Abstract: What characteristics of a product’s local market make its withdrawal more likely? This study investigates
the importance of intrafirm “cannibalization” of a product’s demand by products manufactured by the same firm
versus interfirm competition from others’ products. While both forces impact product withdrawal, cannibalization
has a more robust and significant effect. Hedonic price regressions also reveal higher discounting of older models’
quality-adjusted prices, strengthening the argument for caution when treating list prices as proxies for transaction prices.


Exchange traded funds continue to increase in number and popularity, growing to one of the most commonly traded securities on the stock exchange as both institutional and the average retail investor gain greater access to broad or specialized market exposure. Yet many individuals are unfamiliar with ETFs’ inner workings. In this ongoing series, we hope to address your questions and help shed light on the investment vehicle. [What is an ETF? — Part 29: Bank Loans]Master limited partnership, or MLP, ETFs provide investors with an added layer of diversification and additional income generation.
While MLPs are associated with the energy sector, they have a low correlation to energy prices, along with the broader equities markets, as the assets act like a toll-road in the nation’s energy infrastructure. However, MLP ETFs have certain tax pitfalls investors need to be sure to avoid. [Morningstar Warning on MLP ETF Taxes]
MLPs build, acquire and operate transportation assets. While investors link MLPs with energy, specifically natural gas and crude oil, they are more involved with transporting the commodities. Consequently, the performance of MLPs is less dependent on commodity prices than on how much of the commodity is pushed through. [MLP ETFs in Focus After Sell-Off on Yield and Dividend Taxes]
For instance, the MLPs would exact the same toll on oil pumped through their pipelines if crude oil cost $50 dollars a barrel or $100 dollars a barrel.
With MLP funds, investors would not have to fill out the individual K-1 forms come tax season and would, instead, receive a simple 1099 form. However, MLP ETFs will come with corporate taxes for capital gains inside the ETF. According to U.S. federal law, MLP ETFs, which are registered as a regulated investment company, cannot have over 25% of its portfolio in MLPs. As such, MLP ETFs fall under a C-corporation designation and will incur capital gains taxes.
As a partnership, MLPs act as a pass-through entity where the company’s income or losses pass through to individual owners of the partnership. In contrast, in the ETF corporation structure, investors will experience a double taxation where the corporation pay corporate income tax and then again when dividends are paid out.
On the other hand, MLP exchange traded notes do not come with capital gains taxes, and they also do not require K-1s. However, ETNs are debt securities subject to the creditworthiness of the issuer. Additionally, after-tax returns may be lower on ETNs than for ETFs since ETNs payments are treated like fixed-income assets. [Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs)]
For qualified accounts, like 401(k)s and IRAs, investors should use MLP ETFs, whereas individuals may incur taxes on unrelated business taxable income, or UBTI, which is what MLP income is considered, in these accounts down the road. Nevertheless, we are not accountants, and potential investors should still consult their tax experts.
MLP ETFs include:
ALPS Alerian MLP ETF (AMLP) First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund (EMLP) Global X MLP ETF (MLPA) Yorkville High Income MLP ETF (YMLP) MLP ETNs include:
JP Morgan Alerian MLP Index ETN (AMJ) Credit Suisse Master Limited Partnerships ETN (MLPN) Morgan Stanley Cushing MLP High Income Index ETN (MLPY) UBS ETRACS Alerian MLP Infrastructure ETN (MLPI) UBS ETRACS 2xMonthly Leveraged Long Alerian MLP Infrastructure ETN (MLPL) UBS ETRACS Alerian Natural Gas MLP ETN (MLPG) UBS E-TRACS Alerian MLP Index ETN (AMU) UBS ETRACS Wells Fargo MLP Index ETN (MLPW) UBS ETRACS 1xMonthly Short Alerian MLP Infrastructure TR* ETN (MLPS) For past stories in this series, visit our “What is an ETF?” category. Max Chen contributed to this article .The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.


More than one-quarter of all known pharmaceuticals contain the chemical group known as amides: carboxylic acid derivatives derived from ammonia or amines. Most methods for synthesizing amides, however, are inefficient and use hazardous reagents. New work from Anqi Chen and co-workers at the A*STAR Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences in Singapore promises to make amide chemistry more economical and sustainable than before. The team has uncovered a way to convert aldehydes and amine salts into amides using iron(II) sulfate—a harmless, inexpensive substance as the catalyst to perform this transformation efficiently and with little waste.
Most alternative methods to produce amide molecules use expensive noble metal catalysts such as palladium and ruthenium, which are incompatible with industrial demands for cost-efficiency. Funded by a GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)–Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) endowment on sustainable drug manufacturing, the researchers investigated a different approach known as 'direct oxidative amidation'. This method couples an aldehyde and an amine salt in the presence of a catalyst and an oxidant, generating an amide in one step.
Nontoxic and cheap catalysts with sufficient chemical activity for amide transformation are hard to find. To identify an efficient and inexpensive catalyst, the team screened a range of iron compounds and discovered that iron(II) sulfate (see image), a supplement for anemia that costs less than a dollar per kilogram, has strong potential to catalyze amide formation from aldehydes with amine salts.
Apart from the environmentally benign iron catalyst, the transformation uses an inexpensive oxidant known as tert-butyl hydroperoxide and very cheap calcium carbonate, the main composition of limestone, as a base. By combining these inexpensive ingredients together, the researchers achieved excellent amide yields under conditions convenient for both laboratory and industrial operations.
Further experiments revealed the versatility of this amide synthesis. A range of amine salts and aldehydes with different structural and electronic features could be transformed into amides with good-to-excellent yields. Importantly, salts derived from natural amino acids such as valine and proline also underwent oxidative amidation without disrupting their chirality or 'handedness'—a critical structural phenomenon for drug molecules and peptides.
The team demonstrated the potential of this iron-catalyzed amidation for drug manufacturing by synthesizing the antiarrhythmic drug N-acetylprocainamide in a one-step procedure that is more efficient than previous multiple-step routes. "This environmentally benign method has significant advantages over conventional techniques," says Chen, "and we intend to identify pharmaceutical targets where this promising method could bring about significant cost-savings and improved sustainability."
Explore further: Cobalt discovery replaces precious metals as industrial catalyst
More information: Ghosh, S. C., Ngiam, J. S. Y., Chai, C. L. L., Seayad, A. M., Dang, T. T. & Chen, A. Iron-catalyzed efficient synthesis of amides from aldehydes and amine hydrochloride salts. Advanced Synthesis & Catalysis 354, 1407–1412 (2012). dx.doi.org/10.1002/adsc.201200020


Imagine if you could grow the world's best schools where they've never been grown before. Sow them like seeds through the countryside, into the cities, and across the planet. At Starshine Academy, that's not just our dream, it's our mission.
StarShine believes that a holistic approach to education is the best way to educate a child and ultimately improve the world. We focus on mind, body, spirit, health, wealth, and happiness. The world will be saved by growing the unique talents of every child. Our teachers support emerging talents with inspiration, admiration and encouragement. By focusing in on a child’s uniqueness, we can individualize this holistic approach for maximum results.
StarShine helps students, teachers, and volunteers find and grow their highest and best use. Everyone can and must make a unique contribution. StarShine believes that when individuals are supported and their unique abilities celebrated, they become more respectful of others' unique abilities. They begin to recognize that the world is a big place, full of possibilities, as well as responsibilities. The seed of greatness that is born in every person, when nurtured and explored, creates an enthusiasm for living which causes each person to search, find, and live their destiny. Abilities and desires are unique, just like fingerprints. When a person is supported to explore these unique abilities they become excited about their own future. Our world benefits from this excitement in every area.


Recent legislation requires Fishery Management Councils to
set annual catch limits for all stocks and stock complexes. To address the
challenge of setting overfishing limits (OFLs) for stocks with unknown status,
SWFSC Fisheries Ecology Division researchers E.J. Dick and Alec MacCall
compared results from two data-poor methods to results from accepted data-rich
stock assessments of various west-coast groundfish species. Their comparisons
were presented to the groundfish subcommittee of the Pacific Fishery Management
Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) in Seattle, Washington.
The two methods,
Depletion-Corrected Average Catch (DCAC) and Depletion-Based Stock Reduction
Analysis (DB-SRA), require only historical catch and basic life-history
information, and provided estimates of yield and OFLs that compared favorably
with results from the stock assessments. The subcommittee endorsed application
of these methods to un-assessed stocks in the PFMC's Groundfish Fishery
Management Plan. The authors recommend that other Fishery Management Councils
consider using these methods where applicable.
(February 8, 2010)


Structured settlement payouts are sometimes spread out across a long term and can create a very long wait for the person collecting them to have received the full sum. In that time, any number of situations could arise that require a significant amount of money from that person.
Whether looking to buy a home or car, pay off an educational debt, or have unexpected medical costs, AnFed Bank offers generous lump sums of cash for structured settlements. Traditional structured settlement sales were, in the past, typically handled by brokers that served as a middleman between annuitants and purchasing banks. For the annuitants, this meant less money being paid out after covering the high fees and closing costs that brokers required.
AnFed Bank is a nationally chartered, FDIC insured bank, and the only one of it’s kind to offer cash for structured settlements. This provides customers the peace of mind that only a trusted and established financial institution can; and, with over 30 years of combined experience in the structured settlement field within the management team alone, annuitants get the professional, personalized service they deserve.


