The 9th International Symposium on Memory and Awareness in Anesthesia (MAA9) was held in Tokyo, Japan on June 20–23, 2014, attracting over 70 delegates from around the world. It was chaired by Jiro Kurata, from the Tokyo Medical and Dental University, and was jointly sponsored by the British Journal of Anaesthesia to support research activities in the fields of awareness during anaesthesia, neurobiological mechanisms of general anaesthesia, consciousness, and memory. This topic complements the recently published National Audit Project NAP5 survey of accidental awareness under general anaesthesia conducted in the UK in 2012 and published in the British Journal of Anaesthesia last year.1–3 The present British Journal of Anaesthesia special issue on Memory and Awareness in Anaesthesia was planned by Hugh Hemmings, a co-organizer of MAA9, to present the most current findings and views on topics from selected presentations during the meeting, in addition to submissions in response to an open call for papers. All the MAA9 abstracts are also included in this special on-line-only issue. Details of the MAA9 programme can be found at the conference website (http://maa9.umin.jp/).

The scope of previous MAA symposia has ranged from the neuroscience of anaesthetic action, memory, and consciousness to the clinical aspects of awareness during anaesthesia. The MAA9 followed this tradition, while emphasizing the clinical aspects: epidemiology, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of intraoperative awareness, with a conference slogan of 'Minding the Mind of Subconscious Self'. Although anaesthesiology has devoted tremendous efforts to studies of anaesthetic pharmacology and the mechanisms of anaesthetic-induced unconsciousness, which can be approached in a relatively direct manner through behavioural analyses, it has paid much less attention to subconscious processes of mind. At least part of memory is formed in the subconscious domain of mind,4 and for this reason could be resistant to clinical ranges of general anaesthetics aimed to produce elimination of conscious behaviour. The MAA9 was programmed to propose that anaesthesiology should now approach the next stage, the care for the subconscious mind.

Detection of intraoperative awareness during anaesthesia has historically been a major focus of research and technology development in anaesthesiology. Currently, there are several kinds of anaesthetic depth monitors, in addition to real-time or simulated monitors of anaesthetic concentrations, available in most operating theatres. Behaviour-based standardization of mathematically processed EEG, cortical evoked potentials, or both has attempted to turn 'probability of awareness' into an anaesthetic depth index, or a 'vital sign for consciousness'. In recent years, such indices for anaesthetic depth have been tested for efficacy in detecting intraoperative awareness compared with anaesthetic concentration monitors, which is summarized in the review by Mashour,5 along with some of the controversial and established aspects of intraoperative awareness. Despite such efforts, titrated administration of anaesthetics, using either an anaesthetic depth or a concentration monitor, has not been successful in decreasing the incidence of intraoperative awareness with recall. No single reliable anaesthetic technique or monitor is yet available to eliminate awareness with recall during general anaesthesia.

A significant concern is the increasing reliance on EEG-based monitors of anaesthetic depth to titrate administration of anaesthetic agents. Some of the issues with using processed indices of the EEG rather than the raw waveform are addressed in the review by Hagihira,6 along with editorial commentary by Veselis.7 Purdon and colleagues8 report profound age-dependent changes in the EEG that also have important implications for depth-of-anaesthesia monitors relying on processed EEG signals. Greater sensitivity to anaesthetics evident in the increased susceptibility to burst suppression in the elderly7 is supported by animal studies that demonstrate delayed emergence and increased sensitivity to anaesthetics in old rats.9 This is highlighted in an editorial by Hudson and Proekt.10 Age-dependent changes in the EEG response to anaesthesia also occur in children, as demonstrated for sevoflurane by Akeju and colleagues;11 this phenomenon has implications for EEG-based monitors of anaesthetic depth in both the young and the elderly. The impact of the unique pharmacological profile of ketamine on its EEG signature is described in a study by Pal and colleagues,12 who show that ketamine, like other general anaesthetics, suppresses high-frequency γ activity and promotes a breakdown in cortical coherence.

