Reliability analysis is a useful and comprehensive approach for estimation of liquefaction potential in soil layers. The most commonly used methods in reliability analysis are first order second moment (FOSM) and Hasofer&Lind approaches. These methods are based on some simplified assumptions such as the use of a linear performance function or the numerical estimation which often lead to less accurate results. Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) approach is an alternative and more accurate method for reliability analysis and for evaluation of liquefaction potential in soil deposits. In this study, liquefaction potential is assessed using MCS approach followed by a case study in which an area prone to liquefaction is investigated. Results are compared with those obtained by other reliability methods. The efficiency of the MCS method is discussed in the paper.


The quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) is a descending pattern of alternating easterly and westerly winds in the tropical stratosphere. Upwelling is generally understood to counteract the descent of the QBO. The upwelling hypothesis holds that where upwelling exceeds the intrinsic descent rate of the QBO, the QBO cannot descend and a buffer zone forms. Descent-rate models of the QBO, which represent a highly simplified evolution of a QBO wind contour, support the upwelling hypothesis. Here, we show that the upwelling hypothesis and descent-rate models only correctly describe buffer zone formation in the absence of wave dissipation below critical levels. When there is wave dissipation below critical levels, the 1D QBO response to upwelling can be either to 1) reform below the upwelling, 2) undergo period-lengthening collapse, or 3) expand a preexisting buffer zone. The response depends on the location of the upwelling and the lower boundary condition. Mean-flow damping always forms a buffer zone. A previous study of reanalyses showed that there is mean-flow damping in the buffer zone due to horizontal momentum flux divergence. Therefore, the 1D model implicates lateral terms in buffer zone formation that it cannot self-consistently include.


The high sequence divergence within the small subunit ribosomal RNA gene (SSU rDNA) of foraminifera makes it difficult to establish the homology of individual nucleotides across taxa. Alignment-based approaches so far relied on time-consuming manual alignments and discarded up to 50% of the sequenced nucleotides prior to phylogenetic inference. Here, we investigate the potential of the multiple analysis approach to infer a molecular phylogeny of all modern planktonic foraminiferal taxa by using a matrix of 146 new and 153 previously published SSU rDNA sequences. Our multiple analysis approach is based on eleven different automated alignments, analysed separately under the maximum likelihood criterion. The high degree of congruence between the phylogenies derived from our novel approach, traditional manually homologized culled alignments and the fossil record indicates that poorly resolved nucleotide homology does not represent the most significant obstacle when exploring the phylogenetic structure of the SSU rDNA in planktonic foraminifera. We show that approaches designed to extract phylogenetically valuable signals from complete sequences show more promise to resolve the backbone of the planktonic foraminifer tree than attempts to establish strictly homologous base calls in a manual alignment.


Abstract Although it is well-known that public-funded research has contributed to economic development, even these days it is not clear how to support this research effectively. Tailoring the proper support system still remains a challenge for the government. Th is is also the case for research support for universities, which are one of the main "engines" of public-funded research. One possible answer is performance-based funding. Th is funding has recently come to be increasingly used by many countries. However, performance-based funding may have several inconveniences. Th is article will analyze the performance-based funding that has already been introduced in the Slovak Republic. Our research outcomes prove the fact that this system has resulted in an increase in publication performance, but at the same time in a higher orientation on quantity instead of quality with several new negative effects.


. In recent decades, the development of techniques that allow continuous or periodic blood pressure measurement, both systolic and diastolic, in different individuals has shown that it experiences spontaneous variations in 24 hours. The variability of blood pressure has been calculated based on the standard deviation, and it has been possible to determine that this, with significant differences between individuals, behaves in such a way that the systolic pressure is higher than the diastolic. It has also been reported that the fluctuation is more significant in hypertensive patients than in normotensive patients, as the level of indeterminacy exists. Control charts, as in classical statistics, use the upper limit of control (ULC) and lower limit of control (LLC) to contain the existing uncertainties in the variable, although it would be advantageous to verify it using ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. The prognosis can be improved by ensuring an increase in blood pressure control in high-risk patients. This study focuses on the variations to which the variable is exposed by a level of indeterminacy existing with neutrosophic statistics. It is obtained that adult patients have the greatest affectations of this disease, which is why they require greater control and medical attention, and more precise equipment to obtain a successful result.


This paper reports on the findings from two empirical studies that examined the ways in which students use information and communication technologies (ICT) to become multiliterate in the information age. In the first study teachers were taken on a 'techno tour' of their students' homes in order to have access to the funds of knowledge (Moll et al., 1992) that they could incorporate into school activities. The students were then able to use ICT to extend their knowledge building in school-based activities so that they experienced a variety of modes of learning in tasks that were multidisciplinary in nature. In the second study the students worked individually and in teams to represent ideas in different modes as well as to embark on investigations that they designed and coordinated with students in other locations. The importance of creating authentic tasks that had a value to the community of learners as well as the local communities was highlighted as well as the need for audience and the communication of findings in innovative ways. A framework for teaching and learning was created so that teachers could incorporate ICT in a range of ways. This as well as other artifacts of learning enabled both teachers and learners to understand the nature of their learning and view it as a specific outcome of their experiences in and out of school.


Background: There is compelling evidence to suggest that aspects of diet influence cancer risk; specifically, high meat consumption is associated with elevated risks. Exposure to heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAAs), carcinogens produced in meat when cooked at high temperatures, is a hypothesized explanation for the meat-cancer relationship. Reactive HAA metabolites form adducts with DNA; left unrepaired, adducts can induce mutations which may initiate/promote carcinogenesis. Genetic differences in the ability to biotransform HAAs (as conferred by polymorphisms in CYP1A1, CYP1A2, CYP1B1, NAT1 and NAT2 ) and repair DNA adducts (as conferred by polymorphisms in XPA, XPD and XRCC1 ) is postulated to modify the dietary HAAs-DNA adduct relationship. Methods: In a cross-sectional study of 99 healthy volunteers recruited from Kingston, Ontario, Canada, dietary exposure to HAAs and bulky DNA adduct levels in blood leukocytes was investigated. A detailed questionnaire was used in combination with a mutagen database to estimate average intake of dietary HAAs. Specifically, the detailed questionnaire obtained the average frequency of consumption, usual level of doneness and usual serving size of nine commonly consumed meats items with high HAA content. Bulky DNA adduct levels were measured in blood collected after an overnight fast using 32P-postlabelling. Least squares regression was used to examine the relationship between dietary HAA exposure and bulky DNA adduct levels in blood. Gene-diet interactions between dietary HAAs and genetic factors relevant to the biotransformation of HAAs and DNA repair were also examined. Results: No main effects of dietary exposure to HAAs on bulky DNA adduct levels were observed. However, polymorphisms in NAT1 were found to associate with bulky DNA adduct levels. Specifically, those with the putative NAT1*10 rapid acetylator phenotype had a lower adduct level than those with the slow acetylator phenotype (p=0.02). Furthermore, having five or more 'at-risk' genotypes was associated with higher bulky DNA adduct levels (p=0.03). Gene-diet interactions were also observed between the NAT1*10 allele and dietary HAAs (p Conclusions: This study provides evidence of a biologic relationship between dietary HAAs, genetic susceptibility and bulky DNA adduct formation. The lack of a strong independent association between dietary HAAs and DNA adducts suggests that dietary HAAs are not a large contributor to bulky DNA adducts in this Canadian population; future studies should consider relevant gene-diet interactions to clarify the potential role of HAAs in carcinogenesis. Citation Format: Vikki Ho, Sarah Peacock, Thomas E. Massey, Roger W. L. Godschalk, Frederik-Jan van Schooten, Jian Chen, Will D. King. Exposure to heterocyclic aromatic amines, genetic susceptibility and bulky DNA adduct levels in blood leukocytes. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Thirteenth Annual AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research; 2014 Sep 27-Oct 1; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Can Prev Res 2015;8(10 Suppl): Abstract nr A10.


Wireless communication requirements of higher sampling frequencies and bandwidth are ever increasing. For this purpose, exploitation of underutilized spectrum bands was one the challenging research targets. Cognitive Radio (CR) is a promising solution to overcome the "limited bandwidth" issue. Software defined radio (SDR) is the enabler of CR. The aim of the thesis is to adopt the vacant TV channels for secondary users. Spectrum sensing prototype has been proposed to detect TV white space (TVWS). The prototype has been developed using Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP) and examined to sense TVWS in the real time world. The conducting analysis of obtained measurements showed the state of unoccupied spectrum bands in the UHF band ranges from 500 MHz to 698 MHz in the urban area of Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Two different spectrum sensing techniques namely, the energy detector, and pilot-tone detector were employed to get the result with minimum computational complexity. Experiments show that the presence of incumbent users can be easily detected using the spectrum sensing techniques mentioned in the thesis. The experimental results have demonstrated the validity of the proposed prototype.


Membrane fouling caused by the adsorption of fatty acids limits the application of membrane technology in oleochemical industry especially for the pretreatment of glycerin-rich solution. The aim of the work presented in this paper was to understand the adsorptive fouling of palm oil based fatty acid on ultrafiltration membranes. The influence of solution pH, molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) and hydrophobicity of the membrane were studied. Oleic acid was used as a foulant, representing the long chain palm oil based fatty acid in glycerol−water solution. The outer membrane exposed to the mixtures for 6 h without pressure. The stirring speed was set at 300 rpm and polyethersulfone (PES) membranes with MWCO of 5, 20 and 25 kDa were used. The adsorptive fouling was determined using the relative flux reduction (RFR) method. It is demonstrated in this study that PES membranes are susceptible to the deposition of fatty acids on the membrane surface and pores. The fouling phenomenon at low pH is more severe than that of high pH due to the attractive force between solutes and the membrane. The PES membranes after adsorption were characterized by contact angle and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), while the surface was visualized with scanning electron microscopy (SEM).


