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John Jakes, the prolific author whose 1982 historical novel, North and South, became a huge bestseller, has died at 90, the New York Times reports. Jakes, a native of Chicago, [...]

Nanocrystals (NCs) have entirely changed the panorama of hydrophobic drug delivery, showing improved biopharmaceutical performance through multiple administration routes. NCs are potential highly loaded nanovectors due to their pure drug composition, standing out from conventional polymers and lipid nanoparticles that have limited drug-loading capacity. However, research in this area is limited. This study introduces the concept of surface modification of drug NCs through single-layer poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) polymerization as an innovative strategy to boost targeting efficiency. The postpolymerization analysis revealed size and composition alterations, indicating successful surface engineering of NCs of the model drug curcumin of approximately 200 nm. Interestingly, mucosal tissue penetration analysis showed enhanced entry for fully coated and low cross-linked (LCS) PEG NCs, with an increase of 15 μg/cm2compared to the control NCs. In addition, we found that polymer chemistry variations on the NCs’ surface notably impacted mucin binding, with those armored with LCS PEG showing the most significant reduction in interaction with this glycoprotein. We validated this strategy in an in vitro nose-to-brain model, with all of the NCs exhibiting a promising ability to cross a tight monolayer. Furthermore, the metabolic and pro-inflammatory activity revealed clear indications that, despite surface modifications, the efficacy of curcumin remains unaffected. These findings highlight the potential of surface PEGylated NCs in targeted drug delivery. Altogether, this work sets the baseline for further exploration and optimization of surface polymerized NCs for enhanced drug delivery applications, promising more efficient treatments for specific disorders and conditions requiring active targeting.

Effective drug delivery to bacterially infected mucosa remains a challenge due to the combined obstacles of the mucosal barrier, pH variations, and high concentrations of glutathione. However, polysaccharide-based responsive nanogels (NGs) can take advantage of these conditions to deliver specific antimicrobials. We explored the critical features of pH- and redox-responsive NGs to increase drug penetration, residence time, and efficacy in the infected mucosa. We prepared multifunctional NGs using hydroxypropyl cellulose as a template for the cross-linking of methacrylic acid with N,N′-bis(acryloyl)cystamine (BAC) or N,N′-methylenebis(acrylamide) (BIS). Studies of NG–mucin binding and the antibacterial efficacy of doxycycline-loaded NGs revealed the interplay between the response to pH and redox clues. Specifically, higher BAC composition increased mucus binding and controlled release in reductive conditions, while higher BIS composition yielded NGs with higher doxycycline-mediated antibacterial efficacy against Staphylococcus aureus. The findings reveal the potential of multiresponsive NGs in effective antimicrobial delivery in infected mucosa.

School libraries have always been uniquely positioned to connect students to literature, ideas, and resources. But given the always-on, always-in-beta information landscape available to students today (through the technology they [...]

Understanding and controlling the diffusion of ions and chemicals within the secondary plant cell walls are pivotal in various applications of biomasses. Recent studies have shown that inorganic ion diffusion through secondary cell walls is controlled by a moisture-induced glass transition in amorphous polysaccharides, including amorphous cellulose and hemicelluloses. Understanding the diffusion of ions in these structures has been the subject of numerous recent experiments; however, a deep understanding of the underlying mechanisms of interactions between ion atoms and water/hemicellulose molecules is still lacking. This study uses molecular dynamics simulations to elucidate the diffusion mechanisms of potassium and chloride ions in the cell walls under varying moisture content. The results reveal that a higher moisture content leads to the formation of solvent layers around the ions and reduces the charge interaction between the functional groups of wood polymers and ions. Hence, a higher moisture content results in an improved diffusion rate of ions within the domain. The simulation results also show that higher moisture content lowers the glass transition temperature, promoting diffusion of ions in the system. In contrast, increases in the ion concentration increase the glass transition temperature of the system and degrade the diffusion of ions in the system.

