Small-molecule degraders are a revolutionary modality of pharmacological intervention in chemical biology and drug discovery. Instead of inhibiting protein targets, molecules that induce rapid, profound and selective degradation of targeted proteins are being developed as biological tools and investigational therapeutics. Degraders predominantly recruit a target protein to an E3 ubiquitin ligase and so form with them a ternary complex, which triggers target ubiquitination and subsequent proteasomal degradation. The structural, thermodynamic and kinetic features of the ternary complexes underpin degraders' mode of action and determine the speed, potency, selectivity and durability of their cellular degradation activity. In this chapter, we briefly recount the history of how degrader molecules have come to the fore, with a particular focus on bifunctional degrader molecules, popularly known as proteolysis-targeting chimeras (PROTACs). We illustrate how structural biology and biophysics are rapidly impacting the field and describe the main assays that are being developed and used to study PROTAC ternary complexes. The fundamental understanding that is emerging from these studies is beginning to illuminate important design principles that can now guide the field towards a more rational PROTAC design approach.


We define Grade Lift as the difference between average class grade and average cumulative class GPA. This metric provides an assessment of how lenient the grading was for a given course. In 2006, we started providing faculty members individualized Grade Lift reports reflecting their position relative to an anonymously plotted school-wide distribution. Two schools elected to participate in this reporting, and two other schools declined. To analyze the effect of Grade Lift reporting, we used paired comparisons of Grade Lift measures for the same faculty teaching the same course before and after reporting has started. Statistical analysis shows that, only in the two schools that participated, there was a reduction in both variance as well as average levels of Grade Lift. If these results can be replicated at other universities, Grade Lift reporting may become a useful tool for increasing grading consistency.


The coagulation of dust aggregates plays an important role in the formation of planets and is of key importance to the evolution of protoplanetary disks (PPDs). The characteristics of dust, such as the diversity of particle size, porosity, charge, and the manner in which dust couples to turbulent gas, affect the collision outcome and the rate of dust growth. Here we present a numerical model of the evolution of the dust population within a PPD which incorporates all of these effects. The probability that any two particles collide depends on the particle charge, cross-sectional area, and their relative velocity. The actual collision outcome is determined by a detailed collision model that takes into account the aggregate morphology, trajectory, orientation, and electrostatic forces acting between charged grains. Our model is applicable to the epoch of time during which hit-and-stick is the primary collision outcome, the duration of which varies greatly depending on the environment. The data obtained in this research reveal the characteristics of dust populations in different environments at the end of the hit-and-stick growth, which establishes the foundation for the onset of the next growth stage where bouncing, mass transfer, and fragmentation become important. For a given level of turbulence, neutral and weakly charged particles collide more frequently and grow faster than highly charged particles. In general, the epoch of hit-and-stick growth is much shorter in high turbulence than it is in regions with low turbulence or highly charged grains. In addition, highly charged particles grow to a larger size before reaching the bouncing barrier, especially in environments with low turbulence, and exhibit "runaway" growth, in which a few large particles grow quickly by accreting smaller particles while the rest of the population grows very slowly. In general, highly charged aggregates have a more compact structure and are comprised of larger monomers than neutral/weakly charged aggregates. The differences in the particle structure/composition not only affect the threshold velocities for bouncing and fragmentation, but also change the scattering and absorption opacity of dust, influencing the appearance of PPDs.


Traffic speed prediction is among the key problems in intelligent transportation system (ITS). Traffic patterns with complex spatial dependency make accurate prediction on traffic networks a challenging task. Recently, a deep learning approach named Spatio-Temporal Graph Convolutional Networks (STGCN) has achieved state-of-the-art results in traffic speed prediction by jointly exploiting the spatial and temporal features of traffic data. Nonetheless, applying STGCN to large-scale urban traffic network may develop degenerated results, which is due to redundant spatial information engaging in graph convolution. In this work, we propose a motif-based graph-clustering approach to apply STGCN to large-scale traffic networks. By using graphclustering, we partition a large urban traffic network into smaller clusters to prompt the learning effect of graph convolution. The proposed approach is evaluated on two real-world datasets and is compared with its variants and baseline methods. The results show that graph-clustering approaches generally outperform the other methods, and the proposed approach obtains the best performance.


In many ways, the Vaal Triangle Technikon is a typical South African institution. Global and local changes have impacted the institution and it has been transformed dramatically during the past decade. Amidst these changes, providing quality teaching and learning remained the key performance area for academic members of staff. Considering these changing contexts, this article wants to explore how an understanding of perceptions of quality teaching and learning can improve staff development aimed at experienced academics at the Vaal Triangle Technikon. Very little academic staff development efforts are directed at experienced academics working at the Vaal Triangle Technikon. If one argues that experienced academics is a resource to the institution because they are able to maintain quality teaching and learning in the midst of accelerated transformation, then more attention must be afforded to their development. It is argued in this article that understanding perceptions of quality teaching and learning held by experienced academics could be used to provide indicators for more relevant academic staff development aimed at this valuable group of staff.


Animals use circadian rhythms to anticipate daily environmental changes. Circadian clocks have a profound effect on behavior. In Drosophila, for example, brain pacemaker neurons dictate that flies are mostly active at dawn and dusk. miRNAs are small, regulatory RNAs (≈22 nt) that play important roles in posttranscriptional regulation. Here, we identify miR-124 as an important regulator of Drosophila circadian locomotor rhythms. Under constant darkness, flies lacking miR-124 (miR-124KO) have a dramatically advanced circadian behavior phase. However, whereas a phase defect is usually caused by a change in the period of the circadian pacemaker, this is not the case in miR-124KO flies. Moreover, the phase of the circadian pacemaker in the clock neurons that control rhythmic locomotion is not altered either. Therefore, miR-124 modulates the output of circadian clock neurons rather than controlling their molecular pacemaker. Circadian phase is also advanced under temperature cycles, but a light/dark cycle partially corrects the defects in miR-124KO flies. Indeed, miR-124KO shows a normal evening phase under the latter conditions, but morning behavioral activity is suppressed. In summary, miR-124 controls diurnal activity and determines the phase of circadian locomotor behavior without affecting circadian pacemaker function. It thus provides a potent entry point to elucidate the mechanisms by which the phase of circadian behavior is determined. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT In animals, molecular circadian clocks control the timing of behavioral activities to optimize them with the day/night cycle. This is critical for their fitness and survival. The mechanisms by which the phase of circadian behaviors is determined downstream of the molecular pacemakers are not yet well understood. Recent studies indicate that miRNAs are important regulators of circadian outputs. We found that miR-124 shapes diurnal behavioral activity and has a striking impact on the phase of circadian locomotor behavior. Surprisingly, the period and phase of the neural circadian pacemakers driving locomotor rhythms are unaffected. Therefore, miR-124 is a critical modulator of the circadian output pathways that control circadian behavioral rhythms.


ABSTRACT Due to fiscal constraints and demands for increased accountability, scholars and public officials are reviewing the structure and reporting practices of local governments. These efforts are often incomplete, however, because they bypass special districts, which now comprise over 40 percent of all local governments. The proliferation of special districts has the potential to increase government costs, redirect the allocation of scarce resources, remove debt and expenditure practices from the public eye, and reduce democratic controls over elected officials. This paper highlights some of the public interest concerns related to these entities to inform future, localized research. For decades, scholars have approached special districts from two opposing theoretical perspectives: institutional reform and public choice. Literature from these opposing perspectives is used to analyze special districts along three dimensions: efficiency and economy of operations, policy alignment and allocation of resourc...


The demand for freshwater has been increased globally. Membrane distillation (MD) technique can be an attractive option for desalination applications. MD is defined as a thermal-driven separation process that implements a hydrophobic membrane for allowing only water vapor transport through the membrane. VMD system is investigated in this study to examine its sensitivity toward the channel design. PTFE membrane is employed and treated as a functional surface where its main properties, such as porosity, tortuosity, pore diameter, and membrane thickness are defined. Different flow rates and inlet temperatures of the feed solution are involved to intensely study the effect of the channel length on VMD performance. The local concentration and temperature polarization coefficient and mass flux along the membrane surface are presented and discussed. With the increasing length of the module, concentration and temperature polarization levels are increased, and the vapor flux is decreased. It is shown that the permeate flux decreases linearly with the channel length. The slope of the permeate flux with length can be used to estimate the flux performance of modules with varying length.


Neverver is an Oceanic language spoken by just over 500 people on the high island of Malekula in Vanuatu. Drawing on an extensive corpus of field recordings collected between 2004 and 2008, the analysis reveals a very interesting phonological system with six prenasalized segments, rich systems of possession, tense/aspect/mood marking, valence change, and verb serialization. The grammaris of interest to specialists in Oceanic and Austronesian linguistics, as well as to general linguists, especially those interested in linguistic typology.


