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Context. Soil structural quality (Sq) influences soil water dynamics, greenhouse gas emissions and plant productivity in natural and agricultural environments. Hence, assessing soil structural quality using simple methods is crucial to identifying potential impacts of different land uses. Aims. Identify correlations between Sq and macroinvertebrate communities in seven land use systems (LUS). Methods. Seven LUS were studied: native mixed ombrophylous forest (NF), native grassland (NG), native grass pasture (NP), Eucalyptus sp. plantation (EP, 20-years-old), no-tillage annual cropping (NT), integrated crop-livestock (ICL) and crop-livestock-forestry (ICLF). Each LUS had three plots and Sq and macrofauna community were evaluated. Sq was assessed through visual evaluation of soil structure (VESS)--a Sq score was assigned to each identified layer. Soil macrofauna were hand-sorted from each of these layers. Soil samples were taken in each LUS to describe selected chemical and physical attributes related to soil quality. Results. All LUS had non-degraded soil structure quality (Sq [less than or equal to] 3); however, with differences in Sq among LUS mainly in deeper layers. The VESS showed better Sq in NF (1.53) and NP (1.85) compared to the other LUS, with highest Sq scores for ICL and NG. The NP had the largest macrofauna communities (12 183 ind. [m.sup.-2]), comprising mainly termites and earthworms, with taxa richness highest in NF. Conclusions. Correlations between soil macrofauna (i.e. total density, termites and other groups) and Sq were observed, demonstrating that larger macrofauna populations were associated with better soil structural quality. Implications. Biological indicators, like soil macrofauna, can be easily measured at low cost and linked to visual Sq, facilitating simultaneous assessment of soil physical and biological health. Keywords: integrated agroecosystems, land-use change, macroinvertebrates, soil fauna, soil health, soil quality, soil structure, VESS., Introduction Soils provide a wide range of ecosystem services that drive the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems such as infiltration and water availability, gas exchange and biomass production (Adhikari and Hartemink [...]

b. Evans Evans v. United States, (255) decided one year after McCormick, is a difficult case. It appears to establish that the quid pro quo requirement applies to all Hobbs [...]

Abstract Federal criminal law frequently deals with the problem of corruption in the form of purchased political influence. There appear to be two distinct bodies of federal anticorruption law: one [...]

In this study we examined the effects of exogenous nitric oxide (sodium nitroprusside, SNP) and hydrogen peroxide ([H.sub.2][O.sub.2]) on the expression level of tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA), urokinase-type plasminogen activator u-PA), urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (u-PAR), and plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 (PAI-1) in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). The expression of selected genes involved in fibrynolysis under the influence of oxidative stress was analyzed at the levels of mRNA, protein, and promoter activity. The results of the conducted studies revealed that oxidative stress in endothelial cells causes a significant increase in PAI-1 and u-PAR expression and a moderate increase in t-PA and u-PA expression at all of the investigated levels. We attempted to elucidate the molecular signaling mechanisms by which SNP and [H.sub.2][O.sub.2] regulate expression of the respective fibrinolytic factors. Therefore, we tested the protein levels of AP-1, NF-κB, and HIF-1 and their DNA-binding activity in endothelial cells subjected to oxidative stress. We found strong correlation between AP-1, NF-κB, and HIF-1 in the contribution of regulation of selected genes. In addition, we also found that the inhibition of PAI-1 synthesis by antisense oligonucleotide to PAI-1 mRNA results in markedly increased u-PAR expression and that NF-κB and AP-1 are involved in this regulation. Key words: plasminogen activators, urokinase receptor, plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1, sodium nitroprusside, hydrogen peroxide. Nous avons examine lors de cette etude les effets de l'oxyde nitrique (nitroprusside de sodium, NPS) et du peroxyde d'hydrogene exogenes sur l'expression de l'activateur de plasminogene de type tissulaire (t-PA), de l'activateur du plasminogene de type urokinase (u-PA), du recepteur de l'activateur de plasminogene de type urokinase (u-PAR) et de l'inhibiteur de l'activateur de plasminogene de type 1 (PAI-1) dans des cellules endotheliales de cordon ombilical humain (<< HUVEC >>). L'expression des genes selectionnes, impliques dans la fibrinolyse, soumis a l'influence d'un stress oxydatif a ete analysee au niveau de l'ARNm, de la proteine et de l'activite de leur promoteur. Les resultats de ces etudes ont revele que le stress oxydatif produisait chez les cellules endotheliales une augmentation significative de l'expression de PAI-1 et du u-PAR et une augmentation moderee de l'expression du t-PA et du u-PA a tous les niveaux examines. Nous avons tente d'elucider les signaux moleculaires par lesquels le NPS et le [H.sub.2][O.sub.2] reglent l'expression de ces facteurs fibrinolytiques respectifs. C'est ainsi que nous avons mesure les niveaux de AP-1, de NF-κB et de HIF-1 ainsi que leur activite de liaison a l'ADN dans les cellules endotheliales soumises a un stress oxydatif. Nous avons trouve une forte correlation entre AP-1, NF-κB et HIF-1 dans la contribution a la regulation des genes selectionnes. De plus, nous avons aussi trouve que l'inhibition de la synthese de PAI-1 par un oligonucleotide antisens a PARNm de PAI-1 resulte en une forte augmentation de l'expression du u-PAR, et que NF-κB et AP-1 sont impliques dans cette regulation. Mots-cles : activateurs du plasminogene, recepteur de l'urokinase, inhibiteur de l'activateur du plasminogene de type 1, nitroprusside de sodium, peroxyde d'hydrogene. [Traduit par la Redaction], Introduction The fibrinolytic system is a proteolytic cascade that plays an important role in haemostasis; it is responsible for degradation of intravascular fibrin depositions, maintaining the vascular patency, and also [...]