Wood-based products can be a sustainable and more environmentally friendly alternative to traditional construction materials because of their reduced contribution to air and water pollution. An integral component of these products is often an adhesive. Because wood is hygroscopic, moisture-induced swelling in the cell walls near the wood--adhesive bond lines can lead to durability and performance issues. Unfortunately, researchers working toward improving the moisture durability of forest products are hindered by an incomplete understanding of the nanoscale mechanisms that contribute to moisture-induced swelling in wood and how chemical modifications affect the swelling. Therefore, we developed small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) into a tool that can study the 1- to 100-nm structure of unmodified and chemically modified wood cell walls and can measure the effects of moisture in this structure. In this study, SANS was used to reveal the nanostructure of a deuterium-labeled phenol-formaldehyde (dPF) adhesive infiltrated into wood cell walls. The results revealed that the dPF infiltrated the water-accessible regions between the elementary fibrils inside the wood cell walls. These results provide the new insight that adhesive infiltration into the cellulose microfibril (a bundle of elementary fibrils) may be a key to designing moisture-durable wood adhesives., Most wood-based construction materials, including plywood, particleboard, oriented strand board, and structural wood products, are made of wood components held together by an adhesive. Phenol-formaldehyde (PF) is one of the [...]

The development of new and improved wood adhesives is hindered by an incomplete mechanistic understanding of what makes a wood--adhesive bond able to withstand changes in moisture levels. Although common methods are established to test and report the bulk-level properties of bond lines, such as bond-line shear strength and wood failure analysis, the development of experimental tools to study wood--adhesive bond lines and the effects of moisture at the nanometer to millimeter length scales remains an active area of research. Here we introduce and briefly review four recently developed tools that, when combined, we have found capable to facilitate the study of bond lines and the effects of moisture across these length scales. The tools are X-ray computed tomography, X-ray fluorescence microscopy, nanoindentation, and small-angle neutron scattering. Their combined utility has been demonstrated by studying model bond-line systems made using loblolly pine and phenol-formaldehyde adhesives. The results led to a new insight that adhesive infiltration into cellulose microfibrils at nanometer length scales likely plays an important role in the moisture durability of wood--adhesive bond lines. A new model to facilitate the discussion of potential interactions between adhesive and wood nanostructure was also developed., Adhesives are increasingly relied upon to make forest products such as plywood, oriented strand board, laminated veneer lumber, wooden I-joists, and cross-laminated timber. For these products to be structural building [...]

In this study, we investigated the impact on surface topography and micro-mechanical properties of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) thin films when loaded with hardwood-derived biocarbon particles (BCP). The PVA/BCP composites were prepared with the conventional film casting method, after varying BCP concentrations of 6, 8, 10, 12, and 20 wt% were added to the PVA solution. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) investigations and nanoindentation tests were performed. The average roughness of the thin films increased with the increase in BCP content. The alternation between dark and light patterns observed in the AFM images showed an irregular surface topography with alternating high peaks and deep valleys. The skewness and kurtosis parameters showed that the different dispersion degrees of the BCP within the PVA matrix influenced the composites' surface roughness. The micro-mechanical properties of the thin film composites depended on the BCP type and concentration. Films reinforced with red oak-derived BCP had higher hardness and Young's modulus compared to films reinforced with willow SV1 and yellow-poplar BCP, which was attributed to the high carbon content and low ash content of red oak BCP. We argue that these results may be extrapolated to other types of BCP-reinforced thin films and can significantly contribute to enabling more efficient methods and protocols for reinforcing polymers with hardwood biocarbon.

Fresh food supply chains have seen improvements in infrastructure, technology and ways of working between trading partners, but continue to remain a significant challenge within logistics today. As demonstrated by [...]

Abstract Although it is well known that wood can absorb liquids, the full impact of this phenomenon on resulting adhesive cure and performance is not well understood. In a related [...]

The Beach Effect I may not go to the beach every day, but there's something magic about knowing it's there. When I first arrived here in 1998, I'd feel guilty [...]