The rapid assembly of the massive black holes that power the luminous quasars observed at z 6 7 remains a puzzle. Various direct collapse models have been pro- posed to head-start black hole growth from initial seeds with masses 10 5 M , which can then reach a billion solar mass while accreting at the Eddington limit. Here we propose an alternative scenario based on radiatively inecient super-critical accretion of stellar-mass holes embedded in the gaseous circum{nuclear discs (CNDs) expected to exist in the cores of high redshift galaxies. Our sub-pc resolution hydrodynamical simulations show that stellar-mass holes orbiting within the central 100 pc of the CND bind to very high density gas clumps that arise from the fragmentation of the sur- rounding gas. Owing to the large reservoir of dense cold gas available, a stellar-mass black hole allowed to grow at super-Eddington rates according to the \slim disc" solu- tion can increase its mass by 3 orders of magnitudes within a few million years. These ndings are supported by simulations run with two dierent


As gas fields mature and water production increases, understanding and managing the dynamic flow behaviour of the well and production system are critical for maintaining, and even optimising, production. This knowledge could be the difference between a successful and an unsuccessful attempt at re-starting a wet gas well after it is shut-in. When a well is in production, choking the well to optimise stable facilities operation and maintain water production within the water handling constraints of the facilities can be a fine line between achieving continuous stable production and the well ceasing production due to high liquid loading.
 This paper describes the successful kick-off and unloading of two high-water producing gas wells within the operational constraints of the offshore facility. Transient multiphase flow models were developed for a platform well and a subsea well to simulate the wellbore flow dynamics during start-up. The models were tested over a range of values for parameters such as reservoir pressure, inflow performance and water gas ratio for different kick-off strategies but always honouring the facility's water surge management constraints.
 The outcome of these simulations facilitated the development of tailored bean-up strategies for each high-water producing gas well, which provided a mechanism to engage with key stakeholders and demonstrate confidence in the execution of these strategies. Dedicated procedures were developed and subsequently executed successfully to re-start the two wells with the wells continuing to produce after kick-off and unloading, operating within the water surge management limits of the facility. Similar strategies are being developed for other high-water producing gas wells including those with material sand production.
 This paper demonstrates strategic capability to realise additional value using dynamic modelling to kick-off mature high-water producing gas wells through proactive development of mitigation strategies which avoid production disruption.


Electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectrometry of transferrin can be used to diagnose congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG) by detecting abnormal N-glycosylation due to reduced site occupancy or processing failure. Time-of-flight mass spectrometers are widely used to separate 25–45 charged ions in the m/z 1,700–3,000 range, and a summed zero-charge mass distribution is generated despite the risk of improper deconvolution. In this study, the low m/z region of the multiply-charged ion mass spectrum enabled a robust analysis of CDG. A triple quadrupole mass spectrometer, the standard instrument for newborn screening for inborn errors of metabolism, permitted the identification of the key ions characteristic of different types of CDG affecting PMM2, ALG14, SLC35A1, SLC35A2, MAN1B1 and PGM1 in the m/z 1,970–2,000 region. Charge deconvolution was used as a complementary tool for validating the findings. It was necessary to set a cutoff level for the evaluation, since small peaks indicating glycosylation failure or reduced sialylation were observed, even in control subjects. This method and workflow facilitates the implementation of MS-based analyses and the screening of CDG in clinical laboratories.


Abberant activation of the process of epithelial-mesenchymal transition in cancer cells is a late event in tumor progression. A key inducer of this transition is the transcription factor Snail, which represses E-cadherin. We report that conditional expression of the human transcriptional repressor Snail in colorectal cancer cells induces an epithelial dedifferentiation program that coincides with a drastic change in cell morphology. Snail target genes control the establishment of several junctional complexes, intermediate filament networks, and the actin cytoskeleton. Modulation of the expression of these genes is associated with loss of cell aggregation and induction of invasion. Chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments showed that repression of selected target genes is associated with increased binding of Snail to their promoters, which contain consensus Snail-binding sites. Thus, Snail constitutes a master switch that directly represses the epithelial phenotype, resulting in malignant carcinoma cells. (Cancer Res 2005; 65(14): 6237-44)


Magnetic carbon nanostructures from microwave assisted- and conventional-pyrolysis processes are compared. Unlike graphitized carbon shells from conventional heating, different carbon shell morphologies including nanotubes, nanoflakes and amorphous carbon were observed. Crystalline iron and cementite were observed in the magnetic core, different from a single cementite phase from the conventional process.


A key task of advertising media planners is to determine the best media schedule of advertising exposures for a certainbudget. Conceptually, the planner could choose to do continuous advertising (i.e., schedule ad exposures evenly overall weeks) or follow a strategy of pulsing (i.e., advertise in some weeks of the year and not at other times). Previous theoretical analyses have shown that continuous advertising is optimal for nearly all situations. However, pulsing schedules are very common in practice. Either the pract ice of pulsing is inappropriate or extant models have not adequately conceptualized the effects of advertising spending over time. This paper offers a model that shows pulsing strategies can generate greater total awareness than the continuous advertising when the effectiveness of advertisement (i.e., adquality) varies overtime. Specifically, ad quality declines because of advertising wearout during periods of continuous advertising and it restores, due to forgetting effects, during periods of no advertising. Such dynamics make it worth-while for advertisers to stop advertising when ad quality becomes very low and wait for ad quality to restore beforestarting the next "burst" again, as is common in practice. Based on the extensive behavioral research on advertising repetition and advertising wearout, we extend the classical Nerlove and Arrow (1962) model by incorporating the notions of repetition wearout, copy wearout, and ad quality restoration. Repetition wearout is a result of excessive frequency beca use ad viewers perceive that there is nothing new to be gained from processing the ad, they withdraw their attention, or they become unmotivated to react to advertising information. Copy wearout refers to the decline inad quality due to passage of time independent of the level of frequency. Ad quality restoration is the enhancement of ad quality during media hiatus as a consequence of viewers forgetting the details of the advertised messages, thus making ads appear "like new" when reintroduced later. The proposed model has the property that, when wearout effects are present, a strategy of pulsing is superior to continuous advertising even when the advertising response function is concave. This is illustrated by a numerical example that compares the total awareness generated by a single concentrated pulse of varying duration (blitz schedules) and continuous advertising (the even schedule). This property can be explained by the tension between the pressure to spend the fixed media budget quickly to avoid copy wearout and the opposing pressure to spread out the media spending over time to mitigate repetition wearout. The proposed model is empirically tested by using brand level data from two advertising awareness tracking studies that also include the actual spen ding schedules. The first data set is for a major cereal brand, while the other is for a brand of milk chocolate. Such advertising tracking studies are now a common and popular means for evaluating advertising effectiveness in many markets (e.g., Millward Brown, NarketMind). In the empirical tests, the model parameters are estimated by using the Kalman filter procedure, which is eminently suited for dynamic models because it attends to the intertemporal dependencies in awareness build-up and decay via the use of conditional densities. The estimated parameters are statistically significant, have the expected signs, and are meaningful from both theoretical and managerial viewpoints. The proposed model fits both the data sets rather well and better than several well-known advertising models, namely, the Vidale-Wolfe, Brandaid, Litmus, and Trackermodels, but not decisively better than the Nerlove-Arrow model. However, unlike the Nerlove-Arrow model, the proposed model yields different total awareness for different strategies of spending the same fixed budget, thus allowing media planners to discriminate among several media schedules. Given the empirical support for the model, the paper presents an implementable approach for utilizing it to evaluate large numbers of alternative media schedules and determine the best set of media schedules for consideration in media planning. This approach is based on an algorithm that combines a genetic algorithm with the Kalman filter procedure. The paper presents the results of applying this approach in the case studies of the cereal and milk chocolate brands. The form of the best advertising spending strategies in each case was a pulsing strategy, and there were many schedules that were an improvement over the media schedule actually used in each campaign.


Use of a highly sensitive curvature wavefront sensor (WFS) with avalanche photodiode (APD) detectors at the Gemini North telescope has allowed direct AO guiding on very low mass stars (V=18-20, I=14-16) producing 0.1" images in K'. This resolution (which is near to the 0.07" diffraction limit) has enabled us to conduct ground-based searches for substellar companions (<0.075 M) to within ~3 AU of their primary stars. We have been able to use the faint science targets themselves to close the AO loop. The key to this capability is the zero readout noise, photon-counting APDs used in the curvature WFS. The amplification of incident photons from low luminosity sources allows sufficient signal at the subapertures to reconstruct the aberrated wavefronts with relatively little reconstruction error. This is advantageous compared to typical Shack-Hartmann WFSs which require greater signal from their guide stars to compensate for their CCDs' readout noise. The technique presented here is currently the only working one from the ground studying such cool and faint targets. Additionally, we report the discovery of 3 new binary stellar systems from a survey of 30 low mass stars (~0.095 M, spectral type M6.0-M7.5, V=18-20) at separations between 0.12-0.29" (3.5-8.3 AU) using this technique.


Antenatal synthetic glucocorticoids promote fetal maturation in pregnant women at risk of preterm delivery and their mechanism of action may involve other endocrine systems. This study investigated the effect of maternal dexamethasone treatment, at clinically relevant doses, on components of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) in the pregnant ewe and fetus. From 125 days of gestation (term, 145 ± 2 d), 10 ewes carrying single fetuses of mixed sex (3 female, 7 male) were injected twice im, at 10–11 pm, with dexamethasone (2 × 12 mg, n = 5) or saline (n = 5) at 24-hour intervals. At 10 hours after the second injection, maternal dexamethasone treatment increased angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) mRNA levels in the fetal lungs, kidneys, and heart and ACE concentration in the circulation and lungs, but not kidneys, of the fetuses. Fetal cardiac mRNA abundance of angiotensin II (AII) type 2 receptor decreased after maternal dexamethasone treatment. Between the two groups of fetuses, there were no significant differences in plasma angiotensinogen or renin concentrations; in transcript levels of renal renin, or AII type 1 or 2 receptors in the lungs and kidneys; or in pulmonary, renal or cardiac protein content of the AII receptors. In the pregnant ewes, dexamethasone administration increased pulmonary ACE and plasma angiotensinogen, and decreased plasma renin, concentrations. Some of the effects of dexamethasone treatment on the maternal and fetal RAS were associated with altered insulin and thyroid hormone activity. Changes in the local and circulating RAS induced by dexamethasone exposure in utero may contribute to the maturational and tissue-specific actions of antenatal glucocorticoid treatment.


