The behaviour of wheat cultivars in environments with different yield level and the progress of wheat breeding in Israel were investigated by a statistical exploration of 353 Regional Wheat Trials, performed from 1970 to 2002. In the trials 125 experimental and commercial cultivars of Triticum aestivum, 11 of T. durum and one Triticale line (summarised as cultivars) were tested. The yield levels of trials ranged from 0.5 to 8.8 t/ha. The assumption of additive cultivar effects did not fit to trials differing much in yield since genetic variance within trials was closely related to the yield level of trials. The cultivars differed in grain yield by multiplicative factors that were well reproducible and highly correlated across environments. The best differentiation of cultivars, expressed as the ratio of genetic to residual variance, was found in high yielding environments. Specific adaptations of cultivars to the environmental yield level were absent or negligible and the ranking of the tested cultivars was very similar across environments. Residual variance was very low a�er standardisation to equal genetic variance. Statistical cultivar × environment interactions might be largely artefacts of additive yield models, applied to non-standardised data. Significant differences between cultivars were observed in relative yield, stability of relative yield, earliness, height, kernel size and hectoliter weight. Cultivar yield was significantly associated with lodging resistance, short straw and low protein content, while the association with other traits was low or non-significant. Breeding resulted in an increase of the average relative yield of cultivars in regional trials by more than 30%. The top recent bread wheat cultivar Galil is yielding approximately twice more than cv. Florence Aurore, the leading cultivar till the seventies. Breeding progress for yield was fast in the seventies, but only moderate in the last 10 years, with cv. Galil as the top yielder since 1996. Further breeding progress might be harder to achieve than in the past.


Abstract Objective: Adipokines (cytokines produced by adipose tissue) play a major role in the control of body weight and energy distribution. Retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4), only recently recognized as an adipokine, has been proposed to modulate systemic insulin sensitivity. The goal of this study was to determine whether there is an association between maternal plasma RBP4 concentration and the birth of a large-for-gestational-age (LGA) newborn in women with and without gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Study design: This cross-sectional study included pregnant women at term in the following groups: 1) normal pregnancy with an appropriate-for-gestational-age (AGA) neonate (n=64); 2) normal pregnancy with an LGA neonate (n=44); 3) GDM with an AGA neonate (n=55); and 4) GDM with an LGA neonate (n=42). Maternal plasma RBP4 concentration was determined by ELISA. Parametric and non-parametric statistics were used for analyses. Results: 1) Patients with GDM, either with AGA or LGA neonates, had a higher median plasma concentration of RBP4 than normal pregnant women who delivered an AGA neonate (P=0.01 and P=0.008, respectively); 2) mothers without GDM but with LGA neonates had a higher median plasma concentration of RBP4 than those with normal pregnancy and AGA newborns (P=0.001); 3) these findings remained significant after adjusting for maternal age, body mass index and gestational age at blood sampling. Conclusion: GDM is characterized by alterations in maternal circulating RBP4 concentrations akin to those of Type 2 diabetes mellitus. RBP4 concentrations in maternal plasma may play a role in accelerated fetal growth in the absence of overt carbohydrate intolerance.


A major issue in developmental biology is to determine how time and position-restricted instructions are signaled and received during morphogenesis of different phenotypes, of which tooth, Meckel's cartilage and tongue formation are classical examples. It is now evident that a hierarchy of growth factors and their downstream transcription factors regulate the timing, sequence and position of cells and tissues in forming different phenotypes during embryogenesis. Here we report the development of an early mandibular organ culture model. Explants of E8 and E9 first branchial arch were cultured and produced mandibular processes with cap stage tooth formation, Meckel's cartilage and tongue development. In tandem, vital dye (Dil) labeling studies confirmed that rhombomeres 1-4 give rise to craneal neural crest (CNC) cells which emigrate from the neural fold to the forming maxillary and mandibular arches. Furthermore, we have tested the feasibility of investigating the regulation of different phenotypes within the first branchial arch by a transcription factor using this early mandibular organ culture model. Lymphoid enhancing factor 1 (Lef1), a transcription factor, has been implicated to regulate tooth formation in vivo. We have analyzed the expression of Lef1 and studied the biological effects of Lef1 on E8 embryonic mouse first branchial arch explants in organ culture. Collectively, these results demonstrate that first branchial arch explant model is suitable for studies of rhombencephalic crest cell fate during mandibular morphogenesis and can be used as a model with direct access to investigate the molecular mechanism in regulating first branchial arch morphogenesis.


This study carries out in-depth political feasibility analysis of the prospective health financing reform currently taking place in Taiwan. The National Health Insurance (NHI) Program, which was established in Taiwan in 1995, covers virtually all of the island's citizens. Between the years 2001 and 2004, the Taiwanese Government organized a taskforce to carry out the wholesale reform of the NHI program into the so-called 'Second Generation NHI Program'. This study is part of the comprehensive review, focusing on the preferences and positions of key policy stakeholders with regard to the financial reform proposals, as well as their network relationships. The approach of stakeholder analysis was employed to conduct this empirical study. The results reveal that the new financing scheme has a certain degree of support from the policy stakeholders participating in this study, and that in particular, the measures concerning equity and sustainability were most welcome. However, controversy remains with regard to the issue of the equitable sharing of contributions. It is clear that there is much strong support for the new scheme amongst the administrative and legislative elite, although the same level of support is not evident amongst the social elite affiliated with employees' associations and welfare groups.


This work focused on the effects of chitosan (CS) and 9,10-dihydro-9-oxo-10-phosphaphenanthrene-10-oxide (DOPO) on the flammable propertied of epoxy resin matrix. The EP composites were fabricated by direct mixing method through a general curing method. The influence of CS, DOPO and CS / DOPO on the resin was investigated through cone calorimetry tests (CC), UL-94 vertical burning, limiting oxygen index (LOI), thermal gravimetric analyzer (TGA), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and thermogravimetric analyzer-Fourier infrared combined system (TG-FTIR). The char residues of modified EPs after CC tests were investigated by FTIR, EDX and XPS. Under the 10% addition of CS / DOPO in EP, with the mass ratio of CS and DOPO of 1 : 1, 1 : 2, 1 : 3, 2 : 1 and 3 : 1, the flame retardancy properties of EPs all increased, but only if EP/10% CS1/DOPO2 and EP/10% CS2/DOPO1 achieved a V-0 rating and their values of LOI were 33.7% and 32.5%, respectively. Compared with EP, the peak heat release rate, peak smoke produce rate and total heat release of EP/10% CS1/DOPO2 and EP/10% CS2/DOPO1 decreased, especially, total smoke release decreased by 61.9% and 71.0%, the char residuals amount increased by 84.3% and 41.6%, and the average CO2 yield decreased by 55.4% and 55.0%, respectively. It is worth nothing that the mechanical properties increased, especially the flexural strength increased by 36.0% and 38.4%, respectively. The results indicated that DOPO and CS had important synergistic effects for simultaneous increase both the flame retardancy and mechanical properties of EP composites.


We have performed the impact experiment by using an air-gun. First we collected "volcanic ash of Sakurajima", "olivine sand" and "Ito pyroclastic flow deposits" (Shirasu). Then we classify them according to their size, and compared them for size and pressure. All materials that are smaller than 106μm could make holes that look like moon craters. The value of the ratio of depth and diameter of moon is 0.2 but the holes that we made had a minimum value 0.69. Therefore, we can't reproduce moon craters. In addition, we checked the relation the holes of roundness. The values were 0.5(ash), 0.5(olivine sand), 0.4(Shirasu). There were no significant difference among the three materials. We will inspect the relation of the holes to density from now on. O02-P08 Japan Geoscience Union Meeting 2016


The retina mainly contains ganglion, bipolar and photoreceptor cells which are distributed in the ganglion cell layer (GCL), inner nuclear layer (INL) and outer nuclear layer (ONL), respectively. Whether there is an age-related loss of these retinal cells remains not well understood. Cell density and the total number of cells were two commonly used measures to evaluate such age-related changes in most previous studies and provided controversial conclusions. The use of density measures as decisive data is problematic because the total area of the retina was expanded in aging, whereas the application of the total number of cells was limited for assessing ganglion cells. In this study, thus, we wanted to test whether there is an age-related cell loss in the GCL, INL and ONL and if so, whether such a loss is correlated to the convergence ratio of these cells. We used stereological procedures to quantify the total number of cells in the three retinal nuclear layers in six young and six aged Long-Evans rats. We found that during aging, the total volume of the retina remained unchanged, but the retina became thinner. There was no cell loss in each individual nuclear layer, and the ratio of the ONL to INL to GCL was preserved.


A new application of polymer Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films which contain a photoacid generator introduced into polymer main chain as a co-monomer to draw photo patterns as a photolithographic is described here. The chemically positive-tone resist system terpolymers p (DDMA-DNMMA-AOPTs) s used here contains N-dodecylmeth acrylamide (DDMA), 1,4-dioxaspiro [4.4] nonane-2-methylmeth acrylate and 4-(allyloxy) phenyl-4-toluenesulfonate (AOPTs), which was prepared by free radical polymerization. In the terpolymers system, the acid generated by the PAG catalyzed the ketal moiety liberates cyclopentanone and regenerating derivative of glyceryl alcohol in an exposed region during the postexposure baking process. The rending moiety is dissolved into alkaline aqueous to form a positive tone in the expose region. The decompose mechanism of [p (DDMA-DNMMA-AOPTs) s] LB films irradiated by deep UV light was investigated. The photopatterning properties were also investigated. Results showed that the resolution of patterns with p (DDMA-DNMMA-AOPTs) s b LB films with 40 layers were 0.75μm which is the limit resolution of the photo-mask employed in the experiment. The effect of photogenerated acid from the photo-acid generator after irradiated by deep UV light on a typical chemically amplified resist system was studied by thermogravimetric analysis, which showed that the existence of the photoacid generator of AOPTs in terpolymer can improve the sensitivity of ketal-protected polymers without decreasing resolution.