The multi-attribute method (MAM) is a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS)-based method that is used to directly characterize and monitor numerous product quality attributes (PQAs) at the amino acid level of a biopharmaceutical product. MAM enables identity testing based on primary sequence verification, detection and quantitation of post-translational modifications and impurities. This ability to simultaneously and directly determine PQAs of therapeutic proteins makes MAM a more informative, streamlined and productive workflow than conventional chromatographic and electrophoretic assays. MAM relies on proteolytic digestion of the sample followed by reversed-phase chromatographic separation and high-resolution LC-MS analysis in two phases. First, a discovery study to determine quality attributes for monitoring is followed by the creation of a targeted library based on high-resolution retention time plus accurate mass analysis. The second aspect of MAM is the monitoring phase based on the target peptide library and new peak detection using differential analysis of the data to determine the presence, absence or change of any species that might affect the activity or stability of the biotherapeutic. The sample preparation process takes between 90 and 120 min, whereas the time spent on instrumental and data analyses might vary from one to several days for different sample sizes, depending on the complexity of the molecule, the number of attributes to be monitored and the information to be detailed in the final report. MAM is developed to be used throughout the product life cycle, from process development through upstream and downstream processes to quality control release or under current good manufacturing practices regulations enforced by regulatory agencies.

ABSTRACTSince the introduction of Haemophilus Influenzaetype b (Hib) conjugate vaccines, invasive Hib disease has strongly declined worldwide, yet continued control of Hib disease remains important. In Europe, currently three different hexavalent combination vaccines containing Hib conjugates are marketed. In this phase IV, single-blind, randomized, controlled, multi-country study (NCT04535037), we aimed to compare, in a 2 + 1 vaccination schedule, the immunogenicity and safety and show non-inferiority, as well as superiority, of DTPa-HBV-IPV/Hib (Ih group) versus DTaP5-HB-IPV-Hib (Va group) in terms of anti-polyribosylribitol phosphate (PRP) antibody geometric mean concentrations (GMCs) and proportion of participants reaching anti-PRP antibody concentrations greater than or equal to a threshold of 5 µg/mL. One month after the booster vaccination, the anti-PRP antibody GMC ratio (Ih group/Va group) was 0.917 (95% CI: 0.710–1.185), meeting the non-inferiority criteria. The difference in percentage of participants (Ih group – Va group) reaching GMCs ≥5 µg/mL was -6.3% (95% CI: -14.1% to 1.5%), not reaching the predefined non-inferiority threshold. Interestingly, a slightly higher post-booster antibody avidity was observed in the Ih group versus the Va group. Both vaccines were well tolerated, and no safety concerns were raised. This study illustrates the different kinetics of the anti-PRP antibody response post-primary and post-booster using the two vaccines containing different Hib conjugates and indicates a potential differential impact of concomitant vaccinations on the anti-PRP responses. The clinical implications of these differences should be further studied.

Purpose: This study aims to examine ship loading strategies during large-scale military deployments. Ships are usually loaded to a stowage goal of about 65% of the ship's capacity. The authors identify how much cargo to load onto ships for each sailing and propose lower stowage goals that could improve the delivery of forces during the deployment. Design/methodology/approach: The authors construct several mixed integer programs to identify optimal ship loading strategies that minimize delivery timelines for notional, but realistic, problem variables. The authors study the relative importance of these variables using experimental designs, regressions, correlations and chi-square tests of the empirical results. Findings: The research specifies the conditions during which ships should be light loaded, i.e. loaded to less than 65% of total capacity. Empirical results show cargo delivered up to 16% faster with a light-loaded strategy compared to fully loaded ships. Research limitations/implications: This work assumes deterministic sailing times and ship loading times. Also, all timing aspects of the problem are estimated to the nearest natural number of days. Practical implications: This research provides important new insights about optimal ship loading strategies, which were not previously quantified. More importantly, logistics planners could use these insights to reduce sealift delivery timelines during military deployments. Originality/value: Most ship routing and scheduling problems minimize costs as the primary goal. This research identifies the situations in which ships transporting military forces should be light loaded, thereby trading efficiency for effectiveness, to enable faster overall delivery of unit equipment to theater seaports.