Hermit crabs use gastropod shells to protect their bodies and developing eggs; an inadequate supply of shells of the appropriate size will, therefore, adversely affect their growth, fecundity and longevity. Since the supply of shells is commonly limited, mechanisms that help to reduce these adverse effects will be selectively advantageous. In Pagurus bernhardus it is suggested that two mechanisms have evolved in this respect: larval settlement is encouraged in the littoral zone where gastropod species are diverse and numerous and where the youngest hermits will find growth potentially unrestricted; and females breed within their first year of life and at a size substantially below that which could be attained in the shells commonly available to them. This 'precocious' breeding is suggested to be an adaptation enabling hermits to overcome the problems of shell-limitation, since it frees females of the need to attain a specific age or size before reproducing - a situation which would be perilous when large shells are scarce. Males of a similar age are freed from competition for the larger shells as a result of this strategy, since the growth of the females is suppressed while they are ovigerous.


On 10 May 1981, French voters elected a socialist president, François Mitterrand, whose programmes promised to change their daily lives. Less than two years later, his government definitively endorsed economic austerity. The adverse international context, it was argued at the time, forced France to prioritise its European commitments over radical reform of capitalism. Since then, most commentators have interpreted this decision either as a betrayal by the socialist elites or as a symbol of their economic incompetence. This article reappraises these narratives. Based on archival research and a large body of lesser-known critical French-language scholarship, it contends that the 1983 austerity plan was neither a sudden shift nor a neoliberal turn. Without denying the crucial political and symbolic dimensions of the decisions of the left in 1983, the article also shows that the crucial stages of the liberalisation of French capitalism occurred in fact later in the decade.


The High Temperature Superconductivity Space Experiment (HTSSE) opened new opportunities and applications for high temperature superconductivity. Space missions inherently benefit from reduced weight, size and power and HTS offers an order of magnitude improvement in these as well as simultaneously improving performance. The paper provides a short history of HTSSE and the current status of the next phase. The author outlines lessons learned from building the first space experiment and some challenges still remaining. He addresses the unique problems faced when HTS is "qualified" for use in the space environment and concludes with projections and predictions of what is next. The paper is intended to be of general interest and addresses material and electronics aspects of space applications. Summary results of tests conducted at the Naval Research Lab and elsewhere are presented as they relate to space qualification of HTS.<<ETX>>


Introduction: Hearing loss (HL) is the most common sensorineural disorder with the frequency of 1 to 1000 neonates and it's seen in two syndromic and non-syndromic states. Given that the mutations of DFNB1 locus, containing Connexin 26 (Cx26) and 30 (Cx30) genes are the only responsible for 50% non-syndromic HL with autosomal recessive hereditary in different populations, the aim of this study is the screening of the connexin30 gene deletion mutations including Del (GJB6-D13S1830) and Del (GJB6-D13S1854) in HL subjects were negative to mutation in Cx26 gene. Materials & methods: In this descriptive study, 85 unrelated patients (44 males and 41 females) with autosomal recessive hearing loss of Khorasan Razavi province that were negative towards the Cx26 gene mutations, were studied. Genomic DNA was extracted from 1 ml of EDTA anticoagulated peripheral blood by rapid genomic DNA extraction (RGDE) method. For molecular analysis, multiplex PCR and direct sequencing methods were used. Findings: Out of 170 studied chromosomes, none of the Del (GJB6-D13S1830) and Del (GJB6-D13S1854) mutations found in the studied subjects. Discussion & conclusions: Lack of the deletion mutations in the Cx30 gene, indicates the involvement of other genes in causing disease. Thus, it is necessary to study other HL genes in these subjects.


The generation of natural human motion interactions is a hot topic in computer vision and computer animation. It is a challenging task due to the diversity of possible human motion interactions. Diffusion models, which have already shown remarkable generative capabilities in other domains, are a good candidate for this task. In this paper, we introduce a novel bipartite graph diffusion method (BiGraphDiff) to generate human motion interactions between two persons. Specifically, bipartite node sets are constructed to model the inherent geometric constraints between skeleton nodes during interactions. The interaction graph diffusion model is transformer-based, combining some state-of-the-art motion methods. We show that the proposed achieves new state-of-the-art results on leading benchmarks for the human interaction generation task.


ABSTRACT: In this article I approach William Carlos Williams's poetry in the context of international modernism with special emphasis on Wassily Kandinsky, the Russian abstract painter and theorist of the relation of color to spirit. What Williams found in Kandinsky, I argue, are qualities of liberation and spontaneous laughter as a response to pleasure at desublimating repressed desires for a visual mediation that signaled a break with the past and an embrace of the new. In Kandinsky, Williams embraced an artist for whom color was an expressive dimension that connoted harmony, emotion, eroticism, or spirituality. Kandinsky's art, for Williams, conveyed properties of an open text that left room for creative reception. I argue that Williams followed Kandinsky's lead in creating hybrid methods that blended the verbal, the visual, and the sonicm, and trace Kandinsky's influence on works such as the improvisational Kora in Hell, Spring and All, and the Great American Novel, all of which challenge traditional ideas of genre. By tracing a connection to Kandinsky through the work of Williams's close friend Marsden Hartley, I argue that we can see the initial ways that Williams synthesized his local interests with the growing trend towards abstraction. I conclude that Williams's interest in abstract art, however, did not end with Kandinsky, as Williams appreciated the work of the later American movement known as Abstract Expressionism and interpreted their work as a continuation of earlier modernist goals.


Abstract We review the current theory of intrinsic dielectric loss, that is the loss in a perfect crystal due to anharmonic interaction of a.c. electric field with the phonon system of the crystal. Both ordinary dielectrics and displacive ferroelectrics are considered. The theory predicts dependence of the loss on frequency ω and temperature T. This dependence is very sensitive to the symmetry of the crystal. For ordinary dielectrics, the results are presented and tabulated for all 32 symmetry groups, except for non-symmorphic groups. The existing experimental date are analysed and explained on the basis of the theory.


Editor's Note: submitted by our readers in response to our call for an open exchange of information on software programs. They are offered without review or comment to provide a rapidly published, easily accessible avenue o f communication. Other readers with relevant software packages are invited to complete and submit a Software Description Form (found at the end of this section). The following Software Descriptions have been


In Reply.—The comments by Drs Henderson and Millikan are interesting, but partly unjustified and erroneous. After DSRS, most of our patients continue to have prograde portovenous blood flow. However, this finding does not totally contradict the observations made after mesocaval or side-to-side portacaval shunt: liver perfusion via portal vein has been demonstrated in some patients after mesocaval shunt1; portovenous blood flow to the liver has been maintained in some patients after side-to-side portacaval shunt. We agree with Drs Henderson and Millikan that the patient's clinical course must be the final arbiter: two recent controlled trials have failed to demonstrate any advantage of DSRS over the conventional portacaval shunts.2,3


A SLIM formalism to deal with a general, linearly coupled accelerator lattice is summarized. Its application to a wide range of accelerator calculations is emphasized.


Rotator cuff tears can cause irreversible changes (e.g., fibrosis) to the structure and function of the injured muscle(s). Fibrosis leads to increased muscle stiffness resulting in increased tension at the rotator cuff repair site. This tension influences repairability and healing potential in the clinical setting. However, the micro‐ and meso‐scale structural and molecular sources of these whole‐muscle mechanical changes are poorly understood. Here, single muscle fiber and fiber bundle passive mechanical testing was performed on rat supraspinatus and infraspinatus muscles with experimentally induced massive rotator cuff tears (Tenotomy) as well as massive tears with chemical denervation (Tenotomy + BTX) at 8 and 16 weeks post‐injury. Titin molecular weight, collagen content, and myosin heavy chain profiles were measured and correlated with mechanical variables. Single fiber stiffness was not different between controls and experimental groups. However, fiber bundle stiffness was significantly increased at 8 weeks in the Tenotomy + BTX group compared to Tenotomy or control groups. Many of the changes were resolved by 16 weeks. Only fiber bundle passive mechanics was weakly correlated with collagen content. These data suggest that tendon injury with concomitant neuromuscular compromise results in extra‐cellular matrix production and increases in stiffness of the muscle, potentially complicating subsequent attempts for surgical repair. © 2014 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 32:1111–1116, 2014.


Traveling wave-based fault location has attracted more and more attention from industries worldwide. This theory allowed the implementation of functions in order to increase the reliability of the obtained fault location results. Among existing functions, the classical one-terminal method requires the detection of the wave reflected from the fault, which is still considered a challenging task. A commercial relay was released with a function able to identify these reflected waves by evaluating patterns and weighted hypotheses, identifying the wavefront most likely to be the one reflected from the fault. However, as this function is embedded into a relay, it is not possible to change the method settings. Thus, this paper presents a validation of this function which is implemented externally to the relay. Besides, its application is extended for transmission lines to which the relay can not be applied, such as huge HVDC lines.


