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Multifactorial sampling designs were used to determine the vertical distribution of ichthyoplankton at multiple temporal and spatial scales in New Zealand. Hypotheses concerning the vertical distribution of fish larvae were tested in the following: depth strata, surface, near-surface, mid-depth and deep, and near the substratum. The consistency of abundance patterns was examined at three sites separated by 2–20 km over 2 months. We also tested for differences in shallow water columns of two depths (20 and 40 m) and both day and night. Although peak abundance of total larval fish was found at upper and lower strata, regardless of total depth of the water column, consistent taxa specific patterns of vertical distribution were also found. Some taxa were most abundant at the surface (e.g. mullids, hemiramphids, and kyphosids), whereas others were found at multiple depths below the surface and throughout the water column, regardless of site, time or depth of water column (e.g. carangids, engraulids, clupeids, scombrids, sparids and pleuronectids). Some taxa were most abundant in shallow water columns (e.g. mullids, tripterygiids and gobiids). Rank abundance by depth stratum for non-surface dwelling species varied among sites and times. Diel vertical movements were detected, some taxa (e.g. clupeids, scombrids and bothids) that were most abundant at the surface at night whereas for other taxa this pattern was more variable (e.g. carangids). We conclude that diel depth-related patterns in shallow water columns will influence interactions among taxa and the importance of different transport mechanisms for larval transport.

Introduction Older adults experience ‘Late life depression’. Hip fractures may negatively influence trajectories of depressive symptoms in older adults. This study aimed to determine trajectories of depressive symptoms among older adults in England, overall and for those after hip fracture, and identify characteristics defining trajectory membership. Methods Analysis of adults aged 60 years or more (n=7,050), including a hip fracture subgroup (n = 384), from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Latent class growth mixture modelling was completed. Depressive symptom prevalence was estimated at baseline. Chi-squared tests were completed to compare baseline characteristics across trajectories. Results Three trajectory groups were identified overall and for those with hip fracture: no-, mild-, and moderate-severe- symptoms. The moderate-severe group comprised 13.7% and 7% of participants for overall and hip fracture populations respectively. Overall, the proportion of participants with depressive symptoms were 0.4%, 12.4% and 65.4% for no-, mild-, and moderate-severe- symptom groups, respectively. For the hip fracture subgroup, these proportions were 0.7%, 28.8%, and 85.2%. Depressive symptoms were stable over time, with a weak trend towards increasing severity for the moderate-severe group. Individuals with moderate-severe trajectories were older, more likely to be female, live alone and had worse health outcomes (p < 0.001). Conclusions Older adults, and those after hip fracture, follow one of three trajectories of depressive symptoms which are broadly stable over time. The prevalence of depressive symptoms was lower for those with hip fracture however, when present, the symptoms were more severe than the overall population. Results suggest a role of factors including age, gender, and marital status in depressive symptoms trajectories.

This article explores the meaning of the root k-f-r in the Quran, questioning the practice of translating the noun kāfir as “infidel.” It argues for a distinction between the idiomatic phrasal verb kafara bi-, which does mean to reject or disbelieve, and the simple intransitive verb kafara and its deverbal nouns, which are used in the Quran in a large number of different ways. This polysemy is explored through contextual readings of Quran passages. It is argued that the noun kāfir, unlike the verb kafara, is used only with regard to adherents of traditional polytheism and is not deployed in an unmodified way with regard to Jews and Christians. The possible influence on the Arabic kafara of Greek and Latin conceptions is also broached.

The quranic sūra The Women 4:157-58 says that Jews claimed to have killed and crucified Christ but denies that they did so. Rather, the verse says, ‘it was made to appear to them so.’ For centuries...