Reasons for failure of general anaesthesia in suppressing memory and awareness could include technical problems or mishaps, such as an inadvertent discontinuation or a low concentration of general anaesthetic agent. Neuromuscular blocking agents, which are non-hypnotics, could also conceal conscious behaviour and affect reliability of EEG-based depth-of-anaesthesia monitors. These issues are highlighted in two studies by Thomsen and colleagues13,14 from a Danish registry of patients with documented butyrylcholinesterase (plasma cholinesterase) deficiency, showing that prolonged paralysis due to impaired elimination of esterase-dependent neuromuscular blockers (succinylcholine or mivacurium) markedly increased the likelihood of awareness during emergence from anaesthesia, particularly when neuromuscular function monitoring was not used. The importance of not withholding neuromuscular function monitoring when paralytic drugs are used during anaesthesia is highlighted in the editorial by Avidan and Stevens.15 An important limitation of EEG-based depth-of-anaesthesia monitors is described by Schuller and colleagues16 in a fascinating study of volunteer anaesthetists who underwent intentional awake paralysis using the isolated forearm technique to show that the bispectral index monitor itself cannot always distinguish 'anaesthesia' from paralysis, the implications of which are highlighted in an editorial by Schneider and Pilge.17 Use of the isolated forearm technique as a monitor of depth of anaesthesia and as a research tool into mechanisms of anaesthesia is presented in a thought-provoking debate and review by Pandit and colleagues.18

Not all known cases of intraoperative awareness with recall, however, can be explained by such 'logical' causes. Should we now question the ability of general anaesthetics to produce unconsciousness and amnesia reliably? Targeting only conscious behaviour might not necessarily provide reliable protection of patients from traumatic memory of physical or psychological injuries during surgery and anaesthesia. The mechanisms of memory formation are reviewed by Veselis,4 while Pryor and colleagues19 used functional magnetic resonance imaging to show that propofol suppresses emotional memory formation through a hippocampal mechanism. Implicit memory formation during anaesthesia remains understudied and poses a significant problem that could be relevant to post-traumatic stress disorder, and possibly, postoperative delirium and cognitive dysfunction. A report from the Anesthesia Awareness Registry of the American Society of Anesthesiologists indicates that explicit recall of intraoperative awareness can have significant negative psychological impact on patients, which suggests that a more systematic response and follow-up care are necessary.20

Amongst the irreplaceable roles of the MAA conferences has been, and hopefully will continue to be, an investigation into subconscious processing of information during anaesthesia. Now that we have abundant, if not sufficient, evidence for anaesthetic-induced unconsciousness, we should investigate further the science of subconsciousness. The next meeting, MAA10, will continue this conversation around the clinical and basic science of memory and awareness in anaesthesia, to be chaired by Professor Sinikka Munte in Helsinki, Finland in 2017. Until the details of MAA10 are officially announced, the MAA9 facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/maa9.jp/) will remain a source of information on the development of MAA10. Please leave a comment on this page if you have suggestions or would like to be included in the mailing list for MAA10.

We sincerely hope that this special issue, marking the up-to-date knowledge and insights on memory and awareness in anaesthesia, will help to promote further scientific inquiries and technological development to eliminate the most dreadful complication of general anaesthesia: intraoperative awareness. Caring for the whole human existence, conscious and subconscious, should continue to be the core mission of anaesthesiology. Finally, we would like to thank all the authors of these excellent articles, all the attendees, support staff, and sponsors of the MAA9, and Oxford University Press for realizing this special issue.


The title complex, [Rb(C11H9N2)(C20H24O6)], has potassium in an irregular eightfold coordination, with a hexadentate crown ether ligand and a chelating bidentate amidopyridine ligand, each occupying one hemisphere of the coordination. The chelate KNCN ring is slightly folded, and the two rings of the amidopyridine ligand are not coplanar, because of steric interaction of H atoms on the rings. The K—N(amido) bond is shorter than the K—N(pyridine) bond. The coordination of the crown ether to potassium is less symmetrical than that for the analogous rubidium complex, reflecting a poorer size match for K+ in this coordination site.


