DNA mismatch repair (MMR) is a critical genome-maintenance system. It ensures genome stability by correcting mismatches generated during DNA replication, suppressing homologous recombination, and inducing apoptosis in response to severe DNA damage. As a result, defects in MMR lead to genome-wide mutations and susceptibility to both hereditary and sporadic cancer syndromes. The hallmark of cancer cells defective in MMR is their ability to display frequent instability in simple repetitive DNA sequences, a phenomenon called microsatellite instability (MSI). However, only ~70% of the MSI-positive tumors have identifiable MMR gene mutations, indicating that additional factor(s) are responsible for the MSI phenotype in the remaining 30% MSI-tumors.
We demonstrate here that phosphorylation of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), an MMR component required for the initiation and resynthesis steps of the repair reactions, blocks in vitro MMR. We found that nuclear extracts derived from colorectal cell lines containing high levels of phosphorylated PCNA are not only defective in MMR, but also inhibitory to MMR activity in HeLa extracts. To determine if PCNA phosphorylation inhibits MMR, several PCNA isoforms that mimic phosphorylated or non-phosphorylated PCNA were examined for their effects on MMR activity. We show that all phosphorylated PCNA mimics block MMR at the initiation step but MMR was not affected by the non-phosphorylated mimetic PCNA. In vitro gap-filling experiments reveal that the phosphorylated PCNA induces a mutational frequency several fold higher than non-phosphorylated PCNA. Since PCNA has been shown to interact with MMR initiation factors MutSα and MutLα, we examined the interactions of phosphorylated PCNA with these two initiation factors. Interestingly, PCNA phosphorylation reduces the PCNA-MutSα interaction, but not the PCNA-MutLα interaction. Since PCNA is proposed to transfer MutSα to the mismatch site, the simplest explanation of the result is that PCNA phosphorylation inhibits MMR by blocking MutSα-mismatch binding activity. Taken together, our results reveal that PCNA phosphorylation induces genetic instability by inhibiting MMR at the initiation step and by promoting DNA polymerase-catalyzed mis-incorporations. This study provides a novel mechanism by which posttranslational modifications inhibit MMR, leading to genome instability and tumorigenesis.
A second part of the study is to determine MMR function of several MutLα mutants associated with relapse leukemia patients. One of the mutants contains a phenylalanine99 to leucine substitution in the MLH1 subunit of MutLα. We show that this mutation inhibits MMR by blocking both the ATPase activity and the endonuclease activity associated with MutLα, supporting the importance of the MutLα ATPase and the endonuclease activities in MMR.


Software process improvement has been on the agenda of both academics and practitioners, with the Capability Maturity Model as its de facto method. Many companies have invested large sums of money in improving their software processes, and several research papers document SPI's effectiveness. SPI aims to create more effective and efficient software development and maintenance by structuring and optimizing processes. SPI assumes that a well-managed organization with a defined engineering process is more likely to produce products that consistently meet the purchaser's requirements within schedule and budget than a poorly managed organization with no such engineering process. We discuss about the measuring the ROI in software process improvement.


On two acrylic copies of a cranium with mandibular prognathy, the mandible was moved back by sagittal cut of the ascending ramus. It is shown that with both methods of immobilization, circumferential and screw-osteosynthesis, the segments cause a change in the position of the condyles. There are no clear advantages or disadvantages of either method. Observed cases of circumferential wiring showed practically no arthrotic symptoms after 2-10 years, which indicated that the t.m. joint has a large degree of adaptability. However, such a statement can be made definitely only after an observation time of 20-30 years.


Long term evolution (LTE) is the fastest-deployed mobile broadband technology driven by demand for improved user experience. It has distinguished itself compared to other mobile broadband technologies in its ability to handle the growth of video traffic that has become an important part of user's mobile broadband experience. Growing trend of video consumption implies that that media-related system influence factors (SIFs) should be identified and well-understood in order to determine how they affect the user's quality of experience (QoE). Therefore, this paper aims to provide a deeper understanding of media-related SIFs and their impact on QoE for video streaming. Experimental study has included two phases, i.e., H.265/ high efficiency video coding (HEVC) coded video streaming emulation over LTE network and end-user survey for collecting mean opinion score (MOS). Results obtained from statistical analysis imply that there exists strong and statistically significant impact of individual media-related SIFs and their interaction on QoE for video streaming.


This bird is known also as the stinking pheasant, anna, stinking anna, and van Batenburg's turkey — after a Dutch Governor of years gone by. It gets the name »stinking' from the peculiar smell, like fresh cow-dung, that comes from its crop or stomach or both, for when the skin is preserved it possesses no smell, and the body when the inside has been removed is quite sweet. Notwithstanding the possibility of removing the smell by removing the bowels, it is never used as food; consequently it passes its time in peace and plenty. It is found in only one place in this country viz. the Berbice River and one of its branches, the Oanje Creek, living together in great numbers on the low bushes that border these waters, especially on a "pimpler" Dreponocarpus lunatus) that stretches its branches over the muddy water and rises and falls with the tide. Any day in the year they can be seen sitting side by side like love-birds on the branches of this shrub or on the low trees behind them. They fly from twig to twig and although I have seen these birds every day for the last six years, I have never seen them extend their flight beyond twenty or thirty yards at one time, and never once saw them on the ground. This inactivity is not the result of inability, for their wings are well developed, and their legs and feet are strong. They never leave the river side, and their food is the leaves and seeds of this "pimpler" and of a plant that grows in the water, a kind of gigantic cuckoo pint, called at home "lords and ladies", in this country called »Mucca-Mucca" ( Caladium arborescens). I may mention in passing that there is not a puddle of water in the Colony in which this Caladium is not found, and Dreponocarpus lunatus fringes every river and creek in the country.


This thesis is a study on movement. Movement is defined as the relational and transitional activity of ecologies of experience that can not be recognized in legible categories of subject and object nor knower and known. Movement is what happens at the interstices of what can be recognized in clear and distinct sense perception. Through these indistinct relations and transitions in return, movement generates perceptions, environments, and bodies. The disciplines lending techniques to study the indistinct quality of movement are those of process and affect philosophy, somatic practices, and choreography. These carry conceptual and practical techniques to live the research immanently, without establishing a distance from experience that would return to a clear and distinct perspective.

This lived research is done through three separated but mutually included scenarios: the 'intervals of perception', the 'architectures of experience', and the 'schizosomatics'. Every scenario researches while it gives shape to techniques: the interstices of perception, the emergent architectures of the ecologies of experience, and transversal modes of embodiment.

If this study were to be a proposition for certain questions, it can be said, retrospectively, that the questions would be the following ones: assuming there are ontogenetic power operations shifting the way in which the relational and transitional movements emerge to generate perceptions, environments, and bodies, could these techniques shaped be of help to those movements that are less capacitated to emerge? And secondly: assuming that today's theories of perception —influenced by the separation between the 'conceptual' and the 'physical' (rationalism, empiricism) and also influenced by the internalization of experience inside a distinct category of the human (phenomenology)— give fewer chances to register the ontogenetic operations in movement, can this study offer an alternative philosophical frame to register emergent power?


The diffusion-limited and amine-facilitated plutonium (IV) ion permeation from nitric acid media across an immobilized liquid membrane (ILM) has been investigated to quantify the membrane carrier type effects on its transport. Amberlite LA-2 (Amb LA-2), Trilaurylamine (TLA) and Aliquat-336 (Ali 336) have been tested as the carriers as typical examples of secondary, tertiary and qllateniary amines, respectively. After suitable dilutions, the receptors have been immobilized on a microporous polymeric support and are held within the pores by capillary forces. Both the· composition' of the organic mem brane solvents and type of amine carrier have a marked effect on plutonium permeation. Recovery of Pu steadily increases' from secondary to quaternary amines and its permeability across IIM follows the order: quaternary> tertiary> secondary. More than 95% pertractioILof Pu(IV) is easily accomplished using tertiary or quaternary amine as ionophore across IIM in single run employing a feed solution containing about 5 mg/L Pu in 4 M nitric acid solution while the receiving phase was 0.1 M NH20H.HCI prepared in 0.3 M HNO 3' On the other hand, plutonium permeation is found to plummet to about 49% on employing secondary amine, Amb LA-2, as the carrier.


Frequency-resolved photon correlations have proven to be a useful resource to unveil nonlinearities hidden in standard observables such as the spectrum or the standard (color-blind) photon correlations. In this manuscript, we analyze the frequency-resolved correlations of the photons being emitted from an optomechanical system where light is nonlinearly coupled to the quantized motion of a mechanical mode of a resonator, but where the quantum nonlinear response is typically hard to evidence. We present and unravel a rich landscape of frequency-resolved correlations, and discuss how the time-delayed correlations can reveal information about the dynamics of the system. We also study the dependence of correlations on relevant parameters such as the single-photon coupling strength, the filtering linewidth, or the thermal noise in the environment. This enriched understanding of the system can trigger new experiments to probe nonlinear phenomena in optomechanics, and provide insights into dynamics of generic nonlinear systems.


The photoinitiated ring-opening cationic polymerization of a monofunctional benzoxazine, 3-phenyl-3,4-dihydro-2H-1,3-benzoxazine, with onium salts such as diphenyliodonium hexafluorophosphate and triphenylsulfonium hexafluorophosphate as initiators was examined. The structures of the polymers thus formed were complex and related to the ring-opening process of the protonated monomer either at the oxygen or nitrogen atoms. The phenolic mechanism also contributed, but its influence decreased with decreasing monomer concentration. Thermal properties of the polymers were also investigated by differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis.