ABSTRACT Most of the judges in America are elected. Yet the institution of the elected judiciary is in trouble, perhaps in crisis. The pressures of campaigning, particularly raising money, have [...]

This preliminary study evaluated the effectiveness of psychotherapy treatment for adult clinical depression provided in a natural setting by benchmarking the clinical outcomes in a managed care environment against effect size estimates observed in published clinical trials. Overall results suggest that effect size estimates of effectiveness in a managed care context were comparable to effect size estimates of efficacy observed in clinical trials. Relative to the 1-tailed 95th-percentile critical effect size estimates, effectiveness of treatment provided in this setting was observed to be between 80% (patients with comorbidity and without antidepressants) and 112% (patients without comorbidity concurrently on antidepressants) as compared to the benchmarks. Because the nature of the treatments delivered in the managed care environment were unknown, it was not possible to make conclusions about treatments. However, while replications are warranted, concerns that psychotherapy delivered in a naturalistic setting is inferior to treatments delivered in clinical trials appear unjustified. Keywords: benchmarking, effectiveness, managed care, clinical trials, depression

The development and application of an analysis methodology for charge pumping (CP) measurements in order to extract spatial distributions of traps in Hf[O.sub.2]/Si[O.sub.2] gate stacks is discussed. An increase in the trap density in the SiO2 layer closer to the high-k dielectric is observed.

This study estimates pretreatment--posttreatment effect size benchmarks for the treatment of major depression in adults that may be useful in evaluating psychotherapy effectiveness in clinical practice. Treatment efficacy benchmarks for major depression were derived for 3 different types of outcome measures: the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (M. A. Hamilton, 1960, 1967), the Beck Depression Inventory (A. T. Beck, 1978; A. T. Beck & R. A. Steer, 1987), and an aggregation of low reactivity--low specificity measures. These benchmarks were further refined for 3 conditions: treatment completers, intent-to-treat samples, and natural history (wait-list) conditions. The study confirmed significant effects of outcome measure reactivity and specificity on the pretreatment--posttreatment effect sizes. The authors provide practical guidance in using these benchmarks to assess treatment effectiveness in clinical settings. Keywords: effectiveness, psychotherapy, outcome, benchmarking, depression

