The application of globalization theory to colonial contexts in recent years has emphasized articulations of the colonized and the colonizers. For the Mediterranean Iron Age, focus has been upon expressions of local (colonized) identities, and of regional variabilities of the overseas Greeks and Phoenicians; any attention to the engagements that the Greeks and Phoenicians had with one another during this time has been solely contrapositive in the framing of arguments. The present study examines the background to this circumstance before addressing specifically the engagement between these global cultures on a Mediterranean-wide scale during the period of their overseas foundations. Regarded from the perspective of a globalization framework, the common sets of practices and shared bodies of knowledge reveal a deep complexity of intercultural contact during the Iron Age, reminding us that cultures should never be considered in isolation.


This study evaluated the actions of nitric oxide on the blood pressure and renal sympathetic nerve activity responses produced by angiotensin II (Ang II) blockade in conscious spontaneously hypertensive rats. Two days after implantation of electrodes, we measured mean arterial pressure, heart rate, and renal sympathetic nerve activity. Baroreceptor reflex function was assessed with a logistic function curve; the maximum slope of the curve estimated the baroreceptor reflex gain. Data were obtained in rats given acute intravenous administration of either vehicle, the Ang II type 1 receptor antagonist losartan, the type 2 antagonist CGP 42112A, or the converting enzyme inhibitor lisinopril. In comparison with vehicle (-1.1 +/- 0.2%/mm Hg), both losartan (-1.8 +/- 0.3%/mm Hg) and lisinopril (-2.4 +/- 0.2%/mm Hg) significantly increased the maximum gain of the baroreceptor reflex control of nerve activity (p < 0.05). In contrast, the type 2 receptor antagonist did not alter baroreceptor reflex function. Similar studies were performed in rats that received an intravenous injection of NG-monomethyl L-arginine (10 mg/kg). The nitric oxide synthase inhibitor increased baseline blood pressure and decreased renal sympathetic nerve activity. Subsequent administration of losartan or lisinopril returned blood pressure to initial hypertensive level, whereas sympathetic nerve activity was increased to a level above the initial control value. The maximum gain of the baroreceptor reflex control of renal nerve activity was increased after the nitric oxide inhibition. The present study demonstrates that blunted baroreceptor reflex function in conscious spontaneously hypertensive rats is mediated by an Ang II type 1 receptor.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


We present a detailed description of the apparatus and techniques that we have utilized in our experimental study of individual plas on resonant nanoparticles,along with a brief description of some major results. The apparatus consists of a spectroscopic system combined with a modified darkfield microscope, which enables the user to sequentially select individual resonant nanostructures in the microscopic field of view for spectroscopic study. Plasmon resonant nanostructures scatter light elastically,and typically have very large scattering cross-sections at their resonant optical wavelengths. In general, spectra can be obtained with acquisition times between .1 to 30 seconds,and color images can be captured using consumer digital color cameras. Spheres,tetrahedrons,and pentagonal platelets were fabricated using colloidal chemistry techniques. To produce highly anisotropic structures such as nanorods and "barbells", templates were used. Many of these nanostructures have been individually spectroscopically characterized,and their spectra correlated with their shape and size as determined by transmission electron icroscope (TEM). The unique shape,size, composition,and dielectric surroundings of the individual plasmon resonant nanostructures determine their plasmon resonant behavior. We will show how the composition of the substrate on which the particles are immobilized and the dielectric of the surrounding medium have a significant effect on the plasmon resonance of the individual particles.


The port-based object is a new software abstraction for designing and implementing dynamically reconfigurable real-time software. It forms the basis of a programming model that uses domain-specific elemental units to provide specific, yet flexible, guidelines to control engineers for creating and integrating software components. We use a port-based object abstraction, based on combining the notion of an object with the port-automaton algebraic model of concurrent processes. It is supported by an implementation using domain-specific communication mechanisms and templates that have been incorporated into the Chimera real-time operating system and applied to several robotic applications. This paper describes the port-based object abstraction, provides a detailed analysis of communication and synchronization based on distributed shared memory, and describes a programming paradigm based on a framework process and code templates for quickly implementing applications.


Marine plastic pollution is heavily driven by escaped plastic waste from land. Effectively reducing flows of plastic pollution into the oceans requires incentivizing efficient disposal decisions, discouraging production and consumption of products with low recyclability and reuse potential, and encouraging lower-impact, easily recyclable product and packaging designs. We examine the economic literature on waste management and integrated environmental policy to assess how particular policies target these individual pathways and can efficiently reduce flows of plastics into waterways. These policies include production/retail bans and standards, extended producer responsibility, price-based policies such as advance disposal fees and two-part instruments, and interventions grounded in behavioral economics and psychology. We also consider the applicability of these policies in coastal developing nations that often rely upon the informal sector for waste management services. We conclude by identifying important issues for future research.


The objective of this paper is to determine the level of average quality of disclosures made in English by biggest companies listed on Baltic stock exchanges and to analyse it in the context of biggest companies listed on other Central and Eastern European (CEE) and three developed European (EU) stock exchanges. Content analysis reveals that the disclosure quality level of Baltic listed companies outperforms that of other CEE peers by at least 30% and in the context of stock exchange web page disclosures 50 to 80%. Compared to companies listed on developed EU stock exchanges, the disclosure quality of Baltic listed companies is slightly lower in the company home page category, however, it outperforms in the context of stock exchange web page disclosures. This result raises concerns about possibly too restrictive stock exchange web page disclosure regulations which may have a negative impact on the future outlook of Baltic stock exchanges.


We examine whether foreign corruption regulation reduces corruption and increases the local economic benefits of resource extraction. After a mid-2000s increase in enforcement of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), economic activity (measured by nighttime luminosity) increases by 14% (3%) in African communities within a 10- (25-) kilometer radius of resource extraction facilities whose owners are subject to the FCPA. Local perceptions of corruption decline by 8%. Consistent with changes in existing extraction firms' business practices contributing to the increase in development, the association between resource production, instrumented by world commodity prices, and local economic activity increases by 40%.


Decisions about when, where, and why to commit the United States to the use of force, and how to conduct warfare and ultimately end it, are hotly debated not only contemporaneously but also for decades afterward. We are engaged in such a debate today, quite often without a solid grounding in the country's experience of war, both political and military. This book, by a political scientist and a career military officer and historian, is premised on the view that we cannot afford that kind of innocence. Updated and revised with new chapters on the Afghan and Iraq wars, the book systematically examines twelve U.S. wars from the revolution to the present day. For each conflict the authors review underlying issues and events political objectives military objectives and strategy political considerations military technology and technique military conduct, and 'the better state of the peace', that is, the ultimate disposition of the original political goals.


Free-text answers can broadly be assessed from two viewpoints: correctness of knowledge content and quality of writing. Content evaluation ultimately results in a comparison of students' answers against a reference answer or model. The reference may be obtained from teachers' answers, manually marked students' answers, a corpus of reference texts, or structures such as a semantic network. Techniques used for free-text assessment include keyword analysis, latent semantic analysis (LSA), surface linguistic features, text categorization, information extraction, and clustering. Many different systems exist, applied to different subject areas, using different evaluation metrics, which makes them very difficult to compare. The main weakness of most of these systems is the lack of a large enough corpus of marked answers or some other reliable reference. Dispersion among teachers has also proved to be a factor of distortion. In this work, the reference model is a semantic network inferred from text written in an easy to use sublanguage, built by the students themselves as a learning activity. This is expected to improve on the drawbacks of existing systems, since no traning set is required, the reference is agreed upon by teachers and students, texts are written in an predictable way, terms are uniformly used, and the assessment system works in the same way the reference was created. Moreover, the proposal in this thesis is conceived mainly as a learning activity, supported by a learning tool, which can be used in assessment. The construction of a sublanguage usable by secondary school students is discussed, and some experimental sublanguages developed. Answers written in the sublanguage can be converted into a semantic network, which can be compared against a reference semantic network. The reference semantic network has been gradually put together by the students themselves, as an activity in the learning process, similar to taking notes, writing a summary or building a concept map. A proof of concept prototype includes facilities for guiding the writing in a sublanguage, transforming the resulting text into a semantic network, and colouring the reference semantic network to show what parts of the answer have been recognized, together with a mark. Assessment is prepared in a learning activity, marking is automatic, and feedback to students immediate. Several lexical resources are identified, tested and used to build a general purpose lexicon apt for different domains. Several versions of generative grammars are proposed and analyzed. A methodology for sublanguage development is proposed. Knowledge Representation is studied in its applicability to Education and Learning, identifying the most promising techniques. Several possible schemes of sublanguage and knowledge representation are analyzed, each targeted to a different purpose. A complete example of a syntax based sublanguage and a semantic network as a knowledge representation model is presented, and tested using the prototype application developed. Original contributions of this thesis result from the combination of assessment, sublanguages and knowledge representation models in a practicable proposal that effectively integrates assessment into the learning process, and a satisfactory end to end testing of the system that proves its feasibility.