Helping employees cope with illness, trauma and other life challenges
Founded in 1997, FMS provides a wide range of “life-coping” services to the employees of various companies when they are faced with challenges such as illness, funerals and legal disputes. These services are sold through a range of insurance policies, which cover seven major areas that touch people’s lives: home, funeral, legal, health, Aids, trauma, emergency and lifestyle. The policies are comprehensive, and are designed not just to cover the expenses involved, but also to provide critical assistance and advice. For example, the funeral policy also covers catering, the hiring of vehicles and, where necessary, advice on how to interpret the deceased’s will. FMS’s product range has evolved beyond emergency services to include assistance on the day-to-day hassles of life—from plumbing and roadside assistance to career guidance and special deals on travel and leisure.
FMS has more than 5 million policyholders, who represent around 12 million family members. The company has a Level 4 BBBEE rating and an A score from Empowerdex.
For more information: www.fmscenta.co.za


- Fully shielded lighting both in cities and rural areas. Redirecting light down only to where it is needed reduces the unnecessary spill of light and the required lamp wattage. - Use of low- or high-pressure sodium lighting with the orange component instead of the mercury lamps or metal halide discharge lamps with the enhanced blue / bluish component. The enhanced blue part of the spectrum is visible by more animal species and humans. - Reducing the levels of illumination of lights at night or turning them off when these are not needed (dimming). - Limitation on illumination of surfaces (outdoor advertising signs, billboards, facades, decorative lighting etc.). - Sensible spatial planning. Public lighting is not necessarily needed on each parking lot, in rural areas or on roads intended only for use of vehicles. - Laws, not voluntary reductions are needed. Self-regulation is likely to not be effective against the comercial interests, capital or ignorance.


Elkhorn Slough is an exceptional ecosystem on the central California coast providing a key linkage between land and sea. The slough harbors California’s largest tract of tidal salt marsh outside San Francisco Bay. Elkhorn Slough tidal habitats encompass extraordinary biological diversity, providing critical habitat for more than 135 aquatic bird, 550 marine invertebrate, and 102 fish species. The Elkhorn Slough is also home for sea lions, harbor seals, and California sea otters. More than 200 different bird species use the slough as a resting spot during their annual migration.
The upland habitats within the watershed include three of the top ten most imperiled U.S. habitats: freshwater wetlands, coastal prairie, and maritime chaparral. These systems are amazingly diverse, coastal prairie being the most species rich grasslands in north America.
Along with providing habitat for a diverse range of life, wetlands provide a critical service to the environment. Wetlands provide a buffer from land to sea – protecting the water from soil erosion and the land by reducing the impact of flooding. As natural filters, wetlands can remove impurities from the water before it enters our streams and oceans. Wetlands also have been proven to be carbon sequesters -- removing and storing greenhouse gases from the earth’s atmosphere, slowing the onset of global warming.
Estuaries like Elkhorn Slough are among the most threatened ecosystems in California, facing rates of habitat loss between 75 and 90 percent. As a result, a disproportionate number of rare, threatened, and endangered species reside in these areas. In the Elkhorn Slough watershed, two dozen species are included in these categories. Recognizing the value of these resources to the country, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration designated areas of Elkhorn Slough as part of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and as a National Estuarine Research Reserve.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has also designated parts of Elkhorn Slough as a State Ecological Reserve and as a Wildlife Management Area, as well as designating three marine protected areas: the Elkhorn Slough State Marine Reserve and Conservation Area and the Moro Cojo State Marine Reserve. The National Audubon Society includes the slough in its Globally Important Bird Areas and the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network designated it a Site of Regional Importance. The Nature Conservancy and Elkhorn Slough Foundation have invested in protecting over 3,500 acres of this watershed. These multiple designations and strategic land acquisitions reinforce the importance of this place as a key conservation asset.
One of the remarkable features of Elkhorn Slough is the diversity of human uses represented in a small watershed. The slough hosts the largest electric power generating plant in California. Additionally, the Moss Landing Harbor, at the entrance to the slough, is one of the most active fishing ports in the State. Elkhorn Slough is flanked by major transportation corridors including three state highways and the main north-south coastal rail line for the Union Pacific Railroad. One quarter of the land in the Elkhorn watershed is in agriculture, with farms in this area producing a significant proportion of the State’s strawberry crop. Residential housing is an increasing factor while recreational activities, including boating, kayaking, and birding, have increased dramatically over the past decade.Further reading:


Few things can ensure the failure of an outsourcing project like a poorly executed transition. Outsourcing transitions are complex endeavors requiring coordinated change across the people, processes and technologies in multiple areas of the organization. “Planning for the Plan” is the start of the process.
Based on the readiness of your organization these plans can vary between a ‘big-bang’ transfer of responsibility or a phased implementation by process or business unit. This white paper offers a structured and process-driven approach to transition management that will ensure your sourcing transition is cost effective and implemented in a seamless fashion. Click here to download this white paper
Popular Content


Petromin is leading the way in technologically innovative methods designed to significantly improve reserves of existing oil pools (EOR) and to enhance the recovery of coalbed methane (ECBM) while significantly minimizing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
The C02 Sequestration Technology adds significant value, flexibility and risk avoidance to coal and oil producers in areas with existing infrastructure and alternative development options and is also a unique option for Oil/Gas companies that wish to recover the development of stranded/depleted oil pools.
We believe that these innovative characteristics of the CCST process will provide us with an opportunity to significantly increase our base of oil and CBM reserves worldwide through joint venture and production sharing arrangements.
The most significant development of our strategy was put in place with a Technical Cooperation Agreement signed with the Alberta Research Council and its CCST unit in the third quarter of 2006. The agreement outlines our working relationship with the Alberta Research Council on all CCST-related projects in China. We intend to apply the leading-edge CCST process as a critical, value-added tool to establish partnerships with provincial coal bureaus, federal state level energy agencies in China and large cap Oil/Gas producing company's world wide. We consider the access to the technology as a major advance in the implementation of our corporate strategy because it will offer significant potential for broadening our access to project opportunities that might not otherwise be available to us.
» CO2 Sequestration - EOR
» CO2 Sequestration - ECBM


[show abstract] [hide abstract]ABSTRACT: Disabled-1 (Dab1) plays a key role in reelin-mediated neuronal migration during brain development. Tyrosine phosphorylation of Dab1 at two YQXI and two YXVP motifs recruits multiple SH2 domains, resulting in activation of a wide range of signaling cascades. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the coordinated regulation of Dab1 downstream effectors remain poorly understood. Here, we show that alternative splicing results in inclusion of different combinations of YQXI and YXVP motifs in Dab1 isoforms during development. Dab1 variants with partial or complete loss of YQXI motifs are preferentially expressed at early developmental stages, whereas the commonly studied Dab1 is predominantly expressed at late developmental stages. Expression of Dab1 variants in 293T and Neuro2a cells reveals reduced levels or absence of tyrosine phosphorylation in variants that have lost one or both YQXI motifs. We further demonstrate that Dab1 variants differ in their abilities to activate Src and recruit distinct SH2 domains involved in specific downstream signaling pathways. We propose that coordinated expression of specific Dab1 isoforms in different populations of cells in the developing brain contributes to precise neuronal migration by modulating the activity of subsets of Dab1 downstream effectors. Molecular and cellular biology 05/2012; 32(14):2794-808. · 6.06 Impact Factor


Resilience is the capacity to bounce back after a disturbance or interruption of some sort. At various levels —individuals, households, communities, and regions — through resilience we can maintain livable conditions in the event of natural disasters, loss of power, or other interruptions in normally available services.Relative to climate change, resilience involves adaptation to the wide range of regional and localized impacts that are expected with a warming planet: more intense storms, greater precipitation, coastal and valley flooding, longer and more severe droughts in some areas, wildfires, melting permafrost, warmer temperatures, and power outages.
Resilient design is the intentional design of buildings, landscapes, communities, and regions in response to the these vulnerabilities. As used by the Resilient Design Institute, resilient design focuses on practical, on-the-ground solutions to these vulnerabilities.


Eamonn O'Neill and Peter Johnson In HCI research and development, we remain faced by the long-standing problem that the development of a theoretical science base has lagged behind more intuitive systems design. Cognitive psychology had an important early influence on HCI, providing a strong theoretical base on which to draw. In recent years, HCI has expanded its focus on groups of users using computers to support collaborative work. This more recent research has drawn more widely on social and cognitive psychology and on disciplines such as anthropology. However, the relationship between the theoretical models of these disciplines and the practice of HCI design is not straightforward. As the scope of HCI has expanded from its earlier areas of strength in the cognitive tradition, the development of a solid, unifying theoretical base has not kept pace.
This page is copyrighted by AAAI. All rights reserved. Your use of this site constitutes acceptance of all of AAAI's terms and conditions and privacy policy.


The authors review the available literature on the interface betweenborderline personality disorder and affective disorder. Three competinghypotheses have been offered to explain the substantial overlap betweenthese diagnostic categories; they postulate that borderline disorder arisesfrom affective disorder, that affective disorder arises from borderlinedisorder, or that the two are independent and overlap coincidentally. Noneof these hypotheses satisfactorily explains the existing data. The authorspropose a fourth hypothesis focusing on the multiple etiologies of thesigns and symptoms used to diagnose both affective and borderline disordersand suggesting that some patients in the resulting heterogeneous populationhave symptom clusters that fit both syndromes.


