Background: Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the North American males. Many industrial and occupational exposures have been studied. However, the results are generally inconclusive. It has been suggested that whole body vibration experienced among heavy equipment and transport equipment operators, construction workers, and transportation laborers may increase risk of prostate cancer. Other studies have suggested that pesticide exposure in farming and landscaping may be associated with risk of prostate cancer. No study has reported on occupational risk associated with prostate cancer aggressiveness, which may be more important since most prostate cancer is indolent. Methods: Data from 1049 African-American (AA) and 1083 European-American (EA) newly-diagnosed prostate cancer research subjects from the North Carolina-Louisiana Prostate Cancer Project (PCaP) were used to assess the association between occupational history and prostate cancer aggressiveness. Research subjects were interviewed regarding their most recent job at the time of prostate cancer diagnosis, the two positions held for the longest period of time during their working life, and whether they had ever worked more than 6 months as a landscaper, at a garden shop, as an animal caretaker, or as an exterminator. Men were classified as cases (high aggressiveness) if Gleason sum ≥8, or PSA >20 ng/ml, or Gleason sum ≥7 AND clinical stage = T3/T4. All other men constituted the comparison group (low or intermediate aggressiveness). Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) were calculated for high aggressive prostate cancer and occupational history. Results: Using employment as an educator as the reference category, men who reported working as a truck driver as their longest job were more likely to have high aggressive prostate cancer at diagnosis (OR=3.96, 95%CI=1.02, 15.46). This study found that men employed for at least six months at garden shop were significantly more likely to be diagnosed with high aggressive prostate cancer (OR=2.33, 95%CI=1.21, 4.45); while working as a landscaper, animal caretaker, or exterminator did not appear to be associated with high aggressive prostate cancer. Conclusions: Men employed as a truck driver or at a garden shop for at least six months are more likely to have high aggressive prostate cancer at diagnosis. Previous studies have found that long-term exposure to whole body vibration in truckers can result in prostatitis and elevated testosterone. Pesticide storage at a garden center may affect indoor air quality. This research provides clinical evidence that suggests certain occupations may have higher risk for aggressive prostate cancer. Citation Format: L. Joseph Su, Wendy Sun, Elizabeth TH Fontham, Jeanette T. Bensen, James L. Mohler. Occupational risk factors for high aggressive prostate cancer in a population-based study of African Americans and European Americans. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Twelfth Annual AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research; 2013 Oct 27-30; National Harbor, MD. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Can Prev Res 2013;6(11 Suppl): Abstract nr B63.


Measurements of benthic biogeochemical fluxes address key functions of benthic systems, e.g.,
remineralization, nutrient regeneration, production of biomass, or bioturbation. They can provide an
integrative measure of processes across all size classes of benthic life; and they allow for quantitative
comparisons to processes in other compartments of the marine environment, e.g. surface water
primary productivity, vertical particle fluxes, organic matter supply to the benthos, and seepage and
oxidation of reduced compounds from subsurface sources. As mining operations potentially alter key
ecosystem functions from surface to seafloor, benthic flux observations seem highly suited for
baseline studies and subsequent assessments of mining-related impacts. The presentation addresses
the suitability of this approach with a focus on oxygen to assess community respiration rates. As
terminal electron acceptor, oxygen is directly connected to carbon cycling, integrates over aerobic as
well as anaerobic processes, and may be measured with sensors at high accuracy. Benthic
community respiration rates could serve as a baseline parameter against which both impact and
recovery could be assessed. The suitability for impact assessments depends on the robustness of the
approach, the sensitivity of community respiration to environmental changes, as well as practical
considerations including the potential of the method to be applied autonomously over large areas.
Oxygen flux measurements are able to resolve large-scale patterns in biological and biogeochemical
conditions, e.g., with respect to benthic biomass, organic matter availability, and seepage of reduced
compounds. On the other hand, studies with benthic chambers, microsensors, planar optodes, and
eddy correlation systems reveal strong variability in oxygen fluxes on virtually any spatial and temporal
scale addressed. In-situ scaling studies and theoretical considerations suggest that substantial
replication is needed in order to obtain representative quantifications of fluxes. As part of the FRAM
Ocean Observing System, time-series of annually repeated in-situ oxygen flux measurements are
obtained at the Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) site HAUSGARTEN in eastern Fram Strait.
These allow the quantification of natural levels of temporal variability in the deep sea against which
impacts would be assessed. At HAUSGARTEN and other sites, improved flux observation
methodologies and strategies are currently implemented for better areal and temporal coverage. This
will serve to better understand baseline variation and, hence, increase our ability to identify man-made
impacts.


The study examines the fate of the Serbo-Croatian or Croat-Serbian language after the dissolution of the former common state of South Slavs, excluding Bulgarians, in 1991 with the main emphasis on the phenomenon of inauguration and promotion of the Bosnian language, which is one of the youngest Slavic and European languages today. The aim of this study is to present the development of the successor languages of the Serbo-Croatian or Croat-Serbian language with the main focus on Bosnian which was officially inaugurated in 1996 and up to now is spoken by the Muslim South Slavs in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Sandžak region divided between Serbia and Montenegro. However, the speakers of the Bosnian language identify themselves as the Bosniaks, but not as the Bosnians in the ethno-national sense. The specificity of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian ethno-linguistic situation in the last two decades is marked by the fact that in this republic officially three ethnic languages (Bosnian, Serbian, Croatian) are spoken although supporters of the Bosnian language try to prove that the mother tongue of all inhabitants of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Sandžak (Raska) region is only Bosnian. The specific position of the Bosnian language among all Slavic languages is visible through the fact that its name is different from the name of the state (Bosnia-Herzegovina) in which it is spoken as well as from the name of the nation who speaks it (Bosniaks). From the linguistic point of view, after the dissolution of the Socialist Yugoslavia, the Croatian, Bosnian, Montenegrin and Serbian languages continue to use one linguistic system, but from the sociolinguistic point, we can speak about four internationally recognized independent languages. It is a matter of "linguistic engineering" to create more factual differences in syntax, vocabulary, orthography and grammar among the four only de jure separated languages in order that they become de facto different languages. The three languages (Bosnian, Serbian, Croatian), emerging on the grounds of the ex-Serbo-Croatian or Croat-Serbian language in Bosnia-Herzegovina, are standardized on the basis of the ijekavian dialect which is a common component that still connects them into a single linguistic system. However, it is expected that in the future the technology of "linguistic engineering" will focus on the creation of "ethnic" differences within this common dialect. In this short analysis of the sociolinguistic aspect of the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia, with the emphasis on the inauguration of the Bosnian language, a comparative method and the method of text analysis are used as a form of sociolinguistic penetration into the role and function of the language in the creation of national identity and in setting nation-state boundaries. In addition, we used a method of the mutual complement of the data from sources and literature.


H syndrome (OMIM 602782) is a very rare autosomal recessive genodermatosis with multisystem involvement. Hallmarks of this disorder are juvenile onset and progressive, hyperpigmented, hypertrichotic lesions with histiocytic infiltration. Associated systemic manifestations form a long list, and there is high variability between patients. In some patients, dysmorphic and other systemic features may be so subtle that the disorder may readily be mistaken as an acquired skin disease and treated as such. Herein, we report a novel homozygous c.1339G>A (p.Glu447Lys) mutation in the SLC29A3 gene in a patient with skin-dominant presentation of H syndrome. Additionally, due to the present case, double superior vena cava can be added to the list of possible cardiovascular manifestations of H syndrome.


The objective of this study was to identify correlates of household food insecurity and poor dietary diversity in rural Cambodia. Trained interviewers administered a survey to 900 households in four rural districts of Prey Veng Province, Cambodia. The Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) and Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) were used to assess household food insecurity and dietary diversity. Multivariate logistic regression models were constructed to identify independent correlates of household food insecurity and poor dietary diversity (HDDS<or=3). The mean±SD HFIAS and HDDS scores were 5.3±3.9 and 4.7±1.6, respectively. The respective prevalence of mild, moderate, and severe food insecurity were 33%, 37%, and 12%; and 23% of households had an HDDS<or=3. In multivariate analyses, several indicators of socioeconomic status, and ownership of agricultural land were associated with household food security status, although the latter association lost its significance in models that adjusted for household income. Similarly, although ownership of agricultural and homestead land was initially associated with poorer dietary diversity, income mitigated these associations. The presence of electricity and vegetable production were the only other variables that were significantly associated with both outcomes. In this rural area of Cambodia, the prevalence of any degree of household food insecurity was very high and dietary diversity was generally low. Interventions to improve food security and dietary diversity should encompass income-generating activities and be targeted toward the poorest households.


We examine fluctuations in the risk premium on Israeli sovereign debt traded in the US between 1996 and 2000. We find that, during this period Israel's risk premium was affected predominantly by global events, most notably the crises in Asia and Russia. Domestic and regional events (e.g., the peace process, political changes, terrorist attacks, and economic reforms) had a miniscule immediate impact on the risk premium. In the year 2000, by contrast, Israeli bond prices were more affected by Israel-specific events, perhaps as a result of dramatic events in that year, or due to the absence of major global emerging-market crises. We also examine abnormal stock returns of Israeli companies traded in the US and find that, in contrast with Israel's sovereign debt, some domestic political events appear to have had an impact on their cost of capital even prior to 2000. Much like Israel's sovereign bonds, Israeli stock prices were far more sensitive to domestic events in 2000 than in earlier years.