To estimate the variability in outcomes attributable to therapists in clinical practice, the authors analyzed the outcomes of 6,146 patients seen by approximately 581 therapists in the context of managed care. For this analysis, the authors used multilevel statistical procedures, in which therapists were treated as a random factor. When the initial level of severity was taken into account, about 5% of the variation in outcomes was due to therapists. Patient age, gender, and diagnosis as well as therapist age, gender, experience, and professional degree accounted for little of the variability in outcomes among therapists. Whether or not patients were receiving psychotropic medication concurrently with psychotherapy did affect therapist variability. However, the patients of the more effective therapists received more benefit from medication than did the patients of less effective therapists. Keywords: therapist variability, psychotherapy, outcomes, multilevel analyses, managed care

A number of systems provide feedback regarding client progress and experience of the therapeutic alliance to clinicians. Available evidence indicates that access to such data improves retention and outcome for clients most at risk for treatment failure. Over the last several years, the team at the Institute for the Study of Therapeutic Change has worked to develop an outcome management system that not only provides valid and reliable feedback, but also is as user-friendly as possible for therapists and consumers. In this article, we describe the system and summarize current research findings. Keywords: psychotherapy; therapeutic alliance; outcome measurement

Lessons about patient treatment response from a large-scale outcomes management project are summarized. More than 7,000 clinicians contributed outcome data. Overall. the data demonstrated that patients who have clinical levels of psychological distress and impairment showed a relatively rapid response to treatment. Furthermore, although it appears that the duration and intensity of treatment vary widely from case to case, clinicians and patients make sound judgments as to how much and what kind of treatment is appropriate. Results supported the conclusion that the most effective method to manage costs is to ensure that each patient receive effective care. There are large and stable differences in the effectiveness of clinicians, and outcomes can be improved by referring patients to effective clinicians. The data also suggested that patients who had a poor initial response to treatment eventually had positive outcomes, provided that they remained engaged in treatment. This finding suggests that outcomes can be improved by identifying at-risk patients and proactively keeping them engaged in treatment. Keywords: psychotherapy effectiveness; managed care; feedback; psychotherapy research; treatment duration; Outcome Questionnaire-30

Byline: Myra Hodgkinson (1), George Brown (2) Abstract: The aim of this paper is to provide insightsinto the process that has been adopted toenable faculty and support staff (courseadministrators and technicians) to identify andenhance the quality of educational provision ina large UK Business School. The concern toaddress this issue was motivated initially bythe demands of external subject review. Therewas a realisation by senior managers within theSchool that what was required was the embeddingand sharing of good practice and continuousimprovement of the provision: in short, anapplication of the concept of a learningorganisation. The paper may assist othersengaged in the task of enhancing the quality ofstudent learning in their faculties orschools. Author Affiliation: (1) Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, NG1 4BU, UK (2) Centre for Academic Practice, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, NG1 4BU, UK Article History: Registration Date: 11/10/2004

The material properties of ZrO2-NMOSCAPs are extracted through Cg-Vg and Ig-Vg simulations, in the accumulation region. A tunneling model is developed to understand the gate current as a function of voltage and temperature, based on the energy-dispersion relation in each region of the gate-dielectric-silicon system.

This paper reviews the author's research on the social origins of depression begun in the early 1970s. It emphasizes the importance of taking account of the context and meaning of proximal causal factors by the use of investigator-based ratings using intensive interviews and the need to extend research to cover a whole lifetime. The implications of the research program that has involved some twenty inquiries in a variety of cultural settings is discussed in terms of the importance of both a comparative and an evolutionary perspective concerning meaning that bring together the biology involved in an evolutionary perspective emphasizing a common human nature with one that takes account of cultural and individual differences. In short an approach that take seriously a biopsychosocial perspective.

The effects of a commercial multimedia self-help program (Attacking Anxiety) were evaluated by examining the outcome of 176 individuals who participated in the treatment. Results suggested that 62 individuals suffering from anxiety achieved clinically significant improvement. An additional 40 achieved reliable change, despite the fact that these individuals had suffered from anxiety-based problems for years prior to their participation. Only one participant experienced negative change. These results are discussed in relation to the growing literature on self-help interventions and the limitations imposed by the naturalistic nature of the investigation.