The authors argue that closer attention should be paid to the interorganizational rules of decision making and their implications for intraorganizational processes. They claim that exogenous changes in macro-institutional rules, which result in a move from formal and sequential to informal and simultaneous interaction between collective actors, will lead to changes in individual actors respective influence over outcomes within organizations. Certain individuals controlling information flows between organizations will see an increase in their power over legislative outcomes. This begs the question of how organizations will respond to these shifts in the power balance among the individual actors that constitute them. The authors argue that collective actors that centralize coordination over dealings with external actors will respond effectively through internal rule change. In contrast, collective actors with multiple, ill-coordinated links to other organizations will find it difficult to change internal rules. The authors empirically explore the general argument by analyzing the relationship between the Council and the European Parliament in the process of codecision and its implications for intraorganizational processes. Key Words: European Parliament intraorganizational bargaining institutions


Disaster recovery funds to be included in final version of Fiscal Year 2012 bill This past November, Congressman Maurice Hinchey – a Democrat from New York – requested that more than $2.6 billion in disaster recovery funding be added to the federal fiscal budget for 2012. While there was general agreement about the need for added funds in the wake of tropical storms that hammered the East Coast, the money was then attached to a number of controversial bills that were opposed by Republicans and Democrats. As a result, home and business owners in many parts of the country have needed to wait longer to secure funds that could help them rebuild.
However, on December 16, Hinchey along with his fellow members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate voted to provide $6.4 billion for the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund. An additional $1.7 billion will be given to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to help secure against damage from future disasters.
While ultimately this was a victory for Hinchey and those seeking disaster relief, the congressman issued a statement expressing his dissatisfaction with the delay many Americans experienced as a result.
"Congress waited far too long to approve comprehensive disaster relief funding, but the good news is that adequate funding will be available for farmers, families and businesses who are still struggling to overcome the challenges created by Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee," Hinchey said in a statement.
However, business owners that experienced a slow disaster recovery due to these storms may want to invest resources in initiatives that could help them better prepare for a smoother small business recovery the next time around. By working with a disaster recovery consulting firm, for instance, small business owners can learn how to best safeguard their operations and essential data from threats.


Organizations across the globe continue to experience compromised data caused by malicious attacks, web application vulnerabilities or unauthorized changes. Did you know that database servers are the primary source of breached data? How can organizations ensure compliance and protect themselves against rogue insiders and external attacks in this new era of computing?
A high percentage of data breaches often emanate from internal weaknesses ranging from employees, who may misuse payment card numbers and other sensitive information. To protect sensitive data, most organizations have formal policies that govern how and when users including privileged users—such as DBAs, developers and outsourced personnel—can access sensitive data. However they have not had effective mechanisms for monitoring, controlling, and auditing their actions. Since privileged users have unfettered access to sensitive corporate data, hackers typically seek to elevate their privileges once they have compromised a system; often successfully. Internal and external auditors are now demanding monitoring of all users for security best practices, as well as compliance to a wide range of regulatory mandates.
Many organizations rely on enterprise applications to execute core business processes and manage significant amounts of data which are both mission critical and highly sensitive (e.g. Financial data, personnel data and customer data). These multi-tier enterprise applications are often difficult to secure for a variety of reasons. They are designed to be easily accessible via web, making them susceptible to attack. They also typically mask the identity of application end-users at the data transaction level and moreover, the data associated with enterprise applications can also be accessed directly by privileged users bypassing controls within the application. It is therefore not surprising that compliance requirements and audits often involve data managed by enterprise applications.
Since data is a critical component of daily business operations, it is essential to ensure privacy and protect both structured and unstructured data by continuously monitoring access to sensitive data, no matter where the data resides.
IBM can help:
The IBM InfoSphere Guardium solution provides a simple, robust solution for preventing unauthorized data access, changes and leaks, helping ensure the integrity of information in the data center and automate compliance controls.
Infosphere Guardium continuously monitors access to data in enterprise databases, data warehouses, file shares, document-sharing solutions, and big data environments such as Hadoop. It helps prevent unauthorized or suspicious activities by privileged insiders and potential hackers and automates governance controls in heterogeneous enterprises. InfoSphere Guardium can help you eliminate costly and high-risk manual and silo approaches to data security and compliance by unifying and automating regulatory compliance tasks, thereby reducing operational costs while dramatically reducing security risks.
This unified approach supports:
What we offer Database Security Resources This joint IBM - Teradata white paper identifies the best practices for database access rights management and introduces the IBM InfoSphere Guardium Vulnerability Assessment.
This eBook examines the top 5 scenarios and the essential best practices for preventing database attacks and insider threats.
As databases continue to grow in size, complexity and importance, enterprises struggle to identify the most appropriate controls regarding their use and misuse.
8 best practices that provide a holistic approach to safeguarding databases and achieving compliance.


such as "Introduction", "Conclusion"..etc
Recent studies show promise for significantly reducing vascular aging by inactivating TNFa, which has been linked to blood vessel dysfunction and cell death. The related report by Csiszar et al., "Vasculoprotective effects of anti-TNFa treatment in aging," appears in the January issue of The American Journal of Pathology.
Csiszar and collegues treated aged rats with etanercept to test the hypothesis that anti-TNFa treatment exerts vasculoprotective effects in aging. Etanercept (Enbrel) is an FDA-approved drug that binds and inactivates circulating TNFa. Recent studies have demonstrated that anti-TNFa therapies, including etanercept, may improve inflammation-related vascular disease, including heart failure.
Csiszar and colleagues made four notable findings in their study. First, they confirmed that in advanced aging, increased TNFa levels were associated with significant impairment of vessel relaxation, which is required for proper regulation of blood pressure.
Second, blocking TNFa via chronic etanercept treatment decreased cell death in aged vessels, demonstrating that increased TNFa levels likely contribute to age-related cardiovascular disease. Similar cell-protective effects were found when anti-TNFa antibodies were used in cell culture.
Third, not only was TNFa released into the blood, where it can have systemic effects, but it is also expressed within blood vessel walls, where it can exert specific local effects.
Lastly, administration of TNFa to young arteries reproduced the features of vascular aging, such as blood vessel dysfunction and cell death, further confirming the role of TNFa in the aging of the cardiovascular system.
The knowledge that cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the U.S. underscores the significance of these findings. This treatment could one day lead us closer to better heart health as we age.
This work was supported by grants from the American Heart Association, American Health Assistance Foundation, American Federation for Aging Research and National Institutes of Health.
Source: American Journal of Pathology. December 2006.
Enter the code exactly as it appears. All letters are case insensitive, there is no zero.


Gender scholarship and cultural sociology are both deeply concerned with inequality, and address many of the same fundamental issues: the classification of people, objects, and practices, and the creation of symbolic differences; the uneven valuation [...]
This session approaches the theme of this year’s congress reflectively. Understanding it is devoted to the exploration of the tensions of inclusion and exclusion, it reflects on the unwitting barriers that the congress itself creates [...]


Editor’s Note: Christopher Gray is director of Accenture Global Intelligent Processing and Compliance. Julie Booth is managing director of Accenture North American Human Services.
Struggling with increasing demand for services amid widespread economic constraint, human services organizations face a major challenge of finding ways to minimize costs while improving services and ensuring accurate benefit distribution.
By using analytics, forward-thinking human services organizations are rising above this challenge. They are preventing, detecting and mitigating transactions where there is error, fraud or abuse. And they are using information gleaned from analytics to significantly reduce operating costs and drive business results.
These approaches represent a dramatic break from the status quo. Human services agencies have traditionally used analytics to identify and correct noncompliance only after a transaction had been completed — for example, using analytics to identify cases for investigation. In this “pay, then chase” model, organizations spend already scarce resources to pursue fraudulent or erroneous payments that should never have been issued.
Now, human services solutions that encompass innovations in process synchronization and predictive analytics allow agencies to work more proactively than ever. Rather than detecting and correcting noncompliance after the fact, they are staying steps ahead with analytical insight.
Who’s Advancing with Analytics?
Human services organizations around the world are already seeing the benefits that analytics can bring:
A large social security agency in Europe uses new analytic approaches to tackle fraud and error within the benefits and contributions systems. This social security agency, as part of a wider strategy to combat loss caused by fraud and error, has implemented a new antifraud model and surrounded it with a new analytics system to identify potential fraud and loss. The agency estimated prevention of €42 million of fraud during a one-year pilot.
The U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) has begun to use text analytics in processing disability benefits applications. To more effectively manage the applications process, which traditionally suffered from long delays, the SSA produced a scoring model against which all applications are now automatically analyzed (using text analytics). This approach has helped greatly reduce application time for these cases, as well as reducing the staff time and costs involved in the process. The system has been particularly successful in managing the renewals cycle, automating low-risk renewals and removing the need for reassessment from doctors for low-risk individuals based on their applications and histories. This approach boosts capacity while helping control costs.
A large Canadian social services organization implemented predictive analytics to develop the risk model to direct the appropriate treatment of cases. Additionally, to address resource capacity limitations, this organization used analytics to target activities that would yield the greatest results. Through the use of predictive models, the organization realized a boost of 400 percent in its return on investigative activity, ultimately improving the overall integrity of the program and reducing erroneous payments.
You may use or reference this story with attribution and a link to http://www.govtech.com/health/Analytics-Are-Making-Human-Services-Agencies-Stronger-Opinion.html


This animation depicts the presence of an extremely tenuous atmosphere of molecular oxygen around Jupiter's moon, Europa. It's icy surface is exposed to sunlight and is impacted by dust and charged particles trapped within Jupiter's intense magnetic field. Combined, these processes cause the frozen water ice on the surface to produce water vapor as well as gaseous fragments of water molecules. After the gas molecules are produced, they undergo a series of chemical reactions that ultimately form molecular hydrogen and oxygen. The relatively lightweight hydrogen gas escapes into space, while the heavier oxygen molecules accumulate to form an atmosphere which may extend 125 miles (200 kilometers) above the surface. The oxygen gas slowly leaks into space and must be replenished continuously.
Credit: Walter Feimer/STScI


