In this chapter, it is suggested that our epistemic access to metaphysical modality generally involves rationalist, a priori elements. However, these a priori elements are much more subtle than 'traditional' modal rationalism assumes. In fact, some might even question the 'apriority' of these elements, but I should stress that I consider a priori and a posteriori elements especially in our modal inquiry to be so deeply intertwined that it is not easy to tell them apart. Supposed metaphysically necessary identity statements involving natural kind terms are a good example: the fact that empirical input is crucial in establishing their necessity has clouded the role and content of the a priori input, as I have previously argued (Tahko 2015). For instance, the supposed metaphysically necessary identity statement involving water and its microstructure can only be established with the help of a controversial a priori principle concerning the determination of chemical properties by microstructure. The Kripke-Putnam framework of modal epistemology fails precisely because it is unclear whether the required a priori element is present. My positive proposal builds on E. J. Lowe's work. Lowe holds that our knowledge of metaphysical modality is based on our knowledge of essence. Lowe's account strives to offer a uniform picture of modal epistemology: essence is the basis of all our modal knowledge. This is the core of Lowe's modal rationalism. I believe that Lowe's proposal is on the right lines in the case of abstract objects, but I doubt that it can be successfully applied to the case of natural kinds. Accordingly, the case of natural kinds will be my main focus and I will suggest that modal rationalism, at least as it is traditionally understood, falls short of explaining modal knowledge concerning natural kinds. Yet, I think that Lowe has identified something of crucial importance for modal epistemology, namely the essentialist, a priori


Skeletal muscles require the proper production and distribution of energy to sustain their work. To ensure this requirement is met, mitochondria form large networks within skeletal muscle cells, and during exercise, they can enhance their functions. In the present review, we discuss recent findings on exercise-induced mitochondrial adaptations. We emphasize the importance of mitochondrial biogenesis, morphological changes, and increases in respiratory supercomplex formation as mechanisms triggered by exercise that may increase the function of skeletal muscles. Finally, we highlight the possible effects of nutraceutical compounds on mitochondrial performance during exercise and outline the use of exercise as a therapeutic tool in noncommunicable disease prevention. The resulting picture shows that the modulation of mitochondrial activity by exercise is not only fundamental for physical performance but also a key point for whole-organism well-being.


Background: Globally, an alarming number of pharmaceutically active compounds are now routinely added to the street drugs of abuse, cocaine and heroin. In some cases, seventeen (17) or more potentially toxic compounds are found in a single street purchased bag or block of cocaine or heroin. Pharmacologically active compounds, impurities, or breakdown products from drug manufacturing and industrial chemicals (collectively referred to as toxic adulterants) are now found in street drugs. They include, but are not limited to: Antipsychotics, antidepressants, anxiolytics, antihistamines, anthelmintics, anesthetics, anti-inflammatorys, antipyretics, analgesics, antispasmodics, antiarrhythmics, antimalarials, veterinary medications, bronchodilators, expectorants, sedatives, muscle relaxers, natural/synthetic hallucinogens, decongest- ants, new psychoactive substances (NPS), industrial compounds, fungicides, and impurities in the manufacturing process. All can be found within a single street purchase of heroin or cocaine. Routine clinical or workplace drug testing will not detect all these toxic adulterants. Only specialty forensic tests, specifically ordered, will detect them. The synergistic effect on the human body of such an unprecedented combination of pharmacologically active compounds is unknown and potentially deadly. This is especially seen in daily substance users who are exposed to these combinations multiple times a day over an extended period of time. Individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs) have several co-occurring health problems that make them more susceptible to COVID-19, including compromised immune, pulmonary, cardiovascular, and respiratory systems. These problems are high-risk factors for the acquisition of COVID-19 infection and more serious complications from the virus, including hospitalization and death. Objective: The study aims to bring to the attention of public health officials, addiction medicine specialists, treatment officials, therapists, and the general public the alarming increase of dangerous toxic adulterants being added to street drugs and their potentially lethal synergistic effects. Also, it aims to provide insights into how these new formulations can have serious pathophysiological effects on individuals with Substance Abuse Disorders (SUDs) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The literature on street drug cutting agents, toxic adulterants, NPS, manufacturing byproducts, and other industrial compounds will be reviewed. Also, a review of the literature of pathophysiological effects, especially on SUD patients, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic will be presented. This is combined with international and USA studies that were carried out by the Colombo Plan that identified these new combinations of toxic adulterants in street drugs, using state-of-the-art field and forensic laboratory detection technologies. Results: The majority of street drugs, in some cases more than ninety-five percent, now have multiple toxic adulterants. It is rare that a street purchase of cocaine or heroin does not contain multiple toxic adulterants, cutting agents, NPS, manufacturing byproducts, or industrial chemicals. Conclusion: This dangerous new composition in world street drug supply is unprecedented and may be the undetected cause of many psychostimulant and opioid overdose deaths, as many toxic adulter- ants are not routinely tested in post-mortem or street drug seizure cases. In addition, several of these toxic adulterants create a catastrophic drop in white blood cells, causing neutropenia and making the substance users susceptible to a wide range of opportunistic infections, including COVID-19. This profound change in the world street drug supply has catastrophic implications for individuals with SUDs and our health care system, especially in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic.


The influence of i.v. L-carnitine on parameters of lipid- and nitrogen metabolism was studied during total parenteral nutrition of mini pigs (x: 4077; n = 9). The infusion protocol was divided into isocaloric and isonitrogenous 48-hour-periods. Amino acids (3 g/kg/day) were administered throughout all three periods. 140 Cal/kg/day were given as non-protein calories, consisting only of glucose during period 1. During periods 2 and 3 an amount of glucose calorically equivalent to 4 g fat/kg/day was substituted with a lipid emulsion. In period 3, L-carnitine (1,5 mg/kg/day) was added. During the entire regime key parameters of fat and nitrogen metabolism were determined. During all three periods indirect calorimetry was performed and the respiratory quotient calculated. The results demonstrate a more effective lipolysis and oxydation of fatty acids during L-carnitine supplementation. This results in an increased energy gain from exogenously administered fat and a distinct improvement of nitrogen balance.


A ternary Eu(III) complex with salicylic acid (Hsal) and o-phenanthroline (phen) was synthesized and then incorporated into silica matrix by sol-gel method. The luminescence behavior of the complex in silica gel was studied compared with that of the pure complex by means of emission, excitation spectra and thermogravimetic analysis. The results indicate that the complex Eu(sal)3(phen) in silica gel shows fewer emission lines than pure Eu(sal)3(phen) and the luminescence intensity ratio of the 5D0 → 7F2 transition to the 5D0 → 7F1 transition is lower than that of the latter. The thermal stability of Eu(sal)3(phen) is enhanced greatly through the introduction of the complex into silica matrix.


Ultrafast light coupling with metal surfaces shows strong potential for nanostructuring applications relying on the capacity to localize light energy on the nanoscale. Controlling light confinement requires to understand the transient variation of the optical response during ultrafast irradiation. The fundamental approach we propose based on ab initio calculations allows elucidating the influence of electron-phonon nonequilibrium on optical properties. This results from the investigation of the primary processes responsible for the optical change during laser-solid interaction. Calculations are carried out in the framework of the density functional theory associated to quantum molecular dynamics. Our results shed light on the intricate role of electronic structure modifications and possible optical transitions, driving the laser energy absorption into the material. The revealed key processes based on Fermi smearing on an evolving density of states are of paramount interest for controlling laser energy deposition, surface plasmon excitation and subsequent surface nanostructuring. The calculations predict the possibility of an ultrafast laser-driven plasmonic switch on a typically non-plasmonic material (W), confirmed by pump-probe ellipsometric measurements [1]. The consequence of our results is far reaching as they propose also a route for achieving the highest energy confinement under ultrashort laser irradiation.
[1] E. Bevillon, J.P. Colombier, V. Recoules, H. Zhang, C. Li, R. Stoian, "Ultrafast switching of surface plasmonic conditions in nonplasmonic metals", Physical Review B 93 (16), 165416 (2016).


Objective: To assess risk factors and prognosis in patients with refractory status epilepticus (RSE). Methods: We retrospectively analysed all episodes of status epilepticus (SE) treated between 1993 and 2002 on the neurological intensive care unit (NICU) of the Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin. The predictive and prognostic features of RSE were compared with non-RSE (NRSE). All patients with "de novo" SE were followed up to identify the possible development of post-SE symptomatic epilepsy. Results: A total of 83 episodes fulfilled our criteria of SE. Of these 43% were refractory to first line anticonvulsants. The mean age of patients with SE was 53.3 (SD 19) years, with only two patients younger than 18 years. Encephalitis was significantly more often the primary cause in RSE (p<0.05), whereas low levels of antiepileptic drugs were significantly more often associated with NRSE (p<0.001). Hyponatraemia within the first 24 hours after onset of status activity was significantly more often associated with RSE (p<0.05). In RSE, compared with NRSE, significantly longer duration of seizure activity (p<0.001), more frequent recurrence of epileptic activity within the first 24 hours after the end of seizure activity (p<0.001), longer stay in the NICU and in hospital (p<0.001 and p<0.01, respectively), and more frequent development of symptomatic epilepsy (p<0.05) were seen. Conclusions: SE treated in the NICU is frequently refractory to first line anticonvulsant drugs. Encephalitis is a predictor for RSE, which is associated with markedly poor outcome, in particular, the development of post-SE symptomatic epilepsy. Thus prevention of this most severe form of SE should be the primary target of treatment of SE.