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Abstract Background Rodent species are well known for their potential as hosts and reservoirs for various zoonotic diseases. Studies on blood parasite infection in small mammals focused on urban cities in Peninsular Malaysia and have been conducted over the years. In contrast, there are information gaps related to molecular detection of blood parasites in urban areas of Sarawak that are associated with veterinary importance and zoonotic spillover potential. Increasing prevalence and transmission of blood parasite diseases is the most crucial public health issue, particularly in developing urban areas of Sarawak. Therefore, molecular identification studies were performed to determine and identify the blood parasites infecting rodents. Methods A total of 40 rodent blood samples were analysed for blood parasite infection and a combined approach using polymerase chain reaction‐based technique, and traditional microscopic examination (blood smear test) was conducted. 18s rRNA (Plasmodium spp.) and cytochrome b (Hepatocystis spp.) gene marker were used to identify the blood parasites. Results Note that 67.5% (n = 27) blood samples were tested negative for blood parasites, while 32.5% (n = 13) blood samples collected were infected with at least one protozoan parasite. Out of 13 samples, 69.2% (n = 9) were detected with Hepatocystis sp., while 15.4% (n = 2) were positive with Hepatozoon ophisauri. Two individuals had multiple infections from both species. No Plasmodium spp. have been detected throughout this study using universal primer (targeted Plasmodium spp.); however, different parasite species which were H. ophisauri were detected. Conclusion Although there is no evidence of human infection from H. ophisauri and Hepatocystis sp. detected from the study, the data show the host species are heavily infected, and the information is essential for future prevention of zoonotic outbreaks and surveillance programmes. Therefore, it is suggested that the surveillance programmes should be incorporated in targeted areas with a high risk of disease emergence.


In sensor networks, the bad working conditions make nodes have high failure probabilities, so the routing algorithms must be able to recover from failure of nodes. And multipath is a method-to resolve it. In this paper, we propose a new algorithm to construct multipath based on TBF (trajectory-based forwarding) which was proposed as a middle-ground between source-based routing and greedy forwarding techniques. And it is very easy to construct disjoint or braided multipath. And we also evaluate the performance in isolated or patterned failure mode


ABSTRACT It is almost a decade since family practice has been recognized and legitimized by the profession, and predictably, there is much confusion as to what this "new specialty" is. A unique postulate of this movement is the mandatory continuing medical education. As a result, there has emerged a plethora of material attempting to define, describe, interpret, or specify the discipline. Most unfortunately, much of the material has been produced by those either least sympathetic to the objectives of the family physicians or most unaware of their needs.Topics in Family Practice is an example of apparently well-intentioned but misguided effort. The presentations cover an array of topics in medicine, pediatrics, dermatology, psychiatry, obstetrics and gynecology, neurology, and surgery. Although the average length of the 41 articles is eight to ten pages, the shortest, "Practical Psychopharmacology of Antipsychotic Drugs," is a bare 1 1/4 pages. The longest, "Surgical Hypertension in Family


The authors present the results of prospective study of the blood serum lipids (total cholesterol, triglycerides, lipoproteid fractions) in 132 patients with diabetes mellitus aged from 35 to 60 years and in 47 healthy persons of the same age (control group). The majority of the patients examined (60.6%) showed hyperlipidemia; types II and IV were most frequent. An increase in the content of the probeta-lipoproteid fraction and hypertriglyceridemia were mostly encountered in patients with macroangiopathies, particularly in the presence of adiposity. There was revealed no significant relationship between the frequency of hyperlipidemia and the severity of diabetes mellitus. However, the most distinct lipid disturbances were found in the patients with the disease of moderate severity. This was apparently connected with the prevalence in this group of persons with an excessive weight. As revealed, the incidence of hyperlipidemia rose on account of increased level of both total cholesterol and of triglycerides (with a tendency to their greater content in women).


The microfinance programme is largely deemed to be a mechanism aimed at reducing poverty particularly in developing countries. The prevalence of poverty is considered to have a negative effect on the health of an economy as well as the wellbeing of its people. Thus, this thesis investigates microfinance provision and its poverty reducing impact. In particular this study sought to investigate the relationships between microfinance provision and the wellbeing of the family including the agricultural activities of the borrowers. In this thesis, poverty is conceptualised from the perspective of "capability deficit". Thus, the wellbeing of the family is considered to have been improved as a consequence of an increase in its capability. This thesis begins with a review of the state of knowledge within the domain of extant microfinance literature that focuses mainly on the effect of microfinance on poverty reduction. The empirical study of this thesis is based on 320 structured questionnaire responses from microfinance farmer borrowers. 10 semi-structured interviews were carried out with the microfinance loan officers and 40 semi-structured interviews were conducted with the service users. The study findings suggest that there is a significant relationship between microfinance provision and positive effect on the wellbeing of the microfinance clients and their families as well as their agricultural activities. The research finds that, microfinance clients' perception of poverty focus significantly on maintaining a reliable source of income and the ability to meet essential family needs. The findings also show that, the selection of members into groups based on personal relation and trust as an embedded feature of group formation to hedge against moral hazard problems, suggests the likelihood of exclusion from benefiting from microfinance loans. The outcomes of this empirical study contribute significantly to the wider microfinance literature that shows microfinance leads to a positive effect on the holistic livelihood of poor service users (Hulme and Mosley, 1996; Armendariz de Aghion and Morduch, 2005; Adjei, et al., 2008). Moreover, the thesis provides significant methodological and theoretical contribution to the research in microfinance in both developed as well as developing economies.


The present study evaluates the possible effect of potentised homeopathic medicine, Arsenicum album and Baryta carbonica on germination, growth and photosynthetic activity of pea seedlings ( Pisum sativum L .). The seedlings of pea were treated with three different centesimal potencies (8CH, 32CH, 202CH) of both the medicine. With the increase in potency, the morphological parameters viz. length of plumule and radical increased. The photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll, carotinoids, and pheophytin) also showed the similar result. Hence, a stimulating effect was observed on growth as well as photosynthetic activity at the higher potency as compared to untreated one even after the dilution of drug beyond the Avogadro's number.


Introduction: An improved highly sensitive and robust reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for simultaneous determination of atazanavir (ATV), efavirenz (EFV), lopinavir (LPV), and ritonavir (RTV) along with carvedilol (IS) as an internal standard. Materials and Methods: Shimadzu HPLC system (Tokyo, Japan) containing a LC10AD and LC10 ADvp with UV detector (SPD-10A) and Thermo Hypersil C18 column was used in chromatography. The mobile phase comprising acetonitrile (ACN): 10 mM potassium di-hydrogen orthophosphate (55:45) delivered at a flow rate of 1 mL/min and monitored at a wavelength of 210 nm. The method developed was optimized using central composite design, a chemometric tool to optimize the factors (ACN, buffer concentration, and flow rate) effecting and interacting with the responses (k1, Rs2,1, Rs3,2, and tR5). Results and Discussion: The analysis time is 5.8 (<6 min). The method developed was validated according to ICH Q2 (R1) guidelines and confirmed the linearity, accuracy, precision, and specificity. The LOD and LOQ were found to be 1.065 and 3.227 ng/mL for ATV; 0.850 and 2.576 ng/mL for RTV; 0.744 and 2.255 ng/mL for LPV; and 0.315 and 0.955 ng/mL for EFV. Conclusion: The method developed is of highly sensitivity and aptness of the method was recognized by applying to three different combinations of commercially available formulations, confirmed applicability for routine analysis.


A Multi-point Approximation Method (MAM) coupled with adjoint is presented to increase the efficiency of a modern jet-engine fan blade. The study performed makes use of Rolls-Royce in-house suite of codes and its discrete adjoint capability. The adjoint gradient is used along with MAM to create a Design Of Experiment to enhance the optimization process. A generalized Free-Form Deformation (FFD) technique is used to parametrize the geometry, creating a design space of 180 parameters. The resulting optimum blade at design conditions is then evaluated at off-design conditions to produce the characteristic curve, which is compared with real test data. Finally, a preliminary Active Design Subspace (ADS) representing the fan efficiency is created to evaluate the robustness of the objective function in respect to the most significant design parameters. The ADS allows to collapse a large design space of the order of hundreds parameters to the few most important variables, measuring their contribution. This map is valuable in many respects to the fan designers and manufacture engineers to identify any ridges where the performance may deteriorate rapidly, hence a more robust part of the design space can easily be visualized and identified.


The lipid metabolism of schistosomes is characterized by several intriguing adaptations to a parasitic way of living. The surface of the parasite consists of two closely apposed phospholipid bilayers, a structure unique to blood flukes. Schistosomes do not synthesize fatty acids de novo, but are able to modify fatty acids, which they obtain from the host, by chain elongation. Here we present evidence that schistosomes are capable of another type of fatty acid modification, resulting in the formation of 5-octadecenoic acid [C18:1(5)]. This highly unusual fatty acid, which is absent in the blood of the host, was shown to be almost exclusively located in the outer membrane complex of the schistosome. Within these membranes, it was almost exclusively present in one molecular phospholipid species, 1-palmitoyl-2,5-octadecenoyl phosphatidylcholine [C16:0-18:1(5)PtdCho]. Apart from dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine, this was the most abundant phosphatidylcholine species in the outer membrane complex. The specific synthesis by the schistosome of C18:1(5) and the highly specific localization of this fatty acid to the tegumental membranes suggest an important tegument-mediated role for this lipid.