Aims. We use VLT/UVES high-resolution optical spectroscopy of seven GRB afterglows (at z GRB  between 2.20 and 3.97) to investigate circumburst and interstellar plasma in the host galaxies of the bursts. Methods. GRBs 050730, 050820, 050922C, 060607, 071031, and 080310 were each detected by the Swift satellite. With the minimum possible time delay (as short as eight minutes), follow-up optical spectroscopy at 6.0 km s -1  resolution began with UVES. We present Voigt-profile component fits and analysis of the high-ion absorption detected in these spectra and in the pre- Swift UVES spectrum of GRB 021004, at velocities between z GRB –5000 km s -1  and z GRB . Results. We identify several distinct categories of high-ion absorption at velocities close to z GRB : (i) strong high-ion absorption at z GRB  itself is always seen in O vi, C iv, and Si iv, usually (in six of seven cases) in N v, and occasionally in S iv and S vi. Three of the cases show log  N (N v) > 14 in a single-component, suggesting a circumburst origin, but we cannot rule out an interstellar origin. Indeed, using the non-detection of S iv * at z GRB  toward GRB 050730 together with a UV photo-excitation model, we place a lower limit of 400 pc on the distance of the S iv-bearing gas from the GRB; (ii) complex, multi-component C iv and Si iv profiles extending over 100–400 km s -1  around z GRB  are observed in each spectrum; these velocity fields are similar to those measured in C iv in damped Lyman- α  systems at similar redshifts, suggesting a galactic origin; (iii) asymmetric, blueshifted, absorption-line wings covering 65–140 km s -1  are seen in the C iv, Si iv, and O vi profiles in four of the seven GRB afterglow spectra. The wing kinematics together with the "Galactic" C iv/Si iv ratios measured in two cases suggest that the wings trace outflowing interstellar gas in the GRB host galaxies; (iv) high-velocity (HV; 500–5000 km s -1  relative to z GRB ) components are detected in six of the seven spectra; these components are not necessarily a single homogeneous population, and many of them may arise in unrelated foreground galaxies. However, in the cases of GRBs 071031 and 080310, the ionization properties of the HV components (very high C iv/Si iv ratios and absence of neutral-phase absorption in Si ii or C ii) are suggestive of a circumburst origin; models of Wolf-Rayet winds from the GRB progenitors can explain both the kinematics and ionization level of these HV components.


The single step reactions of N,N′- substituted/-unsubstituted barbituric acids with various alkyl dihalides under phase transfer catalytic conditions using DMF-K2CO3 (base), TBAHSO4 (catalyst) provide spirobarbituric acids in moderate to high yields. Irrespective of the existence of C5-monoalkylated compounds in the enolic form (confirmed by the isolation of some of its analogues), the second alkylation predominantly takes place at C5. The underlying mechanism for the reaction is discussed. The 5,7-dimethyl-5,7-diaza-spiro[2.5]octane-4,6,8-trione undergoes ring opening with NaCN, PhSH, HS(CH2)2OH and Br2 to provide 5-monoalkylated barbiturates which are otherwise difficult to prepare by the usual alkylation of barbituric acids.


Wakame and Kombu seaweed, both fresh and reconstituted for consumption, were analyzed by HPLC for the determination of the content of ascorbic acid, vitamin E, β-carotene, lutein, fucoxanthin, chlorophyll a and pheophytin a; total polyphenol was done by Folin–Ciocalteau method and antioxidant activity by the DPPH test. Different behaviors have been observed on the contents of the bioactive compounds analyzed. Significant changes on ascorbic acid, β-carotene, lutein, fucoxanthin, chlorophyll a, pheophytin a, vitamin E, total polyphenols and antioxidant activity have been observed after the reconstitution of Wakame, whereas Kombu showed no significative variation of fucoxanthin, Vitamin E, total polyphenols and antioxidant activity. A high correlation between antioxidant activity and the above compounds was observed.


An new jamming system which used to pulsed-Doppler radar was introduced in this paper. Firstly, the configuration and its characteristic of jamming system based on digital frequency synthesizer was analyzed and simulated. Then, the collimated precision and equation of extent and phases of pulsed-Doppler radar was analyzed, on the condition of jamming affected. This technology and corresponding arithmetic was simulated in computed. The simulation results show that the jamming effect of jamming system based on digital frequency synthesizer was comparatively well, and can diffusely applied to pulsed-Doppler radar.


High-power, high-duty cycle and continuous wave operation of large-area monolithic 2D surface-emitting GaAlAs laser diode arrays mounted junction-down on microchannel heat exchangers have been demonstrated. Devices mounted don 2-mm-thick Cu heat spreaders were operated to peak output power densities of > 100 W/cm2 at 35% duty cycles,a nd exhibited high power conversion efficiencies, and full width emission spectra of < 4nm. Arrays mounted on 1-mm-thick heat spreaders were operated under continuous wave operating condition to approximately equals 50 W/cm2 power density levels. Silicon microchannel heat exchangers with a measured thermal resistance per unit are of 0.0324 degree(s)C cm2/W were used to removed up to 550 W/cm2 of excess heat generated by the arrays.