Introduction Patients with hip fracture and depression are less likely to recover. This review aimed to identify prognostic factors of depression up to one year after hip fracture surgery in adults. Secondary aims were to determine whether identified factors are modifiable or non-modifiable and describe proposed underlying mechanisms for their association with depression. Methods We searched MEDLINE, Embase, PsychInfo, CINAHL and Web of Science Core Collection databases for published studies as well as grey literature. We did not impose any date, geographical, or language limitations. Two reviewers independently screened studies against predefined eligibility criteria to identify relevant papers. We included observational studies investigating prognostic factors of depression up to one year after surgery in adults surgically managed for non-pathological hip fracture. Two reviewers independently extracted data (Checklist for critical Appraisal and data extraction for systematic Reviews of prediction Modelling Studies, adapted for use with prognostic factors studies Checklist) and completed quality appraisal (using Quality in Prognosis Studies tool). Results 3,402 studies were identified; 2,915 studies were excluded leaving 13 studies included in this review. 3,769 patients were included across all studies with a mean age ranging from 76.21–81.82 years. A total of 39 prognostic factors were investigated and most studies failed to identify a primary prognostic factor of interest. Most of these factors were patient factors with only a few being process or structure factors. Conclusion Various potential prognostic factors of depression after hip fracture were identified however, Methodological quality and heterogeneity between studies limited the certainty of which prognostic factors were the strongest. High-quality research investigating prognostic factors using the same study design, Methodology and measurements is warranted to allow for comparisons of the predictive power of factors. As well as future research into the underlying mechanisms of prognostic factors.

Both the Muslim exegetical tradition and most Western scholarship have posited that the termislāmin the Quran means “submission”, i.e. to God, and that it refers to the religion brought by the prophet Muhammad. This paper argues that neither of these assertions is correct. Rather, the abstract nounislāmas used in the Quran means “tradition”. It is underlain by the Aramaicmashlmānūtā, which in turn was the term generally used to translate the Greekparadosis. That the Greek usage had a direct impact on Arabic is also considered. The wide range of meanings givenparadosisby Greek and Syriac authors is surveyed. A close reading of Quran verses in which the wordislāmappears shows that it refers to the prophetic tradition of monotheism rather than the surrender of an individual to God. It is synonymous with the Logos of Abraham, in which all the monotheistic religions participate.

Nano- and micro-electromechanical systems (N/MEMSs) are traditionally based on electrostatic or piezoelectric coupling, which couples electrical and mechanical energy through acoustic resonator structures. Most recently, N/MEMS devices based on magnetoelectrics are gaining much attention. Unlike electrostatic or piezoelectric N/MEMS that rely on an AC electric field or voltage excitation, magnetoelecric N/MEMS rely on the electromechanical resonance of a magnetostrictive/piezoelectric bilayer heterostructure exhibiting a strong strain-mediated magnetoelectric coupling under the excitation of a magnetic field and/or electric field. As a consequence, magnetoelectric N/MEMS enable unprecedented new applications, ranging from magnetoelectric sensors, ultra-compact magnetoelectric antennas, etc. This Tutorial will first outline the fundamental principles of piezoelectric materials, resonator design, specifically different acoustic modes, and piezoelectric-based N/MEMS applications, i.e., radio frequency front end filters and infrared radiation sensors. We will then provide an overview of magnetoelectric materials and N/MEMS focusing on the governing physics of the magnetoelectric effect, magnetic material properties for achieving high magnetoelectric coupling, state-of-the-art magnetoelectric N/MEMS devices, and their respective applications.

Egypt and Iraq display contrasting policies in the relationship between state and religion. Egypt's nationalist officer corps has subordinated political Islam, stigmatized the Muslim Brotherhood, and bended clerics to its will. While Arab Iraq presents two models, both hold a similar stance on religion: one an elected, parliamentary government dominated by political Islam and Shiite clerics; the other a theocratic Sunni caliphate of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Egypt and Iraq are heirs to two differing Ottoman solutions to the problem of religion-state relations, the legacy of which is often overlooked. The most prevalent model subordinates clergy and religion to the state in the tradition of Mehmet I. This model is characteristic of the empire in its glory years and would have been recognized by Suleyman the Magnificent. In the other model, the late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century Hamidian caliphate, the head of state claimed temporal and religious authority to combat colonial penetration. Neither Ottoman nor colonial norms of governance, nor nationalist states succeeding them, developed methods to deal with multiethnic states or avoid a tyranny of the majority. Unlike the modernizing Ottoman caliphate, however, the caliphates of Mulla Omar and Ibrahim al-Samarra'i display a literalist reading of sharia and a ruthless disregard of humane prohibitions in mainstream Islamic law against killing innocents. Of the two models, the likely victor is the state-centric subordination of religion because latter-day caliphates have flourished only briefly as radical and sectarian movements in rugged territories where power vacuums existed.