Abstract Fertilizers are among major contributors to the production of aboveground and belowground biomass. Soil organic carbon (SOC) concentration is an important factor affecting crop productivity in semiarid clayey soils of low fertility. A long-term experiment was established in 1998 on a Vertisol in the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, to assess the effects of four rates of application of inorganic phosphorus (P) fertilizers (0, 50, 100, and 200 kg P2O5 ha−1) on soil bulk density (&rgr;b), carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) concentrations, SOC and N pools, C and N sequestration rate, aggregate fractions, water-stable aggregates, and the mean weight diameter (MWD). Thus, disturbed and undisturbed soil samples were collected from the 0- to 15-cm depth after wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) harvest in June 2010 to analyze soil properties. Increase in the rate of application of P fertilizers significantly increased &rgr;b and reduced porosity (%). The SOC concentration was significantly more in the treatment receiving 200 kg P2O5 ha−1 than in the control. The carbon-nitrogen ratio was less than 10 in control and greater than 10 in high P fertilizer treatments. Total amount and rate of C and N sequestration increased with increase in the rate of application of P fertilizers. The mean rate (kg C ha−1 y−1) of C sequestration was −110.9 for control and 556.9 for the highest rate of P fertilizer. Increase in fertilizer rate also significantly increased the rate (kg N ha−1 y−1) of N sequestration, which was −0.21 for control and 28.9 for the highest rate of P fertilizer treatment. The SOC concentrations differed among aggregate-size fractions, which were greater in 0.5- to 2.0-mm aggregate size than those in the fraction of less than 0.25 mm. Greater SOC concentrations were observed in 1- to 2-mm and 0.5- to 1-mm size fractions than in fractions of less than 0.25 mm. Concentrations of C and N decreased significantly with decrease in aggregate size of less than 0.25 mm. There was a general trend of increase in water-stable aggregates and MWD with increase in application of P fertilizer. The highest MWD (1.81 mm) was observed in the high P rate and lowest (1.36 mm) in the control. Macroaggregates were more enriched in C and N than microaggregates. The mean rate of SOC sequestration with 200 kg P2O5 ha−1 treatment is ∼560 kg C ha−1 y−1. The effects of long-term P fertilizer application on C and N sequestration finding(s) of from this study have not been previously observed.


Objectives To provide estimates of the global burden of disease attributable to non-optimal blood pressure by age and sex for adults aged ≥ 30 years, by WHO subregion. Methods Estimates of attributable burden were made using population impact fractions, which used data on mean systolic blood pressure levels, disease burden [in deaths and/or disability-adjusted life years (DALYs)] and relative risk corrected for regression dilution bias. Estimates were made of burden attributable to a population distribution of blood pressure with a mean systolic blood pressure of greater than 115 mmHg. Results Globally, approximately two-thirds of stroke and one-half of ischaemic heart disease were attributable to non-optimal blood pressure. These proportions were highest in the more developed parts of the world. Worldwide, 7.1 million deaths (approximately 12.8% of the global total) and 64.3 million DALYs (4.4% of the global total) were estimated to be due to non-optimal blood pressure. Overall approximately, two-thirds of the attributable burden of disease occurred in the developing world, approximately two-thirds in the middle age groups (45-69 years) and approximately one-half occurred in those with systolic blood pressure levels between 130 and 150 mmHg. Conclusions The burden of non-optimal blood pressure is almost double that of the only previous global estimates, which is largely explained by the correction for regression dilution adopted in these analyses. High blood pressure is a leading cause of global burden of disease, and most of it occurs in the developing world.


Depression in elderly is a growing and a major public health problem in both the developing countries and developed world. It is anticipated to touch second place of DALYs (Disability Adjusted Life Years) by 2020 and single leading cause by 2030 (World Federation for Mental Health, 2012). It is also interesting to note that elderly populations above 55 years with depression have four times higher death rate than those without depression (WHO Report, 2001).  Elderly living in Pakistan experience significant level of physical, social and psychological health problems, leading to increased burden of chronic diseases, disabilities, and psychiatric illnesses. In Pakistan, depression is the most common psychiatric disorder among elderly population that cannot be neglected (Bhamani, Karim& Khan, 2013). The magnitude of the problem is much greater than what is being reported. In United States, the rate of prevalence of depression is high as 40% where as in Pakistan it is as high as 66% among elderly (Javed& Mustafa, 2013).  This paper will provide an in depth analysis on the major determinants of depression among elderly in Pakistani context. These determinants are the root cause of the issue among elderly and it includes genetic/biological factors, physical factors, and economic factors, sociocultural and political/organizational factors. Timely identification of these determinants and prospective workup and recommendations will be a rationale attempt towards improvement of physical and psychological wellbeing of geriatric population.


Disability discrimination permeates the American health insurance system. This discrimination is problematic because adequate health benefits at affordable rates are integral to a disabled person's full participation and integration in society. Civil rights laws for the disabled, like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and its predecessor, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Rehab Act), have done much to improve the lives of disabled Americans in the workplace and in public life. Yet in healthcare, particularly healthcare financing, civil rights efforts have been stunted.Civil rights in healthcare have failed for a number of reasons yet one reason is undoubtedly the fact that the courts, over thirty years ago, carved out health insurance benefits as uniquely beyond the scope of civil rights protections for the disabled. Specifically, in Alexander v. Choate, the Supreme Court adopted the "meaningful access" standard, holding that benefits providers need only offer people with disabilities access to their programs, but need not ensure that the programs offer them comparable benefits. For example, a civil rights claim that a disabled person was barred from buying the same health insurance plan as others might succeed. But a claim that the benefits themselves are discriminatory in some way, would not. Professor Bagenstos and others have argued that this access/content distinction renders disability rights protections ineffective for combating discrimination in health insurance.There has been much attention paid to how to eradicate discrimination in health insurance, but there will be no progress for the disabled so long as the access/content distinction stands. This Article argues that all of the tools to eradicate this harmful standard are now in place with the adoption of the ACA, and more importantly, Section 1557, the ACA's new health-specific civil right. Section 1557 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, sex, age, and disabilities by healthcare entities. This law is incredibly powerful simply as the first civil right to clearly extend to private insurance, but it also suggests a new vision of equality in health benefits, that goes beyond the doctrine of Choate. In reading Section 1557 with other provisions of the ACA, it is clear that the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Office of Civil Rights (OCR) and even Congress have made health benefits fair game for civil rights and antidiscrimination law, effectively overriding Choate. The rationales for the access/content distinction articulated by Choate no longer hold weight in a post-ACA healthcare world and the courts must follow suit. It is time, in the spirit of health reform and health-based civil rights, to challenge the notion that health insurance benefits are immune from antidiscrimination law. It is finally time to reintroduce civil rights law into health insurance.


This 16-part series features stories from sites of memory in Canada related to the Second World War. Conversation kits that include discussion questions and activities for students and the public, along with web links and ideas for additional resources are available for each story and accessible online.
 Please note, each vignette opens with 20 seconds of silence.


This work focuses on the diagnosis of degradation in concrete structures caused by the alkali-silica reaction (ASR): a chemical reaction between the cement and certain aggregates containing amorphous silica. The suitability of vibro-acoustic modulation (VAM), is investigated for the detection and localization of cracks caused by ASR. In a VAM test, the structural component is excited using two frequencies. The frequency modulation appears as sidebands around the higher (probing) frequency in the power spectral density (PSD) of the measured response in the neighborhood of the damage zone. A map of the magnitude of such sidebands can be used to detect and localize the damage. We conduct laboratory experiments on four concrete blocks with varying levels of reactive aggregates and different amounts of steel reinforcement, and show that VAM-based testing with optimized test parameters and suitable sensor density can potentially be used to detect and localize cracks in thick concrete structures.


This paper presents an experimental comparison study of human movement and presence detection in different environments using ultra-wide-band (UWB) M-Sequence radar. The benchmarking measurements are made in an anechoic chamber and repeated in an open office environment. The wave forms of the background noise and scattered amplitudes of a human body are measured and compared. The result is analyzed and discussed. A set of detection algorithms and filters which are developed to track the human movement and presence is presented and the tracking results in these two environments are compared to each other.


We estimated the effects of information avoidance and information seeking among parents of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) on age of diagnosis. An online survey was completed by 1,815 parents of children with ASD. Children of parents who self-reported that they had preferred "not to know," reported diagnoses around 3 months later than other children. Children of parents who raised concerns that they perceived as having been dealt with adequately reported diagnoses about 4 months earlier, but the children of parents who reported raising concerns repeatedly and felt that those concerns were dealt with inadequately were diagnosed over a year later. These findings suggest that failure of educational and healthcare professionals, in either substituting for parents who avoid information, or supporting those who seek information, can significantly delay the age of diagnosis.


BACKGROUND
Haemophagocytic syndrome (HPS) is a rare condition that has been documented in association with viral, bacterial, fungal and parasitic infections as well as a wide spectrum of malignant neoplasms and autoimmune diseases. Whereas HPS is a known cause of anaemia in HIV infection, its occurrence is uncommon. Its occurrence in pregnancy is even rarer and very few such cases have been reported.

METHODS
Full clinical evaluation and investigations including bone marrow aspiration cytology were done to elucidate the cause of the anaemia.

RESULTS
Evaluation revealed severe anaemia, increased serum bilirubin HIV positivity and a low CD4 count. The final diagnosis confirmed the case to be haemophagocytic syndrome in pregnancy. A 31-year-old primigravida presented at 21 weeks of gestation with a two-week history of fever, jaundice and abdominal pain. She responded to treatment.

CONCLUSION
Although a rare condition, this case highlights the importance of a high index of suspicion for the syndrome in HIV positive pregnant women with persistent Coombs negative haemolytic anaemia. Full recovery could be expected following prompt institution of HAART and delivery.


The combination of smart contracts with blockchain technology enables the authentication of the contract and limits the risks of non-compliance. In principle, smart contracts can be processed more efficiently compared to traditional paper-based contracts. However, current smart contracts have very limited capabilities with respect to normative representations, making them too distant from actual contracts. In order to reduce this gap, the paper presents an architectural analysis to see the role of computational artifacts in terms of various ex-ante and ex-post enforcement mechanisms. The proposed framework is assessed using scenarios concerning data-sharing operations bound by legal requirements from the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and data-sharing agreements.