Background: Few questionnaires that assess usual physical activity have been reported to be valid for all different subdimensions of physical activity. Objective: The objective was to assess the validity and reliability of the Recent Physical Activity Questionnaire (RPAQ), which assesses usual physical activity (PA) in 4 domains (work, travel, recreation, and domestic life). Design: Total energy expenditure (TEE) was measured for 14 d by using the doubly labeled water technique combined with a measure of resting metabolic rate to yield PA energy expenditure (PAEE) in 25 men and 25 women. Simultaneously, intensity of activity was measured by using combined heart rate and movement sensing for 11 d. Repeatability of the RPAQ was assessed in an independent sample of 71 women and 60 men aged 31-57 y. Results: Estimated TEE and PAEE were significantly associated with criterion measures (TEE: r = 0.67; PAEE: r = 0.39) with mean ([+ or -] SD) biases of -3452 [+ or -] 2025 kJ/d and -13 [+ or -] 24 kJ * [d.sup.-1] * [kg.sup.-1]. The correlation between self-reported and measured time spent was significant for vigorous PA (r = 0.70) and marginally insignificant for sedentary time (r = 0.27, P = 0.06). The mean biases were relatively small for sedentary time and vigorous PA: 0.7 [+ or -] 2.8 h/d and -12 [+ or -] 24 min/d, respectively. The intraclass correlation coefficient for repeatability of total PAEE (U/d) was 0.76 (P < 0.0001). Conclusion: The RPAQ is the first questionnaire with demonstrated validity for ranking individuals according to their time spent at vigorous-intensity activity and overall energy expenditure. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.2009.28432.

Patients with severe asthma may require maintenance oral corticosteroids (mOCS) for disease control as well as systemic corticosteroid (SCS) bursts for clinically significant exacerbations. However, mOCS and SCS use are associated with adverse effects, which increases patient disease burden.

A report recently released by the Center on Education Policy (see News & Trends, p. 6) reveals that the four-year-old No Child Left Behind Act has indeed served to shine […]

Those words bring out all sorts of customer frustration when they appear on the work order. Most of us have been on the customer side reading those fateful words, despite [...]

In 1996, the Supreme Court in Markman v. Westview Instruments, Inc., (1) ruled that the interpretation of patent claims is a matter of law to be determined exclusively by the [...]

Bilateral salpingo‐oophorectomy is indicated for patients with suspected or confirmed gynaecological malignancy.Risk reduction surgery is indicated in patients with a significant family history or a genetic predisposition to developing breast or ovarian cancer.Bilateral salpingectomy with ovarian conservation reduces the risk of ovarian cancer, whilst preserving ovarian function.Oophorectomy prior to the menopause is associated with increased all‐cause mortality and significant menopause related morbidity.Conservative measures such as weight loss, family planning and lifestyle advice could reduce the overall lifetime risk of ovarian cancer. To understand the rationale of the decision‐making process for bilateral salpingo‐oophorectomy or bilateral salpingectomy with ovarian conversation at the time of hysterectomy for benign disease.To understand the risk–benefit balance of performing oophorectomy in the context of risk reduction of high‐risk patients compared with patients with no genetic predisposition or family history.To consider conservative risk reduction measures that do not involve oophorectomy. In the absence of family history or genetic predisposition to ovarian or breast cancer, is it ethical to perform routine oophorectomy in perimenopausal or even postmenopausal women?Is it ethical to reduce the risk of ovarian cancer while increasing all‐cause mortality and menopause‐related morbidity?Is it ethical to offer bilateral salpingectomy as a female sterilisation procedure?

IN THE PUBLISHERS WEEKLY REVIEW OF American Dreams, my second novel about the Crown family of Chicago, the reviewer was particularly generous in complimenting my 'knack for splicing in historical [...]

People mover and monorail systems being used in most parts of the United States are being propelled by cables, ropes and belts. People movers use the detachable grip systems/gondola or fixed grip/funicular technology. A new low-cost belt propulsion technology will be installed by Mirage Resorts, Yantrak and Jakes Associates which will set a new standard in the industry. A promising future awaits the People Mover market as its size quadrupled in the last 13 years.

