The laboratory diagnosis of polycythemia depends on the demonstration of an elevation in hematocrit or in the hemoglobin content of the peripheral blood. Since these determinations are really expressions of concentrations, observed elevations may be induced by either an increase in the red cell mass or a decrease in the plasma in which the cells are suspended. Although states of hemoconcentration are frequently encountered in acute dehydration from any cause, the presence of a chronic, relatively asymptomatic state of hemoconcentration was not appreciated until the clinical use of blood volume determinations. Recent literature has applied the term "relative polycythemia" to discussions of patients suspected of polycythemia but found to have a normal red cell mass and a smaller than normal plasma volume. The term "pseudopolycythemia" probably is more descriptive of the current view of such patients. Examples of this type of patient were recognized by Keith, Rowntree, et al., 1,2


Headship (School Principal) is a challenging role within a complex and ever-changing policy climate. This article explores the factors which influence headteacher resilience and their mental health. Existing research focuses on teacher resilience but there is a paucity of literature exploring the factors which influence headteacher resilience. This study was conducted in the United Kingdom (UK). Headteachers (n=16) participated in a semi-structured telephone interview. Participants were asked to categorise their mental health as either good or poor at the time of the interview in relation to the World Health Organisation definition of mental health. Participants represented the primary and secondary phases of education and the research included those who were new to the role and those who were more experienced. Male and female participants were represented in the sample. Participants identified a range of factors which influenced their resilience and mental health. These included individual factors, social/relational factors, implementing actions, exposure to challenges, professional learning and systemic factors. Systemic factors included pressures of managing restricted school budgets and external inspections and policy priorities. Participants emphasised the importance of coaching and access to external professional supervision both to support resilience and professional development. Although external professional supervision is common in health and social care professions, it is less common in the education sector, particularly in the UK. Greenfield's (2015) model of teacher resilience has been adapted to address the factors which influence headteacher resilience. In conclusion, the study supports the use of external professional supervision and professional coaching for head teachers to support both their mental health and resilience.


Spectrum sharing is known as a key solution to accommodate the increasing number of users and the growing demand for throughput in wireless networks. Interference is the primary barrier to enhancing the overall throughput of the network, especially in the medium and high signal to noise ratios (SNRs). Managing interference to overcome this barrier has emerged as a crucial step in developing efficient wireless networks. An interference management strategy, named interference Alignment, is investigated. It is observed that a single strategy is not able to achieve the maximum throughput in all possible scenarios, and in fact, a careful design is required to fully exploit all available resources in each realization of the system. In this dissertation, the impact of interference on the capacity of X networks with multiple antennas is investigated. Degrees of freedom (DoF) are used as a figure of merit to evaluate the performance improvement due to the interference management schemes. A new interference alignment technique called layered interference alignment, which enjoys the combined benefits of both vector and real alignment is introduced in this thesis. This technique, which uses a type of Diophantine approximation theorems first introduced by the author, is deployed and was proved to enable the possibility of joint decoding among the antennas of a receiver. With a careful transmitter signal design, this method characterizes the total DoF of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) X channels. Then, this result is used to determine the total DoF of two families of MIMO X channels. The Diophantine approximation theorem is also extended to the field of complex numbers to accommodate the complex channel realizations as well.


The surface transfer impedance of six braided cable shields made from nickel plated copper wires, metal clad aramid yarn or a blend of metal clad aramid yarn and nickel plated copper wires. At high frequencies, these measurements showed that the metal clad aramid braid is equivalent to nickel coated copper braid. At low frequencies, the addition of nickel coated copper wire significantly improved the shielding performance. Finally, the Aracon(R) blended braid can be used on both metal and composite connector fittings.


Background: Early HIV infection diagnosis means tremendous benefits both for the individual, in particular, and public heh, in general. The aim is to analyze the prevalence of delayed HIV-infection diagnosis in Madrid region and its related factors. Methods: Descriptive study of HIV-diagnosed patients from January 2007 to September 2011. A study was conducted on all new cases where the CD4+ count was below 200/µl ("presentation with advanced HIV disease", PAD), 350/µl ("late diagnosis", LD) and 500/µl. Descriptive and multivariate analysis by means of logistical regression. Results: 3,347 HIV-diagnoses were reported, with CD4 count data available in 2,896 cases. 29.7% of which were PAD, 48.1% were LD and 67.7%<500 CD4+. Both in Spaniards and foreigners, age and mode of transmission intravenous drug users (IDU) and heterosexual (HTX), were independent variables regarding late presentation. In foreigners, geographical origin was likewise an independent variable. In Spaniards the probability of contracting PAD and LD rise with age and was higher in HTX (OR:3.38 [95%CI:2.29-4.98) and 2.44 (1.67-3.56)] and IDU [OR: 2.41 (1.47-3.94) and 1.89 (1.19-3.01)] than men who have sex with men (MSM). For their part, probability of PAD and LD in foreigners increased with age and was higher in HTX (OR: 2.04 [1.44-2.89) and 2.29 (1.61-3.25)] than MSM and Latin American nationals (OR: 2.56 [1.48-4.42) and 2.29 (1.49-3.51)] and Sub-Saharan Africans (OR: 2.83 [1.52-5.28) and 2.52 (1.48-4.30)] than Western Europeans. Conclusions: In the Madrid Region a high number of new diagnoses are carried out in patients who should have already been under treatment. What is more some of them also present a significant degree of immuno-depression. Age, mode of transmission and geographical origin are closely related to late presentation.


Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) Reform emphasizes strict adherence to two procedures for disbursements of resources allocated to all the 196 member states as per approval from the World Health Assembly. Direct financial cooperation (DFC) are transactions where funds are transferred to government and concluded in three months after completion of activity. Direct implementation is the procedure when the WHO pays on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ) for implementation of processes concluded within 5 months after the activity. The aim of this study is to document financial compliance to WHO reform of WHO Zambia with government.Methods: This was a desk review of financial activities from the WHO country office from January to December 2015. Findings and recommendations from the November 2015 External Audit conducted on the financial operations of the WHO Zambia office in the area of implementation and management of Direct Financial Corporation and Direct Implementation were also analysed.Results: The resource allocations were equally distributed between DFCs and DIs during the year of study. The WHO Zambia conducted fortnightly meetings to review DFC and DI status and, monitoring with all Program officers. Of the 34 DFCs issued only three (8%) were submitted late at the beginning of 2015 with progressive improvement thereafter. WHO Zambia received commendation from the Regional Office, a consideration which was corroborated by the External Audit recommendations.Discussion: One of the reasons for reform was financial accountability challenges in the WHO with donors raising concern. The conformity of the WHO Zambia is an attribute. The WHO Zambia implemented the DFC and DI in accordance with WHO guidelines as evidenced by positive Audit recommendation in this area.Conclusion: The regular WHO Zambia tracking of the status of DFCs and DI is a best practice that the other regional Country offices can emulate. This practice if scaled up to the entire region will increase donor trust and confidence.


Thirty-four kinds of citrus essential oils and their components were investigated for radical-scavenging activities by the HPLC method using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH). To examine the oils' relative radical-scavenging activities compared with that of a standard antioxidant, Trolox was employed. All of the essential oils were found to have scavenging effects on DPPH in the range of 17. 7-64.0%. The radical-scavenging activities of 31 kinds of citrus essential oils were comparable with or stronger than that of Trolox (p < 0.05). The oils of Ichang lemon (64.0%, 172.2 mg of Trolox equiv/mL), Tahiti lime (63.2%, 170.2 mg of Trolox equiv/mL), and Eureka lemon (61.8%, 166.2 mg of Trolox equiv/mL) were stronger radical scavengers than other citrus oils. Citrus volatile components such as geraniol (87.7%, 235.9 mg of Trolox equiv/mL), terpinolene (87.4%, 235.2 mg of Trolox equiv/mL), and gamma-terpinene (84.7%, 227.9 mg of Trolox equiv/mL) showed marked scavenging activities on DPPH (p < 0.05).


In order to measure the mechanical properties of gold films on silicon substrate, two types of specimens, i.e., bridged films and circular membranes, are manufactured. Using a wedge tip, the bridged gold films are indented so that the films are pushed off, which is called as V-peel test. The load-deflection curves obtained by the V-peel test are analyzed with the concept of geometrically nonlinear beam by using the minimum potential energy theory together with Ritz method. Thus, Young's modulus and residual stress of the bridged gold films are obtained. Blister test is also conducted to measure the Young's modulus and residual stress of a circular gold membrane, of which deformation is measured by Twyman-Green interferometer. By gradually increasing the external pressure applied on the membrane, the interfacial fracture toughness between the gold membrane and silicon substrate is measured based on the concepts of interfacial fracture mechanics.