The UK's top 1% have between 12.5% and 15.5% of all income. This is mid-way between the United States (20%) and Continental Europe (8%). This share has been rising steadily since the late 1970s, mainly due to labour income (wages), but also with a role for capital income (dividends, capital gains, etc.). In the global financial crisis of 2008-09 inequality fell, but has been stable since then. It is too soon to tell whether inequality will resume its rising trend as the economy fully recovers. Overall, coalition policies have been mainly regressive. Tax credit and benefit cuts took more away in the bottom half of the income distribution than they gained from higher income tax allowances. Looking forward, wealth will be increasingly important for inequality as it is rising faster than aggregate income, and the concentration of capital income is much greater than the concentration of labour income. To combat inequality, policy should be focused on wealth (in particular inheritance) taxation, closing loopholes for capital income (e.g., non-domiciled residents), and increasing skills, especially for the disadvantaged.


Introduction: Tuberculosis remains of public health concern, particularly in highly endemic regions.1 It accounts globally for 3 million deaths annually. Pulmonary tuberculosis is primarily diagnosed by identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis using sputum smear microscopy.2 Clinicians often depend on alternative diagnostic algorithms based on patient symptoms and chest X-ray findings, which have low sensitivity which may lead to either over or under diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis. The GeneXpert assay has been shown to have an accuracy comparable to that of culture.3 The sensitivity of a single GeneXpert result in smear-negative, culture-positive cases is 72.5%; the sensitivity increases with repeated testing.4 Xpert has been found to be a cost-effective method for smear-negative TB diagnosis in comparison to traditional methods in resource-limited settings. The aim of the study was to find the prevalence of Genexpert Positive in Sputum negative cases.
Methods: This descriptive cross sectional study was done in Bir Hospital, Mahabouddha, Kathmandu for 1 year after taking ethical clearance. Data was collected and entry was done with point estimate at 95%. Sample size was calculated using the standard formula. Convenience Sampling technique was used, data analysis was done with SPSS Microsoft Excel Sheet.
Results: Prevalence of Genexpert Positive in Sputum negative cases was part to be 27.27%.
Conclusions: Present study showed GeneXpert could be used as a diagnostic tool for the diagnosis of tuberculosis by correlating the clinicoradiological features to this infectious disease. With judicious case detection and implementing appropriate measures, TB incidence, prevalence and morbidity can be minimized to a greater extent.
Keywords: acid fast bacilli; tuberculosis; X-ray.


Purpose Patient-care responsibilities stimulate trainee learning but training may compromise patient safety. The authors investigated factors guiding clinical supervisors' decisions to trust residents with critical patient-care tasks. Method In a mixed quantitative and qualitative descriptive study carried out at University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands, from March to September 2008, the authors surveyed attending anesthetists and resident anesthetists regarding when attendings should entrust each of six selected critical tasks to residents. The authors conducted structured interviews with both groups, using trigger case vignettes to solicit opinions on factors that affect entrustment decisions. Results Thirty-two attending anesthetists and 31 residents answered the questionnaire (response rate 58%), and 10 participants from each group were interviewed. Attendings varied in their opinions regarding how much independence to give residents, particularly postgraduate year (PGY) 2, 3, and 4 residents. PGY1 residents reported working above their expected level of competence but estimate their own ability as sufficient, whereas PGY5 residents reported working below their expected level of competence. The authors classified factors that determine entrustment into four groups: characteristics of the resident, the attending, the clinical context, and the critical task. Conclusions Residents' and attendings' opinions and impressions differ regarding what is expected from residents, what residents actually do, and what residents think they can do safely. The authors list factors affecting why and when supervisors trust residents to proceed without supervision. Future studies should address drivers behind entrustment decisions, correlations with patient outcomes, and tools that enable faculty to justify their entrustment decisions.


A two-stage conversion process for the production of a valuable product from biomass waste, i.e., grape seeds activated carbon (GSAC) was investigated. Such process involved hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) of grape seeds, followed by chemical activation with potassium hydroxide (KOH). Different HTC temperatures (THTC = 180–250 ◦C), as well as different KOH:hydrochar ratios (R = 0.25:1–1:1), were explored. The samples that were obtained from both stages of the biomass conversion process were analyzed in terms of textural characterization (apparent total and micro-pore surface areas, total and micro-pore volumes, pore size distribution), proximate and ultimate compositions, thermal stability, surface morphology (via SEM), and surface chemistry characterization (via FTIR). Overall yields of approximately 35% were achieved, which are comparable to those obtained with the state-of-art one-stage process. In a wide range of operating conditions, the higher THTC and R, the higher was the surface area of the GSAC, which was maximal (above 1000 m2/g) for THTC = 250 ◦C and R = 0.5. At such optimal conditions, around 90% of the total porosity was due to micro-pores. Such a trend was not fulfilled at the most severe operating conditions (THTC = 250 ◦C; R = 1), which resulted in larger pore size, causing surface area reduction. A proper selection of the process parameters of both the process stages gives great opportunities of tuning and optimizing the overall process. The produced GSACs showed a remarkable thermal stability, and their surface appeared rather free of functional groups.


The impact of allowing more time for each question on the SAT I: Reasoning Test scores was estimated by embedding sections with a reduced number of questions into the standard 30-minute equating section of two national test administrations. Thus, for example, questions were deleted from a verbal section that contained 35 questions to produce forms that contained 27 or 23 questions. Scores on the 23-question section could then be compared to scores on the same 23 questions when they were embedded in a section that contained 27 or 35 questions. Similarly, questions were deleted from a 25-question math section to form sections of 20 and 17 questions. Allowing more time per question had a minimal impact on verbal scores, producing gains of less than 10 points on the 200–800 SAT scale. Gains for the math score were less than 30 points. High-scoring students tended to benefit more than lower-scoring students, with extra time creating no increase in scores for students with SAT scores of 400 or lower. Ethnic/racial and gender differences were neither increased nor reduced with extra time.


A challenge in presenting augmenting information in outdoor augmented reality (AR) settings lies in the broad range of uncontrollable environmental conditions that may be present, specifically large-scale fluctuations in natural lighting and wide variations in likely backgrounds or objects in the scene. In this paper, we motivate the need for research on the effects of text drawing styles, outdoor background textures, and natural lighting on user performance in outdoor AR. We present a pilot study and a follow-on user-based study that examined the effects on user performance of outdoor background textures, changing outdoor illuminance values, and text drawing styles in a text identification task using an optical, see-through AR system. We report significant effects for all these variables, and discuss user interface design guidelines and ideas for future work.


Mortality decline has historically been a result of reductions in the level of mortality at all ages. The slope of mortality increase with age has been remarkably stable. A number of leading researchers on aging, however, suggest that the next revolution of longevity increase will be the result of slowing down the rate of aging. In this paper, we show mathematically how varying the pace of senescence influences life expectancy. We provide a formula that holds for any baseline hazard function. Our result is analogous to Keyfitz's "entropy" relationship for changing the level of mortality. Interestingly, the influence of the shape of the baseline schedule on the effect of senescence changes is the complement of that found for level changes. We also provide a generalized formulation that mixes level and slope effects. GOLDSTEIN AND CASSIDY 3


Writing centers, as anyone who has spent time in one knows, are active places. [1] Tutors and writers, together or alone, can be found at any moment researching, writing, talking, listening to their iPods. . .wait a minute. . .listening to their iPods?![2]
Here is a sample of what tutors in our writing center are listening to:
For the past four years, the staff of the Fairfield University Writing Center has adapted and expanded an initiative begun at Duke University's Writing Studio to incorporate the use of iPod technology in writing center sessions and staff education. Doing so has sharpened our staff development program and increased tutors' abilities to reflect on their work with student writers


We introduce a parsimonious framework for choosing among alternative expected-return proxies (ERPs) when estimating treatment effects. By comparing ERPs' measurement error variances in the cross-section and in the time series, we provide new evidence on the relative performance of firm-level ERPs nominated by recent studies. Generally, "implied-costs-of-capital" metrics perform best in the time series, whereas "characteristic-based" proxies perform best in the cross-section. Factor-based ERPs, even the latest renditions, perform poorly. We revisit four prior studies that use ex ante ERPs and illustrate how this framework can potentially alter either the sign or the magnitude of prior inferences.


Abstract Aeroengine manufacturers need to better include assessment of risk and cost for realising the novel products needed to meet the ambitions sustainability driven targets for air transport. Radical technologies are needed that simultaneously require critical manufacturing processes to be assessed already in conceptual design. In this paper, a multi-domain framework for conceptual design and evaluation is proposed that provide the ability to interactively explore the concepts that simultaneously allow a wider range of architectures can be assessed and still include weldability of the concepts. It has been demonstrated how high level, and function driven conceptual design alternatives can be modelled and evaluated to analyse risk and resilience of architectures. Geometrical concepts generated for the most interesting regimes using design of experiments covering a desired design space. For each CAD-model the welding process can be simulated to assess feasibility and lead time for welding, and return quantified results to be included in an integrated results data set for interactive decision making. The paper is the first report from a research project that improve concurrent design of product and production concepts.


Power system planning is a complex multi-objective optimization problem. It aims at locating the minimum cost of additional transmission lines that must be installed to satisfy the forecasted load in a power system. A number of different methods for power system planning have been investigated over the past decades. In this paper, a differential evolution (DE) based approach is proposed as an optimization tool to solve the power system planning problem. A comparison between genetic algorithms, evolutionary strategy (ES), and five different DE schemes are carried out on two benchmark power systems. The results shown that, as a relatively new heuristic optimization method, DE is able to provide robust and efficient solution to power system planning problems.


