Maternal nutrition is a well documented determinant of pregnancy outcome. Maternal anthropometry has been shown to be a predictor of the occurrence or otherwise of low birth weight, foetal macrosomia, increased maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality. Rural-urban differences in nutritional status have been documented in literature. A cross-sectional comparative study of the anthropometric indices of 720 pregnant women accessing antenatal care at selected rural and urban primary health centres in Ogun State, Nigeria was carried out, using semi-structured, interviewer-administered questionnaires, adult weighing scales, a stadiometre and measuring tapes. The mean height, weight, and body mass index of rural participants were higher than those of urban participants, although the difference was not significant (p > 0.05) for these parameters. The mean mid-upper arm circumference value for urban participants was significantly higher (p = 0.014) than that of the rural participants. Community-level nutritional interventions, including adequate feeding of the girl child, will help to improve maternal nutrition in developing countries.

 Key words: Maternal, anthropometry, pregnant, rural, urban.


We performed solution growth of SiC single crystals from Si-Ti-C ternary solution using the accelerated crucible rotation technique (ACRT). It was confirmed that the growth rate exceeding 200 μm/hr was achievable by several ACRT conditions. This high growth rate might be due to the enhancement of the carbon transport from the graphite crucible to the growth interface using the ACRT. Moreover, the incorporation of inclusions of the Si-Ti solvent in the grown crystal was significantly suppressed by using the ACRT. It was thought that the intensive convection near the growth interface resulted in not only the marked increase of SiC growth rate but also the superior homogeneity in the surface morphology. It was concluded that faster stable growth can be accomplished in the SiC solution growth using the ACRT.


Reliable monitoring of the kinetics of molecular release from drug delivery devices is crucial for their therapeutic success. Commercially available UV-Vis spectrophotometers provide reliable quantification of analyte concentrations directly correlated to the absorbance of fluids. However, they are not suitable for long-term measurements requiring high frequency of sampling from a large number of replicates and continuous fluid mixing, all of which are necessary for evaluation of drug delivery devices. To address this need, we developed a novel robotic apparatus serially connected to a commercial UV-Vis spectrophotometer. The robotic apparatus enables us to automatically and reliably acquire long-term data for up to 48 samples with high frequency of measurements and independent magnetic stirring. We equipped the robotic apparatus with independent connectors that allowed us to apply an electric potential to each sample for electrokinetic studies. The apparatus repeatability and accuracy was demonstrated in comparison to a commercial UV-Vis spectrophotometer. The system was successfully employed to characterize the diffusion kinetics of acetone and doxorubicin through nanochannel membranes (nDS) designed for long-term drug delivery. Dendritic fullerene 1 was used to show that the robotic apparatus routes the electric potential to nanochannel membranes enabling us to investigate the actively controlled release of molecules. Our results demonstrate that the robotic apparatus could widely broaden the range of applications of UV-Vis spectrophotometry, especially in the case of large sample processing and for long-term diffusive and electrokinetic studies in drug delivery.


Recent fundamental studies have given rise to the emergence of new applications for carbon-based nanostructures in electrical and biological systems. In this paper, our recent work investigating the utility of carbon nanotube (CNT) and carbon nanofiber (CNF) devices in electrical and biological interconnect systems is reviewed. Electrical and structural characterizations of carbon nanostructure arrays are performed to assess the viability of these novel forms of carbon for interconnect applications. Structural information of carbon nanofiber arrays obtained with high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) are correlated with electrical characteristics using a semi-empirical model developed based on graphite conduction principles. Concurrently, a microelectrode array consisting of a two-dimensional (2D) pattern of CNT recording sites is used to detect the electrical signals in embryonic rat hippocampal neurons in vitro. This experiment demonstrates the viability of using CNT to electrically probe living cells


Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) causing nosocomial infection is the most common pathogen emerging rapidly in Hospitals causing boils, pustules, impetigo, osteomyelitis and occasionally shock syndrome. Colonization with MRSA in health workers in more likely to cause infections and results in higher morbidity and mortality. Respiratory tract, open wounds and intravenous devices are potential sites for infection in admitted patients. 1 st MRSA was reported in 1961 in United Kingdom and from USA in 1968. Now MRSA accounts for 40 - 70% of infections in ICUs. In this study, 265 MRSA samples were collected from different departments of tertiary care hospital according to NCCL protocol using control strains ATCC 29213 (oxacillin susceptible) and S. aureus ATCC 43300 (oxacillin resistant). Relative predominance was observed in Males 155 (58.5%). Majority of patients were between age group 41 - 80 years. Most of the samples were collected from MICU and sputum samples yield was highest. Routine antimicrobial sensitivity of MRSA showed 28.7% to Ciprofloxacin, 37.5% to Gentamycin, 35% to Clindamycin, 27.5% to Erythromycin, 18% to fusidic acid, 8% to Penicillin, 87% to Moxi-floxacin, 0% to Oxacillin, 100% to Vancomycin, Teicoplanin, Linezolid and Teigecycline. MRSA is more prevalent in ICUs patients. Vancomycin, Teicoplanin, Linezolid and Teigecycline are effective antimicrobials. Spread of Vancomycin resistant has not been acknowledged by this study and in neighboring countries like India, Iran and Bangla Desh. Key words:  MRSA, Nosocomial infection.


The aim of our study was to (1) examine the degree of agreement among children, parents and teachers on the scales and items of the Czech version of the Child Behavior Checklist, and (2) to assess a teacher nomination technique as a short and simple tool for the recognition of children with higher levels of self-reported problems. The first part of the study was conducted on a sample of 300 children (aged 11-16). The overall degree of cross-informant agreement was low, particularly for ratings of boys. The highest correlations were found between the ratings of parents and teachers (median correlation 0.336), followed by the correlations between the ratings of parents and children (median correlation 0.316). The agreement between teachers and children's ratings was generally poor (median correlation 0.115), with the exception of moderate agreement on the Externalizing Behavior scales. The nomination technique was mainly based on the TRF scales and contained nine short descriptions; the sample consisted of 145 children from non-clinical population (aged 11-12). Only a low proportion of children were named by the teachers at each problem child description. Four significant associations were found between the teacher's ratings in the nomination technique and the categorical ratings based on children self-reports (YSR). Results of both parts of the study are consistent with previous findings and emphasize the importance of utilizing multiple sources in the assessment of children behavior problems.


The properties of the endothelium differ between the brain and the remainder of the body. In most non-CNS tissues the size of the junctions between endothelial cells averages 65 A. Proteins do not cross these gaps, while sodium does. In the brain, the junction size is only 7 A, which is too small to allow crossing by sodium. Investigations with changes in osmotic and oncotic pressure have demonstrated that: (1) reducing osmolality results in edema formation in all tissues including normal brain; (2) a decrease in oncotic pressure is only associated with peripheral edema but not in the brain; (3) in case of brain injury, a decrease in osmolality elicits edema in the part of brain which remained normal; (4) similarly, a decrease in oncotic pressure does not cause an increase in brain edema in the injured part of the brain. The determinant factor of water exchange in the brain is mediated through the osmolality and not the oncotic pressure. The use of hypertonic solutions (Ringer lactate or NaCl) for intravascular fluid resuscitation of patients suffering from hypovolemic head trauma has gained popularity. A research survey in regard with this observation can be summarized as follows: NaCl 7.5% (2400 mOsm/l) is becoming the most popular hypertonic solution because of its favorable systemic and cerebral effects. It improves myocardial contractility, precapillary dilatation, and reactive venoconstriction, and it has a plasmatic expansion factor of 3.8. In regard to the brain tissue, it improves the PO2 and the cerebral blood flow (CBF) as a result of decreasing cerebrovascular resistance. Finally, it reduces the cortical water content of intact blood-brain barrier area. The overall consequence is reduction of intracranial pressure (ICP). Although the homeostasis of the cerebral intracellular compartment remains unknown, it is possible that brain cells are able to resist important osmolar overload. NaCl 7.5%/dextran 70.6% is clinically at this moment the most studied hypertonic/hyperoncotic agent in prehospital emergencies. Its effects on cerebral homeostasis are identical to NaCl 7.5%. However, the addition of a colloid agent has the advantage of prolonging the systemic effects without affecting the brain. The plasmatic expansion factor is 4.5, which is slightly superior to NaCl 7.5%. Mannitol improves CBF by maintaining autoregulation as a result of changes in viscosity and reactive cerebrovascular constriction. It generates an osmotic gradient which reduces the cerebral volume and subsequently the ICP. In the presence of a cryogenic cerebral lesion, its reductive effects on brain water are superior to the hypertonic/hyperoncotic solution. Because mannitol has less spectacular systemic responses than the other solutions, it is not indicated for resuscitation following hemorrhagic shock. In conclusion, it is important to note that hypotension and hypoxemia represent the determinant factors of secondary cerebral insults. Therefore, in the presence of patients with head injury and especially hemorrhagic shock, it is essential to ensure a cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) of > 80 mm Hg. Hypertonic solutions have gained popularity in these clinical situations because of their combined effects on ICP, mean arterial pressure (MAP) and CPP. However, the therapeutic approach to polytraumatized patients with small intravascular volume (4-6 ml/kg) of hypertonic solutions should not be a substitute for the usual volemic resuscitation technique. The clinical indication for these solutions should be limited to the initial resuscitation maneuvers in traumatized patients. Prolonged use of hypertonic solutions for the purpose of intravascular resuscitation would only contribute to increasing the side effects and eventually counteract the initial beneficial advantages.