The symmetry in a double-well potential of bistable systems subject to the action of a harmonic signal is broken. By variation of the amplitude of a harmonic signal, the asymmetry of bistable systems can be effectively controlled, the transitions probability between the two potential wells is increased and has influence on the effect of stochastic resonance in bistable systems. Numerical simulations show that adjusting the amplitude of a harmonic signal can produce stochastic resonance or make stochastic resonance more intense in bistable systems. It is a new method for stochastic resonance control.


Published as the companion piece to Observations upon Experimental Philosophy (1666), Margaret Cavendish's fantastical travelogue Blazing World (1666) dramatizes and interrogates many of the ideas that the author put forth in her philosophical writing. Cavendish might have chosen the travel genre as the companion piece to her treatise on natural philosophy for a variety of reasons. One primary motivation, this essay argues, is that travel has intriguing thematic and epistemological links to her organic-materialist theory of the universe. Indeed, travel is built into Cavendish's ontology: motion is a precondition for being and knowing. With this in mind, Blazing World's engagement with the voyage genre becomes particularly important. At the same time, Blazing World is more resolutely experimental than Observations in that it investigates the possible loopholes and ambiguities of her materialist theory of nature. Cavendish is fascinated by how material bodies compose ideas, and how ideas take material form, and it is some of her recurring questions about the materiality and mobility of thought that she explores in Blazing World.


The effects of flurprimidol, paclobutrazol, and ethephon treatment as soil drench on plant height and quantitative and other properties of native narcissus (Narcissus tazetta L.) plants grown in pots were investigated. When the plants were 7?10 cm tall, flurprimidol and paclobutrazol at 0, 1, and 2 mg/pot and ethephon at 0, 37.5, and 75 mg/pot were applied as soil drenches. The effects of plant growth retardant treatments on plant height, leaf length, time of flowering, number of flowers, and flower life were determined. In addition, quantitative measurements (leaf area ratio, specific leaf area, leaf thickness, leaf weight ratio, and stem weight ratio) were analyzed in native narcissus. When narcissus grown in pots in the greenhouse reached the sale stage, the plants were taken to the laboratory at 20 °C to evaluate the postproduction life and quality of pot plants. Flurprimidol, paclobutrazol, and ethephon shortened plant height. The shortest plant height was obtained from 2 mg/pot paclobutrazol; plant height was 5.42 cm, 65% shorter than the untreated controls. Chemical applications also shortened leaf length. The shortest leaf length (13.25 cm) was obtained from the 2 mg/pot paclobutrazol treatment. The chemical treatment decreased the leaf area ratio and specific leaf area, but increased the leaf thickness and leaf weight ratio compared to the control plants. The effects of treatments on plant height continued in laboratory (home-office) conditions after production. The shortest plant height (9.5 cm) was obtained from the 2 mg/pot paclobutrazol treatment, whereas the height of untreated control plants was 24.25 cm during the postproduction life of pot plants.


Algorithms for stabilizing the constrained systems are analyzed and designed based on model of the systems. Uncertainties of the model parameters will lead to the systems' instability. The problem caused by the parametric uncertainties is analyzed with an example in this paper, and then the robust algorithm is proposed for solving such problem. With the robust algorithm proposed in this paper, the bounded parametric uncertainties on input matrix are transferred to external disturbance, and then the problems caused by the bounded parametric uncertainty on states matrix are solved with new formula for computing the level sets. Result of the simulation shows that by such algorithm, the system are stabilized and all the states can be steered to a small set and kept in it.


Improvement of the multiferroic properties of bismuth ferrite is essential for its practical application and commercialization in the growing field of spintronics. An unusual magnetic phase transition with the highest coercive field and excellent multiferroic behaviour has been observed in bismuth ferrite nanoparticles with an average size of 27 nm by proper substitution of bismuth (Bi3+) ions with europium (Eu3+) ions. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) result confirms that with up to 10% Eu substitution, the segregation of any phase other than BiFeO3 does not occur. A detailed structural analysis suggests that the substitution of Bi ions by Eu ions leads to lattice distortion and modification of the lattice parameters, micro-strain and crystallite size. The dc activation energy has been calculated from the Arrhenius relation and found to increase with an increase in Eu content. The dielectric permittivity of the sample increases with an increase in the concentration of Eu. Magnetic measurement depicts the exchange bias effect and surface phase transition near 100 K for the polycrystalline Eu-doped BiFeO3 (Bi1−xEuxFeO3) samples. The room temperature ferroelectric and magnetodielectric measurements indicate that the polarization and magnetodielectric constant increases significantly by virtue of Eu doping. All the observations suggested the materials to be potential candidates in the emerging field of spintronics.


We investigated effect of reducing thickness of TiN buffer layers on growth of the smooth GaN layers. The sputtered TiN layers with thicknesses in the range of 2 to 100 nm were deposited on sapphire substrates. The sputtered TiN layers were exposed NH3 + H2 mixed gas atmosphere at about 1000°C to enrich nitrogen concentration of the layers. GaN layers were deposited on the nitrogen-enriched TiN layer using a MOCVD method. Average grain size of the nitrogen-enriched TiN layer was minimized at the thickness of 5 nm. In the initial stages of GaN growth, density of GaN hexagons grown on the 5nm-thick TiN layers was the highest. The 2μm-thick GaN layers grown on the 5nm-thick TiN layers exhibited the smoothest surface. Thus, the 5nm thickness is believed to be the best thickness for the smooth GaN growth on the sapphire/TiN substrates.


The changes in aerosol physical properties were studied by applying Nanoparticle-Enhanced Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (NE-LA-ICP-MS). This approach was compared to conventional LA-ICP-MS method. Analyte signal enhancement was related to the particle number concentration of aerosol for three sizes of Au nanoparticles (NPs) applied on the metal sample surface in the form of droplets. The dependence of the number of generated particles on the laser fluence in the range from 0.5 to 10 J cm−2 was studied. A different shape of the particle size distribution (PSD) of NE-LA-ICP-MS and LA-ICP-MS aerosol was determined. The aerosol structure was additionally studied on filters using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Compared to LA-ICP-MS, NE-LA-ICP-MS produced a larger proportion of small particles (<30 nm), and was approaching the ideal monodisperse aerosol that is evaporated in ICP with a high efficiency. The measurements proved that NPs on the sample surface could influence the evaporation, condensation and coagulation processes in aerosol formation as well as the signal of analytes in ICP-MS.


Limited fresh water is a global problem that adversely affects crops, including young apple (Malus × domestica) trees. Innovative technologies will be needed to ensure tree survival and productivity. Recently, selected chemicals have been used to prepare plants for avoidance and recovery from water stress by a process termed priming. Two priming compounds, abscisic acid (ABA) and DL-β-aminobutyric acid (BABA) have been shown to confer plant protection against a range of biotic and abiotic stresses. Our objective was to determine the resistance to and recovery from dehydration of apple seedlings treated with s-ABA and BABA. Three greenhouse experiments were conducted in which combinations of s-ABA and BABA were applied as a root drench to one-year-old 'Royal Gala' apple trees and responses to dehydration were evaluated. Changes in leaf water potential (ψ(w)), stomatal conductance (g(s)), transpiration (E), leaf ABA and growth were measured during dehydration and rehydration. In two experiments, pretreatment with BABA reduced early morning E but BABA was not as effective as s-ABA in delaying dehydration-induced wilt of shoot tips. In another experiment during the second week without water both BABA- and s-ABA-treated trees had 42 to 62% higher leaf ψ(w), respectively, and 45% lower leaf ABA than unwatered controls. Higher leaf ψ(w) was not consistently associated with reduced gs and E suggesting that mechanisms other than increased stomatal resistance may provide drought resistance. Compared with control trees, there was nearly 80% more shoot growth following rewatering after dehydration in trees that were primed with BABA and s-ABA (1.0 mM each). Leaf senescence was more evident in s-ABA- than BABA-treated trees and, although growth resumed after dehydration, the amount of growth varied with concentration of the priming treatments. Both individual compounds provided dehydration protection to young apple trees but in combination they were not clearly superior to either compound alone.


Engineering ceramics feature resistance to high temperature, corrosion, wear and hot impact. However, it is difficult to machine this material in conventional machining methods because of its high hardness and brittleness as well as inconductivity, thus restricting its application area. In recent years, more and more importance has been attached to the new machining method of engineering ceramics, i.e. abrasive water-jet. Feature high efficiency and low cost, the method can be used to process the products of complex shape. However, abrasive water-jet machining of advanced ceramics is a very complex process. The effect of machining on brittle materials, and advanced ceramic materials in particular, have not yet been very well understood. The present research investigates the effect of abrasive water-jet machining on ceramics. The study will increase the general understanding of the machining phenomena for more successful application of abrasive water-jet machining on brittle materials.


Prevalence of depression in PD is estimated to range from 7% to 76%. The variation is largely attributed to the diversity of the populations under study, differences in the definition of depression, and the fact that some studies used point prevalence and other studies used monthly prevalence. Also, the prevalence of depression varies with fluctuations of cognitive status and other comorbidities that are an integral part of PD.