It has been widely claimed that introverts are cool-headed beings who tend to be thinkers while extroverts tend to follow their heart and are thus, more of feelers. However, this claim is not backed by research since it has never been tested. This research paper sets out to test this hypothesis through establishing a correlational link between the two meta-programs of introversion-extroversion and thinking-feeling. In order to measure this, an online questionnaire was administered to 102 participants between the age group of 18-25 years, which consisted of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Scale that computed scores for both the meta-programs. Correlational analysis using SPSS showed a moderate positive correlation between introversion and thinking and a moderate positive correlation between extroversion and feeling. Thus, the findings supported the hypothesis since introversion shared a direct relationship with thinking while extroversion directly related with feeling, however, the reason is not known due to the nature of correlation analysis.


Objective: Identifying specifically motor related activation patterns in essential tremor by manipulation of the sensorimotor loop to separate motor activity from sensory feedback during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) applying a haptic wrist manipulator. Background: Essential tremor is a high prevalent movement disorder with yet unclear pathophysiology and overlapping clinical features with other tremor disorders. In essential tremor efferent motor activity and afferent sensory activity are intermingled, thereby hampering identification of truly tremor related brain areas (efferent drive) in neuroimaging studies1. With help of novel quantitative fMRI approach we manipulate both motor and sensory input to gain insight in the sensorimotor closed loop. Methods: Seven essential tremor patients, diagnosed according to the criteria of the Tremor Investigation Group2(four men; mean age 66±16) with bilateral postural arm tremor, were studied off medication. Subjects performed a motor task with the right hand using a haptic manipulator during fMRI. Tasks included an active isometric motor task (exerting a static torque to the handle) and a passive movement task (going along with a continuous (multi)sinusoidal perturbations). Results were derived from a conventional block-design with random effects analysis of the group comparing active motor tasks and passive motor conditions, with the tasks and the movement parameters used as regressors (FWE corrected, p <0.05). Results: The active motor task versus the passive movement in essential tremor was associated with activation in bilateral cerebellum, bilateral basal ganglia, thalamus, SMA and motor cortex (fig 1). The reversed contrast did not show any activations in motor networks. Conclusions: Our preliminary findings show accurate identification of motor network activity including the cerebellum, thalamus, basal ganglia and motor cortex during isometric contraction versus passive movement. By manipulation of the sensorimotor loop with a wrist manipulator we are able to reveal specific motor network activations. This novel quantitative approach is a promising new technique to study pathophysiological mechanisms in hyperkinetic movement disorders, and potentially lead to new diagnostic approaches.


The Kisan Credit Card Scheme was introduced in India in 199899 has since become a áagship program providing access to short term credit in the agricultural sector. According to the Government of India, over a 100 million cards had been issued cumulatively by March 2011. Using data from 2004-05 to 2009-10, the paper critically examines the determinants of KCC lending across states in India and districts in Bihar. We also examine the e§ects of the scheme on agricultural growth and yields. Our results suggest that states with initially better access to agricultural credit show sbsequently greater amounts of KCC lending. However, Bihar and other BIMARU states also show faster adoption rates that cannot be explained by their recent growth accelerations. Within Bihar, we see that districts with initially greater lending in KCC continue to to pull further away from other districts while in terms of account holders there is evidence of convergence. Finally, we do not see any evidence of KCC lending on state or district level agricultural productivity. JEL ClassiÖcation: Q14, Q0, O41, O47


One of the fundamental issues in this environment is related to task scheduling. A good task scheduler should adapt its scheduling strategy to the changing environment and the types of tasks. It gives a better way of scheduling jobs in restricted conditions. Since the number of cloud users need different kind of virtual machines as per the requirement and cloud provider provides these services as per the Service Level Agreement to ensure Quality of service. Many methods to resolve this problem has been came into existence like PSO, genetic algorithms and other kind of task scheduling. In this Article it has been proposed a method based on Ant Colony optimization to resolve the problem of load balancing in cloud computing.


In this study, it was aimed to investigate whether mental (psychological) well-being has an effect on the level of happiness of Kocaeli University Faculty of Sports Science students according to age, gender, department, class and perceived academic achievement. The research group constitutes 182 randomly chosen students in the 2015-2016 school year. In the study in order to evaluate mental well-being levels of the students "Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale" which was developed by Tennant et al. (2007) and adapted to Turkish by Keldalı (2015) and in order to evaluate happiness levels of the students "Happiness Scale of Oxford" which was developed by Hills and Argyle (2002) and adapted to Turkish by Doğan and Sapmaz (2012) and in order to gather information on socio-demographic backgrounds of the students a personal information form developed by the researchers were used as data gathering tools. According to the findings of the research, there was a significant positive correlation between mental (psychological) well-being and happiness. As a result this study showed that mental well-being has a positive effect on happiness for Kocaeli University Faculty of Sports Science Students.


In this study, some low-titanium aluminum alloys produced by electrolysis were prepared and the effect of various titanium contents on microstructure and tensile property of Zn-Al alloy was investigated. The test results showed that addition of titanium by electrolysis is an effective way to refine the grain size of Zn-Al alloy. As the titanium content is 0.04 wt%, the grain size becomes to be a minimum value and the tensile property of the alloy reaches to the maximum. Electrolysis showed that titanium atoms are to be some inherent particles in low-titanium aluminum alloy. These titanium atoms enter into the aluminum melt liquid and spread to the whole melt rapidly under stirring action of electromagnetic field of the electric current. The heterogeneous phase nuclei are high melting TiC and TiAl3 particles formed from in-situ precipitating trace C and Ti during cooling process. These in-situ precipitating heterogeneous nucleation sites with small dimension, high dispersity, cleaning interface and fine soakage with melt, have better capacity of heterogeneous nucleation than of exotic particles. It may inhibit grain growth faster and more effective in pinning dislocations, grain boundaries or sub-boundaries.


Corporate carbon footprint data has become ubiquitous. This data is also highly promissory. But as this paper argues, such data fails both consumers and citizens. The governance of climate change seemingly requires a strong foundation of data on emission sources. Economists approach climate change as a market failure, where the optimisation of the atmosphere is to be evidence based and data driven. Citizens or consumers, state or private agents of control, all require deep access to information to judge emission realities. Whether we are interested in state-led or in neoliberal 'solutions' for either democratic participatory decision-making or for preventing market failure, companies' emissions need to be known. This paper draws on 20 months of ethnographic fieldwork in a Fortune 50 company's environmental accounting unit to show how carbon reporting interferes with information symmetry requirements, which further troubles possibilities for contesting data. A material-semiotic analysis of the data practices and infrastructures employed in the context of corporate emissions disclosure details the situated political economies of data labour along the data processing chain. The explicit consideration of how information asymmetries are socially and computationally shaped, how contexts are shifted and how data is systematically straightened out informs a reflexive engagement with Big Data. The paper argues that attempts to automatise environmental accounting's veracity management by means of computing metadata or to ensure that data quality meets requirements through third-party control are not satisfactory. The crossover of Big Data with corporate environmental governance does not promise to trouble the political economy that hitherto sustained unsustainability.


At intervals during the last 20 years I have studied the well-known garnet-actinolite schists which are exposed on the southern slope of the St. Gothard Pass from perhaps 500 to about 1600 feet above the mouth of the tunnel. They extend westward along the flank of the Val Bedretto to beyond All'acqua, with one slight interruption near this spot, and can be followed eastward to the vicinity of the Pizzo Columbe, that is, for a total distance of from 16 to 17 miles, the breadth of the outcrop, which is locally interrupted by elongated masses of more normal hornblendic schist, being at its maximum about 1¼ mile. They are intersected by the Val Tremola and the Val Canaria with its tributary glens, and are exposed on the right bank of the Val Piora. Here the lower part of the mass must be about 6700 feet above sea-level, that is to say, the outcrop rises at least 2500 feet in about 5 miles. My later visits threw some light on the origin of these rocks; but I felt that more work in the field was necessary before I could come to any conclusion. Therefore I determined to return to the district and examine more particularly the outcrops near the Val Piora, of which hitherto I had seen little, having spent my time on another group of schists, which apparently overlie them. This intention was carried out in July 1897, and I had the good fortune to be accompanied by my friend


How was history written in Europe and Asia between 400-1400? How was the past understood in religious, social and political terms? And in what ways does the diversity of historical writing in this period mask underlying commonalities in narrating the past? The volume, which assembles 28 contributions from leading historians, tackles these and other questions. Part I provides comprehensive overviews of the development of historical writing in societies that range from the Korean Peninsula to north-west Europe, which together highlight regional and cultural distinctiveness. Part II complements the first part by taking a thematic and comparative approach; it includes essays on genre, warfare, and religion (amongst others) which address common concerns of historians working in this liminal period before the globalizing forces of the early modern world.