Background Hypercortisolemia has been suggested as a primary hormonal mediator of whole-body catabolism following severe burn injury. Ketoconazole, an anti-fungal agent, inhibits cortisol synthesis. We, therefore, studied the effect of ketoconazole on post-burn cortisol levels and the hyper-catabolic response in a prospective randomized trial (block randomization 2∶1). Methodology/Principal Findings Fifty-five severely burned pediatric patients with >30% total body surface area (TBSA) burns were enrolled in this trial. Patients were randomized to receive standard care plus either placebo (controls, n = 38) or ketoconazole (n = 23). Demographics, clinical data, serum hormone levels, serum cytokine expression profiles, organ function, hypermetabolism measures, muscle protein synthesis, incidence of wound infection sepsis, and body composition were obtained throughout the acute hospital course. Statistical analysis was performed using Fisher's exact test, Student's t-test, and parametric and non-parametric two-way repeated measures analysis of variance where applicable. Patients were similar in demographics, age, and TBSA burned. Ketoconazole effectively blocked cortisol production, as indicated by normalization of the 8-fold elevation in urine cortisol levels [F(1, 376) = 85.34, p<.001] with the initiation of treatment. However, there were no significant differences in the inflammatory response, acute-phase proteins, body composition, muscle protein breakdown or synthesis, or organ function between groups. Conclusions Both groups were markedly hypermetabolic and catabolic throughout the acute hospital stay. Normalization of hypercortisolemia with ketoconazole therapy had no effect on whole-body catabolism or the post-burn inflammatory or hypermetabolic response, suggesting that hypercortisolemia does not play a central role in the post-burn hypermetabolic catabolic response. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00675714; and NCT00673309


Conservation and management strategies for endangered and threatened species require accurate estimates of demographic parameters such as age and growth. The whale shark, Rhincodon typus, is the largest fish in the world and is highly valued in the eco-tourism sector. Despite conservation concerns and advances in our understanding of their life history, basic demographic parameters for growth, longevity and mortality are of questionable accuracy; previous growth studies could not agree whether the vertebral growth bands were formed annually or biannually. Here, we provide the first validation of the annual formation of growth bands within the vertebrae of the whale shark using bomb radiocarbon assays. Ages of up to 50 years were estimated from sectioned vertebrae of sharks collected in Taiwan and Pakistan. There was no cessation of the formation of growth bands in the vertebrae of older sharks and our study provides the oldest observed longevity for this species. Initial estimates of growth (k = 0.01–0.12) and natural mortality rates (M = 0.09–0.14) are consistent with those expected of long-lived sharks, which highlights their sensitivity to fishing pressure and conservation concerns.


1. This paper reports an investigation of the effects of semistarvation and starvation on the kinetics of uptake of an amino acid, l-leucine, and a hydrolysis-resistant dipeptide, Gly-Sar, by rings of everted hamster jejunum and ileum in vitro. The concentration range used was 0·1–100 mmol/l. Total uptake, non-mediated uptake and K t and V max. for mediated influx were estimated. 2. At many concentrations, both semistarvation and starvation caused a decrease in uptake of the peptide and the amino acid. Uptake of the peptide was more severely depressed than that of the amino acid. In control animals, the jejunum was the site of maximal uptake of Gly-Sar, and the ileum the site of maximal uptake of leucine. In semistarved and starved animals, the ileum became the site of maximal uptake of Gly-Sar, as it was for leucine. The effects of semistarvation and starvation on uptake were similar whether this was expressed per unit wt. or per unit length, though they were accentuated when expressed per unit length, since the intestine lost weight per unit length. 3. The main effect of semistarvation and starvation on the kinetics of mediated influx of the amino acid and the peptide was to reduce V max. in both jejunum and ileum. This effect was compatible with a reduction in the number of mediated transport sites for both the amino acid and the peptide. The observation that mediated influx of the peptide was more severely affected than that of the amino acid supports the hypothesis of the independence of the mechanisms for intestinal uptake of peptides and amino acids.


Rotifers are used extensively as start feed for many cultured marine fish species and commercial size hatcheries require stable daily supply of high quality rotifers of substantial volumes. This is often done relying on some employees whose knowledge and experience of the process and procedures ensures a stable production. Control techniques have been used in many other industries during many years improving the quality, reliability, predictability and reducing the costs of the production. However, control engineering is not as widely used as in other industries yet and this is the objective of this thesis, study the possibilities of using such techniques in the area of rotifer production at large scale. The benefits of their application will be an increment in the quality and predictability of the production as it becomes less dependant on the experience of people, but on their experience combined with monitoring and control techniques that will maintain the best conditions possible for the cultivation all the time. And also a better use of the resources will be achieved, that leading probably to a reduction of the costs of the production. This thesis makes a study of the biology and cultivation conditions of the rotifers, which is necessary previous to the application of control techniques, and then studies and proposes to different strategies for controlling the growth of the population, one based on the control of the feed density in the cultivation tank and the other based on the egg ratio control. In this work it is mainly done running simulations over a model, but an experiment is also performed for testing the second of the control strategies proposed.


Violence among incarcerated youths is a serious public health issue and an area of marked health disparities. Procedural Justice is an ethical framework to guide policy approaches in the criminal justice system. The purpose of our study was to evaluate youth perception of neutrality, respect, trust, and voice while incarcerated. Young people ages 14 to 21 previously incarcerated in a juvenile detention facility were interviewed regarding their perceptions of procedural justice. Participants were recruited from community-based organizations. Interviews were semi-structured, lasting for 1 hr. Interviews were coded for themes related to procedural justice. Twenty-eight participants were interviewed regarding their experience with procedural justice while incarcerated. Key themes included: Neutrality: Participants felt that they were treated impartially regarding everyone receiving the same punishment for offenses; however, levels of punishments for offenses were inconsistent. Respect: Participants often felt disrespected by staff. Trust: The participants did not feel safe to trust. Voice: Participants felt they had no voice while incarcerated. Previously incarcerated youth perceptions indicated a need for more training in the juvenile detention system to enable staff members to have a better understanding of procedural justice and to appropriately utilize it.


In central Anatolia there are several important basins developed mainly after closure of the northern branch of Neotethys. These are the Haymana, Tuzgolu, Ulukisla, Kizilirmak, Cankiri-Corum and Sivas basins. The Sivas Basin is located in the eastern part of central Anatolia between the Central Anatolian Crystalline Complex (CACC) in the north and Taurides in the south. The basement to the southeastern part of the basin consists of recrystallized limestone and clastics of the Permian–Lower Cretaceous Bunyan Metamorphics. These units are overlain by an Upper Cretaceous ophiolitic olistostrome that is overthrust by ophiolites and high pressure–low temperature metamorphic rocks. Lower Palaeocene cover units unconformably overlie this sequence. The basement to the northwestern part is constituted by CACC that includes a high temperature–low pressure polymetamorphic succession of Palaeozoic–Mesozoic age, overthrust by ophiolites and intruded by Upper Cretaceous post-collisional granitoids and syenitoids. The uppermost Maastrichtian–Palaeocene continental to shallow marine (lagoonal) unit unconformably overlies this unit. Upper Cretaceous–Palaeocene siltstone, shale, pelagic limestone, volcaniclastic rocks and basic volcanic rock intercalations of a within-continental-plate eruptive setting have also been developed on the basement unit. These sequences represent the products of an extensional episode during Late Cretaceous–Palaeocene times in the region between the Taurides and CACC. The Middle Eocene is represented by a regional transgression which was followed by a compressional episode evidenced by thrust faults at the margins and continued regression in the central part of the basin. This compressional period continued up to the end of the Early Miocene. Units formed during this episode are overlain by Upper Miocene–Quaternary continental units intercalated with volcanic rocks formed in fault-controlled extensional basins. It is suggested that the palaeotectonic events were the result of terminal closure of the northern branch of Neotethys. However, the neotectonic events are the result of the collision of the Arabian Plate and Anatolides which causes a westward escape of the Anatolian Plate. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


BACKGROUND AND AIMS
While long-term medication-assisted treatment (MAT) using methadone or buprenorphine is associated with significantly lower all-cause mortality for individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD), periods of initiating or discontinuing treatment are associated with higher mortality risks relative to stable treatment. This study aimed to identify the OUD treatment durations necessary for the elevated mortality risks during treatment transitions to be balanced by reductions in mortality while receiving treatment.

DESIGN
Simulation model based on a compartmental model of OUD diagnosis, MAT receipt, and all-cause mortality among Veterans with OUD in the United States Veteran Health Administration (VA) in 2017-2018. We simulated methadone and buprenorphine treatments of varying durations using parameters obtained through calibration and published meta-analyses of studies from North America, Europe, and Australia.

SETTING
USA PARTICIPANTS: Simulated cohorts of 10,000 individuals with OUD MEASUREMENTS: All-cause mortality over 12 months FINDINGS: Receiving methadone for 4 months or longer or buprenorphine for 2 months or longer resulted in 54 (95% CI: 5-90) and 65 (95% CI: 21-89) fewer deaths relative to not receiving MAT for the same duration, using VA-specific mortality rates. We estimated shorter treatment durations necessary to achieve net mortality benefits of 2 months or longer for methadone and 1 month or longer for buprenorphine, using non-VA population literature estimates. Sensitivity analyses demonstrated that necessary treatment durations increased more with smaller mortality reductions on treatment than with larger relative risks during treatment transitions.

CONCLUSIONS
Short periods (<6 months) of treatment with either methadone or buprenorphine are likely to yield net mortality benefits for people with opioid use disorder relative to receiving no medications, despite periods of elevated all-cause mortality risk during transitions into and out of treatment. Retaining people with opioid use disorder in treatment longer can increase these benefits.