This study was conducted to understand the influences of various factors within hospital foodservice on patients' preferences and consumption of food in Malaysian public hospitals. In study one, five groups of individuals were interviewed (total=38 respondents; 18 patients and 20 staff) in six public hospitals. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and data were analysed using content analysis to identify factors associated with food consumption. Findings showed a failure of hospital authorities to identify factors that contributed towards patients' conceptualisation of hospital food. As a result, this resulted in reports of poor acceptance of hospital food. Five themes were identified - food attributes, familiarity of food, feeling cared for by staff, rights to choose and eating environment, where the influence of emotion was most evident even though the relationship between emotion and hospital food consumption is not well-established in the literature. Subsequently, study two was conducted to explore the role of emotions among twenty nine patients (aged 18-65 years old) from three hospitals. Again the semi-structured interviews were used, but with the incorporation of the Critical Incident Technique (CIT). The CIT and content analysis allowed identification of 180 incidents, which indicated higher frequency of incidents eliciting negative emotion (n=108, 56.7%), than positive emotions (n=78, 43.3%). The findings highlighted the themes of emotions, arising from factors in study one and the impact on patients' food consumption. Frequently mentioned emotions included 'frustration', 'interest', 'enjoyment', 'hostility', 'shame', 'boredom', 'sadness', 'anger', 'surprise' and 'satisfaction'. Chi-square analysis indicated an association between the incidents that elicited positive or negative emotions and food provision factors (from study one). The findings of this study provide an understanding of the role of emotions and established emotion as a powerful intermediating factor on patients' food consumption. The elicitation of positive emotions led to positive outcomes (better acceptance of hospital food, increased consumption of hospital food), and negative emotions let to negative outcomes (decreased or do not consume hospital food, increased consumption of food from outside). As such, incorporation of the emotional dimension will be useful in hospital food provision.


The purpose of this paper is to overview the planning history of Jerusalem, followed by an analysis of the relation between the planning of Jerusalem and Israeli identity politics from two perspectives; the construction of the planning system and the role of planning actors. What is the connection between the policy area of planning and Israeli identity politics? How does the Jerusalem planning structure relate to the identity politics? How do planning actors deal with the role of Jerusalem in Israeli identity politics and in the larger Israel-Palestine conflict?


Titanium dioxide nanotube array films on aluminum plate were prepared via liquid phase deposition (LPD) method. The samples were characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The results show that the nanotube array films' morphology depends on the anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) structure and deposition time. The titanium dioxide nanotube's outside diameter is about 250 nm, the wall thickness is approximately 40 nm. The as-prepared TiO2 array films are amorphous and anatase appeared after calcining at 400°C for 2 hrs. FT-IR spectrum indicates that there are lots of hydroxyl groups on the surface of AAO. When AAO was immersed into 0.1 M (NH4)2TiF6 solution at room temperature, AAO was dissolved in the solution and the holes became wide. The hydrolysis reaction was shifted to the right-hand side, TiO2 particles locked in-situ on the inner surface of the anodic alumina pore induced by hydroxyl group, thus nanotube array film was obtained.


Abstract ""Rhetoric in Hegel""
 is meant as the treatment of rhetoric in the
 Vorlesungen uuber die AAsthetik , one
 of the author9s posthumous works. It is a short
 exposition whose content does not reoccur in Hegel9s
 systematic works. These remarks on persuasive speech, focused
 on oratorical and historiographical prose, are not significant
 for the economy of Hegel9s thought. Yet in his texts on
 aesthetics and in his systematic works, traditional
 elocutionary and argumentative rhetorical figures appear
 without theoretical or historical justification. Such figures
 raise questions about the relationships of logic, language,
 and politics in Hegel and draw attention to analogical
 semantic isotopes. This is what is meant by
 ""Hegel9s rhetoric"": a rhetoric that goes
 beyond the author9s own definition, that deserves
 analysis from the perspective of Hegel9s dialectics, and
 that reflects in important ways on contemporary topicality.


In this paper, we propose an algorithm for dynamic spectrum access (DSA) in LTE cellular systems-distributed ICIC accelerated Q-learning (DIAQ). It combines distributed reinforcement learning (RL) and standardized inter-cell interference coordination (ICIC) signalling in the LTE downlink, using the framework of heuristically accelerated RL (HARL). Furthermore, we present a novel Bayesian network based approach to theoretical analysis of RL based DSA. It explains a predicted improvement in the convergence behaviour achieved by DIAQ, compared to classical RL. The scheme is also assessed using large scale simulations of a stadium temporary event network. Compared to a typical heuristic ICIC approach, DIAQ provides significantly better quality of service and supports considerably higher network throughput densities. In addition, DIAQ dramatically improves initial performance, speeds up convergence, and improves steady state performance of a state-of-the-art distributed Q-learning algorithm, confirming the theoretical predictions. Finally, our scheme is designed to comply with the current LTE standards. Therefore, it enables easy implementation of robust distributed machine intelligence for full self-organisation in existing commercial networks.


Ultimately thin multiferroics arouse remarkable interest, motivated by the diverse utility of coexisting ferroelectric and (anti)ferromagnetic order parameters for novel functional device paradigms. However, the ferroic order is inevitably destroyed below a critical size of several nanometers. Here, we demonstrate a new path toward realization of atomically thin multiferroic monolayers while resolving a controversial origin for unexpected "dilute ferromagnetism" emerged in nanocrystals of nonmagnetic ferroelectrics PbTiO3. The state-of-the-art hybrid functional of Hartree-Fock and density functional theories successfully identifies the origin and underlying physics; oxygen vacancies interacting with grain boundaries (GBs) bring about (anti)ferromagnetism with localized spin moments at the neighboring Ti atoms. This is due to spin-polarized defect states with broken orbital symmetries at GBs. In addition, the energetics of oxygen vacancies indicates their self-assembling nature at GBs resulting in considerably high concentration, which convert the oxygen-deficient GBs into multiferroic monolayers due to their atomically thin interfacial structure. This synthetic concept that realizes multiferroic and multifunctional oxides in a monolayered geometry through the self-assembly of atomic defects and grain boundary engineering opens a new avenue for promising paradigms of novel functional devices.


A robust and computationally-expedient methodology is presented for accurate, closed-form approximation of the Green's functions used in the mixed-potential integral equation statement of the electromagnetic boundary value problem in planar stratified media. The proposed methodology is based on the fitting of the spectrum of the Green's function, after the extraction of the quasistatic part, making use of rational functions. The effectiveness and robustness of the proposed methodology rely upon the proper sampling of the spectrum in order to improve the accuracy of the rational function fit. The resulting closed-form approximation is in terms of both spherical and cylindrical waves. Thus, high accuracy is obtained in the approximation of the Green's function irrespective of the distance of the observation point from the source. The methodology is validated through its application to the approximation of the Green's function for a multi-layered, planar dielectric stack


Problem. This research poses the problem that academic adversity may be encountered in nursing students across three levels of nursing education, affecting retention. Because this adversity takes many forms, it is often difficult for nurse-educators to identify students who are at risk for academic adversity and subsequent failure. Identification of students facing academic adversity is the first step toward retention. An additional problem is that effective behaviors used by recent graduates of nursing programs in overcoming academic adversity have not been identified. There is a need for faculty to be able to identify ways that graduates overcome these adversities. Nursing faculty may not always be mindful of behaviors that graduates perceive as being most effective in assisting students in overcoming academic adversity. Nurse-educators must know what is most effective in assisting students in overcoming academic adversity. Method. This study was a qualitative narrative inquiry using multiple case studies. Purposely selected graduates from three levels of nursing education from four schools were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. Verbatim transcriptions were used to write stories from each interview. Validation was requested through emails to each student, ensuring that the transcript and story were true to the meaning of the conversation. Themes were determined by placement of direct quotations into charts, with prevalent themes identified through coding of quotations. These coded quotations were used for answering the research questions. Results. Students in all levels of nursing education encountered academic adversity that fell into the categories of families and relationships, physical and emotional illness, legal involvement, financial hardship, and academics. In many cases a cascade of challenges occurred as one event triggered another, forcing students to deal simultaneously with multiple and varied problems. Methods used by nursing students in overcoming adversity followed two separate avenues, intertwined to facilitate each graduate"s ability to overcome adversity. One avenue came from an internal, personal strength, beginning with the recognition of the problem, and ending with resolution and academic success gained from resilience, persistence, a strong internal locus of control, and a strong sense of self-efficacy. The second avenue arose from external help. Faculty recognition began the process of the resolution of academic adversity. Assistance that was grounded in altruistic behaviors of caring and compassion was most meaningful. Care, concern, knowing, presence, and empathy were the foundation for meaningful communication. Graduates wanted to be treated fairly but not differently from other students. When there were academic issues, they appreciated practical help with time management, test-taking, and study skills. Conclusions. There is a nursing shortage in the United States that is predicted to worsen in the next 20 years. One way of overcoming this shortage is by responding to the nontraditional student in ways that will help each one overcome academic adversity and reach the goal of successfully completing the chosen program of study.


Modeling and simulation is important for the traffic analysis and performance evaluation in communication networks. LEO (low earth orbit) satellite system is so complex and dynamic that it is very difficult to find a mathematical model to describe it. In this paper, a novel modeling framework has been developed for LEO satellite networks by layered approach in a top-down manner. The framework is very suitable to describe a complex communication system. By using the framework a dynamic simulation has been made to evaluate the location update efficiency in LEO satellite networks.


Heavily subsidizing essential health products through existing health infrastructure has the potential to substantially decrease child mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. There is, however, widespread concern that poor governance and in particular limited accountability among health workers seriously undermines the effectiveness of such programs. We performed innovative audits on bed net distribution programs in three countries (Ghana, Kenya and Uganda) to investigate local agency problems and their determinants in the allocation of targeted subsidies. Overall, agency concerns appear modest. Around 80% of the eligible receive the subsidy as intended and leakage to the ineligible appears limited, even when the ineligible have a high willingness to pay. The estimated level of mistargeting only modestly affects the cost-effectiveness of free distribution.


Artemisia afra Jacq. ex Willd. is widely used in South African traditional medicine for the treatment of many ailments and diseases. In this work, aqueous extract of the plant was screened for its phenolic profile and antioxidant activity. The results obtained revealed that the extract has considerable amount of polyphenolic compounds including phenol, flavonoid, flavonol and proanthocyanidin. The extract also exhibited significant inhibition of DPPH and ABTS radicals as well as ferric reductive ability in a concentrationdependent manner. These are indications of antioxidant activity of A. afra which could be attributed to the presence of phenolic compounds; and the data compared well with those of known standards like BHT, rutin and vitamin C. This study has, to some extent, justified the folkloric use of the herb in traditional medicinal practice of South Africa.