Resorcinarenes with three different quaternary ammonium headgroups were synthesized and evaluated for their ability to stabilize gold nanoparticles in organic and aqueous medium. Aqueous dispersions of citrate stabilized gold nanoparticles of dimensions up to 29 nm could be extracted into organic solvents by resorcinarenes functionalized with tetrapyridinium tetrabromide (1), tetratrimethylammonium tetrabromide (2), and tetratributylammonium tetrabromide (3). Such nanoparticles were characterized by TEM, EDS, UV-vis, and IR. Their long-term dispersion stability varied significantly and depended on the nature of the resorcinarene headgroup, and in particular nanoparticles extracted by resorcinarene 1 were stable for several weeks. Nanoparticles passivated by resorcinarenes 1 and 2 were also stable in the presence of thiourea for several hours in both aqueous and organic medium. This is notable as thiourea is known to result in the instantaneous aggregation of citrate stabilized nanoparticles. Remarkably nanoparticles stabilized by resorcinarenes 1 and 2 could be precipitated and redispersed in chloroform without any visible aggregation. The critical parameters controlling the extraction of the nanoparticles into the organic phase have also been evaluated. The resorcinarene surfactant mediated facile phase transfer of gold nanoparticles described here can be readily applied for the stabilization of other citrate stabilized mono- and bimetallic nanoparticles, thus providing opportunities to disperse and stabilize relatively larger nanoparticles in organic solvents using ionic surfactants opening up new applications.


With the continuous improvement of environmental protection requirements, the discharge of secondary fiber industry including waste water, gas and sludge were controlled more strictly. The toxicity studies on coated white board effluents of secondary fiber were carried out by using optimized photo bacteria method. The results showed that the value of EC50 for acute toxicity in coated white board effluents, which were produced from liners effluents and integrated effluents, were 85.50% and 89.77% respectively, reached the level of Moderately Toxic, by contraries from barrier coating effluents, was 157.57%, belong to Non-Toxic Class. Therefore, it should be pay more attention to the toxicity and toxicity emission load of coated white board effluents. Additionally, it can be seen from the analysis of organic compositions that key toxicant produced by liners effluents was diethyl phthalate. And there were no key toxicants of barrier coating effluents.


The aim of the current paper was to elucidate the influence of temperature and time on acrylamide formation and physico-chemical characteristics of bread. Additionally, the effect of asparaginase addition to bran was evaluated. With increasing baking time and temperature, the amount of acrylamide (µg kg⁻¹) increased. The results indicated that the acrylamide concentration in treated samples with asparaginase was significantly less than those without asparaginase treatment. Based on Pearson' test, it was found that there was a significant correlation between baking temperature and acrylamide concentration (R=0.99, P=0.025; and R=0.98, P=0.026 for the samples prepared by baking for 2.5 min and 3 min, respectively). The firmness of bread samples increased with increasing baking temperature (P>0.05), while asparaginase addition did not significant affect the textural characteristics of the final product. Breads baked at 320 °C for 3 min were more acceptable by the sensory panel in terms of their texture and chewiness, whereas the samples baked at 370 °C for 2.5 min had the lowest score in comparison to other evaluated samples.


It has been shown that high-frequency (HF) band power line communication (PLC), that is, the HomePlug 1.0 specification, is feasible for a low-voltage direct current (LVDC) smart grid (SG) system, where power electronics and low-voltage DC are applied to the electricity distribution. In this paper, the applicability of the latest HomePlug specification, Green PHY (GP), is studied within the LVDC PLC concept. Channel characteristics between 2-30 MHz in the HomePlug GP frequency band and noise in the channel from the terminals of the PLC couplers are measured. Furthermore, data transmission tests with HomePlug GP compliant modems are carried out in the LVDC laboratory setup and on the LVDC research site.


In this paper, we propose a new end-to-end model, called dual-discriminator conditional generative adversarial network (DDcGAN), for fusing infrared and visible images of different resolutions. Unlike the pixel-level methods and existing deep learning-based methods, the fusion task is accomplished through the adversarial process between a generator and two discriminators, in addition to the specially designed content loss. The generator is trained to generate real-like fused images to fool discriminators. The two discriminators are trained to calculate the JS divergence between the probability distribution of downsampled fused images and infrared images, and the JS divergence between the probability distribution of gradients of fused images and gradients of visible images, respectively. Thus, the fused images can compensate for the features that are not constrained by the single content loss. Consequently, the prominence of thermal targets in the infrared image and the texture details in the visible image can be preserved or even enhanced in the fused image simultaneously. Moreover, by constraining and distinguishing between the downsampled fused image and the low-resolution infrared image, DDcGAN can be preferably applied to the fusion of different resolution images. Qualitative and quantitative experiments on publicly available datasets demonstrate the superiority of our method over the state-of-the-art.


Background: Clinical laboratories are increasingly reporting estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) by using serum creatinine assays traceable to a standard reference material. Purpose: To review the performance of GFR estimating equations to inform the selection of a single equation by laboratories and the interpretation of estimated GFR by clinicians. Data Sources: A systematic search of MEDLINE, without language restriction, between 1999 and 21 October 2011. Study Selection: Cross-sectional studies in adults that compared the performance of 2 or more creatinine-based GFR estimating equations with a reference GFR measurement. Eligible equations were derived or reexpressed and validated by using creatinine measurements traceable to the standard reference material. Data Extraction: Reviewers extracted data on study population characteristics, measured GFR, creatinine assay, and equation performance. Data Synthesis: Eligible studies compared the MDRD (Modification of Diet in Renal Disease) Study and CKD-EPI (Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration) equations or modifications thereof. In 12 studies in North America, Europe, and Australia, the CKD-EPI equation performed better at higher GFRs (approximately >60 mL/min per 1.73 m 2 ) and the MDRD Study equation performed better at lower GFRs. In 5 of 8 studies in Asia and Africa, the equations were modified to improve their performance by adding a coefficient derived in the local population or removing a coefficient. Limitation: Methods of GFR measurement and study populations were heterogeneous. Conclusion: Neither the CKD-EPI nor the MDRD Study equation is optimal for all populations and GFR ranges. Using a single equation for reporting requires a tradeoff to optimize performance at either higher or lower GFR ranges. A general practice and public health perspective favors the CKD-EPI equation. Primary Funding Source: Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes.


This study was conducted to investigate the effects of salt stress on germination of six maize (Zea mays L.) cultivars (ADA-523, Bora, C-955, PR 3394, Progen 1150 and Trebbia). The degrees of salinity tolerance among these cultivars were evaluated at seed germination stage at six different salt concentrations (0, 50, 100, 150, 200 and 250 mM NaCl). The results showed that in all cultivars as the salt concentration increased, both germination percentage and germination index decreased significantly. Responses of cultivars to salt stress indicated differences. For all salt concentrations, C-955 had the highest germination percentage and germination index. Salt concentration decreased shoot and root dry weight. Bora and C-955 had the lowest reduction of shoot and root dry weight, respectively. Progen-1550 had the highest reduction of shoot and root dry weight. On the other hand, C-955 showed better results than the other cultivars in respect of salt tolerance index. The results showed that C-955 is the cultivar to be recommended for saline soils. Progen-1550 was more sensitive to salinity in this study.


With the advent of Internet and digital technology, social networks have become an integral part of everyone's life. With the rise of popular social media websites such as facebook, virtual online groups have been formed such as the Korean beauty products online resellers. These online resellers as a community of practice is a group of individuals who share the same objective, that is, to offer the best facial and skin care regimen and provide remedies to face and skin related problems by reselling Korean cosmetics and skin care products while providing a source of income to the members. In gathering information relevant to this research, a corpus of online posts and comments of the Korean beauty products online resellers group were collected and analyzed. This paper argues that Korean beauty products online resellers, as a community of practice, observes what Canagarajah (2013) calls as translingual practice which is evident in their online posts, comments and exchanges. Further, this paper also argues that the use of English in online communities such as the online resellers group has become 'hybridized' borrowing Schneider (2016) concept of hybridity.


With a prolonged enteral introduction indole alkaloids vincamine (5--20 mg/kg), vinervine (5 mg/kg) and serotonin (2 mg/kg) significantly lengthen the duration of the sex cycle through extending the estrus cycle (vincamine, vinervine and serotonin) and diestrus (serotonin). Without changing the weight of the uterus the studied alkaloids tend to significantly increase the weight of the ovaries and the number of follicles therein. In test with sexually mature castrated and also sexually immature (both alkaloids) and hypophysectomized (vincamine) animals these alkaloids fail to display any estrogenic action.


Syntactic complexity effects have been investigated extensively with respect to comprehension (e.g., Demberg & Keller, 2008; Gibson, 1998, 2000; Gordon et al., 2001, 2004; Grodner & Gibson, 2005; King & Just, 1991; Lewis & Vasishth, 2005; Lewis et al., 2006; McElree et al., 2003; Wanner & Maratsos, 1978). According to one prominent class of accounts (experience-based accounts; e.g., Hale, 2001; Levy, 2008; Gennari & MacDonald, 2008, 2009; Wells et al., 2009), certain structures cause comprehension difficulty due to their scarcity in the language. But why are some structures less frequent than others? In two elicited-production experiments we investigated syntactic complexity effects in relative clauses (Experiment 1) and wh-questions (Experiment 2) varying in whether or not they contained non-local dependencies. In both experiments, we found reliable durational differences between subject-extracted structures (which only contain local dependencies) and object-extracted structures (which contain nonlocal dependencies): Participants took longer to begin and produce object-extractions. Furthermore, participants were more likely to be disfluent in the object-extracted constructions. These results suggest that there is a cost associated with planning and uttering the more syntactically complex, object-extracted structures, and that this cost manifests in the form of longer durations and disfluencies. Although the precise nature of this cost remains to be determined, these effects provide one plausible explanation for the relative rarity of object-extractions: They are more costly to produce.