A Markov random field (MRF) model is employed to learn the statistical properties of an equivalent current situated above a rough surface, where this equivalent current represents near-field electromagnetic scattered fields. The MRF parameters are learned by considering numerical scattering from a relatively small rough surface, which can be solved efficiently via existing numerical methods. The MRF parameters may then be used to synthesize multiple realizations of the equivalent current associated with scattering from a much larger rough surface. These equivalent currents may be used to efficiently calculate the far-field scattered-field statistics for large surfaces. The advantages of this approach are manifested in the fact that once the MRF parameters are learned, a forward model is no longer needed to generate random realizations of the equivalent currents, and the MRF model can be employed to generate equivalent surfaces of size beyond the capability of existing numerical models. To improve the accuracy of the MRF model, a narrowband filter is used to preprocess the computed current distributions prior to MRF model training. One-dimensional rough surfaces are considered here to demonstrate the idea, and the method of ordered multiple interactions (MOMI) is employed to perform the numerical forward modeling. Promising MRF-generated results are demonstrated, with comparison to direct MOMI solutions.


OBJECTIVE
To review and draw conclusions about the impact of natural disasters on the elderly from the published medical literature.

DESIGN
Articles were obtained by searching the PubMed database and Google search engines using terms such as "disaster," "elderly,""hurricane," "tornado," "earthquake," and "flood." More articles were obtained from the reference lists of those obtained in the initial search.

RESULTS
Forty-five journal articles were reviewed.

CONCLUSIONS
Many, but not all, studies have found that older individuals are more likely to suffer adverse physical consequences. This is not surprising considering the elderly are more likely to be in worse health before disasters and less able to seek assistance afterward. The lack of agreement between studies is not surprising either, considering heterogeneity in disasters, populations, and survey methods. This heterogeneity also precludes determination as to whether older individuals have a worse or more favorable psychological outcome than younger individuals. Several investigations, however, have noted that individuals may be more resilient to some of the psychological manifestations of disasters with more frequent exposure, often including the elderly. Many suggestions have been proposed to address the potential needs of older individuals such as involving existing organizations and those with existing geriatric expertise to design disaster plans, develop education, communication systems, and warnings for people with sensory impairment, create new methods for identifying, tracking, and following older individuals, and make special arrangements to provide disaster-related aid. However, there are only anecdotal reports of the success of the application of such methods.


Corrosion occurs in all sectors including oil pipelines, drinking water and sewerage in the majority of cases linked to corrosion of steel. Good corrosion management includes optimising corrosion control actions and minimising lifecycle corrosion costs whilst meeting environmental goals. The toxicity of commonly used synthetic inhibitors are the subject of recent legislations (REACH and PARCOM) have led to search on more eco-friendly corrosion inhibitors. Extensive research is conducted to assess the corrosion inhibition rate of diverse green inhibitors. However, it was not adequately recommended for widespread use furthermore, presenting at the business level. This paper critically reviews green plant extracts corrosion inhibitors with a particular emphasis on their efficiency. In addition, a comprehensive list of potentially effective plant extracts has been compiled. Also, the successful use of naturally occurring substances to inhibit the corrosion of metals in acidic and alkaline environment has been investigated. The results showed that the corrosion rate of mild steel in 1 M HCl and 0.5 M H 2 SO 4 decreases with the increase in concentration of the banana extracts. In conclusion, corrosion inhibitors based on plant extracts represent a reliable economic eco-friendly alternative for corrosion inhibition based on their availability and efficiency. The challenges toward the commercial application of green inhibitors have been drawn from the literature.


Abstract—Oxidized phospholipids are found in the vasculature of animal models of atherosclerosis, in human atherosclerotic lesions, and in other inflammatory diseases. Oxidized phospholipids cause vascular and nonvascular cells to initiate an inflammatory reaction. Metabolites of arachidonic acid, such as 12-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid, can mimic some of the inflammatory properties of oxidized phospholipids. In vitro and in vivo normal high-density lipoprotein (HDL), normal apolipoprotein A-I, and apolipoprotein A-I mimetic peptides, each likely acting in a different manner, prevent the inflammatory reaction characteristic of atherosclerosis, and this is associated with decreased levels of oxidized lipids in tissues and cells. HDL from animal models of atherosclerosis or from humans with atherosclerosis or from humans or animals with other chronic inflammatory diseases does not prevent the inflammatory reaction characteristic of atherosclerosis and may even enhance the inflammatory reaction. In mice and perhaps humans, ≈30% of the steady-state plasma HDL-cholesterol pool is derived from the small intestine. The metabolism of phospholipids by gut bacteria has been recently implicated in atherosclerosis in both mice and humans. Studies with apolipoprotein A-I mimetic peptides suggest that the small intestine is a major tissue regulating systemic inflammation in mouse models of atherosclerosis and may be important for determining the functionality of HDL. (Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2012;32:2553-2560.)


Coils used in active chilled beams (ACB) have some distinctive features compared to conventional coils used in fan-coil units. On the air side, the flow rate of induced air is limited and air velocities are thus much lower than those prevailing in fan-coils. Consequently, most of the correlations available in the open literature to calculate the convection coefficient on the air side are out of range when applied to ACB coils. In addition, the nature of the induction process causes some degree of non-uniformity in the air distribution over the coil. On the liquid side, circuitry can also be distinctive due to space constrains or functional requirements. Some commercial products use one circuit arrangements (all tubes connected in series) with different possible flow paths; two or more circuit schemes are also frequent. In this paper, ongoing research on active chilled beam modeling is presented. A generic numerical model of plate fin-and-tube heat exchanger is briefly described along with a test bench in which several ACB units have been tested. Experimental data for an example coil is used along with the coil model to determine a correlation for the air-side heat transfer. The calibrated numerical model is then used to simulate the coil.


An ensemble is a collection of related datasets. Each dataset, or member, of an ensemble is normally large, multidimensional, and spatio-temporal. Ensembles are used extensively by scientists and mathematicians, for example, by executing a simulation repeatedly with slightly different input parameters and saving the results in an ensemble to see how parameter choices affect the simulation. To draw inferences from an ensemble, scientists need to compare data both within and between ensemble members. We propose two techniques to support ensemble exploration and comparison: a pairwise sequential animation method that visualizes locally neighboring members simultaneously, and a screen door tinting method that visualizes subsets of members using screen space subdivision. We demonstrate the capabilities of both techniques, first using synthetic data, then with simulation data of heavy ion collisions in high-energy physics. Results show that both techniques are capable of supporting meaningful comparisons of ensemble data.


In order to formalize the information used in spectrogram reading, a knowledge-based system for identifying spoken stop consonants was developed. Speech spectrogram reading involves interpreting the acoustic patterns in the image to determine the spoken utterance. One must selectively attend to many different acoustic cues, interpret their significance in light of other evidence, and make inferences based on information from multiple sources. The evidence, obtained from both spectrogram reading experiments and from teaching spectrogram reading, indicates that the process can be modeled with rules. Formalizing spectrogram reading entails refining the language used to describe acoustic events in the spectrogram, selecting a set of relevant acoustic events that distinguish among phonemes, and developing rules which map these acoustic attributes into phonemes. One way to assess how well the knowledge used by experts has been captured is by embedding the rules in a computer program. A knowledge-based system was selected because the expression and use of knowledge are explicit. The emphasis was in capturing the acoustic descriptions and modeling the reasoning used by human spectrogram readers. In this paper, the knowledge acquisition and knowledge representation, in terms of descriptions and rules, are described. A performance evaluation and error analysis are also provided, and the performance of an HMM-based phone recognizer on the same test data is given for comparison.


PURPOSE: To identify the main and most significant risk factors for falls and improve the quality of care delivered to pediatric patients by providing indications for interventions for the prevention of falls. METHODS: To investigate the correlation between falls and risk factors a retrospective observational case-control study was carried out, the sample was made up by all children who fell from 2004 to 2011 between 0-18 y.o. for which there was a record of the fall. RESULTS: 108 children were included in the study (36 cases and 72 controls). The data showed that 4 drugs have a correlation with falls, on the contrary intravenous therapy seemed to be a factor that protects against the risk of falling. CONCLUSION: The study confirms the importance of the problem of falls in children. A greater sample size could help to identify additional independent variables. This study may represent a starting point for further analysis. Language: it


Problem statement: Inadequate airway management is a major contributor to morbidity and mortality in the prehospital and out-of-operating room hospital settings. Difficulties that occur during airway management are usually related to the intubator not being able to achieve an adequate view of the glottic opening to allow insertion of an endotracheal tube. Approach: Obtaining an adequate glottic view is technically challenging for the experiened practioner but it is exponentially more difficult for the novice intubator. Needless to say, it is a challenge to teach the actual process of intubation using traditional direct laryngoscopy. Results: Subsequently, numerous intubation devices like the video laryngoscope have been developed that incorporate an optical fiber image transmitter integrated with a modified laryngoscope blade to facilitate visualization of the glottic opening. Conclusion: With the addition of these devices, which have a short, more beneficial learning curve, the video laryngoscope has emerged as a leading method of obtaining an improved view of the glottis opening during intubation.