Featuring the popular characters from the award-winning Sandman series by Neil Caiman, THE SANDMAN: ENDLESS NIGHTS reveals the legend of the Endless, a family of magical and mythical beings who exist and interact in the real world. Born at the beginning of time, Destiny, Death, Dream, Desire, Despair, Delirium, and Destruction are seven brothers and sisters who each lord over their respective realms. In this highly imaginative book that boasts a diverse styles of breathtaking art, these seven peculiar and powerful siblings each reveal more about their true being as they star in their own tales of curiosity and wonder. THE SANDMAN: ENDLESS NIGHTS was the first comic graphic novel to be listed on the NY Times Best-seller list. SUGGESTED FOR MATURE READERS.


The Australian Agricultural Economics Society has made a practice of not being directly involved with political matters or taking a stance on matters of economic policy. In accordance with the constitutional objectives of the Society, our role has been to foster interest in such matters, to foster analysis of them and to facilitate discussion but not to put forward a particular viewpoint as being the Society's. On the other hand, our Constitution requires the Society: -to encourage the study of agricultural economics in Australia and to promote high standards of accomplishment in research, teaching and extension in this field'; and inter alia -to promote the profession of agricultural economics in Australia ... '. Therefore, when a matter of government policy and the way it is being implemented affects these objectives, the Society must become involved. The issue I have in mind is that which centres around competency standards in the professions and I believe that issue has the potential to assume crisis proportions for our profession.


Video games are becoming culturally dominant. But what does their popularity say about our contemporary society? This book explores video game culture, but in doing so, utilizes video games as a lens through which to understand contemporary social life.
Video games are becoming an increasingly central part of our cultural lives, impacting on various aspects of everyday life such as our consumption, communities, and identity formation. Drawing on new and original empirical data – including interviews with gamers, as well as key representatives from the video game industry, media, education, and cultural sector – Video Games as Culture not only considers contemporary video game culture, but also explores how video games provide important insights into the modern nature of digital and participatory culture, patterns of consumption and identity formation, late modernity, and contemporary political rationalities.
This book will appeal to undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as postdoctoral researchers, interested in fields such Video Games, Sociology, and Media and Cultural Studies. It will also be useful for those interested in the wider role of culture, technology, and consumption in the transformation of society, identities, and communities.


ABSTRACT Identification of bats is most practically done by exploiting the characteristic features of their echolocation calls. This usually involves expert knowledge, expensive equipment and time-consuming post processing of previously recorded calls. Automated solutions exist, but are usually not as accurate as human experts. We present an automated solution for the processing of bat calls and identification of bat species with extremely high classification accuracy that can be used during live recording or in an automated post-processing software. Our algorithm is the first application of a Deep Convolutional Neural Network to classify bat species based on sound spectrogram images of their echolocation calls. We tested several deep CNN architectures including a modified Google Inception and a ResNet50 architecture. The nets were trained on a very large call database consisting of images of snippets of call spectrograms. All our software was developed in the Python programming language and an executable of the software is available on request.


The purpose of the paper is to investigate, first, the association between multiple directorship assignments (busyness) undertaken by corporate directors and firm performance, second, whether endogenously determined limits of multiple directorships, highlighting the ownership structure and other institutional settings, explain the above association better than those by exogenously mandated by regulators and third, the association between the nature of busyness and firm performance. The study develops measures of busyness in the light of the agency and resource dependence theories. The spline regression technique is applied in order to reflect institutional settings of a large sample and sub-samples of firms classified as local private, foreign and government firms in India. For local private firms, the association between the number of directorships and firm performance becomes negative before reaching the maximum number of directorships set by legislation, whereas, for foreign and government firms, the same continues to remain positive throughout. Endogenously determined cut-off points of busyness reflect institutional settings of firms, which may remain masked otherwise. The findings of the current paper can be useful to study the same phenomenon in other emerging markets having corporate governance, and ownership structures similar to that of India. The effect of busyness can be different on different firms; however, exogenously fixed regulatory limits do not reflect their institutional settings. The current paper is an attempt to fill in this research gap.


Most of the big projects are being implanted in Bangladesh, financed by foreign aids from different international organizations. In FY 2014-15, the foreign aids amounting BDT 4472 (mn) was allocated in the national budget. E-procurement adoptions make purchasing activities more effective in terms of both time and cost. The objective of the study was to assess the adoption of e-procurement and value addition to the foreign aided projects in Bangladesh. Organizational-Technological-Environmental research model was used. Data collection techniques focused on questionnaire. Random sampling was used in this study. The result showed that 88.89 % of the participants were from public entities and 11.11% were from others. Management's positive attitude toward adoption of e-procurement helped allocating enough resources from available funds that brought the business partner close to each other. It also increased the partner's firm efficiencies. E-procurementwas compatible with most organization's business operations and existing information but not with those of the supplier. Thecomplexity was much experienced on business partner operation site. Technological infrastructures in most organization were sufficient. Organizations were benefited from cost saving after implementing e-procurement process though the initial installation cost was not negligible. Pressure for adoption of e-procurement came from competition among organization but not from supplier demand. Core value of effectiveness and efficiency of e-procurement acted as normative pressure. Regulatory body of Bangladesh and foreign financing agencies had an influence over the adoption of e-procurement. But regulatory bodies did not perform active role as it was expected. To ensure good governance, transparency, eradication of corruption and building people trust on procurement process is necessary. To achieving the goals "Digital Bangladesh Vision 2021" adoption of e-procurement in all foreign aided projects is crucially needed.


The interaction of intense laser pulses (power>30 TW) with underdense plasmas has been studied. In the regime where the pulse length is much longer than the plasma period (τl≫2πωp−1), the laser pulse is found to be self-modulated at the plasma frequency by the forward Raman scattering instability. Wavebreaking of the resulting plasma wave results in energetic electrons being accelerated to more than 100 MeV. Reducing the pulse length so that τl∼2πωp−1, but retaining the same power, also leads to wavebreaking. This is a direct result of a combination of laser beam self-focusing, front-edge laser pulse steepening and relativistic lengthening of the plasma wave wavelength, which can result in a forced growth of the wakefield plasma wave, even for initially nonresonant laser pulses (τl≠πωp−1). Since, in this forced laser wakefield regime, the interaction of the plasma wave and the bunch of accelerated electrons with the laser pulse is reduced, this can result in higher energy gain (to beyond 200 MeV) and bett...


Background:   L imb loss and limb deficiency are po-tentially disabling conditions affecting the health and well being of persons worldwide. There are multiple pathways to the loss of a limb. Acquired limb deficien-cies as a result of disease or physical trauma, are less ordinary. Similar to other types of trauma, determina-tion of the patterns of these injuries is necessary for establishment of preventive strategies. Thus, the pat-terns of these injuries has not yet been well defined in our set up. So the epidemiological evidence is needed to define and understand the patterns of these injuries which results in amputation in children. Objective:   To determine the pattern, mode of injury and body part involvement in children with amputa-tion. Methodology:   Study was carried out at Department of Pediatrics Surgery, Mayo Hospital Lahore. All pati-ents (children) with amputation during the Year 2009-2011 were included in the study. Data regarding ampu-tation injuries to children treated in Department of Pediatric Surgery from 2009 to 2011 were obtained from the Admission registers. This data includes de-mographics details, body part involved, and type of amputation. Data entry and analysis was done with the help of SPSS 15.0. Chi-square was used to see the association between different modes of trauma with amputation. P-value £ 0.05 was taken as significant. Results:   Among these 65 children 46 were male and 19 were females. Mean age of male and female chil-dren was 7.61 ± 3.29 and 6.92 ± 3.11 years. There were 41 children who got injury at their home while the remaining 24 children suffered from injury on high way. Most frequent cause of injury was electric burn, road traffic accident, injury due to Tokka (Grass cut-ting machine in rural areas) and upper limb injury was high as compared to lower limb injury. There were 21 children who had partial amputation, 22 children had near complete and complete amputation done as a result of injury. Conclusion:   Male children were more prone towards imputation, most frequent injury and cause of amputa-tion was RTA and electric burn. Upper extremity in-jury was more prevalent as compared to lower extre-mity injury in children who had undergone imputation. Key Words:   Amputation, Children, Upper Extremity, Lower Extremity, Traumatic.


Iterative algorithms for the solution of convex quadratic optimization problems are investigated, which exploit inaccurate matrix-vector products. Theoretical bounds on the performance of a Conjugate Gradients and a Full-Orthormalization methods are derived, the necessary quantities occurring in the theoretical bounds estimated and new practical algorithms derived. Numerical experiments suggest that the new methods have significant potential, including in the steadily more important context of multi-precision computations.


We have previously shown that transcription of the beta 3 nicotinic receptor gene within the chick CNS is regulated by a promoter 143 base pairs (bp) in length. Here, we demonstrate that in the developing visual system this promoter is active in a subset of retinal cells, the majority of which are ganglion cells. Because the beta 3 promoter is activated very early during retina development, it can provide a marker of ganglion cell induction and differentiation. Transfection of neuroretina explants enabled us to detect activity of the beta 3 promoter in premigratory cells localized on the ventricular side of the retina. Double-labeling experiments showed that activation of the beta 3 promoter takes place before the last S-phase, suggesting that this particular phenotypic trait is determined when precursor cells are still proliferating. The beta 3 phenotype is induced in about one-tenth of the total pool of retinal progenitor cells and is stable upon changing the cellular environment. Our study suggests that at the very early stages of retina neurogenesis, some lineage restrictions have already occurred in the population of retinal progenitor cells.


