Innis, I make the case that a preoccupation with design is in fact very much part of Canada's historiographic tradition. In Section Two, I present an environmental scan of emerging technologies, and suggest that now is an opportune time to revive Innis' preoccupation with design. In the following two sections, I present the StructureMorph Project, a case study showing how historians can leverage the properties of digital form to realize their expressive, narrative, and attestive needs in the digital, virtual worlds that will become increasingly important platforms for representing, disseminating, and interpreting the past.


A "plastic" or "chemical" taint, has recently emerged as a problem in drinking water in Perth, Western Australia. The taste occurs intermittently in zones receiving blends of treated groundwaters from several sources, generally only in boiled water. The compound primarily responsible is 2,6-dibromophenol (taste threshold concentration 0.5 ng/L). It was established that the relative ratios of phenol, bromide and chlorine, and pH are important determinants in whether the taste would or would not form and that the primary sources of phenol are plastic appliances, especially kettles and refrigerators (Heitz et al., 2001). However, bromophenol formation varied widely between waters from different sources, even though reaction conditions were ostensibly identical, and it was concluded that another, as yet unknown, factor must influence the reaction rate. This could account for observations that plastic taste only occurred in some groundwaters, but not in others. In the present study the effects of organic and inorganic nitrogen-containing compounds on phenol bromination rates were examined, with the view that this might give some insights into the nature of the unknown factor discussed above. These compounds slowed the rate of bromophenol formation, and results suggested that disinfection using chloramine, rather than chlorine, could prevent plastic taste problems.


The study assessed the impact of mass media extension activities on awareness, adoption and gross farm income of the farmers in Kaduna State. It also examined how farmers\' characteristics interact with the intervention of extension communication to determine small-scale farmers\' adoption behaviours. A sample of 100 farmers were randomly selected and interviewed. The results showed that on the whole the impact of mass media was moderately positive. Awareness of agricultural innovations was high as more than 80 per cent of the respondents knew about the eight recommended farm practices presented to them. Adoption score was however low. The innovation with the highest adoption score was chemical fertilizer, while the least adopted innovations were millet and tractor hiring services. The Pearson's correlation analysis also indicated that a number of socio-economic factors (farm size, household size and non-farm income) were positively related (at p.0.05)to the impact of mass media on adoption. unlike the radio, extension bulletin in Hausa and posters other mass media sources like newspapers, magazines and film shows did not make desired significant impact on the adoption of recommended farm practices. Based on the result of the study, it was recommended that policy makers should effectively integrate mass media programmes with other aspects of agricultural and rural development programmes and projects at all the planning stages. Keywords : Mass media, adoption, agricultural innovations JOAFSS Vol. 4 (1) 2006: pp. 89-98


Rheoencephalography was used to study cerebral venous circulation in 199 schoolchildren aged 12-15 years who had emmetropia, pseudomyopia, and myopia. Tonometry was carried out in 39 persons. Cerebral venous hemodynamic dysfunction was more frequently encountered in schoolchildren with myopia than in those with emmetropia. Intraocular pressure was significantly higher only in schoolchildren with high myopia than in the controls.


In this note, the author uses the categories of subalternity and hegemony, proposed by Antonio Gramsci, in order to analyze the political process that emerged with the proclamation of the Rights of Nature in the Constitution of Montecristi, the new Constitution of Ecuador that came into existence in 2008. Out of the understanding that every legislative process arises from a political project within a historical bloc with specific interactions between forces, the Alianza Pais political project has searched for new ways of approaching the human-nature relationship through the "Revolucion Ciudadana" in order to avoid the exploitation and commercialization of nature. Nonetheless, the Rights of Nature initiative has received much criticism from many fields: 1) the false distinction between nature and humanity; 2) the change from an obligation to take care of nature to rights of nature as a neoliberal danger; 3) the supposed liberation of nature within liberal market thinking. For that matter, the Rights of Nature can be understood as a political project that has been subalternized by the hegemonic political project within ecological thinking that goes hand-inhand with neoliberal politics, the so-called Green Economy. This hegemonic project in the ecological field is working towards the continuance of the exploitation and commercialization of nature and has become more powerful than the Rights of Nature initiative by using it to give entrance to green neoliberal projects in Ecuador.