ABSTRACT Rusts are economically important diseases of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) and other Paniceae grasses. Phylogenetic analyses based on sequences of the nuc rDNA 5.8S internal transcribed spacer 2 region (ITS2), partial 28S region, and intergenic spacer region (IGS) of nuc rDNA showed that species of rust fungi infecting switchgrass are closely related within Puccinia. Variation among rbcLa sequences for the associated hosts sampled concurred with the original identifications. Five species infecting switchgrass were recognized: Puccinia graminicola (≡ Uromyces graminicola), P. pammelii (= P. panici), and the proposed new species P. amari, P. novopanici, and P. pascua. These species were distinct from P. emaculata, the species previously considered the principal rust pathogen infecting switchgrass but that was found exclusively on witchgrass (Panicum capillare) in this study. Rust fungi on switchgrass previously identified as P. emaculata were identified as the morphologically similar species P. amari, P. novopanici, and P. pammelii. The morphological species Puccinia graminicola was found to comprise three species, P. graminicola and the proposed new species P. pascua on switchgrass and P. cumminsii on Panicum sp.


The high-speed photography and the non-linear dynamics engineering program LS-DYNA are conducted to research on Al and Cu armatures expansion process under the drive of pressed composite B explosive with the charge method of several-section. A special experiment system with an equipment of blocking off armature fracture flashing light is built, and a thorough analysis of the "circular fracture" phenomena has been made: For the air gap existence, there is a difference between the axial movement velocity of the armature joint position wall and other positions wall. The upward wall forces the joint position wall and then the "circular fracture" appears. Some conclusions about Magnetic Flux Compression Generator design are obtained.


Water harvesting methods were a vital part of the water supply system of many ancient settlements in the drylands of the Mediterranean region andWestern Asia. Various water harvesting techniques evolved during the Bronze Age or earlier, and some of these remain in use even today. Based on literature we give a brief overview and present a tentative classification of these water harvesting methods and present the basic concepts behind these techniques supplemented with references to archaeological case studies.


The performance of GPS may be degraded by many perturbations such as jamming, the effects of the ionosphere, and multipath. Many studies have been done to reduce the effect of multipath on the GPS measurements. Some of these are based on the radiation pattern of the receiving antenna, while most of them concentrate on the characteristics of the receiver tracking loops. A well-known implementation enabling the characterization of multipath effects on the tracking loops through the analysis of the shape of the correlation peak using a multicorrelator receiver has been proposed in [ 1 ]. The widespread use of multicorrelator receivers gave us the idea to try our own implementation of an identification and mitigation technique. The aim of the proposed paper is to describe a least squares method to identify different multipath parameters using multicorrelator outputs, and to present results of the application of this technique. The paper starts with a brief review of the impact of several reflected rays on the code and phase tracking loops. Then, the principle of multicorrelator receivers is described, and the particular structure of the multicorrelator firmware of the NovAtel Millenium receiver is given as an illustration. After this, the least squares technique used to estimate the relative amplitude, relative code and phase delays, code and phase tracking errors is presented. Results of the application of this technique on real data collected on a real receiver connected to a Spirent GPS generator are shown. These results illustrate the overall good performance of the method and its limitations. Finally, a conclusion is drawn on this technique and its possible capacity to improve the performance of tracking loops by removing multipath components in correlator outputs.


The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) is increasing worldwide due in part to the increased consumption of a Western diet. MetS is associated with peripheral neuropathy (PN) . PN develops in a cell non-autonomous manner with involvement of axons, Schwann cells (SC) and nerve tissue- infiltrating macrophages (TIM) . SC are divided into subtypes with different roles in nerve injury. Our aim in the current study was to determine how gene expression of different types of SC and macrophages are affected in MetS and how these cells communicate with one another. C57BL6/j male mice (6-weeks old) were fed either a standard diet (SD, 10% fat) or high fat diet (HFD, 60%) for 17 weeks. Metabolic and PN phenotyping were performed for all mice and SC were extracted from sciatic nerves for single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) . Cellular communication was determined using the CellChat tool. Mice on HFD had higher fasting blood glucose (FBG) , glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and decreased nerve conduction velocities and intraepidermal nerve fiber densities consistent with PN compared to mice on SD. Analysis of SC scRNA-seq data revealed unique RNA expression signatures for TIM and 4 subpopulations of SC denoted as myelinating SC (mySC) , non-myelinating SC (nmSC) , SC precursors (SCP) and regenerating SC. Inflammatory genes such as Ptprc and Il1b were significantly more expressed in both TIM and mySC in HFD mice compared to SD mice. CellChat analysis of cellular communication revealed more crosstalk between TIM and various types of SC in HFD animals and identified multiple metabolic and inflammatory pathways that were activated in HFD compared to SD mice.
 In conclusion, our study shows that there are many subtypes of SC that behave differently in MetS. Their communication with each other and with TIM strongly implicates these two cell types in the pathogenesis of metabolically acquired PN.

 S.Eid: None. M.H.Noureldein: None. F.Mendelson: None. E.L.Feldman: None.

 Funding was provided by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (1R24082841 to ELF) , Novo Nordisk Foundation (NNF14OC0011633 to ELF) , the Nathan and Rose Milstein Research Fund (to SAE) , NeuroNetwork for Emerging Therapies at the University of Michigan (to SAE, MHN, and ELF) , and the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute (to SAE, MHN, and ELF) .


Livelihood diversification is one of the essential climate adaptation strategies with positive outcomes on household's standard of living. Therefore, the identification of factors that are necessary for livelihood diversification are crucial. Within a gender perspective, this study analysed the determinants of livelihood diversification among farmers in the northern regions of Ghana. A multistage sampling procedure was used to select 619 farmers and the data was analysed using multivariate probit regression for the pooled and separately for the gender groups. The livelihood diversification strategies identified were crop diversification, crop-livestock diversification, crop-trade diversification, crop-agro-processing diversification and crop-professional/skilled employment. The multivariate probit results showed that socioeconomic, institutional factors, climate factors, and household assets have significant influence on each diversification strategy. The assumption of gender difference in the factors that influences livelihood diversification is appropriate since some factors which influence specific livelihood diversification for females do not have significant effect on males. Improving the financial assets, social and human assets of farmers is important to enhance the diversification of farmers. There is also the need to improve awareness of farmers on climate shocks in order to enhance diversification decisions.


Chile is one of the few Latin American countries that has participated in the inequality module of the International Social Survey Program (ISSP) in 1999 and in 2009, allowing time comparisons in attitudes towards inequality in one of the countries with the highest income inequality throughout the world. This paper focuses on the cross-sectional comparison of the just earning gap, a proportional term based on salaries considered just for high and low status occupations. Even though descriptive analysis shows that the salary gap regarded as just is higher in 2009 than in 1999, explanatory models give evidence of stability over time. Results are discussed in relation to phenomena of legitimacy of economic inequality and its political consequences.


Sexual abuse of children is a complex problem that has had, until recently, only limited recognition and discussion in the pediatric literature. The reasons for this are twofold. First, the magnitude of the problem is unrecognized. Sexual child abuse is grossly underreported, with a true incidence perhaps 10-fold higher than the reported incidence [1, 2]. Second, sexual interference with a child is an emotionally loaded situation; thus, health professionals may intentionally or unintentionally overlook it or fail to consider it as a diagnosis. Since 1977, when the C. Anderson Aldrich lecture focused attention on sexual child abuse, health professionals have developed various protocols for comprehensive management of the sexually abused child. In this paper we focus on one potential sequela of sexual abuse that must be considered in overall management, i.e., sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Using the literature available at this time, we will examine the epidemiology of acquired STDs in children, make recommendations for management, and suggest directions for future investigations.


BACKGROUND
Proteinuria, due to impairment of the charge- and/or size selectivity of the glomerular capillary wall (GCW) is the earliest clinical evidence of diabetic nephropathy (DN). To study the pathophysiological differences between patients with DN in type 1 diabetes mellitus (type 1 DN) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (type 2 DN), we compared the patterns of urinary proteins of different size and charge in the two entities of diabetic kidney disease.

METHODS
Urine concentrations of albumin, IgG2, IgG4 and IgM were assessed in 22 (15 males and 7 females) patients with type 1 DN, and in 20 (18 males and 2 females) patients with type 2 DN. Comparisons with one control group of 13 (12 males and one female) patients with nephrosclerosis due to systemic hypertension and a second control group of 16 (14 males and 2 females) healthy controls were made.

RESULTS
The urine excretion of IgG2 and IgM and the ratio of IgG2 to IgG4 (IgG2/IgG4), were significantly higher in type 2 DN compared to type 1 DN (P < 0.01). Patients with type 2 DN and patients with nephrosclerosis had significantly higher urine excretion of IgG and IgM compared to the age-matched healthy subjects (P < 0.001). The IgG2/IgG4 ratio was higher in type 2 DN compared to nephrosclerosis and healthy controls (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSION
The increased urine excretion of IgG and IgM that accompanies albuminuria in type 2 DN suggests that the dominant pathophysiological mechanism of proteinuria in type 2 DN might be an alteration of the size selective properties of the glomerular capillary wall, including the occurrence of non-discriminatory "shunt pathways." The charge selective properties of the glomerular capillary wall seem to be intact in type 2 DN, as indicated by the high IgG2/IgG4 ratio. The mechanisms of proteinuria in type 1 DN seem to be merely a consequence of an impaired charge selectivity of the glomerular capillary wall.


ABSTRACT Over the past years, the financial technology industry has gained considerable attention from policy makers and regulators, market participants, as well as the general public. Despite the interest of these stakeholders, academic research on the topic is scarce and we aim to extend the literature by examining the impact of financial leverage on the performance of FinTech firms. Using a sample of 146 U.S. FinTech firms operating in ten market segments over the period 2000–2016, we find that financial leverage has a negative impact on profitability and risk-adjusted performance. We also reveal that the magnitude of the influence of leverage depends on firm age. The results are robust to the use of a cross-country sample, alternative model specifications and estimation approaches.