A quantitative approach integrating AR modeling and wavelet transform is presented in this paper to analyze the digitized phonocardiogram. The recognition of the first and the second heart sounds (S1 and S2) were facilitated with wavelet transform without referring to the QRS waveform. We found that the Daubechies wavelet is most effective in identifying S1 and S2. In addition, the boundaries of S1, S2, and the onset and duration of the systolic murmur thus identified within the systole could be marked using the wavelet-filtered signal's strength. Furthermore, quantitative measures derived from a 2nd order AR model were used to delineate the configuration and pitch of the systolic murmur found within through piecewise segmentation. The proposed approach was tested and proved effective in delineating a set of clinically diagnosed systolic murmurs. The suggested AR and wavelet transform combined approach can be generalized with minor adjustments to delineate diastolic murmurs as well.


Flax shive (FS) is a byproduct from flax fiber separation. The use of absorbent prepared from chitosan-modified flax shive (CFS) has been studied for removal of reactive red dye (RR228) from aqueous solutions. CFS was characterized by the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) method, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared spectrometry (FTIR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). A batch adsorption study was conducted under various contact time, initial concentration, solution pH, and adsorbent dosage. It was found that the BET and Langmuir surface area of CFS were 1.772 m2 g-1 and 3.057 m2 g-1, respectively. Results showed that CFS has the same pores as FS and that the –NH2 group on CFS is the main adsorption site for dye sorption. Equilibrium adsorption capacity could be reached within 480 min, and RR228 uptake was satisfactory at a pH of 2.0. The percentage removal were 100%, 100%, 90%, and 85% at pH 2.0 under dye concentrations of 10 mg/L, 20 mg/L, 30 mg/L, and 40 mg/L, respectively. The adsorption accurately fitted a pseudo-second-order kinetic model and a Langmuir isotherm model. It is proposed that CFS could be applied as a low-cost absorbent in removal of dyes from wastewater.


Decomposing barley straw (Hordeum vulgare) and oak leaves (Quercus robur) have previously been shown to inhibit the growth of a limited number of algae and cyanobacteria. Bioassays were conducted on a range of algae and cyanobacteria to evaluate their relative sensitivities to litter-derived inhibitor(s). A range of sensitivities were found, including some species that were stimulated by litter-derived inhibitor(s). Susceptibility to decomposing plant litter did not appear to be related to general taxonomic or structural features since susceptibility differed widely, even amongst members of the same genus. A microcystin-producing strain of Microcystis aeruginosa was very susceptible to decomposing barley straw.
 No specific effect on cell structure or morphology could be attributed solely to the litter-derived inhibitor(s). Evidence suggested that cell division, rather than cell expansion, was slowed or inhibited. Bioassays using Euglena gracilis showed the inhibitory compounds were not derived from the phototransformation of litter decomposition products and were not acting primarily by inhibiting photosynthesis.
 Barley straw inhibited the growth of filamentous algae in a drainage channel and, subsequently, the channel was recolonized by macrophytes. A one-year treatment with barley straw inhibited algal growth, but this reduction in growth was not maintained when the straw was removed. After three-years treatment with barley straw, macrophytes retained dominance after the removal of the straw. No inhibition of algal growth was observed in a different straw-treated drainage channel. The implications for water management are discussed.


Bilateral microinjection (1.0 microliter/side) of neurotensin (NT; 0.3, 1.5, and 3.0 micrograms/side) into the nucleus accumbens (NACB) and ventral tegmental area (VTA) but not in substantia nigra and striatum reduced gastric mucosal injury produced by 2 h of cold-water restraint (CWR). The minimal effective dose for NT-induced protection was 10-100 times lower when administered directly into NACB than into the lateral ventricle. These effects were blocked by pretreatment with the dopamine (DA) receptor antagonist, haloperidol (Hal; 0.5 microgram/side) given directly into NACB. Injection of 6-hydroxydopamine into VTA depleted endogenous DA and inhibited gastric mucosal protection against CWR-induced injury afforded by NT pretreatment. NT, given into either VTA and NACB, inhibited pentagastrin-stimulated gastric acid secretion. These results suggest that VTA and NACB, which represent the mesolimbic DA system, are important locations for interaction between NT and DA receptors to produce gastric mucosal protection against CWR-induced injury.


The biblical story of the destruction of Sodom has inspired countless literary visions. The city has elicited writing from Milton, Sade, Proust, Dostoevsky and Tournier, amongst others. This work contains an anthology of Sodom texts spanning several centuries. Paul Hallam has also provided his own reading of these languages of prejudice, obsession and desire in an extensive essay.


Building waste and disposable packaging are a major component in today's landfills. Most of these are structural or thermally insulative polymer foams that do not degrade over a long period of time. Currently, there is a push to replace these foams with thermoplastic or biodegradable foams that can either be recycled or composted. We propose the use of compostable soy-based polyurethane foams (PU) with kenaf core modifiers that will offer the desired properties with the ability to choose responsible end-of-life decisions. The effect of fillers is a critical parameter in investigating the thermal and mechanical properties along with its effect on biodegradability. In this work, foams with 5%, 10%, and 15% kenaf core content were created. Two manufacturing approaches were used: the free foaming used by spray techniques and the constrained expansion complementary to a mold cavity. Structure-property relations were examined using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), thermal conductivity, compression values, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray micro-computed tomography (micro-CT), and automated multiunit composting system (AMCS). The results show that mechanical properties are reduced with the introduction of kenaf core reinforcement while thermal conductivity and biodegradability display a noticeable improvement. This shows that in application properties can be improved while establishing a responsible end-of-life choice.


A great deal of research using data from eBay auctions has been conducted to study a variety of issues. Almost all of these studies structure their research framework around a standard model of auctions which assumes that the number of bidders is exogenous and independent from auction to auction. However, auctions on eBay deviate in many important ways from the standard auction model. The literature on online auctions has recently begun to analyze the consequences of these deviations, but no one model encompasses all of the differences in one model. This leaves an incomplete picture of the incentives that bidders face when participating in eBay auctions. This paper reviews several recent theoretical advances designed to model the eBay marketplace, and discusses the predictions that might arise from a model that matches more of the particular institutional details of the eBay market. It then shows empirically that one of these predictions is supported empirically: bidders place a bid in an auction only if it offers a standing bid that is among the lowest available and the auction is scheduled to be the next to close. JEL classification codes: D44, L14


This article describes an equine-assisted experiential therapy approach and presents treatment outcomes in 31 participants in an equine-assisted, experiential therapy program. Participants completed psychological measures prior to treatment, immediately following treatment, and 6 months after treatment. Reported reductions in psychological distress and enhancements in psychological well being were significant immediately following treatment and were stable at 6-month follow-up. The article discusses the clinical implications and limitations of the present study and directions for further research.


Hearing impairment is a major limitation in communication, and it can obstruct psychological development, development of social skills and motor development. Hearing impairment is the third most common contemporary chronic health condition, and it has become a public health problem. The effectiveness of problem solving in everyday life and in emergency situations depends greatly on the amount and quality of the motor programs. Therefore, it is evident that the normal motor development in persons with hearing impairment is essential for everyday life. The aim of this research is to analyze the available information pertaining to motor skills of hearing impaired children both with and without a cochlear implant (CI) and to analyze possibilities of influencing their motor skills. The relevant studies on motor skills of hearing impaired children both with and without CI were obtained by an extensive computer search of various databases using special keywords and extraction with respect to certain criteria, resulting in 22 studies. The overall results of this systematic review indicate that the children with hearing impairment exhibit suboptimal levels of motor skills especially balance. Very few studies compared children with hearing impairment with CI units and without CI units and the results of those studies are quite contradictory. Numerous studies have confirmed that the regular and appropriate physical exercise can improve motor skills of children with hearing impairment, especially balance. The fact that the development of motor skills is crucial for the child's interaction with the outside world, action, perception and acquisition of academic skills and other skills necessary for life shows the importance of motor skills development for children with hearing impairment.


Letter from Rajiv Shah, the administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), to John Kerry, chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations in the U.S. Senate regarding the findings of a report titled "Evaluating U.S. Foreign Assistance to Afghanistan." The letter discusses the work that USAID has done in Afghanistan to work with military and civilian partners, as well as ongoing programs and plans for the future.


Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF-21) treatment is known to lower body weight and to increase insulin sensitivity in rodent models of obesity, probably via increased energy expenditure. Stimulation of non-shivering thermogenesis by FGF-21 was hypothesized to be the crucial antiobesogenic action. Thermogenesis is normally driven by stimulation of β3-adrenergic receptors. FGF-21 has been shown to inhibit lipolysis, while β3-adrenergic agonists are pro-lipolytic. In lean mice, acute β3-adrenergic stimulation results in drop in blood glucose, which is believed to be caused by a rise in non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) and (subsequently) increase in plasma insulin. Thus, the effects of FGF-21 and β3-adrenergic agonists on thermogenesis could be synergistic, while their effects on NEFA seem opposite. Here we investigate the effect of combination of FGF-21 and the β3-adrenergic agonist CL316.243 on blood glucose level in mice. Dietary obese C57Bl/6 mice were housed at thermoneutral temperature (i.e., at 30 °C) in order to minimize basal adrenergic tone. Animals were treated twice daily with 65 µg FGF-21 or its vehicle for 8 days. This treatment was not sufficient to significantly decrease body weight and non-fasted blood glucose, but it lowered insulin (indicating increase in insulin sensitivity). Subsequently, the mice were injected with 35 µg of the β3-adrenergic agonist CL316.243. CL316.243 increased NEFA and insulin in control mice, but surprisingly (in contrast to earlier observations in lean mice) it acutely increased blood glucose as well. In FGF-21-treated mice, CL316.243 altered neither NEFA nor insulin levels, but it dramatically decreased blood glucose. In contrast to earlier works, our result demonstrates a complex nature of the glucose-lowering effects of β3-adrenergic agonists which does not simply correlate to changes in insulin and NEFA levels. We also show that FGF-21 has a potential to restore the glucose-lowering action of β3-adrenergic stimulation in obese mice. Disclosure P. Zouhar: None. B. Spilakova: None. B. Andersen: Employee; Self; Novo Nordisk A/S. J. Nedergaard: None. J. Kopecky: None. Funding Czech Science Foundation (19-05356Y)


This paper reports the results of an experiment designed to examine information acquisition and evaluation in a financial setting, predicting mutual fund performance. We compare behavior across four distinct subject pools to provide insight into how training, knowledge, and experience affect decision making. We manipulate the decision environment by first increasing the time constraint and then increasing the decision cost. Although we find differences in behavior across subject pools, subjects' performance is similar. Outcomes are similar across the distinct subject pools, despite significant differences in financial education.


Baron von Richthofen (the Red Baron) arguably the most famous fighter pilot of all time painted his plane the vividest of red hues, making it visible and identifiable at great distance, showing an aggressive pronouncement of dominance to other pilots. Can colour affect aggression and performance and if so is it observable within team sports? This study explores the effect of red on sporting performances within a team sports arena, through empirical analysis of match results from the Australian Rugby League spanning a period of 30 years. While the descriptive analysis reports a positive relationship, the multivariate analysis provides some mixed results once you control for team effects. Thus, more evidence at the team level is required to better understand whether teams in red do enjoy greater success controlling explicitly in a multivariate analysis for many factors that simultaneously affect performance.


A fundamental ingredient in wormhole physics is the presence of exotic matter, which involves the violation of the null energy condition. Although a plethora of wormhole solutions have been explored in the literature, it is useful to find geometries that minimize the usage of exotic matter. In this work, we find exact wormhole solutions in Brans–Dicke theory where the normal matter threading the wormhole satisfies the null energy condition throughout the geometry. Thus, the latter implies that it is the effective stress–energy tensor containing the scalar field, that plays the role of exotic matter, that is responsible for sustaining the wormhole geometry. More specifically, we consider a zero redshift function and a particular choice for the scalar field and determine the remaining quantities, namely, the stress–energy tensor components and the shape function. The solution found is not asymptotically flat, so that this interior wormhole spacetime needs to be matched to an exterior vacuum solution.


An intermolecular, enantioselective three-component radical vicinal dicarbofunctionalization reaction of ole�ns enabled by merger of radical addition and cross-coupling using photoredox and copper dual catalysis is presented here. Key to the success of this protocol relies on chemoselective addition of acyl and cyanoalkyl radicals, generated in situ from the redox-active oxime esters by a photo-catalytic N-centered iminyl radical-triggered C-C bond cleavage event, onto the alkenes to form new carbon radicals. Single electron metalation of such newly formed carbon radicals to TMSCN-derived L1Cu(II)(CN)2 complex leads to asymmetric cross-coupling. This three-component process proceeds under mild conditions, and tolerates a diverse range of functionalities and synthetic handles, leading to valuable optically active β–cyano ketones and alkyldinitriles, respectively, in a highly enantioselective manner (> 60 examples, up to 97% ee).


Abstract A workflow to update the time-lapse low-frequency model in a data-driven manner in time-lapse inversion studies is applied to a heavy-oil reservoir produced using the steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) method. The base seismic survey and the difference between the base and monitor surveys are inverted in two separate inversion runs, and no assumptions are made regarding the reservoir changes or the relationships between elastic or reservoir parameters. The effects of production are estimated from the inversion of the difference between the base and monitor surveys. This information is used to update the low-frequency model in the time-lapse sense. A good match can be observed between the inversion results and other available information from the field, confirming the validity of the method.


We apply Mertens' dedinition of stability for a game in strategic form to a game in extensive form with perfect recall. We prove that if payoffs are generic then the outcomes of stable sets of equilibria defined via homological essentiality by Mertens coincide with those defined via homotopic essentiality. This implies that for such games various definitions of stability in terms of perturbations of players' strategies as in Mertens or best-reply correspondences as in Govindan and Wilson yield the same outcomes. A corollary yields a computational test that usually suffices to identify the stable outcomes of such a game.


Scars in the head and neck caused by trauma or extirpative surgery can present a significant problem to the patient and may require revision. A variety of techniques, both surgical and nonsurgical, exists for treatment of unsightly scars. Surgical excision of scars relies upon recruitment of local tissue for closure of the ensuing defect. Tissue expansion and serial scar excision may be used to provide more tissue for advancement or local flap coverage of revised scars. Herein we review the history, technique, and complications of tissue expansion and serial excision as well as the basic scientific principles underlying these techniques.


Two wheel tractor (Power tiller) is the common means of soil tillage and other farm operations in Bangladesh due to easy access in fragmented land size with affordable price. A low cost and small robust 2WT driven (12 hp) No-till seeder has been developed with press wheel attachment and inclined plate seed meter assembly in Farm Machinery & Postharvest Process Engineering Division, BARI, Bangladesh for seeding different kinds of seeds. This is a pull type implement hitched at drawbar point of 2WT replacing the regular rotary part. The developed No-till seeder was used in the farmer's field of Rajshahi areas for wheat, maize, pulses, and rice establishment during the year 2011-2014. The planter can pull 4 tynes in soft and medium hard soil but 3 tynes for hard soil. The planter was capable to apply seed and fertilizer in the furrows. The width and depth of the furrow opening were 30 mm and 60 mm, respectively. The planting depth, row spacing and seed rate can be adjusted according to standard practices. The No-till seeder works effectively through high density crop residue (1.5-2.4 t/ha) without any problem as there are sufficient residue clearances between toolbar and ground surface. Depending on the level of weed situation, round up herbicide was applied 2 days before of planting. There were significant yield difference in wheat, pulses but rice yield was lower than conventional transplanting method. No-till planted crops show less lodging tendency compare to conventional planted crops. There were significant cost differences between no-till and conventional method. The planting costs of wheat and maize in Notill system were 60% and 86% less than conventional planting method. It also reduces the average turn around time 7-9 days between the two crops. The effective area coverage by the seeder was 0.13ha/hr. The No-till seeder is a low cost (US$ 350-400; without power unit), light in weight and local manufacturer can fabricate complete unit within a short period of time. The No-till seeder can be used in other countries where 2WT is the common farming equipment.


We detect a positive angular correlation between bright, high-redshift QSOs and foreground galaxies. The QSOs are taken from the optically selected LBQS Catalogue, while the galaxies are from the APM Survey. The correlation amplitude is about a few percent on angular scales of over a degree. It is a function of QSO redshift and apparent magnitude, in a way expected from weak lensing, and inconsistent with QSO-galaxy correlations being caused by physical associations, or uneven obscuration by Galactic dust. The correlations are ascribed to the weak lensing eeect of the foreground dark matter, which is traced by the APM galaxies. The amplitude of the eeect found here is compared to the analytical predictions from the literature, and to the predictions of a phenomenological model, which is based on the observed counts-in-cells distribution of APM galaxies. While the latter agree reasonably well with the analytical predictions (namely those of Dolag & Bartelmann 1997, and Sanz et al. 1997), both under-predict the observed correlation amplitude on degree angular scales. We consider the possible ways to reconcile these observations with theory, and discuss the implications these observations have on some aspects of extragalactic astronomy.


Auriferous iron sulfide-bearing deposits of the Carolina slate belt have distinctive mineralogical and textural features—traits that provide a basis to construct models of ore deposition. Our identification of paragenetically early types of pyrite, especially remnant colloform, crustiform, and layered growth textures of pyrite containing electrum and pyrrhotite, establishes unequivocally that gold mineralization was coeval with deposition of host rocks and not solely related to Paleozoic tectonic events. Ore horizons at the Haile deposit, South Carolina, contain many remnants of early pyrite: (1) fine-grained cubic pyrite disseminated along bedding; (2) fine-grained spongy, rounded masses of pyrite that may envelop or drape over pyrite cubes; (3) fragments of botryoidally and crustiform layered pyrite, and (4) pyritic infilling of vesicles and pumice. Detailed mineral chemistry by petrography, microprobe, SEM, and EDS analysis of replaced pumice and colloform structures containing both arsenic compositional banding and electrum points to coeval deposition of gold and the volcanic host rocks and, thus, confirms a syngenetic origin for the gold deposits.

Early pyrite textures are present in other major deposits of the Carolina slate belt, such as Ridgeway and Barite Hill, and these provide strong evidence for models whereby the sulfide ores formed prior to tectonism. The role of Paleozoic metamorphism was to remobilize and concentrate gold and other minerals in structurally prepared sites. Recognizing the significance of paragenetically early pyrite and gold textures can play an important role in distinguishing sulfide ores that form in volcanic and sedimentary environments from those formed solely by metamorphic processes. Exploration strategies applied to the Carolina slate belt and correlative rocks in the eastern United States in the Avalonian basement will benefit from using syngenetic models for gold mineralization.