For many decades the practice of radiology grew slowly in America and was largely a secondary function under the control of hospitals. In more recent times it has vastly expanded its array of diagnostic, interventional, and therapeutic abilities. There is increasing consumer logic for direct access. Motivations have grown to create large independent entities with broadly diverse capabilities in order to succeed in the new millennium. Most regional markets are evolving rapidly in terms of managed care penetration, health system formation, physician practice consolidation and aggressive purchaser behavior by employers and consumers. To understand the enormity of healthcare evolution, it is useful to look at the industry's paradigm shifts in recent decades. Virtually every aspect of organizational infrastructure, delivery approaches, and the business environment has evolved markedly during the past fifty years. These changes will accelerate. To succeed financially, radiology groups must strengthen their market positions, technical capabilities, continuums of care and geographic dominance. Equally important is the wisdom of diversifying incomes into related services and businesses that provide additional related revenues. Key factors for successful development include facility market growth, full coverage of managed care contracts, high efficiency and aggressive diversification. A fully evolved system generates significant revenues and profitability by protecting and strengthening its financial position in this environment. That is accomplished through the development of strategically located radiology groups, aggressive alliances with medical practices in allied disciplines, and managed radiology departments and facilities for partner health systems. Organizational success ultimately depends on the ability to accept capitated payments under risk-bearing arrangements. The strategic business plan should be organized with the appropriate levels of detail needed to establish executive focus and priorities. These should be woven into operational and capital budgets to reflect expectations of the revenues, expenses and investments tied to the plan. While formidable, all of these objectives are realistic and can be accomplished if the right decisions are made. Initially, the entity's principle business objective is to formulate and begin implementation of methodical yet aggressive strategies for growth that are sensitive to sustaining high levels of quality patient care. The next phase features mergers with large, independent radiology practices in key geographic areas and successful acquisition of smaller practices. The objective of the final phase is to aggressively expand into select metropolitan areas with regional coverage and full teleradiology capabilities. High levels of market strength and financial performance are necessary to succeed. Passive limitations to small geographic areas and narrow practices will undermine their market position and dissolve financial strength with no hope of recovery. Only the dominant systems will survive and prosper.


ABSTRACT Caulobacter crescentus is a free-living alphaproteobacterium that has 11 predicted LysR-type transcriptional regulators (LTTRs). Previously, a C. crescentus mutant strain with a mini-Tn5lacZ transposon inserted into a gene encoding an LTTR was isolated; this mutant was sensitive to cadmium. In this work, a mutant strain with a deletion was obtained, and the role of this LTTR (called CztR here) was evaluated. The transcriptional start site of this gene was determined by primer extension analysis, and its promoter was cloned in front of a lacZ reporter gene. β-Galactosidase activity assays, performed with the wild-type and mutant strains, indicated that this gene is 2-fold induced when cells enter stationary phase and that it is negatively autoregulated. Moreover, this regulator is essential for the expression of the divergent cztA gene at stationary phase, in minimal medium, and in response to zinc depletion. This gene encodes a hypothetical protein containing 10 predicted transmembrane segments, and its expression pattern suggests that it encodes a putative zinc transporter. The cztR strain was also shown to be sensitive to superoxide (generated by paraquat) and to hydrogen peroxide but not to tert-butyl hydroperoxide. The expression of katG and ahpC, but not that of the superoxide dismutase genes, was increased in the cztR mutant. A model is proposed to explain how CztR binding to the divergent regulatory regions could activate cztA expression and repress its own transcription.


The goal of any business entity is to ensure the success of its activities, financial stability and durability and long-term business continuity. Achieving these objectives depends on a number of influential factors, both internal and external. In order to examine the level of achievement of these objectives certain indicators of success, stability and trends that point to the possibility of long-term business should be measured and expressed. Those indicators can be financial and non-financial in nature, or quantitatively and qualitatively expressed. The subject of this paper are financial indicators that help to measure and review business performance and are in the function of providing information needed for effective management of the company. These indicators primarily include indicators of cost-effectiveness, profitability and indicators of investment security. In addition to these literature recognizes also activities that indicate the success and stability of the business. The need for measuring and quantifying business performance resulted from analytical activities which are a product of financial indicators that indicate the business accomplishments of enterprise.


The Extreme Microbiome Project (XMP) is a project launched by the Association of Biomolecular Resource Facilities Metagenomics Research Group (ABRF MGRG) that focuses on whole genome shotgun sequencing of extreme and unique environments using a wide variety of biomolecular techniques. The goals are multifaceted, including development and refinement of new techniques for the following: 1) the detection and characterization of novel microbes, 2) the evaluation of nucleic acid techniques for extremophilic samples, and 3) the identification and implementation of the appropriate bioinformatics pipelines. Here, we highlight the different ongoing projects that we have been working on, as well as details on the various methods we use to characterize the microbiome and metagenome of these complex samples. In particular, we present data of a novel multienzyme extraction protocol that we developed, called Polyzyme or MetaPolyZyme. Presently, the XMP is characterizing sample sites around the world with the intent of discovering new species, genes, and gene clusters. Once a project site is complete, the resulting data will be publically available. Sites include Lake Hillier in Western Australia, the "Door to Hell" crater in Turkmenistan, deep ocean brine lakes of the Gulf of Mexico, deep ocean sediments from Greenland, permafrost tunnels in Alaska, ancient microbial biofilms from Antarctica, Blue Lagoon Iceland, Ethiopian toxic hot springs, and the acidic hypersaline ponds in Western Australia.


While busking can provide entertainment and contribute to community development, it can also stimulate discussions and debates within the community, prompting individuals to reflect on political and social crises. This is the case of post-pandemic Hong Kong, where citizens' lives are tightly controlled; following a series of social movements, public gatherings have been prohibited due to questionable social distancing measures and the closure of pedestrian zones. This article presents a case study that examines the role of buskers as agents of change through community music engagement. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with three buskers, participant observation and field notes taken during busking events. The findings from the conversation analysis revealed that buskers and citizens' participation in busking activities helped cultivate their creative expression of ideas, empowering them to transcend the rigid societal structure and unequal power relations between authorities and citizens, enabling social advocacy efforts such as reclaiming lost public space, expanding the community into the online realm, and fostering a cultivated mindset of 'becoming' that sustains the possibilities of autonomy within the community.


Abstract of PhD thesis submitted in 2020 to the Archaeology Doctoral Programme, Doctoral School of History, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest under the supervision of László Borhy.


Analyst forecast revisions are the basis for many quantitative investment strategies. The authors' lead analyst model identifies superior analysts on an individual stock basis. It selects analysts who tend to make revisions away from rather than toward the consensus, and measures their skill in terms of attributes such as courage, forecast accuracy, and influence on other analysts, as well as stock price reaction to their forecasts. For the period 1994–2000 stock selection based on all lead analyst revisions is shown to generate average excess monthly returns of 1.51% over the S&P 500, better than results achieved by using all analyst revisions from any brokerage firm. The model is profitable in 74 of 84 months; excess returns increase to 1.8% when acting only on revisions away from the consensus.


Research has shown that when a group of people collaborate in decision-making scenarios, they can be more effective than when they work alone. Studies also show that in a data analytics context, using immersive technologies could make users perform better in data understanding, pattern recognition, and finding connections. In this work, we are leveraging previous knowledge in Collaborative Immersive Analytics (CIA) and Cross-virtuality Analytics (XVA) to develop an asymmetric system that enables two groups from different places on the Virtuality-Reality spectrum to simultaneously work on analyzing data. We divide users into two groups: the nonimmersive desktop group and the immersive AR group. These two groups can both author and modify visualizations in their virtuality and share it with the other group when they see fit. For this, we designed a seamless interface for both groups to transform a visualization from non-immersive 2D to immersive AR and vice-versa. We also provide multiple awareness cues in the system that keep either group aware of the other and their actions. We designed these features to boost user performance and ease of use in a collaborative setting and incentivize them to rely on the other group for visualization tasks that are difficult to perform on their end of the virtuality spectrum. Our limited pilot study shows that users find the system engaging, easy to use, and helpful in their data-understanding journey within a collaborative context. Going forward, we plan to conduct more rigorous studies to verify our claims and explore other research questions on this topic.


: Purpose: The examination and assessment of the financial condition of communes in Poland in the spatial aspect, using the standard indicators related to financial independence and financial burdens imposed on their budgets by current expenditure, and the authors' indicators related to the possibility of communes to satisfy the requirements of residents. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study used the methods of descriptive statistics. Detailed analyses were carried out based on the authors' calculations using MS Excel. Findings: The financial condition of communes in Poland is varied when interpreted in terms of time and spatially, when measured with standard indicators used by, among others, the Ministry of Finance in Poland, and with the measures proposed by the authors, it differs, and therefore the changes in the finances of these units are assessed differently. Also, the variations in the values of the standard indicators do not explicitly indicate the direction of changes of the financial condition of communes. Practical implications: State institutions in their work on the changes in the system of revenue in LGUs in Poland, aimed at adjusting the amounts of the financial resources available to them to the range of tasks allocated for realization. Local authorities in the annually determined amounts of financial resources which they can implement to realize their tasks, having included the burdens resulting from the long-term contractual obligations they are bound by. Originality/Value: Expanding the research on the financial condition of LGUs by approaching this matter through the prism of indicators reflecting the possibilities of local authorities to define the amounts and the directions of their budgetary expenditure.


Virescence, a phenotype in which leaves green more slowly than usual, is recognized to play a role in protection from photo-oxidative damage before healthy chloroplasts are developed. The elucidation of the molecular mechanisms underlying virescence will provide insights into how the development of chloroplasts is controlled. In this study, we find that knockout alleles of Yellow Seedlings 1 (YS1) in Arabidopsis lead to a virescent phenotype, which disappears by 3 weeks after germination. The ys1 mutation resulted in marked decreases in photosynthetic capacity and photosynthetic pigment complexes, and disturbed ultrastructure of thylakoid membranes in 8-day-old seedlings. However, cotyledons of ys1 seedlings pre-treated in the dark for 5 days turn green almost as fast as the wild type in light, revealing that the developmental defects in ys1 are limited to the first few days after germination. Inspection of all known plastid RNA editing and splicing events revealed that YS1 is absolutely required for editing of site 25992 in rpoB transcripts encoding the beta subunit of the plastid-encoded RNA polymerase (PEP). YS1 is a nuclear-encoded chloroplast-localized pentatricopeptide repeat protein differing from previously described editing factors in that it has a C-terminal DYW motif. A defect in PEP activity is consistent with the changes in plastid transcript patterns observed in ys1 seedlings. We conclude that the activity of PEP containing RpoB translated from unedited transcripts is insufficient to support rapid chloroplast differentiation.