In most hot deserts Quaternary environmental changes have left their imprint on ground conditions, creating a legacy of materials that often reflect past as well as contemporary processes, and can appear unusual to geologists trained in temperate environments. Attention is drawn in this article to three near-surface features (duricrusts, palaeolakes and sulphate-rich soils) that reflect changing environmental conditions and that are of potential significance to engineering investigation, design and construction.


The paper presents the results of a regional analysis of climate change impacts on Norway spruce growth in the north-western part of Slovakia (Orava region). Radial increment was determined from nine X-tree sample plots established in the forests of natural character in the region. The analysis of PTT radial increment was done on tree disks cut from a height of 1.3 m by measurements of four perpendicular directions corresponding to the cardinal points. It was derived from the tree-ring width measured at breast height (1.3 m) while all the basic principles of tree-ring analyses were observed (transport and borehole treatment, measurements with digital positiometer to the nearest 0.01 mm, synchronisation of the tree-ring diagrams). A dendroclimatic model belongs to the category of empirical models based on the statistical evaluation of empirically derived dependences between the time series of tree-ring parameters and the monthly climatic characteristics. This statistical evaluation is based on a multiple linear regression model. Climatic models were used as basic tools for climatic change prediction. There is a scenario coming from the GCM category, which is derived from the models of Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis in Victoria (British Columbia, Canada), used for a solution of this task. It is the latest connected model from the second generation designated CCCM 2000. For the purpose of this study the area averages were modified for the meteorological station Oravská Polhora with the 1951–1980 reference period. The modification includes two climatic characteristics, total monthly precipitation and monthly temperature means. The frequency analysis indicates that 24.4% of trees would react to the assumed climatic change negatively, i.e. by decreasing the increment, and 75.6% of trees would react positively. Most of the reactions are moderately positive. It is to conclude that 14.6% of trees will react to a climatic change significantly in a negative way, the reactions of 34.1% trees are considered to be unchanged and 51.3% of trees should react to the assumed climatic change positively (P = 0.95). It results from the analysis of the climatic change impact that the highest effect on stands situated on the upper forest limit can be expected.


Background: Few studies have examined the effects of calcium plus vitamin D supplementation on metabolic profiles in overweight women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).This study was conducted to determine the effects of calcium plus vitamin D supplementation on metabolic profiles among overweight women with PCOS. Materials and Methods: This randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted among 104 overweight and obess women with PCOS. Participants were randomly assigned into four groups to receive: 1) 1000 mg/d calcium+ vitamin D placebo; 2) 50000 IU/weeks vitamin D; 3) 1000 mg calcium/d and 4) calcium placebo + vitamin D placebo for 8 weeks. Fasting blood samples were taken at baseline and after 8 weeks intervention to measure metabolic profiles. Results: After administrating calcium plus vitamin D supplementation, a significant decrease was observed in serum insulin (-3.3±11.4 vs.-1.1±8.5, -1.4±3.0 and +3.1±6.1 μIU/ml, p=0.03), insulin resistance (-0.7±2.4 vs.-0.3±2.5, -0.2±0.6 and +0.8±1.9, p=0.04), malondialdehyde (-0.6±0.3 vs.0.1±0.2, -0.5±0.2 and +0.6±0.4 μmol/L, p=0.009) and a significant rise was seen in total antioxidant capacity (+35.2±21.7 vs.+22.5±37.7, +21.1±34.1 and -153.8±65.2 mmol/L, p=0.006) and glutathione (+216.0±79.3 vs.-47.5±60.2, +3.9±31.3 and -160.8±82.9 μmol/L, p=0.001) compared with vitamin D, calcium and placebo groups. Conclusion: In conclusion, calcium plus vitamin D supplementation for eight weeks among women with PCOS had beneficial effects on metabolic profiles.