Abstract : Organizational structure builds the foundation from which organizations operate. To gain full potential of structural efficiencies in the current operating environment, public and private firms are continually modifying their organizational structure. The U.S. Air Force is no different and underwent its most recent reorganization in the fall of 2002 replacing the post-Gulf War format of the previous decade. Air Force leadership needs to understand how well the current structure is performing at achieving its intended objectives. This research investigates the effectiveness of the recent change to Air Force organizational structure on aircraft maintenance performance through an analysis of aircraft maintenance metrics. To observe effects both within and across the Air Force, four years of data were analyzed from three F-16 units and three KC-135 units representing two of the significant Air Force Major Commands. The analytical methods used for this research include testing assumptions of normality and variance of sample data, homogeneity of variance and comparison of means, weighted factoring, and trend analysis using linear regression to determine the overall effectiveness of the combat wing structure. Results of this analysis allowed the researcher to postulate an answer to the overall research question. This answer and other associated findings can assist Air Force leaders in understanding how to enhance operational performance.


One of the reasons for a child's academic success is his or her ability to attend to tasks given by the teacher in the classroom and
meet the expectation with minimal distraction. For children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), one of the
biggest issues faced by them is their inability to sit focus and pay attention in the classroom. Without the treatment, ADHD
children will face the serious physical injuries and also may impact his or her individual's life, including academic difficulties,
social skills problems, and strained parent-child relationships. No treatment has been found to cure this disorder, but many
available treatments can reduce the symptoms of ADHD. However, studies that examine the alternative treatment such as
seating therapy for ADHD children are still very minimal. The aim of this study is to review various existing alternative seating
use in the classroom for ADHD children. The objective of this study is to identify the existing alternative seating and analyze
how they use the alternative seating as an intervention for children with ADHD. The study is conducted through a literature
review of books, journal articles, and online resources, focusing on the intervention, improvement and treatment of ADHD
children. The findings outline the effectiveness of alternative seating in treating ADHD children in reducing their behavior
problem such as in-class sleeping behavior and hyperactivity levels. The findings also showed increasing in safety levels and ontask
behavior. In addition, there is an increased the class environment in monitoring teaching and learning. Currently, there is
still no National Policy specifically for children with disabilities. Therefore, the significant contribution of this study is towards
the establishment of the National Policy specifically for children with disabilities; ADHD. The application of therapy treatments
for the ADHD children should be spell in the National Policy for Children with Disabilities, to change the conventional
treatment using medication that comes with side effects to their health.


Sudden Cardiac Death of Asian Prospects Young-Hoon Kim, MD. Cardiology Division, Korea University Medical Center, Seoul, Korea Due to the geographic, economical, and cultural differences in different countries of Asia, there are signifi cant regional variations in coronary artery disease (CAD) incidence. Currently, CAD has already become the major type of heart disease. It can be expected that the incidence of sudden cardiac death (SCD) will increase and become a heavy healthcare burden. However, there are very few studies of the epidemiology and the clinical prevention and treatment of SCD in Asia. Low rate of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) by lay person or family members at home, delayed resuscitation, and limited public access automated defibrillator (AED) resulted in very low rate of survival to discharge in out of hospital SCD patients in Asia. Large-scale epidemiologic and genetic studies are required to clarify SCD high-risk patients and SCD genes in Asia. Increased awareness of SCD by public education is required and community-based resuscitation program is an effective means to increase the survival to discharge of the victims of SCD. Establish extensive public availability of AEDs. ICDs, especially as the primary prevention for high-risk SCD patients, are of great importance. Prospective, multicenter trials designed to directly address the problem of SCD in Asia are warranted to establish.


We present observational constraints on the chromospheric heating contribution from acoustic waves with frequencies between 5 and 50 mHz. We use observations from the Dunn Solar Telescope in New Mexico, complemented with observations from the Atacama Large Millimeter Array collected on 2017 April 23. The properties of the power spectra of the various quantities are derived from the spectral lines of Ca ii 854.2 nm, H i 656.3 nm, and the millimeter continuum at 1.25 and 3 mm. At the observed frequencies, the diagnostics almost all show a power-law behavior, whose particulars (slope, peak, and white-noise floors) are correlated with the type of solar feature (internetwork, network, and plage). In order to disentangle the vertical versus transverse Alfvénic plasma motions, we examine two different fields of view: one near disk center, and the other close to the limb. To infer the acoustic flux in the middle chromosphere, we compare our observations with synthetic observables from the time-dependent radiative hydrodynamic RADYN code. Our findings show that acoustic waves carry up to about 1 kW m−2 of energy flux in the middle chromosphere, which is not enough to maintain the quiet chromosphere. This is in contrast to previous publications.


We consider dynamic discrete choice models with heterogeneity in both the levels parameter and the state dependence parameter. We first analyse the purchase of full fat milk using a long consumer panel (T > 100) on many households. The large T nature of the panel allows us to consistently estimate the parameters of each household separately. This analysis indicates strongly that the levels and the state dependence parameter are heterogeneous and dependently distributed. This empirical analysis motivates the theoretical analysis which considers the estimation of dynamic discrete choice models on short panels, allowing for more heterogeneity than is usually accounted for. The theoretical analysis considers a simple two state, first order Markov chain model without covariates in which both transition probabilities are heterogeneous. Using such a model we are able to derive small sample analytical results for bias and mean squared error. We discuss the maximum likelihood approach, a novel bias corrected version of the latter and we also develop a new estimator that minimises the integrated mean square error, which we term MIMSE. The attractions of the latter estimator are that it is very easy to compute, it is always identified and it converges to maximum likelihood as T becomes large so that it inherits all of the desirable large sample properties of MLE. Our main finding is that in almost all short panel contexts the MIMSE significantly outperforms the other two estimators in terms of mean squared error.


Aquaculture production is developing increasingly in the world and, as years go by is becoming a viable alternative to the exhaustion of resources from catching fish. Currently one-half of all food fish supply comes from aquaculture. The increase in aquaculture production meets a growing demand for fish, but also corresponds to a reduction in catches by industrial and small-scale fishing. For ACP Group States, important progress has been done to promote aquaculture however with differing stages of development depending of the investments and capacities of each county and region stretching from commercial phase of development to the initial stage of growth. For these countries, aquaculture sector often encounters problems, among which are institutional constraints, poor management practices and environmental risks such as water pollution, propagation of diseases to fish-farm populations, excessive use of antibiotics and harmful effects on biodiversity.


Early branching events during lung development are stereotyped. Although key regulatory components have been defined, the branching mechanism remains elusive. We have now used a developmental series of 3D geometric datasets of mouse embryonic lungs as well as time-lapse movies of cultured lungs to obtain physiological geometries and displacement fields. We find that only a ligand-receptor-based Turing model in combination with a particular geometry effect that arises from the distinct expression domains of ligands and receptors successfully predicts the embryonic areas of outgrowth and supports robust branch outgrowth. The geometry effect alone does not support bifurcating outgrowth, while the Turing mechanism alone is not robust to noisy initial conditions. The negative feedback between the individual Turing modules formed by fibroblast growth factor 10 (FGF10) and sonic hedgehog (SHH) enlarges the parameter space for which the embryonic growth field is reproduced. We therefore propose that a signaling mechanism based on FGF10 and SHH directs outgrowth of the lung bud via a ligand-receptor-based Turing mechanism and a geometry effect.


Intonation stylization is studied using "chironomy," i.e., the analogy between hand gestures and prosodic movements. An intonation mimicking paradigm is used. The task of the ten subjects is to copy the intonation pattern of sentences with the help of a stylus on a graphic tablet, using a system for real-time manual intonation modification. Gestural imitation is compared to vocal imitation of the same sentences (seven for a male speaker, seven for a female speaker). Distance measures between gestural copies, vocal imitations, and original sentences are computed for performance assessment. Perceptual testing is also used for assessing the quality of gestural copies. The perceptual difference between natural and stylized contours is measured using a mean opinion score paradigm for 15 subjects. The results indicate that intonation contours can be stylized with accuracy by chironomic imitation. The results of vocal imitation and chironomic imitation are comparable, but subjects show better imitation results in vocal imitation. The best stylized contours using chironomy seems perceptually indistinguishable or almost indistinguishable from natural contours, particularly for female speech. This indicates that chironomic stylization is effective, and that hand movements can be analogous to intonation movements. VC 2011 Acoustical Society of America. [DOI: 10.1121/1.3531802]


ALFRED TAXSKI. Svr la mllhode deductive. Ibid., pp. 95-103. This is a general exposition for the non-specialist of the nature of completely formalized deductive systems in logic and mathematics. The author wishes especially to deny the view that complete formalization leads to sterility. He points to the fact that a theorem established in an abstract system holds for all possible interpretations of that system, and concludes that the most exact method is also the most economical. C. H. LANGFORD


Artepillin C is the most studied compound in Brazilian Green Propolis and, along with its acetylated derivative, displays neurotrophic activity on PC12 cells. Specific inhibitors of the trkA receptor (K252a), PI3K/Akt (LY294002), and MAPK/ERK (U0126) signaling pathways were used to investigate the neurotrophic mechanism. The expression of proteins involved in axonal and synaptic plasticity (GAP-43 and Synapsin I) was assessed by western blotting. Additionally, physicochemical properties, pharmacokinetics, and drug-likeness were evaluated by the SwissADME web tool. Both compounds induced neurite outgrowth by activating the NGF-signaling pathways but through different neuronal proteins. Furthermore, in silico analyses showed interesting physicochemical and pharmacokinetic properties of these compounds. Therefore, these compounds could play an important role in axonal and synaptic plasticity and should be further investigated.


Abstract The German inventor Konrad Zuse wrote a proposal for a cipher machine during the winter of 1939–1940. The document was prepared at the Eastern front during WWII and reached the German military authorities, possibly with the help of Kurt Pannke, a manufacturer of calculating equipment. Zuse's scheme was recently found in his Nachlass. It is documented here for the first time. Zuse's offer was rejected by the military, so the software-based cipher machine described in the letter never materialized.