In the vascular system, the shear applied to the vascular wall activates mechano-sensors located on endothelial cells (ECs) leading to a modification in the gene expression profile. We applied laminar shear stress at 1 Pa on ECs for 6 h and measured by quantitative real time PCR the expression modulation of genes implied in inflammation (ICAM-1 and E-selectin), oxidative stress sensing (HO-1) and vascular tone modulation (eNOS). We showed that all these genes are shear stress inducible. ICAM-1 is more up-regulated than E-selectin suggesting different levels of implication in inflammatory responses and different modes of induction (SSRE, cytokine). Laminar shear stress induces an oxidative stress translated into HO-1 up-regulation, and a possible vasodilatation through the induction of eNOS. Our laminar shear stress system opens a novel and interesting frame in the evaluation of the impact on ECs and blood cells of new pharmacological substances injected in the bloodstream.


Two results concerning the Zome System are offered here. The first is a surprisingly simple model of Gosset's 8dimensional semiregular polytope 421, built using the two "natural" sizes of Zome models of the 600-cell. Next we provide parts lists for Zome models of the 15 convex uniform polychora with the same symmetry as the 600-cell. For good reason, a few of these models have never been built before, but having the parts list available is a first step towards realizing all of them. We also offer some guidance on how to build these models.


The relation of the quality of writing assignments and written instructor responses to student writings to the quality of subsequent student work was investigated in 29 urban third-grade classrooms in 8 schools. Writing assignments were generally of a higher quality in the 4 schools that served primarily middle-class, higher-achieving students, most of whom were white or Asian, versus the 4 schools that served primarily low-income and lower-achieving students, the majority of whom were Latino. Across all classrooms, however, teachers focused on standardizing students' written output, which led to marked improvement in the writing mechanics of students' work. Results of regression analyses indicated that the amount and type of feedback students received predicted a significant, although small, proportion of the variance in the quality of the content, organization, and mechanics of students' final drafts. The quality of the writing assignments predicted a small but significant proportion of the variance in the quality of the content of students' final drafts only. These findings raise questions about the implementation of broad educational policies in classrooms, such as using the writing process approach, and indicate a need for professional development for teachers.


Fatigue Life, Endurance Limit, Composite Materials, Laser shock peening, Polymer Matrix Composites, notch sensitivity factor, fatigue strength reduction. Laser shock peening is a widely common process for materials treatment and typically used for fatigue strength enhancement especially for metals. In this paper, its effect on polymeric composite materials studied experimentally. Unsaturated polyester was used as a matrix in order to composites preparation and Aluminum powder as fillers. A Hand lay-up technique has been used for composites making. Composites with three volume fractions of Aluminum powder were prepared (2.5%, 5%, and 7.5%). Fatigue specimens as a standard and with (1mm) semi-circular notch are prepared for testing. The fatigue test was performed at room temperature and stress ratio (R=-1). Laser shock peening with two levels of energy have been applied (1Joule, and 2Joule). The results showed an increase in the endurance strength of the notch for 7.5% volume fraction especially at 1J laser energy by about 26.7056% compared with the untreatment notched state, which in turn reduced the fatigue stress concentration by about 21.0508% compared with standard fatigue stress concentration. On the other hand, the presence of notch effect on endurance strength was increased after laser treatment of composites with 2.5% volume fraction and the reduced was by about 39.698% at 2J laser energy. How to cite this article: A. N. AlKhazraji and A. A. Mutasher, "Effect of laser shock peening on fatigue stress concentration of polyester reinforced by Al-micro powder composites," Engineering and Technology Journal, Vol. 38, Part A, No. 03, pp. 325-334, 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.30684/etj.v38i3A.345


BACKGROUND
Advances in surgical techniques and post-operative management of children with CHD have significantly lowered mortality rates. Unplanned cardiac interventions are a significant complication with implications on morbidity and mortality.

METHODS
We conducted a single-centre retrospective case-control study for patients (<18 years) undergoing cardiac surgery for repair of Tetralogy of Fallot between January 2009 and December 2019. Data included patient characteristics, operative variables and outcomes. This study aimed to assess the incidence and risk factors for reintervention of Tetralogy of Fallot after cardiac surgery. The secondary outcome was to examine the incidence of long-term morbidity and mortality in those who underwent unplanned reinterventions.

RESULTS
During the study period 29 patients (6.8%) underwent unplanned reintervention, and were matched to 58 patients by age, weight and sex. Median age was 146 days, and median weight was 5.8 kg. Operative mortality was 7%, and 1-year survival was 86% for the entire cohort (cases and controls). Hispanic patients were more likely to have reinterventions (p = 0.04) in the unadjusted analysis, while Asian, Pacific Islander and Native American (p = 0.01) in the multi-variate analysis. Patients that underwent reintervention were more likely to have post-op arrhythmia, genetic syndromes and higher operative and 1-year mortality (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION
Unplanned cardiac interventions following Tetralogy of Fallot repair are common, and associated with increased operative, and 1-year mortality. Race, genetic syndromes and post-operative arrhythmia are associated with increased odds of unplanned reinterventions. Future studies are needed to identify modifiable risk factors to minimise unplanned reinterventions.


Since the 1980s, major health care reforms in many countries have focused on redefining the boundaries of government through increasing emphasis on private sources of finance and delivery of health care. Apart from managerial and financial choices, the reliance on private sources reflects the political character of a country. This article explores whether the public-private mix of health care financing differs according to political traditions in a sample of 18 industrialized countries, analyzing a 30-year period. The results indicate that despite common trends in all four political traditions during the study period, the overall levels of expenditure and the rates of growth in public and private expenditures were different. Christian democratic countries had public expenditure levels as high as those in social democracies, but high levels of private expenditure differentiated them from the social democracies. Christian democratic countries also relied on both private insurance and out-of-pocket payments, while private insurance expenditures were very limited in social democratic countries. The level of public spending increased at much higher rates among ex-authoritarian countries over the 30 years, bringing these countries to the level of liberal countries by 2000.


The goal of this special issue is to introduce the field of computational synthetic biology to engineers and computer scientists. The first article gives an introduction to the key biological principles and experimental techniques that support synthetic biology, and it draws analogies with the computing field. This issue also includes five original research articles in computational synthetic biology. The first research article discusses how standards can be used to modularize the design process for genetic circuits. The next two articles introduce new abstraction techniques to improve the efficiency of analysis of genetic circuit models. The last two articles introduce new design techniques that help decouple design from construction. We hope this sampling from the field will help to motivate others to join this exciting and rich area of research.


The presence of fat, beyond physiological limits, in organs, other than the adipose tissue, like the liver, the skeletal muscle, the heart and the pancreas etc is called ectopic fat. It causes specific organ dysfunction in the tissues concerned. The importance of the ectopic fat is that it is connected to peripheral tissue insulin resistance, obesity, metabolic syndrome etc. Though the molecular mechanisms underlying the specific organ dysfunctions are understood, still grey areas exists as to the source of the ectopic fat and how it finds it's way to the specific sites of the target organs (intra- myocellular in skeletal muscle, hepatocyte cytoplasm of liver, epicardial surface and coronary arteries of heart etc.).  The molecular mechanisms involving the actual ectopic deposition fat, are not clear. This article focuses on some of the grey areas in the pathogenesis of the ectopic fat deposition, besides reviewing briefly the facts    already known in the literature about ectopic fat deposition.


Obesity, a major public health problem around the world, is a strong risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. Recent research suggests that increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) from accumulated fat in obesity leads to elevated systemic oxidative stress and contributes to the development of obesity-linked chronic disorders. The aim of the current study was to investigate changes of key enzymes associated with antioxidant response and metabolic pathways in 3T3-L1 cell, a preadipocyte cell line that undergoes differentiation into mature adipocytes. The changes in lipid accumulation, ROS production, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) during the course of differentiation were determined. The ROS production and G6PDH activity exponentially increased as differentiation progressed. However, CAT activity showed a sharp decrease until day 2, followed by a gradual increase up to day 6 and then leveled off. Given the importance of adipocyte differentiation and ROS production in oxidation-linked diseases, these data provide a biochemical rationale for further studies to identify cellular mechanisms that can counter ROS generation and modulate cellular redox environment in adipocytes.


CHARGE is a nonrandom association of ocular coloboma, congenital heart defects, atresia of the choanae, retarded growth and development, genital hypoplasia, and ear anomalies including deafness. The cause of CHARGE remains unknown; however, there is considerable evidence of an underlying genetic basis, as discussed by Tellier et al. [1996: Clin Genet 50:548-550; 1998: Am J Med Genet 76:402-409] and by Martin et al. [2001: Am J Med Genet 99:115-119]. Based on the ocular, cardiac, and craniofacial expression pattern of Pitx2, a homeodomain transcription factor, and the pleiotropic effects of loss of PITX2 function in both mouse and human, we hypothesized that PITX2 mutations may contribute to the multiple phenotypic anomalies present in CHARGE individuals. By direct sequencing of DNA from 29 individuals with CHARGE, we did not identify any mutations in PITX2. We did, however, identify two PITX2 sequence polymorphisms. Large deletions of PITX2 were excluded in most patients by heterozygosity in at least one of several polymorphic markers near the PITX2 locus. Together, these data indicate that PITX2 mutations are unlikely to be a major contributing cause of the multiple anomalies present in individuals with CHARGE.


The effect of glass fiber reinforcement on the mechanical properties and geometrical shape stability during the thermomechanical cycle of the shape memory polymer composite has been investigated. A substantial improvement in the mechanical properties due to glass fiber reinforcement has been realized. However, unexpected deformation has been observed during heating process, particularly in the first thermomechanical cycle. This unanticipated deformation negatively affects the geometrical shape stability of the composite, and as a consequence the geometry preciseness of the structural parts manufactured with shape memory polymer composites will be reduced. In this article, the unanticipated thermal deformation in the shape memory polymer composites during the heating has been observed experimentally, and constitutive relationships to describe this behavior have been developed. Furthermore, an application of a constant tensile load during the heating process on the shape memory polymer composite part was found to be a reliable solution to reduce the thermal distortion effect and improve the geometric stability of the composite. The results showed that developed constitutive relations have shown a good agreement with the experimental results. Furthermore, the proposed applied tensile load has shown significant improvement in the shape memory polymer composite samples' geometrical shape stability when subjected to a temperature increase.