In the past decade increased use of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling has dramatically expanded oil and gas production in the Bakken formation region. Long term monitoring sites have indicated an increase in wintertime aerosol nitrate and sulfate in this region from particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) measurements collected between 2000 and 2010. No previous intensive air quality field campaign has been conducted in this region to assess impacts from oil and gas development on regional fine particle concentrations. The research presented here investigates wintertime PM 2.5 concentrations and composition as part of the Bakken Air Quality Study (BAQS). Measurements from BAQS took place over two wintertime sampling periods at multiple sites in the United States portion of the Bakken formation and show regionally elevated episodes of PM 2.5 during both study periods. Ammonium nitrate was a major contributor to haze episodes. Periods of air stagnation or recirculation were associated with rapid increases in PM 2.5 concentrations. Volatile organic compound (VOC) signatures suggest that air masses during these episodes were dominated by emissions from the Bakken region itself. Formation rates of alkyl nitrates from alkanes revealed an air mass aging timescale of typically less than a day for periods with elevated PM 2.5 . A thermodynamic inorganic aerosol model (ISORROPIA) was used to investigate gas-particle partitioning and to examine the sensitivity of PM 2.5 concentrations to aerosol precursor concentrations. Formation of ammonium nitrate, the dominant component, was most sensitive to ammonia concentrations during winter and to nitric acid concentrations during early spring when ammonia availability increases. The availability of excess ammonia suggests capacity for further ammonium nitrate formation if nitrogen oxide emissions increase in the future and lead to additional secondary formation of nitric acid.

Introduction Resting-state functional connectivity is coherent brain activity in a task-free state that strongly correlates to task-evoked sensory, motor, and higher-order cognitive systems. Certain networks show decreased functional connectivity with aging. Aging is associated with changes in circadian rhythms and sleep-wake cycles. Limited research has been conducted on how circadian activity and sleep are related to markers of functional brain aging. The purpose of this study was to explore whether rest-activity patterns and shorter sleep duration are related to functional connectivity of specific resting-state networks in older adults. Methods A total of 124 cognitively normal participants (mean age (SD) = 67.2 (5.7), 42% men) underwent 3.0 T MRI and week-long wrist actigraphy protocols. Rest-activity pattern was analyzed using an extended cosine model calculating acrophase (time of peak activity) and pseudo-F statistics of goodness-of-fit (a measure of overall rhythmicity). We used resting-state fMRI scans to measure functional connectivity in association and sensory networks as defined by the Schaefer 17 network functional atlas. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to investigate how rest-activity pattern parameters and sleep duration are associated with resting-state functional connectivity, adjusting for age, sex, and sleep apnea. Results We found that the average acrophase was 2:30 PM (SD = 54 min), and delayed acrophase (average vs. delayed [+1SD]) was associated with lower functional connectivity of the right-lateralized default mode network A (p=0.02), and higher pseudo-F statistics was associated with higher functional connectivity in networks including left dorsal attention B (p=0.001), right somatomotor A (p = 0.05), and somatomotor B (both p=0.02). Longer sleep duration was associated with higher right executive control B (p=0.03). Conclusion The overall rhythmicity of diurnal rest-activity patterns and longer sleep duration are associated with some resting-state functional networks. Further investigation is needed to understand the mechanisms between circadian rhythm and brain function. Support National Institute of Health, U of Iowa Aging Mind Brain Initiative, Center on Aging

The 2014 Front Range Air Pollution and Photochemistry Éxperiment (FRAPPÉ) aimed to better characterize summertime air quality in the Northern Front Range Metropolitan Area (NFRMA) and its impact on surrounding areas. As part of this study, measurements of gas- and particle-phase species were collected in Rocky Mountain National Park (ROMO), located in the mountains west of the urban northern Front Range corridor from July to October 2014. We report on measurements of ozone from two locations in the park and a suite of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) measured using a continuous real-time gas chromatography (GC) system and a quadrupole proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometer (PRT-MS) at the ROMO Longs Peak (ROMO-LP) air quality site. We also measured VOCs using canister samples collected along transects connecting the NFRMA and ROMO. These datasets show that ROMO is impacted by NFRMA emission sources, and high observed mixing ratios of VOCs associated with oil and gas extraction (e.g. ethane) and urban sources (e.g. ethene and C2Cl4) occur during periods of upslope transport. Hourly ozone mixing ratios exceeded 70 ppb during six events. Two of the six events were largely associated with VOCs from the oil and gas sector, three high ozone events were associated with a mixture of VOCs from urban and oil and gas sources, and one high ozone event was driven by a stratospheric intrusion. For the high ozone events most associated with emissions from oil and gas activities, we estimate that VOCs and NOx from sources along the Front Range contributed ∼20 ppbv of additional ozone.