Pacific Island Countries including Fiji have large tract of forest areas and plantation forestry mainly for log production. With the current increases in world oil prices and Fiji's dependence on oil for its transport and energy sector, Fiji is looking at renewable energy sources from forest biomass to minimise reliance on oil for energy production and also to utilise forest residues arising from annual harvesting operations. Fiji's current harvesting system is mainly semi-mechanised with manual felling, delimbing and conversion. Rubber tiered skidders are mainly used for tree hauling from the cut-over areas to the landings although in native forest logging tracked bulldozers are used. Current log supply volume form the forest totals to 300,000 tonnes per annum and is expected to increase to 500,000 tonnes from 2010. Fiji Pine Limited, the owners of the plantations, also see forest biomass sale as a source of revenue especially with the planned increase in log supply volume. Independent power producers will soon be demanding biomass for their renewable energy production. This research will compare conventional with integrated harvesting on Pinus caribaea plantations, establishing production estimates and costs for biomass supply. This research is to be undertaken for a PhD degree at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. The forest residue production research based on commercial harvesting operations will be the first to be conducted for Pacific Island Countries and hence it is hoped the research findings can be widely applied.


This paper introduces the Balloon Tag, an infrared LED tag whose ID is detected and read by an ordinary video camera. Different from conventional visual tag systems, signal patterns cannot be seen by human eyes and don't annoy the user while the relative position of the tag from the camera can be recognized as the barcode ID tag. The authors combined the idea of the Balloon Tag with wireless communication over Bluetooth which would become widely used with wearable computers. With the proposed algorithm, the Balloon Tag receiver chooses the nearest Bluetooth transmitter. Then, a part of the Bluetooth device address (BD ADDR) is obtained to make a connection. As a result, the receiver can easily select the most important person to communicate with.


A highly selective and sensitive ratiometric fluorescent probe for copper ions (Cu2+) in aqueous solution based on a blue zirconium metal-organic framework [UiO-66-(COOH)2] with red bandgap fluorescent carbon quantum dots (R-BF-CQDs) is developed. UiO-66-(COOH)2 displays broad ligand-centered (LC) emission and R-BF-CQDs shows red emission. Interestingly, the remaining -NH2 at the surface of the prepared R-BF-CQDs can coordinate Cu2+ efficiently and produce a strong visible absorption, which overlaps the emission of UiO-66-(COOH)2. There is also a strong coordination capacity of the Cu2+ ions with R-BF-CQDs and UiO-66-(COOH)2, which allows the energy donor and the energy receptor to be closer together. Both of these two conditions provide the possibility of spectral energy transfer. In practice, the LC emission of UiO-66-(COOH)2 becomes weaker with increasing concentration of Cu2+, whereas the red fluorescence of R-BF-CQDs increases slightly.


Abstract: Toilet Tissue, whitish, Young Women. Whitish in medical terms is called fluorine albus or leucorrhea is liquid released from the genitals. Whitish disease is a problem in women. Normal whitish discharge translucent color, no odor, does not itch and occur before menstruation and after menstruation, sexual stimulation, when a pregnant woman and a state of stress. Abnormal discharge of fluid that comes out cloudy and thick, stinking, rancid, fishy, itchy, fluid quantity many, yellowish or greenish. Behavioral habits that are not good personal hygiene will cause vaginal discharge. Behaviors that can reduce the whiteness using toilet paper after urinating. To determine differences in the use of toilet paper on the incidence of vaginal discharge in adolescent girls at school Veteran 1 Sukoharjo. The study design used was quasi exsperiment with Time Series Design study design is the design of the study using pretest posttest conducted by direct observation. The sampling technique used purposive sampling with a sample of 41 students who have signs of symptoms of vaginal discharge. Mc Nemar statistical test used to determine the effect on the incidence of vaginal discharge toilet paper. Before the treated (preliminary examination) most respondents experienced pathological vaginal discharge as many as 33 students (80.5%), after being given treatment using toilet paper (final inspection) of respondents who experience vaginal discharge pathology as many as 14 students (34.14%). Results of the study showed statistical tests p: 0.000, which means there is the effect of the use of toilet paper on the incidence of vaginal discharge. There is a distinction mark whitish symptoms before and after using toilet paper Link OJS 3 artikel PERILAKU PENGGUNAAN TISU TOILET TERHADAP KEJADIAN KEPUTIHAN PADA REMAJA


It is widely believed that one's peers influence product adoption behaviors. This relationship has been linked to the number of signals a decision-maker receives in a social network. But it is unclear if these same principles hold when the "pattern" by which it receives these signals vary and when peer influence is directed towards choices which are not optimal. To investigate that, we manipulate social signal exposure in an online controlled experiment using a game with human participants. Each participant in the game decides among choices with differing utilities. We observe the following: (1) even in the presence of monetary risks and previously acquired knowledge of the choices, decision-makers tend to deviate from the obvious optimal decision when their peers make a similar decision which we call the influence decision, (2) when the quantity of social signals vary over time, the forwarding probability of the influence decision and therefore being responsive to social influence does not necessarily correlate proportionally to the absolute quantity of signals. To better understand how these rules of peer influence could be used in modeling applications of real world diffusion and in networked environments, we use our behavioral findings to simulate spreading dynamics in real world case studies. We specifically try to see how cumulative influence plays out in the presence of user uncertainty and measure its outcome on rumor diffusion, which we model as an example of sub-optimal choice diffusion. Together, our simulation results indicate that sequential peer effects from the influence decision overcomes individual uncertainty to guide faster rumor diffusion over time. However, when the rate of diffusion is slow in the beginning, user uncertainty can have a substantial role compared to peer influence in deciding the adoption trajectory of a piece of questionable information.


The use of extended criteria donors who might have previously been deemed unsuitable is an option to increase the organ supply for transplantation. This report presents a pediatric case of a successful liver transplantation from a donor with β‐thalassemia intermedia. A patient, 6‐year‐old female, with a diagnosis of cryptogenic liver cirrhosis underwent deceased donor liver transplantation from a thalassemic donor. Extreme hyperferritinemia was detected shortly after transplantation. The most probable cause of hyperferritinemia was iron overload secondary to transplantation of a hemosiderotic liver. Hepatocellular injury due to acute graft rejection might have contributed to elevated ferritin levels by causing release of stored iron from the hemosiderotic liver graft. Iron chelation and phlebotomy therapies were started simultaneously in the early postoperative period to avoid iron‐related organ toxicity and transplant failure. Follow‐up with monthly phlebotomies after discharge yielded a favorable outcome with normal transplant functions. Thalassemia intermedia patients can be candidates of liver donors to decrease pretransplant waitlist mortality. After transplantation of a hemosiderotic liver, it is important to monitor the recipient in terms of iron overload and toxicity. Early attempts to lower iron burden including chelation therapy and/or phlebotomy should be considered to avoid organ toxicity and transplant failure.


College attendance and completion in the U.S. are strongly correlated with race and socioeconomic background. Do public postsecondary institutions themselves exacerbate pre-college disparities, or reduce them? We address this question using longitudinal data linking the records of students at North Carolina's public four-year universities to their public K-12 records. As a result of an institutional structure forged during the period of Jim Crow segregation, black students who attend the state's public university system are likely to experience markedly more racial isolation in college than they did in middle school. Another, more positive consequence of this structure is to boost in-state public four-year college enrollment and graduation by African-American students relative to white students with similar backgrounds. Conditional on enrolling in one of the state's public universities, however, black students lag behind whites in grades and graduation rates. Regarding socioeconomic background, we find that lower-status youth are less likely to enter the system and less likely to succeed once they enter than those with higher status. The socioeconomic gap in graduation rates among matriculants has, however, declined in recent years.


Abstract This study applies a mixed-method design ethnography approach guided by inclusive design practices, to investigate fashion preferences and design requirements for older female consumers in China. Twenty-seven Beijing women aged between 55 and 70 years old participated in a semi-structured interview and wardrobe study to obtain textual and visual ethnographic data. Examining the parameters of dressing preference of these participants revealed a range of influences that informed their clothing choices and fashion perceptions. The study provides insight into the dressing requirements, clothing preferences, and apparel consumption behaviors, of an older Chinese female demographic, from a design-orientated perspective. Revealing this consumer group's specific needs can inform improved fashion design and apparel product development, enabling the creation of apparel design guidelines to assist fashion designers and companies in validating targeted product development for this demographic.


Integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) has emerged as a key technology for future communication systems. In this paper, we provide a general framework to reveal the fundamental tradeoff between sensing and communication in OFDM systems, where a unified ISAC waveform is exploited to perform both tasks. In particular, we define the Capacity-Bayesian Cramer Rao Bound (BCRB) region in the asymptotical case when the number of subcarriers is large. Specifically, we show that the asymptotical optimal input distribution that achieves the Pareto boundary point of the Capacity-BCRB region is Gaussian and the entire Pareto boundary can be obtained by solving a convex power allocation problem. Moreover, we characterize the structure of the sensing-optimal power allocation in the asymptotical case. Finally, numerical simulations are conducted to verify the theoretical analysis and provide useful insights.