What is population history about? It's about birth rates, migration, and economies. It's about families, women, and babies. It is about agricultural production, military conflict, colonies, and race. In short, population history is the human story. This book shows that population issues-numbers of people, how to feed them, their employment, racial makeup, intelligence, health, sexual behavior, and reproduction-have concerned authorities for centuries. The primary documents in this volume illustrate those concerns from the mid-18th century to the present. Provided is background information on each document and coverage of a variety of population perspectives. All of the concerns illustrated in this volume have helped to mold population policy. From the threat of a population explosion, familiar to those growing up in the 1960s, to birth control, women's rights, and lawmakers' desires to address social ills, this book covers a wide spectrum of issues. Included is a variety of documents, such as treatises, essays, speeches, articles, and passages from books. Tobin's introductory commentary provides a framework for the documents, pointing to their intent and significance. This is the only comprehensive source of documents on population, making it a valuable resource for both professional and armchair historians.


In this assessment we incorporated published and unpublished information to delineate and score Biologically Important Areas (BIAs) for cetaceans in the Hawaiʻi region following standardized criteria. Twenty-six cetacean species have been documented in Hawaiʻi. Eleven odontocete species have distinct small populations resident to one or more island areas: rough-toothed dolphins, pantropical spotted dolphins, common bottlenose dolphins, spinner dolphins, short-finned pilot whales, false killer whales, pygmy killer whales, melon-headed whales, Blainville's beaked whales, Cuvier's beaked whales, and dwarf sperm whales. Eight species of mysticetes have been documented, although their occurrence and behavior are poorly understood, with the exception of breeding humpback whales and, more recently, common minke whales. Thirty-five BIAs were delineated or revised from the initial 2015 effort: 33 for small and resident odontocete populations and two for humpback whale reproductive areas. Hierarchical BIAs reflecting core areas of use or population-specific ranges were delineated for nine species. Reproductive watch list areas were designated for common minke whales in the main Hawaiian Islands (MHI) and humpback whales in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI); these areas did not meet the criteria for a BIA due to limited supporting information. All but three BIAs were in the MHI, reflecting the disparities in research effort between this region and the NWHI. Spatial extents of BIA boundaries ranged from 457 km2 to 138,001 km2 (median = 8,299 km2). Scores (range: 1-3) for Data Support and Boundary Certainty were moderate to high (mean = 2.40 and 2.43, respectively), while Intensity and Importance scores were slightly lower (mean = 1.94 and 1.89, respectively). Many of the Hawaiʻi species have been extensively studied over several decades; accordingly, this region ranks among the highest in terms of Data Support relative to other regions. BIAs presented here describe known ranges of small resident populations, intensities of use, and uncertainties in important areas for cetaceans in Hawaiʻi based on the best available data, and have also revealed knowledge gaps to guide future research efforts.


The quantitative comparison of gene expression represents one of the major approaches for the analysis of gene function. Recently, the discovery of unknown genes based only upon their expression pattern has become possible through the application of various differential cloning methods, including subtractive hybridization, differential display, and expressed sequence tag analysis. Due to numerous technical and procedural limitations, however, none of these technologies is currently capable of rapidly identifying differentially regulated transcripts based on multiple expression-related criteria. Therefore, an alternative approach was devised which allows for the sequential application of numerous selection criteria during the initial screening process, thereby enabling the rapid identification of transcripts with highly specific expression patterns. Because of its use of multiple positive and negative selection steps, this approach is called Boolean selection. One of the first applications of this new approach was the search for novel genes associated with the formation and reorganization of neuronal networks in the mammalian brain. An ideal model system for this analysis is the retinocollicular system of the rat, where numerous aspects of neurite outgrowth, axon guidance, synapse formation and reorganization, and regulation of neuronal survival can easily be studied. Boolean selection was applied for the identification of transcripts preferentially expressed in the superior colliculus during late prenatal development as well as after the loss of afferent input in the adult animal. An initial analysis of several of these selected transcripts revealed that all satisfied at least one selection criterion and that over half satisfied both, indicating the usefulness of Boolean selection for the rapid identification of differentially regulated genes. Although additional analysis by in situ hybridization will still be necessary to verify the extent of differential expression and to provide information on the cellular localization of the transcripts identified so far, it was possible with this preliminary screen to gain new insight into some of the molecular and cellular activities in the superior colliculus during periods associated with the formation and reorganization of synaptic connections. Some of the identified transcripts encode proteins associated with post-transcriptional protein synthesis and modification events, including ribophorin (an essential subunit of the protein glycosylation complex ligosaccharyltransferase), calnexin (a membrane-associated molecular chaperone of the endoplasmic reticulum), and translation initiation factor, which together suggest enhanced levels of protein production and secretion. Other transcipts include rSec6 (part of the protein complex involved in the docking and fusion of synaptic vesicles to the plasma membrane) and Fyn (a nonreceptor tyrosine kinase found at high concentrations in axonal growth cones and also known be involved in synaptic plasticity), Fas-associated protein factor (a recently identified molecule potentially involved in Fas-mediated signal transduction during program m ed cell death), and a novel member of the EOF superfamily of transmembrane growth factors (which presently includes the EGF/TGFa family and the neuregulins). Further analysis of these molecules may provide additional information about the signaling mechanisms and cell-cell interactions at work during the establishment and
modification of neuronal networks.


The aim of this study was to determine characteristics of injuries of children admitted to the Emergency Department (ED) of University Hospital Split, and also to define the mechanisms of injuries, as well as the type and severity of injuries. We evaluated 3,221 children with injuries treated in the ED of the University Hospital of Split in the period from January to July 2009. The following indicators were analyzed: age, gender, anatomic distribution of injuries, mechanism, Injury Severity Score (ISS) and the need for hospital and intensive care admission. Chi-square and Mann-Whitney tests were used in order to determine statistical relevance of the results. Boys were more often injured than girls (65.6%), and most of the injured children were older than 13 years (41.7%). The majority of patients (96%) had minor injuries (ISS < 10), and only 3.7% of patients were hospitalized. The majority of injuries were caused by falls (71.3%), and limbs were the most frequently injured body region (67.1%). However, road traffic accidents (RTA) required hospitalization more often than any other mechanism (25% of patients), and the leading injury in RTA victims was head injury (38% of patients). Older children were more susceptible to RTAs (64.5%), and the majority of children were injured as passengers in cars (36.4%). Children with head injuries, and those injured in RTAs, were more often hospitalized and more often admitted to intensive care unit than other patients. The most frequently injured body region in children treated in ED are limbs, and the most frequent mechanism of injury is fall. However, the most severe are head injuries, and the majority of severe injuries are caused by RTAs. These data are important for programs of injury prevention.


SUMMARY Measurements of introgression may be made on scales established by principal components, canonical correlation vectors, discriminant functions, hybrid indices, and a proposed distance analysis. The distance analysis developed is the most sensitive scale used. When the methods were used on a set of data from introgression of two pine species, the failure of some of the assumptions was such as to lead to some differences in biological conclusions..


Space-based instrumentation is often capable of generating more data than the spacecraft telecommunications downlink can handle. This means that potentially valuable data has to be discarded before it can be looked at, or that expensive instrumentation is not working to full capacity. Data compression can help to increase the effective productivity of space-based instrumentation. However data compression is not free: it requires additional on-board processing to perform the compression and may result in some degradation of image quality. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) instruments with high resolution and all weather, day and night capability produce very large volumes of data on-board a satellite. This paper looks at several different methods of raw SAR data compression. These methods were implemented and tested on a set of raw SAR data. The effects of the different forms of data compression on final SAR image quality were assessed. The results of this evaluation are presented here together with comparabl...


Description An account of privacy's evolutionary roots may hold lessons for policies in the digital age Continued expansion of human activities into digital realms gives rise to concerns about digital privacy and its invasions, often expressed in terms of data rights and internet surveillance. It may thus be tempting to construe privacy as a modern phenomenon—something our ancestors lacked and technological innovation and urban growth made possible. Research from history, anthropology, and ethnography suggests otherwise. The evidence for peoples seeking to manage the boundaries of private and public spans time and space, social class, and degree of technological sophistication. Privacy—not merely hiding of data, but the selective opening and closing of the self to others—appears to be both culturally specific and culturally universal (1). But what could explain the simultaneous universality and diversity of a human drive for privacy? An account of the evolutionary roots of privacy may offer an answer and teach us about privacy's digital future and how to manage it (2).


THE RECOGNITION of the oligodendrocyte as a cellular unit of the neuroglial portion of the central nervous system was made by Ford Robertson, a Scottish investigator, in 1900. With the use of platinum impregnation he separated a cell type from the third element of Cajal, which he called "mesoglia." Hortega, in 1918, analyzed the third element of Cajal with the use of silver carbonate impregnation methods and discovered first the microglial cell, which he called "microglia"; in 1921 he identified the oligodendroglial cell, which he so designated because of its few dendritic processes. The mesoglial cell of Robertson was found to correspond to the oligodendroglial cell of Hortega, but the term used by the latter was retained, since it was more descriptive and avoided implication of mesodermal derivation. Bailey and Cushing, 1 in their historic classification of gliomas, published in 1926, were the first to associate the oligodendroglial cell with


Composite applications are developed by integrating independent web services and deployed in a dynamic cloud based environment. An ability to modify the composite applications in response to changing business needs significantly contributes to agility of enterprise information systems. Deployment and execution in the cloud based environment allows to requisition resources necessary for efficient execution of the composite applications. However, properties of the composite applications directly depend upon characteristics of external services used and environmental factors, which in the case of public networks, exhibit high degree of variability. In order to address this issue, the objective of this paper is to develop a simulation and business process modelling based platform for evaluation of composite applications to ensure that the applications developed deliver expected performance. The combined approach allows for comprehensive evaluation subject to stochastic and dynamic factors, and the platform integration reduces the modelling overhead. Application of the simulation platform is demonstrated using an example of designing a composite application for a taxi call center.