Green energy investment is one avenue through with the Chinese government is beginning to create a new relationship with the Middle East. Chinese solar panel firms have research and production advantages in the world market, but face rising labor costs at home. The Communist Party under Xi Jinping has pursued two major policies, “Go out!” and “One Road, One Belt.” The first refers to Chinese firms creating factories abroad to benefit from cheap labor and from local low-tariff trade blocs. China will therefore set up solar panel factories in the United Arab Emirates and in Morocco. Both countries have strong national commitments to renewable energy, but also have access to a wide range of export markets. This sort of investment changes China’s relationship to the region from being one of buying hydrocarbons to a much more intensive set of interactions, including acting as employer for local labor.

To describe fluocinolone acetonide implant dissociations in the Multicenter Uveitis Steroid Treatment (MUST) Trial.Randomized clinical trial with extended follow-up.Review of data collected on the first implant in the eye(s) of participants. Dissociation was defined as the drug pellet no longer being affixed to the strut and categorized as spontaneous or surgically related.A total of 250 eyes (146 patients) had at least 1 implant placed. Median follow-up time after implant placement was 6 years (range 0.5-9.2 years). Thirty-four dissociations were reported in 30 participants. There were 22 spontaneous events in 22 participants; 6-year cumulative risk of a spontaneous dissociation was 4.8% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.4%-9.1%). The earliest event occurred 4.8 years after placement. Nine of 22 eyes with data had a decline in visual acuity ≥5 letters temporally related to the dissociation. Thirty-nine implant removal surgeries were performed, 33 with replacement. Twelve dissociations were noted during implant removal surgeries in 10 participants (26%, 95% CI 15%-48%); 5 of these eyes had a decline in visual acuity ≥5 letters after surgery. The time from implant placement to removal surgery was longer for the surgeries at which dissociated implants were identified than for those without one (5.7 vs 3.7 years, P.001). Overall, visual acuity declined 15 or more letters from pre-implant values in 22% of affected eyes; declines were frequently associated with complications of uveitis or its treatment.There is an increasing risk of dissociation of Retisert implants during follow-up; the risk is greater with removal/exchange surgeries, but the risk of both spontaneous and surgically related events increases with longevity of the implants. In 22% of affected eyes visual acuity declined by 15 letters. In the context of eyes with moderate to severe uveitis for years, this rate is not unexpected.

The Sequential Spot Sampler (S3), a newly developed instrument to collect aerosols for time-resolved chemical composition measurements, was evaluated in the laboratory and field for the measurement of particulate sulfate and nitrate. The S3 uses a multi-temperature condensation growth tube to grow individual aerosols to droplets which are then deposited as a ∼ 1 mm diameter dry spot at the end of the growth tube in a 100 µL well of a multi-well plate. The well plate advances automatically to provide a sequence of time-resolved samples. The collected aerosols are subsequently analyzed in the laboratory. The sample is concentrated during the collection process, and the laboratory extraction and analysis steps can be automated. The well plate, as received from the field, is placed onto a needle-based autosampler that adds liquid for sample extraction and injects sample extract from each well onto an ion chromatograph for analysis. Laboratory evaluation for sulfate and nitrate ions showed that poly ether ether ketone (PEEK) used as well plate material does not contribute any artifacts; a 60 min extraction procedure leads to the recovery of sulfate and nitrate from the dry spots at above 95 % extraction efficiency; and samples stored frozen and analyzed up to 23 months later show less than a 10 % change in sulfate and nitrate concentrations. The limit of detection was 0.5 µg m−3 for sulfate and 0.2 µg m−3 for nitrate for a 1 h sampling period. In a month-long field study conducted in southern California, two S3s were deployed alongside a URG denuder–filter-pack and a Particle-Into-Liquid Sampler combined with an Ion Chromatograph (PILS-IC). Collocated S3 sampler concentrations compared by linear regression show good agreement, with r2 = 0.99 and slope = 0.99 (±0.004) µg m−3 for sulfate and r2 = 0.99 and slope = 1.0 (±0.006) µg m−3 for nitrate. When compared to the URG denuder–filter-pack and the PILS-IC, the S3 sulfate and nitrate concentrations yielded correlations above 0.84 for the square of the correlation coefficient and regression slopes close to 1.