Myogenic contraction of renal arterioles is an important regulatory mechanism for renal blood flow autoregulation. We have previously demonstrated that integrin-mediated mechanical force increases the occurrence of Ca2+ sparks in freshly isolated renal vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). To further test whether the generation of Ca2+ sparks is a downstream signal of mechanotransduction in pressure-induced myogenic constriction, the relationship between Ca2+ sparks and transmural perfusion pressure was investigated in intact VSMCs of pressurized rat afferent arterioles. Spontaneous Ca2+ sparks were found in VSMCs when afferent arterioles were perfused at 80 mmHg. The spark frequency was significantly increased when perfusion pressure was increased to 120 mmHg. A similar increase of spark frequency was also observed in arterioles stimulated with β1-integrin-activating antibody. Moreover, spark frequency was significantly higher in arterioles of spontaneous hypertensive rats at 80 and 120 mmHg. Spontaneous membrane current recorded using whole cell perforated patch in renal VSMCs showed predominant activity of spontaneous transient inward currents instead of spontaneous transient outward currents when holding potential was set close to physiological resting membrane potential. Real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry confirmed the expression of Ca2+-activated Cl- channel (ClCa) TMEM16A in renal VSMCs. Inhibition of TMEM16A with T16Ainh-A01 impaired the pressure-induced myogenic contraction in perfused afferent arterioles. Our study, for the first time to our knowledge, detected Ca2+ sparks in VSMCs of intact afferent arterioles, and their frequencies were positively modulated by the perfusion pressure. Our results suggest that Ca2+ sparks may couple to ClCa channels and trigger pressure-induced myogenic constriction via membrane depolarization.


Abstract Scholars of descriptive representation have paid growing attention to the issue of class. This article contributes to this line of research by examining the educational (mis)match of elected officials and the citizens they serve. Using data from an original paired elite-mass survey experiment, it investigates whether judgements of democratic quality are affected by education-based descriptive representation. The study reveals limited evidence in support of the idea that citizens and politicians value education-based descriptive representation in sociotropic terms. Instead, it provides strong evidence of affinity effects where democratic judgments are influenced by whether descriptive representation, or the lack thereof, favours citizens and politicians based on their own educational background. An important exception though are citizens without higher education, whose assessments of democratic quality are unaffected by education-based descriptive representation. The article ends with a discussion of the implications of these findings for existing and future research.


This paper presents a new methodology for sizing an autonomous photovoltaic-wind hybrid energy system with battery storage, using simulation and optimization tools. The developed model is useful for energizing remote rural areas and produces a system with minimum cost and high reliability, based on the concept of Loss of Power Supply Probability (LPSP) applied for consecutive hours. Some scenarios are calculated and compared, using different numbers of consecutive hours and different LPSP values. As a result, a complete sizing of the system and a long-term cost evaluation are presented.


Few studies have successfully monitored community‐wide phenological patterns in seasonally flooded Amazonian várzea forests, where a prolonged annual flood pulse arguably generates the greatest degree of seasonality of any low‐latitude ecosystem on Earth. We monitored the vegetative and reproductive plant phenology of várzea (VZ) floodplain and adjacent terra firme (TF) forests within two contiguous protected areas in western Brazilian Amazonia, using three complementary methods: monthly canopy observations of 1056 individuals (TF: 556, VZ: 500), twice monthly collections from 0.5‐m2 litterfall traps within two 100‐ha plots (1 TF, 1 VZ; 96 traps per plot), and monthly ground surveys of residual fruit‐fall along transect‐grids within each 100‐ha plot (12 km per plot). Surveys encompassed the entire annual flood cycle and employed a floating trap design to cope with fluctuating water levels. Phenology patterns were generally similar in both forest types. Leaffall peaked during the aquatic phase in várzea forest and the dry season in terra firme. Flowering typically followed leaffall and leaf flush, extending into the onset of the terrestrial phase and rainy season in várzea and terra firme, respectively. Abiotic seed dispersal modes were relatively more prevalent in várzea than terra firme; the main contrast in fruiting seasonality was more likely a result of differences in community composition and relative abundance of seed dispersal modes than differences within individual genera. We emphasize the difficulty in distinguishing the role of the flood pulse from other seasonal environmental variables without multiannual data or spatially replicated studies across the spectrum of Amazonian forest types.


This paper illustrates the author experience in modeling and simulating the process of construction through various projects in Indonesia and overseas. The predictions include the stresses (normal stress, shear stress, bending force) induced by the interactions of those materials in construction process, displacements as a result of gravity force or construction loads, development of pore water pressures in the soil pores and their effects on the stability. Landslide occurrences and seismic wave propagations can also be modelled. Overall the paper point out the importance of modeling and simulation as interactive analysis and design process.


Preface. Part I: General Strategies. Assessment of Quality of Life in Advanced Dementia. Habilitating Therapy: A New Starscape. The Lifestyle Approach. Adapted Work Program: A Sheltered Workshop for Dementia Patients. Prevention of Physical Impairment in Persons with Advanced Alzheimer's Disease. Part II: Specialized Approaches. Bright Eyes: A Structured Sensory Stimulation Intervention. Validation: A Communication Alternative. SimPresenceT: A Personalized Approach to Enhance Well-Being in Persons with Alzheimer's Disease. Music Therapy with Individuals with Advanced Dementia. SNOEZELENr. Light Therapy in Alzheimer's Disease. Environmental Design as an Alzheimer Treatment.


The great biodiversity of the Serra da Bodoquena is the result of years of biological evolution. A complex combination of natural factors allows aquatic plants, fish and invertebrates to coexist in absolutely crystalline water springs. Together, organisms form an intricate web of life, connecting a single-celled microalga with large river predators. For better knowledge of the biodiversity of microalgae, an important tool is the bioprospecting and study of novel species, avoiding as much as possible the introduction of exotic species. Thus, the aim of this work was bioprospecting microalgae species from Bonito, MS, Brazil, in order to obtain more information about the local microbial biodiversity. Freshwater samples were collected from two lakes of the municipality. The samples were plated in Basic Basal medium added of bacteriological agar. After plating, the samples were kept in a biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) oven at 25oC with photoperiod for growth. After isolation of the obtained colonies, the identification of the species was carried out according to the morphological characteristics of cells. Despite the long periods for adaptation, seven microalgae taxa were successfully isolated from the samples collected, four at the genus level and three at the species level; one from the Trebouxiophyceae class, five from the Chlorophyceae class and one from the Bacillariophyceae class.

 Key words: Biodiversity, freshwater species, identification, morphology.


The objective of this research was to analyze the factors that affect the capital adequacy ratio in private commercial banks through quantitative research. Data has directly taken to the sample of twelve commercial banks from financial statement analysis of state bank of Pakistan 2006-2015 and software STATA is used. In this research panel data regression is used and analyzed relationships among bank specific variables as independent variable such as profitability, efficiency, liquidity, size, asset quality, management quality, and net interest margin.  For dependent variable capital adequacy ratio is used. Pooled, Fixed, and Random Effect Regression have analyzed for this research. F-test, Breusch Pagan and Hausman tests are used to evaluate the most consistent results. Literature suggested that when deposits increases, banks can be able to protect them from insolvency and should become more regulated and controlled to guarantee the depositors' rights. Moreover, It was found in literature that there is a significant and positive relationship between capital adequacy requirement and profitability same as with liquidity. The findings of this study show that efficiency, size and net interest margin which enjoy positive relationship with capital adequacy ratio but other variables such as profitability, liquidity, asset quality and management quality have negative relationship with capital adequacy.


The clinical course of ulcerative colitis (UC) is characterized by periods of exacerbation and remission. 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) remains the treatment of choice in patients with mild-to-moderate UC, due to its beneficial effect in preventing relapse. Treatment options (immunomodulators [IMM] and biological agents) have increased, so it is important recognizing patients at risk of medical therapy failure that can appropriately optimize treatment escalation for better control of the disease. Little is known about the long-term course of the disease among patients in remission with 5-ASA.

 To assess long-term efficacy of 5-ASA (no IMM, biological therapy or colectomy) and to identify predictive factors of non-response.

 An observational, retrospective, single-centre, case-control study was performed. All consecutive patients with UC followed in our Hospital from January 2000 until June 2020 initially treated with 5-ASA (±steroids) with a minimum follow-up of 1 year were screened for eligibility. Exclusion criteria were 5-ASA toxicity/intolerance or initial treatment with IMM/biologic agents.Time until step-up was recorded. Demographic, clinical, endoscopic, biochemical, and histological variables at the diagnosis were recorded and a Cox regression was performed to identify predictive factors for step-up strategy.

 218 patients (mean age 41,4±14,6 years; 54,5% female; mean follow-up10,1±1,9 years) were analysed, 28% needed treatment with biologics or IMM, mainly due to steroid-dependence. Among "5-ASA responders", 72% and 48% had sustained endoscopic and histological remission, respectively. The probability of step-up at 1 year, 5 years and 10 years was 10, 18 and 25%, respectively. "Step-up patients" had higher rates of hospitalization, disease extent progression, extraintestinal manifestations and colonic stenosis and/or pseudo-polyps (p<0,05). Montreal E3 (HR:2,31;95% CI: 1,12-4,68), steroids at first flare (HR:3,45;95% CI: 1,26-7,29), lower 5-ASA maintenance dose (HR: 1,97;95%;CI:1,12-3,29), lower haemoglobin level (HR:1,45;95% CI: 1,11-3,24) and DUBLIN Score≥4 (HR:1,81;95% CI: 1,269-4,59) were factors associated with the step-up strategy, in multivariate analysis.

 5-ASA is an effective maintenance therapy; a satisfactory response was achieved in 72% of the patients after a mean time of follow-up of 10 years.
 Extensive colitis, higher DUBLIN Score, lower doses of 5-ASA, need for steroid and anaemia can predict a worse prognosis at the initial diagnosis and are associated with higher therapeutic requirements. These findings may be used in our clinical practice to identify patients that might benefit from an early step-up approach and minimize the morbidity associated with uncontrolled disease.