In this paper, we propose a fast AGC (Automatic Gain Control) scheme for 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) LTE (Long Term Evolution) TDD (Time Division Duplex) system. Since the received signal has a large signal power difference between uplink and downlink subframe in wireless communication systems using a TDD scheme, conventional AGC scheme cannot sufficiently adjust the AGC gain because the AGC gain cannot converge fast enough to properly respond. Therefore, conventional AGC scheme leads to increased AGC gain variation, and the received signal will be attenuated by large AGC gain variation. To overcome this limitation, we propose an AGC scheme based on the average amplitude ratio calculation which can not only effectively increase convergence speed of the AGC gain but also maintain the stability of AGC operation in LTE TDD system. By using extensive computer simulation in various channel environments, we show that the proposed method can obtain a good behavior in terms of convergence speed for LTE TDD system and verify that the proposed method is attractive and suitable for implementation with stable operation.


Although a number of features distinguish the disease isoform of the prion protein (PrPSc) from its normal cellular counterpart (PrPC) in the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), the neuropathogenesis of these diseases remains an enigma. The amyloid fibrils formed by fragments of human PrP have, however, been shown to be directly neurotoxic in vitro. We show here that sulphated polysaccharides (heparin, keratan and chondroitin) inhibit the neurotoxicity of these amyloid fibrils and this appears to be mediated via inhibition of the polymerization of the PrP peptide into fibrils. This provides a rationale for the therapeutic effects of sulphated polysaccharides and suggests a rapid in vitro functional screen for TSE therapeutics.


OBJECTIVE
To determine whether either of the gene variants associated with age-related macular degeneration is associated with coronary artery disease (CAD).

PATIENTS AND METHODS
This study consisted of 493 patients who underwent clinically indicated coronary angiography between June 1, 1998, and January 1, 1999. The Y402H variant of the complement factor H (CFH) gene and the A69S variant of the LOC387715 gene locus were examined by restriction fragment length polymorphism. Multiple logistic regression models were used to assess the association of CFH and LOC gene variants with CAD. Covariates with well-established associations with CAD were also evaluated.

RESULTS
Seventy patients (14%) were homozygous for the histidine variant (HH) of CFH, 237 (48%) were heterozygous for the histidine variant (HY), and 186 (38%) were homozygous for the tyrosine variant (YY). Three hundred eight patients (62%) were homozygous for the alanine allele of LOC387715, 170 (34%) were heterozygous for Ala and Ser alleles, and 15 (3%) were homozygous for the serine variant. The overall association of the CFH genotype with CAD was not statistically significant (P=.08). However, some evidence (P=-.046) suggested that CAD was increased for the HH genotype compared to the homozygous wild-type YY genotype (odds ratio, 1.95; 95% confidence interval, 1.01-3.76). Male sex, hypertension, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and age were other variables that demonstrated significant associations with CAD. The overall effect of the LOC genotype was not statistically significant (P=-.06). Heterozygosity for the serine variant was (P=-.02) associated with the absence of CAD vs the AS genotype (odds ratio, 0.59; confidence interval, 0.38-0.91; P=-.02).

CONCLUSION
The CFH genotype may have an independent association with CAD, although our evidence did not show statistical significance. Controlling for known risk factors, the age-related macular degeneration-associated HH variant appears to be associated with CAD. The LOC387715 gene may also play a role in CAD.


In recent years, Asia and the Pacific have been ravaged by strong typhoons that caused widespread destruction. The powerful winds from these typhoons ripped off roofs, windows, doors and walls from houses, and destroyed trees and other vegetation, leaving a vast amount of wooden, metallic, plastic, and glass debris and waste scattered across a wide area. Proper management of disaster waste is a critical task during the initial phase of disaster recovery. It is essential for coastal cities that are frequently affected by typhoons to have adequate capacity for post-disaster waste management. This capacity development project aimed to contribute to this end by providing appropriate knowledge and training to government and non-government stakeholders. The project was implemented in Lautoka City, Fiji and Makati City, Philippines, with the support of four prominent universities. In total, six training sessions were conducted under the project. The primary outputs of this project are the disaster waste management contingency plans of the two participating cities. The project team disseminated information about the capacity development project through the project website and through presentations in academic conferences, webinars, workshops, training, non-academic conferences, and radio guest appearances.


To control solid waste source produced by the community, the Government of Pontianak is now implementing the strategy to increase community involvement in waste management. Yet, the result is not yet optimum. The community of Kampung Kamboja is an example of community which has not managed the waste yet. The settlement which is located in Kapuas riverbank has lots of waste problems such as solid waste source near the community residence especially beneath the houses and some open spaces in the riverbank. Based on the waste condition in Kampung Kamboja, this research therefore aims to figure out the behavior of Kampung Kamboja community in managing the waste. The research uses qualitative approach and descriptive method. Based on the analysis result, it is concluded that 1) the physical characteristic of Kapuas River creates the community image of this river as a part of facilities for community to manage their waste, 2) the construction of the rumah panggung, (traditional house which construction is in level) which functions to adapt the river tide, creates space beneath the house which is potential as a waste source that is hardly cleaned up, 3) the pattern of community waste management involving autonomous community participation needs continuity and simultaneous assistance implementation to let the community manages the waste.


In the last decade, as an emerging technique for business processes management, process mining (PM) has been applied in many domains, including manufacturing, supply-chain, government, healthcare, and software engineering. Particularly in healthcare, where most processes are complex, variable, dynamic, and multi-disciplinary in nature, the application of this technique is growing yet challenging. Several literature reviews, as secondary studies, reveal the state of PM applications in healthcare from different perspectives, such as clinical pathways, oncology processes, and hospital management. In this article, we present the results of a systematic mapping (SM) study which we conducted to structure the information available in the primary studies. SM is a well-accepted method to identify and categorize research literature, in which the number of primary studies is rapidly growing. We searched for studies between 2005 and 2017 in the electronic digital libraries of scientific literature, and identified 172 studies out of the 2428 initially found on the topic of PM in healthcare. We created a concept map based on the information provided by the primary studies and classified these studies according to a number of attributes including the types of research and contribution, application context, healthcare specialty, mining activity, process modeling type and notation/language, and mining algorithm. We also reported the demographics and bibliometrics trends in this domain; namely, publication volume, top-cited papers, most contributing researchers and countries, and top venues. The results of mapping showed that, despite the healthcare data and technique related challenges, the field is rapidly growing and open for further research and practice. The researchers who are interested in the field could use the results to elicit opportunities for further research. The practitioners who are considering applications of PM, on the other hand, could observe the most common aims and specialties that PM techniques are applied.


In a retrospective study we compared the outcome of 39 patients with interstitial cystitis to the histological findings at initial diagnostic bladder biopsy. The degree of inflammation and fibrosis and the mast cell counts were assessed on each biopsy. The prognostic relevance of the clinical features of age, duration of symptoms, frequency, nocturia, pain and bladder capacity was assessed. The study showed no statistical correlation between the severity of histological findings at diagnosis and the eventual outcome of the disease. Over 50% of patients with severe histological abnormalities responded to conservative treatment. Although the majority of patients with mild pathological changes responded to conservative treatment, some did require surgical intervention. The clinical features of pain, nocturia and bladder capacity showed significant differences between the 2 patient groups. However, the former 2 features are subject to many variables and the latter probably has too wide a range to be useful as a prognostic indicator. Only the response of patients to conservative treatment will indicate those who are not being helped and who may eventually require surgical treatment.


Patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) commonly exhibit weight loss (WL) which investigators attribute to various factors, including elevated energy expenditure. We tested the hypothesis that daily energy expenditure (DEE) and its components, resting energy expenditure (REE) and physical activity (PA) energy expenditure (PAEE), are elevated in WL compared with weight stable (WS) PD patients. We measured DEE in 10 PD WL patients and 10 PD WS patients using doubly labeled water (DLW). PAEE was estimated with DLW, activity monitors, and activity questionnaires. REE was measured with indirect calorimetry. We evaluated energy intake (EI) with a patient's 3‐day food diary. Data was assessed employing SPSS, Spearman correlation coefficients, and Bland and Altman plots. There was no difference in DEE between the WL and WS groups measured with DLW. There were no differences in REE and EI between groups. DEE (r = 0.548, P < 0.05) and PAEE (r = 0.563, P < 0.01) are related with caloric intake. The WL group had higher PA than the WS group (P < 0.042) only when measured with wrist activity monitors. Results suggest that WL in PD patients cannot be fully explained by an increase in DEE. Large longitudinal studies to examine multiple relationships between variables might provide us with a better understanding of WL among PD patients. © 2008 Movement Disorders Society


This method note presents Q methodology as a useful tool for evaluators to add to their practice toolbox. Q methodology, which involves both quantitative and qualitative techniques, can help researchers and evaluators systematically understand subjectivity and the communicability of opinions and perspectives. We first provide an overview of Q methodology, followed by a brief summary of how evaluators are using Q, and an explanation of the steps for implementing Q methodology. Either by itself or with other methods, the potential uses of Q methodology in evaluation are diverse. For practical demonstration, we describe how Q methodology was used in a recent evaluation in the UK to understand stakeholder subjectivity within the program. We then reflect upon the pros and cons of using Q in program evaluation, concluding that it constitutes a worthwhile tool for evaluating complex programs.