Do I Belong Here? Exploring Black Male Student Perceptions of Retention Initiatives Jason A. Ottley The retention and graduation rate of Black male students at institutions of higher education is dismal when compared to other groups. Approximately, 30% of Black college males who enroll in a four-year institution earn a college degree compared to 57% of White male students (Bohrnstedt et al., 2015). Black men find it difficult to persist and complete a college degree, and reasons behind it should be explored. The purpose of this study is to explore student and administrator perceptions of retention strategies for Black male students attending a Predominantly White Institution (PWI).


We have studied the current-induced displacement of a domain wall (DW) in the permalloy (Py) layer of a Co/Cu/Py spin valve structure at zero and very small applied field. The displacement is in opposite direction for opposite dc currents, and the current density required to move DW is only of the order of 106 A/cm2. For H=3 Oe, a back and forth DW motion between two stable positions is observed. We also discuss the effect of an applied field on the DW motion.


Equation oriented modelling of chemical processes can be done using different modelling environments such as Matlab, Fortran and gPROMS. However, it is a time consuming process and require a lot of programing effort. Since the modelling is done using their own programming languages, it has the poor readability. Thus, users prone to make the mistakes during code writing and error identification will be tedious. In this study, a new modelling environment called MOSAIC will be used for modelling of chemical processes. MOSAIC is a web based modelling software and it introduces a novel approach to equation based modelling. To demonstrate its capability, a reactive distillation (RD) model is used as a case study. The RD results from the modelling work in MOSAIC fitted well with the results found in literature. Using MOSAIC, the modelling effort is possible even without the knowledge of programming languages. In addition, it is fond to be less errors and saves time. A comparison with other modelling software is also presented indicate the advantages and disadvantages of MOSAIC. Such assessment is important to help in deciding to use MOSAIC for any modelling works.


Maintaining adequate nutrition for aging populations, especially those affected by dementias such as Alzheimer's disease, is an increasing challenge requiring flexibility for different users and the capacity to adapt as the disease progress. Assistive technologies, such as Proactive Information Delivery (PID), represent a viable approach to assist older adults with dementia in maintaining proper eating practices by monitoring patient routines and context, then providing orientation and prompts that can guide the patient regarding eating related practices decisions. In this poster we present a theoretical overview of the applicability of PID to support persons with mild and moderate dementia with eating. We describe the problem space of eating with dementia, present the concept of PID, and review the literature that supports the applicability of PID to support older adults with mild and moderate dementia to eat properly. Finally, we present and discuss the challenges of adopting Proactive Information Delivery in this sensitive design space, and highlight additional research opportunities that should be further explored.


A DPSSL-pumped laser HAMA is developed to realize high-repetitive ICF experiment. To demonstrate a counter irradiation fast heating fusion scheme, amplified chirped pulse of 4J/0.4ns is divided into four beams, two for imploding and the others for heating the imploded core. This is the first demonstration that 10-J class DPSSL is adapted to ICF experiments and succeeded in DD neutron generation. Repetitive ICF experiments can accelerate to optimize this neutron generation condition. Based on HAMA, we can design and develop an integrated repetitive ICF experiment machine by including the other indispensable IFE technologies such as target injection and tracking.


Aiming at the problem of identifying the centrifugal pump cavitation state,the vibration,inlet and outlet pressure,acoustic signals were investigated before and after the centrifugal pump cavitation. The texperiment operation was done through designing and constructing the comprehensive test platform of centrifugal pump. Signal detection and acquisition system was constructed,and the condition monitoring system was developed by using Lab VIEW. Under the premise of keeping the constant flow of the centrifugal pump,the cavitation experiment was simulated through adjusting the opening degree of the inlet and outlet. Under three kinds of working conditions,the pump flow,rotating speed and pressure of inlet and outlet,etc.,were measured. The cavitation allowance of the pump was calculated obtained and NPSHA discriminant curves were plotted. Finally,according to the structure feature and cavitation properties of centrifugal pump,the pressure of centrifugal pump,vibration and acoustic signal were analyzed detailedly for extracting the pump' s cavitation feature information. The results indicate that,before and after the cavitation,the pressure,vibration and acoustic signal can be used as the characteristic of cavitation monitoring,and the influence of the pressure of centrifugal pump on the inlet and outlet and vibration parameters is more obvious than that of the acoustic signal.