Proteins are organized in large protein complexes that form an extensive network in the cell. They are the most versatile macromolecule in the cell and the interactions between each other are highly directed and essential for most cellular functions. The activity of protein complexes is in turn frequently regulated by post-translational modifications such as acetylation, phosphorylation, etc. Since protein complexes determine to a large extend the functional organization of a cell, their investigation is of high importance to achieve a better understanding of cellular pathways and biological function. The analysis of endogenously expressed protein complexes is particularly interesting and relevant as it represents the most authentic situation in the cell. Proteins assemble with their natural interaction partner and are modulated according to a genuine situation. The introduction of tandem affinity purification procedures made it possible to isolate endogenous protein complexes on a large scale directly from cells. The procedure consists of two subsequent purification steps which keep the protein interactions intact throughout the procedure. The technique is relatively fast, reproducible and yields in pure protein complexes. By proteomics approaches large protein-protein interaction networks of S. cerevisiae have been unravelled which indicated that proteins are organized into modules of protein complexes. These proteomics experiments provided very useful information about the constituents of different protein assemblies. The next step towards a comprehensive analysis of protein assemblies is to characterize these protein assemblies in more detail. It is important to determine the direct interactions between proteins, the overall topology of protein complexes, strong and weak interacting proteins, subtle differences between closely related protein complexes and how protein interactions are modulated. We set out to describe the local network of protein complexes that are involved in RNA metabolism in the cell in detail and focus in particular on the nuclear and cytoplasmic exosome and the Ski complex. The exosome plays a crucial role in the degradation of mRNA and also in the processing of diverse RNA such as rRNA, snRNA and snoRNA. The cytoplasmic exosome requires the Ski complex as a co-activator for the degradation of mRNA. These endogenous heterogeneous proteins assemblies are characterized by a combination of tandem affinity purification technique and multiplexed mass spectrometry approaches. (Quantitative) proteomics approaches identified all exosome proteins and yielded in a first generation phosphorylation map with a relative quantitation of exosome proteins and identified phosphorylation sites between the nuclear and cytoplasmic variant. A strong emphasis is placed on native (tandem) mass spectrometry as it offers unique possibilities to investigate structural features of protein assemblies. The requirement of just a low amount of protein complex for a comprehensive mass spectrometry analysis makes this technique ideal for the analysis of endogenously expressed protein assemblies. This technique allowed the investigation of the gas-phase structure of the exosome and determined strong and weak interacting components. Moreover this technique revealed a novel heterotetrameric stoichiometry for the Ski complex. In addition, acid disruption of the complex into monomeric proteins, dimeric and trimeric subcomplexes led to an improved model of the Ski assembly.


©2020 Emerald Publishing Limited. This manuscript version is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY–NC 4.0) license, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/


Monitoring coal goaf mainly is arrangement of the wireless sensor network node in goaf to monitor the change of gas concentration and environmental temperature. This paper presents a clustering routing algorithm based on event-driven. In conventional circumstances, we adopt an improved LEACH algorithm. In the case of an event occurs, the nodes within the event region form a sub-cluster automatically, electing a cluster head node in cluster center. Cluster head after fusion data, in the direction of the shortest distance with the sink node forms a series of dynamic clustering and transmits the data to the sink node. Through MATLAB simulation studies show that the improved LEACH prolongs network life cycle efficaciously, clustering routing algorithm based on event-driven will transmits the data to the sink node reliably and in real time.


Xylose reductase is a homodimeric oxidoreductase dependent on NADPH or NADH and belongs to the largely monomeric aldo-keto reductase superfamily of proteins. It catalyzes the first step in the assimilation of xylose, an aldose found to be a major constituent monosaccharide of renewable plant hemicellulosic material, into yeast metabolic pathways. It does this by reducing open chain xylose to xylitol, which is reoxidized to xylulose by xylitol dehydrogenase and metabolically integrated via the pentose phosphate pathway. No structure has yet been determined for a xylose reductase, a dimeric aldo-keto reductase or a family 2 aldo-keto reductase. The structures of the Candida tenuis xylose reductase apo- and holoenzyme, which crystallize in spacegroup C2 with different unit cells, have been determined to 2.2 A resolution and an R-factor of 17.9 and 20.8%, respectively. Residues responsible for mediating the novel dimeric interface include Asp-178, Arg-181, Lys-202, Phe-206, Trp-313, and Pro-319. Alignments with other superfamily members indicate that these interactions are conserved in other dimeric xylose reductases but not throughout the remainder of the oligomeric aldo-keto reductases, predicting alternate modes of oligomerization for other families. An arrangement of side chains in a catalytic triad shows that Tyr-52 has a conserved function as a general acid. The loop that folds over the NAD(P)H cosubstrate is disordered in the apo form but becomes ordered upon cosubstrate binding. A slow conformational isomerization of this loop probably accounts for the observed rate-limiting step involving release of cosubstrate. Xylose binding (K(m) = 87 mM) is mediated by interactions with a binding pocket that is more polar than a typical aldo-keto reductase. Modeling of xylose into the active site of the holoenzyme using ordered waters as a guide for sugar hydroxyls suggests a convincing mode of substrate binding.


The evolution of the capsules induced by C. diplogaster in the fat body of I. sexdentatus is followed by histological methods from the pupal stage to the oviposition of the host. Early in the pupal stage of the insect, the parasitic female of C. diplogaster has not oviposited yet and the nuclei of the capsule that surrounds it are gathered in tetrads; some of these nuclei are in a well forwarded degenerescence. These observations suggest that the syncytial capsule should result both from an amitotic division of the nuclei followed by a degenerescence of some of them and from a fusion of cells. Late in the pupal stage, the nuclei are set apart from each other and distributed at the periphery of the capsule. The oviposition of the nematode takes place when the host is an adult. After the development of the larvae has been made into the capsule, this one ends in breaking, generally when the bark beetle has attacked a new host-tree. Then, the larvae of the nematode leave the insect and invade the galleries. The parasitic development of C. diplogaster always takes place quite in the fat body of the beetle.


Porphyromonas gingivalis is one of the bacterial species most closely associated with periodontitis and can shed large numbers of outer membrane vesicles (OMVs), which are increasingly thought to play a significant role in bacterial virulence and pathogenicity. Macrophages are amongst the first immune cells to respond to bacteria and their products, so we sought to directly compare the response of macrophages to P. gingivalis or its purified OMVs. Macrophages stimulated with OMVs produced large amounts of TNFα, IL-12p70, IL-6, IL-10, IFNβ, and nitric oxide compared to cells infected with P. gingivalis, which produced very low levels of these mediators. Both P. gingivalis and OMVs induced a shift in macrophage metabolism from oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) to glycolysis, which was supported by enhanced lactate release, decreased mitochondrial oxygen consumption with reduced spare respiratory capacity, as well as increased mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. Corresponding to this metabolic shift, gene expression analysis of macrophages infected with P. gingivalis or stimulated with OMVs revealed a broad transcriptional upregulation of genes critical to glycolysis and a downregulation of genes associated with the TCA cycle. Upon examination of inflammasome signaling and pyroptosis it was found that P. gingivalis did not activate the inflammasome in macrophages as the mature forms of caspase-1, IL-1β, and IL-18 were not detected and there was no extracellular release of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) or 7-AAD staining. In comparison, macrophages stimulated with OMVs potently activated caspase-1, produced large amounts of IL-1β, IL-18, released LDH, and were positive for 7-AAD indicative of pyroptotic cell death. These data directly quantitate the distinct effects of P. gingivalis and its OMVs on macrophage inflammatory phenotype, mitochondrial function, inflammasome activation, and pyroptotic cell death that may have potential implications for their roles in chronic periodontitis.


The study describes the sorption of Cr, Cu, Mn and Zn by Pseudomonas aeruginosa AT18 isolated from a site contaminated with petroleum and heavy metals. The concentrations studied (mgL-1) were Cr-50, Cu-49, Mn-60 and Zn-70. The solution pH and ionic strength were very important factors in the metal biosorption performance and the biosorption capacity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa AT18 for Cr3+ Cu2+, Mn2+ and Zn2+. In aqueous solution the biosorption increased with increasing pH in the range 5.46-7.72. The results obtained in the experimental assays show that Pseudomonas aeruginosa AT18 has the capacity for biosorption of the metallic ions Cr3+, Cu2+ and Zn2+ in solutions, although its capacity for the sorption of manganese is low (22.39 mg Mn2+/g of biomass) in comparison to the Cr3+, Cu2+ and Zn2+ ions, as shown by the individual analyses. However, 20% of the manganese was removed from an initial concentration of 49.0 mgL- 1, with a Qm value similar to that obtained in solutions containing mixtures of Cr3+ Cu2+, Mn2+ and Zn2+. The chromium level sorbed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa AT18 biomass was higher than that for Cu, Mn and Zn, with 100% removal in the pH range 7.00-7.72 and a Qm of 121.90-200.00 mg of Cr3+/g of biomass. The remove of Cr, Cu and Zn are a result also of precipitation processes.