A method of classifying patterns using fuzzy relations is described. To start with, we give a suitable value of the measure of subjective similarity to each pair of patterns that is taken from the population of patterns to be classified. Then a similitude between any two patterns is calculated by using the composition of a fuzzy relation. The similitude induces an equivalence relation. Consequently, we can classify the present population of the patterns into some classes by the equivalence relation. An experiment of the classification of portraits has been performed to test the method proposed here.


The relationship between reproductive factors and the risk of primary liver cancer was analyzed using data of a case‐control study conducted in Northern Italy between 1984 and 1991 on 79 women with histologically or serologically confirmed hepatocellular carcinoma and 344 controls in hospital for a wide spectrum of acute, non‐neoplastic diseases. The multivariate relative risk (RR) for parous vs. nulliparous women was 2.6 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.2 to 5.8), and the risk increased with parity from 2.1 for 1, to 2.6 for 2, to 3.2 for 3, to 3.5 for 4 or more births (x  12 trend = 6.49, p = 0.01). The relative risks were above unity, though not significantly, in women reporting spontaneous (RR = 1.3) and induced (RR = 1.6) abortions, and there was a significant trend in risk with total number of abortions. An apparent inverse trend in risk with age and first birth was accounted for by parity. No relationship emerged with age at menarche, at menopause or other menstrual factors. The association between parity and hepatocellular carcinoma was, if anything, more marked at older ages, since the RR was 1.6 (95% CI 0.5 to 4.6) below age 60, and 4.8 (95% CI 1.3 to 18.1) at age 60 or over. This observation has relevant public‐health implications, since in developed countries primary liver cancer is extremely rare among young women, but not at older ages. The association between parity and hepatocellular carcinoma is similar to that described for combined oral contraceptives, again confirming that the impact of contraceptives on the risk of several neoplasms is similar to that of pregnancy. © 1992 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a sensitive method for evaluating adenylate cyclase stimulation by thyroid-stimulating antibodies (TSAb), based on the measurement of thyroid membrane adenylate cyclase activity in the presence of a non-hydrolyzable GTP analogue, guanyl-5'-yl imidodiphosphate (Gpp(NH)p). The addition of Gpp(NH)p (10(-5)M) produced a 10-fold increase of the sensitivity of the system for both TSH and TSAb. Immunoglobulin G preparations from sera of 30 patients with Graves' disease were tested for the adenylate cyclase stimulation either in the presence or in the absence of Gpp(NH)p: a significant stimulation was observed in 27/30 patients when the GTP analogue was added to the system, while only 20/30 patients were positive in the absence of the nucleotide. The advantage of Gpp(NH)p addition was also evident in a large series which included 57 patients with Graves' disease, 15 with Hashimoto's thyroiditis or primary myxoedema and 22 normal subjects. In fact, 88% of patients with Graves' disease resulted positive, while no significant stimulation was elicited by Hashimoto's thyroiditis, primary myxoedema and by normal immunoglobulins. The sensitivity achieved in our system which employs thyroid plasma membranes was similar to that obtained by other investigators with the use of thyroid slices or thyroid cells in primary culture. Furthermore, methods based on thyroid plasma membranes are supposed to have a better reproducibility, since the same tissue preparation, if appropriately stored, may be used in several different tests.


We find that the Norwegian R&D tax credit scheme introduced in 2002 mainly works as intended. The scheme is cost-effective and it is used by a large number of firms. It stimulates these firms to invest more in R&D, and, in particular, the effect is positive for small firms with little R&D experience. The returns on the R&D investments supported by the scheme are positive and generally not different from the returns to other R&D investments. We have found examples of what can be interpreted as tax motivated adjustments to the scheme, but to some extent this must be accepted as a cost to subsidy and support schemes intended for use by a large number of economic agents. This is particularly so when attempts are made to keep administrative expenditures and control routines at a low level.


We study the problem of evaluating the goodness of a kernel matrix for a classification task. As kernel matrix evaluation is usually used in other expensive procedures like feature and model selections, the goodness measure must be calculated efficiently. Most previous approaches are not efficient, except for Kernel Target Alignment (KTA) that can be calculated in O(n2) time complexity. Although KTA is widely used, we show that it has some serious drawbacks. We propose an efficient surrogate measure to evaluate the goodness of a kernel matrix based on the data distributions of classes in the feature space. The measure not only overcomes the limitations of KTA, but also possesses other properties like invariance, efficiency and error bound guarantee. Comparative experiments show that the measure is a good indication of the goodness of a kernel matrix.


The late Oligocene to early Miocene (20-26Ma) is characterized by a complex climate history that includes a stepped transition toward a cooler climate, intermittent partial glaciations of Antarctica, and a transient glaciation, Mi-1, at the Oligocene/Miocene (O/M) boundary. The Mi-1 event is characterized by an anomalous positive oxygen isotope excursion, the magnitude of which suggests the brief appearance of a full-scale ice-sheet on east Antarctica coupled with a few degrees of deep sea cooling. A recent breakthrough in extending the astronomical calibration back to ~30 Ma has provided a unique opportunity to compare the climatic events of the O/M transition relative to Earth's orbital variations. Here, we present an uninterrupted 5.5 My long high-fidelity chronology of late Oligocene-early Miocene climate and ocean carbon chemistry that is based on a composite in the western equatorial Atlantic. This unique isotope record provides a rare window into how the climate system responded to orbital forcing uncer boundary conditions significantly different from those of the recent past. Time-series analyses reveal climate variance concentrated at all Milankovitch frequencies, but with unusually strong power at the primary eccentricity band periods of 406, 125, and 95-ky. These cycles, which represent in part glacial advances and retreats of Antarctic ice-sheets, show significantly enhanced variability over a 1.6 my period (21.4-23.0 Ma) of suspected low greenhouse gas levels as inferred from the carbon isotope record. Perhaps the most unexpected finding is that of a rare orbital congruence between eccentricity and obliquity that precisely corresponds with the Mi-1 glaciation. This orbital anomaly involves ~four consecutive cycles of low amplitude variance in obliquity (a node) during a period of low eccentricity. The net result is an extended period (~200ky) of low seasonality orbits, which allows for a step-like expansion of an Antarctic ice-sheet.


This paper presents a generalized solution to modelling hydraulic erosion using ideas from fluid mechanics. The model is based on the Navier–Stokes equations, which provide the dynamics of velocity and pressure. These equations form the basis for the model to balance erosion and deposition that determine changes in the layers between water and erosion material. The eroded material is captured and relocated by water according to a material transport equation. The resulting model is fully 3D and is able to simulate a variety of phenomena including river meanders, low hill sediment wash, natural water springs and receding waterfalls. The simulations show the terrain morphogenesis and can be used for animations as well as for static scene generation. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


For pt.II see ibid., vol.3, p.407-19, (1986). In part I, a model was developed for describing the behaviour of the piezometric head during slug or displacement tests in a well-aquifer system where the well fully penetrates a confined aquifer. Assuming the parameters in the system are known, a theoretical solution was derived. In part II, a numerical procedure which implemented these results was given and in particular it was shown how to calculate the fluctuations in the elevation of the water surface in the well. In this paper, the authors take up the inverse problem of estimating the aquifer transmissivity and storativity from field measurements of the depth of the water surface elevations inside the well. They assume that these measurements have been taken at discrete points in time and then prove the continuous dependence of the aquifer characteristics on the data and the time interval. Furthermore, they present and test a numerical procedure for estimating the aquifer transmissivity and storativity. Although this work focuses on radial flow problems, it is evident that the basic analysis of the procedure applies equally well for any well-aquifer model. A field example illustrating the applicability of the method is presented.


Atresia coli is sporadically seen in calves and lethal unless intestinal patency is restored through surgery. While there are some reports of surgically corrected animals with atresia coli giving birth to healthy offspring, there is still controversy about treating such cases, since survival is not guaranteed and there is a chance of tainting the herd's gene pool. This study aims to investigate the efficacy of colonoscopy in cases of atresia coli in determining the atresia type and evaluating the lumen. Nineteen calves of different breeds and sex between the ages of 1 to 15 days were included in the study. Colonoscopy duration, maximum distance of the endoscope from the anus and any discernible changes inside the lumen were recorded for each case. The technique was easy to use, required no anaesthesia or sedation and very informative about the condition of the mucosa. Definitive diagnosis of the atresia type using colonoscopy is not possible unless a complete blind end is seen and iatrogenic damage may be caused during the procedure. We believe its diagnostic use can provide the surgeon with data to select which procedure to use and help with prognosis.


In the past two decades, crack-tip mechanics has been increasingly studied with full-field techniques. Within these techniques, Digital Image Correlation (DIC) has been most widely used due to its many advantages, to extract important crack-tip information, including Stress Intensity Factor (SIF), Crack Opening Displacement, J-integral, T-stress, closure level, plastic zone size, etc. However, little information is given in the literature about the experimental setup that provides best estimations for the different parameters. The current work aims at understanding how the experimental conditions used in DIC influence the crack-tip information extracted experimentally. The influence of parameters such as magnification factor, size of the images, position of the images with respect the crack-tip and size of the subset used in the correlation is studied. The influence is studied in terms of SIF and T-stress by using Williams' model. The concept of determination of the K-dominance zone from experimental data has also explored. In this regard, cyclic loading on a fatigue crack in a compact tension (CT) specimen, made of aluminium 2024-T351 alloy, has been applied and the surface deformation ahead of the crack tip has been examined. The comparison between theoretical and experimental values of KI showed that the effect of subset size on the measured KI is negligible compared to the effect of size of the image.


