December 24, 2007 -- SoCs are becoming more complex these days. A lot of functionality is being added to chips and data is frequently transferred from one clock domain to another. Hence, clock domain crossing verification has become one of the major verification challenges in deep submicron designs. A clock domain crossing occurs whenever data is transferred from a flop driven by one clock to a flop driven by another clock.
Traditional methods like simulation and static timing analysis alone are not sufficient to verify that the data is transferred consistently and reliably across clock domains. Hence, new verification methodologies are required, but before devising a new methodology it is important to understand the issues related to clock domain crossings properly. Different types of clock domain crossings are discussed here along with the possible issues encountered in each one of them and their solutions. A new verification methodology is then proposed which will ensure that data is transferred correctly across clock domains.
By Saurabh Verma and Ashima S. Dabare. (Verma and Dabare are with Atrenta, Inc.)
This brief introduction has been excerpted from the original copyrighted article.


Mostly Off-Topic But Still Interesting From the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College:
When economic times are good, deaths in the United States increase. Previous research suggests that a likely culprit is poorer health habits tied to greater job demands. However, the increase in mortality is largely driven by deaths among elderly women in nursing homes. These nursing home deaths may reflect increased shortages of caregivers during economic expansions. Share|


Timber! We have two dead trees in our yard now; we're waiting for the winter discount rates to take them down. But we're not alone. On my walks through the neighborhood I spot more dead or dying trees than I can count. It's the drought, arborists say. Or it's simply their time.
Dead trees have been in the local news recently, too, since a 140-year-old oak with root rot blew down in a storm, crushed a car and killed its driver. This sparked a search for other ailing trees on state rights-of-way. And now chain saws are buzzing all over Fairfax County.
I drove past a work crew yesterday at an intersection where I often stop. What used to be closed and private is now open and exposed. It's safer now, that's true. But it has lost its character.
Labels: trees


Source Division of Liver Diseases, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a rising worldwide cause of cancer mortality, making the elucidation of its underlying mechanisms an urgent priority. The liver is unique in its response to injury, simultaneously undergoing regeneration and fibrosis. HCC occurs in the context of these two divergent responses, leading to distinctive pathways of carcinogenesis. In this review, we highlight pathways of liver tumorigenesis that depend upon, or are enhanced by fibrosis. Activated hepatic stellate cells drive fibrogenesis, changing the composition of the extracellular matrix. Matrix quantity and stiffness also increase, providing a reservoir for bound growth factors. In addition to promoting angiogenesis, these factors may enhance the survival of both pre-neoplastic hepatocytes and activated hepatic stellate cells. Fibrotic changes also modulate the activity of inflammatory cells in the liver, reducing the activity of natural killer and natural killer T cells that normally contribute to tumor surveillance. These pathways synergize with inflammatory signals, including telomerase reactivation and reactive oxygen species release, ultimately resulting in cancer. Clarifying fibrosis-dependent tumorigenic mechanisms will help rationalize antifibrotic therapies as a strategy to prevent and treat HCC.


A liver biopsy involves inserting a needle between the ribs to collect a small sample of liver tissue. Samples of liver tissue can then be examined under a microscope to further check a suspected or known liver disease.
A liver biopsy may be done after other tests have failed to provide a clear diagnosis or determine the severity of a liver problem. It can also be used to monitor certain forms of liver disease, such as hepatitis C. A liver biopsy can reveal long-term inflammation (chronic hepatitis), scar tissue formation (cirrhosis), or cancer.
Credits


Introduction This chapter introduces the topic of premarital sex in America and highlights several introductory themes before describing the book’s parameters, data sources, and directions. Its brief discussions include the changing definition of premarital sex, the nature of emerging adulthood, the sexual significance of turning 18, and the scope of heterosexuality among contemporary emerging adults.
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If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.


03 November 2000 Seven of the 22 Welsh unitary authorities were warned that their Best Value performance plans, the strategy outlining how they will deliver services over the next year, contained significant errors and omissions and failed to comply with legislation.
In a damning report, the Audit Commission found that while a minority were making good progress, all authorities had areas of significant weakness and would struggle to deliver Best Value services.
'Our concern must be that in the absence of robust Best Value arrangements, these services will not improve and may well deteriorate,' warned Andrew Wood, director of District Audit Wales. 'Many authorities need to change their culture if they are to succeed. The next year will be a critical period.'
The criticism, just two weeks after English authorities were given the thumbs-up for their Best Value plans, highlights the continuing difficulties with the initiative in Wales.
The Welsh Assembly was forced to give authorities a three-month extension on the plans earlier this year after it emerged that many were still not ready.
The commission suggests that resistance to change, particularly from members, is hampering progress and cites 'little evidence of a willingness to challenge the status quo' from both officers and politicians.
Auditors have identified a number of areas needing urgent improvement, including a lack of member involvement, an absence of key performance information, particularly missing or flawed progress targets, and inadequate performance management across all services.
PFnov2000


[show abstract] [hide abstract]ABSTRACT: The process of microtubule elongation is thought to consist of two stages—formation of a tubulin sheet structure and its closure into a tube. However, real-time observation of this process has been difficult. Here, by utilizing phospho-tau binding protein Gas7 (growth-arrest-specific protein 7), we visualized the polymer transformation process by dark-field microscopy. Upon elongation, thin and flexible structures, often similar to a curved hook, appeared at the end of microtubules. Electron microscopic observations supported the idea that these flexible structures are tubulin sheets. They maintained their length until they gradually became thick and rigid beginning in the central portion, resulting in straight microtubules. In the absence of Gas7, the sheet-like structure was rarely observed; moreover, when observed, it was fragile and engaged in typical dynamic instability. With Gas7, no catastrophe was observed. These results suggest that Gas7 enhances microtubule polymerization by stabilizing sheet intermediates and is a useful tool for analyzing microtubule transformation. Journal of Molecular Biology.


Posted by Lilian on July 5, 2010
Buddha is a Sanskrit word for the one who is awake.
Anyone can become a Buddha, as Thich Nhat Hanh says:
"When you begin to practice Buddhism you begin as a part-time buddha and slowly you become a full-time buddha. Sometimes you fall back and become a part-time buddha again, but with steady practice you become a full-time buddha again. Buddhahood is within reach because, like the Buddha, you’re a human being. You can become a buddha whenever you like; the Buddha is available in the here and now, anytime, anywhere."
Posted by Lilian on May 24, 2010
How often do you find yourself resisting trying something new? You debate in your mind whether you should try yoga or not, whether you should eat less meat to stay healthy or stick with your usual comfort foods. Perhaps this resistance occurs at work, and it contributes to the stress that you later try to solve with food. Persistent resistance can drain energy from your thoughts and your speech as well as your emotions. You become tense and you feel that you cannot make these changes, even though you know that you may benefit from trying something new. These endless debates can lead to the formation of internal knots—they become your habit energies.
Posted by Lilian on April 28, 2010
Pause...and listen deeply to your body. What is your body telling you?


The Emergency Management and Response-Information Sharing and Analysis Aenter (EMR-ISAA) is warning responders that some of the equipment utilized for paintball activities is being manufactured to resemble the real deal: grenades, guns and landmines. By: Sandy Smith According to the warning from the center, "the EMR-ISAA verified that paintball players can acquire or manufacture equipment and ordnance that resemble real military weaponry. For example, one Web site offers a Alaymore Mine Simulator that fires airsoft BB's and baby powder. This device appears very similar to the actual Alaymore mine. Additionally, enthusiastic paintball contestants often fabricate their own bombs filled with baby powder instead of explosives. These "baby powder bombs" are extremely comparable to authentic explosive devices used to injure and kill." Aonsidering the escalating availability of look-alike mines and bombs, emergency services sector (ESS) personnel must be able to differentiate what is a potential threat and what is only for paintball exercises. This challenge is further exacerbated by the possibility that those who intend to inflict harm will attempt to make a real bomb appear as a harmless paintball contrivance. "Therefore, for the protection of internal critical infrastructures, the EMR-ISAA recommends first responder organizations familiarize their rank and file with all paintball gadgets. Moreover, emergency personnel should always exercise caution when approaching paintball instruments until certain each is not an actual mine or bomb," warned the alert from EMR-ISAA. (For full article please refer to link)...