The wide bandgap material, Gallium Nitride (GaN), has emerged as the dominant semiconductor material to implement high-electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) that form the basis of RF electronics. GaN is also an excellent material to realize photoconductive switches (PCSS) whose high-frequency performance could exceed that of RF HEMTs. In this paper, we numerically model the output characteristics of a GaN PCSS as a function of the input electrical and optical bias and the device dimensions. Importantly, we show that operating the GaN PCSS in the regime of negative differential mobility significantly benefits its high-frequency performance by compressing the temporal width of the output current pulse, while also enhancing its peak value. We find that when the optically excited carriers are generated in the middle of the active region, the bandwidth of the device is approximately 600 GHz, while delivering an output power exceeding 800 mW with a power gain greater than 35 dB. The output power increases to 1.5 W, and the power gain exceeds 40 dB with a near-terahertz bandwidth (≈ 800 GHz), as the laser source is moved closer to the anode. Finally, we elucidate that under high optical bias with significant electrostatic screening effects, the DC electric field across the device can be boosted to further enhance the performance of the GaN PCSS.


This paper investigates the relationship between the size of interest groups in terms of voter representation and the interest group's campaign contributions to politicians. We uncover a robust hump-shaped relationship between the voting share of an interest group and its contributions to a legislator. This pattern is rationalized in a simultaneous bilateral bargaining model where the larger size of an interest group affects the amount of surplus to be split with the politician (thereby increasing contributions), but is also correlated with the strength of direct voter support the group can offer instead of monetary funds (thereby decreasing contributions). The model yields simple structural equations that we estimate at the district level employing data on individual and PAC donations and local employment by sector. This procedure yields estimates of electoral uncertainty and politicians effectiveness as perceived by the interest groups. Our approach also implicitly delivers a novel method for estimating the impact of campaign spending on election outcomes: we find that an additional vote costs a politician between 100 and 400 dollars depending on the district.


Nanostructured calcium silicate (NCaSil) had previously been found to be photoactive and mildly semiconducting. Its use in solar cells was investigated in this project. Many different types of solar cells exist. Most common on the market are silicon-based cells, which generate charge separation through electric fields at p/n junctions. Over the last decade, dye-sensitised solar cells (DSSCs) have been heavily researched. DSSCs depend on effective electron/hole separation at the dye and efficient transfer to the electron- and hole-conducting materials. An older and little-researched form of cells is the photogalvanic cell, of which there are two forms. One contains a semiconducting material, whereas the other comprises of either one or two redox couples, in which at least one species is photoactive. An example of the latter form of cell is the odide/triiodide redox couple, which is commonly the electrolyte of choice in DSSCs and semiconductor-containing photogalvanic cells. This project predominantly investigated the use of NCaSil in conjunction with the iodide/triiodide redox couple and its use in solar cells. The project ascertained that, when used with the iodide/triiodide, the NCaSil did not act as a semiconducting material (either as in a DSSC or semiconductor photogalvanic cell). Rather iodide/triiodide's photogalvanic process dominated the cell, despite the presence of NCaSil. Furthermore, the addition of the stable NCaSils to the iodide/triiodide (with 5 wt% CaCl2) created "soggy sand electrolytes". These electrolytes showed increased conductivities, despite their higher viscosities, due to a synergistic effect. Soggy sand electrolytes show great promise in the development of more solid-like DSSCs. Furthermore, the project observed that the performance of NCaSil cells was maximized with a 70 wt% ethanol (30 wt% water) solvated electrolyte, with 1.5 wt% CaCl2 added to this electrolyte (or 5 wt % CaCl2 in the water content). When used long-term in conjunction with Reinforced NCaSil, a gel was formed, which showed promising activity. This activity was attributed to the interaction of surface-bound Ca2+ to iodine. Similar gels formed from vanadium- and cerium-treated NCaSil also showed great cell performance. Cell performance was further enhanced by backing the cell with a reflective or light scattering material, such as Teflon tape.


A low-dropout regulator for on-chip application with active feedback and a slew-rate enhancement circuit to minimize compensation capacitance and speed up transient response is presented in this brief. The idea has been modeled and experimentally verified in a standard 0.35-¿m CMOS process. The total compensation capacitance is 7 pF. From experimental results, the implemented regulator can operate from a supply voltage of 1.8-4.5 V with a minimum dropout voltage of 0.2 V at a maximum 100-mA load and I Q of 20 ¿A.


Soft fruits, such as strawberry, peach, and grape, are often damaged by repetitive shock rather than a single event of shock during transport. Vibration is one of the major sources of cumulative fatigue, and several studies have focused on the evaluation of cumulative damage on soft fruits due to vibration. Nevertheless, repetitive shock can also be a source of cumulative fatigue; in spite of this, only a few studies have been carried out on the damage to soft fruits. To evaluate cumulative fatigue accurately and to design protective measures, such as cushioning packaging for soft fruits, it is necessary to propose and validate a new theory considering actual transport conditions. First, this paper introduces past studies related to this topic. Then, some of our researches on constructing a novel theory for the evaluation of cumulative damage due to repetitive shock are revealed. In addition, this paper presents new examples of our proposed cushioning packaging system to reduce cumulative damage to soft fruits such as strawberries or grapes.


Expression of KCNQ2/3 (Kv7.2 and -7.3) heteromers underlies the neuronal M current, a current that is suppressed by activation of a variety of receptors that couple to the hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate. Expression of Kv7.2/7.3 channels in human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells produced a noninactivating potassium current characteristic of M current. Muscarinic receptors endogenous to HEK293 cells were identified as being M3 by pharmacology and Western blotting, producing a rise of intracellular calcium ([Ca2+]i) upon activation. Activation of these endogenous muscarinic receptors however, failed to suppress expressed Kv7.2/7.3 current. Current suppression was reconstituted by coexpression of HA-tagged muscarinic m1 or m3 receptors. Examination of membrane fractions showed that both expressed receptors and Kv7.2 and -7.3 channel subunits resided within lipid rafts. Disruption of lipid rafts by pretreatment of cells expressing either m1 or m3 muscarinic receptors with methyl-β-cyclodextrin produced a loss of localization of proteins within lipid raft membrane fractions. This pretreatment also abolished both the increase of [Ca2+]i and suppression of expressed Kv7.2/7.3 current evoked by activation of expressed m1 or m3 muscarinic receptors. A similar loss of muscarinic receptor-mediated suppression of M current native to rat dorsal root ganglion neurons was observed after incubating dissociated cells with methyl-β-cyclodextrin. These data suggested that lipid rafts colocalized both muscarinic receptors and channel subunits to enable receptor-mediated suppression of channel activity, a spatial colocalization that enables specificity of coupling between receptor and ion channel.


We present new evidence showing that fiscal austerity strengthens support for redistribution, especially for the relatively well-off. Our theoretical model proposes two mechanisms to explain this heterogeneity in support for redistribution: 'altruism' and 'appreciation'. We test our theoretical model's predictions by matching attitudes reported in the British Social Attitudes Survey with local area-level spending cuts in England over the period 2010 to 2015. We exploit the spatial and temporal variation in spending cuts at the Local Authority level to compute a plausibly exogenous measure of the austerity shock. We find evidence for these two channels. JEL-Codes: D300, D640, E620, H200, H300, H600.


Thirty-three human lung tumors were studied for the expression of alpha-amylase by immunohistochemical and Northern blot analyses. Twenty of them were adenocarcinomas, among which 17 proved to be adequate for mRNA analyses and were, except for two, amylase mRNA producers. Seven were squamous cell carcinomas, none of which produced amylase. The remaining six consisted of two undifferentiated small cell carcinomas, and one each of undifferentiated large cell carcinoma, carcinoid tumor, mucoepidermoid carcinoma, and metastatic lung cancer; the mucoepidermoid carcinoma proved to be an amylase producer. These observations strongly suggest that among lung cancers, the production of alpha-amylase is a property commonly associated with adenocarcinomas and can be used for distinguishing cell types. Histogenesis and carcinogenesis in lung cells are discussed in connection with the cells that produce amylase.


Educational homogamy has been increasing for a long time in the Western world but there has been much more research on describing and explaining this trend than actually looking at its consequences. Economic theory predicts that educational heterogamy is related to division of labor in accordance with comparative advantages in household and market production, but there has been few tests of this hypothesis in the light of the changes in educational homogamy. The aim of this paper is to study the importance of educational assortative mating in determining the division of labor in the family. First we make a detailed analysis of Sweden 1990-2000 using time diary data, and then we look at the same issues from a comparative perspective using survey data for a number of countries in Europe. Preliminary results indicate an association between assortative mating and the division of labor, but only for couples with children. (Less)


INTRODUCTION This document presents the lessons learnt around Human Rights Education (HRE) though a case study of two micro projects in Ghana. These micro projects are part of Amnesty International's Africa Human Rights Education (AHRE) Project, funded by the UK Department of International Development. Building on lessons learnt from the successes and shortcomings of the selected case study projects, the document outlines broader issues which require further deliberation in order to effectively design, implement and evaluate HRE projects.