Despite the regenerative capacity of skeletal muscle, chronic myopathy and muscle trauma present significant clinical problems with limited therapeutic options. Myogenic cell therapies are being actively investigated to mitigate muscle degeneration that otherwise progresses to fibrosis and long-term loss of function. The rationale for this strategy is based on augmenting the native myogenic progenitor or stem cell reserve, populated by satellite cells, by transplanting myogenic cells into the injured muscle. However, engraftment efficiency in myogenic cell transplantation is impaired by rapid cell death, which represents a precipitous loss of cell viability within 48hrs of injection, therefore severely limiting engraftment and tissue regeneration. Upon transplantation, cells experience a host response of rapid inflammation; an environment of oxidative and inflammatory stress that may cause a dramatic loss in cell viability. This effect may determine the regeneration capacity irrespective of the cell's multilineage differentiation potential. Our lab has isolated and characterized multiple populations of myogenic progenitors from murine and human skeletal muscle, including the muscle derived stem cell (MDSC) isolated by a modified preplate technique. In our studies of MDSCs, we observed an increase in post-transplantation survival and skeletal muscle regeneration capacity over that of early preplate myoblasts. Furthermore, a strong correlation of improved survival and regeneration with inflammatory and oxidative stress resistance emerged. In this dissertation, we examined the role stress resistance and survival during myogenic differentiation of MDSCs. By treating the transplanted cells with a membrane permeable reactive oxygen species scavenger, XJB-5-131, prior to transplantation, the survival and myogenic differentiation capacity under stress conditions was significantly improved. Furthermore, we isolated a novel sub-population of muscle derived cells with elevated stress resistance from murine and human skeletal muscle by their enhanced aldehyde dehydrogenase activity. ALDHlo and ALDHhi cells were characterized in terms of their myogenic potential and stress tolerance in vitro and muscle regeneration capacity in vivo. These studies are aimed at understanding the importance of survival and stress tolerance of transplanted cells in skeletal muscle cell therapy and how this tolerance modifies the efficacy of cell therapy.


Transient transfection of epithelial cells with lipid reagents has been limited because of toxicity and lack of efficacy. In this study, we show that more recently developed lipids transfect nonpolarized human airway epithelial cells with high efficacy and efficiency and little or no toxicity. Because of this success, we hypothesized that these lipids may also allow transient transfection of polarized epithelial monolayers. A panel of reagents was tested for transfer of the reporter gene luciferase (LUC) into polarized monolayers of non-cystic fibrosis (non-CF) and CF human bronchial epithelial cells, MDCK epithelial cell monolayers, and, ultimately, primary non-CF and CF airway epithelial cells. Lipid reagents, which were most successful in initial LUC assays, were also tested for transfer of vectors bearing the reporter gene green fluorescent protein (GFP) and for successful transfection and expression of an epithelial-specific protein, the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR). Electrophysiological, biochemical, and immunological assays were performed to show successful complementation of an epithelial monolayer with transiently expressed CFTR. We also present findings that help facilitate monolayer formation by these airway epithelial cell lines. Together, these data show that polarized monolayers are transfected transiently with more recently developed lipids, specifically LipofectAMINE PLUS and LipofectAMINE 2000. Transient transfection of epithelial monolayers provides a powerful system in which to express the cDNA of any epithelium-specific protein transiently in a native polarized epithelium to study protein function.


Although capital controls ensure that worldwide use of China's currency, the Renminbi, has lagged far behind the nation's influence on world markets, China's currency is seeing greatly increased use in cross-border trade as a vehicle currency. This trend accelerated in the aftermath of the global financial crisis amidst successive agreements with neighbouring countries such as Japan and Russia to move away from the dollar in favour of using their own currencies for bilateral trade. Other key steps include the establishment of a full offshore Renminbi market in Hong Kong in 2010 and the September 2013 establishment of the Shanghai free-trade zone. Meanwhile, offshore Renminbi bond issuance not only reached a cumulative total of nearly RMB 400 billion in Hong Kong by the third quarter of 2013 but also was being joined by such new offshore Renminbi bond centres as Singapore, Taiwan and London. It is no longer so farfetched to imagine the greenback being replaced by a new 'redback' standard in the long run.


For passive radar detection system, radar waveform recognition is an important research area. In this paper, we explore an automatic radar waveform recognition system to detect, track and locate the low probability of intercept (LPI) radars. The system can classify (but not identify) 12 kinds of signals, including binary phase shift keying (BPSK) (barker codes modulated), linear frequency modulation (LFM), Costas codes, Frank code, P1-P4 codesand T1-T4 codeswith a low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). It is one of the most extensive classification systems in the open articles. A hybrid classifier is proposed, which includes two relatively independent subsidiary networks, convolutional neural network (CNN) and Elman neural network (ENN). We determine the parameters of the architecture to make networks more effectively. Specifically, we focus on how the networks are designed, what the best set of features for classification is and what the best classified strategy is. Especially, we propose several key features for the classifier based on Choi–Williams time-frequency distribution (CWD). Finally, the recognition system is simulated by experimental data. The experiments show the overall successful recognition ratio of 94.5% at an SNR of −2 dB.


The tremendous mounting interest in lipase production is pertinent to the biotechnological applications that these enzymes offer. Lipase, belonging to the hydrolyze enzymes, is involved in copious biological functions including: hydrolysis insoluble triacylglycerol to mono and diacylglycerols and glycerol. Submerge fermentation technique was applied for the efficient production of this. Briefly, olive oil emulsified by Arabic gum (3% olive oil with 8% Arabic gum) and coriander seed extract (7%) were used as supplementation. Extract was isolated from the olive used to isolation lipase producing bacteria. Among the isolates, mesophilic OE3 strain was selected as the best lipase producing bacterium with high hydrolytic activities (663U/ml). From Rhodamin B, we applied agar plate technique to screen lipase production bacteria based on e formation of the fluorescence halo around the colony under radiation of UV. The isolate was short rod- and coccoid-like. The isolate was Gram-positive, aerobic, non-motile, non-endospore-forming, non-acid fast, oxidase-negative, and catalase-positive. The selected isolate was positive for H2S and indole production and urea hydrolysis; however, they could not reduce nitrates to nitrogen. The final achievement was a lipase activity 2645 U/ml after 48 h incubation in 37oC.


Reported herein is an investigation into palladium-catalysed -allylation employing sulfonamide nucleophiles. Anions of benzylsulfonamides have been shown to react with a series of allyl acetates in the presence of Pd0 catalysts, phosphine ligands and base at room temperature, enabling the synthesis of sp3-functionalised sulfonamides. The developed methodology has allowed access to a library of novel allylated sulfonamides, varying both amine substituent and allylic functionality. In addition, we have applied our methodology to a series of known sulfonamide drug targets, to demonstrate our reaction as a useful late-stage functionalisation tool, whilst populating chemical space.

The performed mechanistic study using a stereospecific electrophile confirms benzylsulfonamides behave as soft carbon nucleophiles in the Tsuji-Trost reaction, as a 'net retention' of stereochemistry is observed (confirmed by X-ray crystallography).

Moreover, the asymmetric synthesis of allylated sulfonamides is probed, although obtaining enantioselectivity a- to SO bonds is naturally difficult, due to the conformational preferences of sulfonamide carbanions.

Traditional methods for direct -alkylation of sulfonamides require strong bases, reactive electrophiles, low temperatures and use of stoichiometric amounts of additives. Therefore, in addition to a catalytic method, we report an alternative method reacting benzylsulfonamides with allyl bromide electrophiles via a nucleophilic substitution reaction, using mild conditions (LDA, THF at –20 °C).


Nearly all anthropologists who work in New Guinea comment upon the importance of warfare in the life of the people. This thesis attempts to make a comparative study of primitive war in New Guinea and trace the significance of certain military characteristics in native society. The subject matter of the thesis is divided up into four chapters. The first chapter is a discussion of the comparative method and anthropological theory relating to a study of warfare. After Malinowski (1941), war is defined as organized hostility with the aim of political gain. Primitive war is distinguished from advanced war because in the former, political aims are implicit and war sometimes occurs for reasons which are not political, whereas in the latter, the political aim is always explicit. The second chapter is a discussion of ecological theories which relate to primitive war. The suggestions of "cultural ecologists" (Vayda 1961, 1971: Rappaport 1968), that people fight when their population density increases and they suffer a shortage of resources, are tested with ecological material, demographic information and ethnographic examples. The conclusion of this chapter is that few wars in New Guinea can be explained by ecological factors alone. The third chapter is a discussion of social organization and war. The argument of this chapter is divided up into three parts. Firstly, an outline of the concepts and a definition of the terms used in the survey. Secondly, a series of twenty seven ethnographic examples accompanied by diagrams of political and descent group organization, and the fields of war. Thirdly, a comparative analysis of war and social organization facilitated by a series of computer programmes. The argument of this chapter, following the political criteria stipulated for war in the first chapter, is that war in New Guinea is basically a struggle between small political factions led by big men. The fourth chapter is a discussion of primitive military organization. This analysis is based on a series of military principles suggested by Turney-High (1949) and concludes with a comparative study of military organization and the different types of war discussed in the previous chapter.