Japan has been deploying new transport technologies that could change the future of global transit. The new technologies include innovative rubber-tired systems and designs, fully automated operation, side or center guidance, monorails and LIM propulsion. These technologies are highlighted by the Tokyo Waterfront New Transit 'Rinkai Line'; the 'Kanazawa Seaside Line'; the Tokyo Monorail 'Haneda Line'; and the Skyrail, which bridges the gap between conventional, high-capacity monorail/rubber-tired transit systems and the low-capacity gondola-life type systems.

Life is as fast as a speeding racecar whizzing down the highway of time. We, like travelers fastened in seatbelts, are helplessly hurled through time and space watching weeks, days, [...]

The Federal Circuit has begun to use equitable considerations for patent infringement as an improvement over simple tests under the equivalents doctrine. The doctrine originated in 1950 with Graver Tank and Manufacturing Co v. Linde Air Products Co, and there have been no Supreme Court decisions on it since then. The equitable interpretation of the doctrine has not solved all outstanding questions of infringement, but it is a good start. Recent cases using an equitable analysis are covered.

ABSTRACTTransgenic technology for mosquitoes is now more than two decades old, and a wide array of control sequences have been described for regulating gene expression in various life stages or specific tissues. Despite this, comparatively little attention has been paid to the development and validation of other transgene-regulating elements, especially 3ʹ-untranslated regions (3ʹUTRs). As a consequence, the same regulatory sequences are often used multiple times in a single transgene array, potentially leading to instability of transgenic effector genes. To increase the repertoire of characterized 3ʹUTRs available for genetics-based mosquito control, we generated fifteen synthetic sequences based on the base composition of the widely used SV40 3ʹUTR sequence, and tested their ability to contribute to the expression of reporter genes EGFPor luciferase. Transient transfection in mosquito cells identified nine candidate 3ʹUTRs that conferred moderate to strong gene expression. Two of these were engineered into the mosquito genome through CRISPR/Cas9-mediated site-specific insertion and compared to the original SV40 3ʹUTR. Both synthetic 3ʹUTRs were shown to successfully promote transgene expression in all mosquito life stages (larva, pupa and adults), similar to the SV40 3ʹUTR, albeit with differences in intensity. Thus, the synthetic 3ʹUTR elements described here are suitable for regulating transgene expression in Ae. aegypti, and provide valuable alternatives in the design of multi-gene cassettes. Additionally, the synthetic-scramble approach we validate here could be used to generate additional functional 3ʹUTR elements in this or other organisms.

Simply put, wikis enable anyone and everyone to create content online using easily understandable tools. The most famous wiki is Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia created by users from around the […]

Abstract: Elastic modulus and hardness are commonly measured using nanoindentation. Calculating these properties from measured force–displacement curves typically requires knowledge of the contact depth of the indenter into the specimen. However, surface detection methods in many nanoindentation experiments can lead to an error in the contact depth measurement and, subsequently, the measured properties. Here, the contributions of elastic and plastic deformations to surface detection errors in nanoindentation experiments are examined through experiments and modeling. The model is used to quantify errors in elastic modulus and hardness measurements due to elastic–plastic deformation during surface detection as a function of the specimen properties, indenter geometry, preload, and contact depth. Nanoindentation measurements on polystyrene, an aluminum alloy, and fused silica specimens with a Berkovich indenter are used to illustrate the effects of surface detection error and are compared to the model. The experiments and model both demonstrate that surface detection error can lead to measurement of apparent depth-dependent properties in homogenous materials. Graphic Abstract:

Graphic Abstract:

The importance of conserving migratory populations is recognized across a variety of ungulate taxa, yet the demographic benefits of migration remain uncertain for ungulate populations that exhibit partial migration. We hypothesized that migratory pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) would experience greater survival compared to residents by moving longer distances to avoid severe winter weather and access higher quality forage. We used a Bayesian time‐to‐event approach to analyze the fates of 175 radio‐collared adult female pronghorn monitored over 8 biological years (2004–2011) in the Northern Sagebrush Steppe ecosystem. Annual survivorship of migratory pronghorn was 7% higher on average compared to residents but not statistically different. Migratory pronghorn had higher survivorship in summer and winter compared to residents, and few mortalities were observed during the short autumn and spring migration periods. Mortality risk for both movement tactics intensified under more severe winter weather; winter weather severity alone best explained annual pronghorn mortality risk. The top model predicted survival rates to decline on average by 56% over the range of observed winter climatic conditions. To minimize human impacts to pronghorn during extreme climatic events, we recommend working with transportation departments and land managers to enhance pronghorn crossings of roads and railroads, and landholders to modify fences to wildlife‐friendly standards. © 2020 The Authors. Journal of Wildlife Managementpublished by Wiley Periodicals, LLC on behalf of The Wildlife Society. Annual survivorship of migratory pronghorn was higher on average compared to residents, and the mortality risk for both movement tactics intensified under more severe winter weather. We provide recommendations to reduce anthropogenic mortality and maintain landscape permeability to conserve pronghorn that depend on long‐distance migration for persistence at the northern periphery of their range.

The article reports that the U.S. announced deal with the Taliban to halt two decades of fighting in Afghanistan. Topics include examines that the U.S. agreed to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan in exchange for assurances by the Taliban that won't provide sanctuary for terrorist groups like Al Qaeda and ISIS; and reports that their goal is to capture the Al Qaeda terrorists responsible for 9/11 and to destroy the radical Taliban regime gives the terrorists safe haven in Afghanistan.

Charge sensitive separation methods such as ion exchange chromatography (CEX) and capillary electrophoresis (CE) have recently been coupled to mass spectrometry to facilitate high resolution profiling of proteoforms present within the charge variant profile of complex biopharmaceuticals. Here we apply pH gradient cation exchange chromatography and microfluidic capillary electrophoresis using the ZipChip platform for comparative characterization of the monoclonal antibody Cetuximab. Cetuximab harbors four glycans per molecule, two on each heavy chain, of which the Fab glycans have been reported to be complex and multiply sialylated. The presence of these extra glycosylation sites in the variable region of the molecule causes significant charge variant and glycan heterogeneity, which makes comprehensive analysis on the intact protein level challenging. Both pH gradient CEX-MS and CE-MS were found to be powerful for the separation of Cetuximab charge variants with eight major peaks being baseline resolved using both separation platforms. Informative native-like mass spectra were collected for each charge variant peak using both platforms that facilitated deconvolution and further analysis. The total proteoform coverage was exceptionally high with >100 isoforms identified and relatively quantified with CEX-MS, in case of CE-MS the proteoform coverage was >200. A deep insight into the heterogeneity of Cetuximab was unveiled, the high level of sensitivity achievable enables the implementation of the presented technologies even at early stages of the biopharmaceutical development platform, such as in developability assessment, process development and also for monitoring process consistency.

Across North America, incentive programs have assisted landholders with the construction of fences, often considered "wildlife friendly," to assist in grazing management, which has resulted in a proliferation of fencing on the landscape. Many suggested "wildlife‐friendly" fence modifications have not been evaluated for their effectiveness on the targeted species or evaluated to assess consequences for nontarget species. We evaluated the effects of 2 modifications aimed to increase fence visibility (sage‐grouse [SAGR] reflectors and white polyvinyl chloride [PVC]) on the fence‐crossing behavior of 3 sympatric ungulates in the Northern Great Plains. We used trail cameras from 2016 to 2018 to capture images of pronghorn (Antilocapra americana), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), and white‐tailed deer (O. virginianus) at sites before and after fence sections were modified and compared crossing success by the 3 ungulates with that achieved at unchanged control sites. We used generalized linear modeling and a time‐to‐event approach to test the effect of fence modifications on ungulate crossing behavior. Our results showed that both SAGR reflectors and white PVC pipe did not impede fence‐crossing behaviors for either pronghorn or deer, nor was there a time lag in use of sites observed after modifications were deployed. Though we did not alter the height of the bottom wire, there was enough variability in bottom wire height between sites that our results indicate a greater probability of successful crossing by all 3 ungulates as bottom wire height increased. We recommend implementation of both SAGR reflectors and white PVC pipe because our results demonstrate no substantial unintended consequences on the crossing behavior of pronghorn and deer. © 2020 The Authors. Wildlife Society Bulletin published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The Wildlife Society. Many suggested "wildlife‐friendly" fence modifications have not been evaluated for their effectiveness on the targeted species or evaluated to assess consequences for nontarget species. We evaluated the effects of 2 modifications aimed to increase fence visibility (sage‐grouse reflectors and white polyvinyl chloride) and found that neither fence modification negatively affected the crossing success by pronghorn or the crossing success and crossing decision by mule deer and white‐tailed deer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses China as a growing world power. The article notes that China's economy has grown by leaps and bounds during the 21st century, and speculates as to whether China will eventually challenge the United States as one of the world's leading military powers as well. The article also discusses China's history.