The activities taking place along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico are of great economic importance; however, these activities are potential sources of acid rain precursors. Potentially sensitive receptors to acid deposition in the coastal region of the Gulf of Mexico are lakes, rivers, forests, soils and monuments of cultural heritage. The aim of this study was to evaluate the chemical composition, enrichment factors and trends of wet atmospheric deposition at La Mancha, Veracruz, from 2003 to 2014. The major ions, pH and conductivity were analyzed daily during rainy and dry seasons. The following value ranges of the annual volume weighted mean (VWM) were: pH: 4.78-5.40; SO 4 2– : 16-32 μeq L –1 ; NO 3 – : 4-15 μeq L –1 , among others. The principal findings were found: (1) acid rain has been present for more than a decade along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico; (2) the non-marine ions in decreasing order were: NO 3 – , NH 4 + , Ca + and SO 4 2– ; (3) all of the ions were present in major concentrations during the dry season due to minimal precipitation; (4) in several cases, the value of the pH events was low during the rainy season due to the low presence of chemical species that could favor neutralization; (5) the VWM pH in wet deposition was in the range of 4.78 to 5.40 during the study period (2003-2014), and (6) a significant increasing trend for pH was observed during the entire study period, while an increasing trend occurred from 2003 to 2008 for SO 4 2– , NO 3 – , K + and Ca 2+ , which decreased until 2011 and then increased until 2014.


Hydrogen being a cleaner energy carrier has increased the importance of hydrogen-containing light metal hydrides, in particular those with large gravimetric hydrogen density like magnesium hydride (MgH2). In this study, density functional and density functional perturbation theories are combined to investigate the structural, elastic, thermodynamic, electronic and optical properties of MgH2. Our structural parameters calculated with those proposed by Perdew, Burke and Ernzerof generalized gradient approximation (PBE-GGA) and Wu–Cohen GGA (WC-GGA) are in agreement with experimental measurements, however the underestimated band gap values calculated using PBE-GGA and WC-GGA were greatly improved with the GGA suggested by Engle and Vosko and the modified Becke–Johnson exchange correlation potential by Trans and Blaha. As for the thermodynamic properties the specific heat values at low temperatures were found to obey the T3 rule and at higher temperatures Dulong and Petit's law. Our analysis of the optical properties of MgH2 also points to its potential application in optoelectronics.


Acknowledgement of the cultural aspects of the person is necessary if nurses are to provide holistic care to the recipients of health-care services. The nature of the content to be delivered, as well as the timing and strategies for integrating content into the curriculum, are well debated. A range of innovative educational strategies used by the School of Nursing at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) to provide students undertaking the Bachelor of Nursing programme with greater awareness of cultural issues are presented. At QUT, culture is a theme that arises throughout the curriculum. Opportunities for applying these principles within cross-cultural clinical settings are made available to students. Feedback from students on a clinical placement in Northland, New Zealand are provided as anecdotal evidence of the effectiveness of these strategies.


Background: There are a many types of filler products that surgeons used for soft tissue augmentation. Soft Tissue Fillers, also known as injectable grafts, is a medical device implants. One of the materials used in soft tissue fillers is calcium hydroxylapatite (CaHA) that is commonly used for treating nasal deformities and nasal reshaping too. Calcium hydroxylapatite is a kind of mineral that can be found in human teeth and bones. It is considered long-lasting but nonpermanent filler and is biocompatible with human tissue. Aim: The aim of this study is to measure the alterations in sensibility and patient satisfaction following CaHA filler injection. Patient/Methods: In a prospective study, 30 patients who underwent CaHA filler injections from January to December 2016 at a Private Tertiary Care Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia were included. Results: Means and standard deviations were measured for pressure threshold values at each test area preprocedure 2 weeks after procedure (Table 1). Alterations between pre and postprocedure values were verified using the match-paired Student t test preprocedures. None of the patients had any subjective sensory symptoms. Majority of patients were extremely satisfied with the results. TABLE 1 Pressure Threshold Conclusion: With correct anatomic knowledge and precise technique in doing the CaHA gel injection procedure, nasal sensibility will not be altered. In addition, injection of CaHA gel can be valuable tool for plastic surgeons to consider for nasal reshaping.


The display of proteins on the surface of filamentous phage has been shown to be a powerful method to select variants of a protein with altered binding properties from large combinatorial libraries of mutants. The b-lactamase inhibitory protein (BLIP) is a 165-amino-acid protein that binds and inhibits TEM-1 b-lactamase-catalyzed hydrolysis of the penicillin and cephalosporin antibiotics. Here we describe the construction of a new phagemid vector and the use of this vector to display BLIP on the surface of filamentous phage. It is shown that BLIP-displaying phage bind to immobilized b-lactamase and that the binding can be competed off by the addition of soluble b-lactamase. In addition, a two-step phage enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay procedure was used to demonstrate that the BLIP-displaying phage bind b-lactamase with a 50% inhibitory concentration of 1 nM, which compares favorably with a previously published Ki of 0.6 nM. A system has therefore been established for protein engineering of BLIP to expand its range of binding to other b-lactamases and penicillin-binding proteins.


This paper investigates the effects of government spending on the real exchange rate and the trade balance in the US using a new VAR identification procedure based on spending forecast revisions. I find that the real exchange rate appreciates and the trade balance deteriorates after a government spending shock, although the effects are quantitatively small. The findings broadly match the theoretical predictions of the standard Mundell-Fleming model and differ substantially from those existing in literature. Differences are attributable to the fact that, because of fiscal foresight, the government spending is non-fundamental for the variables typically used in open economy VARs. Here, on the contrary, the estimated shock is fundamental.


Cadherins are found in almost all living organisms. In addition to their role in the formation and maintenance of normal tissue architecture, cadherins seem to play a crucial role in the cell-cell interactions of cancer cells in tumorigenesis, invasion and metastasis. The aim of the present study was to identify the role of CDH12 in the invasion and metastasis of salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma (SACC). Real-time PCR results showed that CDH12 is abnormally expressed in the highly metastatic SACC cell line ACC-M, compared to ACC-2, a SACC cell line with low metastatic ability. CDH12 expression was significantly higher in clinical samples with metastasis and recurrence than in those without metastasis and recurrence (P<0.05), as demonstrated by immunohistochemical analysis. Overexpression of the CDH12 protein in ACC-M cells infected with an adenovirus vector containing CDH12 enhanced the invasive and migratory ability of ACC-M cells in vitro compared to ACC-M cells infected with empty vector. Likewise, knockdown of CDH12 by small interfering RNA efficiently inhibited the invasion and migration of ACC-M cells in vitro. These results indicate that CDH12 may play an important role in the invasion and metastasis of SACC.


Optical reflectometry is applied as a tool for studying single and simultaneous adsorption of a carbohydrate, a nonionic surfactant, and a protein, For the nonionic surfactant poly(ethylene oxide) alkyl ether on a silica surface the adsorption process is fast and reversible, and the maximum adsorbed amount was 2.45 mg•m-2. Also, the effect of pH on the adsorption of chitosan on silica, and its interaction with C12EO5 have been studied. The maximum adsorbed amount was obtained for pH ≥6.8 (0.80 mg•m-2). Changes in surface functionality upon adsorbing C12EO5 on a chitosan layer and the protein, bovine serum albumin, are reported. The results are discussed in terms of adsorption kinetics, adsorbed mass plateau values, and reversibility of layer formation.


Engine operating cost contributes a major share to an aircraft's direct operating cost. Thus, the knowledge of the current and future state of their engines is a major concern to any airline operator. To be able to schedule shop visits, state-of-the-art diagnostic and prognostic tools including CFD methods are employed. These RANS-based turbulence and transition models are used to predict the overall efficiency and operational behavior of the engine components. Aerofoil surfaces undergo dynamic change during operation and surface roughness increases in complex non-homogeneous ways due to corrosion, erosion, and fouling processes; depending on the engine component and the environmental condition encountered. The influence of real fouling based roughness on the boundary layer transition is investigated experimentally and numerically within this study. For this purpose, the rotor midspan from the second HPC rotor of the CFM56 is used as the basis for experimental and numerical investigations. Realistic fouling based roughness is applied and investigated both in a cascade tunnel and a low speed compressor rig. The results shown here indicate that laminar boundary layers and their transition to turbulence must be included in the RANS model combination used. Furthermore, it is necessary to consider roughness effects in the respective turbulence and transition model. While the consideration of roughness for the turbulence models has already found wide acceptance, the results in this work motivate the additional extension of the transition model to include roughness effects.


This article investigates the practices through which consensus is reached on policy-relevant scientific conclusions in intergovernmental assessment bodies. Using the case of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the production of the Summary for Policymakers (SPM) of the Synthesis Report published in 2014, it sheds light on the procedural, visual, and rhetorical arrangements in the weaving of an intergovernmental expert consensus. Drawing on ethnographic methods, the main point of the article is that the consensus emerging from the approval of the SPM is best understood as an accumulation and juxtaposition of scientific/diplomatic consensuses. It shows that these consensuses result from a layering of compromises negotiated at various stages in the assessment process and contingent on the issues at stake and the strategies of actors. In this context, consensus is not reached on individual statements but on the document as a whole, as both authors and governments seek to have their perspectives reflected. Finally, the article draws attention to the entanglement between the scientific and diplomatic rhetoric in the fabric of the SPM, which tends to construct climate change as a decontextualized and nonpolitical problem.


Different proxies have been used to investigate Quaternary paleoclimate change. Here, we used weathering of calcium nodules in paleosols on China's Loess Plateau as a proxy for Quaternary paleoclimate changes to provide an alternative indicator of these changes. Paleosol and carbonate nodules were collected from Luochuan and Lantian counties in Shaanxi Province, China. We found that this approach allowed quantitative reconstruction of temperature, rainfall, soil mineral composition, and the effects of weathering and leaching. The changes in carbonate content in the loess and paleosol sequences were controlled by alternating dry and wet climatic conditions. Nodule formation conditions were directly affected by the leaching and migration of elements. The loess and paleosol sequences developed calcium nodules, and their formation was closely related to the rainfall and leaching characteristics of the paleoclimate. The paleoclimate and soil minerals affected the vegetation types and directly influenced changes in the soil. During formation of the calcium nodules, the surface vegetation evolved slowly, and the number of species and quantity of vegetation both decreased.