Date: May 2008Creator: Moore, Erin ChristineDescription: This thesis examines the environmental and social consequences of maintaining the artificial divide between thinking and feeling, mind and matter, logos and eros. New Orleans, a city where the natural environment and human sensuality are both dominant forces, is used as a case study to explore the implications of our attempts to impose rational controls on nature - both physical and human nature. An analysis of New Orleans leading up to and immediately following Hurricane Katrina (2005) reveals that the root of the trouble in the city is not primarily environmental, technological, political, or sociological, but philosophical: there is something amiss in the relationship between human rationality and the corporeal world. I argue that policy decisions which do not include the contributions of experts from the humanities and qualitative social sciences - persons with expertise on human emotions, intentions, priorities and desires - will continue to be severely compromised.Contributing Partner: UNT Libraries


[en] This paper presents extensive bias determination analyses of ozone observations from the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (ACE) satellite instruments: the ACE Fourier Transform Spectrometer (ACE-FTS) and the Measurement of Aerosol Extinction in the Stratosphere and Troposphere Retrieved by Occultation (ACE-MAESTRO) instrument. Here we compare the latest ozone data products from ACE-FTS and ACE-MAESTRO with coincident observations from nearly 20 satellite-borne, airborne, balloon-borne and ground-based instruments, by analysing volume mixing ratio profiles and partial column densities. The ACE-FTS version 2.2 Ozone Update product reports more ozone than most correlative measurements from the upper troposphere to the lower mesosphere. At altitude levels from 16 to 44 km, the average values of the mean relative differences are nearly all within +1 to +8%. At higher altitudes (45 60 km), the ACE-FTS ozone amounts are significantly larger than those of the comparison instruments, with mean relative differences of up to +40% (about + 20% on average). For the ACE-MAESTRO version 1.2 ozone data product, mean relative differences are within +/- 10% (average values within +/- 6%) between 18 and 40 km for both the sunrise and sunset measurements. At higher altitudes (similar to 35-55 km), systematic biases of opposite sign are found between the ACE-MAESTRO sunrise and sunset observations. While ozone amounts derived from the ACE-MAESTRO sunrise occultation data are often smaller than the coincident observations (with mean relative differences down to -10%), the sunset occultation profiles for ACE-MAESTRO show results that are qualitatively similar to ACE-FTS, indicating a large positive bias (mean relative differences within +10 to +30%) in the 45-55 km altitude range. In contrast, there is no significant systematic difference in bias found for the ACE-FTS sunrise and sunset measurements.


Gender and governance in agricultural extension services: insights from India, Ghana, and Ethiopia Three out of four poor people in the developing world live in rural areas, and most of them depend—directly or indirectly—on agriculture for their livelihoods. Providing economic services, such as agricultural extension, is essential for using agriculture for development. However, such services are difficult to provide in rural areas, because they are subject to the triple challenge of market, state, and community failure.


The following HTML text is provided to enhance onlinereadability. Many aspects of typography translate only awkwardly to HTML.Please use the page imageas the authoritative form to ensure accuracy.
Weight Gain During Pregnancy: Reexaming the Guidelines
secretion as a function of increased progesterone. Motility of the small intestine is also reduced during gestation; however, except for enhanced iron absorption, nutrient absorption is unchanged. These physiologic changes may affect the pattern of gestational weight gain in early gestation.
Changes in protein and nitrogen metabolism occur in early pregnancy, presumably in response to pregnancy-related hormones (Kalhan, 2000). Serum total α-amino nitrogen deceases, as does the rate of urea synthesis and the rate of transamination of branched-chain amino acids, which are aimed at conservation of nitrogen and protein accretion in pregnancy. Protein turnover on a weight basis, however, does not change (Kalhan, 2000). Serum total protein and albumin fall progressively and by term are 30 percent lower than nonpregnant values (Hytten and Chamberlain, 1991). The concentrations of binding proteins for corticosteroids, sex steroids, thyroid hormones, and vitamin D also increase.
Changes in carbohydrate and lipid metabolism occur during pregnancy to ensure a continuous supply of nutrients to the growing fetus (Butte, 2000). In early pregnancy, glucose tolerance is normal or improved slightly, and peripheral (muscle) sensitivity to insulin and hepatic basal glucose production are normal or increase by as much as 15 percent (Catalano et al., 1991, 1992, 1993). As pregnancy advances, nutrient-stimulated insulin responses increase progressively despite only minor deterioration in glucose tolerance, which is consistent with progressive insulin resistance (Kühl, 1991). In late pregnancy, insulin action is 50-60 percent lower than in nonpregnant state (Ryan et al., 1985; Buchanan et al., 1990; Catalano et al., 1991, 1992, 1993). By the third trimester, basal and 24-hour mean insulin concentrations may double (Lesser and Carpenter, 1994). The first and second phases of insulin release increase threefold by late pregnancy (Catalano et al., 1991). These alterations in maternal insulin sensitivity affect not only glucose metabolism but also lipid metabolism, resulting in a decreased ability of insulin to suppress lipolysis (Catalano et al., 2002).
Alterations in maternal physiology during pregnancy are mediated by placental factors, as evidenced by the significant increase in maternal insulin sensitivity that occurs within days after delivery of the fetus and placenta (Ryan et al., 1985). Alterations in maternal metabolism have generally been ascribed to placental hormones, such as hPL, progesterone, and estrogen (Kalkhoff et al., 1979; Ryan and Enns, 1988). Recently, Kirwan et al. (2002) reported that circulating cytokines (i.e., TNF-α concentration) were inversely correlated with insulin sensitivity.
The metabolic changes in insulin sensitivity that occur during pregnancy are modified by inflammatory factors (Friedman et al., 1999, 2008). In women with normal glucose tolerance during pregnancy who lose significant weight postpartum, there is a return to normal metabolic function. However, in women with GDM, particularly if there is no decrease in post-


This report by PolicyLink takes a closer look at the prevalence of local "food deserts" - low-income neighborhoods where a substantial number of residents lack access to stores offering fresh, healthy foods - and ongoing strategies to attract supermarkets and grocery stores to these underserved neighborhoods. The report also explores ways to help existing grocers, farmers' markets, bodegas, cornerstores and other local food retailers expand their healthy food choices.
Published by the YEF Institute and the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation through its Leadership for Healthy Communities national program, this report features the experiences of six communities where city and school district leaders partnered in the development of community-wide wellness plans.
The YEF Institute's first-ever report on The State of City Leadership for Children and Families identifies the nation's most cutting-edge city strategies to help children and families thrive. This chapter highlights the broad range of innovations and trends in municipal leadership around promoting community wellness.
This toolkit, developed by Leadership for Healthy Communities - a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation national program - outlines policy strategies designed to reduce childhood obesity and create healthier communities.
This action kit for municipal leaders offers a broad range of strategies cities can use to promote physical activity, healthy eating, and access to healthy foods to reverse the childhood obesity epidemic.
This guide, published by the International City/County Management Association, describes how local managers, department heads, and local government staff can design healthy communities for all residents.
This guide, published by the Finance Project, highlights relevant federal funding sources and other strategies of financing childhood obesity prevention programs.


[show abstract] [hide abstract]ABSTRACT: The 3.31-Mb genome sequence of the intracellular pathogen and potential bioterrorism agent, Brucella suis, was determined. Comparison of B. suis with Brucella melitensis has defined a finite set of differences that could be responsible for the differences in virulence and host preference between these organisms, and indicates that phage have played a significant role in their divergence. Analysis of the B. suis genome reveals transport and metabolic capabilities akin to soil/plant-associated bacteria. Extensive gene synteny between B. suis chromosome 1 and the genome of the plant symbiont Mesorhizobium loti emphasizes the similarity between this animal pathogen and plant pathogens and symbionts. A limited repertoire of genes homologous to known bacterial virulence factors were identified. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 11/2002; 99(20):13148-53. · 9.68 Impact Factor


Disclosing Horizons Architecture, Perspective and Redemptive Space Published November 17th 2006 by Routledge – 308 pagesPublished November 17th 2006 by Routledge – 308 pagesThis study examines the influence of perspective on architecture, highlighting how critical historical changes in the representation and perception of space continue to inform the way architects design.
Since its earliest developments, perspective was conceived as an exemplary form of representation that served as an ideal model of how everyday existence could be measured and ultimately judged. Temple argues that underlying the symbolic and epistemological meanings of perspective there prevails a deeply embedded redemptive view of the world that is deemed perfectible.
Temple explores this idea through a genealogical investigation of the cultural and philosophical contexts of perspective throughout history, highlighting how these developments influenced architectural thought. This broad historical enquiry is accompanied by a series of case-studies of modern or contemporary buildings, each demonstrating a particular affinity with the accompanying historical model of perspective.
1. Order and Chaos, or ‘What to Leave Out?’ 2. Number, Geometry and Dialectic 3. Light, Memory and Colour 4. Topography, Rhetoric and the Vanishing Point 5. Unity in Multiplicity 6. Nature and Immensity 7. Disjointed Views Conclusion: Architecture that looks back at us
Nicholas Temple is Professor of Architectural Design at the School of Architecture of the University of Lincoln, having previously taught at the University of Liverpool, Leeds Metropolitan University, the University of Nottingham and the University of Pennsylvania.


Bulletin of the World Health Organization Print version ISSN 0042-9686Abstract MOGENI, Polycarp et al. Diagnostic performance of visible severe wasting for identifying severe acute malnutrition in children admitted to hospital in Kenya . Bull World Health Organ [online]. 2011, vol.89, n.12, pp. 900-906. ISSN 0042-9686. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0042-96862011001200013.
OBJECTIVE: To determine the diagnostic value of visible severe wasting in identifying severe acute malnutrition at two public hospitals in Kenya. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study of children aged 6 to 59.9 months admitted to one rural and one urban hospital. On admission, mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC), weight and height were measured and the presence of visible severe wasting was assessed. The diagnostic performance of visible severe wasting was evaluated against anthropometric criteria. FINDINGS: Of 11 166 children admitted, 563 (5%) had kwashiorkor and 1406 (12.5%) were severely wasted (MUAC < 11.5 cm). The combined sensitivity and specificity of visible severe wasting at the two hospitals, as assessed against a MUAC < 11.5 cm, were 54% (95% confidence interval, CI: 51-56) and 96% (95% CI: 96-97), respectively; at one hospital, its sensitivity and specificity against a weight-for-height z-score below -3 were 44.7% (95% CI: 42-48) and 96.5% (95% CI: 96-97), respectively. Severely wasted children who were correctly identified by visible severe wasting were consistently older, more severely wasted, more often having kwashiorkor, more often positive to the human immunodeficiency virus, ill for a longer period and at greater risk of death. Visible severe wasting had lower sensitivity for determining the risk of death than the anthropometric measures. There was no evidence to support measuring both MUAC and weight-for-height z-score. CONCLUSION: Visible severe wasting failed to detect approximately half of the children admitted to hospital with severe acute malnutrition diagnosed anthropometrically. Routine screening by MUAC is quick, simple and inexpensive and should be part of the standard assessment of all paediatric hospital admissions in the study setting.