ABSTRACT Title: Retargeting- When display advertising builds loyalty Authors: Mikaela Johansson och Anna Svensson Kjallberg Advisor: Thomas Helgesson Level: Bachelor´s in thesis in Marketing, (15 Swedish credits) Spring 2014. Keywords: Retargeting, branding Question: In branding, how should small e-enterprises work with retargeting? Purpose: The purpose with this essay was to identify how retargeting should be used in small e-enterprises when branding. This was done by comparing two e-enterprises practical use of retargeting, with two brand consultants and two retargeting consultants theoretical knowledge within each expertise. Method: A qualitative method with a deductive approach has been used to answer the problem statement. Theoretical framework: Earlier theories about retargeting, brand building and recommended practices, related to marketing on the internet, were presented in the frame of reference. Empirical framework: Primary data were presented by two respondents representing each area: Companies, Retargeting consultants and Brand consultants.Conclusion: The marketing tool allows companies and their brands to get the chance to appear in wide area networks on the internet. The tool is primary used for a sales purpose but the tool also has potential in brand- building purposes. Based on primary- and secondary data the conclusion of this essay is that the tool is considered good when branding but three main areas need to be concidered while working with it in a brand-building purpose; design, content and frequency.


The story mnemonic technique, an effective encoding and retrieval strategy for young adults, was used as a procedure to study encoding and recall in elderly women. Experiment 1 (15 undergraduate and 14 elderly women) showed the technique to be reliable over 3 weeks and without practice effects in both age groups. In Experiment 2, 67 elderly women (mean age = 72 years) were found to make up 3 distinctive subgroupings in patterns of narration cohesiveness and recall accuracy, consistent with pilot data on the technique. A stepwise multiple regression equation found narration cohesiveness, an adaptation of the Daneman-Carpenter (1980) working-memory measure and vocabulary to predict word recall. Results suggested that a general memory factor differentiated the 3 elderly subgroups.


Species-rich grasslands that become enriched with nitrogen often suffer de- creases in species richness, increases in plant biomass, and invasion by weedy exotic species. Suitable techniques to restore enriched grasslands and reestablish native communities are increasingly needed. Here we report results of a 5-yr experiment in enriched coastal prairie grasslands (Bodega Marine Reserve, Bodega Bay, California, USA), to determine the com- bined effects of mowing and biomass removal on total soil nitrogen, net rates of miner- alization, nitrogen retention, and species richness and biomass. We mowed and removed plant biomass from plots in areas where the N-fixing shrub, bush lupine (Lupinus arboreus), had greatly enriched the soil, and where the community was composed of weedy introduced plants. Our goal was to facilitate the establishment of the native grassland assemblage such as was found at nearby low soil nitrogen sites. Mowing and biomass removal resulted in a dramatic change in the species assemblage, from exotic annual grasses to a mixed exotic/native forb community composed primarily of perennials. Species richness was significantly greater in treated plots than in control plots; weedy exotic grasses diminished in abundance, and both native and exotic forb species increased. In mowed vs. control plots, there was significantly less mean aboveground bio- mass, but significantly greater belowground biomass. This shift in species composition had significant impacts on nitrogen retention. In late fall and winter when plant-available N was highest, much nitrogen leached from the effectively fallow control plots where ger- mination of annual grasses did not peak until midwinter. In contrast, mowed plots retained substantially greater amounts of nitrogen, due to the presence of perennial plants possessing large amounts of belowground biomass early in the season. Despite the cumulative removal of 22 g N/m 2 in biomass over 5 yr, there was no difference between mowed and control plots in total soil N, pool sizes of inorganic N, or net rates of N mineralization. The results indicate that removal of plant biomass by mowing shifted this plant community from an annual grass to a perennial forb assemblage. However, in doing so, N retention by vegetation was increased, making it more difficult to reduce soil N.


'Drawings can dismantle or disregard material and weight, providing insight into the unattainable' Thomas Mayne ( p.79) Drawing begins in the unconscious, a dialogue between the conscious and the unconscious in which things are worked out and found. This paper explores what, as artists, we can reveal about sensory experience by taking this non-verbal means of communication and constraining it through the problematic context of representation. In our work we use drawing as a vehicle of construction and recognise the potential for drawing to activate and reconstruct memory in the production of new ideas. Drawing is discussed as an occupied and per formative place of thinking, arriving through gesture, multi-sensory and often material experiences. Building on recent work, in which conventional drawing processes were applied to the development of an academic paper ('Dilemmas and Practices', 'Telling Places' Conference, Dec 2007 UCL), we investigate the hidden spaces of our own methodologies as we tried to exchange sensory information through the constraints of technology, speech and virtual communication. We reveal the ways in which textural experience became suppressed and the extent to which shared references. (memory) built through previous sensory exploration, enabled new ideas to emerge. In conclusion we reflect on how the slippage of technology both restricted and enabled new ideas and how the use of frameworks from varied disciplinary knowledge: 'creating a good black from drawing in fine art practice and Joharis Window from Communication Management, revealed hidden aspects of sensory experience and provided a new direction within the practice.


As the classical Breeder's Equation often fails to accurately predict evolutionary responses, concepts of 'total' heritability incorporating 'non-genetic inheritance', such as maternal effects (MEs), have been explored. Despite ample evidence for MEs in a variety of traits and theoretical indications for their evolutionary importance, the consequences of MEs for evolutionary responses in natural populations remain unclear. We here explored whether MEs can alter the rate of adaptation of a key life-history trait, clutch size, undergoing directional selection following an environmental shift (e.g. when increased phenological mismatch due to climate warming leads to a smaller optimal clutch size). To test this, we parameterized an individual-based model with data from a long-term (1973–2013) study of great tits (Parus major). Using these realistic parameter values we show that MEs, whether 'environmentally plastic' or fixed, have little effect on evolutionary responses. This demonstrates the importance of using realistic parameters values in theoretical models and questions the importance of MEs for adaptation to environmental changes, such as climate change.


Constant positive airway pressure (CPAP) represents a major advance in the treatment of hypoxaemia. By increasing the functional residual capacity (FRC), airway closure and airway resistance are minimized. Ventilation and perfusion are more evenly matched so that gas exchange is made more efficient. In addition, the lung remains on a favourable portion of the compliance curve so that the work of breathing is reduced. The increased oxygenation is achieved at the lowest possible inspired oxygen concentration (FiO2) to minimize oxygen toxocity. A unified approach to the terms used, as well as their abbreviations, is presented.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate initial tissue hemoglobin oxygen saturation (StO2 ) in dogs presenting to an emergency room (ER) for acute hemorrhage.

DESIGN
Prospective, observational study.

SETTING
University veterinary teaching hospital.

ANIMALS
Thirty-eight dogs with acute hemorrhage were enrolled between July 2009 and October 2010. Seventy-eight normal dogs from a previous observational study were included to represent healthy controls ("no shock").

INTERVENTIONS
Tissue oxygen saturation measurement was obtained at enrollment on dogs presented to the ER for acute hemorrhage. Baseline clinicopathologic (CBC, serum biochemical profile, prothrombin time, and activated partial thromboplastin time) and physiologic (plasma lactate concentration, venous blood gas, blood pressure, and hemoglobin oxygen saturation by pulse oximetry) data were recorded from all patients with hemorrhage. An ER clinician blinded to the StO2 value guided patient management. Patient survival to discharge from the hospital in the study group was recorded. Once data collection was complete, 3 emergency and critical care clinicians blinded to the StO2 data retrospectively classified patients into 1 of 4 shock categories (no shock, mild, moderate, or severe shock).

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS
The historical group of healthy dogs had higher StO2 concentrations compared to the dogs classified with shock at all 3 levels (mild, moderate, and severe, P = 0.0006, <0.0001, and 0.0018, respectively); however, there was no statistical difference in StO2 between the levels of shock. A cut-off StO2 value of 87.6% identified a patient as having shock (area under the curve: 0.824, 95% confidence interval 0.749, 0.899).

CONCLUSIONS
Dogs with hemorrhagic shock have lower StO2 than a population of healthy dogs.


The international financial system had been experiencing challenges for almost a year before the crisis truly manifested in Denmark during the Summer of 2008 with the sudden demise of Roskilde Bank, Denmark's eighth largest bank. As more Danish banks became distressed in the fall of 2008 after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the government determined that it was necessary to intervene in the banking sector through actions such as taking over and winding up distressed banks, giving guarantees to back up the sector, and providing capital injections and liquidity support. This paper focuses on the two different types of guarantee schemes which were both implemented at the outset of the Global Financial Crisis by the Danish government in the fall of 2008 and in early 2009. The main difference between the two guarantee schemes was their breadth. While the original guarantee scheme (known in Denmark as the "General State Guarantee") was a blanket guarantee—covering deposits in essentially all Danish banks and all unsecured debt regardless of maturity, complexity, or any other terms or conditions of the instrument—the new guarantee scheme (known in Denmark as the "Individual State Guarantee") required applications by individual credit institutions and covered specific debt issuances. Both programs were heavily utilized. Under the General State Guarantee, almost all of the Danish banking industry in terms of market share was covered, with only 14 small banks out of almost 140 opting not to be covered. Similarly, by the time the issuance window of the Individual State Guarantee initially expired in December of 2010, it had guaranteed debt issuances of about 50 institutions that totaled approximately DKK 194 billion (approximately €26 billion).