An Intelligent Environment is a physical space that becomes augmented with computation, communication and digital content, thus transcending the limits of direct human perception. Spoken dialogue is a key factor for user-friendly human-computer interaction. This article details how to integrate Spoken Dialogue Systems into Intelligent Environments. We will outline research areas and future trends including assistive, adaptive and proactive system design, dialogue management and system-environment interaction.


We define biological complexity as the genetic information that an organism has about its environment. We have significantly improved methods to measure complexity based on Sharmon Information Theory and the principle of mutation-selection balance from population genetics. The previous method of Adami et al. was a population-based measure; it examined the information content of all genomes corresponding to the same phenotype. This population-based method had inherent limitations to its ability to approximate complexity: it requires a full population that must be at equilibrium, genomes must be fixed-length, and the environment must have only a single niche. Our new method overcomes these difficulties because it is genome-based rather than population-based. We approximate the total information in a genome as the sum of the information at each locus. The information content of a position is calculated by testing all of the possible mutations at that position and measuring the expected frequencies of potential genes in the mutation-selection equilibrium state. We discuss how this method reveals the way information is embedded in the organism during the evolutionary process.


Many organizations are gradually catching up with the tide of adopting agile practices at workplace, but they seem to be struggling with how to choose the agile practices and mix them into their IT software project development and management. These organizations have already had their own development styles, many of which have adhered to the traditional plan-driven methods such as waterfall. The inherent corporate culture of resisting to change or hesitation to abandon what they have established for a whole new methodology hampers the process change. In this paper, we will review the current state of agile adoption in business organizations and propose a new approach to IT project development and management by blending Scrum, an agile method, into traditional plan-driven project development and management. The management activity involved in Scrum is discussed, the team and meeting composing of Scrum are investigated, the challenges and benefits of applying Scrum in traditional IT project development and management are analyzed, the blending structure is illustrated and discussed, and the iterative process with Scrum and planned process without Scrum are compared.


Electroencephalography (EEG) is a method to measure the electrical activity of brain signals by electrodes attached to the scalp at multiple locations. In this study we used the EEG signals of Alcoholic and Control subjects were obtained from Machine Learning repository according to the 10-20 International System. There were 29 subjects from control group and 29 from alcoholic comprising of electrodes from different brain lobes such as Central Lobe (C3, C4), Frontal (F3, F4, F7, F8), Occipital Lobe (O1, O2), Parietal Lobe (P3, P4), Temporal Lobe (T7) and Front Polar (Fp1, Fp2). In the first phase, the nonlinear complexity based features are computed such as Approximate Entropy, Sample Entropy and Wavelet Entropy. These features for each electrode are passed as input to the Machine Learning classifiers such as Multilayer Perceptron (MPL), K-nearest Neighbor (KNN) and LIB Support Vector Machine (SVM) to classify for alcoholic and control group. The highest accuracy was obtained using MLP of 98.22 % at electrode C3. Moreover, above 90% accuracy was obtained using MPL at electrode C3, C4, F7; KNN at electrodes C3, C4, F7 and LIB SVM at electrodes C3, C4, F7 where KNN gives highest accuracy of 97.67% at electrode C4 and LIB SVM an accuracy of 94.67 % at electrode F7. Secondly, the ensemble methods are employed such as Minimum, Maximum, Sum, Average, Product, Majority Vote, Bayes, Decision Template and Dempster Shefer Fusion. Using ensemble methods most electrodes depicted higher accuracy than individual classifier such as Electrode F4, Fp2, O1, O2 and T7. While electrode C3 the ensemble methods Moving Average, DT, DFT gives highest accuracy of 98.22% and at electrodes C4 Moving Average, Sum, Average, DT, DFT provided an accuracy of 97.11%. Keywords—Electroencephalogram(EEG); Multiscale Sample Entropy (MSE); Multiscale Approx. Entropy (MAE); Multiscale Wavelet Entropy (MWE), Multilayer Percerptron (MLP); KNearest Neighbor (KNN); Support Vector Machine (SVM); Ensemble Methods (EM); Decision Template (DT) and Dempster Shefer Fusion (DSF).


The rate at which technology grew in the past years is unbelievably fast and astounding. However, chronic illnesses like respiratory diseases remains a common and widely experienced problem globally. The emergence of infectious respiratory health issues such as the coronavirus (COVID-19) had only made this enigma more harmful, causing an increase in the number of death due to respiratory illnesses. Hence, the development of modern and accurate methods to improve medical diagnosis is one of the simple step's humans can perform to overcome such problems. In this study, the researchers proposed an enhanced model for lung sound classification using Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficient (MFCC). The design will classify four different lung sounds, with data input taken and classified one at a time. The goal of which is to augment human intelligence and not to replace the existing lung sound classification methods. The pre-recorded lung sounds were characterized, and the researcher proposed four enhanced MFCC models with three varying designs. The data collected from feature extraction and data mining were evaluated by the machine learning algorithms Support Vector Machine (SVM) and K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN). Measures like sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were tested to determine which model was superior. Results showed that in terms of performance metrics, KNN performed better than SVM in classifying lung sounds. Tested in three designs where the pre-emphasis was removed, and the original 44.1kHz data resampled. Model 3 using KNN sampled at a frequency of 12000Hz has reached an average accuracy of 96.92% and a blind-data accuracy of 93.33%. A specificity of 97.94% and a sensitivity of 93.83%, achieving a performance that is comparable with existing studies on lung sound classification.


BACKGROUND
 In December 2019, COVID-19 emerged and rapidly spread worldwide. Transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is high; as a result, countries worldwide have imposed rigorous public health measures, such as quarantine. This has involved the suspension of medical school classes globally. Medical school attachments are vital to aid the progression of students' confidence and competencies as future physicians. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, medical schools have sought ways to replace medical placements with virtual clinical teaching.

 OBJECTIVE
 The objective of this study was to review the advantages and disadvantages of virtual medical teaching for medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic based on the current emerging literature.

 METHODS
 A brief qualitative review based on the application and effectiveness of virtual teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic was conducted by referencing keywords, including medical student virtual teaching COVID-19, virtual undergraduate medical education, and virtual medical education COVID-19, in the electronic databases of PubMed and Google Scholar. A total of 201 articles were found, of which 34 were included in the study. Manual searches of the reference lists of the included articles yielded 5 additional articles. The findings were tabulated and assessed under the following headings: summary of virtual teaching offered, strengths of virtual teaching, and weaknesses of virtual teaching.

 RESULTS
 The strengths of virtual teaching included the variety of web-based resources available. New interactive forms of virtual teaching are being developed to enable students to interact with patients from their homes. Open-access teaching with medical experts has enabled students to remain abreast of the latest medical advancements and to reclaim knowledge lost by the suspension of university classes and clinical attachments. Peer mentoring has been proven to be a valuable tool for medical students with aims of increasing knowledge and providing psychological support. Weaknesses of virtual teaching included technical challenges, confidentiality issues, reduced student engagement, and loss of assessments. The mental well-being of students was found to be negatively affected during the pandemic. Inequalities of virtual teaching services worldwide were also noted to cause differences in medical education.

 CONCLUSIONS
 In the unprecedented times of the COVID-19 pandemic, medical schools have a duty to provide ongoing education to medical students. The continuation of teaching is crucial to enable the graduation of future physicians into society. The evidence suggests that virtual teaching is effective, and institutions are working to further develop these resources to improve student engagement and interactivity. Moving forward, medical faculties must adopt a more holistic approach to student education and consider the mental impact of COVID-19 on students as well as improve the security and technology of virtual platforms.


Beginning in 1996, the National Park Service, Caltrans, and other agencies and organizations have worked together collecting, analyzing, and sharing data about regional wildlife- movement corridors within the Santa Susana Mountains, Simi Hills, and Santa Monica Mountains, near Los Angeles, California. This region is characterized by intense urban development, several major multi-lane highways, and large expanses of protected open space supporting abundant wildlife. Scientific studies include radio telemetry of coyotes, bobcats, and mountain lions, monitoring of undercrossings and culverts to evaluate wildlife utilization, assessment of wildlife mortality along selected roadway segments, and geographic information system (GIS) analyses of potential wildlife-movement corridors adjacent to and across major highways. Results from these studies demonstrate that regional wildlife viability will depend on identifying and protecting habitat linkages and wildlife-movement corridors, particularly across major highways that bisect remaining open space. In addition, the studies confirm that opportunities do exist to retain landscape connectivity, with many species found to utilize a variety of roadway-crossing structures. By combining the results of the science with transportation planning, Caltrans, the National Park Service, and other partners are now integrating on-the-ground conservation actions with needed transportation-improvement projects and regional transportation plans. Recent successes include the formation of a multi-agency and local participant group to identify and prioritize regional wildlife-movement corridors and to create plans for implementing enhancements. Agencies and organizations are also sharing information about collaborative opportunities to fund and implement wildlife-corridor enhancement projects. GIS analyses, including least-cost path-linkage analysis, have been used to identify regional wildlife-connectivity requirements. These data will then be available to help to identify priority sites for on-the-ground enhancements. Along one highway segment (State Route 23), National Park Service scientists are working with Caltrans planners and designers to install wildlife-proof fencing where mortality frequencies are high, enhance existing culverts and undercrossings to facilitate safe wildlife movement, and conduct detailed animal monitoring both before and after improvements to evaluate the success of various actions. These improvements and monitoring are all linked to lane additions along the highway to improve transportation efficiency. In another location (Highway 101), National Park Service scientists are collaborating with Caltrans environmental specialists to design and install a wildlife-crossing structure along one of the last remaining habitat linkages between the Simi Hills and the Santa Monica Mountains. Overall, we demonstrate that by sharing expertise and experiences and by linking science and planning, regional wildlife- habitat connectivity can be enhanced in combination with needed transportation projects. This model of partnership and collaboration can be applied to other areas facing similar wildlife-conservation and transportation challenges.