This paper reports on the research project, Mapping the written genres of the Japanese workplace which set out to identify, taxonomise and describe the kinds of factual genres used in the Japanese-speaking workplace. The motivation behind this study originates from a desire to know, understand and ultimately, teach authentic genres which have vocational significance for students of Japanese as a second and or foreign language. The study interviewed and surveyed 21 non-Japanese speaking background employees in Japanese speaking workplaces both in Japan and Australia and collected over 127 workplace documents. This paper will report on the kinds of Japanese language skills these employees are expected to use in their day-to-day working life and the kinds of Japanese documents they read and write. The documents are organised as a taxonomy based on a framework of administrative text types. This framework has three main genres: specifically genres of Records; Provisions and Directives (Disadvantaged Schools' Program 1995).


Design flood estimates are often required for small catchments as part of development planning and/or infrastructure design. Traditionally, the probabilistic Rational Method has been the principal approach to estimate design peak flow with simple hydraulic calculations employed to size culverts and bridge waterways. The application of the Rational Method, while well ingrained in engineering practice, relies on significant simplifications of the catchment run-off process. These simplifications can lead to uncertainty surrounding design flood estimates. More sophisticated analysis is possible through the use of run-off routing models such as RORB, Rafts or Urbs. Such models allow greater detail to be incorporated into the analysis at a sub-catchment level, although some simplifications of the run-off process are still necessary. Recent developments in two dimensional hydraulic models enable the direct application of rainfall excess onto the computational grid. Increasingly high resolution topographic data is becoming available, often associated with proposed development of a particular area. These two developments facilitate the application of two dimensional hydraulic models as a run-off routing model in small catchments. This paper discusses the key aspects of this application including appropriate topographic data sources, computational grid resolution and effective roughness values. Results from a preliminary application to small rural catchments in the Geelong region are presented and used to illustrate key aspects. In particular, the selection of appropriate hydraulic roughness is critical. Better representation of catchment storage is provided through the use of topographic data in the computational grid. The use of a two-dimensional hydraulic model integrates the hydrologic and hydraulic aspects into a single model. Further investigation is required to assess the role of hydraulic roughness in determining surface run-off rates.


The article extends the scholarship, observations, and recommendations provided in Joseph Gone's article, "Psychotherapy and Traditional Healing for American Indians: Prospects for Therapeutic Integration" (2010 [this issue]). The overarching thesis is that for many Indian and Native clients, interpersonal and interethnic problems can emerge when a counselor's lack of culturally resonant experience and knowledge, deeply held stereotypes, and preconceived notions interfere with the counseling relationship and impede counseling effectiveness. A brief synthesis of the counseling literature themes suggests that there is ample evidence that by using particular culturally resonant techniques, counselors can promote client trust, rapport, and cultural empathy and improve the counselor—client relationship, both in general and with American Indian and Alaska Native clients specifically. Topics consistent with Joseph Gone's main thesis also are explored that relate to spiritual healing and other counseling considerations involving relational collaborations with Indian and Native communities. Information provided in this article is focused on helping to stimulate effective cross-cultural contacts between mental health counselors and Native American Indians.


Mean Field Games (MFG) are the class of games with a very large number of agents and the standard equilibrium concept is a Mean Field Equilibrium (MFE). Algorithms for learning MFE in dynamic MFGs are unknown in general. Our focus is on an important subclass that possess a monotonicity property called Strategic Complementarities (MFG-SC). We introduce a natural refinement to the equilibrium concept that we call Trembling-Hand-Perfect MFE (T-MFE), which allows agents to employ a measure of randomization while accounting for the impact of such randomization on their payoffs. We propose a simple algorithm for computing T-MFE under a known model. We also introduce a model-free and a model-based approach to learning T-MFE and provide sample complexities of both algorithms. We also develop a fully online learning scheme that obviates the need for a simulator. Finally, we empirically evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithms via examples motivated by real-world applications.


The emergence of Web 2.0 and its associated technologies enables academics to operate more effectively, providing greater opportunities and helping them to achieve more goals in the education sector. Academics create knowledge and participate in Web2.0 by posting different content, allowing them to share information with each other. This study aims to address the reasons behind usage of SNSs at universities, and then pinpoint the activities that academics practice on SNSs in order to support teaching and learning. We will then explore the most popular SNSs. The study uses an online questionnaire related to the usage of SNSs by academics at the college of Art and Social Sciences at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU). The questionnaire was developed using Google docs and distributed to all faculty members at the College of Arts and Social Sciences. The main findings of this study are that 57% of academics are aware of SNS usage; 43% are not. Insufficient time and IT skills were the main reasons given for not using SNSs. Finding information and communicating with old friends were the main reasons for using them. Academics' main SNS activities were gathering information from various sources and gaining new knowledge. Facebook, Google groups and Twitter were the most popular SNSs used. The study focused exclusively on academics at the College of Art & Social Sciences, which is considered a small community. A larger sample would possibly yield different results. The study was not intended as a comparative analysis between departments, rather it addressed specific questions. The statements regarding reasons for using/not using SNSs presented in this study are based on literature reviews and it should be noted that there may be other reasons that influence the use of SNSs. This research is vitally important for the firms that control these sites: they can add value to improve the service for academics and provide them with the required facilities. Academics are expected to be more knowledgeable in order to train their students for future work. Therefore, it is important to explore their reasons for using/not using SNSs, along with the nature of their SNS activities, and then address several related issues.


Abstract C02 produced at the Sleipner field is being injected into the Utsira Sand, a major saline aquifer. Time-lapse seismic data acquired in 1999, with 2.35 million tonnes of C02 in the reservoir, image the C02, plume as a number of bright sub-horizontal reflections. These are interpreted as tuned responses from thin (< 8 m thick) layers of C02 trapped beneath intra-reservoir shales. A prominent vertical 'chimney' of C02 appears to be the principal feeder of these layers in the upper part of the reservoir. Amplitude-thickness scaling for each layer, followed by a layer summation, indicates that roughly 80% of the total injected C02 is concentrated in the layers. The remainder is interpreted to occupy the feeder 'chimneys' and dispersed clouds between the layers. A prominent velocity pushdown is evident beneath the C02 accumulations. Velocity estimation using the Gassmann relationships suggests that the observed pushdown cannot readily be explained by C02 present only at high saturations in the thin layers; a minor proportion of low saturation C02 is also required. This is consistent with the layer volume summation, but significant uncertainty remains.


Graph-based semi-supervised learning, which can exploit the connectivity relationship between labeled and unlabeled data, has been shown to outperform the state-of-the-art in many artificial intelligence applications. One of the most challenging problems for graph-based semi-supervised node classification is how to use the implicit information among various data to improve the performance of classifying. Traditional studies on graph-based semi-supervised learning have focused on the pairwise connections among data. However, the data correlation in real applications could be beyond pairwise and more complicated. The density information has been demonstrated to be an important clue, but it is rarely explored in depth among existing graph-based semi-supervised node classification methods. To develop a flexible and effective model for graph-based semi-supervised node classification, we propose a novel Density-Aware Hyper-Graph Neural Networks (DA-HGNN). In our proposed approach, hyper-graph is provided to explore the high-order semantic correlation among data, and a density-aware hyper-graph attention network is presented to explore the high-order connection relationship. Extensive experiments are conducted in various benchmark datasets, and the results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.


The level and nature of discipline in modern political parties remain two of the most fascinating aspects of politics. This study provides a review of the literature on the role of political parties and the perceived need for some form of collective action within parliament. A survey of work on party discipline in other countries is also provided, followed by a closer examination of what is meant by 'discipline' . We explore the level of cohesion and discipline in Irish parties. The organisation of Irish parties and the development of the whip system is examined along with other influences on the behaviour of TDs, such as the electoral system and Irish political culture. A systematic account and analysis of cases of indiscipline between 1969 and 1997 is provided and analysed. The work concludes with a social-psychological explanation of TDs behaviour which is tested using available empirical evidence and a laboratory experiment.

The thesis argues that the high levels of discipline among members of Irish parliamentary parties is best explained by reference to rational choice theories of political behaviour.


Since human skulls may be used as a benchmark of the evolutionary process, the aim of the present study is to assess the cranial affinity of Sardinian populations from different chronological periods, with a standard index to evaluate its benefits for orthodontic purposes. Craniometric variables from four throughout cephalograms (anterior and lateral) of 72 units from historical Sardinian populations, two prehistoric, one medieval, and one modern were compared to the Bolton standard. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed for means comparison. A hierarchical cluster analysis and the bootstrap technique for the reliability of the dendrogram were used. Length data revealed statistically significant results (p < 0.01). Usually, the medieval population showed higher mean values compared to the other groups; the prehistoric population presented the highest value of Euclidean distance when compared to the medieval; the modern showed no affinity to prehistoric populations nor to the Bolton standard. The length and the breadth of the neurocranium, maxillary–alveolar length, orbital height, maximum cranial breadth, and external palate breadth contributed to the dissimilarity among populations. The dissimilarities in the craniometric measurements of Sardinian populations are remarkable. Therefore, the main outcome showed that the craniometric standards of the Bolton standard are not applicable across the Sardinian population.