Laparoscopic appendicectomy (LA), in contrast to open appendicectomy (OA), is not generally accepted as the treatment of choice for suspected appendicitis because it is technically difficult, not readily available everywhere, takes longer to perform, is expensive, and is associated with an increased incidence of intra-abdominal abscesses. However, LA has shown a superior outcome compared to an OA in terms of less postoperative pain, earlier hospital discharge, quicker return to normal activity and work and decreased incidence of wound infection. Furthermore, a diagnostic laparoscopy is valuable in case of an equivocal diagnosis of appendicitis especially in premenopausal women and obese individuals because it allows a thorough examination of the whole abdomen under direct vision. It, therefore, permits accurate diagnosis and hence reduces the negative appendectomy rate. Nevertheless, before endorsing routine and widespread use of LA, it is essential that this technique is critically evaluated in well designed, controlled, randomised, prospective trials clearly showing major benefits to the patient in terms of quicker hospital discharge, reduced postoperative pain, decreased wound infection and early return to full activities.


Aims: The purpose of this study was to clinically evaluate the efficacy of Alloderm® with the coronally positioned flap in the treatment of multiple gingival recessions and to assess the esthetic and hypersensitivity evaluation from patient's perspective using visual analog scale (VAS). Subjects and Methods: A total of 10 systemically healthy male and female patients aged 18–50 years with Miller's class I and class II gingival recessions, who had dentin hypersensitivity and esthetic concern were selected for the study. Root coverage (RC) was done using coronally advanced flap with Alloderm®. Statistical Analysis: Descriptive statistical analysis was performed in the present study. Significance was assessed at 5% level of significance. Student's t-test was conducted to find the pairwise significance of the study parameters. Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to find the significance of percentage of linear RC and percentage of volumetric RC (% of VRC) between 3 and 6 months. Results: A total 31 defects were treated with mean volumetric percentage RC (%RC) at 3 months of 35.21%. This remained the same at 6 months (P = 1.000). There was no statistically significant difference in the volumetric and Linear percentage of root coverage. Dentine hypersensitivity and esthetics were evaluated from patient's perspective using VAS ranging from a score of 0–10. Where 0 indicates very low and score of 10 indicates very high score. VAS indicated a decrease in the sensitivity after treatment. VAS mean score before treatment was 6.22 ± 0.83 with a mean score of 3.90, standard deviation (SD) of ± 1.37 after treatment and mean score of 5.10, SD of ± 0.57 for esthetic evaluation. Conclusions: The use of Alloderm® with coronally positioned flap provided a significant improvement in all the clinical parameters, but did not result in favorable outcome in terms of root coverage of facial gingival recessions of multiple adjacent teeth.


Streptococci, pneumococci and enterococci are Gram-positive bacteria, which cause significant morbidity and mortality in humans, and can also reside in their human host without causing disease. Streptococci are usually classified by their haemolytic reactions (beta-, alpha- and nonhemolytic) or Lancefield antigen groups A, B, C, F, G and L. Enterococci were actually once classified as Group D streptococci, but as a result of chemotaxic and molecular studies are now considered to be a separate genus. Although effective antibiotic treatments exist, threats to public health are posed by antibiotic-resistant strains of these bacteria. Organisms can be intrinsically resistant to antibiotics or can become resistant through acquisition of mutations or genes, which render a particular antimicrobial agent ineffective in killing or suppressing the organism. This article will describe diseases caused by streptococci, pneumococci and enterococci, and discuss the antimicrobial agents used to combat infections with these organisms.

Key Concepts:

Streptococci, pneumococci and enterococci are extremely common among humans and are capable of causing a wide range of disease.

Group A streptococci cause millions of skin and throat infections per year and are especially common in school-aged children.

Group A streptococci are usually easily treatable but may become invasive causing serious disease or death.

Group B streptococci are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in newborns, however rigorous screening and prophylactic treatment of pregnant women, and monitoring and treatment of infections in newborns have radically reduced Group B streptococcal disease.

Pneumococci are the leading cause of community-acquired pneumonia and otitis media.

Enterococci are a frequent cause of nosocomial infections and are usually multiply resistant to antimicrobial agents.

Antimicrobial resistance in streptococci, pneumococci and enterococci is a major healthcare problem worldwide, illustrating the need for development of effective agents against these organisms and prudent use of all antibiotics.

Keywords:

antibiotics;
streptococci;
pneumococci;
enterococci;
antibiotic resistance


BACKGROUND
Many recent studies suggest the immune system plays a significant role in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases, chronic inflammatory diseases, and cancer.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Literature published between 2001 and 2011 was reviewed for risk of cancer development in patients with autoimmune and chronic inflammatory diseases. Mode of risk assessment employed did not limit inclusion of studies. Autoimmune conditions developing after diagnosis of a pre-existing cancer were also considered.

RESULTS
We report a pervasive, largely positive association between 23 autoimmune and inflammatory diseases and subsequent cancer development. We discuss associations for celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and multiple sclerosis in detail. We also address the less frequently reported development of some autoimmune conditions within the course of some malignancies, such as vitiligo developing in the course of melanoma.

CONCLUSION
Evidence demonstrates that chronic inflammation and autoimmunity are associated with the development of malignancy. Additionally, patients with a primary malignancy may develop autoimmune like disease. These relationships imply a need for surveillance of patients on immunomodulatory therapies for potential secondary disease processes.


Intronic G4C2 hexanucleotide repeat expansions (HRE) of C9orf72 are the most common cause of familial variants of frontotemporal dementia/amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (FTD/ALS). G4C2 HREs in C9orf72 undergo non-canonical repeat-associated translation, producing dipeptide repeat (DPR) proteins, with various deleterious impacts on cellular homeostasis. While five different DPRs are produced, poly(glycine-arginine) (GR) is amongst the most toxic and is the only DPR to accumulate in the associated clinically relevant anatomical locations of the brain. Previous work has demonstrated the profound effects of a poly(GR) model of C9orf72 FTD/ALS, including motor impairment, memory deficits, neurodegeneration, and neuroinflammation. Neuroinflammation is hypothesized to be a driving factor in the disease course; microglia activation is present prior to symptom onset and persists throughout the disease. Here, using an established mouse model of C9orf72 FTD/ALS we investigate the contributions of the nod-like receptor pyrin-containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome in the pathogenesis of FTD/ALS. We find that inflammasome-mediated neuroinflammation is increased with microglial activation, cleavage of caspase-1, production of IL-1β and upregulation of Cxcl10 in the brain of C9orf72 FTD/ALS mice. Excitingly, we find that genetic ablation of Nlrp3 significantly improved survival, protected behavioral deficits and prevented neurodegeneration suggesting a novel mechanism involving HRE-mediated induction of innate immunity. The findings provide experimental evidence of the integral role of HRE in inflammasome-mediated innate immunity in the C9orf72 variant of FTD/ALS pathogenesis and suggest the NLRP3 inflammasome as a therapeutic target.


Alternative molecularly imprinted polymeric membranes were prepared from a polystyrene resin bearing tetrapeptides consisting of D-amino acids or L-amino acids. The membrane prepared from a DLDE derivative (H-Asp(OcHex)-Leu-Asp(OcHex)-Glu(OBzl)CH2) consisting of D-amino acids and imprinted by Boc-D-Trp recognizes the D-isomer in preference to the corresponding L-isomer and vice versa. The amino acid preferentially adsorbed by the membrane was selectively permeated by applying electrodialysis.


The work reported in this paper extends previous work on the feasibility to characterise air leakage and mechanical ventilation avoiding intrusiveness of traditional measurement techniques. The feasibility to obtain the air renovation rate itself, as well as the possibilities to express it as function of other variables (such as wind speed, atmospheric pressure, etc.), are studied. Tracer gas measurements based on N2O have been used as reference. Experimental relations between air renovations and wind speed, indoor-outdoor air temperature difference, and atmospheric pressure have been analysed. The reliability of an alternative method based on the evolution of metabolic CO2 using wall mounted sensors of CO2 concentration is evaluated. Two full size buildings are considered as case studies. First a very simple single zone building, without mechanical ventilation, is considered. Afterwards, rooms in an office building have been studied with and without mechanical ventilation. One month test campaigns have been used for the reference test campaigns based on tracer gas measurements using N2O, in both buildings. Longer periods are available for the analysis based on CO2 concentration. The following conclusions are extracted from the tests when mechanical ventilation is not active: Significant correlation between air renovation rate and wind speed has been observed in both buildings. The agreement between the values obtained using N2O and the evolution of metabolic CO2 increases when the starting value of CO2 concentration increases. The following conclusions are extracted from the tests when mechanical ventilation is active: Large variations have been observed among the different values obtained along the test campaign using N2O tracer gas. However these values don't show any correlation with any of the considered boundary conditions. Consequently the observed spread has been used to estimate an uncertainty of the air renovations rate. The measurements based on CO2 concentrations don't show good agreement to the values obtained using N2O tracer gas. This issue will be further investigated, but in principle it is attributed to the low level of CO2 measured along the analysed test campaign when the mechanical ventilation is active. This explanation is in agreement with previous works carried out regarding the air renovation in the same building.


Restrictions that general equilibrium theory place upon average returns are found to be strongly violated by the U.S. data in the 1889?1978 period. This result is robust to model specification and measurement problems. We conclude that equilibrium models which are not Arrow-Debreu economies are needed to rationalize the large average equity premium that prevailed during the last 90 years.