In the present work we studied the role of light in the regulation of flavonoid gene expression and anthocyanin synthesis in petunia (Petunia hybrida) corollas. We found that light is required for chalcone synthase gene (chs) expression, anthocyanin synthesis, and growth of detached and attached petunia corollas. Although direct illumination induced chs expression, pigmentation, and elongation of the detached corollas, irradiation of green leaves or sepals played the main role in the attached corollas. The duration, intensity, and spectrum of the light reaction suggest that phytochrome-mediated high-irradiance reactions are involved in the regulation of corolla development. Using the photosynthesis inhibitor 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea, we showed that photosynthesis does not significantly contribute to the leaf-mediated light responses. When sepals were removed or covered. [14C]sucrose up-take by the corolla of detached intact flowers was inhibited. The results of this study suggest that light is perceived by leaves and sepals and enhances corolla sink activity, elongation, pigmentation, and chs expression. The role of leaves and sepals in the light regulation of petunia corolla development is discussed.


We study distributed consensus problems of multi-agent systems on directed networks and subject to quantized information flow. For the communication among component agents, particular attention is given to the gossip type, which models their asynchronous behaviors; for quantization effects, each agent's state is abstracted to be an integer. The central question investigated is how to design distributed algorithms and what connectivity of networks that together lead to consensus. This investigation is carried out for both general consensus and average consensus; for each case, a class of algorithms is proposed, under which a necessary and sufficient graphical condition is derived to guarantee the corresponding consensus. In particular, the obtained graphical condition ensuring average consensus is weaker than those in the literature for either real-valued or quantized states, in the sense that it does not require symmetric (or balanced) network topologies.


A young onset of type 2 diabetes is likely to result, in part, from greater genetic susceptibility. Young-onset families may therefore represent a group in which genes are more easily detectable by linkage. To test this hypothesis, we conducted age at diagnosis (AAD) stratified linkage analyses in the Diabetes UK Warren 2 sibpairs. In the previously published unstratified analysis, evidence for linkage (logarithm of odds [LOD] >1.18) was found at seven loci. The LOD scores at these seven loci were higher in the 245 families with AAD <55 years (L55) compared with the 328 families with AAD >55 years (G55). Five of these seven loci (1q24-25, 5q13, 8p21-22, 8q24.2, and 10q23.2) had LOD scores >1.18 in the L55 subset but only one (8p21-22) did in the G55 subset. Two additional loci (8q21.13 and 21q22.2) showed evidence for linkage in the L55 subset alone. Another locus (22q11) showed evidence for linkage in a subset of families with AAD <45 years. Using a locus-counting approach, the L55 subset had significantly more loci (P approximately 0.01) than expected under the null hypothesis of no linkage across the LOD score range 0.59-3.0. In contrast, the G55 subset contained no more susceptibility loci than that expected by chance. In conclusion, young-onset families provide both disproportionate evidence for linkage to known loci and evidence for additional novel loci. Our data confirm our hypothesis that families segregating young-onset type 2 diabetes represent a more powerful resource for defining susceptibility genes by linkage.


system" and sought to understand disparities in sentencing by judges.' They examined combinations of court personnel (police, lawyers and judicial officers); their strategy provides one model for an empirical analysis to be undertaken of the relative contributions that are made by psychiatric services(that is, requested order), patient characteristics, legal representatives (that is, advocacy factors) and magisterial characteristics to the present disparities. The previously anecdotally-observed disparities in the effecting of orders have been of concern to psychiatrists for some time. Dr Henry Brodaty, Superintendent of The Prince Henry Psychiatry Unit, has recommended a number of strategies to the DeputyChief Stipendiary Magistrate, including vignette-assisted training of common "cases" to ensure some standardization in magisterial orders. Until now, changes in mental-health legislation would appear to have resulted in a focus on the formalizing of strict legal criteria for detention; this limits the interest in, or concern about, any need for the special training of magistrates in the complexities of mental illness, which appear to be learned over time "in the field". Clearly, the present situation is unsatisfactory, in that it leaves doubt that a patient's admission to a particular hospital will influence the length of the magistrate's order. The extent to whichclinical and non-clinical factors account for the defined disparities requires close attention. Gordon Parker, MD Professor. School of Psychiatry The University of New South Wales and Director of Psychiatry The Prince of Wales and The Prince Henry Hospitals High and Avoca Streets, Randwick, NSW 2031 1. Silove D, Doutney C, Pollock C. The contest between psychiatrists and lawyers over involuntary detention. The effects of recent changes in mental health legislation in New South Wales. Aust NZ J Psychiatry 1986; 20: 294-302. 2. Anonymous. MHAS statistics (March, 1986-June, 1987). Mental Health Advocacy News 1987 Sop: 1-3. 3. Vinson T, Cooney G, Caroll M, et aJ. Accountability and the legal system: drug cases terminating in the District Court, 1980-82. Report to The Criminology Research Council. Sydney: School of Social Work, The University of New South Wales, 1987.


A method is presented for partitioning the variance associated with human smoking behavior into additive genetic, nonadditive genetic, prenatal environmental, postnatal familial environmental, and postnatal extrafamilial environmental components. Estimations can also be made of additive genetic and residual correlations between spouses and of the correlation between parental additive genetic effect and progeny nonadditive genetic and environmental effect. The variance estimates are free of the biases that might result from these correlations. The statistical genetic analysis is being applied to a large group of MZ and DZ twins, their spouses, and their adult children who live in southern Sweden. Blood samples from each subject will be used to identify their genetic constitution for a number of biochemical polymorphisms, some of which may be considered a priori to have possible relationships to smoking. Associations and genetic linkages between biochemical marker loci and quantitative behavioral traits will be sought. Traits of interest include a wide array of tobacco-use variables, motives for smoking, personality and cognitive variables, and other variables associated with drug use and health. Zygosity determinations based on biochemical polymorphisms have indicated MZ to DZ and DZ to MZ misclassification rates of 0% and 6.15%, respectively, when based solely on external morphology and questionnaire data. The nonpaternity ratio of the fathers with respect to their supposedly biological children is estimated to be 0.28%. Gene frequency estimates for 21 marker loci show that the sample of twins and their relatives is quite representative of the Swedish population at large. All loci were in Hardy-Weinberg-Castle equilibrium, with no evidence of assortative mating for biochemical traits. The MZ twins are significantly more concordant than the DZ twins with respect to whether they have ever had a smoking habit.


Aim/Purpose: The study aims to examine the mediating role of job motivation and affective and normative commitment on the relationship between perceived organizational support (POS) and job turnover intention.

Background: POS refers to employees' beliefs and perceptions concerning the extent to which the organization values their contributions, cares about their well-being, and fulfils their socio-emotional needs. To date, research has shown that employee turnover is a complex construct resulting from the interplay of both individual and organizational variables, such as motivation and climate.

Methodology: Cross-sectional data were collected from 143 employees of an Italian industrial company. Paper-and-pencil questionnaires were used to assess respondents' POS, job motivation, affective and normative organizational commitment, and turnover intentions.

Contribution: Specifically, in this research, we aim at examining (i) the indirect effect of POS on turnover intention via (ii) job motivation and (iii) normative and affective commitment.

Findings: Results show that high POS is associated with high levels of job motivation and affective and normative commitment, which in turn are negatively linked to turnover intentions.

Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers should not lose sight of the importance of studying and delving into the concept of turnover intention given that, from an organizational point of view, losing personnel means losing competencies, which need to be replaced through assessment, selection, training, and development, processes that are often challenging and expensive.

Future Research: Future research should further investigate the role of motivation and commitment, other than additional variables, for POS and turnover intention. Longitudinal studies and further testing are required to verify the causal processes stemming from our model. Future research could consider linking employees' self-reported measures with objective data concerning turnover rates.


We present a new approach to analyze the deformation of the left ventricle of the heart, based on a parametric model that gives a compact representation of a set of points in a 3D image. We present four different approaches to tracking surfaces in a sequence of 3D cardiac images. Following tracking, we then infer quantitative parameters which are useful for the physician, such as the variation of volume and wall thickness during a cardiac cycle, the ejection fraction or the twist component in the deformation of the ventricle. We explicit the computation of these parameters using our model. Experimental results are shown in time sequences of two kinds of medical images, Nuclear Medicine and X-Ray Computed Tomography (CT).


Transient fish spawning aggregations (FSAs) are critical life‐cycle events for many commercially important species, in which fish congregate in huge numbers to spawn at predictable times and places. This behavior makes them exceptionally vulnerable to fishing. The "illusion of plenty" and poor access to monitoring tools and techniques has resulted in some FSAs being overfished or unwittingly eliminated. We present a co‐conservation network, formally linking site‐focused partners who cooperatively monitor and actively manage multispecies FSAs. FSA sites and networks offer great potential as conservation bright spots to replenish fished populations, rehabilitate marine ecosystems, and ensure the flow of ecosystem services to the millions of people that rely upon them for their wellbeing. We call for urgent global recognition of FSAs as effective spatial nexus for addressing multiple interconnected global policy targets for a sustainable ocean.


OBJECTIVES
The relationship between age and prescribed antipsychotic dose in patients with schizophrenia has been examined by assuming only a linear correlation in two age subgroups at most. The age of illness onset has also not been under adequate consideration in past prescription surveys. The objective of this study was to better evaluate these age effects on antipsychotic dose prescribed in these patients across a broad age range.

METHODS
Review of prescriptions for antipsychotic medications in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders was conducted across 30 sites in Tokyo. A total of 1,418 patients (655 inpatients, 763 males, age range: 16.6-90.2 years) were studied.