This thesis studies how altering the composition of the Baltic Supramax Index (BSI) affects the hedging efficiency of forward freight agreements (FFA) traded with the index as underlying. We evaluate the hedging efficiency using hedged portfolios with both minimum variance hedge ratios and naïve hedge ratios, both within and across subperiods between 2006 and 2018. Bootstrapping techniques and bias-corrected and accelerated confidence intervals are utilised to investigate if the hedging efficiency is affected to a statistically significant degree when the composition of the index is revised. We find that forward freight agreements can significantly reduce the volatility of freight rates. However, we find no evidence suggesting that reduced weight of a constituent route in the underlying index induces decreased hedging efficiency, or vice versa. Nor do we find that overall hedging efficiency decreases when more routes are added. The cointegrated relationship between individual routes and the FFA time series seems to make changes to the index irrelevant with regard to hedging efficiency. The thesis provides a basis for further research of the hedging efficiency of freight derivatives. Primarily, the topic of this thesis should be revisited when data points from more dimensions of the shipping cycle become available. Moreover, the impact of changes in the underlying asset to real market participants is an interesting continuation. We believe our findings are especially important to the producers of freight indices, as their relevance in terms of hedging efficiency is paramount in order to secure volume and quality in the derivatives market. For charterers, shipowners, and other market participants, our findings are interesting with regards to risk management, specifically in understanding how alterations of an underlying asset have historically affected hedging efficiency. The thesis supplements the rather limited literature on changes in hedging efficiency when the structure of the underlying asset is altered. First, because no such research has been conducted on the FFA market in its current form in recent years. Secondly, because we access trial data of the 10TC FFA before it went live, we can study the differences between overlapping time series of FFA prices with different versions of the BSI as underlying – not only those separated by the date of their alteration. This allows us to compare the hedging performance of two FFAs isolated from time-varying effects. Furthermore, it allows us to evaluate the effect of basis risk caused by differing technical specifications and that caused by a geographical diversification effect due to the addition of more constituent routes.


To evaluate the reliability of power systems, good estimates of the failure rates of the included components are needed. Better predictions can be performed if relevant factors that affect the failure rates are used, and an increasing number of models that include different types of factors have been presented recently. This paper proposes a categorization of failure rate factors into seven categories, based on the type of information for the factors. The categorization can be used to map future studies in the context of similar work. Furthermore, the paper presents a review of a number of publications that uses different factors to model the failure rate of different power system components. The failure rate factors used in the reviewed publications are categorized into the proposed seven categories and a comprehensive summary table is included. The used models and methods to estimate the failure rate in the reviewed publications are also noted in the summary table.


The response analysis of reinforced concrete (RC) structures subjected to strong earthquake motions require realistic conceptual models. The special models, such as Clough and Takeda, which describe the non-linear section characteristic of reinforced concrete beam and column. In the earthquake motions, the deforming is sensitive to the response of structures intensively. The traditional lumped plastic model inevitably induces inaccuracy. Hence, meshing the members or distributing stiffness along the whole member is employed to simulate the seismic response of the structures. In this paper, Takeda elastic-plastic beam element model has been developed, which is based on general FEM code ABAQUS in order to simulate the response of RC. The influence is discussed due to the different lengths of plastic zone and element sizes.


Effects of lidocaine on organ localization of neutrophils and bacteria and on hemodynamic and metabolic variables were determined during septic shock in dogs. Twelve anesthetized dogs were infused with 10(10) Escherichia coli/kg of body weight through a portal vein catheter over a 1-hour period. Six of these 12 dogs were treated with 2 mg of lidocaine HCl/kg (6 mg/kg/h) 15 minutes after the bacterial infusion had begun. Six dogs not given E coli (surgical controls) were given saline solution at the same rate as the bacterial and lidocaine infusions. Over 4 hours, nontreated dogs with septicemia developed systemic hypotension, decreased cardiac output, increased portal pressure, increased serum alanine transaminase activity, increased liver extravascular water, increased liver glycogen depletion, and decreased PaO2, compared with control dogs. Accumulations of polymorphonuclear leukocytes and E coli were found in the liver and lungs of dogs with septicemia. Lidocaine treatment did not alter the hemodynamic measurements and resulted in metabolic acidosis and hypoalbuminemia. Decreased numbers of E coli were recovered from the liver of lidocaine-treated dogs, whereas increased numbers of organisms were recovered from the blood. Neutrophil sequestration was increased in the liver, but not the lungs of lidocaine-treated dogs.


Objective. Simultaneous electroencephalography-functional magnetic resonance imaging (EEG-fMRI) recordings offer a high spatiotemporal resolution approach to study human brain and understand the underlying mechanisms mediating cognitive and behavioral processes. However, the high susceptibility of EEG to MRI-induced artifacts hinders a broad adaptation of this approach. More specifically, EEG data collected during fMRI acquisition are contaminated with MRI gradients and ballistocardiogram artifacts, in addition to artifacts of physiological origin. There have been several attempts for reducing these artifacts with manual and time-consuming pre-processing, which may result in biasing EEG data due to variations in selecting steps order, parameters, and classification of artifactual independent components. Thus, there is a strong urge to develop a fully automatic and comprehensive pipeline for reducing all major EEG artifacts. In this work, we introduced an open-access toolbox with a fully automatic pipeline for reducing artifacts from EEG data collected simultaneously with fMRI (refer to APPEAR). Approach. The pipeline integrates average template subtraction and independent component analysis to suppress both MRI-related and physiological artifacts. To validate our results, we tested APPEAR on EEG data recorded from healthy control subjects during resting-state (n= 48) and task-based (i.e. event-related-potentials (ERPs); n= 8) paradigms. The chosen gold standard is an expert manual review of the EEG database. Main results. We compared manually and automated corrected EEG data during resting-state using frequency analysis and continuous wavelet transformation and found no significant differences between the two corrections. A comparison between ERP data recorded during a so-called stop-signal task (e.g. amplitude measures and signal-to-noise ratio) also showed no differences between the manually and fully automatic fMRI-EEG-corrected data. Significance. APPEAR offers the first comprehensive open-source toolbox that can speed up advancement of EEG analysis and enhance replication by avoiding experimenters' preferences while allowing for processing large EEG-fMRI cohorts composed of hundreds of subjects with manageable researcher time and effort.


Until benzidine was taken off the market because of carcinogenic risks to those engaged in its manufacture the test most widely used was the Gregersen slide-test.' It was in general use on the Continent and in America, and was becoming more generally used in this country. It was recommended in many of the textbooks.5 In general practice and in hospital sidewards there are obvious objections to tests, such as the test-tube benzidine and orthotolidine tests commonly employed in clinical laboratories, which may give positive results with gum-bleeding and after the eating of meats in moderate amount. Ogilvie, who was the first in this country to describe the Gregersen slide-test,8 affirmed that with it a blue or green-blue colour appearing within 30 seconds is proof of the presence of occult blood irrespective of the patient's diet, with the obvious exceptions of foods with a high blood-pigment concentration such as liver, black pudding, and bone-marrow. Now it is recognized that salicylates also should be withheld. Bockus' employs the Gregersen slide-test as a routine procedure. Benzidine is now produced under safe conditions of manufacture and is again on the market. Put up in waxed paper the powders will last indefinitely. The Gregersen slide-test is cheap and simple and can be performed just as quickly as the tablet tests. Its reliability has been widely proved over the years, and it should be finding its way back into our hospital side-rooms and our consulting-rooms.-I am, etc.,


— Cerium-doped lanthanum bromide LaBr 3 :Ce(5%) crystals are considered to be one of the most advanced scintillator materials used in PET scanning, combining a high light yield, fast decay time and excellent energy resolution. Apart from the correct choice of scintillator, it is also important to optimise the detector geometry, not least in terms of source-to-detector distance in order to obtain reliable measurements and efficiency. In this study a commercially available 25 mm x 25 mm BrilLanCe TM 380 LaBr 3 : Ce (5%) detector was characterised in terms of its efficiency at varying source-to-detector distances. Gamma-ray spectra of 22 Na, 60 Co, and 137 Cs were separately acquired at distances of 5, 10, 15, and 20cm. As a result of the change in solid angle subtended by the detector, the geometric efficiency reduced in efficiency with increasing distance. High efficiencies at low distances can cause pulse pile-up when subsequent photons are detected before previously detected events have decayed. To reduce this systematic error the source-to-detector distance should be balanced between efficiency and pulse pile-up suppression as otherwise pile-up corrections would need to be necessary at short distances. In addition to the experimental measurements Monte Carlo simulations have been carried out for the same setup, allowing a comparison of results. The advantages and disadvantages of each approach have been highlighted.