Smelly chemical cleaners leave behind a film which can make a person ill, even if they're not the one using them. Second-hand cleaning chemicals, perfumed detergents and fabric softeners can be compared to second-hand smoke – they can affect others negatively too.
Sunday, May 26th
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Institutional Reflection Although UNC’s HLC self-study is prompted by external forces, it has value to UNC beyond the end result of maintaining accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission. As President Norton noted in her charge to the UNC HLC Steering Committee, the self-study process also supports UNC’s ongoing work toward shaping the university to meet challenges of the 21st century.
UNC has recently developed a strategic framework that focuses on how we provide our students with a transformative education. In UNC’s distinctive role among Colorado’s public doctoral research universities, we are uniquely positioned to promote transformative education through the intersection of our academic programs, research and creative works, and community relationships. The self-study process provides UNC with an opportunity to gain insight into how we embrace, advance, and cultivate this distinctive role.
Addressing the HLC Criteria will allow us to evaluate the stability of our foundation and where we might need to shore it up. To help us anticipate and prepare to meet known and as-yet-unknown future challenges, President Norton has framed two additional self-study questions key to supporting our institutional goals:
How does UNC’s distinctive role among Colorado’s public doctoral universities position the University to meet future challenges in an evolving higher education landscape? How does UNC create, nurture and use institutional processes and strategies in support of the University’s distinctive role? What are we doing to evaluate the effectiveness and the importance of these processes and strategies, given our current environment? What promising things are we doing, and how do we build on them as we leverage UNC’s distinctive role to meet future challenges? Where do we have opportunities for improvement, and what have we learned in the self-study process that will help us build our capacity to fulfill UNC’s distinctive role?


Enjoy with or without meals; helps neutralize acidic effects.
The mild flavor of apricots, naturally sweetened with yams. In nature, herbs, foods, minerals, and even plain water have chemical compositions that make them either acid, alkaline or neutral. This fine blend of herbs is highly alkaline. Acid/alkaline balancing was a prevalent health concept in the earlier part of the 20th century, and is enjoying a resurgence in popularity. Today’s diets and lifestyles lend themselves to acidity. Enjoy a cup of Body Rescue™ Alkalizing Tea with a meal, or just following a meal, to help neutralize the effects of acidic foods.


It may not sound as refreshing as a cold sports energy drink, but new research shows bananas provide the same amount of energy as sports drinks, as well as more blood antioxidant capacity and higher dopamine levels—plus they're cheaper and all natural.
The study, published last week in PLos One, compared 14 experienced male cyclists' performances while ingesting either bananas or carbohydrate drinks every 15 minutes. The cyclists performed two time trials, riding a 75-kilometer course described as mountainous and moderately difficult. Blood tests were taken before and after each ride. The researchers noted that the cyclists avoided using high-dose vitamin and mineral supplements, herbs, and medications "known to affect inflammation and immune function" throughout the study. They were also required to maintain a diet moderate in carbohydrates three days before each time trial.
Researchers found that the cyclists' heart rates, exertion, and time did not differ between the banana and energy drink trials. There was also no significant difference between exercise-induced inflammation, oxidative stress, and changes in innate immune function. Similar results occurred in a separate study involving 10-kilometer treadmill runs and runners who consumed bananas and various drinks.
However, cyclists reported feeling much more full and bloated during the banana trial—they did eat six to seven bananas total, after all. They also lost 0.4 kilograms more body weight during the banana trial than when drinking the carbohydrate drink, which was Gatorade.
What's notable about this study is that even though bananas and sports energy drinks have varying nutrient levels, they still provide similar performance benefits. The drink used contained 26.2 grams total sugar, with 11 grams of glucose, 9.1 grams of fructose, and 4.6 grams of sucrose. Bananas contain 27 grams of carbohydrates, 6.4 grams of starch, and almost half the amount of glucose, fructose, and sucrose found in the Gatorade.
Researchers note that overall, eating a banana before and during a long exercise session is "an effective strategy, both in terms of fuel substrate utilization and cost, for supporting performance."
The full study is available at PLos One's website.


Blind and Semi-Blind Equalization based on the Constant Power Criterion
Abstract This paper focuses on the constant power (CP) criterion for blind linear equalization of digital communication channels. This recently proposed criterion is specially designed for the extraction of q-ary phase shift keying (q-PSK) signals using finite impulse response equalizers. When zero-forcing equalizers exist, the CP cost function accepts exact analytic solutions that are unaffected by undesired local extrema and spare costly iterative optimization. A subspace-based method exploiting the Toeplitz-like structure of the solution space is put forward to recover the minimum-length equalizer impulse response from the overestimated-length solutions. The proposed method is more robust to the relative weights of the minimum-length equalizer taps than existing techniques. In less ideal scenarios where the analytic solutions are only approximate minimizers of the criterion, a gradient-descent algorithm is proposed to minimize the cost function. To reduce the detrimental effects of suboptimal equilibria and accelerate convergence, the iterative algorithm is initialized with the approximate closed-form solution, and an optimal step size is incorporated into its updating rule. This optimal step size, which globally minimizes the cost function along the search direction, can be computed algebraically. A semi-blind implementation, which is useful when training data are available, further reduces the impact of undesired local extrema and enhances the convergence characteristics (particularly the robustness to the equalizer initialization) of the iterative algorithm from just a few pilot symbols. All these beneficial features are demonstrated with an experimental study of the proposed CP-based methods in a variety of channels and simulation conditions. Index Terms - Inspec - Controlled Indexing blind equalisers digital communication gradient methods optimisation phase shift keying telecommunication channels


Title Date of Award Fall 2011
Degree Type Thesis
Degree Name Master of Science (MS)
Department Health Science
Advisor Kathleen M. Roe
Keywords attitudes, barriers to care, dental curriculum, prejudicial beliefs, reflection, self-awareness
Subject Areas Public health; Dentistry; Education
Abstract This study investigated dental students' prejudicial beliefs towards underserved patient populations as an upstream constituent of provider attitudinal barriers to care. The objectives were to explore the nature of prejudicial beliefs, to assess the value of critical reflection as essential preparation for patient care, and to identify insights that would inform the preclinical curriculum that, ultimately, reduce oral health disparity.
An original reflection assignment was introduced into the preclinical curriculum of first year dental students to journal about the legitimacy of their prejudicial beliefs. Results indicated dental students identified a range of prejudicial beliefs and, through self-direction, experienced awareness and transformation of their beliefs. Participants agreed that reflection had value. Insights were identified that could enhance the preclinical curriculum. This contributes to the evidence base on pedagogical strategies historically focused on post-experiential reflection. Themes explored include concepts defining the nature of prejudicial beliefs that could guide and inform professional practice.
Recommended Citation Narcisso, Deborah, "Emancipatory Pedagogy Through Serialized Heuristic Reflection: Fostering Self-Awareness of Dental Students' Prejudicial Beliefs" (2011). Master's Theses. Paper 4104. http://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/etd_theses/4104


In this module we continue to address Design Question 5: What will I do to engage students? Here we investigate how teacher enthusiasm and intensity affect students' commitment to learning and motivation. We also explore the psychological rationale for periodically including friendly controversy in classroom discussion to enliven and enrich students' experience of instruction. From there we present a variety of strategies to encourage students to talk about themselves, sharing their personal experiences and background knowledge to extend their interest in the content they are studying. Finally, we investigate how students' love of unusual facts and anomalies can be used to enhance engagement.
As in the previous two modules, the strategies and processes presented in this module are grounded in the five areas identified as necessary elements for promoting student engagement:
High energy
Missing information
The self-system
Mild pressure
Mild controversy and competition
Reflecting on Your Current Beliefs and Practices


How penguins 'time' a deep dive Emperor penguins "time" their dives by the number of flaps they can manage with their wings.
This is according to a new study published in the Journal of Experimental Biology.
It aimed to show how the birds reached the "decision" that it was time to stop feeding and return to the surface to breathe.
Tracking the birds revealed that they flapped their wings, on average, 237 times on each dive.
The study was led by Dr Kozue Shiomi, from the University of Tokyo, Japan.
Dr Shiomi and his team think that the penguins' decision to end their foraging dive and return to the surface is constrained by how much power their muscles can produce after every pre-dive breath. This "flying" motion propels the birds forwards, allowing them to swim quickly through the water, gulping fish.
Using data collected from diving penguins on previous field trips, the team analysed the patterns of more than 15,000 penguin dives.
They studied 10 free-ranging birds and three birds that were foraging through a hole in the ice.
PENGUIN FACTS Emperor penguins are the largest species of penguin, standing at over one metre tall and weighing an average of 40kg In the bitter cold, males and females choose mates relatively quickly, pairing off and "flirting" with special neck-stretching displays The males incubate eggs through the fierce Antarctic winter while females feed themselves up to provide for their chicks in the spring Timing the penguins' dives revealed that free-ranging birds began their final ascent to the surface about 5.7 minutes into their dive. But penguins diving through the ice hole often dived for longer before performing a U-turn and returning up through the same ice hole.
Examining the acceleration patterns of the penguins as they dived, the team managed to calculate that all the birds used, on average, 237 wing flaps before starting their ascent.
"We suggest", the team concluded in their paper, "that the decision [to return] was constrained not by elapsed time, but by the number of strokes and, thus, perhaps cumulative muscle work."