The effect of Cu, Al and In doping on the microstructural and the electrical properties of the SnO2 films were studied. The undoped, Cu, Al and In (2 at. %) doped SnO2 films were deposited on the glass substrate by spray pyrolysis from 0.8 M SnCl2– ethanol solution at substrate temperature 400 °C. The microstructural properties of films were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) method. It was determined that the films formed at polycrystalline structure in tetragonal phase and structure was not changed by dopant species. The lattice parameters (a), (c) and crystallite size (D) were determined and obtained in the range of 4.90-4.92 A, 3.26-3.31 A and 34-167 A, respectively. The optical transmittance of thin films was measured and the optical band gap Eg values of the films were obtained in the range of 3.96-4.00 eV, using the Tauc relation. The electrical transport properties of undoped, Cu, Al and In-doped SnO2 films were investigated by means of conductivity measurements in a temperature range of 120-400 K. The electrical transport mechanism of the undoped, Cu, Al and In-doped SnO2 films was determined by means of the tunneling model through the back-to-back Schottky barrier and the thermionic field emission model in the temperature range of 120-300 K and 300-400 K, respectively. Copyright © 2014 VBRI press.


Body composition, the proportion of the lean body mass and depot fat, is one of the most important features characterising human. The assessment of body composition has revealed that athletes generally have physique characteristics unique to their specific sports. Studies have shown that high percentage of body fat not only serves as dead weight but also lessens the relative ability to support oxygen to the working muscles then cutting down on one's cardiovascular endurance. There are debate on the specific uses of different equations for estimating body compositions of Indian population. Hence, the present investigation was conducted with the following objectives: (1) estimation of body composition using different equations; and (2) to study the effect of longitudinal physical training on selected body composition variables of national level male sports person of University of Delhi. The sample size for the study was 90 having three groups of male (namely progressive load or intensive training, constant load or moderate training, no load or sedentary group), each group having 30 samples (the mean age was 20.04 ± 0.49 years). Different equations used to compute the body density included Sloan, Durnin and Womersley, Weltman and Katch, Nagamine and Suzuk, Sloan and Weir and Jackson and Pollock, while both Siri and Brozek's formula were used to compute the fat percentage. The variables included lean body weight, body fat and percentage body fat. Standard landmarks and measurement protocols were followed to measure the selected variables as described by various authors. Mean and SD were computed to describe the data while analysis of covariance was applied to test the variability of covariance as the effect of experimentation (18 weeks of training) on selected groups (progressive load or intensive training, constant load or moderate training, no load or sedentary group); at different stages of testing that is, test-1 (at 0 weeks of training ie, pretest), test-2 (after 6 weeks of training), test-3 (after 12 weeks of training), test-4 (after 18 weeks or completion of training) as well as for intermittent stages of testing in a longitudinal experimental paradigm on selected variables of male. The paired t test comparison for mean difference was done as post-hoc analysis, where the F-ratio was found to be significant at 0.05 level. The level of significance chosen for testing the hypothesis was 0.05. The study concluded that a long term physical training paradigm of experimentation had a significant impact on the body composition variables of male sports person of national level (students of University of Delhi). The estimation of body composition using different equations are comparable.


The portfolio performance measures based on the Value at Risk (VaR) concept have gained widespread popularity and are often used in empirical studies. In the majority of empirical studies, however, a VaR-based performance measure is inconsistently used. In this article, Zakamouline emphasizes how to consistently use VaR in portfolio performance evaluation. He also elaborates on a simple framework that allows the derivation of a general formula for a portfolio performance measure that is not limited to the use of VaR-based reward and risk measures, but is valid for all reward and risk measures that satisfy a few plausible properties.