UNFCCC
Article 6: Priorities, cooperation and sharing
Presented by the UNFCCC Secretariat
At this event, members of the UNFCCC Secretariat outlined findings from country submissions, side events and the Consultative Group of Experts (CGE) on Article 6 (education, training and public awareness) of the UNFCCC.
Moussa Diakhité explained that a document on Article 6 is being prepared for SBSTA, which will include proposals and options for integrating Article 6 into SBSTA's work programme. He recalled the guidance from SBSTA-12, that lessons learned from work already undertaken by Parties and other stakeholders should be compiled and priorities identified.
Lisa
Moreau highlighted suggestions from the five submissions made
to the Secretariat on this matter (from Austria, Uzbekistan,
Switzerland, Kenya and the US). They recommended,
Kevin Grose outlined findings from side events held at SB-12, SB-13 and COP-6, which found that integrating communications planning and policy development increases public awareness, enhances the public's sense of ownership and heightens support for government policy. The events also revealed that: sharing experiences enables Parties to learn from each other; access to computers and the Internet is a powerful tool for information exchange and dissemination; experiences and information products should be made accessible through clearinghouses, web sites and resources centers; and involving all sectors of society has multiplier effects.
Graham Sem discussed the CGE's findings from national communications of non-Annex I Parties. The communications revealed that education on climate change is an important part of national development and environment plans in most non-Annex I countries. These countries reported that they are incorporating environmental and climate change issues into formal education systems, and are developing materials to support teaching and learning in educational institutions. The communications also revealed a lack of sufficiently trained scientific and technical personnel and a need for public awareness materials.
Moreau explained that, based on the findings from country submissions, side events and the CGE, the Secretariat formulated a preliminary categorization of needs related to Article 6. These included: increasing information sharing among national focal points and others; facilitating public awareness activities; heightening public participation; developing web sies; integrating climate change into education curricula; and providing training in communications and public information. She noted that public awareness was identified as the area requiring greatest prioritization.
Kevin Grose concluded by noting that a possible work programme for SBSTA on Article 6 would include priorities, sharing and cooperation on matters related to education, training and public awareness.
Please
visit the UNFCCC's
"On Demand" webcast page for RealVideo coverage
of this event
Greenhouse
gases in economies in transition
Presented by UNCTAD
Gao Pronove, Govida Corporation, stated that some EITs are eager to begin implementing the Kyoto Protocol, and highlighted the workshop as an excellent opportunity to bring together buyers and sellers from the public and private sectors to develop a common programme of action to promote the emerging GHG emissions market in EITs.
Participants discussed aspects of the workshop, including goals, agenda, activities, participants, dates, and venue. Proposals for workshop topics included: early crediting for joint implementation projects; further emissions reductions through energy efficiency; drivers for a cap and trade system; standardization and linkages between domestic systems; reduction of transaction costs; and the needs of investors and lenders.
John O'Brien, Enviros, described capacity building needs in EITs related to emissions trading, and possible opportunities for support from the UK Government. He noted that EITs should examine the best mix of policy options for implementing the Kyoto Protocol, and suggested that EITs could benefit from the UK experience in designing and implementing a domestic emissions trading system. He concluded that the UK could assist EITs with capacity building for policy analysis and preparing training modules on design and implementation issues.
South
SouthNorth:
Clean Development Mechanism pilot projectsPresented by Pelangi
SouthNorth's (SSN) CDM pilot projects in
Brazil, Bangladesh, Indonesia and South Africa.
Stef Raubenheimer,
SSN, said that SSN's mission is to promote cooperation between
Southern countries, and between countries in the South and the
North. He maintained that the principle aims of SSN are to learn
by doing, host governments with CDM structures, build capacity,
and promote Internet resources. He noted that eight pilot projects
have resulted in the design of a useful set of criteria and
indicators (C&I) for CDM projects.
Steve Thorne,
SSN, elaborated on the C&I rating methodology for project
eligibility, feasibility and sustainability. The eligibility
criteria include energy project activities qualifying for the
CDM, real and measurable benefits, and contributions to sustainable
development. Sustainable development indicators, he said, incorporate
global climate mitigation and local environmental, financial
and technological sustainability. Presenting project results
from South Africa and Brazil, he emphasized the importance of
the "learning-by-doing" approach.
Mozaharul Alam, Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies, presented an overview of the Bangladesh CDM pilot projects, which include solar home systems in remote rural areas and electric vehicles in Dhaka. He noted that important co-benefits of the projects include: education; recreation and awareness building; local employment generation; replication of projects; reduction of the burdens of fossil fuel imports; and improvement of rural livelihoods.
Agus Sari,
Pelangi, described Indonesia's pilot project experience of establishing
new and efficient engines for public transportation in Yogyakarta.
The project aims to restructure urban public transport management,
improve the efficiency of the urban bus system, and provide
cleaner engines for two-fifths of existing buses.
Novi Ganefianto, UNOCAL, introduced the Sarulla geothermal energy project in Sumatra. He cited investment costs of US$2.4-$11.4 per ton of CO2 emissions, and noted barriers to project success, such as existing prices per kilowatt-hour of geothermal energy and the limited ability of project partners to secure financing. He noted that projects have considerable sustainability benefits, such as improving land use and water quality and reducing local particulate pollution. Future challenges include refining CDM project documentation, determining appropriate project size, validating the project concept, seeking approval of the central government, and structuring financial arrangements for new investors.
Standardized
verification of small-scale CDM/JI projects: Lessons learned
from Swedish AIJ projectsPresented by the Swedish delegation in collaboration with the Swedish National Energy Administration (STEM)
Jürgen
Salay, Swedish National Energy Administration (STEM), shared
his experiences and lessons learned from AIJ projects, and
highlighted a new Swedish programme for project-based mechanisms.
To date, Sweden has implemented 60 AIJ projects in the Baltic
States and northwestern Russia, of which two-thirds are boiler
conversions to bio-fuel and energy efficiency projects. Lessons
learned from these projects include the need to: adapt CDM
and JI projects to local priorities; promote close cooperation
between national and local organizations; engage local experts
in establishing baselines, monitoring and reporting; and provide
information in local languages. He stressed the importance
of a "learning-by-doing" approach, and added that
projects have illustrated differences between host countries,
the need for feedback activities and the importance of capacity
building. He noted that long-term commitment to future projects
is crucial, and that common guidelines for project implementation
are required.
On the new Swedish programme for project-based mechanisms, Salay described an International Climate Investment Programme fund of US$28 million that will contribute to the preparation of JI and CDM projects between 1998 and 2004. He noted other activities, including the Prototype Carbon Fund and the Baltic Sea Region Energy Cooperation programme.
Michael Lehmann, Det Norske Veritas (DNV), presented a report entitled "Multi-project Verification of Swedish AIJ Projects: Verification Results and Documentation." The report describes DNV's experience with the verification of Swedish AIJ projects. DNV, a leading independent GHG verifier, used a multi-project verification methodology to evaluate a selection of Swedish boiler conversion and fuel-switching projects in the Baltic region. He explained that the verification process involves several important phases, such as screening, site selection, on-site verification, extrapolation of audit results, discounting for uncertainties, and sensitivity analysis. He noted that trade-offs between costs, scale and certainty determine the number of on-site audits and the accuracy of monitoring arrangements.
Jesse
Uzzell, DNV, discussed the "burden" of monitoring
and reporting, and suggested that synergies exist between
these tasks. Concluding, he emphasized that: multi-project
verification is a good alternative for small-projects; project
implementers need not wait for sector benchmarks or baselines
to commence initiatives; transaction costs for verification
can be substantially reduced; and DNV verified 498,710 tonnes
of CO2 reductions between 1993 and
1999.
The Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) on the side is a special publication of the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) in cooperation with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat. The Editor of ENB on the side is Kira Schmidt <kira@iisd.org>. This issue has been written by Emily Boyd <emily@iisd.org>, Fiona Koza <fiona@iisd.org> and Kira Schmidt <kira@iisd.org>. The Digital Editors are Andrei Henry <andrei@iisd.org> and Kenneth Tong <ken@iisd.org>. Photos by Leila Mead <leila@iisd.org>. Funding for publication of ENB on the side at COP-6 Part II is provided by the UNFCCC Secretariat. The opinions expressed in ENB on the side are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of IISD and funders. Excerpts from ENB on the side may be used in non-commercial publications only and only with appropriate academic citation. For permission to use this material in commercial publications, contact the Managing Editor at <kimo@iisd.org>. Electronic versions of these issues of ENB on the side from COP-6 Part II can be found on the Linkages WWW server at http://www.iisd.ca/climate/cop6bis/enbots/.
� 2001, IISD. All rights reserved.


California Coastal Management with a Changing Climate
November 2008
As a result of climate change, California is likely to face significant challenges to coastal management along the ocean coastline and within the San Francisco Estuary, and tough tradeoffs exist. For example, one of the primary means of protecting buildings and infrastructure from sea level rise and increased storm surges is to “harden” the coastline with coastal armoring—but this strategy is detrimental to beaches, public access, and habitat. Priorities for coastal management include inventorying coastal resources, assessing vulnerabilities, and experimenting with alternatives to armoring. This report was prepared as part of the Preparing California for a Changing Climate project.