ABSTRACT Rigor is the aspirational quality academics apply to disciplinary standards of quality. Rigor's particular role in engineering created conditions for its transfer and adaptation in the recently emergent discipline of engineering education research. 'Rigorous engineering education research' and the related 'evidence-based' research and practice movement in STEM education have resulted in a proliferation of boundary drawing exercises that mimic those in engineering disciplines, shaping the development of new knowledge and 'improved' practice in engineering education. Rigor accomplishes dirty deeds, however, serving three primary ends across engineering, engineering education, and engineering education research: disciplining, demarcating boundaries, and demonstrating white male heterosexual privilege. Understanding how rigor reproduces inequality, we cannot reinvent it but rather must relinquish it, looking to alternative conceptualizations for evaluating knowledge, welcoming diverse ways of knowing, doing, and being, and moving from compliance to engagement, from rigor to vigor.


Despite the high prevalence of postpartum depressive disorders, many signs and symptoms of this illness are dismissed as normal physiologic changes associated with childbirth. Prompt recognition and treatment are imperative in order to limit the negative impact on both the mother and infant. Mood disturbances may have a minor functional impact that respond well to social support (eg. postpartum blues) or cause significant functional compromise requiring more aggressive therapy (eg. postpartum depression). The most extreme case of postpartum depressive disorder, postpartum psychosis, occurs when patients develop psychosis, mania, or thoughts of infanticide. Depression during pregnancy or the presence of risk factors suggests the need for careful follow-up. If postpartum depression develops, psychotherapy is the first-line treatment. Antidepressant treatment may be warranted for some patients, and the risks and benefits to both the mother and infant should be considered in the decision to institute pharmacotherapy.


L2 motivation is a relational phenomenon, shaped by teacher responsiveness (Lamb, 2017; Ushioda, 2009). Little, however, is known about the practices in which responsiveness is manifested. Drawing on research from the culturally responsive teaching paradigm (Petrone, 2013), and highlighting the role of empathy and perspective taking (Warren, 2018), the aim of this ethnographic case study of two lessons with a focus on poetry is to develop a relational understanding of the evolution of motivation. Analyses reveal how perspective taking has instructional and interactional dimensions, and how connections between lesson content and funds of knowledge with origins in students' interactions with popular culture bring additional layers of meaning to learning. It is suggested that while connections that arise through perspective taking practices shape students' in-the-moment motivational responses, they also accumulate in ways that lead to enduring motivational dispositions.


Cash transfers have been demonstrated to improve education and health outcomes and alleviate poverty in various contexts. However, policy makers and others often express concern that poor households will use transfers to buy alcohol, tobacco, or other"temptation goods."The income effect of transfers will increase expenditures if alcohol and tobacco are normal goods, but this may be offset by other effects, including the substitution effect, the effect of social messaging about the appropriate use of transfers, and the effect of shifting dynamics in intra-household bargaining. The net effect is ambiguous. This paper reviews 19 studies with quantitative evidence on the impact of cash transfers on temptation goods, as well as 11 studies that surveyed the number of respondents who reported they used transfers for temptation goods. Almost without exception, studies find either no significant impact or a significant negative impact of transfers on temptation goods. In the only (two, non-experimental) studies with positive significant impacts, the magnitude is small. This result is supported by data from Latin America, Africa, and Asia. A growing number of studies from a range of contexts therefore indicate that concerns about the use of cash transfers for alcohol and tobacco consumption are unfounded.


OF DISSERTATION NOVEL AROMATIC ION–PAIRS: SYNERGY BETWEEN ELECTROSTATICS AND Π-FACE AROMATIC INTERACTIONS This dissertation focuses on the design and study of charged aromatic molecules where weak π-π interactions synergize with electrostatic interactions to enhance the overall interaction between aromatic moieties. Each chapter investigates some aspect of this hypothetical synergy between electrostatics and π-face aromatic cohesion. The first chapter unveiled the importance of electrostatics in the intramolecular stacking of flexible aromatic molecular templates 1-2Br and 2a. While our previous studies found dicationic molecular template 1-2Br to have intramolecular π-stacking between electron poor pyridinium and electron rich xylylene moieties, no such stacking interaction was observed in the neutral analog 2a. Chapter two systematically explored the stacking pattern of electron poor aromatics in the form of oxygenand / or nitrogensubstituted triangulenium cations, [1(NR)3] and [1(O)3(OH)3]. As indicated in the chemical literature, triazatriangulenium cations [1(NR)3] with Nethyl (and longer alkyl chains) chains were found to pack as face-to-face dimers. This study found the formation of columnar, face-to-face, n-meric association between aromatic cations in the structures with decreased steric interactions of the side chains in the stacking planes ([1(NMe)3] and [1(O)3(OH)3]). Similar isostructural triangulene based aromatic anions, (2) and (3) didn't indicate any facial interactions in the solid states. The possible synergy between unit charge electrostatics and π-face aromatic interactions was explored in aromatic ion pairs 1•2 of triangulene based aromatic cations and aromatic anions. This charge-assisted π-π stacking seems to be the novel way of getting strong π-system interactions where the strongest non-covalent force and the weakest non-covalent force: ionic bonding and π-stacking respectively synergize together. The π-π interaction between ionic aromatics in the solid state was investigated by means of single crystal x-ray diffraction and powder x-ray diffraction (PXRD). The interaction in the solution state was examined by UV-Vis spectroscopy, electrospray ionization mass spectroscopy (ESI-MS) and electrochemical studies. Studies found that optimal synergy was possible only in the ion pairs with no steric interactions of alkyl (or aryl) side chains in the stacking planes (1(O)3•2 & 1(NMe)3•2) and the interaction was found to be comparable with the strongest radical-assisted π-stacking described in the chemical literature.


This article argues the need for a closer analysis of the discourse of modernization in contemporary Russia. It offers explanations for the popularity of modernization theory postulates in Russia and examines their strengths and weaknesses. As I have shown, there prevails in Russian scholarly discourse an inventive combination of the main theses of the theory of modernization with an idea of Russia as a local civilization. Each of these two elements is normatively and ideologically loaded and closely connected with how the past is evaluated. They are both used in the ongoing 'battle for identity'. It is suggested that modernization in Russia should be seen primarily as social representation, and not as an objective process of historical development. At the same time, the article identifies substantive elements of modernization theory which can serve as the foundations for a new theoretical approach. Such an approach will assist in a better understanding of objective social development processes.


Subjective quality evaluation of medical images is mostly achieved using some version of ROC (Receiver Operating Characteristic) evaluation. The evaluation is conducted in two phases: data gathering and data analysis. In the data gathering phase observers perform diagnostic tasks by marking regions of interest. A region marking software tool is used for data gathering. Statistical data extracted from these markings are used for medical image evaluation in the data analysis phase of ROC evaluation. Medical image influence on diagnostic accuracy is evaluated by measuring whether the same results are achieved compared to some gold rule. In this paper we will demonstrate that a region marking software tool can be used as a software platform for education in medical image diagnostics. Specifically, diagnostic tasks are performed the same way in both ROC evaluation and medical image diagnostic education. The difference occurs in later stages. When the observer reaches the end of the ROC evaluation, hers/his answers are converted to ROC statistical data. The results are not reported to the observer. In medical image diagnostic education the observer's results are compared to the gold standard, a report is generated, and the results are presented to the observer. It is possible to view each of the images evaluated with the observer's marks compared to the gold standard. Therefore, a region marking software tool is a potential tool for education in medical diagnostic. We implemented a region marking software tool for ROC evaluation of medical images. We had several goals in mind: (1) it should resemble software tools used in everyday clinical tasks: (2) it should be accessible over distance; (3) it should be usable in education; and (4) it should be free. Therefore, we based our solution on web technologies, such as HTML, PHP, JavaScript, and MySQL. The region marking software tool for ROC evaluation of medical images has been used during our research on quality evaluation system of medical images in PACS systems (Picture Archiving and Communication System). We will present a prototype software tool built upon the region marking software tool to support educational use. Its foundations in web technologies make it an ideal tool for presence and distance education and training in medical image diagnostics.


The nominate race of the greater crested tern Thalasseus bergii breeds only along the coast of the Benguela region (west coast) of southern Africa, where its population is increasing, in contrast to other species of breeding seabirds in the region which similarly depend on forage fish. Although this population's trends are well known, its demographic parameters remain obscure. We used multi-event capture–recapture–recovery modelling to provide the first estimates of survival. The survival rate of birds older than two years was 0.93 (0.91–0.95); second-year survival was 0.93 (0.90–0.95) and first-year survival was 0.80 (0.73–0.85). A resighting of a 34-year-old bird is a new longevity record for the species. Population growth rates projected with a Leslie matrix model that included our survival estimates were very similar to estimates from annual counts of the breeding population (7–8% y−1), suggesting that these survival estimates adequately describe the species' demography. High survival rates have likely contributed to the species' recent population increase in the region.


newsclipping 18"x4". Mentions four Houston Yacht Club sailors who won the USYRU / Rolex Junior Sailing Championships, the Sears Cup, In Newport Beach, California. Crew included Scott Elting, Carter Perrin, Sam Pyne and David Thomas. John Kolius is mentioned as a coach. At the time of this win, Houston Yacht Club members have won the Sears Cup more than any other yacht club. Article by John Ira Petty.