RESULTS
Age had significant effects on prescribed antipsychotic dose; the dose increased with age through the third decade, subsequently plateaued, and decreased after the fifth decade. The age of illness onset also had significant effects on the dose; late-onset schizophrenia (LOS) and very-late-onset schizophrenia-like psychoses (VLOS) patients received lower doses than early onset schizophrenia (EOS) patients. LOS and VLOS patients who did not experience any hospitalization for the previous year were treated with (1/2) and (1/3), respectively, of the dose for EOS of comparable current age.

CONCLUSION
Our results suggested biphasic effects of age on antipsychotic dose prescribed in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. The natural history of schizophrenia and physiological aging may contribute to this inverted U-shaped relationship. In addition, our results may add another evidence of distinction among EOS, LOS, and VLOS from a clinical psychopharmacological perspective.


It has been shown that fluoride ions enhance OCP hydrolysis into Ca-deficient apatite and that fluoridation in hydroxyapatite (HA) affects osteoblast activity. The present study was designed to investigate whether fluoridated Ca-deficient apatite (F-HA) formed via OCP enhances bone regeneration. F-HA was obtained through hydrolysis of the OCP in a solution containing 2 ppm fluoride at 37 °C and pH 7.4. A standardized critical-sized defect was made in the rat calvarium, and granules of F-HA were implanted into the defect. Five rats from each group were fixed through four to twelve weeks after implantation. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) confirmed that F-HA corresponded well to apatite structure. In week four, new bone matrix was formed around F-HA. In week twelve of F-HA group, newly formed bone matrix was more abundant, whereas the implanted F-HA was unresorbed and still remained. A statistical analysis in week twelve showed that the newly formed bone in the defect with F-HA was higher than that with untreated group. The fact that new bone was directly formed on F-HA implant suggests F-HA formed via OCP could be used as a bone substitute material.


In a multi-agent environment, whether one agent's action is good or not depends on the other agents' actions. In traditional reinforcement learning methods, which assume stationary environments, it is hard to take into account of the other agent's actions which may change due to learning. In this article, we consider a two-agent cooperation problem, and propose a multi-agent reinforcement learning method based on estimation of the other agent's actions. In our learning method, one agent estimates the other agent's action based on the internal model of the other agent. The internal model is acquired by the observation of the other agent's actions. Through experiments, we demonstrate that good cooperative behaviors are achieved by our learning method.


Introduction The aim of our study was to explore the major non-communicable risk factors (unhealthy diet, sedentarily, alcohol consumption) of smokers and nonsmokers in workplaces. Methods A cross-sectional study was derived from an initial assessment in workplaces which was part of a community-based intervention to prevent chronic disease risk factors conducted in 2009 in the region of Sousse, Tunisia. The surveyed subjects were employees in six factories spread across three delegations in the region. Overall, 1770 of 2250 employees participated in the assessment. In this study, the clustering of non-communicable diseases risk factors with smoking habits was made only for male employees including in this study 1099 among 2250. Data were collected at worksites by a questionnaire, via interview or self-report. The main items assessed socio-demographics characteristics, smoking status, eating habits, level of physical activity and alcohol use of the participants. Results The percentage of male smokers was 54.0%(n=594). Their average age of daily smoking initiation was 19.22 (±4.24 years). The percentage of male smokers consuming 5 fruits and vegetables per day was significantly lower than nonsmokers (57.2% vs 63.5%, p=0.04). The proportion of male smokers consuming alcohol was about three times that of nonsmokers (16.5% vs 5.8%, p=0.001). The proportion of male employees who agree with anti-smoking laws in work places was higher for nonsmokers than for smokers. Conclusion A strong association existed between smoking and risky lifestyles factors in the work place. Such findings are potentially useful in directing intervention efforts regarding smoking cessation in occupational settings.


A fascinating survey of American food trends that highlights the key inventions, brands, restaurant chains, and individuals that shaped the American diet and palate in the 20th century. In the United States today, how and what we eatwith all of its myriad ethnic varieties and endless choicesis firmly entrenched in every part of our culture. The American diet underwent constant evolution throughout the 20th century, starting from the meat-and-potatoes fare of the early-20th century and maturing into a culture that embraced the cuisines of immigrant populations, fast-food chains, health fads, and emerging gourmet tastes. Societal changes moved women out of the kitchen and into the workforce, spawning the invention of convenience foods and time-saving kitchen appliances. American Food by the Decades is an entertaining chronological survey of food trends in the United States during the 20th century. The book is organized by decades to illustrate how changes in society directly influenced dietary and dining habits as they emerged over the last 100 years. Detailed encyclopedic entries provide fascinating glimpses into history by telling the true stories behind the foods, restaurants, grocery stores, and cooking trends of the previous century.


Abstract Background: Head and neck cancer (HNC) is a prevalent cancer worldwide; however, clinically useful tumor markers for HNC have not been identified. Here, we aimed to identify secretory proteins from the tumor microenvironment as candidate circulating tumor markers. Methods: Samples derived from seven pairs of tumor interstitial fluid (TIF) and normal interstitial fluid (NIF) samples from patients with HNC were analyzed. The proteomes were determined by gel-based-mass-spectrometry proteomic methods. The most up-regulated protein, fascin was confirmed in the cancer tissues and cell culture supernatant by immunoblotting and immunohistochemistry assays. Serum fascin was determined in 40 HNC and 40 normal individuals by ELISA. Results: After proteomics analysis, 189 peptides were identified, corresponding to 75 proteins. Of the 21 proteins which were identified more than twice, five up-regulated proteins identified most frequently including fascin. The most elevated fascin was over-expressed in cancer tissues and cell culture supernatant. Serum fascin was significantly up-regulated in the cancer patients (p<0.001) and correlated with pathological lymph node metastasis (p=0.022). To assess the diagnostic efficacy, serum levels of fascin and another potential biomarker SCCA were determined. Fascin showed a high predictable value with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.808 (95% CI 0.723–0.901) in the receiver operator curve (ROC), compared to 0.501 (95% CI 0.378–0.634) for SCCA. Conclusions: We have identified 75 potential circulating tumor markers associated with HNC, including fascin. Serum fascin could discriminate cancer patients from healthy individuals; thus, it may serve as a circulating biomarker for HNC.


The growing Internet of Things (IoTs) and Technology Web 2.0 create a new business landscape. Furthermore, the recent growth in Information Communication Technology (ICT) has triggered SMEs to venture into crowdsourcing practices. Thus, the study attempts to explore the crowdsourcing practices among selected Malaysian SME's. The study employed qualitative method by conducting interview session among SMEs business owners in order to validate the benefits of crowdsourcing that has been practiced by the SMEs in their organizations. The findings indicates that, leveraging crowdsourcing practices serves several benefits to SMEs such as cost saving, brand visibility, problem solving, generate novel ideas and so forth. The study contributes to the understanding of the crowdsourcing practices, add to the body of knowledge on crowdsourcing and serves as a fundamental for future research. In terms of managerial perspectives, the results could provide guidelines and promoting SMEs to embark the crowdsourcing practices to seek for business efficiency and to enhance their business performance. Lastly, to the policy makers, the study serves as source of valuable information and inputs to strengthen the action plan and crowdsourcing programs in order to improve current crowdsourcing practices particularly in the context of Malaysian SMEs.


Abstract In this article, I consider the absence of a general readership of William Blake's poetry in nineteenth-century Britain and compare that neglect to the American Transcendentalists' reading of Songs of Innocence and Experience (1794) in the 1840s. The American interest in Blake's poetry is complemented by his fascination with the events in the Atlantic World in the years culminating in the American War of Independence. I will offer a reading of Blake's America: a Prophecy (1793) showing that the Civil War fulfilled his prophecy of inevitable future conflict. This is developed first by considering Ralph Waldo Emerson's changing responses to slavery and race during the turbulent middle decades of the century, and then by addressing Walt Whitman's attempt to negotiate postbellum America. This negotiation, I argue, results in the emergence of those two powerfully conflicting strains in his mature poetry: emancipatory fervour and simultaneous despair at the violence intrinsic in liberty.


Necrosis at the leaf tips and margins of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.) was observed in 1995 in a Pseudomonas syringae resistance screening nursery near Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Straw-colored lesions with a chlorotic edge often extended the leaf length, and were atypical of the round spots, with a brown margin, caused by P. syringae (1). Bacteria were isolated from cut lesions macerated in water by dilution streaking onto King's medium B and nutrient agar. A gram-negative, nonfluorescent, fermentative, rod-shaped bacterium, forming yellow colonies on nutrient agar was consistently observed. Three pots of 10, 2-to 3-week-old seedlings of a susceptible cultivar, 852B, were inoculated with a 108 CFU per ml suspension from cultures by misting or injection into the whorl. In three experiments, the treatment and uninoculated control were incubated at 25°C and 95% relative humidity for 48 h before transfer to the greenhouse. The original symptoms of watersoaking at leaf tips and margins were observed after 4 days. Necrotic lesions surrounded by chlorotic tissue were observed a day later. Fluorescence on King's medium B, and levan, oxidase, potato-rot, arginine dihydrolase, 2-keto gluconate, nitrate reduction, gelatin, phenylalanine deaminase, and acid from starch tests were negative. Tobacco hypersensitivity, acid from sucrose and glycerol, aesculin hydrolysis, lipase, indole production, and growth on tetrazolium chloride were positive. The identification of the pathogen to the species level as Pantoea agglomerans (Ewing and Fife 1972) Gavini et al. 1989, formerly Erwinia herbicola, was by fatty acid analysis by the International Mycological Institute (Egham, Surrey, UK). P. agglomerans was recorded as a pathogen of pearl millet in India in 1958 (2). References: (1) G. N. Odvody and A. K. Vidaver. Sorghum Newsl. 23:134, 1980. (2) C. K. S. Rajagopalan and G. Rangaswami. Curr. Sci. 27:30, 1958.