The goal of this work was to analyze the behavior of vehicles on third-grade roads with and without horizontal lane markings with small curvature (R ≤ 200m). The roads are not frequented by many vehicles, and therefore, a general short-term study would not be able to provide enough data. We used recording devices for long-term (weeks) recording of the traffic and designed a system for analyzing the trajectories of the vehicles employing computer vision. We collected a dataset at 6 distinct locations, containing 1 010 hours of day-time video. In this dataset, we tracked over 12 000 cars and analyzed their trajectories. The results show that the selected approach is functional and provides information that would be hard to mine otherwise. After application of the horizontal markings, the drivers slowed down and shifted slightly towards the outer side of the curvature.


The population growth of the freshwater chlorophyte, Scenedesmus acutus and the cladoceran Moina macrocopa cultured in the laboratory and in microcosms of a wastewater treatment plant was studied. S. acutus was cultured in a defined algal medium and mixed with wastewater. On diets of S. acutus cultured using Bold medium or a mixture with wastewater, the peak densities of M. macrocopa were 6–7 ind. mL−1, while on a diet of algae cultured on wastewater alone the cladoceran density fluctuated around 2 ind. mL−1. Population growth rates of M. macrocopa, which ranged from 0.3 to 0.4 d−1, were significantly lower on alga cultured in wastewater alone. The body size structure of M. macrocopa was larger on algae cultured in Bold medium than in wastewater. Peak densities of M. macrocopa were around 700 ind. L−1 when the organic matter in the containers was supplemented with algae but it reached lower densities (400 ind. L−1) when cultured on the organic matter in wastewater alone. Our study indicates that the nutrients in the final stages of wastewater treatment can support the growth of both phytoplankton and zooplankton.


Currently, the whole world is confronted with great challenges related to environmental issues. As a fundamentalinfrastructure in transport networks, railway bridges are responsible for numerous ma ...


The present paper addresses the process of preliminary design of low pressure fan and outlet guide vane (OGV) of a boundary layer ingestion propulsion system. The tail-cone thruster systems of NASA's STARC_ABL adopts axisymmetric BLI type inlet as opposed to other embedded engine systems. Thus, the focus of the present work is placed on maximizing the efficiency of the fan and OGV stages under a significant radial distortion. A parameterization with B-spline function for camber line angles, metal chord, thickness distribution and stacking axis of blades are presented. The flowpath lines are also parameterized by B-spline function and aggregated in the design system of blades. The design optimization with evolutionary algorithm is performed with constraints of fan pressure ratio, OGV exit swirl angle and nozzle exit properties. The inlet conditions for the turbo-machinery CFD domain and the design goal of the fan stage are driven by propulsion airframe integration (PAI) model that uses a 3-D unstructured RANS solver and actuator disk model. The expected power saving of the BLI propulsor is quantified via PAI analysis and the resulting preliminary design of the fan stages is compared with clean inlet flow propulsor.


This paper investigates two questions. First, what is the relative importance of the components of childhood family environment—parental values versus parental class status—for young adult economic outcomes? Second, are interracial differences in labor market outcomes fully explained by differences in family environment? We find that both family values and family class status affect intergenerational mobility and inter-racial inequality. Consideration of racial differences in parental values and class status alters but does not eliminate the impact of race on the labor market outcomes of young adults.


Based on the GIS software and TM remote sensing data of Xueye reservoir in Dawenhen drainage basin , Combined with the GIS theory about the raster data and the vector data process, the author presents the extraction of water surface area method based on GIS, which joined with the water statistic data, the author creates the water level-water area curve. Compared with the traditional ways, the idea has the characteristic of quick speed and high efficiency and the measurement process simplification. According to the method comparison and analysis, the idea lays the foundation for further water analysis.


We derive the equilibrium in non-cooperative two-players zero-sum game intended to model of final-offer arbitration procedure in which the arbitrator's settlement is concentrated in odd number of points {−n,−(n − 1), ...,−1, 0, 1, ..., n − 1, n}.