When faced with the use of race by affirmative action programs, the Supreme Court has decided to subject any such program to its strict scrutiny test. In applying that test, the Court first determines whether there is a compelling interest for the use of race by the affirmative action program, and then the Court determines whether the program is narrowly tailored to meet that compelling interest. This Article focuses on the second part of the Court's test: the narrow tailoring requirement. This Article analyzes the narrow tailoring requirement by first detailing the history of the Supreme Court's use of the requirement in its affirmative action cases. In detailing the history, this Article displays that the Supreme Court created the test when Justice Powell was the controlling member of the Court, and that the test was originally a very flexible one. Then the test was altered when Justice O'Connor became the controlling member, and the test became more formalistic and rules based. This Article also displays that it is unclear where Justice Kennedy will take the narrow tailoring requirement now that he is the controlling member of the Court, but that it appears that his view of the narrow tailoring requirement is different from Justice O'Connor's view. This Article then goes on to analyze and criticize Justice O'Connor's formalistic approach to the narrow tailoring requirement, thereby showing why Justice Kennedy should adopt a view of the requirement that is more in line with Justice Powell's flexible approach. Finally, this Article ends by suggesting a view of the narrow tailoring requirement that goes beyond what was suggested by Justice Powell in his opinions, and utilizes a more flexible multi-factored approach to evaluate whether race-based affirmative action programs are narrowly tailored. 1 Associate, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP. J.D., University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, 2009, B.M., Berklee College of Music, 2005.


Demands for wider use of 'new' environmental policy instruments (NEPIs), namely market-based instruments (such as eco-taxes and tradable permits), voluntary agreements and informational devices (such as eco-labels and eco-audits) have increased significantly in Germany in recent years. Germany has also been urged to make wider use of market-based instruments by external actors (such as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and the World Bank). However, the uptake of 'new' policy instruments in Germany has remained uneven despite considerable NEPI innovation. German environmental policy has shown a high uptake of VAs and eco-labels. However, it has made only moderate use of eco-taxes although they have increased significantly with the introduction of the ecological tax reform in 1999. Tradable permits have not yet been tested on the national level although some states (Lander) set up pilot projects to gain practical experience ahead of the EU's tradable permit scheme. Overall, NEPIs have been used mainly to supplement traditional regulatory instruments which still dominate German environmental policy. Germany's transformation from a 'high regulatory' state (which makes wide use of traditional regulation and VAs) towards an ecological market economy (which relies primarily on market-based instruments) has therefore been a slow one.


For almost two centuries following Columbus's discovery of America, Spain held undisputed mastery in the Gulf of Mexico, an exclusive Spanish sea into which few foreigners dared venture. In 1682, that mastery was challenged by the French explorer La Salle, reaching the Gulf from Canada via the Mississippi River. La Salle's encroachment served on the Spaniards a twofold notice: exploration of the northern Gulf region had been too long neglected, and claims to unoccupied territory would not be honored. There followed eighty years of territorial rivalry during which Spain and France alternated from symbiotic alliance to actual warfare. The French presence served repeatedly as a spur to Spanish exploration and settlement of the coastal region from Tampico to peninsular Florida. France, meanwhile, sought expansion on either side of its Mississippi wedge, deftly driven between the Spanish claims east and west, until a third rival, the English, terminated the French tenure in America. "The French Thorn"--sequel to Weddle's "Spanish Sea"--is more than a history of exploration rivalry. In artful prose the author recreates the drama and pathos of La Salle; the vitality of Iberville and Escandon; and the dash and daring of Saint-Denis. He takes the reader on venturesome sea voyages in wooden ships; across the coastal plains with colorful Spanish entradas; and up pristine rivers with the French voyageurs. Reproductions of twenty French and Spanish maps from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries enhance Weddle's information. Well-documented and readable, "The French Thorn" will appeal to anyone interested in this time and place in history, from the formal historian to the exploration enthusiast.


Heroism and the Christian Life: Reclaiming Excellence. By Brian S. Hook and R. R. Reno. Louisville, Ky.: Westminster John Knox Press, 2000. viii + 253 pp. $23.95 (paper). The very word "hero" comes from the ancient Greek, and brings to mind Achilles and Odysseus rather than Jesus of Nazareth. We associate the great heroes of Western literature with pride, even hubris, and nothing seems further from the qualities we admire in a Christian life. The authors of this study thus quite sensibly begin with the question, "can the Christian life be heroic?" and the first answer they offer is "of course." "Certainly there are Christians who have lived, and died, heroically" (p. 1). But Hook and Reno immediately problematize the issue and deepen it using Nietzsche's attack on Christianity, Nietzsche's antipathy to Christianity, as the authors acknowledge, was rooted in his conviction that Christian renunciation of self, ambition, pride and the desire to rule is life-destroying. But the historical success of Christianity proves-as Nietzsche believed-that "in spite of its self-denying form, Christianity makes a claim upon our heroic aspiration" (p. 9). Thus the authors share something with Nietzsche: the real target of the study is, in a surprising way, the same phenomenon scorned by Zarathustra in one of Nietzsche's most celebrated works, in the speech about the "last man," the complacent modern man who is satisfied with his small comforts and extended lifespan. According to Hook and Reno (and Nietzsche), the small souls of democratic, egalitarian men and women are incapable of even understanding heroism, whether pagan or Christian. The notion of heroism is now so degraded that modern men think anyone can be a hero: "democratic heroes, then, are well-adjusted middle-class folks who are committed to their social roles" (p. 11). Hook and Reno thus undertake the (heroic?) task of resuscitating a genuine understanding of heroic life, by going back to the roots, the most powerful presentations of different forms of heroism in the Western tradition. They sum up their hopes near the end of the introductory chapter: "Our readers may still reject [the] Christian claim upon their souls. But if they understand the nature of Christian heroism, at least they will, with Nietzsche, reject it as incredible because it is fearlessly ambitious, not because it is childish and easy" (p. 13). The body of the study begins with chapters devoted, first, to three figures in the classical tradition: Achilles, Socrates, and Aeneas. …


Background: Penile and scrotal swelling can occur as an extraintestinal manifestation of Crohn's disease (CD) and is thought to be an uncommon form of metastatic CD (MCD). Because of the rarity of this manifestation, much is unknown concerning the presentation, treatment, and response to therapy in children with genital MCD. Methods: Boys ages 1 to 17 years presenting with genital edema and a confirmed diagnosis or strong suspicion of CD who were evaluated at the Mayo Clinic between 1996 and 2014 were included for review. We sought to characterize the clinical and pathologic features of genital MCD and response to treatment in our cohort of patients. Results: Eight patients with genital MCD were identified from our institution (mean age 11.4 yrs, range 7–16yrs). Seven (88%) patients experienced cutaneous symptoms before a formal diagnosis of CD was made, and two of the seven had no adverse gastrointestinal symptoms at that time. Patients were prescribed an average of 3.4 medications (topical and systemic) for management of their gastrointestinal CD and MCD. Conclusions: Penile and scrotal swelling can occur as an extraintestinal manifestation of CD and is thought to be an uncommon form of MCD. In boys, genital swelling typically precedes intestinal CD. Treatment of the underlying CD with systemic medications was most helpful in this series. An evaluation for CD is necessary in all patients presenting with unexplained genital swelling.


Plants in its fresh case can synthesize a wide variety of chemical compounds that are used to perform important biological functions. Brassica oleracea has established as an important human food, as it is rich in polyphenols that exhibits antioxidant activity and isothicyanates that exhibits anti-inflammatory activity. Polyphenols protect the cells against oxidative damage as they exhibit free radical scavenging and metal chelating activities. Myrosinase-catalysed hydrolysis of glucosinolates yields sulforaphane, one of the bioactive isothiocyanates compounds. Anti-inflammatory activity was investigated according the inhibitory action of sulforaphane on inflammatory precursor cyclooxygenase. Food preservation is functional for storing seasonal food until next abundance of these types. Freezing of food prevents microbial growth by lowering temperature and water shortage, but there is many disadvantages of food preservation by freezing e.g. loss of nutrients by time and inactivate enzymes activities. In this study, freezing showed to lowering bio-active compounds of broccoli. Polyphenolic (Tannic acid-equivalent) decreased in frozen broccoli by 35.25%. Whereas, sulforaphane content decreased by 32.8% that may be considered back to myrosinase inhibition. As followed for these findings, broccoli benefits decreased by freezing preservation.


2-Bis-(chlorodifluoromethyl)-4-substituted-1,3-oxazolidin-5-ones, a new type of alpha-amino acid derivative for gas chromatographic separation, have been studied by low resolution mass spectrometry. These derivatives are obtained by reacting alpha-amino acids with dichlorotetrafluoroacetone. Their structure has been established or confirmed for most protein amino acids and several non-protein alpha-amino acids. The mechanisms responsible for the mass spectral pattern have been rationalized. An interesting feature of this derivatization procedure is that it distinguishes aspartic and glutamic acid from the respective amides. The structure of asparagine and glutamine derivatives has been established. A survey of oxazolidinone mass spectra has provided a list of diagnostically useful ions. Each amino acid can be identified by one or two of its most abundant fragments.