In the present manuscript, a modified glassy carbon electrode with BSA templated Au–Ag bimetallic nanoclusters (Au–Ag@BSA/GCE) was employed for the rapid, selective and sensitive determination of methyl parathion (MP) as an enzyme-less electrochemical biosensor. The properties and morphology of the synthesized bimetallic nanoclusters were characterized by fluorescence, transmission electronic microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy techniques. Additionally, the properties of the prepared biosensors were investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), square wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results show that Au–Ag@BSA/GCE greatly catalyzed the redox reaction of MP during electrochemical detection. Under optimal conditions, the linear dynamic ranges of MP were obtained between 0.02 to 8.0 and 8.0 to 200 μmol L−1, with a detection limit of 8.2 nmol L−1. The selectivity, stability, repeatability, and reproducibility of Au–Ag@BSA/GCE were studied, and the obtained data suggest that the proposed biosensor has an excellent capacity as an alternative to enzyme inhibition-based biosensors for the determination of MP. The constructed biosensor was able to successfully electrochemically determine the presence of MP in different water, apple, vegetable, and soil samples.


This paper outlines design optimization of Clara Table leg wall thickness using ANSYS software. A detailed finite element analysis of table leg assembly structure was undertaken. The applied load is according to BIFMA(Business & Institutional Furniture Manufacturer's Association) standards. In the finite element analyses, contacts are defined between adjacent parts to represent real force transitions. The complexes of bracket geometries necessitated simplification for reducing finite element model size. The nonlinear finite element analysis can reasonably predict the structural response to the loading. The steps of modifying structure in ANSYS were highlighted to reduce deflections and stresses within permissible limits. The leg deflection was reduced by about 20%.


Complexation of trace metals in natural waters by natural organic matter and inorganic ligands i.e. their chemical speciation, determines their mobility and bioavailability. NOM is ubiquitous in the environment and consists of a complex mixture [1]. It is known to play important roles in the fate of many contaminants due to its complexing properties. A better determination of NOM structural and functional properties can greatly improve our understanding of the underlying mechanisms responsible for heavy metals complexation. Among the techniques allowing trace metals speciation in natural waters, voltammetry is really appropriate because it offers high sensitivity, enough selectivity and ability for direct measurement with minimal disturbance of the original sample. Obtained voltammetric data are related to the physico-chemical characteristics of the electroactive metal species, and information on speciation parameters of the investigated metal could be obtained. In this study, the ability of pseudopolarographic approach to trace metal speciation is investigated [2, 3]. Pseudopolarogram represents a series of anodic stripping voltammetric (ASV) peak current values plotted as a function of deposition potential. As in classical polarography, the parameters extracted from the pseudopolarograms are half-wave potential and limiting current. The reduction half-wave potentials of inert metal complexes are separated from the reduction potential of free and labile metal complexes and are shifted towards more negative values. The amount of these shifts is the basis for the determination of the type of inert metal complexes in natural waters, because they depend on their stability constant [4]. Pseudopolarography is used here, in addition of logarithmic additions of copper, to optimise a choice of accumulation/deposition potential where only free/labile metal is reduced which is a prerequisite for the procedure of metal complexing capacity (MCC) determination. The influence of accumulation potential on determination of metal complexing capacity was investigated, as well. Copper additions were performed in a logarithmic mode, allowing a wider analytical window, and therefore a better accuracy of the complexing parameters determination [5]. The voltammetric data were further modelled with PROSECE (Programme d'Optimisation et de SpEciation Chimique dans l'Environnement), a very manageable software based on a discrete model [5]. Calculated metal complexing parameters (ligand concentrations and stability constants) strongly depend on accumulation potential as well as on experimental setup, which needs to be better understood and quantified.


Mine Countermeasures (MCM) are a substantial challenge in the domain of underwater operations especially when using Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs). The work presented in this paper focuses on the semantic representation of knowledge and its utilization for mission planning and plan adaptation in a simulated MCM environment using the Nessie AUV. With respect to semantic knowledge representation this work builds upon the KnowRob system. Various ontologies model the environment, the AUV components and capabilities as well as the planning domain. For planning and plan adaptation we use the POPF Planning Domain Definition Language (PDDL) planner. Plan adaptation reuses previous plans when calculating a new plan thus saving computational resources. The main contribution of this work is an approach that relies on semantic information to represent knowledge in a MCM context and its usage for planning MCM missions in an energy efficient manner.


The results of a two-stage hormonal treatment of 62 cases of atypical hyperplasia of the endometrium were analysed. Within the first 6 months, patients received 24.0-28.0 g of hydroxyprogesterone capronate each. Six courses of steroid contraceptives such as non-ovlon and bisecurin were given during the second stage when regression of endometrial precancer had already been registered. The results proved hormonal therapy to be highly effective in managing atypical hyperplasia of the endometrium. Complete response was observed in 67.7% of patients. Coexistent uterine myoma affected the efficacy of treatment adversely: only 4 out of 14 patients with atypical hyperplasia of the endometrium with concomitant myoma were good responders. Hormonal treatment was ineffective mainly in cases of myoma of sizes exceeding 8 weeks of gestation and in pre- and postmenopausal patients. This makes the case for surgery.


A 4-year-old, 8.7-kg intact male Pekingese dog was presented with stricture of the urethral opening after a perineal urethrostomy revision surgery. Total penile amputation and preputial urethrostomy with bilateral pubic-ischial osteotomy were performed. After surgery, the dog was able to urinate through the natural preputial orifice, avoiding urine scalding associated with urethral anastomosis to the adjacent skin. Nine months after surgery, no major complications were noted with the exception of a small amount of urine dribbling after urination.


Now that the pharmacology and neuronal connectivity underlying REM sleep is beginning to be understood, it is important to begin investigations that elucidate the transcriptional response related to the REM sleep process. The present study focuses on determining the temporal development of Fos-like immunoreactivity (Fos-LI) in the dorsolateral pons following cholinergically induced, sustained rapid eye movement (REMc) sleep in cats. Microinjections (0.25 microliter) of vehicle (n = 3) or carbachol (0.2–4.0 micrograms/0.25 microliters) were made into the medial pontine reticular formation. Carbachol produced a state with all the signs of natural REM sleep, and with durations from 0 min to 120 min. Animals were killed either immediately or at various intervals after the end of REMc. Compared to vehicle- and carbachol- treated animals without REMc, the animals with REMc showed a significantly higher number of Fos-LI cells in pontine regions that have been implicated in REM sleep generation. Regions with REMc- associated Fos-LI increases included the lateral dorsal tegmental (LDT) and pedunculopontine tegmental (PPT) nuclei; the locus coeruleus; the dorsal raphe; and the medial pontine reticular formation. More Fos-LI cells were found with longer REMc bouts than with shorter-duration REMc bouts. However, with 2 hr long REMc bouts the number of Fos-LI cells returned to control levels, suggesting that the c-fos transcriptional cascade is turned off once a threshold of REMc has been reached. These findings indicate that pontine neuronal populations implicated in REM sleep express more c-fos in the course of REMc, and that the extent of expression is related to the duration of the state.


Modelling of aviation's sustainability has become more complex and requires broader assessments including environmental and socio-economic impacts in order to provide adequate decision support. The US-developed Aviation Environmental Tool Suite (including AEDT, APMT and EDS) reflects this trend by combining different models into a tool suite to allow integrated assessments.

The TEAM_Play project (Tool Suite for Environmental and Economic Aviation Modelling for Policy Analysis) is a collaborative project co-funded by the FP7 Research Programme of the European Union which addresses the same requirement. It ran from December 2010 to March 2013 and included 18 partners: DLR, NLR, ENVISA, FOI, MMU, AEA, ANOTEC, Janicke Consulting, CERC, COMOTI, Snecma, Airbus, Rolls-Royce, University of Cambridge, ENAC, TAKS, National Aviation University, and LimitedSkies.

The main focus of TEAM_Play was on creating a modelling framework in which existing European modelling capabilities could be combined in order to support and strengthen the European perspective in the international policy arena. The TEAM_Play tool suite also broadens the scope of potential impact assessments in order to improve awareness on additional effects, which are crucial for the aviation development but which were not yet fully addressed in earlier modelling systems (e.g. impact monetisation, third party risk, airport capacity constraints, extended forecast horizon, alignment of local, regional and global assessments).

This final project report deals with the administrative activities that have been performed by the coordinator in WP6 of the project. It was the objective of WP6 to govern, manage and organise the overall project from an administrative point of view. Hence, the main pillars and activities of WP6 during the project were:
• Management of legal and financial issues within the consortium and in relation with the European Commission, incl. management and maintenance of the consortium agreement incl. amendments due to consortium changes and the project extension by 4 months
• Project Monitoring and Maintenance, i.e. administrative coordination of the overall project; especially communication activities, collection and management of deliverables; monitoring of milestones, and organisation of meetings; monitoring of gender aspects
• Communication, i.e. provision of an internal and external point of contact


A debate surrounds the role of family goals in shaping the strategic behavior of family firms. Behavioral theorists view family goals as a major source of strategic differentiation, but this contradicts institutional theory's prediction that family firms will be subject to remarkably powerful motivations to conform. Unfortunately, the relationships between family influence and strategic behavior have been mainly studied in established market economies and existing models cannot be applied to transition economies where private firms have emerged only recently and are still viewed with suspicion by outside stakeholders. In an effort at reconciliation and generalization, we propose and test a midrange model receiving strong support in analysis of R&D investments of 1,858 private firms in China. Our study shows that family-centered goals mediate the relationship between family influence and R&D investments, but the effect of family goals on R&D investments is contingent on the degree of family members' legitimacy as exemplified by their social status, political connections and charitable activity. Our work not only addresses the debate on family influence and strategic conformity, it also offers a more general model of sources of distinctiveness of family firm's strategic behavior.