(57) Abstract: Using dental hydro-jet tool (35) to provide a method and apparatus for performing dental procedures. Cannula (34) extends from the A dental hydro-jet tool (35). The cannula (34) is connected to a high pressure liquid source, and sends the high-speed high-pressure jets. For the treatment of root canals, teeth (10) of the crown (11) directed the cannula (34) through an opening (32) of the dental pulp of the pulp cavity (26) inside, neurological, and vascular tissues hydrojet directing (35). Jet (36) comprises saline medical grade, disinfecting chemical solution, antibiotic solution or a polishing liquid. All soft tissue within the tooth (10) was cut and excised, emulsified, sucked from the teeth (10). It removes all of the soft tissues of the typical in molars, emulsified, and the time required for suction is 10 seconds to about 240 seconds. The pulp cavity (26) of the teeth (20) completely aspirated, after visually confirm that the removal of all soft tissue was complete, filled with a suitable filler. An opening provided in the top of the tooth (10) (32) is covered or artificial crown filling. Fluid jet (36) may be between the handpiece (33) within a certain jets exiting from the pulse-in braille or orifice is a pulse jet formed by the fire device for dental hydro-jet tool (35). Jet (36) can be used dental caries, dental plaque, the surgical removal of tartar and soft tissue.


In this paper, the sufficient conditions of the robust stability for a class of discrete-time dynamic interval systems with multiple time-delays are obtained using the Lyapunov stability theory and some properties of spectral radius. Using the decomposition of matrix, a kind of equivalent description of the discrete-time dynamic interval systems is presented. Numerical examples have been given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed results. Some previously known results are generalized.


Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Hepatitis C virus and Hepatitis B virus (HBV) are blood borne pathogens that can be transmitted through sexual contact, vertical transmission, and could pose great danger in healthcare delivery. Prevalence of co-infection of HIV, HBsAg and HCV was determined in pregnant women of African descent. One hundred (100) pregnant women of African descent were used for the study having obtained their consent and approval by the Research and Ethics committee. The screening and confirmatory tests were done using double check gold and Immunocomb II respectively while HBsAg and HCV were determined with one step test strip. Out of the one hundred (100) subjects studied, the prevalence rate was noted as 15%, 6% and 2% for HIV, HBsAg and HCV respectively. Co-infection of HIV and HBsAg was more prevalent, followed by co-infection of HIV and HCV and lastly co-infection of HBsAg and HCV. The age group of 25-29 years tested positive to HIV, HBsAg and HCV. All other age groups tested positive to HIV and either HBsAg or HCV while age group of 20-24 years tested positive to only HIV and negative to both HBsAg and HCV. Though these rates might be lower compared to previous studies, counseling and enlightenment campaigns should be sustained especially on the mode of transmission, prevention and management of these diseases. Government should ensure that compulsory screening for pregnant women is available and affordable at all levels. Introduction The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) and Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection are a global public health problem. Different prevalence rates have been obtained from different studies around the world. However, the prevalence rate for the markers of these viruses among people is related to certain factors, such as socio-economic level and environmental factors. In general, low prevalence rates has been reported among populations in the industrialized world compared with the population recorded in the less industrialized world [1]. An estimated 350-400 million people are chronically infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) while 190 million are chronically infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) [2]. Since the beginning of HIV epidemic, more than 70 million people have been infected with the HIV virus, while about 35 million people have died of HIV. At the end of 2016, 36.7 million people were living with HIV globally [3]. As a result of shared routes of transmission, HIV, HBV and HCV epidemics overlap, with around 10% of the HIV infected population estimated to have chronic HBV infection and around a third estimated to have chronic HCV infection [2]. Reduced haematological indices associated with anaemia and compromised immune system has been reported in HIV patients [4]. HBV ranges in severity from a mild illness, lasting a few weeks (acute), to a serious long term (chronic) illness that can lead to liver cirrhosis or cancer [5]. HVB infection is a serious health hazard in many countries with about 10% prevalence rate [6]. Previous studies conducted in Western countries have shown that chronic liver disease especially due to HBV was the fifth leading cause of death among HIV infected pregnant women [7]. In another study, clinical assessment of hepatitis B virus positive patients showed that majority of them (68%) had no symptom (asymptomatic patients) while few of them (32%) had symptoms (symptomatic patients) such as abdominal pain, jaundice, pale dark urine, nausea, loss of appetite and body ache [8]. HCV is associated with many extra hepatic manifestations. Glomerulonephritis is one of the most common consequences of HCV infection often resulting in end stage renal disease *Corresponding author: Anslem O. Ajugwo Department of Medical Laboratory Science Madonna University, Nigeria E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com Citation: Ajugwo AO, Mounbegna P, Dunga KE, Eze RI, Erhabor TA. Co-infection of HIV, HBsAg and HCV Among Pregnant Women of African Descent. Int J Immunol Immunobiol.2018 Jun;1(1):103 Copyright: © 2018 Ajugwo AO, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 international License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.