The peripheral somatosensory system overproduces neurons early in development followed by a period of cell death during final target innervation. The decision to survive or die in somatosensory neurons of the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) is mediated by target‐derived neurotrophic factors and their cognate receptors. Subsets of peripheral somatosensory neurons can be crudely defined by the neurotrophic receptors that they express: peptidergic nociceptors (TrkA+), nonpeptidergic nociceptors (Ret+), mechanoreceptors (Ret+ or TrkB+), and proprioceptors (TrkC+). A direct comparison of early developmental timing between these subsets has not been performed. Here we characterized the accumulation and death of TrkA, B, C, and Ret+ neurons in the DRG as a function of developmental time. We find that TrkB, TrkC, and Ret‐expressing neurons in the DRG complete developmental cell death prior to TrkA‐expressing neurons. Given the broadly defined roles of the neurotrophin receptor p75NTR in augmenting neurotrophic signaling in sensory neurons, we investigated its role in supporting the survival of these distinct subpopulations. We find that TrkA+, TrkB+, and TrkC+ sensory neuron subpopulations require p75NTR for survival, but proliferating progenitors do not. These data demonstrate how diverging sensory neurons undergo successive waves of cell death and how p75NTR represses the magnitude, but not developmental window of this culling. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 78: 701–717, 2018


In MEMS modelling the electromechanical coupling takes an important place. Indeed many devices use electrostatic forces as actuator. The numerical modelling of this type of problem needs a strong coupling between the mechanics and the electrostatic field. In fact when the structure is moving, the electrostatic field around it has to be modified in consequence. The first solution is to use finite element method to model the electrostatic field. In this case the mesh has to be updated depending on the displacement of the structure. Many researches have been performed to deform properly the electrostatic mesh, but when large displacement are taken into account, the elements become distorted. Furthermore, when the pull-in is achieved, the electrodes are in contact and the layer of electrostatic elements is totally squeezed. The second usual solution is to use the boundary element method to model the electrostatic field. In this case, there are no more remeshing problem, but the computational time is larger and singularity problems appears when the electrodes become in contact. One solution for this remeshing problem is to use extended finite elements (X-FEM) which are a new type of elements tailored to simulate problems involving discontinuities and moving boundaries. Initially this methodology was created for crack propagation problems, but its application has been extended to several other problems such as elastic problem involving inclusions, flow-structure interaction and solidification problems. In this paper the concept of extended finite elements is applied to develop modelling approaches for the electromechanical coupling. The method will be illustrated here for a one-dimensional problem and implementation issues relative to the two-dimensional case are discussed.


This paper proposes using a linear function approx-imator, rather than a deep neural network (DNN), to bias a Monte Carlo tree search (MCTS) player for general games. This is unlikely to match the potential raw playing strength of DNNs, but has advantages in terms of generality, interpretability and resources (time and hardware) required for training. Features describing local patterns are used as inputs. The features are formulated in such a way that they are easily interpretable and applicable to a wide range of general games, and might encode simple local strategies. We gradually create new features during the same self-play training process used to learn feature weights. We evaluate the playing strength of an MCTS player biased by learnt features against a standard upper confidence bounds for trees (UCT) player in multiple different board games, and demonstrate significantly improved playing strength in the majority of them after a small number of self-play training games.


Abstract
 This paper provides an analysis of the impact of natural, industrial and terrorist disasters on the Australian capital market using the Box and Tiao intervention analysis and the data on daily returns in the following 10 market sectors: consumer discretionary, consumer staples, energy, financial, healthcare, industrial, information technology, materials, telecommunication services and utilities. Inter alia, it was found that the shocks provided by natural disasters have an influence on market sector returns, depending upon the sector in question. The sectors most sensitive to disasters of any type are the consumer discretionary, financial services and materials sectors while the most significant single event during the past 8 years would appear to be the September 11 terrorist attack, at least in terms of its impact upon the capital market.


A daughter of a poor preacher in a small parish in England sets out to help her family by working for the ring-leader of the snobs of the community. It is an impossible situation and so she ventures all on a job in London, where she seeks to avoid her unbearable relatives. She strikes gold in a rather chance development of her literary vein and then-well, it is a good story and well told. H. W. TRIBBLE.


This paper provides a retrospective assessment of the effects of trade policies on South African manufacturing since the transition to democracy, examining the differences and commonalities in the views of economists in favour of and against an acceleration of trade liberalization. Data from the Bureau of Economic Research are used to test a number of effects on manufacturing industry that were envisaged to flow from trade policy reforms, including effects on mark-ups, productivity, exports, employment, and investment. The evidence presented here shows that a rising real exchange rate results in falling unit raw material costs as expected. However, exporter profitability still suffers because the mark-up also falls, presumably to keep prices from rising too much in foreign currencies. There is evidence, too, that a real appreciation causes the export volume to decrease.


A new framework is proposed for the bulk parameterization of rain microphysics: the Bayesian Observationally Constrained Statistical–Physical Scheme (BOSS). It is designed to facilitate direct constraint by observations using Bayesian inference. BOSS combines existing process-level microphysical knowledge with flexible process rate formulations and parameters constrained by observations within a Bayesian framework. Using a raindrop size distribution (DSD) normalization method that relates DSD moments to one another via generalized power series, generalized multivariate power expressions are derived for the microphysical process rates as functions of a set of prognostic DSD moments. The scheme is flexible and can utilize any number and combination of prognostic moments and any number of terms in the process rate formulations. This means that both uncertainty in parameter values and structural uncertainty associated with the process rate formulations can be investigated systematically, which is not possible using traditional schemes. In this paper, BOSS is compared to two- and three-moment versions of a traditional bulk rain microphysics scheme (denoted as MORR). It is shown that some process formulations in MORR are analytically equivalent to the generalized power expressions in BOSS using one or two terms, while others are not. BOSS is able to replicate the behavior of MORR in idealized one-dimensional rainshaft tests, but with a much more flexible and systematic design. Part II of this study describes the application of BOSS to derive rain microphysical process rates and posterior parameter distributions in Bayesian experiments using Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling constrained by synthetic observations.


Direct transmission of avian influenza viruses to humans has been confirmed and ever since it has been the main topic of influenza virus research. The opposite form of virus transmission is still unclear. In our study we used duck flocks as sentinels for surveillance of wild birds for influenza viruses and the possibility of bird infections with human influenza A viruses. Tested sera were collected from ducks in a free breeding system on a fish pond in the ornithological reserve Kopacki rit (Croatia). Ducks were bred in an isolated unit for the first three weeks, and this was followed by four weeks breeding on the fish pond without contact with humans. Sera were tested by haemagglutination inhibition (HI) test using human influenza viruses A/New Caledonia/20/99/ VR-116 (H1N1), A/Panama/2007/99 (RESVIR - 17) (H3N2), B/Hong Kong/330/01 and B/Sichuana/379/99 as antigens. To determine the time of infection, sera were collected twice during the period of isolation (day 0 and day 21) and at the end of breeding (day 49). Sera collected during the period of isolation were negative to influenza A and influenza B viruses. The high titer of influenza A specifific antibodies in the serum samples at the end of breeding confirmed infection during exposure on the fish pond. As ducks on the fish pond had no contact with humans and were only in close contact with wild migratory birds these results confirmed that wild migratory birds were a source of infection and present a reservoir of influenza viruses. Very high seroprevalence in sentinel ducks with a high HI titers in some animals was determined at the end of breeding. The results of this study indicate that sentinel ducks were infected with influenza A virus strains closely related to the human strains used as an antigen. Also this study confirmed that sentinel ducks could be successfully used in influenza monitoring in wild birds.


The development of electrocatalysts with abundant reserves and high catalytic activity is a prerequisite for large-scale hydrogen production from electrolyzed water. This article is based on a feasible design idea, using a metal–organic framework (MOF) derivative supported on a foamed nickel (NF) transition metal phosphating catalyst for efficient hydrolysis. In 1.0 M aqueous KOH solution, the CuFe–P/NF electrode only needs an overpotential of 231 mV in the OER to reach 10 mA cm−2, and an overpotential of 153 mV in the HER to reach 10 mA cm−2. It is encouraging that the alkaline electrolytic cell assembled with CuFe–P/NF electrodes can reach a current density of 10 mA cm−2 at an extremely low voltage of 1.577 V, which is currently one of the lower values achieved by non-precious metal electrocatalysts. This work undoubtedly provides a new strategy that can be implemented on a large scale for the synthesis of highly efficient, dual-functional MOF derivative electrocatalysts.


In this study, we investigate the most commonly used Finnish teacher guides for primary mathematics (Grades 1-6) in terms of their potential to support teaching mathematics and enhance teacher learning. We have analyzed the characteristics of teacher guides from two perspectives: 1) content and 2) form. The analysis was done in several iterative cycles. The teacher guides content are comprised of topics connected to educative aspects that support teachers at their work and potentially enhance teacher learning. Similarly, the form of the various Finnish teacher guides seems to follow the same pattern. Both the content and form of the teacher guides seem to be designed to facilitate the work of teachers by supporting the classroom practice with the design and the implementation of lessons. The findings are discussed in relation to the Finnish educational context, which influences both the way the guides are produced and their potential to enhance mathematics education.


