1.   In the second quarter of this year, companies managed to become more efficient despite the near absence of economic growth, the government reported Tuesday.

2.   Indeed, if anything characterizes the issue, it has been the near absences of debate it has engendered.

3.   The bad news, though, is that these brief shining moments are outweighed by gross-out jokes, cliche-riddled plotting and a near absence of character development.

4.   The collapse of standards of living for Afghan youth goes beyond the near absence of organized education.

5.   The near absence of inflation has been helped by lower commodity prices and cheaper import prices.

6.   The traditional landmarks of a stock market bottom are intense pessimism, a near absence of buyers and unusually heavy selling .

7.   What is remarkable, instead, is the near absence of anger or frustration.

8.   Yet, civil-rights organizations hardly are alone in the near absence of African-American women in top positions.