Down syndrome (DS) is the most common inherited cause of learning disability1, and affected individuals are more prone to infections, leukaemia, congenital heart disease and other anomalies, thyroid dysfunction, early senescence and Alzheimer's disease2. These complications create a heavy burden for carers of individuals with DS and the social and health services. Consequently, any intervention that ameliorates some of these complications will have a significant impact on the quality of life of individuals with DS and their carers. However, before investing resources in interventions, it is important to ascertain their scientific validity. The Internet and the lay press make many claims that certain expensive nutritional supplements improve the outcome in DS. These claims have left some health professionals confused and parents of children with DS vulnerable to pressures to spend large amounts of money on nutritional supplements whose benefits have not been proved. This review was undertaken firstly, to determine whether there is a theoretical basis to expect that nutritional supplements may improve the pathology of DS, and secondly, to critically examine published trials of nutritional supplements in DS to determine whether the existing evidence supports claims that nutritional supplements improve the outcome in DS.


This thesis tries to give an overview of the Heavy Metal subculture which emerged in the early 1980s. The subculture attracts countless members throughout the world. The aim of the thesis is to understand the way of thinking, the mentality of the members and tries to find if there is any evidence for socially problematic ideas like homophobia, sexism or racism. In order to gain data the thesis is based on an evaluation of the main sociological concepts of subculture. The sociological theories counter culture, cool pose, elitism, magical resistance, labeling theory and moral panics will be defined and a general history of Heavy Metal and its sociological attributes will be introduced. Further the thesis is backed by four recorded semi structured interviews with Heavy Metal members from Germany and a field research on a Heavy Metal festival ibid. The field research gave insight in the activities of the attenders and their behavior which was mainly listening to the concert, talking about music and drinking alcohol in a peaceful manner. The results of the research are that Heavy Metal is split mainly into many different subgenres that are then further split between underground and mainstream directions. This makes generalization of the subculture impossible but it was brought in knowledge that the reactionary tendencies can be found mainly in the traditionalist underground directions of the subculture whereas modern subgenres that take on influences from other musical genres tend to be more open and tolerant. However there could be an indicator for such ideas. Further it was learned that Heavy Metal member's motivation to join the subculture are passion for music, need for a community and escapism. Devotion and dedication are seen as vital components of the subculture and finally there is a big tendency towards elitism, respectively isolation from mainstream society or other subcultures.


Since ancient times, essential oils have been used as an alternative against pests. Recently, the respect for the environment and public health has increased and has motivated the search for natural nematicides, biodegradable and with little or no toxicity. In this study, the nematicidal activity (in vitro) against parasite nematodes isolated from plants was evaluated. The essential oils evaluated were thyme and rosemary, both of them applied at three different concentrations. The nematicidal activity was evaluated during 48 hours and it was determined at different time intervals. The best results were obtained using the lowest concentration of essential oil of thyme, after 8 h of exposure, where the number of nematodes was reduced by about 90%. Rosemary essential oil showed a similar effect (70.2% mortality), but at a higher concentration. These results demonstrate that essential oils could be considered as an alternative for pest control with a promising application in agriculture.


FST is one of the most widely used statistics in population genetics. Recent mathematical studies have identified constraints on FST that challenge interpretations of FST as a measure with potential to range from 0 for genetically similar populations to 1 for divergent populations. We generalize results obtained for population pairs to arbitrarily many populations, characterizing the mathematical relationship between FST, the frequency M of the more frequent allele at a polymorphic biallelic marker, and the number of subpopulations K. We show that for fixed K, FST has a peculiar constraint as a function of M, with a maximum of 1 only if M = i/K for integers i with ⌈K/2⌉ ≤ i ≤ K − 1. For fixed M, as K grows large, the range of FST becomes the full closed or half-open unit interval. For fixed K, however, some M < (K − 1)/K always exists at which the upper bound on FST is constrained to be below . In each of three migration models—island, rectangular stepping-stone, and linear stepping-stone—we use coalescent simulations to show that under weak migration, FST depends strongly on the allele frequency M when K is small, but not when K is large. Finally, using data on human genetic variation, we employ our results to explain the generally smaller FST values between pairs of continents relative to global FST values. We discuss implications for the interpretation and use of FST.