Abstract. The morphology of extant and extinct Squatiniformes is well conserved within this lineage, but differences are of consequence to character interpretations for phylogenetic analyses. Investigation of the extinct taxon †Pseudorhina alifera (Munster, 1842) from the Late Jurassic of Solnhofen with extant species of Squatina provide new evidence that members of Squatiniformes possess a basioccipital fovea. Presence of a basioccipital fovea is the ancestral condition in Neoselachians and hypothesized to be lost in members of Hypnosqualea. In addition, species of Squatina all posses a reduced occipital hemicentrum while the occipital hemicentrum in †Pseudorhina is unreduced, indicating the condition in Squatina is an example of postdisplacement heterochrony. Pristiophoriformes and Batoidea also are characterized by a lack of a basioccipital fovea and hemicentrum. However, extinct members of Batoidea, such as †Spathobatis, and modern taxa do possess a distinct notch in the posterior basicranium ventral to the foramen magnum. Except for the lack of an associated occipital hemicentrum, this notch is similar to the basioccipital fovea, but its homology is not yet addressed. Furthermore, within all species of Squatiniformes and Pristiophoriformes, as well as some members of Orectolobiformes and Carcharhiniformes, basiventral cartilages are laterally expanded, contributing to a broad articulation with the occipital condyle. The disparate taxa with modifications to the basiventral cartilages suggest a significant functional, rather than phylogenetic, signal for this feature. doi: 10.1002/mmng.201100003


Saturated sand box experiments were conducted to explore the effect of various physical factors on the transport and deposition of suspended particles in porous media. Red quartz power and natural quartz sand were employed in the study and acted as suspended particle and porous media, respectively. Particles were injected into the sand box in two modes, i.e., pulse injection and continuous injection. Tests were performed at various particle concentrations, flow velocities, deposition rate coefficient and longitudinal dispersion coefficient by both injection modes. The breakthrough curves were described with the analytical solution of a convection–dispersion equation, among which first-order deposition kinetics were taken into account. Different behavior of suspended particles transport and deposition in porous media was observed under different injection modes and experimental conditions. The results show that effluent concentration was approximately linearly with the initial particle concentration. The deposition rate coefficient depends strongly on particle size and flow velocity, and the transport and deposition process was very sensitive to it. Furthermore, the longitudinal dispersion coefficient increases with the increasing of flow rate, and particles are easier to transport through pores as longitudinal dispersion coefficient increases. This study shows the importance of particle concentration, flow velocity, deposition rate coefficient and longitudinal dispersion coefficient in transport and deposition process of suspended particles.


The stability of an interconnected ac/dc system is affected by disturbances occurring in the system. Disturbances, such as three-phase faults, may jeopardize the rotor-angle stability and, thus, the generators fall out of synchronism. The possibility of fast change of the injected powers by the multiterminal dc grid can, by proper control action, enhance this stability. This paper proposes a new time optimal control strategy for the injected power of multiterminal dc grids to enhance the rotor-angle stability. The controller is time optimal, since it reduces the impact of a disturbance as fast as possible, and is based on Lyapunov theory considering the nonlinear behavior. The time optimal controller is of a bang-bang type and uses wide-area measurements as feedback signals. Nonlinear simulations are run in the Nordic32 test system implemented in PowerFactory/DIgSILENT with an interface to Matlab where the controller is implemented.


Due to the important ecological function of Eremanthus erythropappus (candeia) wood, combined with the growing demand for its products, studies are being made to develop its silviculture. Among these studies, it is important and strategic to start with the cloning process due to the need for improvement of the stand quality that are to be planted. The initial step toward this goal was to define a methodology for rescue of stock plants and rooting of the species cuttings. As a way to rescue the stock plants, 24 trees aged six years of a candeia stand were severed at 15, 30, 45 and 60 cm in height above ground. In 12 trees, it was proceeded soil scarification. The counting and harvesting of sprouts were performed 65 and 135 days after cut, respectively. From the shoots obtained, three types of cuttings were prepared: Top 1, Top 2 and Basal, which were treated with IBA at concentrations of 0, 200, 400, 800 or 1600 mg kg -1 and placed in a greenhouse for rooting. Based on the results, it was conclude that cut, independent of the height, followed by soil scarification and the rooting of cuttings prepared from the shoots collected in the roots, is an effective method for rescue of stock plants and rooting of candeia cuttings and the highest percentage of rooting was found in the Top1 cuttings and did not vary in function of AIB concentration.


Purpose

This paper aims to examine the views of the global knowledge management (KM) community on the research area of KM and business performance and identify key future research themes.

Design/methodology/approach

An interview study spanning 222 informants in 38 countries was launched to collect data on KM expert views concerning the future research needs of the KM field.

Findings

The value contribution of KM requires more research despite experts agreeing on the complexities involved in solving this challenge. Further research areas identified were related to the influence of KM to support business strategy, intellectual capital, decision-making, knowledge sharing, organizational learning, innovation performance, productivity and competitive advantage.

Research limitations/implications

The sample is dominated by European-based KM experts and the self-selecting sampling approach that was used by relying on the networks of each partner could have biased the structure of this sample.

Practical implications

The recognition of the complexity to demonstrate the value contribution of KM could prevent practitioners from using over-simplified approaches and encourage them to use more advanced measurement approaches.

Originality/value

The paper is unique, in that it reports on the views of 222 KM experts from 38 countries representing both academia and practice, on the issue of future research needs in terms of KM and business outcomes. As such it provides valuable guidance for future studies in the KM field and related subjects.


The risk of external interventions crowding-out intrinsic motivation has long been established in economics. This paper introduces a new dimension by arguing that a crowding-out effect does become possible if individuals receive higher relative compensation. Using a unique, large data set that focuses on 26 seasons in basketball (NBA) we find empirical support for a relative crowding-out effect. Performance is reduced as a reaction to a relative income advantage.


This report was commissioned by the Committee of Inquiry into the Changing Learner Experience to review the current and developing use of Web 2.0 technologies in higher education from an international perspective. The terms of reference for the study were to produce a report that: "reviews current and developing practice in the use of Web 2.0 in higher education internationally and provides an assessment of the relative position in the UK and the likely attendant consequences. The review should cover four countries, including the USA and Australia The review should look at the following: • The areas in which Web 2.0 is being used, including academic and administrative support; • The drivers to use of Web 2.0 in these areas; • The issues encountered and the responses made; • The perceived advantages and disadvantages of Web 2.0 use; and • Prospective developments in Web 2.0 use." The report is based on five specially commissioned reports from Australia, the Netherlands, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. These were chosen to provide some of the leading countries in the use of Web 2.0 technologies in education together with one country where English is not the first language and one where infrastructure provision remains a critical issue. The section of the documents provides the picture in the UK.


An aesthetic distinction between good music and the good in music is crucial for a philosophy of music education. Ultimately, it is not the music's fault, as it were, that someone may view it as being 'not good' in either a social or aesthetic context. Regardless of how music is colored it remains an entity unto itself and thus untouched by our pronouncements. Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations recognized the falseness of such propositions as biased pronouncements taking the form of bad 'x' or good 'x.' Thus we may seek the good within the music if we know how to define what we mean by that. This approach allows music to be conceptualized and framed in a meaningful educational context. In such a way Plato and Aristotle attempted a conceptualization of the 'good' and the 'ungood' in the music of their time, as did Adorno in the preceding century. Although this context still does not allow pronouncements of music as good or bad, it does allow a seeking of its educational utility and unlimited potentiality in the name of an aesthetic and moral understanding.


In this paper, I begin with discussing the problem of defining concepts of law and morality. The broad range of possible conceptions of both is discussed and a distinction is made between a process view and a product view. It is argued that our views on the relation between law and morality depend on which conceptions of law and morality we presuppose. After this preliminary work the question is raised: When is it justified to transform morality into law, or at least to give legal effect to it? The major issues can be discussed under three headings: the integrity of the law, the intended effects and unwanted side-effects, and straightforwardly normative issues. We may also go from law to morality; the main normative issue is then that of political obligation. In most Western countries, health law and bioethics are strongly intertwined. This strong connection is the result of some specific factors that, in the early years of these disciplines, facilitated a rapid development of both and led to a strong convergence. We have moved from a moralistic-paternalistic model to a liberal model. The latter is now dominant in most Western countries and enables law and ethics to closely co-operate and converge. In some countries, a third model is emerging in which health law and ethics will partly diverge again. (Chapter for the Oxford Companion to Bioethics (Second Edition, Forthcoming), with minor changes compared to the first edition.)


Franchising is a form of business arrangement which has been claimed to offer a high possibility of business success. The reason for its growing support may be due to the benefits franchising offers to the individuals (franchisees), the organisations (franchisors), the public and the whole economy. The notion that franchising offers a successful guarantee for business operations warrants investigation into what factors contribute to likely success.

The characteristics of franchise firms have been identified as a significant factor in ensuring franchise success. In this study, franchise firms were classified into four groups using hierarchical cluster analysis: the beginners, the developers, the growers and the matures. The profiles were tested against reported performance measures, indicating that franchise firms in the growing group outperform firms in other groups. However, this is only one component which may influence a successful franchise development.