The FP7 CERTCOST project has the overall objective to give recommendations to the public authorities and private actors in the whole organic certification chain on how to improve the organic food certification systems in terms of efficiency, transparency and cost effectiveness. According to the project description (the Description of Work, or DoW) this will be done based on a scientific economic in depth analysis of the certification systems from the farmer to the consumer in 5 EU countries (the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom), plus Switzerland and the candidate country, Turkey. To safeguard that the CERTCOST objectives, work plan and methodology is in line with the expectations of key stakeholders from all levels of the certification chain the DoW foresaw a Stakeholder workshop to be organised in the beginning of the project.
The current report documents the main points of the discussions and recommendation given by the stakeholders at this CERTCOST Stakeholder workshop, which took place on November, 13-15, 2008 in Izmir, Turkey, 2.5 months after the project had started.
A total of 20 stakeholders were invited, of whom 16 could participate in the workshop. The participant profile included both users and providers of the certification system at different levels such as representatives of farmers' organizations certification/control bodies, government authorities, EU Commission, processors/ traders, private experts/consultants. Together with the representatives of the partner institutions in the CERTCOST project, the total number of workshop participants was 35 representing 12 European countries.
Given the diverse backgrounds of the workshop participants, a working group approach (World Cafe approach) was applied in order to give the participants the opportunity to reflect their experiences and ideas on the implementation of the project in a synergetic, comfortable and free environment.
After a brief presentation of the project, outlining the tasks of the work packages and describing the proposed links between the project and the stakeholders by the project coordinator, the stakeholders were divided into four groups according to their level in the organic certification chain, as farmers, processors/traders, certification bodies and consumers. Two working group sessions were carried out around the questions provided to the stakeholders before the workshop through electronic mails. The questions had been compiled based on input from the managers of the four work packages which were relevant to the workshop discussion. After the first working group session, a plenary discussion session for clustering of the output given by the working groups, their validation and assessment was carried out. In the second session of the working groups, it was rather aimed to harmonize the understanding between the diversified opinions mentioned in Session 1.
The working group approach concluded in a final plenary discussion. On the second day, the CERTCOST work package managers presented how the discussions, comments and inputs of the working group sessions could impact on their working plans. In the final session the stakeholders were addressed directly for providing further ideas both on the project and on future collaboration options.
The workshop was strongly focused on the identification of key characteristics of cost factors along the supply chain in relation to their impact on the quality of the given service. However a broad range of related subjects were discussed.
The Stakeholder workshop put forward that, the 'cost' was among the most important topics relating to the certification system performance. The focus of the project aiming at cost effectiveness and not cost minimization was confirmed by the stakeholders. All of the stakeholders present in the workshop demonstrated elevated levels of interest on several outputs of the project. The workshop revealed very positive expectations among the stakeholders towards the risk based approach to be followed in the CERTCOST project. The detailed picture of the organic certification sector obtained through the workshop will constitute an important input to the CERTCOST project and the workshop is considered to be a successful first step in the project-stakeholder interaction.
The Stakeholder workshop provided important insight into the many discussion subjects of the organic certification systems in the EU and worldwide, among others the following should be mentioned. Farmers expect to have, clear rules, fair implementation, and high skilled guidance in the inspection and certification process, and underline the need for training of farmers and certifiers and for better communication between all parties in the certification chain. Processors point out the need for a good relationship with the inspectors and certifiers as well as the fact that there existed different schemes in different countries regarding the inspection process and the related cost structure. They also highlighted the difficulty of managing the relations with increasing number of different standards and different certification bodies. It is agreed that consumers expect something they can trust and they can easily recognize, a label, a logo, a certifier, a brand, a farmer or the word 'organic'; at local, regional, national, or EU-level. It is also concluded that whether, why and how much some consumers might be willing to pay more for particular logos was unknown and was needed to be investigated.
Authorities/certification bodies stress that the issue of knowledge and education is extremely important and that there are complex legislations, no common standards, and differences within and between countries. They underline that there are different catalogues in different countries to deal with irregularities which should be harmonized. They emphasize that a clear definition of certification should be made covering its objectives, principles and tools.
While on some of the issues there has been a highlighted consensus among the groups, on some others contrasting ideas became evident. Among those subjects of absolute agreement were the importance of and the need for a more clear understanding of the certification system, its components and rules by all the parties involved. Education and elevated levels of necessary skills from farmer to inspector and to consumer; increased transparency and information exchange, well defined relationships between parties were considered to be an indispensable basis for a well functioning and more efficient certification system. The inspection concept came into prominence, with a discussion on policing vs. development approaches. While an efficient and comparable control system was judged to be crucial, promising private governmental formulations were agreed to be based on country conditions. Complexity of the legislation and lack of transparency were the remarkable barriers to a more efficient control system.
The EU logo and the new EU Regulation for organic certification were also discussed among stakeholders. It was suggested that the EU logo might have the potential to boost demand in the 'less developed' organic markets, but more promotion then currently planned would be needed. It was agreed that most consumers do not look for logos of particular standards but for the word 'organic' and/or an organic logo they are familiar with. This might be different for 'committed' organic consumers in more mature markets. Overall, it was agreed that 'trust' is the most crucial aspect of organic certification regarding the consumer side.
The issue of multiple certification and standards appeared to be a factor deserving more attention in the certification world. Harmonization in certification of the same characteristic of a product was deemed necessary. On the other hand, exchange of experiences and cooperation with markets like 'Fair Trade' was agreed to be potentially beneficial.


This dissertation discusses the theory of Fourier Optics and its application to Computer Generated Holograms (CGH); it goes on to simulate the process for producing CGH and also describes how the rectangular plotting method can be extended to the circular plotting method. Finally, it describes how these techniques and processes can be applied to Fuzzy Enhancement, Pattern recognition and Inverse of matrices.
Furthermore, this dissertation describes how the Detour Phase Method can be applied to coding and plotting and how the FFT, TELL-A-GRAF, DISSPLA and PC-MATLAB software programs were utilized in the production of CGH.
It is shown that, based on the Detour Phase Theory, the rectangular method can be extended to the circular method; this is desirable because the circular method is superior because a circle is continuous rather than angular and is therefore easier and smoother to plot. The developed theory for the circular method and the computer simulation are presented.
This thesis presents a new algorithm which is proposed to be known as FFFT (Fuzzy Fast Fourier Transform). The advantages of using the FFFT method are: the image of the CGH is enhanced; the noise of the process is reduced; it provides simplicity; it provides convenience and high speed; it lowers the cost of designing lenses and filters, and the end result is improved.
In the future, robots will become more and more intelligent; the ability to recognize patterns will be the main aspect of this greater intelligence. Matched spatial filters are the center of pattern recognition. In this thesis, the theory of pattern recognition after rotation will be discussed and the application of CGH to pattern recognition will be presented.
A thin phase hologram, recorded under a weak reference condition is capable of inverting complex eigenvalues. By applying the CGH method to inversion of matrix, the amplitude and phase of the eigenvalues of the input matrix, the inverse of the eigenvalues of the input matrix, and the inverse of eigenvalues can be shown. A computer simulation of this type of CGH is presented. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.)


Abstract The colonial ascidian Botrylloides simodensis displays multiple body colors—yellow, orangered, violet, black and white—in a clonal colony. The colors are due to pigmented blood cells that exist particularly around a branchial siphon or on an atrial languet of individual zooids. These pigment cells are distributed in mesenchymal space or vascular lumen, and many of them are loosely bound to the epithelium. In the space, there are also colorless blood cells that are circulating with blood. When the colorless blood cells are isolated and cultured, some of the cells produce colored substances and change to pigment cells. Therefore, it is presumed that the pigment cells are derived from colorless blood cells. The pigment cells in this ascidian have a spherical shape with no dendrites and contain many granules. Electron microscopic observation showed that there are several different types of granules, and all types of granules are similarly packed in a large vacuole in the cytoplasm. Chemical analysis disclosed that the pigmentary tissues contain carotenoids, pteridine, and purines that are known pigments in vertebrates. The main components of black and violet pigment cells are still unidentified. The former may be a melanin-like substance, but a significant dose of eumelanin or phaeomelanin was not obtained. Although ascidian pigment cells show a certain extent of similarity to vertebrates in their pigments, their cell structure is quite different from that in vertebrates. Because of the phylogenetic relationship between ascidians and vertebrates, it is assumed that ascidian pigment cells might be a primitive type of those in chordates, although these ascidian cells seem to have a unique origin and function.


Current link-layer protocols for safety-related intervehicle communication (IVC) networks suffer from significant scalability and security challenges. Carrier sense multiple-access approaches produce excessive transmission collisions at high vehicle densities and are vulnerable to a variety of denial of service (DoS) attacks. Explicit time slot allocation approaches tend to be limited by the need for a fixed infrastructure, a high number of control messages, or poor bandwidth utilization, particularly in low-density traffic. This paper presents a novel adaptation of the explicit time slot allocation protocols for IVC networks. The protocol adaptive space-division multiplexing (ASDM) requires no control messages, provides protection against a range of DoS attacks, significantly improves bandwidth utilization, and automatically adjusts the time slot allocation in response to changes in vehicle densities. This paper demonstrates the need for and the effectiveness of this new protocol. The exposures of the current proposals to attacks on availability and integrity, as well as the improvements effected by ASDM, are analytically evaluated. Furthermore, through simulation studies, ASDM's ability to provide message delivery guarantees is contrasted with the inability of the current IVC proposals to do the same


Because of insufficient clinical data regarding acute radiation damage after single high-dose radiation exposure, acute radiation-induced gastrointestinal (GI) syndrome remains difficult to treat. The goal of this study was to establish an appropriate and efficient minipig model to study high-dose radiation-induced GI syndrome after radiation exposure. For endoscopic access to the ileum, ileocutaneous anastomosis was performed 3 weeks before irradiation in six male Göttingen minipigs. Minipigs were locally irradiated at the abdominal area using a gamma source as follows: 1,000 cGy (n = 3) and 1,500 cGy (n = 3). Endoscopic evaluation for the terminal ileum was periodically performed via the ileocutaneous anastomosis tract. Pieces of tissue were serially taken for histological examination. The irradiated intestine presented characteristic morphological changes over time. The most obvious changes in the ileum were mucosal atrophy and telangiectasia from day 1 to day 17 after abdominal irradiation. Microscopic findings were characterized as architectural disorganization, loss of villi and chronic active inflammation. Increase in cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression was closely correlated with severity of tissue damage and inflammation. Particularly, the plasma citrulline level (PCL), a potential marker for radiation-induced intestinal damage, was significantly decreased the day after irradiation and recovered when irradiated mucosa was normalized. Our results also showed that PCL changes were positively correlated with microscopic changes and the endoscopic score in radiation-induced mucosal damage. In conclusion, the ileocutaneous anastomosis model using the minipig mimics human GI syndrome and allows the study of sequential changes in the ileum, the main target tissue of abdominal irradiation. In addition, PCL could be a simple biomarker for radiation-induced intestinal damage.