SIR,-I note that Dr. N. P. Kalra and Mr. B. A. Thompson (February 11, p. 376) have given prophylactic dicoumarol to 140 post-operative patients, none of whom developed any evidence of thrombosis. The classical work on this subject is that of Bauer, of Sweden. In a masterly paper published in the Lancel (1946, 1, 447) he showed that the incidence of venous thrombosis following surgical operations performed on over 40,000 patients was 1.6% and that the therapeutic exhibition of anticoagulant therapy revolutionized the mortality and morbidity in the thrombotic group. He naturally concluded that prophylactic anticoagulant therapy was totally unnecessary with such a small incidence, and it would therefore appear that Dr. Kalra and Mr. Thompson's figures prove nothing.-I am, etc.,


The generation of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells is a fascinated tool for regenerative medicine. However, the main restriction for iPS cell application is a risk of tumour development. In this study we established a new method to generate a partially induced stem (PiPS) cells by transferring four reprogramming factors (OCT4, SOX2, KLF4 and c-MYC) to human fibroblasts. PiPS cells did not form tumours in vivo, and have abilities to specifically differentiate into different cell lineages, such as neurons, adipocytes, osteocytes, chondrocytes as well as endothelial cells in response to define media and culture conditions. The PiPS-derived endothelial cells expressed a panel of endothelial markers at gene and protein levels and they formed vascular tubes in vitro and in vivo Matrigel plaque assays. To clarify the mechanism of PiPS cell differentiation into endothelial lineage, data from a series of experiments indicate a novel gene SETSIP was crucial in endothelial differentiation. SETSIP was expressed in parallel with endothelial genes, and its overexpression induced endothelial marker expression, while its downregulation by shRNA resulted in suppression of these genes. Interesting, this protein was translocated to the cell nucleus during endothelial differentiation, while ChIP assays showed that it bound direct to VE-cadherin promoter. Functionally, PiPS-derived endothelial cells displayed clearly endothelial properties in two animal models. When seeded on decellularised vessels in a special constructed bioreactor and implanted in SCID mice, the cells displayed well attachment, stabilisation, patency and typical vascular structure. Also, these cells showed endothelial engraftment to form typical vascular architecture when they were injected into the infarcted tissues in an ischaemia model. Thus, we developed a new method to generate PiPS cells from human fibroblasts that can differentiate into a variety of cell types without tumour risk, in which endothelial cells can be produced via OCT4-VEGF-SETSIP pathway useful for regenerating damaged tissue and vessels in vivo.


Abstract. Ethnobiology, like many fields, was shaped by early Western imperial efforts to colonize people and lands around the world and extract natural resources. Those legacies and practices persist today and continue to influence the institutions ethnobiologists are a part of, how they carry out research, and their personal beliefs and actions. Various authors have previously outlined five overlapping "phases" of ethnobiology. Here, we argue that ethnobiology should move toward a sixth phase in which scholars and practitioners must actively challenge colonialism, racism, and oppressive structures embedded within their institutions, projects, and themselves. As an international group of ethnobiologists and scholars from allied fields, we identified key topics and priorities at three levels: at the institutional scale, we argue for repatriation/rematriation of biocultural heritage, accessibility of published work, and realignment of priorities to support community-driven research. At the level of projects, we emphasize the need for mutual dialogue, reciprocity, community research self-sufficiency, and research questions that support sovereignty of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities over lands and waters. Finally, for individual scholars, we support self-reflection on language use, co-authorship, and implicit bias. We advocate for concrete actions at each of these levels to move the field further toward social justice, antiracism, and decolonization.


In Bolivia, an alternative vision of development has emerged that relies on the concepts of Madre Tierra (Mother Earth) and Vivir Bien (Living Well), and promotes balance and harmony between humans and nature. It aims to break away from the economic model previously adopted by Bolivia, a model that has made the country highly dependent on the export of raw materials. This chapter analyses the Biocultura programme, a project launched in 2008 by the Government of the Plurinational State of Bolivia and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), which aims to translate this alternative vision of development into concrete practices. Stemming from a participatory approach, this initiative shows that it is possible to reconcile the conservation of biodiversity with raising incomes and the promotion of local knowledge. It also contributes to the creation and strengthening of institutions and policies in line with Vivir Bien. This chapter is based on documents and ideas developed by the Biocultura programme and the SDC, as well as on fieldwork carried out between 2013 and 2015.


This article evaluates the constitutionality of the restrictions upon tobacco packaging in Ireland in the Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Act 2015 and Part 5 of the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2017 . Australia is the only country to have commenced this legislative process earlier, so the Irish experience (and, in particular, an analysis of the constitutionality of the Irish legislation) could provide a roadmap for other jurisdictions aiming to implement similar restrictions. This article concludes that public health and the protection of children constitute pressing and substantial reasons sufficient to justify as proportionate these Acts' restrictions upon tobacco companies' property rights protected by the Irish Constitution


For some time the adaptive structures community has focused on transducer effects, and the closest advance into actually having a structural system show signs of intelligence is to include adaptive control implemented with a smart material. Here we examine taking this a step further by combining embedded computing with a smart structural system in an attempt to form an autonomous sensor system. The focus here is based on an integrated structural health monitoring system that consists of a completely wireless, active sensor with embedded electronics, power and computing. Structural health monitoring is receiving increased attention in industrial sectors and in government regulatory agencies as a method of reducing maintenance costs and preventing disasters. Here we propose and discuss an integrated autonomous sensor 'patch' that contains the following key elements: sensing, energy harvesting from ambient vibration and temperature, energy storage, local computing/decision making, memory, actuation and


Introduction: Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a vasoproliferative disorder of the retina of preterm newborns and is an important and preventable cause of visual impairment in childhood. This study aimed to assess the incidence and main risk factors associated with the development of ROP in the last 10 years at Hospital Prof. Doutor Fernando Fonseca in Lisbon, Portugal. Methods: Observational and retrospective study conducted between 2005 and 2014 at Hospital Prof. Doctor Fernando Fonseca. The study included newborns of gestational age < 32 weeks. We analyzed maternal, prenatal and neonatal factors associated with the development of ROP. Statistical analysis were performed with Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS®) software. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed and a multiple logistic regression model was carried out with a significance level α = 0.05. Results: 527 premature infants with a gestational age < 32 weeks were studied, of which 165 developed ROP. 60 of these patients needed treatment. In the univariate analysis, the risk factors for the development of ROP were maternal infection in pregnancy, low birth weight, low gestational age, low Apgar score at 5 minutes, need for oxygen therapy until the 28 th day of life, a high score on the CRIB and SNAPPE2 scales, use of surfactant, respiratory distress syndrome, persistence of patent ductus arteriosus, peri-intraventricular hemorrhage and neonatal sepsis. In the multiple logistic regression analysis, risk factors for ROP were the presence of neonatal sepsis, respiratory distress syndrome, persistence of patent ductus arteriosus and a high score on the neonatal SNAPPE2 scale. Conclusions: We found a ROP incidence rate of 31.3%, with risk factors similar to those observed in other studies.


Yayasan Cinta Anak Bangsa (YCAB) is a Public Independent Organization which owed important role in drugs prevention. The effort would be succeed if there is good communication climate on the organization. Communication used by YCAB nowadays was through weekly meeting, monthly meeting, mid year meeting, and annual meeting. Good communication facility would influence not only the result, but also quality of the organization, which would be effected employee's work motivation.
The research purpose was to test communication climate influence to employee work communication. That's why the writer wanted to find out how large the influence of
communication climate to work motivation of employee in Yayasan Cinta Anak Bangsa Jakarta.
Theory used in this research was ERG alderfer theory which introduced 3 core group of needs those were Exsistence, Relatedness, and Growth needs. The three assumption could be used to measure work motivation. The research indicators grouped into two variables. They were X variable: communication climate, it is perception about how far organization member felt that organization could be trust, support, open, care, and actively ask for opinion, with
trust indicator among organization, altogether decision, and organization member needs to have high performance. And Y variable: work motivation that was condition or energy
moved the employee with certain direction to reach the purpose of the company, with indicators: member expectations fulfilled by organization, chance (career) in organization, completeness in organization, respect of organization member about their performance in
organization.
The research used quantitative approach with survey method and explanative research type.
The object was employee of Yayasan Cinta Anak Bangsa Jakarta with 43 people population.
Data collection technique used determinant test to find out the influence between both variables.
The research with regression correlation test showed influence between communication climate with employee work motivation by finding F count 16,653 compared with F table
value 4,00. the result showed that F count > F table, so that could be said that there was influence between communication climate as independent variable with work motivation as dependent variable. The influence was tested through determinant test formulation. From the calculation, there found that communication climate influence work motivation for 0,289 or 28,9% with error level 3,399 while rest of them 71,1% caused by another factor un-researched in this study.. while correlation coefficient 0,537, showed that influence between communication climate and work motivation included into average category.


This thesis studies the cumulative impact of technological progress and internationalisation on Japan's strong and globalising private sector and the changing government-industry alliance that shapes industrial policy. An attempt is made to examine whether, how and to what extent, the traditional policy-making process and actors associated with Japanese industrial policy have changed in response to the twin challenges presented by internationalisation and technological innovation.

The government-industry alliance is studied as a key to understanding Japan's evolution from follower to pioneer nation with unique Asian characteristics. Attention is also paid to the unique organisational response of Japan's institutions and systems to the new technological age.

The intense period of late industrialisation in Japan, coupled with her more gradual internationalisation experience, are analysed from: (i) a historical review of both processes; (ii) a study of technological development in Japan; and (iii) a case study of the information and communications technology (ICT) industry.

The thesis shows that in coping with global change and the new international role of Japan as a global leader, the traditional government-industry nexus has been transformed from one where strong industrial policy was required to guide the nation to full industrialisation and economic progress and affluence, to one which is more pluralistic and relies more on private sector resilience and dynamism to cope with international change. The nexus has become more open to outside change and as such more connected to evolving global issues, on which members within the national nexus participate more freely and openly with their international counterparts. Part of this openness and internationalisation has occurred as an extension of Japan's traditional export orientation and receptivity to western technology. A further development has been Japanese financial liberalisation which although occurring in a gradualist fashion, enhanced the competitiveness of Japanese financial institutions, and indirectly her manufacturing, construction, commercial and related service sectors.

Japanese corporations have emerged as important agents of change and have played a crucial role in setting the pace and direction of internationalisation and industrial policy. In turning to export markets, overseas production facilities and foreign direct investment, and engaging in the global financial marketplace, Japanese corporations and financial institutions are shown to have successfully adopted international traits, corporate cultures, objectives and practices.