In medical image analysis, registration of multimodal images has been challenging due to the complex intensity relationship between images. Classical multi-modal registration approaches evaluate the degree of the alignment by measuring the statistical dependency of the intensity values between images to be aligned. Employing statistical similarity measures, such as mutual information, is not promising in those cases with complex and spatially dependent intensity relations. A new similarity measure is proposed based on the assessing the similarity of pixels within an image, based on the idea that similar structures in an image are more probable to undergo similar intensity transformations. The most significant pixel similarity values are considered to transmit the most significant self-similarity information. The proposed method is employed in a framework to register different modalities of real brain scans and the performance of the method is compared to the conventional multi-modal registration approach. Quantitative evaluation of the method demonstrates the better registration accuracy in both rigid and non-rigid deformations.


INTRODUCTION Objectum sexuals or objectophiles experience a range of emotional, romantic and/or sexual attractions to objects, often forgoing or dispensing with human romantic or sexual intimacy. Thanks to a glut of media coverage but a dearth of intelligent inquiry, objectum sexuality (OS) currently serves as a kind of ready made sexual sideshow, isolated from the "big top" of mainstream human sexual behavior. The lives of Erika Eiffel, Eija-Ritta Eklof Berliner-Mauer and other objectophiles have been chronicled by journalists who inevitably find themselves torn between straining to understand or simply exploiting the entertainment value of details which the public finds unusual or titillating. It is important to know some history of the objectum sexuality community. In the early 1970's, Eija-Ritta Eklof Berliner-Mauer, resident of a village in North Sweden, coined the term "objectum-sexuality." She married the Berlin wall in 1979, gaining the first media attention for this orientation. In 1996 she created the first website dedicated to objectum sexuality, followed by an internet discussion group in 1999. In 2002, Oliver Arndt, from Germany, created a large and active network called Objektophilie. In 2006, Erika Eiffel, a world champion archer, travelled to Europe to meet Eija-Ritta and Oliver. She came out to the public as an objectum sexual that same year and held a commitment ceremony with the Eiffel Tower in 2007. As she continued to travel and meet other objectum sexuals, Erika subsequently founded Objectum-Sexuality Internationale and created a new website and international forum of discussion for this community. Eija-Ritta Berliner-Mauer, Erika Eiffel and Amy Wolfe were featured in a British "Strangelove" documentary (Married to the Eiffel Tower), which has since been repudiated by OS-Internationale as having sensationalized OS. Erika Eiffel has also appeared on Good Morning America (In Love with the Eiffel Tower), the Tyra Banks Show, and other American, European and Japanese media. In spite of her willingness to discuss her own story and the general features of objectum sexuality, her appearance in the media is invariably followed by a torrent of abusive and insulting comments which "go viral" on websites (including YouTube) and blogs. Other OS people who have encountered the media share similar experiences. In spite of numerous negative experiences with public ridicule or irresponsible actions of journalists, it seems that some OS advocates, including Erika, are willing to endure quite a lot in exchange for opportunities to inform the public through media. With the exception of the author, "experts" who are approached by journalists for comments on objectum sexuality have generally assume a pathology or history of sexual trauma and/or categorize OS as a paraphilia or fetish. Experts continue to make these comments without actual data or contact with the OS community. LITERATURE To date, there are no published studies of objectum sexuals or objectum sexuality, though at least one other researcher is close to publishing her work. Jennifer Terry, Ph.D., an Associate Professor of Women's Studies and Coordinator of the Queer Studies Program at the University of California, Irvine, presented on objectum sexuality at the Re-Thinking Sex--Gender and Sexualities Studies conference at University of Pennsylvania in March, 2009. Her research, titled "Loving Objects", is due to be published in 2010, in the first issue of Trans-Humanities. I have read a copy of an earlier draft, titled Objectum-Sexuality, which Dr. Terry sent to Erika Eiffel for comment and Ms. Eiffel forwarded to me. Dr. Terry invokes Gayle Rubin's essay, Thinking Sex (1984), and observes public reaction to objectum sexuality as an example of conservative repression in "a world increasingly preoccupied with security--emotional, economic and territorial." By analyzing documentaries, news articles, videos and blogs about objectum sexuality, as well as published statements of objectum sexuals, Dr. …