Matrix Energetics® is a trans formative system that can create change on all levels of our existence - physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. By modifying a person's matrix of reality combined with conscious intent at the quantum level of existence, the state where we all exist as "wave forms" of light, Matrix Energetics® collapses old energy patters at the quantum level and creates new patterns instantly.
By changing these old patterns, we can transform any aspect of our reality.
your body your beliefs health challenges relationships finances Matrix Energetics® is based on the laws of subtle energy physics. When Matrix Energetics® is applied, you will often feel a wave-like motion, as you experience your body dropping into a wave of transformation.
During our session we focus on discovering and transforming the core issues that are causing the disharmony.
Because Matrix Energetics creates change at the quantum level, where time and space do not exist, some trans formative change is noticed instantly, while other results are noticed over time, even though the change occurred at the quantum level instantaneously.
Matrix Energetics® along with the conscious intention for change, creates the space for a new reality to occur. There are no rules or limitations to the beneficial transformation that can be created using Matrix Energetics® because at the quantum level ALL POSSIBILITIES EXIST. You can create changes in any area of your life.
cost per session $ 130.00 incl.HST


As the early morning sunlight streams through the window, the old blue fruit jar catches the sun’s vibrant rays and sends streams of colored light across the floor and walls. The sunbeams dancing around the room have a hypnotic effect, and gradually my thoughts drift back—back many years to the days of my youth and the experiences I had with that old blue fruit jar.
It all began around my twelfth birthday. I had anticipated becoming a deacon in the Aaronic Priesthood and was thrilled to begin fulfilling my duties—one of which was to provide water for the sacrament.
This was more difficult than it might sound. We lived in a rural farming community in southeastern Idaho, and our old meetinghouse had no running water. For as long as anyone could remember, Aaronic Priesthood holders had carried the sacrament water from an artesian well located about half a mile away.
I remember the first Sunday I carried the water. My mother and I had searched for an appropriate vessel to carry the water in. The old blue fruit jar had seemed perfect, and I carefully washed the old jar until it was sparkling clean and bright.
It was February, and just as we arrived at the meetinghouse, it began to snow. I grabbed the fruit jar and headed off through the falling snow toward the well and toward one of the most spiritual experiences I’ve had in my life.
The only sound was that of the snow crunching beneath my feet.
I was engulfed by the thick, falling snowflakes, unable to see but a short distance in any direction. My mind and thoughts began to focus on the purpose of my walk, and I felt a sacred spirit testify of the importance of the Atonement and the sacrament, which offers us each an opportunity to renew our covenants with a loving, forgiving Father in Heaven.
At the well, I reverently filled the jar with water and began retracing my steps through the early-morning snow. My heart swelled with joy as I began to comprehend that I was on an assignment for Jesus Christ to provide for his holy and sacred ordinance so that his brothers and sisters could become as clean and pure as the world through which I was walking. My heart was touched, and my understanding of the sacredness of the sacrament began to grow.
In the years that followed, I repeated that same routine many times—first as a deacon, then as a teacher, and finally as a priest. Each time I went to the well for water or assisted in preparing or blessing the sacrament, the significance of what I was doing had deeper and deeper meaning.
That old blue fruit jar has a special place in my heart. As I carefully carried it and performed my duties in the Lord’s work, I felt my first memorable stirrings of the Holy Ghost.


Diffusion Tensor Imaging in Young Children with Autism: Biological Effects and Potential Confounds
Biological Psychiatry, 08/21/2012
Walker L et al. – The authors found statistically significant differences in diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) metrics between children with autism and typically developing children, including different developmental trends of these metrics. However, this study indicates that between–group differences in DTI studies of autism should be interpreted with caution, because their small magnitude make these measurements particularly vulnerable to the effects of artifacts and confounds, which might lead to false positive and/or false negative biological inferences.


CNST Team Calculates the Electronic Transport Properties of Graphene Stacks June 22, 2011
Contact: Mark Stiles 301-975-3745
Anticipating forthcoming experiments, a CNST team has shown that few layer graphene stacks have favorable transport properties that could enable engineering of novel electronic devices.* There has been significant research examining the properties of monolayer graphene, single sheets of carbon atoms that can be extracted from bulk graphite. However, the same extraction techniques can also make few-layer-thick stacks of graphene sheets. In this work, the CNST team calculated how the number of sheets and their relative orientation affects the multilayers’electrical conductivity. In the most energetically favorable case, where half of the carbon atoms on neighboring layers share the same x-y position, the researchers predicted that stacks of three or four sheets should not behave like bulk graphite, but rather like a collection of monolayer and bilayer graphene sheets. In their calculations, these high-symmetry stacking arrangements exhibited properties particularly promising for future electronics, including a carrier mobility that was higher than that of either a graphene monolayer or bilayer with the same impurity concentration. The calculations also found that if the stacks were sufficiently pure (comparable to the cleanest graphene monolayers reported in the literature), a transport measurement could be used to identify the number of layers, the stacking orientation, and whether the dominant disorder was due to short-range causes, such as missing atoms, or long-range causes, such charged adsorbates.


[show abstract] [hide abstract]ABSTRACT: Transplantation of islets into the portal vein of diabetic patients has emerged as a promising procedure for the treatment of type 1 diabetes. However, shortages of donors and adverse effects leading to graft impairment and/or rejection have prevented this procedure from achieving widespread clinical application. The aim of this study was to develop a method that could support the survival and function of transplanted islets using a prevascularized tissue engineering chamber. Islets were transplanted into tissue engineering chambers established on the epigastric pedicle in the groin of diabetic mice. Islets were transplanted at the time of chamber implantation or with 21 days prevascularization of the chamber. Transplantation of islets into prevascularized chambers into diabetic RIP-K(b) mice resulted in a significant reduction in blood glucose levels that became evident in the third week and improved glycemic control as measured by a glucose tolerance test. This study highlights that islet survival and function are potentiated by allowing a period of prevascularization within tissue engineering chambers before islet transplantation. This novel prevascularized chamber may be an improved method of islet transplantation. It can be easily accessed for islet seeding, easily retrieved, and transplanted to alternative anatomical sites by microvascular methods. Tissue Engineering Part A 07/2009; 15(12):3823-33. · 4.64 Impact Factor


1984 was another strong year for Fifth District banks. Average return on assets, though slightly lower than in 1983, was still higher than the national average. This article, by David L. Mengle and John R. Walter, analyzes the factors affecting the profitability of District banks in 1984 to explain this relatively strong performance. District banks were successful in reducing noninterest expense in 1984, and maintaining net interest margins higher than the national average. Increases in provisions for loan losses, however, reduced returns slightly below 1983 levels. District banks' capital positions, which were already above the national average, were further strengthened in 1984, leaving those banks well-equipped for continued growth.
Amanda L. Kramer
(804) 697-8606


Dear Friends of Education,
The torch of the Turkish Education Association was lit by Atatürk, our great leader and the first President of the Turkish Republic, and it has been blazing since 1928. We have always felt privileged by this because our founding members were also the founders of the Turkish Republic, including the Prime Minister of that period. We have also felt the weight of our commitment which continues to compell us to pursue our mission with increasingly more creative and successful projects every year.
Modernization is often defined along three dimensions: a competitive economy based on technological development, a pluralistic democracy based on human rights, and a constitutional state effectively fulfilling all its functions, from justice and security to healthcare and education. In the current age of globalization, a country can maintain and reinforce its presence in all these areas only by cultivating well-educated individuals. For social and economic progress, we need people equipped with technological knowledge and skills as well as the awareness of democratic citizenship and commitment. This can only be ensured through an innovative and progressive education system based on a sound vision.
With the light of our ever-blazing torch, we aim to provide better educational opportunities primarily for Turkish children in need of financial support, thus contributing to the cultivation of leading individuals in our society. Ever since its inception, the Turkish Education Association has been committed to this ideal and strives to take its efforts to further and more successful stages every day.
Selçuk Pehlivanoğlu
Turkish Education Association President


Cost-shifting This article needs more links to other articles to help integrate it into the encyclopedia. (December 2012)
Cost-shifting is either an economic situation where one group underpays for a service resulting another group overpaying for a service (shifting compared to expected burden)[1] [2] or where one group pays a smaller share of costs than before resulting in another group paying a larger share of costs than before (shifting compared to previous arrangement). Some commentators on health policy in the United States believe the former currently happens in Medicare and Medicaid as they underpay for services resulting in private insurers overpaying.[3] References [edit] "Preferred Medical Claim Solutions - Healthcare, Medical Claim Settlement Terms". Pmcsonline.com. Retrieved 2009-09-16. "Behavioral Health Glossary". Pmhm.com. Retrieved 2009-09-16. Wangsness, Lisa (2009-06-21). "Healthcare debate shifting to public vs. private - The Boston Globe". Boston.com. Retrieved 2009-09-16. See also Cost Externalizing
This economics-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.