The Bakken formation contains billions of barrels of oil and gas trapped in rock and shale. Horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing methods have allowed for extraction of these resources, leading to exponential growth of oil production in the region over the past decade. Along with this development has come an increase in associated emissions to the atmosphere. Concern about potential impacts of these emissions on federal lands in the region prompted the National Park Service to sponsor the Bakken Air Quality Study over two winters in 2013–2014. Here we provide an overview of the study and present some initial results aimed at better understanding the impact of local oil and gas emissions on regional air quality. Data from the study, along with long term monitoring data, suggest that while power plants are still an important emissions source in the region, emissions from oil and gas activities are impacting ambient concentrations of nitrogen oxides and black carbon and may dominate recent observed trends in pollutant concentrations at some of the study sites. Measurements of volatile organic compounds also definitively show that oil and gas emissions were present in almost every air mass sampled over a period of more than four months.

Oil and gas activities have occurred in the Bakken region of North Dakota and nearby states and provinces since the 1950s but began increasing rapidly around 2008 due to new extraction methods. Three receptor-based techniques were used to examine the potential impacts of oil and gas extraction activities on airborne particulate concentrations in Class I areas in and around the Bakken. This work was based on long-term measurements from the Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments (IMPROVE) monitoring network. Spatial and temporal patterns in measured concentrations were examined before and after 2008 to better characterize the influence of these activities. A multisite back-trajectory analysis and a receptor-based source apportionment model were used to estimate impacts. Findings suggest that recent Bakken oil and gas activities have led to an increase in regional fine (PM2.5-particles with aerodynamic diameters

This study evaluated the impact of two short-term, Rehabilitation for Addicted Prisoners Trust (RAPt), substance dependence treatment programs on the psychological processes they target, which are associated with relapse and/or reoffending. Posttreatment scores across subscales of three psychometric measures were compared to baseline scores for 2,299 alcohol and/or drug dependent adult male prisoners that engaged with the Alcohol Dependence Treatment Programme (ADTP) or the Bridge Programme in custody. Subsequent OLS regression analyses indicated that, while key variables such as age, ethnicity, offense type, main substance used, and completion status were held constant, participants of the programs made significant gains regarding motivation to change problematic substance abusing behavior, self-efficacy for abstaining from drugs and/or alcohol in high-risk situations, and social problem-solving skills.

We present a method for improving the brightness of supercontinuum-Stokes-based CARS hypermicroscopy. The synchronization of power-tuned supercontinuum generation with the time-delay of Pump/Stokes pulses in CARS hypermicroscopy allows for more effective pulse interactions — in a method we denote “spectral surfing. This, in turn, enables the single-window scanning of a broader range of CARS frequencies — from 300 cm−1 to 3500 cm−1.

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to assess whether mental health symptoms affect one-year reoffending rates upon release from prison for participants engaging in substance dependence treatment in the UK.Design/methodology/approach– A retrospective cohort study was used to assess reconviction outcomes upon release. The Comprehensive Addiction and Psychological Evaluation (CAAPE) was administered to 667 inmates admitted to the programme. The effect of mental health, drug use, and static risk factors on reoffending was assessed at one-year post release.Findings– Logistic regression analysis showed that symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder at the start of substance dependence treatment increased the likelihood to reoffend, whilst Obsessive Compulsive Disorder symptoms and length of sentence decreased the likelihood to reoffend. Antisocial Personality Disorder symptoms show a trend towards increasing the likelihood to reoffend. In addition, previously established risk factors for reoffending, including dependence on heroin, crack/cocaine, and poly drug use significantly increased the likelihood of reconviction.Practical implications– Depressive symptomatology pre-treatment could affect reoffending outcomes for participants in substance dependence treatment in prison. An integrative approach addressing both substance misuse and mental health factors is pivotal. Future efforts to address both simultaneously can be made to improve assessment, training, treatment, and through care for prisoners in substance dependence treatment.Originality/value– Few studies have assessed the effect of mental health factors on reoffending outcomes for offenders in substance dependence treatment. A large sample was studied in an understudied population of UK prisoners in substance dependence treatment. The results have implications for clinical settings where mental health symptoms are not addressed concurrently with substance dependence. This finding can inform policy makers and practitioners who provide substance dependence treatment in prison.