There has been considerable discussion in recent years about the potential of micro-algae for the production of sustainable and renewable biofuels. Unfortunately the scientific studies are accompanied by a multitude of semi-technical and commercial literature in which the claims made are difficult to substantiate or validate on the basis of theoretical considerations. To determine whether biofuel from micro-algae is a viable source of renewable energy three questions must be answered : a. How much energy can be produced by the micro-algae? b. How much energy is used in the production of micro-algae? c. Is more energy produced than used? A simple approach has been developed that allows calculation of maximum theoretical dry algal biomass and oil yields which can be used to counter some of the extreme yield values suggested in the 'grey' literature. No ready made platform was found that was capable of producing an energy balance model for micro-algal biofuel. A mechanistic energy balance model was successfully developed for the production of biogas from the anaerobic digestion of micro-algal biomass from raceways. Preliminary calculations had suggested this was the most promising approach. The energy balance model was used to consider the energetic viability of a number of production scenarios, and to identify the most critical parameters affecting net energy production. These were: a. Favourable climatic conditions. The production of micro-algal biofuel in UK would be energetically challenging at best. b. Achievement of 'reasonable yields' equivalent to ~3 % photosynthetic efficiency (25 g m-2 day-1) c. Low or no cost and embodied energy sources of CO2 and nutrients from flue gas and wastewater d. Mesophilic rather than thermophilic digestion e. Adequate conversion of the organic carbon to biogas (? 60 %) f. A low dose and low embodied energy organic flocculant that is readily digested, or micro-algal communities that settle readily g. Additional concentration after flocculation or sedimentation h. Exploitation of the heat produced from parasitic combustion of micro-algal biogas in CHP units i. Minimisation of pumping of dilute micro-algal suspension It was concluded that the production of only biodiesel from micro-algae is not economically or energetically viable using current commercial technology, however, the production of micro-algal biogas is energetically viable, but is dependent on the exploitation of the heat generated by the combustion of biogas in combined heat and power units to show a positive balance. Two novel concepts are briefly examined and proposed for further research: a. The co-production of Dunaliella in open pan salt pans. b. A 'Horizontal biorefinery' where micro-algae species and useful products vary with salt concentration driven by solar evaporation.


of infected Europeans. Koch's share in the work consisted in applying it on a large scale in an expedition of which he then fortunately happened to be in command in Africa; ibut from extensive experiments on animals and a certain number of cases in man, the action of atoxyl was well characterized and known before any of Koch's work appeared. It was known to the workers in Liverpool that in all cases life was enormously prolonged by the administration of atoxyl, and that in all cases the parasites could be driven out of the blood by its use, and very often that many successive attacks could be cut short. We also knew perfectly well that In a large percentage of cases recurrences 'took place, and that ultimately a fatal issue could not be avoided. Why otherwise should we have sought for better methods, or introduced the atoxyl-mercury treatment ? Nor is it any news to us that the combined treatment with atoxyl and mercury often fails. Our own published results show that we have failed in curing large animals with the combined treatment.' But our experiments also indicate that it is a better treatment than that by atoxyl alone, and these results have been confirmed by several independent observers, not only in experimental work, but in treatment of sleeping sickness in man. Further, they are confirmed, in my opinion, by the results of this same Sleeping Sickness Bureau's report, which virtually recommends the abandonment of the combined treatment. Any one who reads the report can see that in all the different camps the percentage of improvements is greater and the percentage of deaths much less in the case of the combined treatment than with the arsenical preparation alone. It may be pointed out that we are not here dealing with counsels of perfection (we rarely are in medicine, especially in the department of treatment), but with what is the best treatment for a disease which is invariably fatal when untreated. Quinine is a specific for malaria, yet there are cases which do not get better and ultimately die in spite of it; mercury is a specific for syphilis, yet, unfortunately, recurrences take place even after mercury. Similarly, amido-phenyl-arsenic acid is a strong specific for trypanosomiasis, and the best we know at the present time, especially in combination with a mercurial treatment. An ever-growing volume of evidence shows that a similar treatment is most efficacious in syphilis, another protozoan disease. Surely it is too soon to pronounce dogmatic opinions derived from a few months' work in these segregation camps. If the workers have been disappointed as a result of the high anticipations raised by Koch's statements, it only shows that they are not among those who discount such statements at their true value, and are not carried away by lurid reports in the lay press. In conclusion, I would like to be allowed to do justice to the work of another French chemist, Fourneau, who pointed out that atoxyl was identical with Bechamp's substance, as credit is often ascribed to Ehrlich for this discovery. Ehrlich and Bertlfeim's work consisted in showing the true constitution of the body, in that the arsenic atom is directly on the benzene ring. A similar result was obtained and published practically simultaneously by Moore, Nierenstein, and Todd.-I am, etc.,


For those concerned about energy use and greenhouse gases in the transport sector, virtually all trends are in the wrong direction -- in the US as well as in most other countries of the world: •Transit market share continues to drop, now accounting for less than 2% of passenger travel in the US; •vehicle use and ownership continues to set new records every year, with each licensed driver in the US now owning 1.1 vehicles and driving over 14,000 miles per year on average; •vehicles are getting larger and heavier every year; •fuel economy of new vehicles is worsening and is now at its lowest level in the US since the early 1980s; •GHG emissions from transportation are increasing at 2% per year in the US and at similar or higher rates in virtually all countries with expanding economies; •transportation accounts for an increasing share of increasing CO2 emissions virtually everywhere (increasing from 16.9% of worldwide total in 1971 to over 20% today). These trends are disturbing, but not unchangeable. Indeed, the potential for energy saving and greenhouse gas reduction in transportation is huge. The many strategies for doing so may be clustered into three groups: •reduce vehicle travel; •improve conventional vehicle technology; and •introduce advanced technologies and low-carbon fuels. All three are important. The first, reductions in vehicle travel, are desirable for a variety of reasons, and certainly merit strong support. But in terms of GHG reductions, technology-based strategies (the 2nd and 3rd strategies) are likely to be far more effective, especially in the US and probably in all OECD countries. Very large reductions are possible with improvements in conventional vehicle technology, and even greater reductions are possible with emerging electric-drive technologies and low-carbon fuels.


A systematic exploration of the vertices of a graph is the graph search problem. In this paper, we propose a new multiprocessor algorithm to solve the graph search problem. Our approach is to divide the work into three logical tasks, each carried out by a different group of processors. The first group processes the information of vertices. The second group balances the work-load among the first group of processors dynamically, and the third group processes the relationships among the vertices of the graph. They remove edges leading to processed vertices, thus eliminating the possibility of duplication of processing. Our proposed algorithm takes O(n/p+L) time using reconfigurable meshes with O(pl) processors, where n is the number of vertices, l the number of edges, and L is one plus the minimum distance of the furthest vertex from the start vertex. Our algorithm is faster than the parallel breadth-first search algorithm on a SIMD-SM-R model.


In order to model reasonably and flexibly the blood flow or perfusion in skeletal muscles with PET using H2 15O as tracer or radiopharmaceutical we introduce a new stochastic two-block - two-rate constants model with two new measurement equations. The stochastic two-block - two rate constants model utilizes the probability theory to describe the inherent variation of the muscle tissue with similarly distributed random rate constants realized uniquely for each volume element in tissue separately. The new measurement equations include both the uncertainty caused by the positron emission (Poisson noise) and the instrumentation or measurement noise (Gaussian) allowing an easy characterization of the radioactive decay and the deviation of the instrumentation noise. Applying maximum likelihood estimation procedure to the density function results in the volume-element-wise rate constant estimates providing the information about regional perfusion. In addition, we can calculate the estimator variation of the rate constant estimates and remove it resulting in the pure tissue heterogeneity, i.e. the variation of the volume-element-wise rate constants, the regional perfusion. We tested our model and methods by executing simulation runs. The simulations showed that we are able to estimate the unknown parameter values and their deviations the better the higher the time and spatial resolutions are. This is an expected phenomenon due to the consistency property of the maximum likelihood estimator


This article argues that, as a pedagogical practice, homework plays a critical, long-term role in the development of children's achievement motivation. Homework provides children with time and experience to develop positive beliefs about achievement, as well as strategies for coping with mistakes, difficulties, and setbacks. This article reviews current research on achievement motivation and examines the ways parents and teachers encourage or inhibit the development of adaptive beliefs about learning. It then integrates the literature on homework and achievement motivation and shows that homework's motivational benefits, while not named as such, have been in evidence for some time. Finally, the article argues that homework is a vital means by which children can receive the training they need to become mature learners.


For the first time, a facile calcination method derived from the resorcinol and formaldehyde reaction was used to prepare monodisperse, carbon doped single crystal TiO2 nanorod spheres instead of the conventional hydrothermal method. The spheres are made of single crystal TiO2 nanorods with a large percentage (95%) of rutile (110) facets, which show an interesting hierarchical structure, favoring the improvement of photocatalytic activity. The TiO2 nanorod spheres exhibit a higher photodegradation ability of AO 7 and phenol in comparison to commercial TiO2 P25. In a methanol–water sacrificial reagent system in the presence of Cu2+, the TiO2 nanorod spheres demonstrate strong ability to simultaneously recover Cu2+ and generate H2 under UV light irradiation. Because of the comprehensive effects from its uniform exposure of highly active (110) facets, carbon doping, better light absorbing ability, larger specific surface area, and suppression of the recombination of electrons and holes, the TiO2 nanorod spheres display a higher H2 generation rate than most already reported semiconductor catalysts. More importantly, the TiO2 nanorod spheres are promising for clean energy generation and contaminant elimination owing to the fact they can be facilely prepared in a large-scale manner for practical applications.


Purpose: Cancer immunotherapy, such as vaccination, is an increasingly successful treatment modality, but its interaction with chemotherapy remains largely undefined. Therefore, we explored the mechanism of synergy between vaccination with synthetic long peptides (SLP) of human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) and cisplatin in a preclinical tumor model for HPV16. Experimental Design: SLP vaccination in this preclinical tumor model allowed the elucidation of novel mechanisms of synergy between chemo- and immunotherapy. By analyzing the tumor immune infiltrate, we focused on the local intratumoral effects of chemotherapy, vaccination, or the combination. Results: Of several chemotherapeutic agents, cisplatin synergized best with SLP vaccination in tumor eradication, without requirement for the maximum-tolerated dose (MTD). Upon SLP vaccination, tumors were highly infiltrated with HPV-specific, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα)- and interferon-γ (IFNγ)–producing T cells. Upon combined treatment, tumor cell proliferation was significantly decreased compared with single treated and untreated tumors. Furthermore, we showed that TNFα strongly enhanced cisplatin-induced apoptotic tumor cell death in a JNK-dependent manner. This is consistent with upregulation of proapoptotic molecules and with enhanced cell death in vivo upon combined SLP vaccination and cisplatin treatment. In vivo neutralization of TNFα significantly reduced the antitumor responses induced by the combined treatment. Conclusion: Taken together, our data show that peptide vaccination with cisplatin treatment leads to decreased tumor cell proliferation and TNFα-induced enhanced cisplatin-mediated killing of tumor cells, together resulting in superior tumor eradication. Clin Cancer Res; 21(4); 781–94. ©2014 AACR.