To the Editor.— In Chaplin's recent discussion of Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (Archives, Grand Rounds 137:346-351, 1977) he stated that the onset of methyldopa (Aldomet)-associated hemolytic anemia "... is gradual. Hemoglobinuria is absent and hemolysis remits promptly on discontinuance of the drug." While this is usually true, we believe that this case demonstrates that, like idiopathic autoimmune hemolytic anemia, 1,2 trauma or stress may exacerbate methyldopa-associated hemolytic anemia. Even after initial improvement, severe hemolytic crisis with hemoglobinuria may occur. Report of a Case.— A 60-year-old man with hypertension who had been receiving 3 gm of methyldopa per day for three years was admitted with fatigue, shortness of breath, and jaundice. There was no adenopathy or hepatosplenomegaly. Hematocrit reading was 21% with polychromatophilia, spherocytosis, and nucleated RBCs on smear. Coomb's test was positive and a diagnosis of methyldopa-associated hemolytic anemia was made. Two units of packed RBCs were given along with methylprednisolone. There


Learning and memory, defined as the acquisition and retention of neuronal representations of new information, are ubiquitous among insects. Recent research indicates that a variety of insects rely extensively on learning for all major life activities including feeding, predator avoidance, aggression, social interactions, and sexual behavior. There is good evidence that individuals within an insect species exhibit genetically based variation in learning abilities and indirect evidence linking insect learning to fitness. Although insects rely on innate behavior to successfully manage many types of variation and unpredictability, learning may be superior to innate behavior when dealing with features unique to time, place, or individuals. Among insects, social learning , which can promote the rapid spread of novel behaviors, is currently known only from a few well-studied examples in social Hymenoptera. The prevalence and importance of social learning in insects are still unknown. Similarly, we know little about ecological factors that may have promoted enhanced learning abilities in insects, and whether learning has significantly contributed to speciation in insects.


The constitution of a country is the embodiment of the nation's philosophy and history, amalgamating the agreed basic principles governing relationships between individuals, the society and the government. Since independence, the Federal Constitution of Malaysia has catered to the needs of the diverse Malaysian population. Over the course of time and with the rapid changes that have taken place in the various spheres of life, several issues have arisen the resolution of which requires the constitutional law of the country to grow and develop in tandem.
This book addresses a wide range of topical and important issues which concern the Malaysian public today. Through 28 chapters arranged in three parts, this book covers topics pertaining to the principal organs of government, the basic concepts and features of the Constitution, and human rights. It contains an interesting compilation of materials authored by a panel of contributors with wide and varied experience of constitutional law, comprising senior and young scholars from various tertiary institutions within the country as well as a few scholars from other jurisdictions.
The discussion contained in the book is enlightening, analytical as well as thought-provoking. Besides stating the applicable principles of constitutional law clearly, the book addresses challenging issues faced by the Malaysian society and provides legal solutions as well as suggestions for the future development of constitutional law in Malaysia.
Covering issues such as freedom of speech and expression, the accountability and integrity of the judiciary, the price of access to justice, the electoral process, elected members and the right to change party, the rights of the orang asli, freedom of communication and the Internet, the legal protection of the right to privacy as well as the rights of women in Malaysia, this book presents constitutional in Malaysia from a different and fresh perspective.


BACKGROUND
Percutaneous balloon pericardiotomy is a percutaneous procedure that creates a window in the parietal pericardium by balloon dilation. The use of percutaneous balloon pericardiotomy has not been reported well in children.

OBJECTIVES
The objective of this study was to describe the single centre experience of percutaneous balloon pericardiotomy in children.

METHODS
This was a retrospective study to describe all the children aged <20 years undergoing percutaneous balloon pericardiotomy during an 18-year period (2001-2019). Patient characteristics, technical and ultimate procedural success, and repeat interventions were collected.

RESULTS
A total of 13 percutaneous balloon pericardiotomy's were performed in 11 children at the median age of 12 years (range 1.8-19). The etiologies of pericardial effusion were post-pericardiotomy syndrome (n = 4), restrictive cardiomyopathy (n = 1), autoimmune diseases (n = 3), malignancy (n = 2), and idiopathic (n = 1). Two patients received two percutaneous balloon pericardiotomy. The technical success of percutaneous balloon pericardiotomy was 100% with no acute adverse events (balloon rupture or local bleeding). Five (45%) required re-intervention and ultimately three required a surgical pericardial window 6 to 35 days after the percutaneous balloon pericardiotomy. As a result, ultimate procedural success rate was 73% (8/11).

CONCLUSION
Percutaneous balloon pericardiotomy was performed safely with high technical success in children. Percutaneous balloon pericardiotomy may be considered for recurrent and persistent pericardial effusion, before considering a surgical pericardial window.


Epstein Barr virus (EBV) and Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) are found together in approximately 80% of primary effusion lymphomas (PEL), but their contribution to these cancers is unclear. We found that dominant-negative derivatives of EBNA1 inhibited EBV-positive PEL cells from forming colonies. Those rare PEL cells that proliferated after expression of the dominant-negative derivatives usually expressed these derivatives at low or undetectable levels and continued to maintain their EBV genomes. Those proliferating cells expressing higher levels of the derivatives expressed mutant derivatives that could not bind DNA. These findings indicate that EBV is required to sustain proliferation, as measured by colony formation of dually infected PEL cells. The dominant-negative derivatives of EBNA1 had no effect on the colony-forming ability of five EBV-negative, KSHV-negative hematopoietic cell lines. Surprisingly, they did inhibit the colony-forming ability of EBV-negative, KSHV-positive PEL cells. The small fraction of cells that continued to proliferate expressed only mutants of the EBNA1 derivatives that could no longer bind DNA. These findings indicate that the site-specific DNA-binding activity of EBNA1 or its derivatives when expressed efficiently in EBV-negative, KSHV-positive PEL cells inhibits their colony formation possibly through their binding to the KSHV genome.


We present a new method for type inference. Traditional approaches rely on an inductively defined domain of types. Instead, we specify the properties of the type system as a set of axioms, and give a polynomial-time algorithm for checking whether there is any domain of types for which the program types. We show the correctness of the algorithm and also prove that safety properties are satisfied; any program accepted by the type system will not cause type errors at run-time. The advantages of our approach is that is simpler and more general. The algorithm for checking that a program types is a simple mechanism for propagating type information which should be easy to extend to support other programming language features. The type checking algorithm is more general than other approaches as the algorithm will accept any program that types under any type system that satisfies the axioms. We also show how to make type information available to compilers and other development tools through an algorithm to determine entailment. The language we consider is lambda calculus extended with a constructors and a form of type construct we call open case expressions. Open case expressions allow a program to manipulate abstract data types where the sets of constructors overlap.


This paper describes an 8-probe system for scanning thermal microscopy. The design of the probe array, along with the choice of polyimide as the structural material provides very large compliance that virtually eliminates the need for z-axis mechanical feedback both at the chip and probe level in contact mode scans. The high compliance accommodates significant variations in the sample surface, and also prevents damage to soft samples. In addition, since integrated actuators and accompanying circuitry are no longer required, the prospect of scaling to large numbers of probes for high speed, high resolution thermal mapping of large areas with simple detection circuitry is enhanced. Based on single probes fabricated in the same process, the estimated spatial resolution, thermal conductance resolution, and temperature resolution are 50 nm, 11 pW/K, and 1.2 mK respectively. Scalability and performance of the 8-probe prototype are evaluated, addressing issues of speed vs. resolution, thermal and mechanical decoupling. Results demonstrate that contact mode scans can provide better than 2 /spl mu/m spatial resolution at speeds greater than 200 /spl mu/m/sec with each probe.


There is only one thing worse than being talked about and that is not being talked about. The what, where and how of our work has, at the time of writing, extensive media coverage; the government has released proposals to streamline emergency care with closure of accident and emergency departments [sic], development of super (regional) accident and emergency departments [sic] and urgent care centres, extended paramedic responsibilities and so forth. It seems, at face value, that there are three reasons for these proposals, namely money, employment law and clinical outcomes. It is difficult to determine if they are mutually exclusive.

In September 2006, the then new NHS chief executive, David Nicholson, said that "up to 60 hospital closures might affect accident and emergency, paediatric and maternity departments especially in the smaller district hospitals. Some of the changes would be aimed at reducing the NHS deficit of £512 million last year". He continued "I understand the politics of it, but this is about the way we deliver care which is predominantly closer to home." What does that mean? In relation to the NHS deficit he mentions, is it a non sequitur ?

In December, the Conservative Party reported that 29 accident and emergency units [sic] face closure; the scale of the potential closures underlines a financial crisis which saw front line trusts run up a £1.3 billion deficit last year. Three quarters of the accident and emergency units under threat were in trusts that were deeply in the red. The 29 departments at most risk are in trusts with a combined deficit of £287.2 million last year. Only seven of the trusts considering closing …


Map turtles of the genus Graptemys are native to North America, where a high degree of drainage endemism is believed to have shaped current diversity. With 14 species and one additional subspecies, Graptemys represents the most diverse genus in the family Emydidae. While some Graptemys species are characterized by pronounced morphological differences, previous phylogenetic analyses have failed yet to confirm significant levels of genetic divergence for many taxa. As a consequence, it has been debated whether Graptemys is taxonomically inflated or whether the low genetic divergence observed reflects recent radiations or ancient hybridization. In this study, we analysed three mtDNA blocks (3228 bp) as well as 12 nuclear loci (7844 bp) of 89 specimens covering all species and subspecies of Graptemys. Our analyses of the concatenated mtDNA sequences reveal that the widespread G. geographica constitutes the sister taxon of all other Graptemys species. These correspond to two clades, one comprised of all broad‐headed Graptemys species and another clade containing the narrow‐headed species. Most species of the broad‐headed clade are reciprocally monophyletic, except for G. gibbonsi and G. pearlensis, which are not differentiated. By contrast, in the narrow‐headed clade, many currently recognized species are not monophyletic and divergence is significantly less pronounced. Haplotype networks of phased nuclear loci show low genetic divergence among taxa and many shared haplotypes. Principal component analyses using coded phased nuclear DNA sequences revealed eight distinct clusters within Graptemys that partially conflict with the terminal mtDNA clades. This might be explained by male‐mediated gene flow across drainage basins and female philopatry within drainage basins. Our results support that Graptemys is taxonomically oversplit and needs to be revised.