Cooking fish and seafood recipes on the grill can be challenging if you don't know the proper methods for achieving the best results. Overcooking, which is one of the most common problems, is often the result of not only cooking the fish and seafood for too lengthy a period, but also because the incorrect grilling method or incorrect temperature was used.
A type of hot sandwich consisting of thin slices of tender roast beef layered on a French baguette and served with the flavorful beef sauce known as au jus (pronounced oh zhoo'), which is French for “with juice” (au jus typically accompanies prime rib).
A useful kitchen tool for removing meat from lobster and crab legs and for deveining shrimp. When using the scissors, the first step in removing meat from a lobster is to crack the claws with the serrations located on the inner edges of the handles.


Competitive Vs. Collaborative 2.8 Dan Street Keynotes - Dan Street's keynotes tackle how to achieve an office environment that is healthy and supportive,...
Street states the benefits of competitive environments by exploring how they force one's full involvement, urging them to be their best and ultimately making them proud of their accomplishments. Competitive CEOs hire competitive employees meaning that one is always surrounded by the best of the best. Despite of these positives, Street explains that wins always come with an equal amount of losses and that one's best is often not good enough.
In the case of collaborative work environments, workers feel a sense of comradery and are often in agreement of their ideas. Though this is positive, these individuals often lack the ability for extreme innovation because of a lack of creative tension.


Clean Air ScandMist Filtration Filtration Process Description For ScandMist Stage 1 - Oil Coalescer Filters The oil removal filters operate by collecting the oil or coolant and allowing it to drain to the base of the Clean Air ScandMist™ unit. The filters do not “absorb” the oil, but rather coalesce it until it is heavy enough to drain.
Contaminated air passes through the filter media. As it does so, the oil particles are attracted to the oleophobic fibers. The oil droplets continue to collide with the fiber, causing the oil droplets to gain in mass. As the oil drop becomes bigger, it becomes heavy enough to fall against the airflow to the base of the ScandMist unit, where it can be collected or drained straight back to the machine tool sump.
Stage 2 - Oil Removal Filters The “scrubbed” air is then passed through a highly efficient coalescer at stage two where the coalescing process is repeated. After this second filtration stage, the air is on average 95-98% free from oil mist.
Stage 3 - HEPA Filtration The third filtration stage is designed to completely clean the remaining air to a standard far higher than the surrounding ambient air.
Using a HEPA filter, this final stage ensures that fine, sub-micron particles (trace oil, smoke, bacteria, pollen and spores) are trapped and not allowed to return to the workshop.
HEPA filters (grade H13 EN1822) operate at 99.95% efficiency at 0.3 µm. This means that in a workshop environment, effectively all hazardous particles are trapped, ensuring only clinically clean air is returned to the workshop.


Lionfish Control in Marine Protected Areas Successful: Joint Study Lionfish removal efforts in some Mexican protected marine areas are controlling local populations, according to a collaborative study by NOAA and Mexico’s National Commission of Federally Protected Areas (known by its Spanish acronym CONANP, for Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas). The two groups monitored lionfish inside two MPAs along the Yucatán Peninsula during the summer of 2012. Preliminary results suggest that densities are lower in the parks compared with surrounding reefs. Additionally, lionfish in the MPAs are smaller in size, suggesting that control efforts are not only reducing the number of lionfish but also reflect a limited ecological impact on the fish community.
This collaboration is a test of lionfish control strategies and supports the development of methods for evaluating their ecological impacts, which is important to MPA managers in the United States. The National Marine Fisheries Service Office of International Affairs supported this project.


The explicit representation of mental states, such as belief, desire, intention, etc., is a crucial issue for the design of multi-agent systems aimed at performing complex tasks which require some form of global intelligent behavior. In particular, methods for conflict resolution between competing mental processes are a key factor in determining the dynamic behavior of an autonomous agent. In this paper, a novel approach to model agent mental activity based on the concept of active mental entity is proposed. Then, the general organization and operation of a multi-agent architecture encompassing an explicit representation of agent mental activity is introduced. In this context, the issue of conflict resolution at the level of active mental entities is faced and suitable conflict resolution methods are proposed. Finally, an application example concerning a mail delivery robot is presented and discussed.
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Ethics of Erasing Memory
Neuroscientists have identified a chemical that can erase the connections between brain cells, essentially wiping out memories. Although it can't yet target specific experiences, like a traumatic event, its existence raises a lot of big ethical issues.
POLL QUESTION:
Would it be ethical to erase a person's bad memories for therapy reasons once this chemical can target traumatic events?
- Yes, If a person is unable to function normally because of an extremely traumatic event, erasing those memories would be very helpful.
- No, If we're going to start messing with memory, a lot of unpleasant and difficult memories form who we are. We learn. It becomes part of our character, our identity. Some might say the struggle against bad experiences is part of what makes us better people.
By David Levin
Posted 01.13.11
NOVA scienceNOW
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/caplan-memory-au.html


Penn Heart Rescue® Patients experiencing a heart attack where the arteries are completely blocked, a condition called ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), need fast, aggressive treatment. The interval between diagnosis and care ("door-to-balloon" time, or D2B) can mean the difference between life and death.
Penn Heart Rescue® is a rapid referral program at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center with emergency protocols to ensure patients experiencing STEMI receive the best care possible in their critical condition. All patients who arrive at Penn Presbyterian with symptoms of a heart attack are fast–tracked to receive an emergency angioplasty procedure when time is of the essence.
In the minutes following a STEMI, hypoxic conditions in the myocardium initiate infarction and tissue necrosis. Irreversible heart muscle death begins within 20 to 40 minutes following the onset of a myocardial infarction (MI). Patients with STEMI who do not receive the appropriate treatment have a higher incidence of significant heart damage and mortality.
One phone call to Penn Heart Rescue initiates the dispatch of PennSTAR air transport or a local ambulance to pick up the patient. Along the way, essential tests are performed and the patient is prepared for emergency angioplasty. Upon arrival, the diagnosis is quickly confirmed and followed by treatment that can include cardiac catheterization and stent placement.
Not all hospitals offer emergency angioplasty or, if they do, they may not have an interventional team on-site 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Penn Presbyterian Medical Center has implemented protocols to meet this need.
Locations The Penn Heart Rescue program currently includes six regional hospitals:


[show abstract] [hide abstract]ABSTRACT: The role of Notch signaling in the maintenance of adult murine prostate epithelial homeostasis remains unclear. We found that Notch ligands are mainly expressed within the basal cell lineage, while active Notch signaling is detected in both the prostate basal and luminal cell lineages. Disrupting the canonical Notch effector Rbp-j impairs the differentiation of prostate basal stem cells and increases their proliferation in vitro and in vivo, but does not affect luminal cell biology. Conversely, ectopic Notch activation in adult prostates results in a decrease in basal cell number and luminal cell hyperproliferation. TGFβ dominates over Notch signaling and overrides Notch ablation-induced proliferation of prostate basal cells. However, Notch confers sensitivity and positive feedback by upregulating a plethora of TGFβ signaling components including TgfβR1. These findings reveal crucial roles of the self-enforced positive reciprocal regulatory loop between TGFβ and Notch in maintaining prostate basal stem cell dormancy. Cell stem cell 11/2012; 11(5):676-88. · 23.56 Impact Factor
[show abstract] [hide abstract]ABSTRACT: Keratin 8 (K8) is a type II keratin that is associated with the type I keratins K18 or K19 in single layered epithelia. We generated a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) transgenic mouse line that expresses the tamoxifen inducible CreER(T2) inserted into the endogenous murine K8 gene. The transgenic mouse line contains two copies of the BAC transgene. To determine the expression specificity and inducibility of CreER(T2), the K8-CreER(T2) mice were bred with a Gt(ROSA 26)( ACTB-tdTomato-EGFP ) fluorescent protein-based reporter transgenic mouse line. We demonstrated that CreER(T2) and the endogenous K8 gene share the same patterns of expression and that the enzymatic activity of CreER(T2) can be efficiently induced by tamoxifen in all K8-expressing tissues. This mouse line will be useful for studying gene function in development and homeostasis of simple epithelia, and investigating both tissue lineage hierarchy and the identity of the cells of origin for epithelial cancers. Transgenic Research 02/2012; 21(5):1117-23. · 2.75 Impact Factor
[show abstract] [hide abstract]ABSTRACT: The prostate epithelial lineage hierarchy and the cellular origin for prostate cancer remain inadequately defined. Using a lineage-tracing approach, we show that adult rodent prostate basal and luminal cells are independently self-sustained in vivo. Disrupting the tumor suppressor Pten in either lineage led to prostate cancer initiation. However, the cellular composition and onset dynamics of the resulting tumors are distinctive. Prostate luminal cells are more responsive to Pten null-induced mitogenic signaling. In contrast, basal cells are resistant to direct transformation. Instead, loss of Pten activity induces the capability of basal cells to differentiate into transformation-competent luminal cells. Our study suggests that deregulation of epithelial differentiation is a critical step for the initiation of prostate cancers of basal cell origin. Cancer cell 02/2012; 21(2):253-65. · 25.29 Impact Factor
[show abstract] [hide abstract]ABSTRACT: Activation of the RhoA/ROCK signaling pathway has been shown to contribute to dissociation-induced apoptosis of embryonic and neural stem cells. We previously demonstrated that approximately 1 out of 40 Lin(-)Sca-1(+)CD49f(high) (LSC) prostate basal epithelial cells possess the capacities of stem cells for self-renewal and multi-lineage differentiation. We show here that treating LSC cells with the ROCK kinase inhibitor Y-27632 increases their cloning efficiency by 8 fold in an in vitro prostate colony assay. Y-27632 treatment allows prostate colony cells to replate efficiently, which does not occur otherwise. Y-27632 also increases the cloning efficiency of prostate stem cells in a prostate sphere assay and a dissociated prostate cell regeneration assay. The increased cloning efficiency is due to the suppression of the dissociation-induced, RhoA/ROCK activation-mediated apoptosis of prostate stem cells. Dissociation of prostate epithelial cells from extracellular matrix increases PTEN activity and attenuates AKT activity. Y-27632 treatment alone is sufficient to suppress cell dissociation-induced activation of PTEN activity. However, this does not contribute to the increased cloning efficiency, because Y-27632 treatment increases the sphere-forming unit of wild type and Pten null prostate cells to a similar extent. Finally, knocking down expression of both ROCK kinases slightly increases the replating efficiency of prostate colony cells, corroborating that they play a major role in the Y-27632 mediated increase in cloning efficiency. Our study implies that the numbers of prostate cells with stem/progenitor activity may be underestimated based on currently employed assays, supports that dissociation-induced apoptosis is a common feature of embryonic and somatic stem cells with an epithelial phenotype, and highlights the significance of environmental cues for the maintenance of stem cells. PLoS ONE 01/2011; 6(3):e18271. · 4.09 Impact Factor
[show abstract] [hide abstract]ABSTRACT: Dicer is an RNase III enzyme essential for microRNA maturation. Dicer ablation in diverse tissues has been shown to block tissue differentiation, induce cell apoptosis, impair specialized cellular function, and perturb organ structures. To gain insight into the role of microRNAs in prostate tissue function and homeostasis, we conditionally disrupted Dicer activity in the mouse prostate using an ARR2PB-Cre. We demonstrated that Dicer activity is disrupted in both prostatic basal/stem cells and differentiated luminal cells. Dicer knockout murine prostates are smaller in size and mass and develop epithelial hypotrophy in ventral prostates by 4 months. Dicer ablation induces increased apoptosis in the prostate, predominantly in the differentiated luminal cells. Paradoxically, a concurrent increase in proliferation is observed in both basal/stem cells and luminal cells, presumably due to compensatory growth of the cells devoid of homologous recombination in response to the elevated cellular apoptosis. We have previously shown that Lin(CD31CD45Ter119)(-)Sca-1(+)CD49f(high) (LSC) cells enrich for prostate stem cell activity. Through proliferation and differentiation, some LSC cells are capable of forming prostate spheres composed of cells at various stages of differentiation. Although LSC cells were expanded by threefold in Dicer knockout mice, the sphere-forming units of Dicer knockout prostate cells decreased by more than half compared with wild-type cells. In addition, most prostate spheres in the Dicer knockout culture were derived from cells that did not undergo homologous recombination. Our results demonstrate a critical role of microRNAs for the proliferative capacity of prostate stem cells and the maintenance of prostate homeostasis. Stem Cells 07/2010; 28(7):1260-9. · 7.78 Impact Factor
[show abstract] [hide abstract]ABSTRACT: miRNAs are a class of naturally occurring small RNAs that generally repress gene expression. They have been shown to actively control diverse biological processes including stem cell differentiation and lineage commitment.Fluorescence-activated cell sorting was utilized to isolate murine prostate stem cells and differentiated luminal cells. The expression levels of Drosha and Dicer1, the two key RNAseIII enzymes for miRNA maturation, were evaluated by quantitative RT-PCR. Low-density Taqman miRNA array analyses were also performed to identify miRNAs that are differentially expressed in individual lineages.Drosha and Dicer1 are expressed at comparable transcriptional levels in murine prostate stem cells and differentiated luminal cells. Twenty-nine miRNAs were discovered to be differentially expressed in prostate stem cells and luminal cells. Many of these miRNAs are coded in clusters, suggesting a cell-specific transcriptional regulation. Some of these differentially expressed miRNAs have been reported to regulate genes relevant to the molecular and phenotypic features of each lineage.miRNAs may play a potentially critical role in fine regulation of prostatic lineage identity. The Prostate 10/2009; 70(3):297-304. · 3.48 Impact Factor


In the sports world, mental toughness takes many forms, from overcoming obstacles to just sticking it out for one more rep. (Is it an attitude or behavior?) And it's a major element is dealing with poor performance, whether real or perceived.
An athlete's performance can vary from event to event, based on both positive and negative factors. Dealing with destructive factors and moving on from them is crucial if you want to improve. If you have a coping strategy for poor performance, you will be less concerned when things don't go as you expect them to. It's only a failure if you don't learn from it.
This article conveys a simple technique for mentally processing poor performance and a coping strategy for any sport. Follow these steps to ironclad your mind against troubling thoughts. (Why losing is okay sometimes.)
Immediately after your game or event, take some time to relive it, regardless of whether you feel you gave 100%. This is particularly important if you feel disappointed. Run it through your mind, focusing on what you did, what others did and how you felt.
Take a notepad and brainstorm every factor that potentially diminished your performance. Write down anything you can think of. Trust your judgment. It doesn't matter if the factor occurred during the performance or weeks before. If you think it affected you, write it down. Make a decent-sized list.
On two more pieces of paper, write the headings, "Things I could not control" and "Things I should have done differently.'' Transfer all your notes from Step 2 under those two headings. Be honest. If you arrived late and it affected your performance, write it down. Don't conclude that you couldn't have anticipated the traffic jam. Get there early. However, if your car broke down, you couldn't really have controlled that.
Take the list of "Things I could not control" and throw it away. Tear it up first, or put it through the shredder, but just forget about it. Discard it from your mind like you discarded the paper. You could do nothing about it before, and you can do nothing about it now.
Beside each item under "Things I could have done differently," write down what you will do next time. Be precise and don't skimp. Then make sure that you carry out every action you wrote down.
You have learned from your performance, so now you can leave it behind. When you recall it, you will remember what you have learned, which is a positive experience.
Photo: Ohioprepzone.com
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JAIPUR: Unauthorized slums are taking a toll on the residents of Kishan Bagh. A regularized residential area, Kishan Bagh, has witnessed several cases of water-borne diseases in the past few days. The residential colony consisting of nearly 400 houses was established by the Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) in 2001, the area depends upon two tubewells for water supply but the decreasing level of ground water and rising population has created severe water scarcity in the locality. Water is supplied here for limited hours in the morning. As the population of nearly 2,000 people tries to draw most water, the pipelines are often damaged, exposing water to contaminants.
To collect every drop of the low pressure water, nearly 200 houses in the area have shallow tanks outside their houses. As these tanks are often left uncovered, the dirt from nearby areas flows in these reservoirs. "Most residents use booster motors to draw water during the supply hours," says a local resident, Rajesh Yadav, "The water in these tanks is used for bathing and washing only. However, use of booster motor sucks in dirty water as well from these tanks and contamination enters the supply lines," he adds.
The PHED officials say this is a problem at domestic level and have asked the residents to close down the shallow tanks and stop using pumping motors. However, the local residents have a different view. "If the water is supplied at adequate pressure people will avoid using water motors or tanks. The colony, despite being developed by JDA, has not been provisioned with adequate water supply," said Mahesh Singh, another resident.
Kishan Bagh, is no slum area, but in the absence of proper infrastructure, it is not any better. The colony has not been provided with a sewerage system. Since the area was established on the banks of Amanishah Nullah, the area is lower than most of the nearby colonies. The drain water from nearby areas enters the colony, creating more difficulties for the residents.
In the absence of proper sewerage system, water contamination is always a possibility here. According to local residents diseases break out during summer and monsoon seasons, which is a common phenomenon in the area. "We have written to the authorities and have tried convincing the locals too, but the situation can only improve if the authorities take a strong stand to improve the area," says Ashish Nagar, a local resident.


James G. Workman 09/14/2012
By James WorkmanOne sunny day in La Jolla, at the public Windansea Beach, I tried to catch a wave and sit on top of the world. I splashed into the “wild, open, and free” waves with the Beach Boys’ “Surfin’ Safari” melody in my head.
Andrew Wilson 11/01/2011
To keep the water running in LasVegas, recognize scarcity and let water rates rise-- double or even triple. Encourage homeowners to trade water rights. Let the market determine how much water people use, not the water police.
Michael `t Sas-Rolfes 06/17/2011
Conservation of animals like rhinos and elephants may eventually be conducted most successfully by markets where these animals have monetary value rather than just emotional value. It may sound cold, but it could well keep them from becoming extinct
James G. Workman 06/09/2011
Could the political conflict over wolf recovery efforts be resolved via economics? Let the bidding begin.
Seth Zuckerman 02/24/2011
Productive farm land near large urban centers is being protected as conservation easements include farming as a stipulation of the tax-reducing easements.
La Monica Everett-Haynes 06/01/2009
By La Monica Everett-Haynes


Volume 47, Issue 3 (May 2002)
Fraudulent substitution of a page within a multiple page document such as a will or business contract, the counterfeit manufacture of paper banknotes, and linking ransom or extortion notes have all been the focus of criminal investigations at one time or another. In a recent homicide investigation, document examiners were requested to compare a threatening letter received by a business partner of the deceased with paper samples seized under warrant from a suspect's house. Through a quantitative elemental analysis of the concentrations of nine elements (Na, Mg, Al, Mn, Sr, Y, Ba, La, and Ce) within the questioned and specimen documents, determined by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), it was concluded that (i) the paper of the threatening letter originated from a different source to that of the paper seized from the suspect's house and (ii) all six pages of paper seized from the suspect's house originated from the same source. This discrimination of paper is presented as both a statistical t-test analysis (99.9% confidence limit) as well as construction of an elemental fingerprint for individual replicates within the questioned and specimen sample populations. This is the first reported use of the comparison of the elemental composition of document paper, determined by ICP-MS, to assist in a criminal investigation.