In the 21st-Century China, ELT has been constantly promoted because of such events as China's entry into the WTO in 2001, hosting the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008,and the One Belt,One Road Initiative by President Xi Jinping in 2013. These have beengreat opportunities for universities in China to demonstrate their value in contributing to the nurturing of the "international talents" in the socio-political and academic discourses in China (Feng, 2010; 2017). In the past decade, content-based instruction (CBI),which seems to resonate strongly with goals of educating the "international talents", has become increasingly popular in tier-2 university EFL contexts. The present study as its title indicates is an evaluative study of the effectiveness of CBI as an EFL approach in a tier-2 university, holistically, aiming to examine the effectiveness of CBI on its potential with regard to English attainment and progress, attitudes and motivation, and engagement with authentic literature. It also aims to obtain an in-depth understanding of whether CBI could be an alternative to traditional College English (CE) teaching at a higher level. The samples chosen were a cohort of CBI learners who had passed CET 4 (College English Test, Band 4) at a typical tier-2 university in China.
To achieve the overall aim of this study, mixed methods were employed in this research. Given the research context, 200 subjects (aged 18-22 years) were chosen, who were readily available in five intact 2nd year CBI classes of the fivemajors. Of the 200 participants, 52% (104) were female and 48% (96) were male. They were asked to complete two questionnaire surveys, and three tests. The subjects for the qualitative instruments were chosen among those who had responded to the questionnaires. 20 of the students were selected for semi-structured individual interviews.Among the 20 interviewees, 11 were female and nine male. Ten students (half female and half male) were selected from the CBI classes for focusgroup interviews. Interviews with five content specialists as CBI teachers were conducted, and their classes were observed twice. Among the five CBI teachers, 2 were female, and 3 male. The class size ranged between 37 and 45 students. Iterative data analyses were conducted to process the data collected to guarantee a triangulating examination with regard to the effectiveness of the CBI program in the tier-2university EFL context.
The overall conclusion is drawn that CBI in the tier-2 university EFL context is an effective way to develop non-English majors' English proficiency, as compared to traditional CET-oriented teaching, and more significantly to enhance the learners' attitudes and motivation to English teaching, and engagement with authentic texts. It is noted that CBI can have its advantage over CE for students with a CET 4 certificate in the tier-2 university EFLcontext, but some conditions such as qualified tutors and strong policy support should be satisfied. Implications and limitations are discussed, and future areas of investigation are put forward.


The communication network that has connected most part of world's population, and continues to bring more people to the communication grid is being overwhelmed by a vast amount of traffic coming from an increasing number of new services. According to predictions from [1], a threefold increase is expected for the coming five years. This growth trend calls for high performance communication networks. Although the tremendous bandwidth from fiber supports transport of huge data from one place to another, todays switching technologies provide either deterministic quality in circuit switches or high resource utilization in packet switches. Regard to user applications transported on networks, while some of them require a deterministic circuit switch type of transport, others can be transported better in packet switch that are efficient in resource utilization. TransPacket Fusion switching [2], a hybrid type of switching integrates both circuit and packet type transport on a single node; hence can support various types of user applications from both worlds. It provides a deterministic circuit transport using dedicated wavelength, and uses the vacant gap on the wavelength to transport a low priority packet without affecting packets that are transported with deterministic quality. On this thesis, we build on the concept of hybrid switching by aggregating multiple sub-wavelength traffic, which have deterministic characteristics, on a single wavelength. In addition to that, we demonstrate how the vacant gaps from the aggregated traffic can be used to transport low priority packet traffic. Several experiments have been performed on a network set at UNINETT with Fusion prototype hybrid nodes from TransPacket. The results from the experiment show that: Fusion node can provide the required strict quality of service to the aggregated sub-wavelength circuits while, at the same time, increase resource utilization by injecting low priority traffic on vacant gaps.


A century ago Hess described how to map out ocular deviations on two pieces of paper in cases of diplopia. This paper discusses how to obtain useful information regarding ocular deviations from a chart that has been obtained from screen tests (Hess, Lancaster, Lees, Weiss).


Following the collapse of Medici rule in fifteenth-century Florence, the centre of Renaissance activity moved first to Rome and finally to Venice. In the Rome of Julius II and Leo X which Michelangelo remodelled and beautified, in the Venice of Titian and Tintoretto and Palladio, the Renaissance reached the height of its splendour, not only in the visual arts but also in the theatre, history, biography, epic poetry and music.


To clarify the involvement of dopamine D4 receptors in behavioral regulation, the phenotypic ethogram of congenic D4 "knockout" mice was studied in terms of (i) course of exploration and habituation, and (ii) topographical responsiveness to the selective D2‐like agonist RU 24213 and the selective D1‐like agonists A 68930, SK&F 83959 and SK&F 83822. Congenic D4 knockouts were characterized by a small reduction in exploratory sniffing with delayed habituation of sifting. The magnitude and topographical specificity of these effects indicated that any functional role for D4 receptors in exploratory processes is subtle. Induction of stereotyped, ponderous locomotion by RU 24213 was reduced in D4‐null mice consistent with an involvement of D4 receptors in the topographical expression of stereotypy. Induction of grooming and, at higher doses, seizures by A 68930, which stimulates both adenylyl cyclase (AC) and phospholipase C (PLC), were unaltered in congenic D4 knockouts. In contrast, induction of grooming by SK&F 83959, which stimulates PLC but not AC and fails to induce seizures, was reduced in D4‐null mice; this indicates that D4 receptors interact with PLC‐coupled D1‐like receptors in regulating D1‐like‐mediated grooming. Conversely, induction of seizures by SK&F 83822, which stimulates AC but not PLC and fails to induce grooming, was reduced in congenic D4 knockouts; this indicates that D4 receptors interact with AC‐coupled D1‐like receptors in regulating D1‐like‐mediated seizures. These studies identify novel functional roles for the D4 receptor that are distinct from those of closely related D2‐like family members and involve interactions with their D1‐like counterparts. Synapse 59:107–118, 2006. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Mouse embryonic stem cells are derived from in vitro explantation of blastocyst epiblasts1,2 and contribute to both the somatic lineage and germline when returned to the blastocyst3 but are normally excluded from the trophoblast lineage and primitive endoderm4–6. Here, we report that cultures of expanded potential stem cells (EPSCs) can be established from individual blastomeres, by direct conversion of mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and by genetically reprogramming somatic cells. Remarkably, a single EPSC contributes to the embryo proper and placenta trophoblasts in chimeras. Critically, culturing EPSCs in a trophoblast stem cell (TSC) culture condition permits direct establishment of TSC lines without genetic modification. Molecular analyses including single cell RNA-seq reveal that EPSCs share cardinal pluripotency features with ESCs but have an enriched blastomere transcriptomic signature and a dynamic DNA methylome. These proof-of-concept results open up the possibility of establishing cultures of similar stem cells in other mammalian species.


Introduction
Vertical root fractures have been described as longitudinally oriented fractures of the root,
extending from the root canal to the periodontium.1 Vertical root fractures represent 2-5 % of crown/root fractures, with the greatest incidence occurring in endodontically treated teeth and in patients older than 40 years of age2. Leubke3 described two types of root
fractures based on the separation of the fragments:
• Where total separation is visible or fragments can be moved independently. This is defined as a complete fracture.
• An incomplete fracture is said to occur in the absence of visible separation. In addition, Luebke3 has defined root
fractures relative to the position of the alveolar crest. He suggests that intra osseous fractures (i.e., those terminating below the level of the alveolar bone) will result in periodontal problems whereas supra osseous fractures would not. Root fractures may originate at coronal
tooth structure or at the apex. The vertical root
fracture may involve the whole length of the root or only a section of it and may involve only one or both sides of the root.4-6 The cause of vertical root fractures is mainly iatrogenic, attributable to dental treatment such as excessive canal shaping, excessive pressure during compaction of gutta percha, 7-8 excessive width and length of a post space in relation to the tooth's anatomy or
excessive pressure during placement of dowel9-11.
The clinical presentation of vertical root fracture is extremely variable. The clinical signs and symptoms vary according to the position of the fracture, tooth type, time elapsed since fracture, periodontal condition of the tooth and the architecture of the bone adjacent to the
fracture. Local chronic infection leads to a variable combination of discomfort and soreness, mild to moderate pain, pain on biting, bad taste, swelling of soft tissues, sinus tract and deep, narrow, isolated periodontal
pockets.12 Radiographs may reveal the existence of a fracture line, separated root fragments, space beside a root filling, double images of external root surface, bone destruction, widening of periodontal ligament, radiolucent halos which may mimic periodontal disease. The purpose of this paper is to present a case of vertical root fracture in an endodontically treated mandibular second premolar in which the displaced fractured fragment appeared in
the radiograph like an additional root which is unusual for a lower premolar.