Context Context Contents
Need [edit] Designers of instructor-led training courses rely too heavily on topic-based instructional strategies. These rely primarily on a “data dump” of content to ensure learners have been exposed to virtually everything known about a topic. The learner leaves these experiences with knowledge in their heads, but little ability to apply what they have learned. Experts, such as Neil Rackham and Sivasailam Thiagarajan, argue that content-dump training is a waste of time since it is not possible for learners to remember a vast portion of what they are taught.
Instructional Context [edit] This hour-long instructional module will contribute to achieving the learning goal in an online web environment. This module shall consist of three self-paced lessons.
Transfer Context [edit] Job aids provided to the learner within the instruction as well as process learning can be applied to various contexts where creation of instructor-led training must be developed. The movement toward performance-based instruction puts enhanced emphasis on enabling people to perform key tasks well, while sacrificing a wide breadth of knowledge. Medical schools such as McMaster’s University in Canada have experimented with problem-based learning. Corporations such as Learning Tree International have integrated a blend of problem-based learning and goal-based scenarios into their lines of training products. These kinds of learning experiences, while more resource-intensive to develop, have shown marked improvement in terms of learner performance and learner satisfaction.


Photo: Farm Sanctuary (Flickr)
Denny’s is the latest restaurant chain to announce it will stop purchasing pork from farmers who crate their pigs. While animal rights activists are cheering, pork farmers are incensed.
Stopping Stalls Pregnant sows are often held in crates to keep them from being crowded out at the trough, but the enclosures are often little bigger than the pig itself, leading to stress and various health issues.
Denny’s is following in the footsteps of other major chains like McDonald’s and Burger King who have already stopped or plan to stop using pork from suppliers that use gestation crates.
Trust and Pork Farmers Domino’s Pizza, on the other hand, has announced it would not cease purchasing meat rendered from crated swine.
This has pleased pork farmers like Chris Chinn published a blog piece expressing her approval. Emphasizing farmers’ use of crates for protection, she hailed Domino’s trust in farmers’ expertise. “Domino’s decision speaks volumes to me as a farmer,” she wrote. “It shows they trust the experts I trust. It shows they trust me. I appreciate that.”
Supporters of Domino’s have been encouraged to buy pizza and send the company a thank you note.
Opponents of crating might send their own letters to Denny’s, or head to the farmers market and buy meat from suppliers they know and trust.


Abstract:
From medical, philosophical and martial arts’ origins centuries ago, Tai Chi Chuan is currently one of the most effective and widely practiced mind and body exercise models in the world. Since 2005, when a wheelchair Tai Chi Chuan program was developed and introduced in China, the practice of wheelchair Tai Chi Chuan has quickly gained enormous popularity in both “able-bodied” and “disabled” populations in China.
This presentation based on the author’s participatory and ethnographic experience working with various organizations in China and elsewhere to develop a wheelchair Tai Chi Chuan program, discusses public responses to wheelchair Tai Chi Chuan, and how people with disabilities performing wheelchair Tai Chi Chuan challenge/reshape the perceptions of “able-bodied” populations about physical and psychological space and limitation. This presentation suggests that the growing popularity of wheelchair Tai Chi Chuan is not only based on its therapeutic effects for wheelchair practitioners, but also to growing understandings about the enormous health and clinical implications that the practices of wheelchair Tai Chi Chuan offer to the general population.
During recent years, healthcare professionals from various disciplines including physical therapy, occupational therapy, chiropractic, therapeutic recreation therapy and acupuncture have extended seated Tai Chi Chuan into their therapeutic interactions with patients who are temporarily mobility-challenged due to diseases or injures. Various forms of seated Tai Chi Chuan have also emerged as a self-care method for office workers at their desks, residents of nursing homes, assisted-living facilities and senior centers. Thus, a disability-engendered innovation has widening applications and creative implications.


Primary-source verification is a rigorous, multi-step process that ECFMG employs to ensure the integrity and authenticity of a physician’s medical education credentials.
When ECFMG receives a credential issued by a medical school, it first reviews the credential and compares it to sample primary-source verified documents from its Medical Credentials Reference Library to confirm that it is consistent with the format of credentials issued by the medical school. If the credential is determined to be consistent with verified samples, ECFMG will communicate directly with the issuing institution to request verification of the credential’s authenticity. If ECFMG believes it will facilitate the verification process, ECFMG will communicate with an institution in the language of the country in which the institution is located. ECFMG currently verifies documents using 11 languages.
Once ECFMG receives this verification, another review is conducted to confirm that the verification meets ECFMG’s standards. ECFMG only accepts verifications directly from the issuing institution.


Safety Part 1: Background - What Are The Risks And What Is FDA's Role In Managing Risk? At the turn of this century, healthcare was generally provided by a family practitioner who treated patients from cradle to grave. Today's healthcare products are developed and used within a complex system involving a number of key participants. As illustrated in the following figure, participants include (1) manufacturers who develop and test products and submit applications for their approval to the FDA; (2) the FDA, which has an extensive premarketing review and approval process and uses a series of postmarketing surveillance programs to gather data on and assess risks; (3) the healthcare delivery system, including its many elements; and (4) patients, who rely on the ability of this complex system to provide them with needed interventions while protecting them from injury. In many cases, the roles of the participants in this system evolved independently, and in some cases, the roles are not clearly defined.


Protective foams Extreme sports are becoming ever more popular. However, while these sports may get the adrenalin pumping, they also expose people to a higher risk of serious injury.
As a result, advanced body armour is now widely used across a variety of activities to allow extreme sports enthusiasts to get the "buzz" they seek, while still having the peace of mind that they are protected, as much as is possible, from injuring themselves.
Top-to-toe protection As a forward-thinking innovator in foam conversion, at Technical Foam Services we pride ourselves on supplying products suited to life in the 21st century. This includes a wide range of protective foams and body armour goods developed specifically for sporting and leisure activities, as well as for emergency services and military personnel.
These include:
Helmet linings for cyclists, skateboarders, snowboarders and horse riders Elbow and knee limb guards for motorcyclists Impact protection vests for horse riders Limb and body armour for goal hockey players Stab vests for emergency service staff and military personnel. Precision engineering As the recognised leader in engineering-biased foam solutions, our expertise and processing capabilities truly to come to the fore in protective foams, where quality materials, precision manufacturing and technical expertise are vital to ensure a guaranteed performance time and time again.
With an established reputation in the field of protective foam conversion specifically developed for body armour applications, our products provide:
A superior level of shock and impact absorption Continued performance, even following repeated impact Fire retardancy and self-extinguishing characteristics (particularly relevant in motorcycle applications). Fit for purpose We also understand that regardless of the protection provided by body armour, few people will wear it if seriously restricts movement or is uncomfortable.
Produced in high-grade PVC Nitrile, our wide range of protective foam solutions combines superior performance with supreme softness, comfort and fit.
Working closely with leading raw material suppliers, our technical and engineering experts have developed protective foam products that offer excellent impact protection, combined with outstanding fit and softness.
Breathable, soft, comfortable and lightweight, our protective foams are designed to go relatively unnoticed by the wearer through maintaining a pleasant body temperature, while also enabling complete freedom to move. This allows users to benefit from a high level of protection against injury without impeding their movement or enjoyment.
Custom designed protection With a wealth of experience in producing a wide range of protective foams for sports, leisure and professional applications, and an in-house engineering department; at Technical Foam Services we can develop bespoke tooling as well as prototypes in addition to offering a vast range of testing, processing and full-scale manufacturing services.
We love a challenge. So, if you are considering a new application for protective foam, contact our technical team to discuss your individual requirements.


Narrator: This is Science Today. Whether you're a morning person or a night owl, we all have our own internal body clock, or circadian rhythm. This 24-hour cycle regulates a variety of biological processes, including sleep. Now, a University of California, San Francisco study offers new insight into this cycle. Ying-hui Fu led a study that identified a gene and mutation that causes a rare sleep behavior called Familial Advanced Sleep Phase Syndrome. Fu: The main problem they have is they like to go to bed really early, like 4PM, 6PM and they like to get up very early, like 2AM, 4AM, 5AM. Narrator: While this syndrome is rare, Fu says their study reveals that sleep behavior is genetically determined and the effects of the human circadian rhythm are far-reaching. Fu: If you think of the circadian rhythm as a center, you can connect sleep, connect to depression, connect to learning and memory and then come back to migraine headache and then it connects to asthma, so it's very broad. Narrator: For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.