Technological change loo has had a special role in enacting change and internationalisation. With advancement to the scientific and technological frontier, has come the formulation of new strategies in planning and coordinating national scientific and technological activities, and a greater recognition of an international role for Japan in furthering science and global development. Greater account has been made of novel and strategic elements of research activity, and efforts have been taken to incorporate increased pluralism in constructing a planned agenda for national research activity in order to ensure creative and strategic expansion of knowledge. Increased technological collaboration and technology transfer has also occurred, not only among corporations but also with other countries collaborating on big R&D projects.

Emphasis has been placed on ICT as the first of the set of enabling new technologies in the new paradigm. ICT has not only had horizontal and vertical linkages with other industries and technologies, but has also changed, liberalised and decentralised the institutional networks in the political and cultural system. These systems are now much more pluralistic than in the earlier industrialisation phase. Such changes are expected to continue with the dynamic unfolding of the technological paradigm.


: In the literature the incidence of cardiac involvement in blunt chest trauma varies considerably. This reflects the diagnostic problems encountered in polytraumatised patients. We report the case of an 18 year old man who suffered bilateral pulmonary contusion and traumatic myocardial infarction following a motorbike accident. The myocardial infarct was diagnosed by means of ECG, cardiac enzymes and echocardiography. When the diagnosis was made the time for successful interventional treatment had lapsed. A coronary angiography was performed after stabilisation which revealed a proximal dilatation of the left anterior descending artery. Left ventricular function was severely impaired (ejection fraction 26%). Due to the pulmonary contusion respiratory support was required for 14 days. The course was further complicated by left ventricular failure with low output.


Scheduling large amounts of tasks in distributed computing platforms composed of millions of nodes is a challenging goal, even more in a fully decentralized way and with low overhead. Thus, we propose a new scalable scheduler for task workflows with deadlines following a completely decentralized architecture. It's built upon a tree-based P2P overlay that supports efficient and fast aggregation of resource availability information. Constraints for deadlines and the correct timing of tasks in workflows are guaranteed with a suitable distributed management of availability time intervals of resources. A local scheduler in each node provides its available time intervals to the distributed global scheduler, which summarizes them in the aggregation process. A two phase reservation protocol looks for suitable resources that comply with workflow structure and deadline. Experimental results, from simulations of a system composed of one million nodes, show scalable fast scheduling with low overhead that can allow a high dynamic usage of computational resources.


Project-based learning has been introduced in many university courses as a dynamic classroom approach that motivates active exploration of real-world problems. It is also proven as one of the most effective ways for students to acquire practical skills and deeper knowledge. However, while learning with technologies in project-based blended environments, students are expected to know how to cope with real-world complex issues. Hence, students from two universities participated in an exploratory study with a focus in motivational and emotional challenges as part of collaborative learning. In particular, the study explored what regulation strategies students practiced as an answer to the challenges they encountered in customer-driven project-based learning activities. Nonetheless, the broad idea is to understand in what ways collaborative learning can be beneficial or debilitating for students' progress, and how technology can support or influence positive outcomes.


Media diaries of 36 Chilean adults were being collected as two disasters unfolded: an earthquake on the northern coast and 11 days later a massive fire in Valparaiso. From an audience reception theoretical approach, these events provide a unique opportunity to compare people's engagement with media and responses to two mediated disasters. By complementing textual and computerized linguistic analyses, this study reveals that audiences' responses differ by type of disaster and proximity. Where earthquakes abound, people express more rational analyses of media quake coverage and more emotional responses to the fire. Also, proximity played an expected role with the fire but not the quake, suggesting that audiences' engagement with media events depends on the context and the type of disaster.


Haliotis discus hannai, a species of Pacific abalone, is a highly valuable food source throughout Northeast Asia. As H. discus hannai primarily feed on brown algae and largely extract their energy from algal polysaccharides, understanding the mechanisms by which they digest algal polysaccharides is essential for elucidating their energy metabolism. Gut microbes, as well as the host animal, are involved in the process of polysaccharide degradation. To identify algal polysaccharide-digestion mechanisms and their origin, we analyzed the metagenome and metatranscriptome of abalone visceral extracts. Microbial communities were characterized using the 16S rRNA gene sequences in the metagenome and our results differed significantly from those of previous studies using traditional microbiological methods such as bacterial cultivation and cloning. A greater diversity of bacterial taxa was identified here than was previously identified using cultivation methods. Furthermore, the most abundant bacterial taxa also differed from previous studies, which is not common when comparing the results of bacterial culturing with those of molecular methodologies. Based on the metatranscriptome, overall functions were identified and additional analyses were performed on the coding sequences of algal polysaccharide-digestive enzymes, including alginate lyase. Results of the transcriptomic analyses suggest that alginate lyase in the visceral extracts of H. discus hannai was produced by the host itself, not by visceral bacteria. This is the first next-generation sequencing study performed on abalone to characterize the visceral microbiota and the source of the ability to digest algal polysaccharides by analyzing the metagenome and metatranscriptome together.


The role of PGE(2) as a putative sex pheromone in Chinese black sleeper Bostrichthys sinensis was investigated, using immunocytochemistry and how the immunoreactivities of the prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2) ) receptor subtypes EP(1) , EP(2) , EP(3) and EP(4) varied with reproductive status in the olfactory system was determined. The results showed that PGE(2) receptors were present in the whole of the olfactory system of B. sinensis, and that the number of receptors was linked to the reproductive status of the fish. The densities of EP(1) immunoreactivity in the olfactory epithelium of mature fish were significantly (P < 0·01) higher than those in immature fish of both sexes, and the densities of EP(2) and EP(3) immunoreactivities in mature fish were higher (but not significantly) than those in immature fish of both sexes. In the olfactory nerve, the density of EP(2) immunoreactivity in mature fish was higher (but not significantly) than that in immature fish in both sexes. In the olfactory bulb, the densities of EP(1-4) immunoreactivities in mature females were significantly (P < 0·05 or <0·01) higher than those in immature females, and the density of EP(4) immunoreactivity in mature males was significantly (P < 0·01) higher than that in immature males. As far as is known, the present study is the first report of the immunoreactivities of PGE(2) receptor subtypes in the olfactory system of a teleost, and offers new findings regarding the role of PGE(2) as sex pheromone and hormone in the reproductive behaviour and pheromonal communication of B. sinensis.


MIRAMICHI FOLKSONG FESTIVAL

Beaverbrook Theatre and Town Hall
 Newcastle
September 3, 4, and 5

SPONSORS - NEWCASTLE ROTARY CLUB
Secretary - Miss Louise Manny
MASTER OF CEREMONIES - Ken Homer of CBC Radio Caravan

Prizes for Folksongs wll be awarded to Northumberland County Singers as follows:
1. Oldest singer
2. Best man singer
3. Best woman singer
4. Best junior singer (under 25)
5. Best singer of a folksong in French
6. Best Indian singer of a song in Micmac

Also: A prize for the best Guest Singer (from outside Northumberland County)

SEASON TICKETS, Good for any or all days, $1.00
Each entrant will be given six Complimentary Tickets, for Relatives and Friends.
Use the handy Entry Form, or write Miss Louise Manny, Newcastle.


In this article, we carry out the structural analysis of an IS-LM-AS macroeconomic model with adaptive inflation expectations, exploring the presence of a possible local bifurcation. We prove that the model is structurally unstable when the speed with which economic agents adjust their expectations about future inflation is equal to the inverse of the semi-elasticity of real money demand with respect to the nominal interest rate since the periodic solutions are lost when the adaptive expectations parameter suffer any small change, ceteris paribus. Additionally, the phase portraits of the instantaneous rate of change of the real interest rate, the inflation rate, and the instantaneous rate of change of the inflation rate are numerically simulated in

 ℝ

 3

 with MATLAB for three asymptotically and locally stable cases and for the degenerate Hopf bifurcation. Finally, our results show that, specifically, in the case of pure conjugate complex eigenvalues, the economy could enter periods of an inflationary/deflationary spiral when the adaptive expectations parameter is of greater magnitude to the inverse of the semi-elasticity of real money demand balances with respect to the nominal interest rate, regardless of its initial state.


Severe winter meteorological conditions promote dense water formation over the shelves of the North Aegean Sea. The newly formed dense water fills the deep basins of the North Aegean Sea, contributing to their ventilation and the downward transport of organic and inorganic material. The great bathymetric variability imposes limitations on the deep circulation and the communication between the various basins and makes the North Aegean Sea an appropriate area for the monitoring of oxygen consumption in the deep layers. Historical hydrographic data suggest that there was extensive production of dense water in the North Aegean Sea on two occasions during the last decade, the winters of 1987 and 1992-1993. Our data series from August 1986 to September 1989 and from March 1997 to February 1999, permitted us to follow, step by step, the oxygen consumption and the nutrient regeneration in the deep basins of the northern Aegean Sea during these periods of isolation. The organic matter reaching the bottom layer just after the deep water formation event is rich in labile and easily oxidizable material and its decomposition leads to a significant oxygen uptake during the first year of stagnation. The further decomposition of the remaining semi-labile and refractory material turns over on greater time scales, by consuming lesser amounts of oxygen. A more significant oxygen decrease is recorded in the eastern basin (Lemnos Basin) of the North Aegean Trough, than in the central (Athos Basin) and the western (North Sporades Basin) ones and is attributed to the irregular contribution of the Black Sea Water (BSW) to the water masses formed on the different shelves of the North Aegean Sea. Our results and the existing data on the Turkish straits showed that dissolved organic matter is the major constituent responsible for this high oxygen consumption. The slightly different particulate organic carbon fluxes to these depressions play a secondary role.