Carlos Poveda9s Domestic Landscapes are linked to a history of food and art that reaches back to Greco-Roman antiquity and becomes empowered with contemporary artists who sculpt or paint their works in edible materials to be devoured by spectators. Poveda9s Landscapes, however, offer food that is symbolic——inedible. He reinvents the organic by using industrial refuse that he converts, colors, and models in a cauldron in a process as akin to alchemy as to cooking. His is not a faithful transcription of meals in the style of classical still lifes, but rather an artistic overlapping of emotions, that surround the idea of the edible. Looking at his sculptures we may feel revulsion, but what sickens us is not so much his creation as the awareness it brings of our intrinsically predatory nature. He gives us an art form that not only fails to provoke appetite but also touches our deepest culinary memories and leads us back to a primal past by asserting the significance of food in our collective memory. Ultimately, our strongest reaction to his work may be the fear that we won9t be able to digest the absurdity of our daily life.


Modern vehicle bodies make intensive use of high strength steel grades to improve the weight and the mechanical performance simultaneously. A broad range of medium and extra high strength steel grades is available. These steel grades have different characteristics concerning strength, formability and weldability. For many steel grades microalloying by niobium is the key to achieve their characteristic property profile. In HSLA steels niobium enhances the strength primarily by grain refinement. In interstitial free high strength steels niobium serves as a stabilizing element and also assists in obtaining the bake hardening effect. Some modern multiphase steels rely on niobium to achieve additional strength via grain refinement and precipitation hardening. Microstructural control provides a way to further optimize properties relevant to automotive processing such as cutting, forming and welding. The relevance of niobium microalloying in that respect will be outlined.


This paper provides an analysis of the economic benefits, costs and risks that a fast unilateral euroisation would have for the Central and Eastern European EU accession countries. In doing so, a comprehensive and broad overview of the euroisation debate is presented. The overall conclusion from the analysis is that, at this stage, the economics of a rapid unilateral euroisation are highly ambiguous and probably even harmful for the accession countries. However, there are good reasons to believe that the cost-benefit balance of full monetary integration will turn positive for some accession countries within a few years if sound macroeconomic policies are retained, the Maastricht criteria are fulfilled and structural reforms are carried on further to underpin the sustainability of convergence.


In the present study, we analyze the effect of active (organic) layer thickness on the optical and electrical properties of poly 3-hexylthiophene/ n -silicon hybrid hetero-structure. The organic/inorganic sandwiched heterojunction have been prepared via spin-coating of poly 3-hexylthiophene film onto an oxide passivated Si substrate at room temperature. The device structure has been fabricated via depositing silver and aluminum contacts on Poly 3-hexylthiophene and n -silicon layers, respectively. The optical and electrical properties of the fabricated heterostructures have been examined by varying the active layer thickness from 50 to 120 nm. Photoluminescence measurements displayed a sharp intense peak at 578 nm corresponding to characteristic poly 3-hexylthiophene band-to-band transition. Enhancement in forward current and reduction in leakage current was observed with increased active layer thickness. It has been observed that employing an active layer thickness of 100 nm, the device produces enhanced forward currents with low leakage currents which leads to the formation of high quality heterojunction and demonstrates better performance of the device.


We have presented a novel Dynamic Colour Image Segmentation (DCIS) System for colour image. In this paper, we have proposed an efficient colour image segmentation algorithm based on evolutionary approach i.e. dynamic GA based clustering (GADCIS). The proposed technique automatically determines the optimum number of clusters for colour images. The optimal number of clusters is obtained by using cluster validity criterion with the help of Gaussian distribution. The advantage of this method is that no a priori knowledge is required to segment the color image. The proposed algorithm is evaluated on well known natural images and its performance is compared to other clustering techniques. Experimental results show the performance of the proposed algorithm producing comparable segmentation results.


Through the lens of the theory of reasoned action and the framework of attraction, retention, transition, and nurturing of athletes, this study examined how athletes' experiences at the Commonwealth Youth Games contributed to satisfaction with the event, while encouraging transition into higher levels of competition. A total of 244 athletes from 23 different countries who completed a survey helped identify the environment-related aspects that created positive and negative experiences. The participants noted that learning from various social and cultural experiences influenced their event satisfaction and their future intention to remain in high-performance sport. Aspects of the event service environment, including poor accommodation and nutrition, were found to negatively impact performance. This paper contributes to the role of pre-elite events as athletic development agents that aid in talent transition. The results have implications for event organizers and high-performance managers regarding the influence of athletes' experiences on performances and intention to transition.


Multiprocessor mapping and scheduling algorithms have been extensively studied over the past few decades and have been tackled from different perspectives. In the late 1980's, the two-step decomposition of scheduling nto clustering and cluster-scheduling - was introduced. Ever since, several clustering and merging algorithms have been proposed and individually reported to be efficient. However, it is not clear how effective they are and how well they compare against single-step scheduling algorithms or other multistep algorithms. In this paper, we explore the effectiveness of the two-phase decomposition of scheduling and describe efficient and novel techniques that aggressively streamline interprocessor communications and can be tuned to exploit the significantly longer compilation time that is available to embedded system designers. We evaluate a number of leading clustering and merging algorithms using a set of benchmarks with diverse structures. We present an experimental setup for comparing the single-step against the two-step scheduling approach. We determine the importance of different steps in scheduling and the effect of different steps on overall schedule performance and show that the decomposition of the scheduling process indeed improves the overall performance. We also show that the quality of the solutions depends on the quality of the clusters generated in the clustering step. Based on the results, we also discuss why the parallel time metric in the clustering step may not provide an accurate measure for the final performance of cluster-scheduling


The paper summarizes results of calorimetric studies of protein denaturation and of dissolution of non-polar substances in water. The analysis of the available experimental data shows that the positive contribution of the hydrophobic interactions in stabilization of the protein compact state is due to van der Waals interactions between the protein non-polar groups, while the contribution of water solvation by these groups, in spite of the widely spread opinion, appears to be always negative. This destabilizing action of water solvation on the protein increases as the temperature decreases, and at a significantly low temperature causes unfolding of the compact structure of protein, i. e. cold denaturation.


This research first introduces the basic principles of genetic algorithms, and improves the algorithm by combining with self-adaptive optimization theory concerning on its shortage of low global searching ability and slow convergent rate, so that crossover operator and mutation operator can automatically change over the fitness, thus forming adaptive genetic algorithm (AGA) and maintaining the diversity of the population effectively; secondly, this paper introduces the concept of niche to form the ultimate niche adaptive genetic algorithm to improve the global search ability, to avoid falling into local optimal solution, and to accelerate the convergent rate. The results shows that the improved genetic algorithm can obtain better results, and provide an effective and viable new way in optimization of hydropower station.


A diverse audience listens to the speakers on stage. Two people have yellow papers in their hands and on their laps. A mother holds her young daughter on her lap and in the foreground a man wearing a leather jacket looks toward the stage.


We develop the notion of quality of service (QoS) for multimedia traffic in terms of maximum call dropping probabilities independent of system load and a predefined call blocking probability profile for the different traffic classes for wireless networks of arbitrary shape and dimension. We describe two distributed predictive admission control algorithms, independent multiclass one-step prediction (IMOSP-CS and IMOSP-RES), which provide each traffic class with a given call dropping probability and a desired call blocking probability profile. Both algorithms may be seen as extensions of the multimedia one-step prediction (MMOSPRED) algorithm previously reported, which uses prediction of the overload probability in the home and neighbor cells in deciding whether to admit new users into a multiclass cellular system. The two algorithms differ in their approach to handoff call admission. The first algorithm completely shares the bandwidth among the entering handoff users while the second implements a partition-based reservation scheme. In this paper, we additionally impose a call blocking criterion that ensures a system-imposed call priority independent of the traffic in the system and which adapts to changes in the offered load. In comparing these algorithms to each other, we focus on system throughput and class independence. Both algorithms provide appropriate throughput under both homogeneous and heterogeneous traffic loading conditions while maintaining steady call dropping probabilities for each traffic class.


Beneficial soil-borne Pseudomonas rhizobacteria influence root development and promote growth, independent of their ability to stimulate systemic immunity. Plant roots are colonized by an immense number of microbes, referred to as the root microbiome. Selected strains of beneficial soil-borne bacteria can protect against abiotic stress and prime the plant immune system against a broad range of pathogens. Pseudomonas spp. rhizobacteria represent one of the most abundant genera of the root microbiome. Here, by employing a germ-free experimental system, we demonstrate the ability of selected Pseudomonas spp. strains to promote plant growth and drive developmental plasticity in the roots of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) by inhibiting primary root elongation and promoting lateral root and root hair formation. By studying cell type-specific developmental markers and employing genetic and pharmacological approaches, we demonstrate the crucial role of auxin signaling and transport in rhizobacteria-stimulated changes in the root system architecture of Arabidopsis. We further show that Pseudomonas spp.-elicited alterations in root morphology and rhizobacteria-mediated systemic immunity are mediated by distinct signaling pathways. This study sheds new light on the ability of soil-borne beneficial bacteria to interfere with postembryonic root developmental programs.