Public prosecution service has an irreplaceable place in the system of state authori ties. However, the years of authoritarian regimes transformed independent public prosecution authorities existing on the territory of Slovakia and the Czech Republic into authorities protecting primarily the regime and persecuting all persons who were noncompliant with this regime. It was not until the fall of Communism in 1989 that a change came – a return to the original mission of public prosecution service (the independent protection of law). However, after the division of the Czechoslovakia in 1993 opinion plurality and the lack of a clear opinion on the nature of the public prosecution service resulted in the creation of two relatively different models – the model of prokuratúra in Slovakia and the model of státní zastupitelství in the Czech Republic. This is the reason why the author of this paper deals with the constitutional status of public prosecution service in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. He analyses public prosecution service as a constitutional institution in general and then by comparison he focuses on constitutional regulation of the Slovak and Czech public prosecution service. The final parts contain brief evalua tion of the current legal status and some possible considerations de constitutione ferenda .


INTRA-ABDOMINAL hemorrhage is the immediate and most urgent indication for splenectomy in cases of traumatic rupture of the spleen. The diagnosis of traumatic rupture of the spleen likewise depends on the presence of the various clinical signs and symptoms produced by intraabdominal hemorrhage, as there are no known laboratory or investigative procedures that can be used directly on the spleen. Hemorrhage following traumatic rupture of the spleen can be divided clinically into the immediate and delayed types, depending on the lapse of time between the accident initiating the trauma and the development of symptoms of internal bleeding. Trauma to the spleen without intra-abdominal hemorrhage occurs more frequently than one would suspect, but as patients with this condition do not come to surgery the number of cases cannot be accurately estimated. Immediate abdominal hemorrhage from the spleen is not infrequently difficult to diagnose early, as patients suffering from this have usually


Three influenza C virus strains (C/Yamagata/1/92, C/Yamagata/1/93 and C/Miyagi/5/93) isolated in Yamagata and Sendai Cities, Japan, between June 1992 and May 1993 were found to possess haemagglutinin-esterase glycoproteins that were antigenically indistinguishable from one another but were clearly different from any previous Japanese isolates. To investigate the origin of the 1992/1993 strains, their antigenic and genetic properties were compared with those of eight strains isolated outside Japan between 1967 and 1982. The results showed that the 1992/1993 isolates were closely related to a virus isolated in Brazil in 1982 (C/SaoPaulo/378/82) and that these viruses (including C/SaoPaulo/378/82) are reassortants that had obtained PB1 and NP genes from a C/Yamagata/26/81-like parent and the other genes from another as yet unidentified parent.


The challenges of aligning IT with business triggered the attention towards Enterprise Architecture (EA). Despite the increase interest of academic scholars in EA, there is scarcity of studies that provide an up to date comprehensive research perspective view. The purpose of this study is to examine the research methodologies and theories utilized in EA studies from 2010 to 2016. The study employed Systematic Literature Review (SLR) as method to explore and analyze the literature of EA. The study revealed the research approaches and data collection methods utilized in EA. It shows that case study approach and interviews are the highly used compared to other research approaches and data collection instruments. Furthermore, it pointed out the low employment of theories in EA studies. The study is contributing to the body of knowledge by providing a foundation for novice researchers in the area of EA through detailed discussions of research methodologies and theories which are expected to support them in designing future studies.


Multi-dimensional analytical (MDA) queries are often issued against a fact table with predicates on (categorical or ordinal) dimensions and aggregations on one or more measures. In this paper, we study the problem of answering MDA queries under local differential privacy (LDP). In the absence of a trusted agent, sensitive dimensions are encoded in a privacy-preserving (LDP) way locally before being sent to the data collector. The data collector estimates the answers to MDA queries, based on the encoded dimensions. We propose several LDP encoders and estimation algorithms, to handle a large class of MDA queries with different types of predicates and aggregation functions. Our techniques are able to answer these queries with tight error bounds and scale well in high-dimensional settings (i.e., error is polylogarithmic in dimension sizes). We conduct experiments on real and synthetic data to verify our theoretical results, and compare our solution with marginal-estimation based solutions.


The enzyme BesC from the β-ethynyl-l-serine biosynthetic pathway in Streptomyces cattleya fragments 4-chloro-l-lysine (produced from l-Lysine by BesD) to ammonia, formaldehyde, and 4-chloro-l-allylglycine and can analogously fragment l-Lys itself. BesC belongs to the emerging family of O2-activating non-heme-diiron enzymes with the "heme-oxygenase-like" protein fold (HDOs). Here, we show that the binding of l-Lys or an analogue triggers capture of O2 by the protein's diiron(II) cofactor to form a blue μ-peroxodiiron(III) intermediate analogous to those previously characterized in two other HDOs, the olefin-installing fatty acid decarboxylase, UndA, and the guanidino-N-oxygenase domain of SznF. The ∼5- and ∼30-fold faster decay of the intermediate in reactions with 4-thia-l-Lys and (4RS)-chloro-dl-lysine than in the reaction with l-Lys itself and the primary deuterium kinetic isotope effects (D-KIEs) on decay of the intermediate and production of l-allylglycine in the reaction with 4,4,5,5-[2H4]-l-Lys suggest that the peroxide intermediate or a reversibly connected successor complex abstracts a hydrogen atom from C4 to enable olefin formation. Surprisingly, the sluggish substrate l-Lys can dissociate after triggering intermediate formation, thereby allowing one of the better substrates to bind and react. The structure of apo BesC and the demonstrated linkage between Fe(II) and substrate binding suggest that the triggering event involves an induced ordering of ligand-providing helix 3 (α3) of the conditionally stable HDO core. As previously suggested for SznF, the dynamic α3 also likely initiates the spontaneous degradation of the diiron(III) product cluster after decay of the peroxide intermediate, a trait emerging as characteristic of the nascent HDO family.


Abstract     Cholesterol is a systemic disease. Many complications of its could affect other organs due to uncontrolled cholesterol / fat in the blood. One of them is coronary heart disease. One way to recognize someone having cholesterol is through the eyes. By using the Iridology method, cholesterol disease in a person's body can be detected or seen through the iris of the eye. Checking cholesterol-related conditions is usually done in a hospital or pharmacy. But the problem is that people are still lazy to check their cholesterol. Therefore, we need a software that can make it easier for people to do cholesterol checks. This device will detect cholesterol by using image processing techniques through the iris image accompanied by the Gabor Filter method. From 15 tested data, 13 iris image images were successfully identified, so that the percentage of success of this program was 86%.with 35 trained data.


The electromagnetic calorimeter of CMS at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has been designed to measure the energy of electrons and photons with high resolution over a wide energy range. The detector consists of 61200 PBWO crystals for the barrel and 14648 crystals for the endcaps, with a pseudo-rapidity coverage of . Preshower detectors are located in front of each endcap. The calorimeter has a pseudo-projective geometry. Great care has been taken in its design to minimize the effects of gaps and cracks in order to ensure the required energy resolution. The detector will operate in a magnetic field of 4 Tesla, and with a bunch crossing rate of 40 MHz. This requires fast and radiation hard crystals, photo-detectors and read-out electronics. An overview of the design, and the status of the construction, will be presented with special consideration given to the challenging goals.


As Congress begins its debate for the 2002 farm bill, there have been calls for a counter cyclical safety net that will provide a better basis for targeting longer term planning than exists with ad hoc emergency assistance. Further subsidization of the multi-peril crop insurance (MPCI) program has been proposed, as well as reliance on a farm and ranch risk management (FARRM) account to help farmers. A whole farm revenue income support program and several variations of national income supplement programs have been put forward. A comprehensive analysis of different safety net alternatives using a common methodology is needed so farmers and policy makers can make objective comparisons. The objective of this paper is to quantitatively analyze the economic effects of alternative safety net/insurance programs on farmers in the Southern United States. The objective is accomplished by simulating representative crop farms in the South over the 2001-2005 planning horizon for alternative safety net options. The simulated net present value distributions for the farms are compared using certainty equivalents to determine the value of alternative safety net options to feed grain, cotton and rice farms in the South.


State of charge (SOC) estimation of lithium-ion batteries has been extensively studied and the estimation accuracy was mainly investigated through the development of various battery models and dynamic estimation algorithms. All battery models, however, contain inherent model bias due to the simplifications and assumptions, which cannot be effectively addressed through the development of various algorithms such as Kalman filtering (KF) or particle filtering (PF). Consequently, as observed in some study, battery SOC estimation using a typical extended KF in fact is not very accurate where the error could range from 5% to 10% or even more depending on the battery characteristics. This paper proposes bias characterization of the battery model, so that accuracy of the baseline model could be significantly improved and eventually SOC estimation could be much more accurate than the one only using the baseline model. This paper reports great potential for improving battery SOC estimation with the bias characterization and proposes two methods for actual bias modeling. In particular, the polynomial regression model and the Gaussian process regression model are proposed to examine the effects of the two methods on bias modeling and SOC estimation using a typical battery circuit model. Results are demonstrated in both simulation and lab testing using three battery charging/discharging profiles with the cross-validation technique.


: The effectiveness of cis-dichlorodiammineplatinum(II) in the treatment of human malignancies is evaluated. The first stage of our investigation consisted of a phase I study to determine toxicity. In the second stage attempts were made to reduce toxicity by varying the modes of administration, and the third stage comprised studies of combination chemotherapy including cis-dichlorodiammineplatinum(II). A total of 74 patients have been treated, 20 of whom received the combination of cis-dichlorodiammineplatinum(II) and cyclophosphamide. Major toxic effects included vomiting, mild leukopenia and thrombocytopenia, decreased creatinine clearance, audiologic toxic effects, hyperuricemia, and nephrotoxicity. Measurable regression of tumors was seen in 18 of the 74 patients and ten of the 18 patients who responded had been given the combination of cis-dichlorodiammineplatinum(ii) and cyclophosphamide.