A popular and inexpensive experimental approach to broadband CARS microscopy involves the generation of a supercontinuum pulse from a microstructured fibre. Despite such fibres being used for CARS microscopy for over a decade, concerns about excessive spectral and polarization noise have prevented their wider adoption for this technique. In this work, the applicability of two commercially-available supercontinuum generating fibres, the NL-1.4-775-945 and the NL-PM-750 in packaged module form, are compared for spectral-focusing CARS (SF-CARS) imaging. The former has been a mainstay of SF-CARS implementations while the latter has largely found application in a related but distinct broadband CARS technique and has not been used for SF-CARS applications. We first characterize the intensity and polarization behaviour of the supercontinuum output of the fibres and demonstrate that while both can be used to produce high-quality CARS images and spectra, key operational differences between the fibres must be taken into consideration when optimizing their use for SF-CARS applications. In particular, we show via spectroscopy of a solvent sample and hyperspectral imaging of a pharmaceutical sample that the NL-1.4-775-945 is inferior for SF-CARS applications when used under fixed-power supercontinuum generation conditions. However, its operation can be significantly improved under power-tuned supercontinuum generation conditions known as spectral-surfing, an approach that does not confer the same advantage with the NL-PM-750. Furthermore, we identify a latent polarization-dependent spectral artifact in the NL-PM-750, which can degrade the CARS spectrum in time-gated techniques such as SF-CARS.

Many countries, including Canada (Government of Ontario, 2005) and the United States (U.S. Government, 2004) have legislated the provision of assistive devices for persons with disabilities during their education and subsequent employment to enable them to contribute more fully to society. The complex visual requirements of the laboratory component of many university science courses require a collaboration between a student with low vision and a particular university science department to determine which devices are appropriate for each student. A number of articles have addressed this issue for physics students who are totally blind and use special hardware (see, for example, Carver, 1967; Parry, Brazier, & Fischbach, 1997; University of Nottingham, 2009; Windelborn, 1999) or software (such as Thompson, 2005). The assistive devices described in those articles allow limited access to certain kinds of experiments, usually in mechanics, but are not applicable in general. In contrast, this article addresses the use of modern video technology to allow a student with low vision to participate almost fully in a standard university science program that includes laboratory experiments. CASE STUDY A student with low vision (the first author) registered in the introductory physics course at Trent University in the fall of 2009. His Snellen visual acuity fluctuates significantly, with an average acuity of about 20/400. This low acuity presented obvious difficulties for him with the laboratory component of the course, for which he relied on his lab partner for the setup of the apparatus and the collection of data, although he was a full participant in the data analysis. The student then decided to major in Trent's program in chemical physics. Because the required physics labs have visual components, these components needed to be evaluated for accessibility. The available options were to (1) continue relying on sighted classmates as in his first-year course, (2) create a different "theoretical physics" degree program that did not require a laboratory component, or (3) work with the student to find assistive technology that would allow him to participate in a meaningful way in setting up equipment and recording data. The student and the department agreed that familiarity with laboratory equipment and the skill in recording data properly were desirable benefits ensuing from the laboratory component and that would be expected by an employer of a physics or chemistry graduate, so the third option were the best one if it was possible. Even if the student continued into theoretical areas, laboratory experience would assist him in relating theory to an experiment. Selection of the assistive device Without an assistive device, the student could see the outline of a power supply or a signal generator but could not tell them apart visually or see the gradations on the dials. He could not select the voltage, current, or resistance on a digital multimeter or its banana-plug holes in which to insert patch cords. He also could not see his hands well enough to insert the patch cords even if he could have seen the holes. Thus, he could not assemble equipment, view physical results, or read meters to take data. For example, in the classic e/m (electron charge-to-mass ratio) experiment, he could not see the circular path of an electron beam in a magnetic field as evidenced by the faint glow from the excited mercury vapor or the pins that fluoresce, when struck by the beam, that determine the radius of the beam. To participate fully in an undergraduate experiment, he was required to see well enough to do all of these tasks while having his hands free to manipulate the equipment. The assistive device described here satisfied all these requirements. The student chose the Acrobat Panel and Long Arm (Enhanced Vision Systems, United States) for assessment. The weight is 3.5 pounds (1.6 kilograms) for the camera, long arm, and clamp, and 8 ounces (0. …