Three years ago today, Japan was hit by the strongest earthquake ever measured in that country – and Fukushima became an international by-word for disaster. Now, as Japan tries to put its past behind it, Fukushima is back in the news as hundreds of evacuees prepare to return to their homes near the crippled nuclear power plant for the first time next month. But how do any of us begin to understand a disaster that could mean 50,000 people never see their homes again? ABC journalist Mark Willacy's Fukushima: Japan's Tsunami and the Inside Story of the Nuclear Meltdowns is a very good place to start. On March 11, 2011, off the east coast of Japan's largest island, Honshu, the sea floor heaved. In the city of Sendai water surged 10 kilometres up the valley of the Abukuma River. Sendai is the largest city in Tohoku, the northern region of Honshu, made up of six prefectures. The tsunami hit hardest in the three prefectures on the east coast: from south to north, Fukushima, Miyagi, and Iwate.


The method of maximum likelihood estimation based on ranked set sampling (RSS) and some of its modifications is used to estimate the unknown parameters of the new Weibull-Pareto distribution. The estimators are compared with the conventional estimators based on simple random sampling (SRS). The biases, mean squared errors, and confidence intervals are used to the comparison. The effect of the set size and number of cycles of the RSS schemes are addressed. Monte Carlo simulation is carried out by using R. The results showed that the RSS estimators are more efficient than their competitors using SRS.


Clinical context: Since 1979 and 1980 when the first reports of clinical feline hyperthyroidism (FHT) appeared in the literature, our understanding of the disease has evolved tremendously. Initially, FHT was a disease that only referral clinicians treated. Now it is a disease that primary clinicians routinely manage. Inclusion of the measurement of total thyroxine concentration in senior wellness panels, as well as in diagnostic work-ups for sick cats, now enables diagnosis of the condition long before the cat becomes the classic scrawny, unkempt, agitated patient with a bulge in its neck. However, earlier recognition of the problem has given rise to several related questions: how to recognize the health significance of the early presentations of the disease; how early to treat the disease; whether to treat FHT when comorbid conditions are present; and how to manage comorbid conditions such as chronic kidney disease and cardiac disease with treatment of FHT. The 2016 AAFP Guidelines for the Management of Feline Hyperthyroidism (hereafter referred to as the Guidelines) will shed light on these questions for the general practitioner and suggest when referral may benefit the cat. Scope: The Guidelines explain FHT as a primary disease process with compounding factors, and provide a concise explanation of what we know to be true about the etiology and pathogenesis of the disease. The Guidelines also: Distill the current research literature into simple recommendations for testing sequences that will avoid misdiagnosis and separate an FHT diagnosis into six clinical categories with associated management strategies. Emphasize the importance of treating all hyperthyroid cats, regardless of comorbidities, and outline the currently available treatments for the disease. Explain how to monitor the treated cat to help avoid exacerbating comorbid diseases. Dispel some of the myths surrounding certain aspects of FHT and replace them with an evidence-based narrative that veterinarians and their practice teams can apply to feline patients and communicate to their owners. Evidence base: To help ensure better case outcomes, the Guidelines reflect currently available, evidenced-based knowledge. If research is lacking, or if a consensus does not exist, the expert panel of authors has made recommendations based on their extensive, cumulative clinical experience.


This book is the first comprehensive volume on nonlinear dynamics and chaos in optical systems. A few books have been published recently, but they summarize applied mathematical methodologies toward understanding of nonlinear dynamics in laser systems with small degrees of freedom focusing on linearized perturbation and bifurcation analyses. In contrast to these publications, this book summarizes nonlinear dynamic problems in optical complex systems possessing large degrees of freedom, systematically featuring our original experimental results and their theoretical treatments. The new concepts introduced in this book will have a wide appeal to audiences involved in a rapidly-growing field of nonlinear dynamics. This book focuses on nonlinear dynamics and cooperative functions in realistic optical complex systems, such as multimode lasers, laser array, coupled nonlinear-element systems, and their applications to optical processing. This book is prepared for graduate students majoring in optical and laser physics, but the generic nature of complex systems described in this book may stimulate researchers in the field of nonlinear dynamics covering different academic areas including applied mathematics, hydrodynamics, celestial mechanics, chemistry, biology, and economics.


This article considers the problem of conjugate heat transfer in circular pipes with finite heated length to examine the effects of wall conduction on the heat transfer characteristics of solid–liquid phase-change material suspension flow. A mixture continuum approach is adopted in the formulation of the energy equation, with an approximate enthalpy model describing the phase-change process in the phase-change material particles. From numerical simulations via the finite-volume approach, it was found that the conduction heat transfer propagating along the pipe wall results in significant preheating of the suspension flow in the nondirectly heated region upstream of the heated section, where melting of the particles may occur and therefore the contribution of the latent heat transfer to convection heat dissipation over the heated section is markedly attenuated. Contributions of the sensible and latent heat transfer to the total heat transfer rate of the suspension flow over the heated section were delineated quantitatively for various sets of the relevant dimensionless parameters, including the particle volumetric concentration, the modified Stefan number, the Peclet number of suspending fluid, the wall thickness ratio, and the wall-to-fluid thermal conductivity ratio.


Of the enormous quantity of malicious programs seen in the wild, most are variations of previously seen programs. Automated program transformation tools-i.e., code morphers-are one of the ways of making such variants in volume. This paper proposes a Markov chain-based framework for fast, approximate detection of variants of known morphers wherein every morphing operation independently and predictably alters quickly-checked global program properties. Specifically, identities from Markov chain theory are applied to approximately determine whether a given program may be a variant created from some given previous program, or whether it definitely is not. The framework is used to define a method for finding telltale signs of the use of closed-world, instruction-substituting transformers within the frequencies of instruction forms found in a program. This decision method may yield a fast technique to aid malware detection.


The linear rolling guideway is one of the most essential parts of the machine tool. So it is very important to analyze the dynamic-static characteristic of the machine tool consider rolling guideway and to study the effect on machinery function. The paper's research is based on a NC machine tool produced by a certain plant of machine tools. Methods of simulating the rolling guideway support are studied, and the configuration of the spring damper elements of the bearing supports are also studied, and the finite element analysis on the CKS6125 machine tool has been made to confirm its dynamic characteristics. Then the finite element analysis models are validated by some experiments.


A thorough study of the generation of modulation instability (MI) in distributed Brillouin fibre sensors is presented. ASE noise co-propagating with the pump pulses within the MI gain spectrum has been identified to be an important factor seeding modulation instability and reducing its power threshold. The paper describes how optical narrowband filtering reduces the pump depletion resulting from MI, allowing pump pulses to propagate through longer distances in standard optical single-mode fibres.


Design of Network on chip architectures for multimedia applications is being widely studied. This involves design decisions at various levels of hierarchy. Topology design is one of the significant factors that affect the net delay and the energy consumption of the system. Most of the applications are characterized by bandwidth requirements and latency constraints. The topology must be built satisfying these constraints. The paper aims in generating low energy tree based topologies using homogeneous routers for bandwidth and latency constrained applications.


In this paper, we have simulated and compared GaAs and InGaP single-junction (SJ) and GaAs-InGaP double-junction (DJ) solar cells, by solving Poisson, continuity and transport equations simultaneously. The comparison of solar cell spectral response proves that, GaAs and InGaP solar cells absorb wavelengths less than 873 nm and 659 nm respectively, while DJ solar cell absorbs wide range of wavelengths in the overlapped spectra. This improves the efficiency of DJ solar cell. Based on our simulation results, efficiency of GaAs solar cell and InGaP solar cell were 23.83% and 13.32% respectively; whereas, the efficiency of 30.58% was achieved by optimizing the structure of GaAs-InGaP solar cell. Furthermore, I-V characteristics of these cells showed that open circuit voltage for GaAs cell was 1 V and for InGaP cell, because of its higher band gap, was 1.4 V. This value for DJ solar cell was equal to the sum of corresponding SJ solar cell values, which was enhanced by proper design of DJ cell. By proper designing, the short circuit current was also enhanced.


The paper provides a review into the steps involved in acquiring and processing synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data transmitted by the European remote sensing (ERS) satellites. The paper reports on a simple MATLAB-based SAR processing system, that reads the image out of the complex SAR data files and that is suitable for use in the classroom to demonstrate one of the procedures used in SAR data processing. The paper can also help a beginner in the field of SAR signal processing to get information and understand the basics that are necessary to acquire and process a SAR image. The data, provided by the Alaskan Satellite Facility (ASF), is categorized into different levels and the paper describes the process of obtaining the level-1 basic image from the level-0 raw data file provided by ASF.


Background: hypertension is a condition in which the blood vessels have persistently raised pressure, putting them under increased stress. Oxidative stress is an imbalance between ROS and antioxidant defense mechanisms, causing damage to biological macromolecules and dysregulation of normal metabolism and physiology. Oxidative stress is contributes to the etiology of hypertension in humans. Capoten is an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor. Which is responsible for the conversion of angiotensin I to angiotensin II. The aim of this study: was to assess the oxidative stress in hypertensive patients on Capoten treatment through the assessment of salivary Malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) as a marker of oxidative stress. Material and method: 60 individuals were included in this study, divided into two groups; one study group and one control group. The first group composed of 30 hypertensive patients on Capoten antihypertensive agent. The second group (control group) composed of 30 healthy subjects without any systemic disorder and almost healthy oral hygiene. Intraoral examination was done for each individual. Saliva samples were collected in restful and quit circumstances, the salivary flow rate (F/R) was calculated ml per minute. PH of salivary secretion were measured by PH meter. The levels of salivary MDA and SOD were analyzed by using ELISA kit based on the principle of Competitive enzyme immunoassay technique, the concentrations of markers were measured by spectrophotometer at 450nm in a microplate reader. Results: salivary MDA was significantly higher in patients groups in relation to control group. Salivary SOD was significantly lower in patient groups in relation to control group. Salivary flow rate and PH was significantly lower in patient groups comparing to control group. Conclusions: salivary MDA and SOD can be used as potential marker for monitoring patients with Hypertension. There is a relation between oxidative stress and hypertension.