We release a realistic, diverse, and challenging dataset for object detection on images. The data was recorded at a beer tent in Germany and consists of 15 different categories of food and drink items. We created more than 2,500 object annotations by hand for 1,110 images captured by a video camera above the checkout. We further make available the remaining 600GB of (unlabeled) data containing days of footage. Additionally, we provide our trained models as a benchmark. Possible applications include automated checkout systems which could significantly speed up the process.


The covid-19 pandemic instigated a rapid digital shift in UK higher education libraries, changing the way teaching was delivered. The digital shift of the pandemic meant library teaching was reimagined for online delivery, however pedagogical principles were challenged by new ways of working. How can a pedagogical approach for art and design librarianship adapt to online delivery when grounded in embodied, material and sensory experiences? Taking a reflective approach which brings together personal experience with discussion of selected literature, this article explores how pedagogical approaches to art and design librarianship have been continually reshaped by the pandemic.


In large-scale research, data are usually collected on many sites, have a huge volume, and new data are constantly generated. Since it is often impossible to collect all the relevant data on a single computer, much attention is paid to the algorithms that provide sequential or parallel accumulation of information and do not need to store all the original data. As an example of information accumulation, the Bayesian updating procedure for linear experiments is analyzed. The corresponding information spaces are defined and the relations between them are studied. It is shown that processing can be unified and simplified by introducing a special canonical form of information representation and transforming all the data and the original prior information into this form. Thanks to the rich algebraic properties of the canonical information space, the sequential Bayesian procedure allows various parallelization options that are ideally suited for distributed data processing platforms, such as Hadoop MapReduce. This opens up the possibility of a flexible and efficient scaling of information accumulation in distributed data processing systems.


The bullying extent demography is analyzed and discussed in this paper, having in mind both local and worldwide contexts. Legal education is hypothetically seen as an important activity for spreading widely the value of human rights and peace culture, instead of rooted bullying. The aim of the research presented in the article— is to clarify the conceptions of teachers and 8-10 grade pupils about the legal education role in bullying prevention. The question of what are the most important topics for school students in legal education is answered by teachers and students themselves. Conceptions summarized and differences among students and teachers answers are laid down. In the theoretical part, bullying prevention possibilities are contextualized within Lithuanian secondary school cases. Empirical data has revealed that legal education is one of the prevention instruments to avoid or eliminate taunting expressions. Legal education is very important to a student's life since, according to survey participants, such education helps nourish positive personal features such as respect for rights, citizenship, legal consciousness, tolerance etc. These features prevent negative manifestations of mocking, bullying and taunting that are still predominant in modern schools. Students find that it is very important in legal education to analyze and discuss practical problematic situations, learn by examples and develop peaceful thinking and action skills while teachers emphasize theoretical studies of law.


Changes in the concentration of a renin-like enzyme were studied in androgenized rats in which a single luteal phase was induced by the administration of chorionic gonadotrophin. A significant increase in the luteal renin-like enzyme (RLE) concentration was found between the youngest corpora lutea (48 h old) and the oldest one studied (6 days old). The luteal RLE content varied independently of changes in plasma renin concentration. These results suggest that this enzyme was produced locally. The lack of correlation between the luteal RLE and plasma prolactin supports our previous observation that the changes in luteal renin concentration appear not to be prolactin-dependent. Furthermore, the suckling-associated hormones appear not to be related with the regulation of luteal RLE concentration, since the values were not modified in androgenized maternal rats which were suckling when compared with the controls. Changes in luteal renin concentration were also studied during pregnancy. A significant increase was found a few hours after a fertile mating which reached a peak on day 1 of pregnancy, followed by a rapid decrease to low levels throughout the remainder of the pregnancy. Because the renin-angiotensin facilitates angiogenesis, luteal renin may act as an angiogenic factor, stimulating blood vessel growth in the corpora lutea. An alternative hypothesis is that the increase in RLE could be a trigger for calcium flux redistribution and steroid biosynthesis.


Recent research advances indicate that specialized neural pathways are involved in the encoding of pain sensations and that these pathways are sensitive to changes in stimulus features, such as intensity, quality, duration, and location. It has also been established that there are three major families of opioid peptides in the brain: the enkephalins, the dynorphins, and the endorphins. In addition to these opioid peptides, other neurochemicals such as serotonin and norepinephrine play a role in the modulation of signals related to tissue damage. These advances in research are being used to develop improved methods for the control of acute and chronic pain. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs suppress noxious signals by reducing the sensitization of peripheral nociceptors. Opioid drugs are administered into the membranes surrounding the spinal cord to provide long-lasting pain relief. Peripherally acting opioid drugs may represent a new functional class of analgesics devoid of the undesirable side effects of centrally acting opioids. Tricyclic antidepressant drugs are used in the treatment of neuropathic pain, based on their effects on noradrenergic and serotoninergic pathways in the central nervous system.


The article covers the peculiarity of activities and the emergence of the "Prosvita" fellowship centres on the territory of the modern Lypovodolyna district of the Sumy region during the period of the Ukrainian revolution (1917-1921) and the first years of the
Soviet state. Such forms of activities of the fellowship as organizing the primary education, conducting theatre performances, maintaining educational libraries, forming the historical consciousness and creating the image of the poet Taras Shevchenko as a "father" of the Ukrainian nation are examined within the article. The national character of the fellowship is emphasized in the current publication.
The fact that the "Prosvita" fellowship centres in the North of Gadiach county were established right after the Ukrainian Central Rada emergence in Kyiv is stated. During the period of UNR the "Prosvita" fellowship centres of the Lypovodolyna district eagerly supported the revolutionary parliament of Ukraine and its policy. Actually they were the representative centres of the Ukrainian Central Rada in the region.
Concerning the relationship of the "Prosvita" fellowship with the Bolshevik authorities
the article defines that the latest, though considering the fellowship centres anti-revolutionary, did not counteract their activities in the first half of 1919.
The occupation of the region by the Russian Denikin Voluntary army caused the escalation of the repressions against the members of the fellowship. Since the middle 1920 the Bolshevik authorities began the practice of state controlling. Due to the activity of the Bolshevik political education 22 organizations had been established on the territory of the modern Lypovodolyna district by the beginning of 1922.
The article comes to the conclusion that during its short six year history (1917-1922)
the "Prosvita" fellowship of the Lypovodolyna district provided the cultural ascension which accompanied national-liberation struggles of the Ukrainian people. Moreover, the "Prosvita" movement turned into the main organizational form of engaging the vast strata of the society into the active participation in that process.
Key words: "Prosvita", Lypovodolyna district, Ukrainian revolution, theatre, historical
consciousness, education, libraries, Taras Shevchenko.


Excessive consumption of non - renewable resources in the recent times has negative effects on the environment, one of the important of which include global warming. This suggests an urgent need for adaption to the sustainable use of the resources, for which the thermal technologies show a lot of scope. Absorption heat pump is a type of heat pump which uses a thermal compressor instead of a mechanical compressor as in the case for the conventional heat pumps. Thus, such heat pumps are indeed an alternative energy conversion technology. This thesis focuses on the use of an inventive fluid as an absorbent in the absorption thermodynamic cycles: ionic liquids. In this thesis, the process of absorption of NH3 into an NH3 + ionic liquid solution is studied. [emim][SCN] was selected as the ionic liquid to be used as an absorbent based on its efficiency, availability and the beneficial economic factors. In the first part of this thesis, an existing numerical vapor - liquid equilibrium model for the working pair of NH3 - [emim][SCN] developed by Wang (2019) was validated. This is done by comparing the results of the model with the experimental data obtained by Yokozeki and Shiflett (2007) for the same working pair. The second part of this thesis includes experimental and numerical studies of the absorption process in question. For the experimental study, the absorption setup located in Process and Energy laboratory at TU Delft was used. This setup does not accommodate the complete absorption heat pump thermodynamic cycle, but just the absorption process. Firstly, H2O - H2O convective heat transfer experiments were performed inside the setup, for both the lower range Reynolds numbers (40-140), and for the higher range Reynolds numbers (150-360). It was ascertained that the derived correlations governing the heat transfer for both of these ranges, along with the average correlation covering all the ranges of the Reynolds number, agree with the previous literature, to ascertain that the setup worked correctly. Consecutively, the absorption experiments were performed with NH3 - [emim][SCN] working pair. The amount of vapor flow recorded during these experiments was quite low (maximum upto 0.1\%), suggesting that most of the heat was transferred to the cooling water by means of the sensible heat transfer. A numerical model for the absorption + sensible heat transfer process developed by Wang (2019) was used as a reference to design a similar numerical model in the present work. The data obtained from the experiments was used as an input to the numerical model. It was observed that the overall heat transfer coefficient for the absorption process is indeed more than that for the convective heat transfer process. The numerical results agree with the experimental results including a moderate error margin. Therefore, the numerical model was considered validated. The conceptual reasoning behind the error margin between the numerical and the experimental results are also presented. Little can be said about the validity of the empirical correlations governing the absorption process estimated by Wang (2019), since absorption only took place during a small part of the length of the absorber (maximum 10.5\%). However, it is expected that these correlations work satisfactorily for those cases where the solution is subcooled before entering the absorber. It is concluded based on the numerical results that the correlation governing the convective heat transfer derived from the water - water experiments is considered acceptable for the present case. Finally in the last part of this thesis, an attempt was made to predict the accurate value for the viscosity of NH3 + [emim][SCN] solution by an experimental study. A separate set of convective heat transfer experiments was performed with NH3 + [emim][SCN] solution and the cooling water. The experimental data obtained was analyzed using the correlations obtained from the H2O - H2O convective heat transfer experiments. The results of this analysis were compared with the solution viscosity values predicted by Wang (2019) with a logarithmic correlation, wherein the solution viscosity is a logarithmic function of the viscosities of the individual fluids present in the solution. The reasonable agreement (with on an average 32.05 \% accuracy, as was estimated by Wang (2019)) between the viscosity values obtained by the analysis and the values predicted by Wang (2019) confirmed the validity of this logarithmic function. Recommendations are presented in the last part of this thesis for future studies.