Purpose The PreserFlo MicroShunt is an innovative implant for the surgical treatment of glaucoma. Although usually effective, surgeries can still fail due to fibrosis. This study was conducted to gain insight into the histological aspects of the fibrotic response and find potential targets to reduce postoperative fibrosis. Methods Fifteen New Zealand White rabbits were implanted with a microshunt and followed up for 40 days. Animals were euthanized at postoperative days (PODs) 1, 5, and 40 to collect eyes for histological evaluation. Bleb formation and ocular health were assessed by slit-lamp (SL) biomicroscopy and optical coherence tomography (OCT). Intraocular pressure (IOP) was measured using rebound tonometry. Results Blebs failed after approximately 2 weeks based on bleb survival and IOP measurements. No severe complications were observed with OCT and SL. Histology revealed a wide variety of cells, in the bleb and around the microshunt, including polymorphonuclear leucocytes (PMNs), myofibroblasts, and foreign body giant cells, at different PODs. Conclusions Implantation of a poly(styrene-b-isobutylene-b-styrene) microshunt in rabbits resulted in the occurrence of a wide variety of cells during the wound-healing response. Future research should further elucidate the potential of these (earlier often overlooked) cells to target the fibrotic response in vivo—for example, by developing novel antifibrotic drugs, methods for sustained delivery of medications, or augmenting material properties. Translational Relevance Current antifibrotic therapies aim to inhibit myofibroblasts; however, a wide variety of cells are involved in the fibrotic response. Future research focusing on these cells could offer novel methods for reducing the fibrotic response after glaucoma surgery.


A vast country like India cannot afford to ignore ever increasing role of PAES carried out by many individuals and agencies like Agricultural consultants, group of progressive farmers, mass media like newspapers, TV, agricultural magazines, non-government organizations, private sector banks etc. Today the challenge is not the same. Finding better market for surplus produced decides Indian agriculture. Limited rescores in extension compel to look for the support of other extension system, thus opened thinking on private extension. The present extension system has ultimatum for reshaping and strengthening the structural design for the delivery of agricultural technology and services as needed by the farming community. The study was conducted in Ganjam District of Odisha purposively for investigating socio-economic status and the association of independent variables with farmers' knowledge towards Privatization of Agricultural Extension Services. Descriptive research design was used for the present study. A total of 120 respondents were selected purposively as a sample for the present investigation. The data was collected by using pre-tested schedule and analyzed using appropriate statistical tools. Karl Pearson's Co-efficient of Correlation test was applied to find out the association between farmers knowledge with independent variables. The major findings of the study were the socio-economic status of the respondents was found to be of medium level, the knowledge of the respondents towards PAES had significant association with the Age, Annual income, Education, Land holding Mass Media Exposure, Extension contact, Risk orientation, and scientific orientation. From the study, it is clear that PAES has become essential in our country to increase the competitiveness in the world and give justice to our farmers. At the same time, it requires great caution about problems and constraints emerged in PAES. Keeping this points stated above the present study was undertaken in Ganjam district of Odisha with the following objectives: « To determine the socio-economic status of the respondents. « To ascertain the association between independent variables and knowledge of farmers towards Privatization of Agricultural Extension Service (PAES).


Multiple-disk I/O systems (disk arrays) have been an attractive approach to meet high performance I/O demands in data intensive applications such as information retrieval systems. When we partition and distribute files across multiple disks to exploit the potential for I/O parallelism, a balanced I/O workload distribution becomes important for good performance. Naturally, the performance of a parallel information retrieval system using an inverted file structure is affected by the partitioning scheme of the inverted file. In this paper, we propose two different partitioning schemes for an inverted file system for a shared-everything multiprocessor machine with multiple disks. We study the performance of these schemes by simulation under a number of workloads where the term frequencies in the documents are varied, the term frequencies in the queries are varied, the number of disks are varied and the multiprogramming level is varied. >


Murphy eye. Drs O'Leary and colleagues2 stated in their evaluation of a similar device to the ODD Mark 1 that it is essential the cuff of the tube be deflated during aspiration because of the theoretical risk of hypoxia and bronchial collapse. It is hard to imagine that 3040 ml aspirated from a total resting adult lung volume of approximately 2500-4000 ml causes significant hypoxia and (or) bronchial collapse. It would seem more prudent in the patients with high risk of gastric aspiration to secure the airway by inflation of the cuff in addition to cricoid pressure until tube placement is confirmed. The ODD Mark 1 has been used successfully in a recent preliminary trial in children using uncuffed tubes3 Further wider evaluation of its use in children would be useful. The following are guidelines for the use of the ODD Mark 1 in adults. Check that the device is airtight, including the fitting to the tracheal tube. Apply constant slow aspiration to avoid the suction effect and prevent mucosal damage. The tracheal tube is correctly placed in the trachea if 3040 ml gas is aspirated without resistance. If gas is initially aspirated and then resistance is encountered, confirmation of tracheal tube position, if needed, should proceed as follows. Retract the tracheal tube 0.5-1 cm and rotate it partially. This takes the tube out of the bronchial position if it is too long and also changes the orientation of the bevel. This manoeuvre can be done in one motion. Gas will be aspirated if the tube is in the trachea whilst it will make no difference if the tube is in the oesophagus. The ODD Mark 1 can be used before or after ventilation of the patient and in patients with high risk of gastric aspiration. It is recommended that the cuff of the tube be inflated before the test. Continuous cricoid pressure should be applied until tube placement is confirmed. Another different use of the ODD Mark 1 is to use it as a safe conduit for gastric contents. The ODD Mark 1 , without its plunger, attached to the oesophageal tube can act as a safe conduit for gastric contents to a location away from the head, if the oesophagus is inadvertently or deliberately intubated. This will be particularly useful in patients with a full stomach who are possibly difficult to intubate and where repeated attempts at intubation may be needed.


A study on As(III) removal using Fe(III) loaded pomegranate waste as an adsorbent is presented. The effects of initial metal ion concentration, contact time, adsorbent dose and pH of the solution on the removal of arsenic were investigated in a batch system. The optimum pH for As(III) adsorption using Fe(III)-loaded charred pomegranate waste [Fe-CPW] was found to be 9. The equilibrium has beenachieved in 2 hours. The maximum adsorption capacity (qmax) for the adsorption of As (III) was found tobe 50 mg/g. The experimental data fitted well with the Langmuir adsorption isotherm model. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jncs.v30i0.9332 Journal of Nepal Chemical Society Vol. 30, 2012 Page:  29-36 Uploaded date : 12/16/2013


The paper demonstrates the general difficulty of inferring the structure of adjustment costs from aggregated, including industry data, except in the unlikely case that costs are symmetric and quadratic at the micro level. The implications of this difficulty for cross-national comparisons of adjustment costs, and for attempts to infer the structure of these costs without micro data, are examined. In the voluminous literature on dynamic labor demand studies based on annual data generally find longer lags than those that use quarterly data, which in turn produce longer lags than models estimated using monthly data. However, when a consistent set of U.S. industry time series is used, and quadratic symmetric costs are assumed, the estimated length of the lag is independent of the frequency of observation. This conclusion is clearly not general: If we assume the costs of adjusting labor demand are lumpy, inferences about their structure differ greatly depending on how often the data are observed.


Most information in the world exists in the format of text, such as news articles and web pages. Different lines of research have been conducted to discover, understand and access knowledge about real-world entities and relations from text. However, the application of these word oriented methods to ontology integration tasks has not been yet explored. In this paper, we apply these word oriented methods to ontology integration tasks in which we analyze a noun phrase (NP) to identify its head noun, which is useful to avoid wrong relations between entities. We also propose a collaborative acquisition algorithm that combines WordNet-based and Text corpus.


Spanning thirteen years of British employee relations, and using three datasets with a total of over 80,000 observations, this thesis comprises three empirical studies of workplace practices. It focuses on the impact of Human Resource Management (HRM) practices on employee job satisfaction and on work effort, as well as analysing the relationship between training and promotion. Subjective constructs are deployed, positioning this research at the forefront of modem Labour Economics, while also attempting to bridge the HRM and Labour Economics literature. Original results include: the discovery of a consistently high and positive impact of employer-encouraged training and learning on job satisfaction and employee effort; the study of effort intensity; a contribution towards the setting of a research framework on effort; the use of a matched employee-employer data to analyse workplace employment relations; an inter-temporal analysis of training and promotion; the finding that returns to training in the extant literature are biased upward; and the finding that training and promotion with the same employer are positively associated. Several human resource management practices - in particular job autonomy, employee involvement and pay negotiation - and perceptions of pay inequality have highly significant effects on job satisfaction. Additionally, the thesis determines sets of practices that could lead to higher employee and workplace effort. The research agenda supported by this thesis can contribute to a more satisfactory and performance-enhancing workplace environment, hence to creating a stronger economy and to the achievement of higher societal well-being.