Relationship management is a second, critical area in building a strong franchise network. Some significant relationship building factors are explored in this thesis. Control, influence strategy, franchisee information asymmetry and communication strategy were found to be significant factors which lead to franchise competitive advantage. The results show that control and coercive influence strategy negatively influence franchise outcomes, while noncoercive influence strategy, information asymmetry and communication strategy positively enhance the franchise relationship. The results of multiple regression analyses also indicate that the combined effects of these franchise strategies have a significant impact on franchise outcomes; namely, financial performance, franchise goal congruence and franchisee satisfaction.

The findings suggest that franchise firms can adjust their strategies to enhance their business success. Control, influence, information and information strategies can be used to maintain and induce healthy franchise relationships within the franchise dyad. The study also significantly extends the existing understanding of franchise heterogeneity theories, key criteria of franchise business competitiveness, the unique business relationship between franchisor and franchisee and franchise factors contributing to franchise success in the current franchising literature.


Human development and national competitivenes is one of the flagship programs from The Indonesian Government. Bali as one of the best tourist destination in the world is required to have an international standard tourism infrastructure. A swimming pool in a tourism accomodation is a standard facility in a tourist infrastructure. There are several types of swimming pools i.e. public swimming pools and private pools. During its development and demand, private pools develop into swimming pools with additional facilities such as warm water, which is often called a jacuzzi. Another additional facility is added pressure to the water in completing massage, fragrance and foam. The swimming pool is one of facilitity designed to hold water to allow swimming or other recreational activities. Pools can be built in the ground or on the ground as a free construction or as a part of structure and also with a common feature or a free style design. In-ground pools are the most common pools made and constructed from materials such as concrete, natural stone, metal, plastic, or fiberglass. To support comfort and satisfaction when using the swimming pool, the adequate water level in the swimming pool will be maintained by system with several supporting devices such as pumps, dirt filters and maintained at a certain level. Other things that support water quality include temperature, water turbidity, color, odor, pH, chlorine content etc.


One of the most important parameters for analysing wellbore pressure response in gas condensate reservoirs is the pseudopressure function. This function correlates the reservoir pressure and saturation distributions, and hence the non-linear governing equation can be transformed into a linear equation and solved using a standard method. This paper describes a method of analysing wellbore pressure response of a gas condensate reservoir under transient conditions. In this study, the pressure distributions are calculated using iterative line source approximation and superposition principles. Initially, the steady-state saturation is assumed. The reservoir saturation distributions are estimated from the sandface saturation and the two-phase flow radius using a qudratic equation. The pseudopressure function is then calculated based on these distributions. The pressure distribution is then recalculated based on this satursation distribution. The material balance method is used to verify the saturation distributions. The dimensionless wellbore pseudopressure is calculated from the wellbore pressure data and compared with the dimensionless pressure (liquid solution). In general the proposed method shows a good agreement with the liquid solution during transient conditions and hence it can be used to estimate the transport properties of gas condensate reservoirs.


To meet an ever-increasing electrical load demand, modern power systems are undergoing numerous changes and becoming more complex from operation, control and stability maintenance standpoints. The major problem that is associated with such a stressed system is voltage instability or collapse. A system is said to enter a state of voltage instability when a disturbance causes a progressive and uncontrollable decline in voltage, which can occur because of the inability of the network to meet the increased demand for reactive power. Therefore, the voltage stability analysis is essential in order to identify the critical buses in a power system i.e., buses which are close to their voltage stability limits and thus enable certain measures to be taken by the operators in order to avoid any incidence of voltage collapse. Based on the basic understanding of voltage collapse and voltage stability analysis, a new index of analyzing static stability is proposed utilizing the power flow solution based on the transmission line impedance and the apparent power at the receiving end. The proposed line stability index has the capability to identify the weakest bus and the weakest line in the interconnected power. Simulations were carried out to validate the proposed index using Western System Coordinate Council (WSCC) 9-bus test system. The results are presented and compared with indices found in literature.


Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen responsible for a number of different human infections and is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. P. aeruginosa infections are difficult to treat due to a number of antibiotic resistance mechanisms and the organisms propensity to form multicellular biofilms. Epidemic strains of P. aeruginosa often dominate within the lungs of individual CF patients, but how they achieve this is poorly understood. One of the ways strains of P. aeruginosa can compete, is by producing chromosomally encoded bacteriocins, called pyocins. Three major classes of pyocin have been identified in P. aeruginosa: soluble pyocins (S-types) and tailocins (R- and F-types). In this study, we investigated the distribution of S- and R-type pyocins in 24 clinical strains isolated from individual CF patients and then focused on understanding their roles on inter-strain competition. We found that (i) each strain produced only one R-pyocin type, but the number of S-pyocins varied between strains; (ii) R-pyocins were generally important for strain dominance during competition assays in planktonic cultures and biofilm communities in strains with both disparate R and S pyocin sub-types. (iii) purified R-pyocins demonstrated significant antimicrobial activity against established biofilms. Our work provides support for a key role played by R-pyocins in the competition between P. aeruginosa strains, and may help explain why certain strains and lineages of P. aeruginosa dominate and displace others during CF lung infection. Furthermore, we demonstrate the potential of exploiting R-pyocins for therapeutic gains in an era when antibiotic resistance is a global concern. IMPORTANCE A major clinical problem caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, is chronic biofilm infection of the lungs in individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF). Epidemic P. aeruginosa strains dominate and displace others during CF infection, but these intra-species interactions remain poorly understood. Here we demonstrate that R-pyocins (bacterocins) are important factors in driving competitive interactions in biofilms between P. aeruginosa strains isolated from different CF patients. In addition, we found that these phage-like pyocins are inhibitory against mature biofilms of susceptible strains. This highlights the potential of R-pyocins as antimicrobial and antibiofilm agents, at a time when new antimicrobial therapies are desperately needed.


From Jamestown to 9/11, concerns about the landscape, husbanding of natural resources, and the health of our environment have been important to the American way of life. Natural Protest is the first collection of original essays to offer a cohesive social and political examination of environmental awareness, activism, and justice throughout American history. Editors Michael Egan and Jeff Crane have selected the finest new scholarship in the field, establishing this complex and fascinating subject firmly at the forefront of American historical study. Focused and thought-provoking, Natural Protest presents a cutting-edge perspective on American environmentalism and environmental history, providing an invaluable resource for anyone concerned about the ecological fate of the world around us.


Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) technique has been widely adopted in wireless communication systems. However, the study of OFDM technique for optical transmission system is still emerging in the research field. In this paper, we propose a baseband receiver architecture for the optical OFDM system. The baseband receiver contains frame detection, carrier frequency offset (CFO) estimation and compensation, channel estimation, and equalization. This paper also proposes a fast Fourier transform (FFT) processor with highly parallel architecture for the high-throughput requirement in the optical system. Finally, the FFT processor is designed and implemented using 90nm UMC CMOS technology. The measurement result shows that this chip achieves 2.67GS/s throughput for the optical OFDM system.


Strain localization is a fundamental process determining plate tectonics. It is expressed in the ductile field by shear
zones where strain concentrates. Despite their worldwide distribution in most metamorphic units, their detailed
characterization and processes comprehension are far to be fully addressed. In this work, a graphic approach to
tectono-metamorphic facies identification is applied to the Delfini Shear Zone in Syros (Cyclades, Greece), which
is mostly characterized by metabasites displaying different degree of retrogression from fresh eclogite to prasinite.
Several exhumation mechanisms brought them from the depths of the subduction zone to the surface, from
syn-orogenic exhumation to post-orogenic backarc extension. Boudinage, grain-size reduction and metamorphic
reactions determinate strain localization across well-deformed volumes of rocks organized in a hierarchic frame
of smaller individual shear zones (10-25 meters thick). The most representative of them can be subdivided in 5
tectono-metamorphic (Tm) facies, TmA to E. TmA records HP witnesses and older folding stages preserved within
large boudins as large as 1-2 m across. TmB is characterized by much smaller and progressively more asymmetric
boudins and sigmoids. TmC is defined by well-transposed sub- to plane-parallel blueschist textures crossed by
chlorite-shear bands bounding the newly formed boudins. When strain increases (facies TmD-E), the texture is
progressively retrograded to LP-HT greenschist-facies conditions. Those observations allowed us to establish a sequence
of stages of strain localization. The first stage (1) is determined by quite symmetric folding and boudinage.
In a second stage (2), grain-size reduction is associated with dense shear bands formation along previously formed
glaucophane and quartz-rich veins. With progressively more localized strain, mode-I veins may arrange as tension
gashes that gradually evolve to blueschist shear bands. This process determinates the formation of smaller asymmetric
syn-blueschist boudins and is associated with epidote grain-size reduction, synonym of more intense strain
localization. In the latest stage (3), newly formed chlorite-rich shear bands bound new boudins of the previously
produced terms having blueschist fine-grained heritage. Sense of shear is consistently top-to-the-ENE through the
entire localization process. Greenschist-related boudinage is associated with quartz precipitation along the main
shear bands and at the necks of boudins, places of strain localization. Metamorphic reactions and transpositions
gradually obliterate the former texture, being progressively more active towards the top, where minor shear zones
have been deforming at the expenses of similar folds and epidote-rich levels. The resulting qualitative analysis
means to be a proxy for further numerical models and a comparison to similar field-study areas.


Each year, the manuscripts submitted to The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Inc., reflect the expanding interests of orthopaedic surgeons and investigators. The careful peer-review process by which manuscripts submitted to JBJS are reviewed requires Consultant Reviewers who have a wide range of knowledge and interests. The following individuals have contributed their knowledge and expertise to this task, and without them the job could not have been done. Their very great contributions are acknowledged with profound appreciation.