The article profiles several users of social networking web sites like YouTube.com, Facebook.com, and MySpace.com, and discusses how each user has utilized the web sites. Profiled users include Lane Hudson, the first person to break the story of former Florida Representative Mark Foley's inappropriate emails sent to a congressional page. Also profiled are Pakistani photographer Ali Khurshid, signal officer Captain Lee Kelley, and campaign worker S. R. Sidarth.

The article presents the current situation of an armed, nuclear North Korea under the control of leader Kim Jong Il. While wanting to break down Kim's regime, the U.S. and South Korea both acknowledge that it is too risky to attempt a preemptive strike. One popular strategy is to weaken North Korea economically and diplomatically to the point where the North Korean government becomes more predictable. The best plan may be to continue pushing for the six-party talks Kim has so far avoided, or else give in to Kim's wishes of direct talks.

Looks at economic relations between the U.S. and China as of June 27, 2005. Profitability of manufactured goods made in China and sold in the U.S.; Impact of China's political and economic policies on U.S. interests and international relations; View that China's currency policy maintains low priced goods that unfairly compete with U.S. manufacturing industries; Views of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on U.S. relations with China; Discussion of political and social movements toward modernity in China; Efforts of the Chinese government to prevent political corruption and economic inequality.

Describes the efforts of medical authorities to stifle the epidemic associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Effects of SARS on various Asian economies; How hospitals and schools were closed in Beijing, China; Possibility of the imposition of martial law; Overall death rate of SARS; Methods used to control the epidemic; Reference to the research about the coronavirus that causes SARS; Speculation that the microbe has mutated into various strains with multiple symptoms; Views from Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). INSETS: THE SURPRISING IMPACT OF SARS;JUST THE FACTS.

Plot. Every story has one, be it simple or convoluted. In a long novel, it is almost certain to be layered and complex. When I started in the business a [...]

Brief runs in Baghdad reveal a country in transition By Lara Jakes THE TRAIL ALONG the Tigris River is an obstacle course of broken concrete and dirt. Sometimes a dead [...]

The Robinson-Patman Act is an anti-trust law which was originally meant to prevent large companies from obtaining preferential prices from smaller suppliers. However, when passed by Congress in 1936, the Robinson-Patman Act took on a slightly different hue. It came to be interpreted instead as being a law that forbids businesses to sell similar commodities to different buyers at different prices. While the terms of the Act apply only to commodities, numerous Robinson-Patman lawsuits have been filed against providers of credit on the grounds that certain innovative credit practices constitute price discrimination under the aegis of the Act. While no court has ever ruled that credit decisions violate the Act, the court system has so far refused to close the door on credit claim actions. As a result, unease about potential liability for standard credit practices has raised concerns that the Act could be used to stifle innovative marketing arrangements., 1936 law bans discrimination, but tiered terms could be defended. Times are tough. Many of your customers have experienced financial reversals and restricted cash flow. If the economic times weren't [...]

To succeed, any writer must master the tools of his trade. A fiction writer, for example, must learn plot construction; how to characterize by showing instead of telling; how to [...]