Social choice theory provides a principled framework for the aggregation of individuals' preferences in support of group decision‐making and recommendation. Much of this work, however, either assumes that individuals' subjective preferences (and thus, their votes) are correctly specified by the individuals themselves, or alternatively that the votes of individuals are noisy estimates of some underlying ground truth over rankings of alternatives. We argue that neither model appropriately addresses some of the issues which arise in the context of group‐recommendation domains where individuals have subjective preferences but for some reason (eg, the high cognitive burden, concerns about privacy, etc.) may instead vote using a noisy estimate of their subjective preference rankings. In this paper, we propose a general probabilistic framework for modeling noisy subjective preferences, and explore the accuracy and reliability of four well‐studied voting rules under various noise models. Our results demonstrate that there is no single reliable method amongst the examined methods. Specifically, we observe the change in noise distribution can flip one method from being the most reliable to the least.


The authors review the use of ciprofloxacin, a new oral quinolone antibiotic, for the treatment of bone infections. The article discusses the spectrum of activity, pharmacokinetics, and toxicity of the quinolone agents. The authors also provide a detailed discussion of the efficacy of ciprofloxacin for osteomyelitis in animal studies and human trials.


We report first-principles calculations for Fe4Al11-x where 0 ≤ x ≤ 3 and for Fe4Al11-yZny for 0 ≤ y ≤ 1. We investigate the correlation of the magnetic and vibrational behavior with the density of states at the Fermi level. For Fe4Al11-x the magnitude of the magnetic moment correlates with the number of Fe in the chains. However we also find an intrinsic contribution to the magnetism associated with particular neighbor configurations, for Fe sites adjacent to the partially-occupied Al chains. The Fe content affects the density of states at the Fermi level by changing the magnitude of the spin majority, and as a result there are changing the magnetic properties. For Fe4Al11-yZny a reduction in the magnetization was observed with Zn substitution of Fe in the chains. There is a partial magnetic moment reduction for partial Zn substitution, but the magnetic moment is quenched when Zn fully substitutes for Fe in chain sites.


A central goal of systems neuroscience is to understand the relationships amongst constituent units in neural populations and their modulation by external factors using high-dimensional and stochastic neural recordings. Statistical models, particularly parametric models, play an instrumental role in accomplishing this goal, because their fitted parameters can provide insight into the underlying biological processes that generated the data. However, extracting conclusions from a parametric model requires that it is fit using an inference procedure capable of selecting the correct parameters and properly estimating their values. Traditional approaches to parameter inference have been shown to suffer from failures in both selection and estimation. Recent development of algorithms that ameliorate these deficiencies raises the question of whether past work relying on such inference procedures have produced inaccurate systems neuroscience models, thereby impairing their interpretation. Here, we used the Union of Intersections, a statistical inference framework capable of state-of-the-art selection and estimation performance, to fit functional coupling, encoding, and decoding models across a battery of neural datasets. We found that, compared to baseline procedures, UoI inferred models with increased sparsity, improved stability, and qualitatively different parameter distributions, while maintaining predictive performance across recording modality, brain region, and task. Specifically, we obtained highly sparse functional coupling networks with substantially different community structure, more parsimonious encoding models, and decoding models that rely on fewer single-units. Together, these results demonstrate that accurate parameter inference reshapes interpretation in diverse neuroscience contexts. The ubiquity of model-based data-driven discovery in biology suggests that analogous results would be seen in other fields.


This article demonstrates a novel combination of solvent absorption, membrane desorption and microalgal cultivation to capture carbon dioxide and convert it to a lipid-rich biomass. In the system, carbon dioxide is absorbed into a potassium carbonate solvent and this gas is desorbed directly into the microalgal medium via a non-porous polydimethyl siloxane (PDMS) hollow fibre membrane. This single step approach provides a paradigm shift in the cost of carbon delivery to the microalgae, as the very large reboiler energy demand of standard carbon capture solvent regeneration is avoided, as is the energy associated with gas compression. Specifically, the use of a 20 wt% potassium carbonate solvent with 0.2, 0.5 and 0.7 CO2 loading was evaluated as a mechanism to deliver carbon dioxide to cultures of a salt tolerant Chlorella sp. microalgae. In all cases, accelerated growth of Chlorella sp. was observed, relative to a control. The use of carbonate solutions of 0.5 and 0.7 loading resulted in the highest volumetric productivity (0.38 g L−1 d−1) and biomass concentration (1.8 g L−1) by completely avoiding carbon limitation of the cultures. The system has demonstrated potential for the generation of biofuels that utilise carbon dioxide generated from power station flue gases with minimal parasitic energy demand.


In this paper, various configurations of octagonal wound transformer core topology, which has previously proved advantages on conventional wound cores, are studied. Each configuration has different joint types and different placement of joint zones on the core. Magnetic flux distributions and power losses of each configuration are analyzed and compared. Comparisons are based on both 2D&3D finite element simulations and experimental studies. The results show that, joint types and their placements on the core cause local flux accumulations and dramatically affect power loss of the core.


OBJECTIVE
To determine how a cohort of family practice residents graduating between 1990 and 1997 was serving the needs of urban populations in British Columbia.

DESIGN
Survey using mailed questionnaire.

SETTING
British Columbia.

PARTICIPANTS
All graduates of the British Columbia family practice residency program between 1990 and 1997.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Graduates who were currently practising as family physicians and providing medical care to urban and inner-city populations of more than 100 000, sex, practice profiles, and a comparison with Janus Project data for British Columbia.

RESULTS
Of 287 graduates surveyed, 206 responded (71.8%). Less than half (86) identified themselves as practising in urban settings; 61 of those were practising as family physicians. These physicians offered a range of primary care services; many offered inpatient and obstetric care. In addition, many were offering care to disadvantaged inner-city populations with unique and challenging medical problems.

CONCLUSION
Recent graduates in family medicine practising in urban and inner-city areas are offering full-service primary care and are not abandoning it for more episodic high-volume medical practice.


BACKGROUND
Experimental and epidemiologic investigations suggest that alpha-tocopherol (the most prevalent chemical form of vitamin E found in vegetable oils, seeds, grains, nuts, and other foods) and beta-carotene (a plant pigment and major precursor of vitamin A found in many yellow, orange, and dark-green, leafy vegetables and some fruit) might reduce the risk of cancer, particularly lung cancer. The initial findings of the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study (ATBC Study) indicated, however, that lung cancer incidence was increased among participants who received beta-carotene as a supplement. Similar results were recently reported by the Beta-Carotene and Retinol Efficacy Trial (CARET), which tested a combination of beta-carotene and vitamin A.

PURPOSE
We examined the effects of alpha-tocopherol and beta-carotene supplementation on the incidence of lung cancer across subgroups of participants in the ATBC Study defined by base-line characteristics (e.g., age, number of cigarettes smoked, dietary or serum vitamin status, and alcohol consumption), by study compliance, and in relation to clinical factors, such as disease stage and histologic type. Our primary purpose was to determine whether the pattern of intervention effects across subgroups could facilitate further interpretation of the main ATBC Study results and shed light on potential mechanisms of action and relevance to other populations.

METHODS
A total of 29,133 men aged 50-69 years who smoked five or more cigarettes daily were randomly assigned to receive alpha-tocopherol (50 mg), beta-carotene (20 mg), alpha-tocopherol and beta-carotene, or a placebo daily for 5-8 years (median, 6.1 years). Data regarding smoking and other risk factors for lung cancer and dietary factors were obtained at study entry, along with measurements of serum levels of alpha-tocopherol and beta-carotene. Incident cases of lung cancer (n = 894) were identified through the Finnish Cancer Registry and death certificates. Each lung cancer diagnosis was independently confirmed, and histology or cytology was available for 94% of the cases. Intervention effects were evaluated by use of survival analysis and proportional hazards models. All P values were derived from two-sided statistical tests.

RESULTS
No overall effect was observed for lung cancer from alpha-tocopherol supplementation (relative risk [RR] = 0.99; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.87-1.13; P = .86, logrank test). beta-Carotene supplementation was associated with increased lung cancer risk (RR = 1.16; 95% CI = 1.02-1.33; P = .02, logrank test). The beta-carotene effect appeared stronger, but not substantially different, in participants who smoked at least 20 cigarettes daily (RR = 1.25; 95% CI = 1.07-1.46) compared with those who smoked five to 19 cigarettes daily (RR = 0.97; 95% CI = 0.76-1.23) and in those with a higher alcohol intake (> or = 11 g of ethanol/day [just under one drink per day]; RR = 1.35; 95% CI = 1.01-1.81) compared with those with a lower intake (RR = 1.03; 95% CI = 0.85-1.24).

CONCLUSIONS
Supplementation with alpha-tocopherol or beta-carotene does not prevent lung cancer in older men who smoke. beta-Carotene supplementation at pharmacologic levels may modestly increase lung cancer incidence in cigarette smokers, and this effect may be associated with heavier smoking and higher alcohol intake.

IMPLICATIONS
While the most direct way to reduce lung cancer risk is not to smoke tobacco, smokers should avoid high-dose beta-carotene supplementation.