There is a vast array of voluntary programmes and initiatives within the corporate and financial sectors, reflecting a growing desire to engage with issues around environmental and social sustainability.
The list of initiatives included here is by no means exhaustive, but provides a valuable foundation on which to base a dialogue on a Convention on Corporate Social Responsibility and Accountability. Several common themes emerge, including transparency, accountability and the importance of stakeholder participation.


The fifth Conference of the Parties (COP5) to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) opened in Geneva, Switzerland on Monday, 25 April 2011.
In the morning, delegates heard opening statements and addressed organizational matters. During the afternoon delegates discussed national implementation plans (NIPs) and technical assistance.
OPENING PLENARY
Acting COP4 President Gholamhossein Dehghani (Iran) welcomed delegates and opened COP5. He underscored the achievements made in the 10 years since the adoption of the Stockholm Convention, but emphasized that more work is needed.
Jim Willis, Joint Executive Secretary of the Basel, Stockholm and Rotterdam Conventions, emphasized that the Stockholm Convention has become the living dynamic instrument envisioned nearly 10 years ago. He underscored the importance of synergy among the chemicals conventions, noting that working together will allow the conventions to achieve more than would be possible independently.
Bakary Kante, on behalf of Achim Steiner, Executive Director of UNEP, lauded the synergy among the three chemicals conventions as constituting a “unique development” in the world of multilateral environmental agreements, and expressed hope that it would set a precedent for other processes.
Monique Barbut, Chief Executive Officer, Global Environment Facility (GEF), highlighted GEF’s assistance to developing countries and countries with economies in transition in eliminating POPs. She announced that the GEF Council has approved US$250,000 to assist parties in updating their NIPs to include new POPs. She informed delegates of efforts to improve the GEF investment model in response to requests by countries, stating that the GEF partnership is being expanded to include national and other entities, in preference to multilateral entities.
Paulina Lopez Fletes, youth representative and recipient of the Safe Planet Campaign film contest award, called for avoiding the adverse effects of POPs.
OPENING STATEMENTS: On behalf of GRULAC, Costa Rica reiterated the region’s priorities, including financial and technical support, technology transfer, development of local and regional capacity, and training and awareness-raising.
Kenya, on behalf of the AFRICAN GROUP, emphasized the need for non-chemical alternatives to POPS, particularly DDT; expressed concern about reducing dioxin and furan emissions; and appealed for financial and technical assistance, technology transfer, local and regional capacity building, training, and awareness-raising.
INDIA underscored the need for strong scientific evidence and rigorous analysis of data, and said that new obligations should occur in tandem with provision of adequate financial resources.
The EU prioritized the listing of endosulfan, the work programme on new POPs, synergies, and the compliance mechanism as key issues for discussion at COP5, and expressed concern over the number of requests for financial assistance for various issues given the global financial crisis.
CHINA called for financial and technical assistance for developing countries as they strive to eliminate POPs. Noting the successful formulation of his country’s NIP, NEPAL outlined his country’s efforts to eliminate POPs, including banning DDT.
SWITZERLAND prioritized the listing of endosulfan based on the extensive work of the POPRC and noted the need to make every effort to reach agreement on all matters of substance by consensus, and to adopt decisions by general agreement.
ALGERIA noted her government’s commitment to creating an enabling environment for the elimination of POPs and announced her country’s interest in hosting a regional centre. Informing delegates of her country’s accession to the three chemicals conventions, the RUSSIAN FEDERATION welcomed further cooperation on their implementation.
The INTERNATIONAL POPS ELIMINATION NETWORK (IPEN), PESTICIDE ACTION NETWORK (PAN) and the GLOBAL INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ CAUCUS called for listing endosulfan in Annex A, with no exemptions.
The GLOBAL INDIGENOUS PEOPLES CAUCUS underscored that long range environmental transport is not an abstract concept for indigenous peoples, and called upon COP5 to establish an indigenous peoples working group on effective implementation.
ORGANIZATIONAL MATTERS
ELECTION OF OFFICERS: On this matter (UNEP/POPS/COP.5/2), noting rule 22 of the Rules of Procedure, the Secretariat introduced a proposal by the European Union (EU) (UNEP/POPS/COP.5/CRP.3) to elect the COP5 president, and to postpone the election of the nine vice presidents until after discussions on Rules of Procedure. Armenia, for Central and Eastern Europe, nominated Karel Blaha (Czech Republic) as COP5 President and parties agreed.
ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA: Plenary adopted the agenda (UNEP/POPS/COP.5/1) without amendment.
ORGANIZATION OF WORK: The Secretariat introduced the tentative organization of work (UNEP/POPS/COP.5/1/Add.1, UNEP/POPS/COP.5/INF/1, and UNEP/POPS/COP.5/CRP.1). Noting the need for high-level political agreement on the establishment of a compliance mechanism, COP5 President Blaha suggested, and delegates agreed, to task Barry Reville (Australia) with facilitating informal consultations on the issue.
REPORT ON CREDENTIALS: COP5 President Blaha stressed the importance of submitting credentials within 24 hours of the meeting’s opening.
RULES OF PROCEDURE
The Secretariat introduced a note on the Rules of Procedure (UNEP/POPS/COP.5/3) and reminded delegates of the need to address bracketed text under rule 45(1). COP5 President Blaha proposed removing the brackets, AUSTRALIA preferred retaining the brackets, and delegates agreed to consider the issue again at COP6.
The EU, supported by SWITZERLAND, introduced a proposal to amend rule 22 to change the timing of the election of COP Presidents (UNEP/POPS/COP.5/CRP.3). CHILE sought clarification on details of the proposal and parties agreed a drafting group would refine the text of the proposal.
PROGRAMME OF WORK AND ADOPTION OF THE BUDGET
The Secretariat introduced the activities undertaken by the Secretariat in 2009-2010 (UNEP/POPS/COP.5/33); the financial and staffing situation (UNEP/POPS/COP.5/34, and UNEP/POPS/COP.5/INF/33); and three budget scenarios to be considered for the biennium 2012-2013 (UNEP/POPS/COP.5/35, and 35/Add.1), namely the Executive Secretary’s assessment of the required rate of growth (9.5%), zero nominal growth, and 10% nominal growth. Noting the global financial situation, the Secretariat emphasized that the zero nominal growth budget scenario could lead to reduction of activities.
SWITZERLAND stressed that activities addressing new POPs should be prioritized, and expressed disappointment with the current lack of financial support from other donors. He proposed that 50% of the Swiss contribution be reallocated into the Convention’s voluntary trust fund which can be targeted towards Switzerland’s host country contribution and joint activities in the context of the synergies process.
JAPAN supported the zero nominal growth scenario, and proposed that budget negotiations be completed by Wednesday evening to allow Japan to consult with its capital prior to the Japanese national holiday on Friday.
The EU questioned the dependence of the PCBs Elimination Network and Global Alliance for alternatives to DDT on Stockholm Convention accounts, and emphasized the need for greater strategic direction of the synergies process to improve efficiency.
ARGENTINA supported budgeting for activities on new chemicals, efficiency, and regional centers, and emphasized the need for new and adequate financial resources to enable developing countries to meet new commitments. MEXICO noted any budgetary increase should support activities on effective implementation, efficiency, and NIPs, and underscored that synergies should involve zero budgetary growth.
CHILE, with the EU and INDONESIA, stressed that discussions on synergies among the three conventions and the budget should not be held in parallel. President Blaha noted this request and clarified that the plenary will forward all agreed decisions with budgetary implications to a budget group. A budget contact group, to be co-chaired by Kerstin Stendahl (Finland), was established, with a second Co-Chair to be determined before the group’s first meeting on Tuesday.
MATTERS RELATED TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONVENTION
IMPLEMENTATION PLANS: The Secretariat introduced the issue (UNEP/POPS/COP.5/13, UNEP/POPS/COP.5/INF/7/Rev.1, INF/8 and INF/47), noting 27 parties have transmitted NIPs since May 2009, and revised NIPs to reflect the new POPs will be due in August 2012.
The EU emphasized the need for NIPs to be revised and updated by the deadline. NIGERIA underscored stakeholder involvement in updating NIPs. LEBANON and MOROCCO noted progress since submitting their NIPs. KENYA emphasized that while most African countries have submitted their NIPs, they need to be updated to address the nine new POPs.
MEXICO supported revising guidelines for updating NIPs. SWITZERLAND suggested that new guidance would be strengthened by inclusion of references to activities in other processes, and would reflect synergies on a technical level.
MOLDOVA questioned its eligibility for financial assistance as a party to the Convention that has not ratified the amendments to Annexes A, B, and C. On the issue of eligibility, the GEF explained that the GEF Council has adopted the guidance for reviewing and updating NIPs, and the guidance indicates that only countries that are parties to the Convention are eligible for GEF funding.
COLOMBIA called for financial support and guidelines to enable compliance. VENEZUELA highlighted its efforts to reduce use of DDT, and emphasized that countries unable to comply should not be penalized.
NORWAY emphasized that guidance should focus on the core activities of the Convention, with the aims of developing further project proposals and facilitating synergies with the chemicals and waste fields.
Citing Article 10 of the Convention (public information, awareness and education), IPEN called for enhanced institutional mechanisms supporting civil society’s participation in increasing transparency and accountability.
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE: The Secretariat introduced the documents on the guidance on technical assistance and the activities of the regional and subregional centres (UNEP/POPS/COP.5/20 and 21), and the related information documents (UNEP/POPS/COP.5/INF/37-47). The EU invited parties and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to provide relevant information regarding experience and guidance on technical assistance. SWITZERLAND supported new regional centres being built within existing institutions, such as the Basel Conventions Regional Centres(BCRCs).
BOLIVIA, with IRAQ, MEXICO, and Morocco for the ARAB GROUP, called for technical and financial assistance to facilitate timely implementation of NIPs. BOLIVIA also called on the Secretariat to provide evidence of activities related to technology transfer as required under Article 12 (technical assistance). CHINA, with IRAN, stressed the need for technical assistance to be provided quickly. MEXICO lamented that the work of the regional centers has so far been insufficient, highlighting that no technical assistance activities for, among others, the environmentally-sound disposal of POPs, have been carried out in the GRULAC region. GABON highlighted the need for technical assistance to be aligned to national legislation. COLOMBIA called for the prioritization of technical assistance to developing country parties for the environmentally-sound management of POPs.
BANGLADESH and URUGUAY emphasized the need to strengthen the role of regional centers, with ARGENTINA underscoring the need for appropriate financial resources. NAMIBIA stressed regional centers should meet the interests of parties in the region. IRAN called on parties to endorse the nomination of Iran’s BCRC. The EU emphasized the need to maintain a “reasonable number” of centers. JAPAN underscored the need to apply criteria, including the need for regional balance, in reviewing nominated centers.
Responding to questions on whether it had analyzed transfer of technology, and obstacles faced by parties in accessing such transfers, the Secretariat noted COP6 would have an opportunity to evaluate regional centers endorsed at COP4.
FINANCIAL RESOURCES: The Secretariat introduced the issue (UNEP/POPS/COP.5/22-27 and UNEP/POPS/COP.5/INF/18-22 and INF/48). The GEF SECRETARIAT introduced its report to COP5 (UNEP/POPS/COP.5/24), which, inter alia , outlines key reforms to the GEF. Kante reported on the consultative process on financing chemicals and wastes, scheduled to meet again in early May.
IN THE CORRIDORS
In the job just a week, the newly appointed Joint Executive Secretary of the Basel, Stockholm and Rotterdam Conventions, Jim Willis, hit the ground running. This new post marks a key step in the move to synergize the chemicals and waste conventions, and Willis is tasked with propelling the treaties forward as a repackaged and lean machine to address their mandates in an integrated, effective and efficient manner. Easier said than done? Probably, but also, according to most delegates, necessary. As COP5 opened, delegates heard disgruntled rumblings on the need for zero nominal growth, the as-yet unmet promises of cost-savings through synergies, and concerns over the free-riding of some donors, all pointing to the urgent need for the synergies promises to pay dividends. Recalling the key role Willis played in developing the Convention, many seemed assured he is equal to this imposing task.