This paper proposes a framework for developing a national rural development policy in Australia. Some common relevant misconceptions are that rural Australia and rural Australians are peripheral to the national economy and the nation's future, that farmers and farming communities are the alpha and omega of rural Australia, and that whatever is best for the agricultural industry is also best for rural Australia as a whole. These misconceptions about rurality have resulted in public policies and programs that overlook the needs of the nonfarm population, the majority of Australia's rural population. Three major forms of government intervention--industry support policies and subsidies, government-supplied income for individuals, and social policies and programs--have not been sufficient to ensure a secure and prosperous rural future. The present rural crisis involves the radical decoupling of thP fate of primary industries from the fate of traditional primary producers; the unwillingness of government to seriously support rural Australia's latent economic diversity; and complacency that has allowed the long-standing combination of industrial and social policies/programs to function as a de facto rural development strategy. A new rural development policy should give priority to a growing rural population base, ensure that rural people and communities reap an equitable share of the rewards derived from rural resources, account for a growing and diversifying rural economic base, encourage a growing rural employment base, strive for improved quality of rural life, and develop stronger, more cohesive rural communities. Key alliances within and across rural communities, between rural communities and governments, between the public and private sectors, and across the urban-rural divide will be important in initiating activities involving empowerment, environment, entrepreneurship, and education. Contains 90 references. (LP)


The Arctic is more vulnerable to climate change than are mid latitudes. Therefore, palaeolimnological studies from the High Arctic are important in providing insights into the dynamics of the climate system. Here we present a multi‐proxy study from one of the world's northernmost lakes: Bliss Lake, Peary Land, Greenland. The early Holocene (10 850–10 480 cal. a BP) is characterized by increased erosion and gradually more marine conditions. Full marine conditions developed from 10 480 cal. a BP until the lake was isolated at 7220 cal. a BP. From its marine isolation at 7220 cal. a BP Bliss Lake becomes a lacustrine environment. Evidence from geochemical proxies (δ13C and total organic carbon) suggests that warmer conditions prevailed between 7220 and 6500 cal. a BP, corresponding to the Holocene thermal maximum, and from 3300 until 910 cal. a BP. From 850 to 500 cal. a BP colder climate conditions persisted. The transition from warmer to colder climate conditions taking place around 850 cal. a BP may be associated with the transition from the Medieval Warm Period to the Little Ice Age. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) with Thermal Energy Storage (TES) has the potential to realize grid parity. This can be achieved by operating CSP systems at temperatures above 700 °C to reach high thermal efficiencies (> 50%). However, operating CSP systems at elevated temperatures poses several problems, among which the design of solar receivers to handle increased thermal loads is critical. To this end, this work explores and optimizes various swirl-inducing internal fin designs for improving heat transfer in solar receiver tubes. These fin designs, in addition to enhancing the thermal performance of receiver tubes, are also capable of reducing temperature unevenness caused by nonuniform solar loads. This work optimizes the geometric parameters such as height and helical pitch of these fin designs by maximizing the Nusselt number with a constraint on the friction factor. The fin design optimization, however, is computationally intensive, often requiring hundreds of simulation call to the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model. To circumvent this problem, this work employs surrogate models to approximate the simulation outputs needed during the optimization.


Dogs were trained to remove a cup with meat to the head bent down to the feeder and hold the limb flexed during eating. At the early stage of learning, the stable innate head-forelimb coordination characteristic for untrained animals was manifest. The forelimb flexion was accompanied by anticipatory lifting of the bent head, and the following bending of the head led to an extension of the flexed forelimb. The opposite coordination, i.e., the lifting and holding of the forelimb when the head is bent down, was achieved only by training. The lesion of the motor cortex contralateral to the working forelimb in the trained dogs led to a prolonged disturbance of the simultaneous holding of the flexed forelimb and the head bent down. The lesion of the motor cortex did not affect the individual movements but disturbed their coordination. In the operated dogs the innate relationships between the head and forelimb movement recovered. The results support the previous finding that the lesion of the motor cortex led to recovery of the innate coordination transformed in the process of learning.


Abstract: The Avalon assemblage of Newfoundland, Canada contains abundant fossils of enigmatic soft-bodied Ediacaran organisms, many with remarkable preservation. One of the most numerically dominant groups of organisms in the assemblage is the Rangeomorpha, a frondose clade characterized by self-similar, repeating branching architecture known worldwide from rocks of Ediacaran age. Variations in branching characters and gross morphology have historically been used to divide this group, but there has been little consistency in taxonomic approach to the Rangeomorpha, concomitantly there are conflicting opinions that have resulted in some overlapping taxonomic diagnoses. Here we investigate one such taxonomic dispute, the Beothukis/Culmofrons problem. The two genera were recently synonymized into Beothukis based on the assertion that some characters were of different taxonomic rank than others. Subsequent debate has focused on which taxonomic characters displayed by the Rangeomorpha should be used for genus- and species-level subdivision. To test the validity of using continuous versus discrete characters in rangeomorph taxonomy we use a combination of morphometrics and statistical analysis to identify natural clusters within our specimen dataset which was collected from Beothukis sensu lato including material that was, until recently, attributed to Culmofrons. The results of the cluster assignment validates the differentiation between Beothukis mistakensis and Beothukis (Culmofrons) plumosa, but cannot—in isolation—be used to determine at what taxonomic rank that distinction should be made. We demonstrate a considerable degree of variation within Beothukis and Culmofrons, which has not yet been recorded for unifoliate rangeomorph taxa.


[1] We performed triaxial compressive creep tests to study water weakening of clinopyroxenite in the diffusion creep regime. All tests were carried out on fine-grained samples at confining pressures between 100 and 300 MPa at temperatures of 1321 to 1421 K for water-saturated and 1398 to 1508 K for anhydrous conditions. Samples were prepared by hot-pressing ground powder of Sleaford Bay clinopyroxenite. Water was added to the sample during the run by dehydration of a talc sleeve. Water-saturated aggregates crept ∼30 times faster than aggregates under anhydrous conditions at a temperature of 1400 K and a pressure of 300 MPa. The stress exponent in both cases was ∼1, and the activation energies under water-saturated and anhydrous conditions were 340 ± 30 and 760 ± 20 kJ/mol, respectively. Under water-saturated conditions creep rate increased with increasing water fugacity to the power 1.4 ± 0.2 with an activation volume for creep of 14 ± 6 × 10−6 m3/mol. Comparison of the water weakening in aggregates of clinopyroxene, olivine, and anorthite deformed in the diffusion creep regime indicates that the creep strength of clinopyroxene has a stronger dependence on the water fugacity than do the creep strengths of olivine and anorthite. In water-rich environments, clinopyroxene will be the weakest component in polycrystalline rocks composed of these phases.


Gall midges (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) are a speciose family that, as adults, are short lived (lasting only a few days), they use olfactory cues for host and mate localization, and their host plant specificity is a key characteristic of the family. These traits make them good models with which to study the role of olfaction in speciation. The overall objective of this study was to analyze the host selection behavior of the gall midge, Contarinia nasturtii, a crucifer specialist that also is a crucifer pest. Here, we demonstrate that the host specificity of gravid C. nasturtii females was initiated by the olfactory-driven host plant choice during oviposition. Olfactory preference of the female, while narrow, encompassed more plants than were accepted for egg-laying, indicating that other factors following the initial olfactory attraction are involved in ultimate host choice. Similarly, C. nasturtii showed flexibility in host plant choice depending on which plants were available for oviposition. Larvae developed on host plants selected by females for oviposition. This slightly broader range of olfactory preference over acceptance, and the flexibility in host choice, might be the basis for the rapid speciation reported in the gall midge family. Furthermore, we assessed whether ubiquitous and/or family-specific plant odors are involved in the attraction of gravid C. nasturtii to their hosts. For that, we used the crucifer Arabidopsis thaliana, which has a broad range of defined ecotypes and large number of mutants. The attraction of C. nasturtii to two A. thaliana-types were tested; one that does not produce the ubiquitous green leaf volatiles (Columbia, Col-0), and a knock-out mutant which does not produce the crucifer-specific glucosinolates. Surprisingly, C. nasturtii was attracted to both types, indicating that neither of these compounds, nor their breakdown products (e.g. isothiocyanates), are essential for C. nasturtii host attraction.


In writing my response, I have chosen a somewhat different tack from the norm. I want to write what the articles moved me to write - not a scholarly criticism, but what the articles caused me to feel, to think, to believe, to express. Essentially, I want to genuinely respond. My response takes the form of what I believe "we" should do in response to David Boje's Tamara Manifesto and to the other articles as they stand as examples of what critical postmodern organization science can do.This I Believe.


Due to the imperfection of existent application generators, some manual coding is impossible to avoid. The products capable of repeating the generation whilst preserving manually written code are still rare. In this paper, the authors consider various ways to preserve the manually implemented parts of the source code in case of repeated code generation. There follows the description of an originally devised procedure that compares the files produced in subsequent steps of generation to the manually changed files. The procedure has been implemented into a proprietary generator, which generates complete applications in source code, based on source code templates. The algorithm of the procedure is based on some known file comparison algorithms and techniques for isolating differences between files. Specific rules are defined to enable automatic merging of source files. Possible ambiguities are resolved manually in interactive mode. The known limitations and possible improvements of the algorithm are exposed.


Third-party identity management services enable cross-site information sharing, making Web access seamless but also raise significant privacy implications for the users. Using a combination of manual analysis of identified third-party identity management relationships and targeted case studies we capture how the protocol usage and third-party selection is changing, profile what information is requested to be shared (and actions to be performed) between websites, and identify privacy issues and practical problems that occur when using multiple accounts (associated with these services). The study highlights differences in the privacy leakage risks associated with different classes of websites, and shows that the use of multiple third-party websites, in many cases, can cause the user to lose (at least) partial control over which information is shared/posted on their behalf.


With the rapid development of nanotechnology over the past decade, lanthanide doped upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs) have been successfully synthesized and have emerged as an important class of nanomaterials. In contrast to the traditional Yb3+-sensitized UCNPs, the emerging Nd3+-sensitized UCNPs have many merits in controlling the excitation of upconverting luminescence, including minimizing overheating effect, increasing the imaging depth and so on. In this review paper, we provide a comprehensive survey of the most recent advances in developing Nd3+-sensitized UCNPs, which include nanocomposition, mechanisms, and some typical nanostructures of Nd3+-sensitized UCNPs. Furthermore, an important emphasis is placed on various applications including downconversion and upconversion photoluminescence for bioimaging, high-resolution, and deep tissue imaging and tumor diagnosis and therapy. Potential challenges and prospective development are also discussed.