Objective: To obtain descriptions of how family physicians detect and manage mental health problems commonly encountered in their practices and how they function in their role as mental health care providers. Also, to elicit their perceptions of barriers to the delivery of optimal mental health care. Method: Focus groups with standardized questions were used to elicit descriptive data, opinions, attitudes, and terminology. Convenience samples of 10 to 12 physicians were chosen in each of Ontario's 7 health care planning regions, with a mixture of rural, urban, and university settings. Discussions were audiotaped, transcribed, analyzed, and recurring themes were extracted. Results: Family physicians' descriptions of the range of problems commonly encountered and their detection and management highlight the unique nature of mental health care in the primary care setting. The realities of family medicine, the undifferentiated nature of presenting problems, the long-term physician–patient relationship, and the frequent overlap of physical and mental health problems dictate an approach to diagnosis and treatment that differs from mental health care delivery in other settings. Difficulties in the relationship with local psychiatric services—accessing psychiatric care (especially for emergencies), poor communication with mental health care providers, and cumbersome intake procedures of many mental health services—were consistently identified as barriers to the delivery of optimal mental health care. Conclusions: This study confirms the importance of the family physician in the detection and management of mental health problems. It offers insights into how family physicians function in their role as mental health care providers and how they deal with diagnostic and management challenges that are specific to primary care. It also identifies barriers to the optimal delivery of mental health care in the primary care setting, including difficulties at the clinical interface between psychiatry and family medicine. Further studies are needed to explore these issues in greater depth.


The implementation of credit system should be suitable for current situations of a college and a province. We should break through the barriers of thoughts, understand credit system rationally, and implement credit system with local characteristics. In addition, we must seek policies from the education authorities and universities to support and protect the implementation of credit system in local colleges and universities, and take holistic measures to establish a sound operational mechanism and a guarantee system for credit system.


The financial crisis of 2008 suggests that existing asset pricing models, which are derived under the assumption of investor rationality, might not be sufficient to explain stock performance during periods of market stress and liquidity crunch. In this article, we developed four measures of corporate liquidity risk factors to examine their dynamic impact on stock returns, and we found that corporate liquidity risk played a significant role in affecting stock returns, especially during periods of market stress or liquidity crunch. We believe our analysis contributes to the asset-pricing literature and provides significant insights to investors who wish to better understand the impact of corporate liquidity risk factors in a more time-sensitive way. In addition, our research on different factor loadings of corporate liquidity risk for stocks with different attributes will be of interest to investors: This research will help them better understand how corporate liquidity risk factor is priced in stock returns cross-sectionally and thus can help them to better position their investments, especially during periods of market stress.


The Pacific Ocean is the largest water body on Earth, and circulation in the Pacific
contributed significantly to climate evolution in the latest Cretaceous, the culmination of a
period of long-term cooling. Here, we present new high-resolution late Campanian to
Maastrichtian benthic and planktic foraminiferal stable isotope data and a neodymium (Nd)
isotope record obtained from sedimentary ferromanganese oxide coatings of Ocean Drilling
Program Hole 1210B from the tropical Pacific Ocean (Shatsky Rise). These new records
resolve 13 million years in the latest Cretaceous, providing insights into changes in surface
and bottom water temperatures and source regions of deep to intermediate waters covering
the carbon isotope excursions of the Campanian-Maastrichtian Boundary Event (CMBE)
and the Mid-Maastrichtian event (MME). Our new benthic foraminiferal δ18O and Nd
isotope records together with published Nd isotope data show markedly parallel trends
across the studied interval over a broad range of bathyal to abyssal water depths interpreted
to reflect changes in the intensity of deep-ocean circulation in the tropical Pacific. In
particular, we observe a three-million-year-long period of cooler conditions in the early
Maastrichtian (72.5 to 69.5 Ma) when a concomitant change toward less radiogenic
seawater Nd isotope signatures probably marks a period of enhanced admixture and
northward flow of deep waters with Southern Ocean provenance. We suggest this change to
have been triggered by intensified formation and convection of deep waters in the high
southern latitudes, a process that weakened during the MME (69.5 to 68.5 Ma). The early
Maastrichtian cold interval is closely related to the negative and positive carbon isotope
trends of the CMBE and MME. The millions-of-years long duration of these carbon cycle
perturbations suggests a tectonic forcing of climatic cooling, possibly related to changes in
ocean basin geometry and bathymetry.


The present case reports 80-year-old male cadaver with hepatosplenic and left hepatogastric trunks supplying foregut. The hepatosplenic trunk was a branch of abdominal aorta; which divided into common hepatic and splenic arteries. The common hepatic artery gave origin to the left inferior phrenic artery before dividing into gastroduodenal artery and right hepatic artery. The left inferior phrenic artery also supplied the left suprarenal gland by superior suprarenal arteries. The left hepatogastric trunk was a direct branch of abdominal aorta immediately below the hepatosplenic trunk and divided into replaced left hepatic artery and left gastric artery. The esophageal arteries; which supplied the lower end of esophagus were branches of replaced left hepatic artery.


An important problem in the nuclear power industry in the UK is the reprocessing of the legacy waste storage ponds at Sellafield in Cumbria. Understanding the solvation structure of the ions present in these ponds, as well as the stability of their hydroxide complexes, is vital for effective clean-up. This work used ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) to characterise the solvation structure of Mg2+, Ca2+, Sr2+, Cs+, U6+ in the form of uranyl (UO22+), La3+ and Lu3+. These ions have been found in the legacy storage ponds and have previously been studied through gas phase or implicit solvation Density Functional Theory (DFT) methods. The properties of the first solvation shell have been categorised, and when compared to current experimental and computational literature the results are in excellent agreement, justifying the solvation model developed. The understanding of the solvation structure of the ions in the storage ponds has been developed further, with the introduction of hydroxide ions to replicate the storage ponds alkaline conditions. The coordination and bonding of the hydroxide complexes was characterised, as was the proton transfer behaviour, through quantifying the Proton Transfer Events (PTEs) of each system. The introduction of hydroxides generally led to reduction in coordination number and bond length of the first solvation shell. It was found that PTEs were more prevalent away from the central ion of the system and occurred more frequently in the less charge dense ionic systems, where direct hydroxide coordination to the ion is less prevalent. The final focus of the work was a DFT examination of the adsorption of Sr2+ onto a solvated CeO2(111) surface. The results showed a preference for some ion coordination to the surface, which lessened when hydroxide ions were introduced to the solvation model. The aim of this chapter was to investigate the validity of the surface-solvation model using a surface relevant to the nuclear waste disposal problem for use in future AIMD simulations of the fuel pond environment.


The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development commits the international community to support the modernisation and strengthening of national statistical capacities and systems in developing countries and to increase significantly the availability of high-quality, timely, reliable and disaggregated data to measure their progress against the Sustainable Development Goals. This paper, informed by a survey circulated among DAC members between February and April 2017, presents DAC members' policies and practices to support national statistical capacities and systems in developing countries. It highlights some of the main challenges that DAC members face in relation to making data work for sustainable development, notably in co-ordinating their support for statistics to avoid duplication and find synergies, in mobilising more resources, and in using quality data for development co-operation decision-making, programming, monitoring and reporting. The findings presented in this paper will inform the analysis of the 2017 Development Co-operation Report on Data for Development which will be published in October 2017. The report will provide guidance to providers of development assistance on how to best support developing countries to have and use quality and timely data for enabling delivery of the SDGs.


With the explosion in the volume and array of ambulatory services, Kathleen Parrinello believes that nurse managers must gain a better understanding of nursing care requirements and resources consumed if they want to provide effective and efficient health care. Parinello describes a system for evaluating the nursing care requirements of patients and fitting those requirements to the appropriate level of staff expertise.


In the biolinguistics program, syntax has access to only limited and minimal operations such as Merge (and Move) plus local (to Phase) probe-goal, Chomsky (2000, 2001). Under this blueprint, the challenge for implementation is twofold: (1) to show that such a system operating locally can systematically derive complex facts, and (2) that computation, i.e. the selection of the appropriate operation is locally (and perhaps globally) efficient. To this end, available mechanisms may be prioritized to create an unambiguous instruction stream, e.g. Merge over Move. In this paper, we develop a computationally verified implementation of classic Binding Theory facts, including pronoun and anaphor asymmetries for mono- and multi-clausal sentences, possessive DPs, and picture DPs. We take as our starting point Chomsky's probe-goal system plus Kayne's (2002) doubling constituent proposal for pronoun-antecedent coreference relations. Within this framework, maintaining Phase locality between probe and goal forces independent licensing of an r-expression from its pronominal component via an operation of Last Resort theta Merge. We maintain that this Last Resort variant of Merge maintains the computational efficiency of the probe-goal system in that it operates precisely at the limit of probe-goal search domain and it does not introduce any additional choice points into the instruction stream.