Question: First, I'd like to tell you how much I love your column. I look forward to it every week. I can hardly wait until lunch to read it. I love your open-mindedness and appreciate your humor.Now, for the topic at hand: In 2007, I was at church during Divine Mercy Sunday and preparing for my confession. I was sitting by myself in the chapel, but there were several other people around talking quietly or meditating. All of a sudden, this "feeling" came over me. It was so incredible I had a hard time understanding what was happening.
Then I realized I was crying and couldn't seem to get hold of my emotions. I sat there for an unknown amount of time, caught up in what was happening. It was such an incredible feeling both inside and outside that the only way I can describe it is as being touched by God.
Even though I was crying, I was crying for joy. I felt completely euphoric.
I can't remember if I ever made my confession, nor do I remember leaving the church. I couldn't talk about what happened for months because just thinking about it made me cry.
Any thoughts? — D., via godsquadquestion@aol.com
Answer: I'm very happy that you take joy in what I write. I'm also glad that I help you enjoy your lunch. Your moving description of your experience in church touched my heart. I have no doubt what you felt was indeed God's touch, but for those who might not agree, I have no desire to debate the point.Whether or not your emotional overload occurred because you felt the presence of God is the wrong question to ask, because it can't be answered with any degree of certainty. The right questions about this experience, it seems to me, are those that lead you to ask yourself what the experience means to you, or how it will change you.
The essential element I'd take from your amazing moment is that you experienced supervening joy in a broken and often joyless world. To know that absolute joy is always possible will take you through the darkest night.
Your experience validates my feeling we're not alone in an unfeeling, bleak cosmos, and that despite all despairing evidence, life is not only good, but also supremely good. I also hope that your private moment will lead you to find ways to serve others who haven't yet seen the light of joy.
Surely, many people could use your radiant smile as you serve them lunch at a soup kitchen, piercing the loneliness of their daily lives. Perhaps your tears of joy could fill others with a joy that has eluded them.
I believe God fills us with private joy in order to give us strength to fill the world with public good.
Many great writers and poets have tried to express this ineffable joy at feeling close to God. One of my favorite passages comes from psychologist and philosopher William James, who wrote of a similar experience in "The Varieties of Religious Experience" (1902). He quotes a communication from a clergyman. I believe you'll understand every word:
"I remember the night, and almost the very spot on the hilltop, where my soul opened out, as it were, into the Infinite, and there was a rushing together of the two worlds, the inner and the outer. It was deep calling unto deep — the deep that my own struggle had opened up within being answered by the unfathomable deep without, reaching beyond the stars.
"I stood alone with Him who had made me, and all the beauty of the world, and love, and sorrow, and even temptation. I did not seek Him, but felt the perfect unison of my spirit with His. The ordinary sense of things around me faded. For the moment, nothing but an ineffable joy and exultation remained.
"It's impossible fully to describe the experience; it was like the effect of some great orchestra when all the separate notes have melted into one swelling harmony that leaves the listener conscious of nothing save that his soul is being wafted upwards, and almost bursting with its own emotion.
"The perfect stillness of the night was thrilled by a more solemn silence. The darkness held a presence that was all the more felt because it was not seen. I could not any more have doubted that He was there than that I was. Indeed, I felt myself be, if possible, the less real of the two."
Send questions only to godsquadquestion@aol.com .


One notable feature about the debate between ‘liberal’ and ‘political’ constitutionalism has been its elite focus. The courts and the legislature are discussed in efforts to determine the appropriate role of each in processes of constitution-framing and changing. But this task is often set up implicitly as a zero-sum game. Although it might be claimed that citizens are tangentially relevant to this power struggle, a detailed account of whether citizens should, and how they might, play a direct role in constitutional authorship is seldom if ever placed on the table. This paper considers the elite orientation of this debate questioning whether this is in normative terms acceptable, and in empirical terms credible, particularly as we consider how, over the past three decades, the referendum has emerged as an important vehicle for constitutional change in so many states.


In this month's issue Larry Davidson, Ph.D., and his colleagues, who conduct training sessions on recovery-oriented care, describe the top ten concerns that they have encountered among professionals. Two themes are common—concerns about resources and risk. The authors address some of the misconceptions about recovery-oriented care that lie behind these concerns (page 640). The article is the second in a series on system transformation supported by a grant to Psychiatric Services from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. In his accompanying commentaries, Paolo del Vecchio, M.S.W., focuses on ways to overcome stigma and discrimination (page 646). In a second commentary, Faith B. Dickerson, Ph.D., raises several questions from the standpoint of "an empirically oriented practitioner" (page 647).


Although there are typically dozens of articles in every discipline that consider writing and ways to integrate writing into disciplinary courses, relatively few take up issues of commenting on student work. The citations in these sections include at least some material about evaluating student writing. Despite the disciplinary labels, many of the listed articles give advice pertinent for any teacher integrating writing for any discipline.
In each section I've noted key articles and the full-text database you can use to access any online materials.


This plant has been used by hunter-gatherers and shepherds as a mood enhancing substance for millennia, and is far more effective and rapid-acting than the well-know European plant Hypericum (St Johns Wort).
Uses: Low mood, winter-blues, mood swings Anxiety, stress, nervous tension Hot flushes and irritability in menopause Alcoholic rehabilitation support Irritability in smoking-cessation Supports libido Chemistry and Pharmacology: The active constituents of the plant are mesembrine-alkaloids along with the closely related compounds of mesembrenone, mesembrenol and tortuosamine, which have been demonstrated by the National Institute of Mental Health (USA) to act positively on serotonin, nor-adrenaline, nicotine and dopamine receptor-sites in the brain.Suggested Dosage: One tablet daily with breakfast, to one tablet twice a day, unless otherwise directed.Contra-Indications & Cautions: Do not use with psychiatric medication or alcohol. Do not use during pregnancy or while breast feeding.Store below 25OC in a dry place. Protect from light. Keep out of reach of children
For more information of sceletium tortuosum, please visit Sceletium.org


Historically, the Lower Yangzi Delta (or Jiangnan ), has played a key role in China's economic development. Indeed, as the prime example of a traditional Chinese market economy, the region serves as the core case study when making comparisons between the Chinese and Western economies in the early modern period.
This book explores aspects of this vibrant market economy in late imperial China, and by presenting a reconstructed narrative of economic development in the early modern Jiangnan, provides new perspectives on established theories of Chinese economic development. Further, by examining economic values alongside social structures, this book produces a historically comprehensive account of the contemporary Chinese economy which engenders a deeper and broader understanding of China's current economic success.
With a broad range of empirical case studies which incorporate a range of social science and cultural theories, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of Chinese history, as well as Chinese economics and business.


With April right around the corner, the official beach monitoring season is upon us. Under AB 411, all heavily visited beaches near a potential pollution source statewide must be monitored once a week from April to the end of October. The monitoring program provides critical information to better inform the public of the potential health risks of swimming at potentially polluted beaches.


The guidelines, concocted by the N.C. Division of Medical Assistance and the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services, mandate drastic cuts to a widely used, community-based program that provides services to some of the state's most vulnerable citizens. Tucked away in a technical amendment to the Community Alternatives Program, or CAP, is a revision to the current structure of services that CAP clients--over 5,500 children and adults statewide--receive. Before the changes, children in the CAP program were entitled to an average five or six hours of daily in-home support and therapy. However, the technical amendment reduces the hours school-age CAP clients can receive to two per day, regardless of the clients' disability, diagnosis, or need.
The cuts have not been widely announced. Many parents and clients remain unaware of the planned service reductions, initially scheduled to take effect March 1. At a recent meeting of the Legislative Oversight Committee on Mental Health, though, DMH's Chief of State Operated Services Stan Slawinski discounted the documented March start date as a "rumor." He said that the actual start date could be as late as May. But no matter the date of implementation, the effect the cuts will have will be impossible to ignore.
For many families, the CAP services are a lifeline to normalcy. Under the program, workers trained in developmental disabilities spend time each day with CAP recipients, teaching self-care skills, working on behavioral and educational goals, and providing supportive counseling to people who greatly need such assistance. Each CAP client has unique strengths and faces unique challenges, differences that CAP habilitation services have been tailored to meet.
Under the proposed new rules, though, each client will be treated essentially the same. No matter how severe the disability, no matter how significant the diagnosis, all young clients will receive the same two hours of service per day.
Regarding the dramatic reduction in services to school-aged kids, Lisa Haire of the CAP branch of DMH explained the cut to the Legislative Committee using simple math. It was felt by bureaucrats that eight hours of attention per day was enough for children. Since most children spend six hours a day at school, it was then logical to subtract these hours from the arbitrary eight-hour limit, leaving only two hours for after-school therapy and support services.
The CAP program is funded partially through federal Medicaid allocations. Those dollars are not set to decrease. The decision to restrict services is a state, not a federal, one. The rationale behind the cut, Haire explained, was to reduce the state's wait list, composed of thousands of people approved but not currently funded for CAP services. However, no figures were available detailing how much the wait list would be reduced, or even if it would. Any possible savings would only be seen after the cuts were in effect.
The Divisions of Mental Health and Medical Assistance are still taking comments on the proposed changes. Send them to: Richard Visingardi, Director, DMH/DD/SAS, 325 N. Salisbury St., Raleigh, NC 27603, or Nina Yeager, Director, DMA, 1985 Umstead Dr., Raleigh, NC 27603.


© 2011, SFU Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology. All Rights Reserved.
How are missing persons identified? The process of identification can begin even before an actual body is found - as soon as a person or group is reported missing or presumed dead. Initially, this involves collecting antemortem data. Ante-mortem data refers to any information or document collected for a person during their life that could assist in identifying them after their death. This includes a physical description of their sex, age, hair colour, stature etc; medical and dental records (including radiographs); individualizing traits like tattoos; and recent photographs. If available, antemortem information also includes details of how a person was dressed at the time of their disappearance and what personal effects they might have been carrying. Any piece of evidence that might identify the person is relevant. Once collected, the data can be compared to similar information obtained from unidentified dead bodies in an attempt to find a match. Whether a single individual is missing or whether multiple fatalities are involved, antemortem records are an essential component of the identification process.