‘Iraq in 1939’ makes an argument that this pivotal year in the history of the Greater Mediterranean was also pivotal for Iraq. The European contest among fascism, communism and liberalism, had strong echoes in Iraq. Whereas the existing historiography paints Arab Iraq as deeply influenced by fascism, the author found no evidence for this allegation. Iraqis were reported in the British archives to have been disgusted by Hitler's invasion of Poland as a form of colonialism. Italy's own colonial enterprise in Libya tarnished its image among Arabs, and the Iraqi monarch expressed unease about a Yemeni arms deal with Italy. Germany was not at that point interested in Arab nationalism, and still hoped for a British alliance of Aryans. The reach of German radio broadcasts has been exaggerated, and prominent Iraqi poets and political societies roundly condemned fascism. The Communist movement in Iraq was still in its infancy in 1939, and a left-leaning military dictatorship had recently been overthrown in favor of a return to constitutional monarchy. The victor in 1939 was the relatively pro-British liberal government of Nuri al-Sa'id. The Arab nationalists in the officer corps, however, did wish to use the rise of the Axis as a lever to escape the onerous postcolonial British dominance stipulated in the 1930 treaty. Although they did not seek an Axis alliance, merely a neutrality as between it and Britain, this attempt to move away from London's embrace set them on a collision course with Britain, which reoccupied the country only two years later. The war-time British interpretation of Iraqi elites' flirtation with a Turkish-style neutrality as an embrace of Nazism has too long influenced later historians, and needs to be abandoned in light of the evidence in the British archives themselves.

The internet poses acute challenges to historians. Blogging and other forms of internet communication have outstripped the reach of more conventional forms of academic publications. They also provide new types of sources that would otherwise be impossible for historians to access, not least in areas of conflict. These new forms of communication must be embraced by contemporary historians as they seek to speak truth to power. They allow contemporary historians to engage with public and political debate in critical new ways. Blogging will not replace the monograph or the peer-reviewed journal article, nor will it replace archival research. In affecting public debates and political outcomes, and in obtaining new sources, blogging is a form of communication contemporary historians ignore at their peril.

The postsynaptic muscle-specific kinase (MuSK) coordinates formation of the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) during embryonic development. Here we have studied the effects of MuSK autoantibodies upon the NMJ in adult mice. Daily injections of IgG from four MuSK autoantibody-positive myasthenia gravis patients (MuSK IgG; 45 mg day(1)i.p. for 14 days) caused reductions in postsynaptic ACh receptor (AChR) packing as assessed by fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). IgG from the patients with the highest titres of MuSK autoantibodies caused large (51-73%) reductions in postsynaptic MuSK staining (cf. control mice; P < 0.01) and muscle weakness. Among mice injected for 14 days with control and MuSK patient IgGs, the residual level of MuSK correlated with the degree of impairment of postsynaptic AChR packing. However, the loss of postsynaptic MuSK preceded this impairment of postsynaptic AChR. When added to cultured C2 muscle cells the MuSK autoantibodies caused tyrosine phosphorylation of MuSK and the AChR beta-subunit, and internalization of MuSK from the plasma membrane. The results suggest a pathogenic mechanism in which MuSK autoantibodies rapidly deplete MuSK from the postsynaptic membrane leading to progressive dispersal of postsynaptic AChRs. Moreover, maintenance of postsynaptic AChR packing at the adult NMJ would appear to depend upon physical engagement of MuSK with the AChR scaffold, notwithstanding activation of the MuSK-rapsyn system of AChR clustering.