This essay investigates the conceptual figure of the spiritus conexionis in Nicholas of Cusa's De pace fidei. The thesis is that the German thinker, by radicalizing the scope of the traditional use of that figure, which originally belonged to the doctrine of the Trinity and to the Neo-Platonic conception of the anima mundi, in this work confers to it a pneumatological-political characterization. Indeed, at the end of De pace fidei, from the spiritus conexionis descends to the individual representatives of the cultures and religions the potestas necessary to establish in Jerusalem the only true faith, guaranteeing the tolerance of the diversity of rites. As in the Trinity and in the Universe the spiritus conexionis binds the various parties and thereby causes that they are also possible in their singularity, so, in the political realm, the spiritus conexionis is the category in which, after the medieval ordo, the diversity of individual nationes is held together, made possible and founded in their individuality within a larger connection. The name of this union, not spelt out and only sketched by Nicholas, is: Europe.


For $A \subseteq \mathbb{N}$, the question of when $R(A) = \{a/a' : a, a' \in A\}$ is dense in the positive real numbers $\mathbb{R}_+$ has been examined by many authors over the years. In contrast, the $p$-adic setting is largely unexplored. We investigate conditions under which $R(A)$ is dense in the $p$-adic numbers. Techniques from elementary, algebraic, and analytic number theory are employed in this endeavor. We also pose many open questions that should be of general interest.


This paper introduces and contextualises Climate Futures, an experiment in which AI was repurposed as a 'co-author' of climate stories and a co-designer of climate-related images that facilitate reflections on present and future(s) of living with climate change. It converses with histories of writing and computation, including surrealistic 'algorithmic writing', recombinatory poems and 'electronic literature'. At the core lies a reflection about how machine learning's associative, predictive and regenerative capacities can be employed in playful, critical and contemplative goals. Our goal is not automating writing (as in product-oriented applications of AI). Instead, as poet Charles Hartman argues, 'the question isn't exactly whether a poet or a computer writes the poem, but what kinds of collaboration might be interesting' (1996, p. 5). STS scholars critique labs as future-making sites and machine learning modelling practices and, for example, describe them also as fictions. Building on these critiques and in line with 'critical technical practice' ( Agre, 1997 ), we embed our critique of 'making the future' in how we employ machine learning to design a tool for looking ahead and telling stories on life with climate change. This has involved engaging with climate narratives and machine learning from the critical and practical perspectives of artistic research. We trained machine learning algorithms (i.e. GPT-2 and AttnGAN) using climate fiction novels (as a dataset of cultural imaginaries of the future). We prompted them to produce new climate fiction stories and images, which we edited to create a tarot-like deck and a story-book, thus also playfully engaging with machine learning's predictive associations. The tarot deck is designed to facilitate conversations about climate change. How to imagine the future beyond scenarios of resilience and the dystopian? How to aid our transition into different ways of caring for the planet and each other?


Objectives: SARS-CoV-2 infection constitutes a diagnostic challenge in patients from 2-3 weeks after the onset of symptoms, due to the low positivity rate of the PCR, especially in upper respiratory samples. Serologic tests based on ELISA have been developed and evaluated as useful complements to PCR in these situations. However, there is scarce information about the usefulness of rapid tests based on immunochromatography. The aim of our study was to analyze the diagnostic performance of these rapid tests in COVID-19 pneumonia patients. Methods: We evaluated an immunochromatographic test (AllTest COV-19 IgG / IgM kit) which detects IgG and IgM antibodies. First, we performed a validation of the serologic test using serum samples from 45 healthy control patients (group 1) and 55 confirmed by PCR cases of COVID-19 (group 2) in order to establish the specificity and sensitivity, respectively. Then we prospectively employed the test in 63 patients diagnosed with pneumonia of unknown etiology that were SARS-CoV-2 negative by PCR (group 3), to establish the diagnostic performance in these patients. Results: All patients from group 1 (healthy controls) resulted negative for the serologic test (specificity = 100%). Regarding group 2 (PCR positive) patients, the median time from the onset of symptoms was 11 days and the test was positive for either IgM or IgG in 26 out of 55 patients (overall sensitivity = 47.3%). However, in those patients with 14 days or more from onset of symptoms, the sensitivity was 73.9%. Regarding group 3 patients, the median days from onset of symptoms was 17 and the test was positive in 56 out of 63 patients (88.9% positivity rate). In these group 3 patients with 14 days or more from onset of symptoms, the positivity rate was 91.1%. Conclusions: Our study shows that serologic rapid tests can be used as a complement of PCR to diagnose SARS-CoV-2 infection after 14 days from the onset of symptoms. These immunochromatographic devices could be especially useful in hospitalized patients with pneumonia of unknown etiology with 14 or more days from the onset of symptoms and in whom the PCR has been negative.


This paper builds upon the previous research of Beynon-Davies and Williams (2003) and their knowledge-based model of the diffusion of Information Systems Development Methods (ISDMs). Through the lens of the implementation of a UK government IS development project we consider how a Rapid Application Development approach was unbundled and contextualized and highlight the problems experienced. We further reflect how evidence from this empirical case confirms the efficacy of many of the elements of the diffusion model and suggest a number of directions for extending this framework, enabling better understanding of the practical application of ISDMs within organizations.


The aim of this research was to find out the curcuminoid content and antioxidant activity of temulawak (Curcuma xanthorriza) chip extracts under specific treatment. This research was started with preparation of temulawak chips. Which were made from 2 treatment of sun drying, those which were convered with black cloth and those without cover. The quantity of three types of know curcuminoids of temulawak chips were analyzed by HPCL after axtraction with 0%, 5% and 95% etanol solvent. Antioxidant activities in the extracts were measured by ferri thiocyanate and thiobarbituric acid methods. The result indicated that drying with black cloth cover showed higher curcuminoid content and antioxidant activity compared with those without black cloth cover, but drying with black cloth cover had no effect on the type of curcuminoids. The antioxidant activity of temulawak chip was highest with the type of curcuminoids being bisdemetoxicurcumine, demetoxicurcumine and curcumine when the temulawak chips were extracted with 95% ethanol. While the type of curcuminoids were only demetoxicurcumine and curcumine, when temulawak chips were extracted with 0% and 50% ethanol. Key words : Temulawak chips, curcuminoid, ethanol, antioxidant activity.


ABSTRACT This paper reports a surface molecular self-assembly strategy for imprinting triazophos in the electropolymerised poly(aminthiophenol) (PATP) membranes at the surface of gold nanoparticle (AuNP)/carbon nanotube (CNT) composites modified glassy (GC) electrode for electrochemiluminescent (ECL) detection of pesticide triazophos. The electrochemical and ECL behaviours of luminol at the imprinted PATP/AuNP/CNT/GC electrode were investigated before and after the rebinding of triazophos. It was also found that the ECL intensity was strikingly enhanced by the adsorbed triazophos molecules in the imprinted PATP/AuNP/CNT composite membranes, which was about 5.2-fold as compared with the blank ECL intensity. On this basis, the molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP)-ECL sensor is established for high sensitive and selective detection of triazophos residues in vegetable samples. The resulting MIP-ECL sensor shows wide linear ranges from 3.1 × 10−8 to 3.1 × 10−5 g L−1 with lower detection limit of 3.1 × 10−9 g L−1 for triazophos. Moreover, the MIP-ECL sensor has the advantages of high sensitivity, speed, specificity, stability and can become a promising technique for organophosphate pesticide detection.


This paper addresses the problem of decentralized learning to achieve a high-performance global model by asking a group of clients to share local models pre-trained with their own data resources. We are particularly interested in a specific case where both the client model architectures and data distributions are diverse, which makes it nontrivial to adopt conventional approaches such as Federated Learning and network co-distillation. To this end, we propose a new decentralized learning method called Decentralized Learning via Adaptive Distillation (DLAD). Given a collection of client models and a large number of unlabeled distillation samples, the proposed DLAD 1) aggregates the outputs of the client models while adaptively emphasizing those with higher confidence in given distillation samples and 2) trains the global model to imitate the aggregated outputs. Our extensive experimental evaluation on multiple public datasets (MNIST, CIFAR-10, and CINIC-10) demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed method.


This paper concentrates on the role of job matching frictions in influencing the interactions between fertility choice and wage offers and show that job market frictions are a crucial factor in wage differentials among female workers. The goals of this paper are to examine how the home-stay alternative and asymmetric market frictions influence this wage differential and whether the well documented negative correlation between fertility choice and female earnings still holds in the face of life-cycle choices. To address these questions, we develop a search-theoretic model that incorporates fertility and job decisions and assume that the workers with children face a lower job matching rate and a higher job quitting rate relative to the rates faced by the workers without children. As a result, we find that a wider wage differential is associated with more asymmetric market frictions and that the wage differential has a positive effect from output differential, a positive scale effect from the output of mothers and a negative effect from the utility from staying home. The wage differential is positively correlated with both fertility and home-stay rates and negatively correlated with market thickness and matching technology. Furthermore, by having both fertility and home-stay choices endogenously determined, we can show that a tighter market will enhance the fertility rate and the home-stay rate and a better job matching technology would not only increase the home-stay rate but decrease the fertility rate. In general equilibrium, the effects of both market tightness and the matching technology on the wage differential are indeterminate. These results indicate that the home-stay choice actually gives workers with children not only an alternative but also the power to negotiate higher wages. This shrinks the wage differential. Finally, the result that a higher fertility rate enlarges the wage differential also implies a negative relationship between the fertility rate and the earnings of workers with children. This result is consistent with standard empirical findings.