Additive manufacturing (AM) technology enables a new way for fabricating components with complex internal surfaces. Selective laser melting (SLM), being one of the most common AM techniques, is able to fabricate complex geometries with superior material properties. However, due to the poor surface quality, the fabricated internal surfaces cannot meet the specifications for some real applications. To achieve the required internal surface condition, post-polishing process is essential. As one of the most prominent processes for finishing inaccessible surfaces with a wide range of materials, abrasive flow machining (AFM) shows great potential to polish AM internal surfaces. Hence, this paper presents an analytical and experimental study on the internal surface quality improvement of SLM Inconel 718 by AFM, aiming to verify the feasibility of AFM on internal surface quality improvement. The surface evolution process was modeled, and the effects of process parameters on surface and subsurface quality were evaluated. The results show that good surface roughness was obtained at the medium conditions of high viscosity, large particle size, low extrusion pressure, and low temperature. The surface morphology was greatly affected by the medium particle size which showed consistency with the surface evolution model that small abrasive particles are unable to overcome the width and depth of the valleys, resulting in the formation of craters. The partially melt layer was effectively removed, and no subsurface damage was induced.


Cooling of surfaces is often carried out in devices consisting of arrays of round nozzles, through which coolant impinges vertically upon the surfaces. To enhance the heat transfer coefficient and save the amount of coolant, two-phase jets were applied to the cooling of copper surface of 30mm in diameter. Experiments were conducted with using water and air at atmospheric pressure.
 The heat transfer coefficient by single-phase water jets was well described with an empirical correlation. The experimental heat transfer coefficient increased with addition of air. When the volumetric air flow ratio β is less than 0.2, the heat transfer coefficient by air/water two-phase jets was larger than the prediction where the volumetric two-phase velocity and the physical properties of water were used in the empirical correlation for single phase heat transfer. However, the experimental data gradually decreased with increase of gas phase at β > 0.2.
 To study the enhancement and degradation mechanism of impinging two-phase heat transfer, the flow pattern in a capillary tube such as the nozzle tube and the impinging behavior on a transparent glass plate were observed with a high-speed video camera. When β was small, numerous air micro bubbles of very small diameter were impinging on the heat transfer surface. When β was large, impinging micro bubbles could not be observed. Gas and water phases intermittently impinged on the glass plate as the heat transfer surface. In the observed photograph, a hexagonal pattern resulting from interference among the adjusting two-phase jets could be recognized.
 The enhancement of heat transfer at β < 0.2 is considered to be due to the micro bubbles sweeping on the surface. The degradation at β > 0.2 is mainly due to the lower thermal capability of gas-phase than that of liquid-phase. The gas-phase intermittently impinged on the surface and its heat transfer was relatively low.


With urbanization happening at high-speed throughout China, many historic urban quarters are aging and facing the problems of decay. Therefore, revitalization of historic urban quarters has become a popular and important issue, particularlyin the Chinese cities. In some cases, however, the goal of revitalization has not been fully achieved. Nevertheless, several examples may bring useful information for further analysis and the search of solutions to the problem. This thesis aims to find answers to the following questions: What is the urban catalyst theory? How can the urban catalyst theory provide a theoretical framework to guide the revitalization of historic urban quarters? How can the urban catalyst theory be applied to a historical urban district in China? What elements of the theory are most applicable, and which are not? What may explain this type of discrepancy? What kind of historic urban quarter may be the most suitable one for the Chinese cities, in view of their peculiar situations? This proposed theory is a new redevelopment strategy, comprised of a series of projects that drive and guide urban development. The aim of this paper is thus to make a proposal for Nanbuting Destrict , which is characterized by similar problems, based on the principles of the urban catalyst theory. The thesis will also shade light on the pecularity of the historic urban quarters in China, taking into considerationg the situation in the country during urban revitalization. Based on this aim, this study will firstly presents the theoretical overview on the concept of urban catalyst theory and urban revitalization. Consequently the urban catalyst theory will be introduced as a theoretical foundation for addressing the problem of revitalization of historic urban quarters with the demands of the current modern city. Following the theoretical study, two case studies will be addressed with the purpose of evaluation of the proposed theory.. As the main contribution of this paper, the author will apply the theory into the design proposal for Nanbuting district, in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China. Finally, the paper will conclude with a brief summary on the general arguments presented in this work. Several of the case studies, presented in Wayne's (1989) book, present the urban situation in China as a repetition of the American urban development in the 70's and 80's. Therefore, the argument of the thesis is that the urban catalyst theory is also a suitable theory and method for revitalization of historic urban quarters in China, which may also bring in solutions for dealing with the problem which has been arised. The information and support my design proposal was collected through the interviews of the local residents and the municipal government in Nanjing, as well as the author's own observations noted during the visit to the design area. Thus, the design proposal examines the significance of the urban catalyst as a means of revitalization in historic urban quarters in China. Finally, a suggestion will be given in regard to the improvement of the future urban renewal system in the future.


This paper develops a distributed strategy to identify an energy-efficient base station (BS) network configuration for green cellular networks. During off-peak periods where traffic demands are only a fraction of the peak-time traffic demands, a subset of BSs is switched off to minimize operational energy consumption without affecting service to any of network users. To this end, we formulate a combinatorial optimization of jointly determining BS switching and user association. This formulation, however, requires a computationally demanding task as the population of the network grows. To resolve these challenges, we introduce a graphical-model approach to the optimization formulation and derive a distributed algorithm based on affinity propagation, which is a message-passing algorithm developed for data clustering in data-mining techniques. The proposed algorithm operates via simple local information exchanges among users and BSs and provides a very efficient solution for energy-saving management with low computational costs. We also present a green protocol that transforms commercial cellular networks into green radio networks using the proposed algorithm. Simulation results verify that the developed solution significantly improves the energy savings and resource utilization in the network.


Indigenous Australian health is distinguished by a median age of death in the order of 20 years less than that of the non-indigenous population (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2009). This makes Australia unique among comparable post-colonial societies in failing to make substantive reductions to the indigenous/non-indigenous health differential. Relatively poor indigenous housing, educational attainment, labour market participation and access to traditional resources for economic purposes contribute to the differential. These contributing variables have an inherently political character which is integral to examining the just distribution of public authority, the purpose of political activity, equal political participation and cultural responsiveness in the provision of health services as important theoretical considerations in reducing cross-cultural inequities in the burden of disease.


The leaf beetle, Gratiana boliviana Spaeth, is a biological control agent of tropical soda apple ( Solanum viarum Dunal), a noxious weed invading the rangeland and agricultural fields of Florida and other southeastern states. In caged experiments, we examined the influence of beetle density and the time of day on the dispersal of the leaf beetle. Increasing beetle density from 2 to 100 beetles per plant did not increase G. boliviana dispersal, as long as the host plants were not severely defoliated. An increase in beetle density from 10 to 100 beetles per plant significantly reduced the per capita fecundity from 0.3 to 0.02 eggs over a 24-h period. Thus, a mass rearing method for G. boliviana should consider the potential detrimental effect of increasing density on the fecundity of the leaf beetle. When the dispersal activity of the leaf beetle was observed between 8:00 and 18:00 h, the proportion of beetles dispersing from a given plant increased throughout the morning hours and peaked at noon. A monitoring or sampling program of G. boliviana should be conducted in the early morning or late afternoon when the beetles' tendency to disperse is the lowest in order to more accurately sample for the population density in a certain area. Beetle density and the time of day interacted to influence the proportion of G. boliviana dispersing from a given plant. The proportions of beetles that dispersed were not different among the different time periods at densities of less than 40 beetles per plant. At or above 40 beetles per plant, the proportion of beetles that dispersed peaked at noon. This study suggests that a myriad of factors, including density, feeding damage, photoperiod and host plant quality, interact to determine the dispersal pattern of G. boliviana .


Williams syndrome is caused by the deletion of 26 to 28 genes, including elastin, on human chromosome 7. Elastin insufficiency leads to the cardiovascular hallmarks of this condition, namely focal stenosis and hypertension. Extrapolation from the Eln+/− mouse suggests that affected people may also have stiff vasculature, a risk factor for stroke, myocardial infarction, and cardiac death. NCF1, one of the variably deleted Williams genes, is a component of the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase complex and is involved in the generation of oxidative stress, making it an interesting candidate modifier for vascular stiffness. Using a case–control design, vascular stiffness was evaluated by pulse wave velocity in 77 Williams cases and matched controls. Cases had stiffer conducting vessels than controls (P<0.001), with increased stiffness observed in even the youngest children with Williams syndrome. Pulse wave velocity increased with age at comparable rates in cases and controls, and although the degree of vascular stiffness varied, it was seen in both hypertensive and normotensive Williams participants. Use of antihypertensive medication and extension of the Williams deletion to include NCF1 were associated with protection from vascular stiffness. These findings demonstrate that vascular stiffness is a primary vascular phenotype in Williams syndrome and that treatment with antihypertensives or agents inhibiting oxidative stress may be important in managing patients with this condition, potentially even those who are not overtly hypertensive.