A child presenting severe hypoglycemia despite low or normal secretion of insulin was found to have IgM antibodies to the insulin receptor. These antibodies stimulated lipogenesis in fat cells in vitro and competed with insulin for binding to insulin receptors. After treatment with glucocorticoids, the anti-receptor antibodies and the hypoglycemia both disappeared, and antibodies to insulin appeared in the patient's serum. The anti-insulin antibodies were isolated by affinity chromatography and were found to inhibit the antiinsulin- receptor antibodies that were present earlier. The interaction between the patient's anti-insulin antibodies and his anti-receptor antibodies suggests that these two species of antibodies are related as idiotypes and anti-idiotypes. We also studied the interaction of the hypoglycemic patient's anti-receptor antibodies with anti-insulin antibodies of a diabetic patient and with anti-insulin antibodies of mice immunized to insulin. The hypoglycemic patient's antireceptor antibodies were neutralized by the diabetic patient's anti-insulin antibodies, indicating that antiinsulin antibodies with a common idiotype may arise in both diabetes and hypoglycemia. Moreover, mouse anti-insulin antibodies that interacted with mouse antireceptor antibodies neutralized the hypoglycemic patient's anti-receptor antibodies. In contrast, mouse anti-insulin antibodies that did not interact with the mouse anti-receptor antibodies did not neutralize the hypoglycemic patient's anti-receptor antibodies. Thus, the human anti-insulin antibodies share an idiotype with a specific class of mouse anti-insulin antibodies. These findings lead to three conclusions: 7) hypoglycemia of young children can be associated with anti-insulin-receptor antibodies, 2) the anti-idiotypic network may operate in humans to generate autoantibodies to a hormone, and 3) mice and humans can generate networks with common idiotypes.


In 1999 a Swedish national expert panel published recommendations for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C (HCV) infection. Recently, pegylated interferon (peg-IFN) products have been introduced, and an increased knowledge concerning treatment of acute HCV and HCV-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) coinfection has been gained. As a result of this, an update of the Swedish recommendations was developed following an expert meeting in October 2002. The panel now recommends the use of peg-IFN together with ribavirin as the standard treatment. Owing to the excellent response rates in HCV genotype 2 and 3 infections, these patients can be treated for 24 weeks without preceding liver biopsy. For patients with genotype 1 infection (with a slightly below 50% sustained response rate after 48 weeks treatment) and only mild histological disease, treatment can be postponed until future better treatment options become available. In patients who fail to achieve a 99% reduction (2 log drop) in viral titre after 12 weeks of treatment, discontinuation of therapy is recommended. Patients previously treated with IFN monotherapy and not having achieved a sustained virological response are recommended the same combination treatment as treatment-naive patients. IFN monotherapy is recommended in patients with acute hepatitis C. For children with chronic HCV infection, combination treatment is mainly recommended in clinical trials. For HCV-HIV coinfected patients, combination treatment is recommended and preferably given when blood CD4 counts are above 350/ml and before antiretroviral treatment (ART) is needed. Concurrent ART or prominent liver fibrosis requires frequent monitoring because of the increased risk for mitochondrial toxicity and liver failure.


R ecent correspondence in Science has centered on whether conservation of biodiversity should focus on protected areas, where humans are excluded, or on sustainable development in areas where people live, a strategy referred to as community-based conservation.[*][1] The debate raises some important issues. First, protected areas and community areas are not alternatives. Rather, they are complementary strategies, and neither is self-sustaining. Protected areas are essential for the conservation of some species, but for practical purposes they can only represent a small fraction of the world's biota. Second, most biodiversity (such as insects and microbes) lies in regions where local communities cannot use it for self-sustaining commercial enterprise. Integrated Conservation and Development Projects (ICDPs) provide a form of compromise, in which conservation agencies supply aid in return for local stewardship of the biota. However, there are many undeclared problems with such schemes. For example, there is often a lack of compliance by local communities once aid projects are completed, and both central governments and commercial interests often override local authorities. Recognition of these problems is a first step toward finding solutions to them.

One lesson from past ICDPs is that we cannot assume that a legislated protected area will automatically save biodiversity. All such areas are suffering attrition in terms of loss of area, habitats, and species. They become degraded through illegal resource use unless there is formal governmental intervention to prevent attrition. A policy of active replacement of lost area is required if these reserves are to be maintained in the long term.[†][2] Conservation also has to focus on solving the underlying social problems. If local communities are to succeed in maintaining protected areas, then outside economic assistance must find ways to ameliorate poverty and illiteracy, allocate resources equitably among all community members, and stabilize populations in regions surrounding the protected areas. Economic assistance must be persistent, but ways need to be found to assess whether the community is living up to its commitments to conserve biodiversity. Where protection of biodiversity is not seen to be of clear economic benefit to the community, outside assistance should change this condition by helping to increase community pride in their environment, increase the local economic benefits of conservation, rehabilitate depleted resources, and increase the community's ability to control the use of resources by outside interests. Amboseli National Park in Kenya is a good example of cooperation between local communities and external conservation agencies to maintain the large mammal ecosystem.

For most conservation projects, sustained and flexible outside support will be required. This is contrary to the philosophy of all current donor programs. Such programs are designed for average environmental conditions under which nature and human society can coexist. However, almost inevitably an environmental disaster will occur, to which the poorer countries are the most vulnerable. Under such circumstances, additional external assistance will be required to prevent the loss of biodiversity caused by the precedence of human demands. Further intervention will be required to curb harmful and excessive resource extraction and the problems of governance that generally disenfranchise those who sustain themselves on local resources. Although these problems manifest themselves on the local and national levels, they are unlikely to be resolved without substantial support and pressure from abroad. Unfortunately, there is little precedent for such actions aside from military operations. Unless we can overcome these kinds of problems, neither protected areas nor community-based conservation projects are likely to succeed.

The past history of international assistance for protected areas and community-based conservation projects is not encouraging: it has tended to be episodic, not sustained. Short-term help in this area won't work. Long-term commitments, to support long-range planning and permanent positions, are essential.

 [1]: #fn-1
 [2]: #fn-2


From the past to the present, people have been exposed to very different kinds of disasters, and it is evident that women, children, the elderly and the disabled are the groups most affected by disasters. As elderly people differ according to their socio-economic, health and psychological status, they can be undefended and vulnerable to many emergencies. Protection of these disadvantaged/vulnerable people from disaster risks, raising their awareness and taking measures for these groups in disaster plans are highly important. The aim of this study is to find what should be done to secure their life and livelihood. Therefore, based on secondary research, this study analyses their current situation, challenges they face during and after disasters. Within the scope of this aim, this study is focused on gaining experience from natural disasters that occurred in Turkey in the past and people's reaction to these disasters, especially their effects on the elderly.


Active object-relational database management systems (ORDBMS) react to the occurrence of predefined events automatically by the definition of Event-Condition-Action (ECA) rules. Whenever an event occurrence causes the triggering of multiple rules at the same time, the execution model of an active ORDBMS requires an explicit trigger rule conflict policy which regulates the selection and execution of multiple triggered rules. The rule execution model provide a mechanism known as rule scheduling which performs the ordering and execution semantics of multiple triggered rules to handle the trigger rule conflicts. Conventional rule schedulers have been developed to execute the multiple triggered rules sequentially based on system defined priority. However advanced applications require a rule scheduler to support both sequential and concurrent execution of multiple triggered rules based on static priority mechanism in active ORDBMS. Thus the objective of this research work is to develop an effective rule scheduler for executing multiple triggered rules both sequential and concurrent based on user-defined priority scheme.


The dentist who manages temporomandibular disorders must choose among multiple imaging techniques when temporomandibular joint imaging is to be part of the diagnostic workup. By using a selective imaging approach, the practitioner can intelligently acquire the temporomandibular joint image that will complement his or her clinical findings. The purpose of this article is to present the advantages and technology of the more commonly available imaging techniques. Other factors that influence modality selection also will be discussed.


This case report describes a male patient aged 44 with recurrent hypotensive shock and severe pulmonary obstruction. The diagnosis of systemic mastocytosis was suggested by the presence of small pigmented maculae (urticaria pigmentosa) and intolerance to NSAIDs. The diagnosis was confirmed by microscopic investigation of the pigmented maculae and bone. The patient was advised to avoid certain foods and drugs and has so far been free of symptoms. In patients with hypotensive shock and (or) severe pulmonary obstruction without a clear cause, systemic mastocytosis should be included in the differential diagnosis.


Abstract This paper reports the results of an investigation into the selective laser sintering of a prealloyed high-speed steel powder. The structured development of processing conditions for single lines, single layers and multiple layers of material is reported, as are the flexural modulus and strength of the single- and multiple layer components. Infiltration with bronze was used to improve the mechanical properties of the components and it is concluded that selective laser sintering of high-speed steel allied to bronze infiltration can produce material with the mechanical properties to allow for use in load-bearing applications, but that further work is required to improve the density, mechanical properties and build rate if selective laser sintering is to develop as a general manufacturing process for hard metals.


In a garden glade before a grand fountain, surrounded by a musical party, an elegant woman in a lustrous white gown dances as part of a foursome, raising her eyes to the viewer as if extending an invitation to the dance. This is the enticing scene in the J. Paul Getty Museum's painting "Dance before a Fountain" by Nicolas Lancret (1690-1743), an excellent example of the fete galante, a genre that was created and reached the peak of its popularity in France during the first half of the eighteenth century. This monograph seeks to familiarize American audiences with Lancret, a master of this genre, who was a revered painter in his own time, rivalling his contemporaries Antoine Watteau and Francois Boucher, and a favourite of crowned heads across Europe. Mary Tavener Holmes's engrossing text uses this painting as a springboard to reveal a remarkable amount about the painter, his mode of painting, Paris at the time this work was made, eighteenth-century dance, and the world of art patronage and collecting in France and elsewhere in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Lavishly illustrated with comparative paintings by artists such as Watteau, Boucher, Peter Paul Rubens, Jean-Francois De Troy, Jean-Baptiste Oudry, and Hubert Robert, this fascinating peek into a bygone Parisian era is a treat for the eyes and the intellect alike.