Several prospective studies have demonstrated an association between low serum cholesterol level and subsequent mortality from cancer. This finding was explored in the large cohort (361,662) of men aged 35 to 57 years who were screened for possible randomization to the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial. Mortality follow-up revealed a significant excess of cancer in the lowest decile of serum cholesterol level during the early years of follow-up, which attenuated over time. In contrast, the association between high serum cholesterol and coronary heart disease did not diminish during the average of seven years of follow-up. These findings are consistent with the inference that the association between low serum cholesterol level and cancer is at least in part due to an effect of preclinical cancer on serum cholesterol level. A subset of the cohort (12,866 men) participated in the randomized Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial protocol, which called for annual measurements of serum cholesterol level. Among the 150 of these men who died of cancer during the trial, cholesterol level fell 22.7 mg/dL (0.59 mmol/L) more than in the survivors over an equivalent period. These data are consistent with the foregoing inference.


The Markov Theorem Without Stabilization (MTWS) (see math.GT/0310279) established the existence of a calculus of braid isotopies that can be used to move between closed braid representatives of a given oriented link type without having to increase the braid index by stabilization. Although the calculus is extensive there are three key isotopies that were identified and analyzed--destabilization, exchange moves and elementary braid preserving flypes. One of the critical open problems left in the wake of the MTWS is the "recognition problem"--determining when a given closed n-braid admits a specified move of the calculus. In this note we give an algorithmic solution to the recognition problem for three isotopies of the MTWS calculus--destabilization, exchange moves and braid preserving flypes. The algorithm is directed by a complexity measure that can be "monotonic simplified" by that application of "elementary moves".


BACKGROUND
Oral anti-cancer treatments such as adjuvant endocrine therapies (AET) for breast cancer survivors are commonly used but adherence is a challenge. Few low-touch, scalable interventions exist to increase ET adherence.

PURPOSE
To evaluate the acceptability, feasibility, and initial efficacy of a low-touch, remotely-delivered values plus AET education intervention (REACH) to promote AET adherence.

METHODS
A mixed-methods trial randomized 88 breast cancer survivors 1:1 to REACH or Education alone. Wisepill real-time electronic adherence monitoring tracked monthly AET adherence during a 1-month baseline through 6-month follow-up (FU) (primary outcome). Patient-reported outcomes were evaluated through 3- and 6-month FU (secondary). Multiple indices of intervention feasibility and acceptability were evaluated. Qualitative exit interviews (n = 38) further assessed participants' perceptions of feasibility/acceptability and recommendations for intervention adaptation.

RESULTS
The trial showed strong feasibility and acceptability, with an eligible-to-enrolled rate of 85%, 100% completion of the main intervention sessions, and "good" intervention satisfaction ratings on average. For Wisepill-assessed AET adherence, REACH outperformed Education for Month 1 of FU (p = .027) and not thereafter. Participants in REACH maintained high adherence until Month 4 of FU, whereas in Education, adherence declined significantly in Month 1. Conditions did not differ in self-reported adherence, positive affective attitudes, future intentions, or necessity beliefs. REACH trended toward less negative AET attitudes than Education at 3-month FU (p = .057) reflecting improvement in REACH (p = .004) but not Education (p = .809). Exploratory moderator analyses showed that average to highly positive baseline AET affective attitudes and oncologist-patient communication each predicted higher adherence following REACH than Education; low levels did not. Participants identified recommendations to strengthen the interventions.