Childhood immunizations are an easy, proven, and cost effective way to help children stay healthy and avoid the potentially harmful effects of childhood diseases such as polio, tetanus, and diphtheria.
PHP is continually evaluating interventions for implementation and partnerships with local, state, and national coalitions to address this clinical priority. Examples of interventions follow.
PHP is an active supporter and participant in the implementation of the Michigan Childhood Immunization Registry (MCIR) initiative, including participation in local area task forces charged with advising efforts to provide physicians web based access to the MCIR data.
PHP provides immunization reminders for two-year old PHP members. Targeted members for this project include those who have been enrolled in PHP for at least twelve months or since birth who PHP claims data suggest are not up to date.
PHP distributes an immunization schedule to mothers with newborns as part of the Healthy Mom, Healthy Baby program.
PHP intends to continue providing immunization and related benefit information in member materials, such as the member handbook, new member orientation materials, and member newsletters.
PHP has established partnerships with community projects aimed at improving community awareness.
Visit the American Academy of Pediatrics Web site for access to a recommended childhood immunization schedule.


As you are aware, 2010 was once again defined by an impasse in the global economic system, particularly in the west which, following the financial crisis of recent years, was forced for the first time to face an eastern shift in the axis of economic activity.
The crisis has put a great strain on countries, entities and people, each of which has had to deal with it in their own way based on their resources and devise new strategies for pushing further and reinventing their development plans.
In fact, the word crisis (krisis) derives from the Greek verb krino (to separate or divide) and has different meanings including a choice, outcome or solution. Beginning from its etymological meaning, it becomes clear we are dealing with an edge, an imaginary line dividing one side from the other with a mountainous relief.
Extending this meaning, the word crisis indicates precisely the separation between a before and after timeframe and is in itself both a choice and a solution.
- Economic sustainability
- Energy package
- Health and Safety
- Environment
- People
- Community
- Customers
- Suppliers
- Innovation


STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE TOGO D. WEST, JR. SECRETARY OF THE ARMY ACTING SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS BEFORE THE HOUSE VETERANS' AFFAIRS SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND INVESTIGATIONS
January 28, 1998
Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee for the opportunity to be here today to discuss the process by which the Secretary of the Army authorizes burial at Arlington National Cemetery.
As you know, in an effort to prolong the active life of this national cemetery, the eligibility criteria for burial at Arlington, in effect since 1967, are highly restrictive. In an attempt to temper those strict rules with human compassion, Presidents and Secretaries of the Army have, on rare occasion, exercised their authority to waive the governing regulation and authorize other deserving individuals to be interred at Arlington. This authority has been exercised sparingly and judiciously over 30 years. For example, of the approximately 25,000 funerals at Arlington in the past 5 years, only 69 of them occurred pursuant to a waiver.
The Army followed a set procedure for processing requests for waivers during my tenure as Secretary of the Army. All action on requests is initiated with the Superintendent of the Cemetery. The occasional request that was addressed to a different office within the Army was returned to the cemetery for action. The Superintendent serves as the fact-finder, working directly with the family to gather the necessary information regarding military service, awards, plot locations of previously buried family members, and a justification for granting an exception. Once the Superintendent has obtained the relevant facts, the Army's goal is to respond within 24 hours.
The Superintendent prepared a recommendation for approval or denial and submitted it with the package to the responsible Assistant Secretary. The Assistant Secretary independently reviewed the package and made a recommendation after obtaining a legal review from the Office of the Army General Counsel and other coordination. The request then arrived in my office for decision. The regularity of this process led to only nine occasions, in which I, exercising my independent judgment as the decision-maker, authorized a burial for which the Superintendent had recommended disapproval up through the system.
I approved a total of 59 requests for burial while serving as the Secretary of the Army from November 1993 through December 1997. Forty-three of these requests fell into the largest group of exceptions -- family members interred in the same grave as eligible, immediate family members. This group includes primarily unmarried, adult children with no dependents interred with their parents and remarried widows interred with their first husbands. The vast majority of requests of this type are approved out of compassion for the deceased and the requesting family members. Consequently, I only denied two family member requests.
One was a married son with two dependent children requesting burial with his parents. The request was denied because the wife and children would have become automatically eligible pursuant to the regulation and insufficient space remained to accommodate all of the family members in the grave. The second was a request for a nephew to be buried with his uncle. Not only are family member burials usually limited to immediate family, but the uncle had no surviving family members to approve of the burial and the nephew had already been cremated and was eligible for inurnment in the cemetery's Columbarium in his own right.
The second group of exceptions consists of burials that will displace eligible veterans. After careful consideration of each individual circumstance, I disapproved 28 such requests. The vast majority in this group that are approved are veterans who were not automatically eligible for burial, but whose compelling circumstances merited burial at Arlington. I authorized burial of thirteen such veterans. The remaining fraction of approvals are for public servants whose significant national contributions warranted burial at Arlington. I authorized three such burials, namely: a Department of State official killed on a diplomatic mission to Bosnia; a war correspondent who played a critical role in resolving the Cuban Missile Crisis and later served as a U.N. Ambassador; and an ambassador who died at his post.
Unlike those granted exceptions to be buried in the same grave, the facts that constitute compelling circumstances or significant national contributions are much more varied. In authorizing burials in this latter group of exceptions, I relied on four categories presented to me when I originally took office: ambassadors, assassinated embassy or foreign service personnel, persons who have made a unique national contribution; and humanitarian reasons.
This record, and the records of my predecessors, indicate that the responsibility for Arlington is taken seriously. The consistent application over 30 years of a standard based either on immediate family relation to, and burial with, a person eligible for burial or on an evaluation of the person's contributions to the Nation validates the process. The Secretary of the Army is appropriately situated to strike the necessary balance between compassionate discretion and responsibility for safeguarding Arlington, and accountability to service members, veterans, the public, and Congress.
Since the conclusion of the Civil War, the Nation has maintained Arlington National Cemetery as a final resting place for heroes. Every Secretary of War and Secretary of the Army has assumed responsibility for stewardship of this hallowed place with great seriousness. These hearings underscore this Subcommittee's appropriate concern that rules concerning eligibility and process for burial at Arlington continue to reflect the sacred nature of that place. I am pleased to join with you in that spirit today. Our Nation, service members, and veterans deserve no less.


News UNEP Risoe Assesses CDM’s Cost Efficiency 1 July 2012: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Risoe Centre on Energy, Climate and Sustainable Development has released the first Working Paper of a new series titled “Penny Wise, Pound Foolish?” The paper, by Søren Lütken, questions if the original intention of cost efficient emissions reduction through the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is being fulfilled.
According to the paper, the CDM is promoted as a mechanism bringing into play cheaper emissions reduction options in developing countries, compared to those that can be realized in developed countries. It argues that the broad array of emissions reduction options exploited simultaneously may not be compatible with this assumption, and notes growing data challenging the cost efficiency of emissions reduction options exploited. It underscores that the most prevalent investments in CDM are cost inefficient reductions in wind and hydro projects.
The paper also notes that in most cases, the marginal cost of abatement is not an investment driver. It calls for rethinking the approach to promoting emissions reduction in developing countries, to align them with reductions undertaken in developed countries, or to realize that while the CDM promotes emissions reduction in developing countries, it does not reduce the global cost of emissions reduction. [Publication: Penny Wise, Pound Foolish?]


This study focuses on comparing the performance of submerged membrane bioreactor (SMBR) and submerged membrane adsorption bioreactor (SMABR) over a period of 20 days at a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 3.1 h. The effects of PAC on critical flux and membrane fouling were also investigated. The SMABR exhibited better results in terms of mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) growth, DOC removal (over 96%), COD removal (over 95%), transmembrane pressure (TMP) and oxygen uptake rate. Nearly 100% of bacteria and 100% of total coliforms were removed in both systems. The addition of PAC could maintain the critical flux at a lower TMP value (7.5 kPa), while irreversible fouling caused by PAC occurred when the filtration flux exceeded critical flux.


The representation and interpretation of an image is incredibly powerful. Sturken and Cartwright explore the use of images and representation as a means by which we understand and negotiate our surroundings. However, the uncertainty of these representations and the potential for miscommunication by an image is a problematic concept to grapple with. The above photograph was taken by photographer Thomas Hoepker on September 11, 2001. Hoepker was a photojournalist in Manhattan who drove to Williamsburg in an attempt to document the events that were unfolding on that day. An initial examination of the photo leads people to see a relaxed group of adults nonchalantly enjoying the sunny weather while horrific clouds of smoke billow from the World Trade Center site over the river. However, Hoepker explains that the reality of the situation was much different than what was captured in this one image. After taking many pictures that day, he reviewed his photos with his colleagues and decided against including this photo in their joint album, for he deemed this image misleading. Thus, it took approximately 5 years for this picture to be published, a time when Hoepker saw enough time distance from the actual event. When released, the photo was greeted with much controversy, Frank Rich of the New York Times writing an article criticizing the Americans in the photograph. Hoepker ultimately gave his voice to the controversy, stating that this picture is more ambiguous and confusing than it is telling of the reality of the situation. He explained that this was more about a misrepresentation of reality and a misinterpretation of a text. Thus, Hoepker’s photo exemplifies the misrepresentation of a moment in time and the subsequent misunderstanding of a text. While an unfortunately deceiving photo, I think the whole situation warrants a moment of pause to ponder the many moments of misrepresentation we face on a daily basis. Just walking through the streets of New York can expose you to situations for seconds at a time, and from those few seconds, you form a judgment and an evaluation of the situation. This is a daily occurrence that many times may just be Hoepker’s photograph playing out in real life. If we actually take time to think about how often this type of quick judgment without knowing the full context of a situation occurs, I wonder if our concept of representation and understanding could be better understood.
The Manifestation of Misrepresentation