The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has changed the landscape of higher education. As academic institutions across the world continue to deal with the global health crisis, there is a need to examine different instructional approaches including online, hybrid, and blended learning methods. This descriptive study provide an in-depth review of the history of blended learning, evolution of hybrid model of instruction, preparedness of faculty with minimal or no experience in online teaching, and lessons learned as faculty worked on navigating COVID-19 situation since early 2020. A fish-bone analysis, a visual and structured approach to identify possible causes of problem, has been used to present the problems faced by faculty during the pandemic. A detailed Strength–Weakness–Opportunities–Threat analysis of blended/hybrid learning has been presented. An evidence-based approach on how instructors can combine the best of both traditional and online instruction to offer engaging learning experiences for students has been described. This research provides valuable insights to faculty and administrators who are preparing to teach during a pandemic and making efforts to academically survive it.


CREBZF is a member of the mammalian ATF/CREB family of transcription factors. Here, we describe a novel functional interaction between CREBZF and the tumor suppressor p53. CREBZF was identified in a yeast two-hybrid screen using HEY1, recently characterized as an indirect p53 activator, as bait. CREBZF interacts in vitro with both HEY1 and p53, and CREBZF expression stabilizes and activates p53. Moreover, CREBZF cooperates synergistically with HEY1 to enhance p53 transcriptional activity. On the other hand, partial depletion of endogenous CREBZF diminishes p53 protein levels and inhibits HEY1-mediated activation of p53. CREBZF-positive effects on p53 signaling may reflect, at least in part, an observed induction of posttranslational modifications in p53 known to prevent its degradation. CREBZF expression protects HCT116 cells from UV radiation-induced cell death. In addition, CREBZF expression confers sensitivity to 5-fluorouracil, a p53-activating chemotherapeutic drug. Our study suggests that CREBZF may participate in the modulation of p53 tumor suppressor function.


We describe the case of a 38-year-old woman whose headache phenotype transformed from episodic migraine to hemicrania continua (HC) responsive to indomethacin, as expected per diagnostic criteria. Our patient also had a non-functioning pituitary micro-adenoma which is over-represented in the trigeminal autonomic cephalgias (TAC) such as HC, pituitary adenoma being the most common intra-cranial pathology. We explore our case further by outlining in detail the neural supply of the dura of the pituitary fossa, outline the dynamics of intra-sellar pressure (ISP), and posit potential mechanisms of generation of HC in patients with pituitary micro-adenoma. We stress and further explore the remarkable observation that indomethacin, which lowers intracranial pressure, exquisitely resolves the pain of HC. Furthermore, we hypothesize that despite normal ISP, the slight elevation of ISP and mass effect impairs portal venous circulation, which may lead to venous hypertension and/or parasympathetic hyperactivity, which explains the pain and autonomic features of HC.


A novel CuO-TiO2 composite photocatalyst was prepared by a redox process coupling with sol-gel method. The morphology and structure of the as-prepared samples were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Photocatalytic activity of the CuO-TiO2 composite photocatalyst was evaluated in terms of the degradation of Methyl orange (MO) in aqueous solution under UV light irradiation. The results show that the as-prepared composite consisted of monoclinic-phase CuO-nanotubes and TiO2 nanoparticles, in which TiO2 nanoparticles were dramatically decorated on the CuO-nanotubes, exhibits a high catalytic activity to decolorize MO. According to the experimental results, 1.27wt % was the optimal loading for CuO-doped TiO2 photocatalyst.


A numerical model of the interaction between liquids and rough solids is presented in this work. Partial-Transient-Liquid Phase (PTLP) bonding has proven an effective method of joining ceramic materials. The joining process is facilitated through the development of a thin-liquid layer between ceramic and metallic solids. Successful joining requires a liquid that will spread to fill interfacial voids, which can act as critical flaws that decrease the strength of the joined assembly. A full understanding of this method requires a model of the liquid behavior between dissimilar, rough solids. This work discusses the effect of wetting angle and surface roughness on the behavior of the liquid layer. Numerical simulations are presented that test possible liquid configurations on rough surfaces, determining the preferred geometry based upon the total interfacial energy. Use of computational methods allows independent control of surface roughness, liquid volume, and interfacial energies. In this way, the effect of the liquid contact angle and the amplitude and wavelength of surface-roughness features on the liquid behavior is examined. Emphasis is placed upon surface-roughness parameters and the correlation with preferred liquid configurations. Models are presented and discussed for liquids in contact with one rough surface and for a liquid entrapped between two dissimilar surfaces. Comparison of the one-surface simulation to previous studies of liquid/roughness behavior is provided. In liquid-based joining methods, the ability of the liquid layer to fill interfacial voids is strongly affected by surface roughness. Numerical simulations of a liquid flowing to fill an inter-solid gap are presented. The importance of dissimilar surface roughness, dissimilar contact angles, and inter-solid distance is discussed. It is found that increasing surface roughness can act to aid liquid-based joining in certain systems.


The scratch standard (MIL-O-13830A) is a cosmetic standard effected by a visual comparison with a set of secondary standards that are in turn evaluated by comparison with a set of master standards. Both manufacture and certification of the secondary standards are somewhat unreliable. This paper shows that they can be classified according to the relative power scattered at a relatively small angle and describes experiments with etched gratings that have the appearance of scratches but diffract light into a broad peak between 5 and 10° off the axis of the incident beam. Some prototypes have been classified both by comparison to the master standards and by a photoelectric measurement; agreement between the two methods is good. Such gratings, used as the secondary standards, should display less intersample variation than scribed or other artifacts. The paper concludes by presenting evidence that the original primary standards have been stable over a long time.


Classifier-free guided diffusion models have recently been shown to be highly effective at high-resolution image generation, and they have been widely used in large-scale diffusion frameworks including DALL.E 2, Stable Diffusion and Imagen. However, a downside of classifier-free guided diffusion models is that they are computationally expensive at inference time since they require evaluating two diffusion models, a class-conditional model and an unconditional model, tens to hundreds of times. To deal with this limitation, we propose an approach to distilling classifier-free guided diffusion models into models that are fast to sample from: Given a pre-trained classifier-free guided model, we first learn a single model to match the output of the combined conditional and unconditional models, and then we progressively distill that model to a diffusion model that requires much fewer sampling steps. For standard diffusion models trained on the pixel-space, our approach is able to generate images visually comparable to that of the original model using as few as 4 sampling steps on ImageNet $64\times 64$ and CIFAR-10, achieving FID/IS scores comparable to that of the original model while being up to 256 times faster to sample from. For diffusion models trained on the latent-space (e.g., Stable Diffusion), our approach is able to generate high-fidelity images using as few as 1 to 4 denoising steps, accelerating inference by at least 10-fold compared to existing methods on ImageNet $256\times 256$ and LAION datasets. We further demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach on text-guided image editing and inpainting, where our distilled model is able to generate high-quality results using as few as 2–4 denoising steps.


The Using Internet and modern technologies greatly affected the lives of adolescents. Parents find it difficult to control them as required. The objective of this research is to find the relationship between the methods of parental treatment and the behavior of adolescent users of social media websites. There is a statistically significant inverse correlation between parental treatment methods and the behavior of adolescent users of social media websites. The correlation coefficient of parental treatment methods for fathers was 0.871** and for mothers was 0.752**. Therefore, there are differences in methods of parental treatment among parents in favor of mothers. There are statistically significant differences between the behavior of adolescent users of social media websites according to the gender and the age.


Weak science communication coupled with misinformation and disinformation has resulted in major challenges for environmental decision-makers, particularly in areas of climate change and marine renewable energy. Interpersonal communication strategies provide the means of facilitating a shift to two-way communication, as they encourage science conversations between communicators and citizens. Science communicators should make themselves more personally known to their audiences. They should communicate using shared stories and conversational language to enable them to relate better with their audiences. In addition, institutions, agencies, networks, and organizations should adapt and support the use of interpersonal strategies by their science communicators.


Reliable information on the surface state of sulphide copper minerals and regularities of sulphidization and flotation of oxidized copper minerals, the composition of sorption layer on the mineral surface forming during its interaction with xanthate or dixanthogen, and the influence of collector forms sorption on the copper minerals floatability and on the optimal conditions for these minerals flotation and depression has been obtained at present. The determined physicochemical models in the form of quantitative equations have been derived for the optimal conditions of flotation and depression of copper minerals under changing pH value and of sodium sulphide, lime, cyanide, zinc–cyanide complexes additions. The equations derived were proven in the laboratory and industrial scale and can be used both in automatic control systems at plants and for improvement of technological processes of selective flotation of copper containing ores.


Public education in the United States has been undergoing a shift from an empirical tradition in which practices and policies are derived from research, practice, reflection, and implementation. In this empirical tradition, professionals embrace a culture and commitment to evidence-based practices (EBPs) and expect that practices and policies in the field are supported by rational, data-driven models. In this paper, we present an argument and three cases that illustrate how educators have been undergoing a gradual shift away from empiricism toward a de-evolution of EBP. We propose that this gradual shift is based on a political-social context, in which practices and policies are implemented using the language of an accountability model of reform, in which national and state regulations, and accreditation bodies, establish expectations often devoid of an empirical basis for the practices they mandate.