Reservoir scheduling based on evolutionary algorithms needs to handle potentially stringent physical and operational constraints. Both generic and reservoir scheduling problem-specific constraint-handling techniques (CHTs) have their own merits and limitations. No CHT currently available can yield better solutions than the others consistently. To ensure good reservoir operation schedules, we develop an ensemble of CHTs (ECHT) that can utilize the advantages of different individual CHTs. In the ensemble, each CHT has its own population. In every generation, the different offspring populations are mixed together and evaluated. Each CHT then assigns fitness to all individuals and selects some of them to form its new parent population. The ECHT has been tested against long-term hydropower scheduling of two large-scale reservoir systems in China. Results show that the ECHT outperforms the state-of-the-art CHTs, and its probability of returning feasible solutions is much higher. The reservoir levels optimized with the ECHT are well suited for hydropower generation, which also reduce the chance of reservoir spilling.


Conditions under which spectrum is allocated are significant in determining the market structure in the telecom sector which in turn affects the prices and the quality of mobile services. In a more concentrated market, the quantity of spectrum is less diluted, and operators can offer higher quality to their customers; In a more competitive market, consumers can benefit from a lower price but at the expense of less quality for each operator. To address this trade-off, we first fit a demand model of mobile telecommunications services on a unique panel database of 23 European MNOs; we then conduct counterfactual simulations to measure the effect on consumer surplus of different schemes of spectrum allocation in Germany. Reallocating additional spectrum to three instead of four operators is consumer welfare improving as increasing prices is compensated by larger improvement in quality


Rationale: Chitinase 3-like 1 (Chi3L1) protein is up-regulated in various diseases including solid cancers. According to Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS)/Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM)/Differentially Expressed Gene (DEG) analyses, Chi3L1 is associated with 38 cancers, and more highly associated with cancer compared to other oncogenes such as EGFR, TNFα, etc. However, the mechanisms and pathways by which Chi3L1 is associated with cancer are not clear. In current study, we investigated the role of Chi3L1 in lung metastasis. Methods: We performed the differentially expressed gene analysis to explore the genes which are associated with Chi3L1 using the web-based platform from Biomart. We investigated the metastases in lung tissues of C57BL/6 mice injected with B16F10 melanoma following treatment with Ad-shChi3L1. We also investigated the expression of USF1 and Chi3L1 in Chi3L1 KD mice lung tissues by Western blotting and IHC. We also analyzed lung cancer cells metastases induced by Chi3L1 using migration and cell proliferation assay in human lung cancer cell lines. The involvement of miR-125a-3p in Chi3L1 regulation was determined by miRNA qPCR and luciferase reporter assay. Results: We showed that melanoma metastasis in lung tissues was significantly reduced in Chi3L1 knock-down mice, accompanied by down-regulation of MMP-9, MMP-13, VEGF, and PCNA in Chi3L1 knock-down mice lung tissue, as well as in human lung cancer cell lines. We also found that USF1 was conversely expressed against Chi3L1. USF1 was increased by knock-down of Chi3L1 in mice lung tissues, as well as in human lung cancer cell lines. In addition, knock-down of USF1 increased Chi3L1 levels in addition to augmenting metastasis cell migration and proliferation in mice model, as well as in human cancer cell lines. Moreover, in human lung tumor tissues, the expression of Chi3L1 was increased but USF1 was decreased in a stage-dependent manner. Finally, Chi3L1 expression was strongly regulated by the indirect translational suppressing activity of USF1 through induction of miR-125a-3p, a target of Chi3L1. Conclusion: Metastases in mice lung tissues and human lung cancer cell lines were decreased by KD of Chi3L1. USF1 bound to the Chi3L1 promoter, however, Chi3L1 expression was decreased by USF1, despite USF1 enhancing the transcriptional activity of Chi3L1. We found that USF1 induced miR-125a-3p levels which suppressed Chi3L1 expression. Ultimately, our results suggest that lung metastasis is suppressed by knock-down of Chi3L1 through miR-125a-3p-mediated up-regulation of USF1.


Elastic deformations beyond the range of the classical infinitesimal theory of elasticity are governed by highly non-linear partial differential equations. Usually conventional methods of solution are inapplicable and accordingly only a few exact solutions are known. In this thesis, for some special classes of deformations and for some special materials, we obtain new exact solutions which we apply to certain stress boundary value problems. For perfectly elastic rubber-like materials undergoing large elastic deformations, the non-symmetrical inflation and eversion of circular cylindrical rubber tubes is examined for a family of strain-energy functions, which includes the neo-Hookean and Varga materials as special cases. For both inflation and eversion, new exact solutions are discovered. The exact solutions for inflation are applied to the problem of the lateral compression of a hollow rubber tube. For this problem approximate loaddeflection relations are obtained and from the limited experimental evidence that is available, they appear to provide reasonable agreement of actual load-deflection curves. The exact solutions corresponding to eversion are examined in the context of the problem of plane strain bending of a sector of a circular cylindrical tube. Two distinct finite elastic exact plane eversion deformations for the Mooney and Varga materials are applied to the problem. By assigning certain resultant forces and moments it is shown that various constants arising in the solution may be determined and a number of numerical examples are given. Each of the above deformations are rendered as approximate solutions of stress boundary value problems. These solutions are approximate in the sense that the pointwise vanishing of the stress vector on a free surface is assumed to be replaceable by the vanishing force and moment resultants. Finally, for a certain family of non-symmetrical plane strain deformations for hyperelastic materials, we determine every strain-energy function which gives rise to a non-trivial deformation of this type. Previously obtained solutions, such as for the Mooney material and new solutions as obtained in this thesis for special strainenergy functions, are all shown to be deduced from a general formulation. In fact we demonstrate that for physically meaningful response functions, no further exact solutions of this type exist other than the new exact solutions determined in this thesis.


Data clustering algorithms represent mechanisms for partitioning huge arrays of multidimensional data into groups with small in-group and large out-group distances. Most of the existing algorithms fail when a lower bound for the distance among cluster centroids is specified, while this type of constraint can be of help in obtaining a better clustering. Traditional approaches require that the desired number of clusters are specified a priori, which requires either a subjective decision or global meta-information knowledge that is not easily obtainable. In this paper, an extension of the standard data clustering problem is addressed, including additional constraints on the cluster centroid distances. Based on the well-known Hegelsmann-Krause opinion dynamics model, an algorithm that is capable to find admissible solutions is given. A key feature of the algorithm is the ability to partition the original set of data into a suitable number of clusters, without the necessity to specify such a number in advance. In the proposed approach, instead, the maximum distance among any pair of cluster centroids is specified.


The Rational Distributed Lag Structural Form (RSF) representation of an econometric model is introduced and its relationship to several standard forms of representation is discussed. The FIML estimation problem for the RSF is then considered and formulated as a nonlinear, unconstrained optimization problem. A solution to the relation optimization problem is then obtained by an application of the Davidon-Fletcher-Powell variable metric method using simple first difference approximations for the necessary gradients. This approach requires a minimum of effort on the part of the model builder since there is no longer any need to analytically determine, and then program, the gradient expressions. The feasibility of the method is demonstrated with several examples.


This article contributes to the urban political ecology of water through applied anthropological research methods and praxis. Drawing on two case studies in urban Sonora, Mexico, we contribute to critical studies of infrastructure by focusing on large infrastructural systems and decentralized alternatives to water and sanitation provisioning. We reflect on engaging with residents living on the marginal hillsides of two rapidly urbanizing desert cities using ethnographic methods. In the capital city of Hermosillo, Radonic emphasizes how collaborative reflection with barrio residents led her to reframe her analytical approach to water governance by recognizing informal water infrastructure as a statement of human resilience in the face of social inequality, resource scarcity, and material disrepair. In the border city of Nogales, Kelly-Richards reflects on the outcomes of conducting community-based participatory research with technical students and residents of an informally settled colonia around the construction of a composting toilet, while also investigating municipal government service provision efforts. Our article invites readers to view these infrastructure alternatives as ways to explore how applied anthropology can advance the emancipatory potential of urban political ecology through a collaborative investigation of uneven urbanization and basic service provisioning. We emphasize everyday situated relationships with infrastructure in informally organized neighborhoods. Using praxis to collectively investigate the complex and entangled relations between large piped water and sanitation projects and locally developed alternatives in under serviced areas, the two case studies reveal lessons learned and illuminate grounded research openings for social justice and environmental sustainability.