Why the test is performed:
This test helps confirm the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS).
The laboratory procedure is called CSF electrophoresis, which is a method used to study the levels of protein in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).
In electrophoresis, a CSF sample is applied to a gel (solid medium allowing the movement of proteins), and a voltage is applied. The proteins migrate along the gel based on their charge (roughly on their size). The gel is stained, and significant amounts of similar proteins will cause a visible "band" to be present. The term oligoclonal bands refers the presence in CSF of two or more protein bands of a specific immunoglobin (IgG) that have greater intensity than in the concurrent serum sample. This pattern of banding is seen in patients with MS, and other conditions.


Many believe that Rome was glorious, and that Rome brought civilisation – law, architecture, literature, a better lifestyle – into the Barbarian darkness of the conquered people. But was this really so? Philip Matyszak presents the alternative view. His book tells the story of the growth and eventual demise of Rome from the perspective of those who fought against it. He argues that many of Rome’s enemies, such as the Celts and Dracians, were developing their own civilisations before being wiped out by the Romans. And had Rome not crushed its rival powers, contends Matyszak, the Dark Ages may never have happened. For at Rome’s collapse, no other powerful civilisation remained to absorb the impact. However, this is not some abstract discourse; rather Matyszak cleverly uses the individuals who resisted Rome to develop his argument. Thus we read of the roles played by legendary enemies of Rome – including Hannibal, Boudicca, and Cleopatra – all of whom killed themselves rather than face capture by the Romans. But we are also introduced to comparatively less widely-known figures, such as Viriathus the guerrilla leader, and Mithridates the connoisseur of poisons. Clearly, while some enemies were noble, others were murdering villains. To paraphrase Hegel, the dominant force will always be hated and ultimately overthrown. Little wonder that mighty Rome had its enemies, for so too did the previously mighty civilisations against whom Rome fought. However, the utter wrath of the Roman Empire described by Matyszak, tends to be downplayed, or even sanctioned, with only its splendours emphasised. Consequently, this alternative approach represents a refreshing balance to accounts focusing on the glory of Rome.
This article is an extract from the full article published in World Archaeology Issue 11. Click here to subscribe


A critical challenge facing today's organizational leaders is gaining their followers' trust and having them view leaders as effective in addressing turmoil and change. Using a downsizing scenario as the context, this field experiment examined how a leader's positivity and transparency impacted followers' perceived trust, defined in terms of willingness to be vulnerable, and effectiveness of their leader. To test the hypotheses, 304 participants were randomly assigned to one of the four conditions of high (low) leader positivity
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What You Need To Know
Leaving Property to Heirs
In a typical will, there are two types of gifts: specific gifts and general gifts. Specific gifts, which leave a particular object to someone, are optional – but they are the first gifts that are bestowed from a will. For example, a specific gift might read: “I leave to my daughter Cynthia my engagement ring.” You can also choose to forgive a specific debt that someone owes you.
A general gift leaves a percentage of all that remains after the specific gifts are made. The people who receive these general gifts are known as “principal heirs” because they usually receive the bulk of the estate after the smaller gifts and valuables are distributed. Usually, the principal heir is the will maker's spouse or closest relative. Each will must have at least one principal heir. For example, the principal heir clause might state something like, "All the rest of my property I leave to [name of principal heir]."
The personal representative you appoint in the will (known as the “executor”) is responsible for dividing up the gifts and making sure that your wishes are carried out.


Acupressure is a gentle form of Traditional Chinese Medicine, based on the same principles as acupuncture, which has been applied to health matters for centuries in the East. These techniques are becoming better understood in the West, where they have achieved a growing following, have been adopted by numerous practioners and lay healers, and have been shown through scientific studies to yield beneficial results.
The following selections from the WWW point to some key sources of information about these practices.
Author: Edward A. Fox (CV, directions, hours,photo) Last Updated: 2003/01/14 Email: fox@vt.edu (c) Copyright 1997-2003 Edward A. Fox


Children like to do what they can do; they want to do what they think they can do, and they hate
to do what they think they cannot do. If you want excited and enthusiastic children who learn
well, you must understand these key laws of motivation, and focus on the essential requirement
of relevancy. If it matters, children will learn it, and if it doesn’t, they won’t. This session will
enlighten you with specific ways to find and create relevancy for children, even when they have
no apparent interest.
C8


Background: Baroreflex adaptation to repetitive +Gz has been reported previously. The underlying mechanism may involve different responses of stroke volume (SV) and total peripheral resistance (TPR) to +Gz. Hypothesis: The previously observed enhanced mean arterial pressure (MAP) regulation in fighter pilots (FP) is mediated by increases in SV and/or TPR. Methods: There were 8 pilots and 12 non-pilots who underwent head-up tilt. SV was determined using impedance cardiography. Results: MAP increased significantly in FP, due to heart rate (HR) and TPR increasing more and SV decreasing less. Conclusion: Baroreflex adaptation results in better performance of HR, SV and TPR in response to +Gz.
Relation
Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine Vol. 71, Issue 3, p. 255-259


Abstract The eastern woodrat, a state-endangered species, is a generalist herbivore that depends on cached food during part of the year. We identified seasonal variation in the diet of woodrats at Pine Hills, Union County, Illinois, based on analysis of fecal pellets, and determined if they consumed forage in proportion to its availability in the habitat. Woodrats did not consume forage in proportion to availability for any season during 1995. Mast, primarily hickory nuts, comprised 61-67% of the diet each season, despite no mast available in the habitat during spring, and relatively little during summer. Few herbaceous species were eaten during any season; only Virginia creeper was identified in fecal samples throughout the year. Virginia creeper, spicebush, and sedge accounted for 79.4% of the identified herbaceous material consumed throughout the year, despite relatively low availability in the habitat. Resource caching decisions of woodrats depend on nutrient content and perishability. Woodrats appeared to ration cached resources so as not to be left with poor foods at the end of the cache-dependent period.


Author: M. Fink Abstract: For short-term (minutes to hours) temperature optimization in greenhouses plant growth models are needed, which estimate short-term plant reactions and predict, how short-term reactions contribute to yield, realized several weeks later.For the greenhouse crop kohlrabi (Brassica oleracea gongylodes L .) short-term reactions to temperature are presented, which are not only caused by the temperature level, but also specifically by temperature changes.The dynamic short-term plant reactions showed differences compared to the steady state long-term reactions.The differences were due to temperature after-effects and plant adaptation to the changed temperature.It follows that for kohlrabi a model, which is parameterized with long-term average values of plant growth and climatic factors, can not be used to derive optimal short-term temperature set points.
Conclusions for short-term temperature optimization are discussed.
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