CONCLUSIONS
REACH, a low-touch values intervention, showed good feasibility and acceptability, and initial promise in improving objectively-assessed AET adherence among breast cancer survivors (relative to education alone). Future research should target improving REACH's tailoring and endurance.


In the mid-1960s the #620 cell passage line of a murine lymphoma-leukemia was developed at the Section of Clinical Tumor Virology and Immunology, Department of Medicine, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Hospital in Houston, TX. The diploid lymphoma cells released a retrovirus and were antigenic in young adult Swiss (YAS) mice. Small lymphoma cell inocula were rejected with immunity acquired against large inocula of lymphoma cells. Tissue sections revealed the "starry sky" configurations. In one of the tissue cultures set up from lymphoma #620, a cell line consisting of large round poly- or tetraploid cells arose and was referred to as lymphoma cell line #818. The #818 cells grew in suspension cultures and in the form of large, lethal ascitic tumors in YAS mice. Diploid #620 lymphoma cells stained for retroviral antigens; #818 cells stained both for retroviral antigens and immunoglobulins. Fluids withdrawn from #818 cultures neutralized the leukemia virus in spleen focus assays. Immunoglobulin precipitated from #818 suspension culture fluids strongly and specifically neutralized the leukemia virus. The growth of #620 or #818 cells in YAS mice treated with rabbit anti-lymphoma cell immune sera was strongly inhibited but culture fluids of #818 cells showed weak and insignificant inhibition against leukemia-lymphoma #620 (in one experiment, unpublished). In two experiments #620 lymphoma cells were co-inoculated with immune spleen cells into the peritoneal cavities of YAS mice. The immune spleen cells derived from mice that rejected #620 cell inocula or were actively immunized with a photodynamically inactivated mouse leukemia virus vaccine. In the peritoneal cavities of mice co-inoculated with #620 cells and immune spleen cells, clones of large round cells emerged with tetra- or polyploid chromosomal modes. These cells stained for leukemia viral antigens and immunoglobulins. When passaged in YAS mice these cells induced lethal ascites tumors. It was concluded as early as in 1968-69 that an immune plasma cell can fuse with a lymphoma cell, if the lymphoma cell expresses retroviral antigens against which the plasma cell is producing a specific antibody. Some human lymphoma-leukemia cells express retroviral antigens and/or budding retroviral particles, whether due to the acquisition of new env sequences by incomplete resident endogenous retroviral genomes or due to the entry of exogenous retroviruses into lymphopoietic stem cells. In the Discussion illustrations are provided for the human cell line #778 established from a patient with "lymphosarcoma cell leukemia" in 1966. The malignant cells released unidentified retrovirus-like particles and fused with one another and with reactive lymphoid cells of the host. It should be investigated further if human lymphoma-leukemia cells could fuse with an immune plasma cell of the host and thus alter the clinical course of the disease.


The twentieth century has seen the qualitative explosion and the quantitative spreading of the semiotic theories and the sign systems. Taking their first steps with analyses that very rarely called up on history in their argumentation, such disciplines - most of all when dealing with cultural semiotics - have seen "history" enter into their researches. The essay intends to examine the specific contribution of the Tartu-Moscow school and, above all, of the work of Jurij M. Lotman (1922-1993), verifying the impact and the applicability of the Russian semiotics. After recalling the lotmanian scheme that sums up his work in the sixties, the author questions on what cultural semiotics means for "history" and on how the historian may avail himself of it in his work.


Quality of life in patients with cardiological syndrome X (XS) and ischemic heart disease (IHD) assessed with Nottingham Health Profile questionnaire was compared to that shown by exercise tests. Compared to IHD patients, those with XS have worse quality of life. This is explained by a lower pain threshold and, consequently, lower exercise tolerance.