The paper provides a reconciliation of Lucas' paradox, based on fixed setup costs of new investments. With such costs, it does not pay a firm to make a small' investment, even though such an investment is called for by marginal productivity conditions. Using a sample of 45 developed and developing countries we estimate jointly the participation equation (the decision whether to invest at all) and the FDI flow equation (the decision how much to invest). We find that countries which are more likely to serve as source for FDI exports than their characteristics project export lower flow of FDI than is predicted by their characteristics. This negative correlation suggests that the source countries with relatively low setup costs are also those with high marginal productivity of capital.


The object of this collection of peer-reviewed papers is to provide a forum for the discussion of new developments, recent progress and innovations in the design and implementation of MEMS, NANO and Smart Systems-on-Chip. It addresses all aspects of the design methodology of such systems, with the emphasis on current and future challenges in research and development in both academia and industry. The 983 papers are grouped into 22 chapters: Materials Behavior, Casting and Solidification, Surface, Subsurface and Interface Phenomena, Coatings and Surface Engineering, Composite Materials, Materials Forming, Machining, Nanomaterials and Nanomanufacturing, Biomedical Manufacturing, Environmentally Sustainable Manufacturing Processes and Systems, Manufacturing Process Planning and Scheduling, Meso/Micro-Manufacturing Equipment and Processes, Modeling, Analysis and Simulation of Manufacturing Processes, Computer-Aided Design, Manufacturing and Engineering, Semiconductor Materials Manufacturing, Laser-Based Manufacturing, Precision Molding Processes, Rapid Manufacturing Technologies, Nontraditional Manufacturing, Nanofabrication, Nanometrology and Applications, Metrology and Measurement, and Mechanical and Electronic Engineering Control. The huge volume of information makes this a veritable encyclopedia of the subject matter.


This paper focuses on Bioinformatics and its diverse applications. Bioinformatics is an integration of mathematical, statistical and computer methods to analyze biological, biochemical and biophysical data. Bioinformatics is the science of developing computer databases and algorithms for the purpose of speeding up and enhancing biological research. Simply put it is the marriage between biology and IT. Paper describes meaning and definitions of Bioinformatics. Bioinformatics plays a central role in the development of bio-industries in general, including biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical diagnostics. Bioinformatics is used in many areas of life sciences such as drug discovery, molecular medicine and microbial genome applications. This paper underlines role of Bioinformatics in drug discovery process. With the ever rising costs of discovering new drugs and taking them to the market, Bioinformatics has the potential to hugely decrease the risk, cost, and expertise required for the early stages of drug development, target selection and validation. Paper also highlights size and growth of Indian and global Bioinformatics market.


Using a unique dataset of 225 Dutch occupational pension funds with a total of 928 billion euro of assets under management, we provide a comprehensive analysis of the relation between investment costs and pension fund size. Our dataset is free from self-reporting biases and decomposes investment costs for 6 asset classes in management costs and performance fees. A pension fund that has 10 times more assets under management, has on average 7.67 basis points lower annual investment costs. These economies of scale are solely driven by management costs. Robustness checks show that this key finding does not vary over different pension fund sizes. Economies of scale do, however, differ per asset class. We find significant economies of scale in fixed income, equity and commodity portfolios, but not in real estate investments, private equity and hedge funds. We also find that large pension funds pay significantly higher performance fees for equity, private equity and hedge fund investments.


It is known that long time before artificial insemination (AI) technology had only a single institution nationally i.e. National Artificial Insemination Center (NAIC) and which is found in Addis Ababa City, Kality area that is serving the community at national level. But now the government has given great emphasis establishing other four semen and liquid nitrogen production and distribution centers in four regional states. From these four AI technologies centers, one of them is instituted in Nekemte town, western Oromia, Ethiopia. This manual was conducted on procedures and utilization of artificial insemination (AI) technologies in Nekemte semen and liquid nitrogen and production and distribution centre, to determine how this technology is performed and to identify and evaluate the challenges and opportunities to characterize this technology. This manual was conducted to assess problems and constraints associated with the AI technologies, its adoption, utilizations and public awareness in the center and the community in the area. So, this manual indicates the procedures of this technology starting from the beginning of the selection of sound semen producing bulls up to the delivery of AI bred calves. During conducting this manual, it has been noted that after selection of bulls for breeding and up to the production of semen containing mini straws, it is passed through high complicated and tedious laboratory procedures which requires high techniques and efforts in addition to liquid nitrogen production. Therefore, the community should be aware of about this technology and use it properly for basic change.


The thermostable alpha-amylase gene cloned from Bacillus lichemiformis was reconstructed into an expression vector pAMY721M under the CaMV35S promoter. The vector was transferred into A. tumerfaciens ABI. The thermostable alpha-amylase gene was transferred into Solanum tuberosum L. via Agrobacterium mediation according to the revised method of ZHAO Shu Juan et al (1997) and YANG Mei Zhu et al (1992). Shoots were induced and regenerated on MS medium with 2 mg/L ZT, 0.1 mg/L IAA and 100 mg/L kanamycin. Putative transformants were selected with kanamycin and roots induced on MS medium with 0.15 mg/L IAA. PCR analysis and thermostable alpha-amylase activity assay were done to identify the transgenic plantlets. Among them, 102,001, 102,607, and 110,402 were showed to have a higher alpha-amylase activity than untransformed control.


The Bribery Act (BA) became law in the UK on 8 April 2010 after decades of work to update the anti-bribery laws in the state which are perceived to be archaic, ineffective and not in line with the demands of the modern global economy. The BA covers bribery globally, redefines the substantive criminal facets of bribery and creates a new bribery offence with liability for institutions when its representatives or employees partake in bribery domestically or overseas. As lack of knowledge of the new Act is not a defence to a bribery offence, it would be beneficial for corporations to update their understanding of this issue to facilitate an effective update of their compliance procedures.


In this paper, self-pulsation (SP) in a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) semiconductor laser without a saturable absorber is experimentally and theoretically investigated. Detailed experimental characterizations of the SP DBR laser are reported in the optical and radio-frequency domains. Phase correlation between the longitudinal modes selected by the DBR mirror has been experimentally demonstrated. A theoretical model based on coupled rate equations for three modes has been developed to study the time evolution of phases and amplitudes of the modes. The carrier density modulation, resulting from the beating between adjacent longitudinal modes generates four-wave mixing (FWM) and is responsible for mutual injection locking, leading to passive mode-locking. The calculated power spectral density of the frequency noise derived from the model is in agreement with experimental results and proves that the phases of the longitudinal modes are identically correlated through the FWM process in this type of SP lasers


Recent revelations of heretofore secret U.S. government surveillance programs have sparked national conversations about their constitutionality and the delicate balance between security and civil liberties in a constitutional democracy. Among the revealed policies asserted by the National Security Agency (NSA) is a provision found in the "minimization procedures" required under section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978. This provision allows the NSA to collect and keep indefinitely any encrypted information collected from domestic communications — including the communications of U.S. citizens. That is, according to the U.S. government, the mere fact that a U.S. citizen has encrypted her electronic communications is enough to give the NSA the right to store that data until it is able to decrypt or decode it.Through this provision, the NSA is automatically treating all electronic communications from U.S. citizens that are hidden or obscured through encryption — for whatever reason — as suspicious, a direct descendant of the "nothing-to-hide" family of privacy minimization arguments. The ubiquity of electronic communication in the United States and elsewhere has led to the widespread use of encryption, the vast majority of it for innocuous purposes. This Article argues that the mere encryption by individuals of their electronic communications is not alone a basis for individualized suspicion. Moreover, this Article asserts that the NSA's policy amounts to a suspicionless search and seizure. This program is therefore in direct conflict with the fundamental principles underlying the Fourth Amendment, specifically the protection of individuals from unwarranted government power and the establishment of the reciprocal trust between citizen and government that is necessary for a healthy democracy.


Summary Building on the bestselling first edition, EJB 3 in Action, Second Edition tackles EJB 3.2 head-on, through numerous code samples, real-life scenarios, and illustrations. This book is a fast-paced tutorial for Java EE 6 business component development using EJB 3.2, JPA 2, and CDI. Besides covering the basics of EJB 3.2, this book includes in-depth EJB 3.2 internal implementation details, best practices, design patterns, and performance tuning tips. Purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats from Manning Publications. About the Book The EJB 3 framework provides a standard way to capture business logic in manageable server-side modules, making it easier to write, maintain, and extend Java EE applications. EJB 3.2 provides more enhancements and intelligent defaults and integrates more fully with other Java technologies, such as CDI, to make development even easier. EJB 3 in Action, Second Edition is a fast-paced tutorial for Java EE business component developers using EJB 3.2, JPA, and CDI. It tackles EJB head-on through numerous code samples, real-life scenarios, and illustrations. Beyond the basics, this book includes internal implementation details, best practices, design patterns, performance tuning tips, and various means of access including Web Services, REST Services, and WebSockets. Readers need to know Java. No prior experience with EJB or Java EE is assumed. What's InsideFully revised for EJB 3.2 POJO persistence with JPA 2.1 Dependency injection and bean management with CDI 1.1 Interactive application with WebSocket 1.0About the Authors Debu Panda, Reza Rahman, Ryan Cuprak, and Michael Remijan are seasoned Java architects, developers, authors, and community leaders. Debu and Reza coauthored the first edition of EJB 3 in Action. Table of ContentsPART 1 OVERVIEW OF THE EJB LANDSCAPE What's what in EJB 3 A first taste of EJB PART 2 WORKING WITH EJB COMPONENTS Building business logic with session beans Messaging and developing MDBs EJB runtime context, dependency injection, and crosscutting logic Transactions and security Scheduling and timers Exposing EJBs as web services PART 3 USING EJB WITH JPA AND CDI JPA entities Managing entities JPQL Using CDI with EJB 3 PART 4 PUTTING EJB INTO ACTION Packaging EJB 3 applications Using WebSockets with EJB 3 Testing and EJB