This research paper will try to analyze the relationship between influencing characteristics for housing product price in Jakarta Metropolitan Region. The aforementioned characteristics are viewed from the property practitioner perception. To find the answer for this research paper questions, seven property practitioners were interviewed to test the initial hypotheses. The findings suggest that brands, facilities, developer reputations, pricing policies, reinvestment values, and speculative behavior play significant parts as internal and external attributes for housing price in Jakarta Metropolitan Region.
Keywords: Real estate; property; consumer preferences; property practitioner perception.
eISSN 2514-751X © 2018. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open-access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/aje-bs.v3i9.298


The effects of fuel reduction treatments, fiand mechanical understory removal (alone and in combination), were examined to determine changes in abundance and composition of woody regeneration in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. While mechanical treatment alone (M) had little effect on seedling density, burning (B) and mechanical treatment + burning (MB) produced a signifi cant increase. Sapling density was greatly reduced in MB immediately following treatment, but 2 years later abundant sprouting was observed. Regeneration of shade-tolerant species was encouraged in M and B, whereas MB favored shade-intolerant species. Reponses of dominant tree species varied by treatment based on species' reproductive strategies. Red maple increased in B primarily through seed germination, whereas MB promoted sprouting. Yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera L.) showed rapid initial response to B and MB, but seedlings that germinated after fi re in B did not persist. In contrast, seedlings germinating following treatment in MB thrived, quickly growing into the saplings. B and MB contained more than twice as many oak (Quercus spp.) seedlings recorded pretreatment, with the majority sprouting from remaining stems; however, a large acorn crop 1 year after burning contributed to seedling numbers observed the third year posttreatment. Shrub abundance was greatly reduced by M and MB, but sprouting in the understory layer was observed in all treatment units. Reducing fuel using techniques described here can affect woody species composition and potentially change development of mixed-oak forests in the Southern Appalachian Mountains.


This thesis presents the results of a series of polarization VLBI experiments on the wellknown variable radio source BL Lacertae (BL Lac). VLBI provides the only means to study radio sources on scales 1 mas, and the sensitivity to polarization allows the magnetic field structures in the source to be investigated, while also providing information about the environment of the source through the phenomenon of Faraday rotation. An attempt is also made to exploit the wealth of VLBI data on this source available in the literature to derive a kinematic model for superluminal components (knots) in its radio jet.
Four epochs of multi-frequency monitoring of BL Lac presented here demonstrate the extreme variability of this source in both total intensity and polarized flux density. A number of superluminal knots are identified in the jet with speeds Sc, comparable to those found in previous studies of this source. It has been noted in past observations that the electric vectors of knots in the jets of BL Lac objects tend, in general, to be parallel to the jet direction (implying that the magnetic field is dominated by a transverse component), in contrast to quasars wherein the electric vectors are usually transverse to the jet direction. While such parallel electric vectors are observed in some knots, some evidence is also presented here for knots with a large component of longitudinal magnetic field, possibly as the result of a shear interaction with the ambient medium. These include compact knots which move with superluminal velocities close to the central axis of the jet as well as a more diffuse, slowly moving component, located away from the central axis of the jet and reminiscent of the "sheath" observed in 1055+018 (Attridge et al. 1999).
These observations also provide the first examples of non-uniform Faraday rotation to be detected in a BL Lac object. This finding has important consequences for the interpretation of magnetic field alignments in this source, as the rotation measure (RM) applicable to parsec scale knots is shown to differ from the integrated RM of the source derived from VLA observations. The detection of significant quantities of thermal gas in the immediate vicinity of this object is somewhat unexpected given that BL Lac objects are distinguished from quasars by the small equivalent widths of their optical emission lines.
The results demonstrate that, in future, observations of Faraday rotation will provide important information on the relative quantities of thermal gas in BL Lac objects and quasars. If BL Lacs are shown not to be depleted in thermal gas on scales of 1 pc, then it also seems likely that they are not depleted in gas on smaller scales and so some other explanation will be required to explain their low line luminosities.
A kinematic model derived for the jet in BL Lac suggests that the flux density evolution of knots in the jet is not determined solely by changes in the Doppler factor resulting from changes in the direction of a constant speed jet. Other factors may include expansion losses and/or deceleration of the fluid in the jet. Deceleration from relativistic to nonrelativistic
speeds on scales < 2 kpc has been inferred for many FRI radio galaxies (Laing et al. 1999). That significant deceleration on scales of several hundred parsecs in the jet of BL Lac is allowed by the kinematic models is therefore consistent with the FRI/BL Lac unification scheme.
The high degree of polarization observed in component S2 in the region where the jet bends is difficult to reconcile with simple shock models, unless the fluid in the jet is moving more slowly than the observed pattern. It is interesting to note that in a similar study of the quasar 3C 345 by Wardle et al. (1994) the flux density evolution was successfully modelled without invoking the additional loss mechanisms required for BL Lac and the jet polarization indicated that for simple shock models the fluid in the jet should be moving at a greater speed than the observed pattern. Future studies will determine whether these represent real differences between the jets in quasars and BL Lac objects in general. This model constrains the jet angle to the line of sight in BL Lac to be less than 15°, and is therefore consistent with the extreme beaming model for this source.
Finally, joint EVN/MERLIN observations presented here detect coherent structures on scales larger than those probed in conventional VLBI observations in 3 of 5 BL Lac objects observed. However, not all the flux density predicted to lie on these larger scales is detected. If the remaining "missing" flux is all associated with a diffuse, unbeamed component, then the extended power in all the sources is above the FRI/FRIT limit, providing a complication for currently favoured unification schemes. Having proven the feasibility of such a study with these observations, the experiment is to be repeated at lower frequency and with improved u, v coverage in order better to constrain the nature of these objects on intermediate scales.


OBJECTIVE: To examine recent national trends in psychotropic use for very young children at US outpatient medical visits. METHODS: Data for 2- to 5-year-old children (N = 43 598) from the 1994–2009 National Ambulatory and National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Surveys were used to estimate the weighted percentage of visits with psychotropic prescriptions. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with psychotropic use. Time effects were examined in 4-year blocks (1994–1997, 1998–2001, 2002–2005, and 2006–2009). RESULTS: Psychotropic prescription rates were 0.98% from 1994–1997, 0.83% from 1998–2001, 1.45% from 2002–2005, and 1.00% from 2006–2009. The likelihood of preschool psychotropic use was highest in 2002–2005 (1994–1997 adjusted odds ratio [AOR] versus 2002–2005: 0.67; 1998–2001 AOR versus 2002–2005: 0.63; 2006–2009 AOR versus 2002–2005: 0.64), then diminished such that the 2006–2009 probability of use did not differ from 1994–1997 or from 1998–2001. Boys (AOR versus girls: 1.64), white children (AOR versus other race: 1.42), older children (AOR for 4 to 5 vs 2 to 3 year olds: 3.87), and those lacking private insurance (AOR versus privately insured: 2.38) were more likely than children from other groups to receive psychotropic prescriptions. CONCLUSIONS: Psychotropic prescription was notable for peak usage in 2002–2005 and sociodemographic disparities in use. Further study is needed to discern why psychotropic use in very young children stabilized in 2006–2009, as well as reasons for increased use in boys, white children, and those lacking private health insurance.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR Michael Albers is a professor at East Carolina University, where he teaches in the professional writing program. In 1999, he completed his PhD in technical communication and rhetoric from Texas Tech University. Before coming to ECU, he taught for 8 years at the University of Memphis. He is a Senior Member of ACM. In addition to his work on CDQ, he was SIGDOC Secretary from 1999 – 2005 and the 2013 SIGDOC Conference Chair. He also chaired the Symposium on Communicating Complex Information from 2012 – 2018. Before earning his PhD, he worked for 10 years as a technical communicator, writing software documentation and performing interface design. His research interests include designing documentation on the communication of complex information.


Aristotle explains existence through postulating essences that are intrinsic and perception independent. I argue that his theory is more plausible than Hume's and Russell's theories of existence. Russell modifies Hume's theory because he wants to allow for the existence of mathematical objects. However, Russell's theory facilitates a problematic collapse of ontology into epistemology, which has become a feature of much analytic philosophy. This collapse obscures the nature of truth. Aristotle is to be praised for starting with a clear account of ordinary objects rather than immediately reifying mathematical objects. He thus allows us to have a coherent account of existence and truth, and to easily resist collapsing ontology into epistemology.


The NMR experiment design strategy of NO Relaxation Delay (NORD), introduced mostly as an idealized theoretical approach, is extended and put to practical use by considering synergy and sensitivity-balance in concatenation of experiments. It is illustrated by a novel experiment, NORD {HMBC}-{HSQC}-{TOCSY}, where magnetization of non-13C attached protons effectively is channeled from the TOCSY spectrum toward primarily the least sensitive spectrum of HMBC. The experiment is expected to find its place as a full-package NMR method for metabolomics, carbohydrates, peptides and small-molecules in general.


This paper addresses the jurisdiction of the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes ("ICSID"), created by the Convention on Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States ("ICSID Convention"), on disputes arising out of construction contracts. The paper argues that the complexity of disputes arising of construction contracts and the difficulty to meet strict jurisdictional requirements does not mean that they are deprived from ICSID jurisdiction. Depending on the circumstances of each case, ICSID jurisdiction could be both admissible and necessary. This paper will focus on the analysis of two requirements for ICSID jurisdiction. First, whether construction contracts can be considered within the notion of "investment" required by both BITs and the ICSID Convention. And second, whether State actions involving breach of such contracts can raise violations of State's obligations assumed under the BIT. This paper argues that, under certain circumstances, foreign investors can prove both requirements in the case of disputes arising out of construction contracts, and so ICSID jurisdiction will be admissible.