Two problems hinder the ability of scholars to assess the quality of representation of state-level public opinion by elected representatives. First, the main tool measuring ideology in public opinion has historically been self-reported, but this is now well known to be severely plagued by measurement error. Second, and far more binding, we lack a common scale on which to place both constituents and representatives. While the literature has addressed a number of methods estimating a common space for politicians' ideal points across political institutions, little work exists that incorporates citizens into this space. The unified methodology in this paper solves both problems in order to assess representation of constituents by their individual state legislators, the parties in the state legislatures, and the state legislature as a whole. Bridging is accomplished using policy preference questions from a state and congressional candidate survey administered since the early 1990s. I ask those questions in my own 2008 survey of over 4,200 citizen respondents, representative at the state and national levels. Thus, citizens and state legislators can be located on the same ideological scale. I employ multilevel regression with poststratification to model state-level public ideology and obtain aggregate opinion estimates for all 50 states and 1942 upper chamber state legislative districts. State legislators and chamber and party medians are responsive to public opinion, but they are very often incongruent to it. Democrats and Republicans diverge from district and state opinion, but in an asymmetric fashion, with Republicans considerably more distant.


In modern conditions of rural development, the most important productive resource of the agrarian company is human capital. Only well-trained, receptive to innovation, adapted to the market economy, the technician can solve problems for the effective implementation of the economic activity of any enterprise. However, in recent years the problem of staffing is both a management and staff machine operators have intensified. Numbers have fallen substantially, increased the load on one specialist. Inadequate salaries and general social problems in rural areas of Russia and Republic of Tatarstan reduce the attractiveness of work for graduates of agricultural education institutions. The main purpose of this research was to develop a new conceptual approach to staffing of agro industrial complex in modern conditions. The subject of the study was the system of training personnel for agriculture of Russia (on the example Republic of Tatarstan). The main methods used in this study are comparative theoretical-methodological research of educational institution and logical analyze agricultural education in Russia.  The article discusses and analyzed the positive experience of scientific and educational cluster of agro-industrial complex of Republic of Tatarstan and Kazan State Agrarian University. One of the important conditions to solve some of the problems facing agriculture of Russia today, is the modernization of the agricultural education is associated with the formation of relevant scientific, scientific-educational and scientific-production platform. The progressive development of human potential of the agricultural sector plays an important role in achieving the designated high results as the main carrier of innovative knowledge and skills, without which the introduction of modern methods and technologies in production and management of enterprises of agro-industrial complex is simply impossible. Staffing issues agriculture is of great socio-economic importance and is the most important priorities of the state policy not only at present but in the future.  Identified key staffing problems of the agro industrial complex of Russia and Tatarstan. Designed and proposed a new intensive model of development of scientific-educational cluster of agro-industrial complex of Republic of Tatarstan. Keywords: agriculture, scientific-educational cluster(SEC), innovation, education, human resources, agro-industrial complex (AIC) of Republic of Tatarstan (RT), science-educational complex (SRC), Kazan State Agrarian University Article DOI: http://doi.org/10.15544/RD.2017.209


Paternalism is the restriction of a person's autonomy for the good of that person. It embodies a familiar conflict of intuitions: while we cherish individual freedom, we also want to protect/promote what we know to be good. So, every paternalist must meet two challenges: paternalism must be justifiable as a restriction of autonomy as well as effective in terms of well-being. In this essay, I argue that the 'autonomy' restricted by paternalism is a Razian brand of free self-authorship and that the 'good' protected is captured by Martha Nussbaum's account of personal well-being. I then defend a mild welfare paternalism based on a dichotomy implicit in any defensible description of well-being. I argue that some aspects of the good life do not require endorsement and, therefore, can be justifiably and effectively promoted by autonomy-restricting means. Finally, I discuss why paternalism need not be hostile to ethical independence.