In California, residential lawn area is second in planted acreage to production agriculture. Due to the demand for visually attractive lawns, relatively large amounts of N are often applied. The objective of this research was to investigate the effect of N source and application rate on tall fescue [Schedonorus phoenix (Scop.) Holub] visual quality and color, clipping yield, N uptake, and nitrate leaching under normal irrigation practices. Three annual N application rates (195, 293, and 390 kg ha -1 ) and four N sources (AN, ammonium nitrate; MUN, methylene urea; NON, natural-organic nitrogen; and PCN, polymer-coated nitrogen) were applied in four equal applications per year. The factorial experiment was replicated four times and conducted on a Hanford fine sandy loam at the University of California, Riverside's Turfgrass Research Facility from October 2002 to October 2004. Turfgrass visual quality and color ratings were evaluated every 2 wk. Clipping yield, clipping tissue total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), and N uptake were measured or calculated in four 4-wk growth periods per year. Suction lysimeters were used to collect soil water below the rootzone (leachate) to determine nitrate and ammonium concentrations once every two weeks. Soil nitrate and ammonium concentrations were analyzed at 12 and 24 mo. after initial fertilizer treatments. An annual N application rate of 195 kg ha -1 produced an acceptable to good quality tall fescue lawn. Higher rates were not necessary, and increased nitrate leaching. Among the N sources, slow-release N resulted in less nitrate leaching than the fast-release N source.


Even under healthy, basal conditions, physiologic systems show erratic fluctuations resembling those found in dynamical systems driven away from an equilibrium state. Do such "nonequilibrium" fluctuations simply reflect the fact that physiologic systems are being constantly perturbed by external and intrinsic uncorrelated noise? Or, do these fluctuations actually contain "hidden" information about the underlying nonequilibrium control mechanisms? We report some recent attempts to understand the dynamics of complex physiologic fluctuations by adapting and extending concepts and methods developed very recently in statistical physics. Specifically, we focus on interbeat interval variability as an important quantity to help elucidate possibly nonhomeostatic physiologic variability because (i) the heart rate is under direct neuroautonomic control, (ii) interbeat interval variability is readily measured by noninvasive means, and (iii) analysis of these heart rate dynamics may provide important practical diagnostic and prognostic information not obtainable with current approaches. The analytic tools we discuss may be used on a wider range of physiologic signals. We first review recent progress using two analysis methods—detrended fluctuation analysis and wavelets—appropriate for quantifying monofractal structures. We then describe very recent work that quantifies multifractal features of interbeat interval series, and the discovery that the multifractal structure of healthy subjects is different from that of diseased subjects. We also discuss the application of fractal scaling analysis to the dynamics of heartbeat regulation, and report the recent finding that the scaling exponent a is smaller during sleep periods compared to wake periods.


Cluster‐randomized trials (CRTs) of infectious disease preventions often yield correlated, interval‐censored data: dependencies may exist between observations from the same cluster, and event occurrence may be assessed only at intermittent study visits. This data structure must be accounted for when conducting interim monitoring and futility assessment for CRTs. In this article, we propose a flexible framework for conditional power estimation when outcomes are correlated and interval‐censored. Under the assumption that the survival times follow a shared frailty model, we first characterize the correspondence between the marginal and cluster‐conditional survival functions, and then use this relationship to semiparametrically estimate the cluster‐specific survival distributions from the available interim data. We incorporate assumptions about changes to the event process over the remainder of the trial—as well as estimates of the dependency among observations in the same cluster—to extend these survival curves through the end of the study. Based on these projected survival functions, we generate correlated interval‐censored observations, and then calculate the conditional power as the proportion of times (across multiple full‐data generation steps) that the null hypothesis of no treatment effect is rejected. We evaluate the performance of the proposed method through extensive simulation studies, and illustrate its use on a large cluster‐randomized HIV prevention trial.


This dissertation analyzes the changes in the way Swedish forest policy has been developed and implemented in the past few decades. Its primary focus is on the period from the adoption of new legislation governing forestry in 1993 to date, though the historical antecedents of the more recent developments are also discussed. The dissertation focuses primarily on the interplay between changes in the policy priorities enshrined in forest legislation and the changes in the steering and implementation means and resources available to achieve the aims of the recent forest policies. Various perspectives on public administration/public management are used to analyze the preconditions and opportunities available to state authorities to meet the environmental goals in forest policy. Furthermore, norm theory as developed within the sociology of law is applied to analyze how various categories of forest owners can be motivated to shoulder a greater responsibility for nature conservation and development and environmental activities. The tension between private forest owners? interests and public (both of the state and the public in general) interests, and possible ways around the tension also figure prominently in this study.

Central to the opportunities for success in obtaining the more ambitious environmental goals in a ?regulatory? setting characterized by a levelling of the status between authorities and forest owners and decreased resources and coercive capacities on part of the authorities, is the prospects for ?soft regulation.? Here we see an emphasis on bringing new actors into the policy formulation, interpretation and implementation arena, the development of new networks, the role of information and advisement in producing ?enlightened self-interest? and common frames of understanding. Ultimately what is aimed at is ?smart regulation? via the use of various forms of flexible instruments in a context where a greater number of stakeholders are involved. Thus the role of ?regulatory? authorities moves towards becoming a facilitator, or a ?motor? that as a partner promotes collaborative structures and cooperation.


This index section presents list of modern authors for this book Flavius Josephus: Translation and Commentary, Volume 1B: Judean War 2. The book deals with a period of enormous consequence: from King Herod's death (4 BCE) to the first phase of the war against Rome (66 CE). It covers: the succession struggle, the governments of Herod's sons, Judea's incorporation as a Roman province, some notable governors (including Pilate), Kings Agrippa I and II, the Judean philosophical schools (featuring the Essenes), various rebel movements and the Sicarii, tensions between Judeans and their neighbors, events leading up to the revolt, the failed intervention of the Syrian legate Cestius Gallus, and preparations for war in Judea and Galilee.Keywords: Galilee; Judeans; Rome


This article discusses the premises and preliminary results of the project "Topos and Topography: Rome as the guidebook city", in relation to the panel discussion on premodernity which took place at Svenska historikermotet (2014). The objectives of the project are to trace the origins and development of the guidebook genre, focusing on the city of Rome, and to define the elements, functions and strategies that shape the identities of the guidebook author, the traveller and the place itself. The wide range of material examined (guidebooks as well as ancient and medieval material such as inscriptions, geographical maps, pilgrim itineraries, liturgical guides and martyr calendars) invite a diachronic and interdisciplinary approach. This article deals with three of the seven sub-projects which constitute "Topos and Topography" and demonstrate different approaches to the problematic terminology of "premodern" and "modern". The manuscript no. 326 (8th-9th century) in the Einsiedeln monastery, Switzerland, is to be regarded as one of the most important "proto-guide-books" of the Middle Ages. It contains ten itineraries through Rome, with monuments as landmarks along the way, a collection of Latin inscriptions, and a description of the city walls. Fioravante Martinelli's Roma ricercata nel suo sito (1644) was published in at least thirty editions during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. This success resulted from its publication together with two accounts of the organization and rites of the papal court, thus meeting the need of foreign travellers to acquire social, historical and artistic knowledge about Rome. The two-volume work Rom. En vandring genom seklerna (part I 1912, part II 1914, parts I-II 1923) by Henrik Schack, was successful and influential in Sweden, with an impact on the "popular" understanding of Roman topography and cultural history. Its popularity led to the commission of a new edition after the war (part I 1949, part II 1956). This new edition, revised by Erik Sjoqvist (part I) and Sjoqvist in collaboration with Torgil Magnuson (part II) is studied in relation to Schack's original. These three examples show how the primary function of guiding in guidebook material manifests itself in different ways in a genre that has developed over a remarkably long period. The guidebooks analysed in the article reveal how textual elements and functions are essentially the same today as in "premodern" periods. It is rather the motives, conditions, logistics and possibilities of travel that change over time. The project thus illustrates some of the difficulties of applying general concepts like "premodern" to specific case studies.


Plum pox virus (PPV) populations from peaches are able to adapt consistently to herbaceous hosts, characterized by a reduction in time to symptom development, increases in inoculation efficiency and increased titres. PPV adaptation was studied by using pea (Pisum sativum) as an alternative host. Two isolates of PPV from peaches were inoculated and passaged in peas ten times using either aphid or mechanical inoculation, generating four independent passage lines. Mechanical-transmission efficiency from peach to pea improved from 3 % at passage 1 to 100 % by serial passage 4 on peas. Inoculation using aphid vectors required six to ten serial passages in pea to reach a peak of 50-60 % transmission efficiency. Sequence analyses of all four PPV population lines inoculated sequentially to pea identified a specific mutation occurring consistently in the NIb gene when compared with the same PPV isolates passaged in parallel in peach. The mutation allowed PPV to replicate up to 20 times faster in the new host. Pea-adapted strains of PPV at every passage were also tested for their ability to infect the original host, peach. Regardless of the number of previous passages, all pea-adapted PPV strains consistently infected peach at low levels using aphid inoculation.


Phosducin-like protein (PhLP) is a broadly expressed member of the phosducin (Pd) family of G protein βγ subunit (Gβγ)-binding proteins. Though PhLP has been shown to bind Gβγ in vitro, little is known about its physiological function. In the present study, the effect of PhLP on angiotensin II (Ang II) signaling was measured in Chinese hamster ovary cells expressing the type 1 Ang II receptor and various amounts of PhLP. Up to 3.6-fold overexpression of PhLP had no effect on Ang II-stimulated inositol trisphosphate (IP3) formation, whereas further increases caused an abrupt decrease in IP3 production with half-maximal inhibition occurring at 6-fold PhLP overexpression. This threshold level for inhibition corresponds to the cellular concentration of cytosolic chaperonin complex, a recently described binding partner that preferentially binds PhLP over Gβγ. Results of pertussis toxin sensitivity, GTPγS binding, and immunoprecipitation experiments suggest that PhLP inhibits phospholipase Cβ activation by dual mechanisms: (i) steric blockage of Gβγ activation of PLCβ and (ii) interference with Gβγ-dependent cycling of Gqα by the receptor. These results suggest that G protein signaling may be regulated through controlling the cellular concentration of free PhLP by inducing its expression or by regulating its binding to the chaperonin.