Background
The transcription factor MYC is a critical regulator of diverse cellular processes, including both replication and apoptosis. Differences in MYC-regulated gene expression responsible for such opposing outcomes in vivo remain obscure. To address this we have examined time-dependent changes in global gene expression in two transgenic mouse models in which MYC activation, in either skin suprabasal keratinocytes or pancreatic islet β-cells, promotes tissue expansion or involution, respectively.
Results
Consistent with observed phenotypes, expression of cell cycle genes is increased in both models (albeit enriched in β-cells), as are those involved in cell growth and metabolism, while expression of genes involved in cell differentiation is down-regulated. However, in β-cells, which unlike suprabasal keratinocytes undergo prominent apoptosis from 24 hours, there is up-regulation of genes associated with DNA-damage response and intrinsic apoptotic pathways, including Atr, Arf, Bax and Cycs. In striking contrast, this is not the case for suprabasal keratinocytes, where pro-apoptotic genes such as Noxa are down-regulated and key anti-apoptotic pathways (such as Igf1-Akt) and those promoting angiogenesis are up-regulated. Moreover, dramatic up-regulation of steroid hormone-regulated Kallikrein serine protease family members in suprabasal keratinocytes alone could further enhance local Igf1 actions, such as through proteolysis of Igf1 binding proteins.
Conclusions
Activation of MYC causes cell growth, loss of differentiation and cell cycle entry in both β-cells and suprabasal keratinocytes in vivo. Apoptosis, which is confined to β-cells, may involve a combination of a DNA-damage response and downstream activation of pro-apoptotic signalling pathways, including Cdc2a and p19Arf/p53, and downstream targets. Conversely, avoidance of apoptosis in suprabasal keratinocytes may result primarily from the activation of key anti-apoptotic signalling pathways, particularly Igf1-Akt, and induction of an angiogenic response, though intrinsic resistance to induction of p19Arf by MYC in suprabasal keratinocytes may contribute.


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The solution Identify your best potential customers in the trade area, and correlate their media consumption profiles to the leading advertising medium and programming. The ability to match consumer profiles by day-part, while sorting local media offerings, requires great speed and data throughput.
Alteryx is optimized to quickly integrate and analyze very large volumes of spatial and non-spatial data, so media evaluations can become a routine part of marketing and operations decision making.
Benefits for business leaders Reliably predict the advertising channels and programming that will drive daytime vs. nighttime revenue, by location Offer compelling menus based on deep insights into the demographic profiles of customers within a specific trade area Measure advertising effectiveness with more certainty using correlated outreach and targets to drive sales traffic Routinely monitor media expenditure justifications by outlet with fast and detailed reporting Benefits for analysts Spend more time analyzing data, instead of gathering it Easily respond to last-minute urgent requests Use any standard or custom boundaries for trade area analysis, including drivetimes, radius, population density, or consumer segmentation Eliminate workflow bottlenecks


Q: I never married my child’s mother. What do I need to do to establish regular contact with my child? A: You could file a petition to establish custody, parenting time and child support. You and the child’s mother would need to participate in mediation to address custody and to set a specific parenting time schedule. You also need to take a mandated parenting class. If you are unable to reach an agreement with the child’s mother regarding custody, parenting time, and child support, a judge will make rulings on these issues.Q: How much can I expect to receive in child support? A: Child support is based on the combined incomes of both parents, factoring in the number of overnights the child spends with each parent. The Oregon child support calculator can be accessed at http://dcs.state.or.us/calculator.Q: Why should I have a specific parenting plan? A: Parents are encouraged to be flexible with each other regarding minor changes to the parenting plan to accommodate schedules. However, disagreements may arise. A specific parenting plan helps resolve the matter.Q: What are the steps in a divorce? A: A divorce proceeding is initiated by the filing of a petition for dissolution of marriage. The petition needs to be served on the other party. The responding party has 30 days in which to file their response with the court.If the parties have children, both parents will need to take a mandated parenting class and are required to participate in mediation to address custody and to formulate a specific parenting plan.
Information concerning assets, debts, and the children will be exchanged during the pendency of the case.
If the parties are unable to reach agreements on all matters, a trial will be set and a judge will make rulings on any remaining unresolved issues.


Title: Seismically induced rock slope failures resulting from topographic amplification of strong ground motions: The case of Pacoima Canyon California Author: Sepúlveda, Sergio A.; Murphy, William; Jibson, Randall W.; Petley, Davis N. Abstract: The 1994 Northridge earthquake (M-w = 6.7) triggered extensive rock slope failures in Pacoima Canyon, immediately north of Los Angeles, California. Pacoima Canyon is a narrow and steep canyon incised in gneissic and granitic rocks. Peak accelerations of nearly 1.6 g were recorded at a ridge that forms the left abutment of Pacoima Dam; peak accelerations at the bottom of the canyon were less than 0.5 g, suggesting the occurrence of topographic amplification. Topographic effects have been previously suggested to explain similarly high ground motions at the site during the 1971 (M-w = 6.7) San Fernando earthquake. Furthermore, high landslide concentrations observed in the area have been attributed to unusually strong ground motions rather than higher susceptibility to sliding compared with nearby zones. We conducted field investigations and slope stability back-analyses to confirm the impact of topographic amplification on the triggering of landslides during the 1994 earthquake. Our results suggest that the observed extensive rock sliding and falling would have not been possible under unamplified seismic conditions, which would have generated a significantly lower number of areas affected by landslides. In contrast, modelling slope stability using amplified ground shaking predicts slope failure distributions matching what occurred in 1994. This observation confirms a significant role for topographic amplification on the triggering of landslides at the site, and emphasises the need to select carefully the inputs for seismic slope stability analyses. URI: http://www.captura.uchile.cl/handle/2250/2270 Date: 2005-08 dc.identifier.citation: ENGINEERING GEOLOGY


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Lapex Laser Lipo is effective in both men and women and can be used to target fat cells in many of the body's problem areas including the waist, abdomen, back, buttocks, thighs and arms. A treatment session typically lasts between 30 and 40 minutes and a patient must receive treatment three times a week for three to six weeks. Each patient's needs are unique however, and a consultation before treatment determines the number of treatments each patient requires.
Although Lapex BCS LipoLaser treatments aren't for everyone they do provide impressive results without the hassles of invasive cosmetic surgeries. Laser Lipo is an excellent option for anyone seeking a pain-free, relaxing and effective way to contour their body.


African Peering and Interconnection Forum: Unlocking Africa’s Regional Interconnection 11-12 August 2010 Nairobi, Kenya
Why it happened: The African Interconnection Challenge Gradual ongoing policy and regulatory changes have positively impacted a region that is heavily dependent on satellite connectivity for its main regional and global means of communications. Major investments have recently been made on submarine, terrestrial fiber infrastructures, mobile and wireless data technologies. These developments appear to be addressing some of the challenges that have contributed to the slow Internet growth in the region.
Despite the growing regional infrastructure, most of African cross-border Internet traffic exchange is exchanged, in Europe and North America. This is a clear indication that the satellite routing policies are still predominant in a submarine fiber setting.
A visible example is a trace of the path followed by an Internet packet from Nairobi, Kenya to Kigali, Rwanda. The packet from Nairobi will go to Europe then back to Kigali. The anomaly is that Rwanda is a landlocked country, and has its international fiber connectivity terrestrially connected via Uganda and the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa.
The scenario is replicated across the entire region and serves a barrier to growth, innovation and operational efficiency.
The Africa Peering and Interconnection Forum: Unlocking Africa’s Regional Interconnection addressed the key Interconnection opportunities and challenges in Africa and provided participants with global and regional insights on maximising regional opportunities. As a multi-stakeholder forum, the event facilitated robust discussion on cross-border interconnection approaches and challenges by encouraging participate by a range key players such as; infrastructure providers, Service Providers, IXPs and regulators.


Renewable Energy Group (NASDAQ:REGI) produces biodiesel and distributes it various segments of the fuel supply chain. REGI makes its biofuel by converting low cost feedstocks like inedible animal fat, used cooking oil, and inedible corn oil into usable fuels. This compares to other renewable energy producers which rely on more virgin vegetable oils. In addition, REGI expects that the continued growth in demand for biofuels will push demand forward.[1] For the full year 2010, the company's total revenues were $216M. For the same period, the company suffered a net loss of $22M. This compares to $109M in revenue and a net loss of $69M in 2009.[2]
The company's initial public offering of stock on the NASDAQ occurred on January 18, 2012. The company offered 7.2M shares each for $10. This was below the $13-$15 initial price range. The deal raised a total of $72M. The lead mangers of the deal were UBS and Piper Jaffray Companies (PJC).[3]
Renewable Energy Group receives government tax incentives because it is a biodiesel fuel producer. These tax breaks play a role in helping REGI to gain profitability sooner. However, if these incentives are removed due to changes in the tax code or a shifting in the national energy policy, they could have a significant impact on REGI. Further, shifting preferences could also make another renewable energy disproportionately cheap compared to REGI's biodiesel.[4]