The objective of this study was to evaluate phenotypic diversity in the alfalfa germplasm collections using multivariate analysis to examine the extent of genetic diversity and contribution of selected characters to the total diversity and finally to select the most promising clusters/populations for further breeding work. Forty alfalfa populations/cultivars of different geographical origin were evaluated for 12 agro-morphological characters during two consecutive years. The populations/ cultivars were grouped into six clusters. In most cases populations/cultivars within clusters were not associated with their geographical origin. Intercluster distances were larger than the intracluster ones. This research revealed a broad phenotypic diversity within and between the alfalfa germplasm collections. The following characters contributed most to the total phenotypic diversity: dry matter yield in the first production year, plant height and length of central leaflet. Based on the mean value of the evaluated characters and determined distances between clusters, the most promising populations/cultivars belong to the clusters IV and V. Selected populations/cultivars could be considered as a valuable genetic material for the yield and quality improvement of alfalfa in our breeding programme.


A parallel distributed scheme is presented for coding random patterns generated via iteration of contraction mappings. The scheme is implemented by a decentralized computational process on a distributed parameter system. The distributed parameter system generates a representation of missing probability for attractor as the basis of design of contraction mappings. The local minimals of missing probability is extracted and aggregated as the decentralized representation of contraction mappings. The coding scheme is verified through computer simulation.


While the effect of patch area on economic defendability has attracted considerable attention, there has been little research on patch shape. In addition, few studies have investigated the effects of resource defense from the perspectives of both defenders and intruders. Hence, I manipulated food patch shape independent of patch area (square, 13.6 x 13.6 cm; rectangular, 46.5 x 4.0 cm; elongated, 93.0 x 2.0 cm) and group size (three, six, twelve fish) in a 3 X 3 factorial design. I tested the predictions that the frequency of aggression, degree of resource monopolization and size variation within groups would decrease as patch perimeter and group size increased. As predicted, with increasing patch perimeter the frequency of aggression and the degree of resource monopolization decreased, but there was no change on growth depensation (size variability). Increasing the number of fish decreased the frequency of aggression, degree of resource monopolization, leading to less size variation within groups. My study is one of the first factorial studies to manipulate the actual perimeter of the food patch to show that increasing the patch perimeter had the same effect as increasing group size on the economic defendability of a patch. My study also demonstrated that it is important to the theory of resource defense to examine the foraging success of both the defenders and intruders.


Despite the great diversity of Tanith Lee's work - from science fiction short stories to epic historical novels - certain underlying themes and references consistently appear. This thesis examines Lee's applications of such themes and subtexts, arguing that her work is primarily Gothic regardless of which other genre coventions she uses. By offering a detailed assessment of her fairy tale retellings, this study demonstrates the prevalence of the themes, images and effects that have come to define the Gothic. Lee has developed several subversive narrative strategies that enable her to explore the relations between fairy tales and the Gothic, so the thesis focuses on the cultural significance of each genre's characteristic features in order to show how Lee manipulates conventions, and, in so doing, either reinforces or subverts societal norms.

Lee's adaptations are assessed alongside traditional fairy tale variations and compared with a number of key Gothic texts, and the cultural and historical influence of both genres is discussed. Each chapter also briefly reviews significant developments in Gothic and fairy tale scholarship over the last few decades, which allows a more complex and nuanced understanding of the relationship between the two genres, as well as providing a context for the analysis which follows. With few exceptions scholars have ignored this author, preferring instead less genre-driven fairy tale retellings. This limited inquiry has resulted in a deficit of criticism on Tanith Lee, and the exact nature of the relationship between the fairy tale and the Gothic is still not well articulated. This thesis attempts to address that omission by examining the ways in which tale types and genre motifs are reworked in Lee's fiction, and by engaging with an under-explored intersection of folklore and popular culture.


The expression of the angiotensinogen gene was studied in nephrectomized rats with and without adrenal glands. Angiotensinogen mRNA was measured by a sensitive radiodensitometric hybridization assay. Angiotensinogen mRNA levels in the liver increased 5 times by nephrectomy alone and 2.6 times by nephrectomy with adrenalectomy in acute experiments. Brain mRNA levels remained the same in both groups. When nephrectomy was performed 7 days after adrenalectomy, mRNA level increased by 50%. Angiotensinogen mRNA increased 5 times in the liver and 2.3 times in the brain by the administration of dexamethasone. An additive effect on liver angiotensinogen mRNA level was observed in nephrectomy with dexamethasone treatment. These results suggest that in nephrectomy, a synergetic action of glucocorticoids and other unknown factors increase hepatic angiotensinogen mRNA levels.


Web 2.0 tools and emerging technologies offer learners an abundance of information and resources. This brings more flexibility and choices for learners to better control their learning and benefit from the various available learning materials in different forms. This has resulted in new learning practices and environments in higher education which are more open, flexible, and student-centered. Personal Learning Environment (PLE) is such a technology-mediated and learner-controlled learning environment. This paper describes PLE as a set of learner-defined tools and services in the ecology of Web 2.0 used by participants in three open online courses. The aim of the study was to find out how participants create and utilize their PLEs for searching, aggregating, creating and sharing content and learning resources, and being engaged in online learning networks and communities. A particular interest was to explore how serendipity, as a by-product of these open online encounters, can occur. Data were gathered through an online survey, semi-structured interviews, and online artifacts. The findings suggest the serendipitous nature of content aggregation in a PLE and provide evidence of serendipity as a valuable and unexpected source for learning.


A proctocol to be administered by nurses for the management of dysuria, frequent urination, and vaginal discharge was validated. In a randomized, controlled trial, 146 women were seen by both nurse and physician and then assigned to either the nurse-proctocol treatment plan or the physician treatment plan. The clinical data collected by the nurse showed no important differences from the physicians' data. The protocol recommended that 89 percent of the patients be sent home without seeing the physician. The physicians agreed with the protocol-recommended disposition in all but two cases. All patients with complications were appropriately referred to the physician. In follow-up, more than 95 percent of both groups reported symptomatic improvement, and repeat urine cultures were negative. We conclude that the protocol can be accurately administered, makes sound recommendations, is safe, and efficiently saves physician time.


As a business processes management technique, process mining (PM) has been applied in many domains in the last decade. In healthcare, where most processes are complex, variable, dynamic, and multi-disciplinary in nature, application of this technique is growing, yet challenging. Therefore, this study aims to introduce a goal-driven process evaluation method based on PM for healthcare processes. The proposed method comprises the following steps: defining goals and questions, data extraction, data preprocessing, log and pattern inspection, PM analysis and generating answers to questions, evaluating results, and initiating proposals for process improvements. The proposed method was applied in a case study on the surgery process of a university hospital in Turkey, which revealed for quantitative insights into the process. Bottlenecks and deviations that were crucial for determining measures (e.g., data and performance information) were identified to improve the efficiency of the surgery process. Our initial experience using the proposed method shows that it has potential for initiating process improvements by guiding the use of PM techniques in the healthcare domain.


Abstract The enemy release hypothesis (ERH) attributes the success of some exotic plant species to reduced top‐down effects of natural enemies in the non‐native range relative to the native range. Many studies have tested this idea, but very few have considered the simultaneous effects of multiple kinds of enemies on more than one invasive species in both the native and non‐native ranges. Here, we examined the effects of two important groups of natural enemies–insect herbivores and soil biota–on the performance of Tanacetum vulgare (native to Europe but invasive in the USA) and Solidago canadensis (native to the USA but invasive in Europe) in their native and non‐native ranges, and in the presence and absence of competition. In the field, we replicated full‐factorial experiments that crossed insecticide, T. vulgare–S. canadensis competition, and biogeographic range (Europe vs. USA) treatments. In greenhouses, we replicated full‐factorial experiments that crossed soil sterilization, plant–soil feedback, and biogeographic range treatments. We evaluated the effects of experimental treatments on T. vulgare and S. canadensis biomass. The effects of natural enemies were idiosyncratic. In the non‐native range and relative to populations in the native range, T. vulgare escaped the negative effects of insect herbivores but not soil biota, depending upon the presence of S. canadensis; and S. canadensis escaped the negative effects of soil biota but not insect herbivores, regardless of competition. Thus, biogeographic escape from natural enemies depended upon the enemies, the invader, and competition. Synthesis: By explicitly testing the ERH in terms of more than one kind of enemy, more than one invader, and more than one continent, this study enhances our nuanced perspective of how natural enemies can influence the performance of invasive species in their native and non‐native ranges.


Research Summary: Much of the research on corporate collective action to manage common pool resources is focused on coordinated actions, such as voluntary programs, rather than collaborative actions, such as technology sharing. In this article, we examine inductively the collective actions taken by a consortium of 12 oil sands companies to address three environmental issues of different scale. We identified a set of organizing rules that determined whether the relationship among industry members would be collaborative or competitive, and found that the organizing rules for collaborative collective action were more effective for smaller scale issues (i.e., tailings ponds and water) than the larger scale issue (i.e., greenhouse gas emissions). Our findings contribute to research on the competitive dynamics of collaborating with competitors and on industry self-regulation. Managerial Summary: Many environmental issues, such as climate change, water quality, and contaminated land, are caused by the overexploitation of commonly shared natural resources. Firms will often overuse resources because their cost of use is less than the benefit that accrues. In Alberta's oil sands, 12 of the major oil sands operators, all competitors, have agreed to collaborate by sharing technology, which goes against the received wisdom of competition. This multiparty collaboration among competitors, while still relatively rare, is becoming increasingly commonplace. In this article, we outline the rules that allow this collaboration to flourish. Our most important finding is that the rules are shaped by the scale of the issue being managed, not the size of the collaboration.