Previous work has established that women with good marriages are less at risk of depression of clinical severity following a crisis than women in poor quality relationships. Evidence for such protectiveness is less clear for men. The paper examines the relationship between marital quality, onset of depression, and gender following a severely threatening life event. The results show that good quality of marriage related to lower rates of depression for both men and women, although the overall rate for women was higher. For women with a good marital relationship, but for whom support from partner was not forthcoming at the time of the crisis (i.e. the person was 'let down'), risk was increased, confirming a result from a study in Islington. The current study shows that the same set of findings holds for men. Gender differences did emerge when the subjective need for support within the marital relationship is taken into account, with women expressing greater need. However, such a desire for support was not necessarily translated into support-seeking behaviour as in a poor relationship turning to a partner was frequently inopportune. Women were also more likely to seek support outside the marriage: as in the earlier Islington research this was related to a lower risk of depression for those in a poor relationship. An unexpected finding was that men who received support outside marriage had an increased risk of depression. Key words - marriage quality, gender differences, supportive context, support seeking

A modified Fowler-Nordheim tunneling model describes the high-field conduction in Separation-by-IMplantation-of OXygen (SIMOX) buried-oxide (BOX). It considers the role of silicon islands and BOX nonstoichiometry in lowering the onset E-field for both positive and negative applied bias. Changes in the electrical characteristics are related to changes in the microstructure of the buried oxide. Comparison of the BOX electrical characteristics from supplemental O2 and multiple-implant SIMOX wafers with those of standard single-implant SIMOX wafers verify the model.

A performance bound analysis for a hybrid array provides useful information on its construction and working. An array with unconstrained sensor sufficient configuration has a better angle-of-arrival estimation accuracy than an array with only ideal sensors. The analysis involves the symbolic and numeric Cramer-Rao lower bound (CRLB). A comparison of the CRLB results with a Monte Carlo simulation is given.

Self-assembly is a suitable procedure for the formation of nanometer-scale molecular and supramolecular structure involving the selection of efficient building blocks. The position of pi-electron rich and pi-electron deficient structural substrates have significant influence on the organization of the self-assemblies. The translational and constitutional isomerism in (2)catenanes and (n)pseudorotaxanes is analyzed by X-ray crystallography, fast-atom bombardment mass spectroscopy and 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic spectroscopy.

The rapid loss of arable land has become an alarming problem in China. As the country shifts to a market economy, the real challenge for Chinese leaders is to control the use of valuable resources such as land. In Jiangsu, local land management officials find it difficult to constrain construction that uses arable lands. Grassroots leaders must be convinced that national policies should be prioritized over local developmental goals.

Beginning in the 1950s, international anxiety about rapid population growth engendered great concern about reducing high fertility in developing countries. In many countries the demographic rationale for establishing family planning [...]

The end of the Cold War signals the beginning of a new era in US science and technology. The country needs to reform its research system to serve a more humane society whose needs are anchored in peace and the sustainable development of economies and environments.

Self-Evaluation and Social Support Instrument (SESS) predicts depression effectively as it employs situations of self-dissatisfaction in real-life circumstances. It is less influenced, than other global questionnaires, by mood-state effects. A cross section of 146 women is used to evaluate M. Rosenberg's self-esteem questionnaire and SESS in their estimation of early adversity and negativity in current close relationship.

Two kinds of defects were observed in SIMOX structures of buried oxide (BOX) layers, where defect-conduction was super imposed on background conduction. Defect conduction is reflected in large areas of Si/Box/Si capacitors. Conducting defect may be caused due to the lack of oxygen or excess of silicon. Noncrystalline SiO2 network with Si-Si bond is affected by the lack of oxygen. The conduction processes in thermally grown SiO2 films differ from the defect and bulk conduction processes in BOX.

Stereoregular Diels-Alder reactions can be applied in substrate-directed synthetic strategies to successfully prepare polyacene and cyclacene derivatives in good yields. Moreover, this synthetic approach can be employed in the diastereoselective formation of structurally complex products from bisdiene and bisdienophilic building blocks. The Diels-Alder oligomerizations do not exhibit any reversibility which proves that the treble diastereoselectivity of the reaction originates from the involved transition states. In addition, the macropolycyclic compounds that are formed can serve as precursors for the synthesis of different hydrocarbon structures.