Nanoporous gold (NPG) is the structure resultant from dealloying an Ag-rich AgAu alloy. It displays a high specific surface area, high electrical conductivity and good mechanical properties, making it very interesting for sensing and actuating applications [1]. The structural length-scales of NPG can be tailored to different structural thicknesses ranging from 20 nm up to 1 μm, which allows a tailorable mechanical response [2]. Recent Focused Ion Beam (FIB) based tomography measurements have identified critical topological characteristics shown to correlate to mechanical response [1-2]. However, the destructive nature of the method negates the possibility to investigate the evolution of the network structure with deformation. X-ray Tomographic Microscopy (XTM) on the other hand allows for in situ observation of the 3D nanostructural evolution during mechanical testing. Since gold is high absorbing for X-rays, NPG is also an optimal sample for evaluating the capability of an XTM setup.


Quality of life assessment in Diabetes Mellitus II patients: Psychometric pro p e rties of Spanish version of DQOL. The ai m of the study was t o trans lat e and cal cul at e valid ity and rel iab ilit y of Spanish v ersion of an specific measure of Qualit y of Li fe for Diabetes «DQOL», in 152 Diabet es Melli tus Type II pati ent s. Subject s complete DQOL and Anxi ety and Depression Beck In vent ori es. Then , Cronbach al pha test, factor analysis an d Pears on correlations were performed. Adequate alphas were obtained for tot al score and all DQOL sub scales (range between .68 and .86); factor st ructure was simi lar t o the origin al one; and posi tive and moderate correl at ions between measures of anxiety and depress ion and pore Quali ty of Life were obtained. The dat a o f t he p resent st udy suggest that Sp anis h versi on of DQOL is a vali d and rel iab ilit y inst rument to assess Qual ity of Li fe in persons with Di abetes Mell itus II.


We present measurements of spectral sensitivity of CCD-matrices designed for future space missions. Three wavebands were under investigation: UV-visible range (300-600 nm), UV (250-300 nm) and VUV (110-250 nm). We used a halogen lamp, a deuterium lamp and a tungsten laser-driven plasma as sources of radiation. IRD UV silicon photodiodes and a photomultiplier tube fulfilled the function of calibrated detectors. Using a calibrated CCD, we measured initial spectral effectivity of the tungsten laser-driven plasma radiation source in the 110-250 nm waveband. Afterwards we experimentally evaluated spectral transmittance functions of three VUV multilayer filters for future space telescopes.


We analyze the Ritz--Galerkin method for symmetric eigenvalue problems and prove a priori eigenvalue error estimates. For a simple eigenvalue, we prove an error estimate that depends mainly on the approximability of the corresponding eigenfunction and provide explicit values for all constants. For a multiple eigenvalue we prove, in addition, what is apparently the first truly a priori error estimates that show the levels of the eigenvalue errors depending on approximability of eigenfunctions in the corresponding eigenspace. These estimates reflect a known phenomenon that different eigenfunctions in the corresponding eigenspace may have different approximabilities, thus resulting in different levels of errors for the approximate eigenvalues. For clustered eigenvalues, we derive eigenvalue error bounds that do not depend on the width of the cluster. Our results are readily applicable to the classical Ritz method for compact symmetric integral operators and to finite element method eigenvalue approximation for symmetric positive definite differential operators.


Trial courts may use the doctrine of forum non conveniens to dismiss cases that otherwise satisfy jurisdictional and venue requirements. Among the greatest beneficiaries of forum non conveniens are American corporate defendants sued for products liability and other tort claims in the United States by foreign plaintiffs. When American courts use forum non conveniens to stop these lawsuits from reaching the merits, foreign plaintiffs experience delay and uncertainty in achieving a remedy in a forum outside the United States.


A conjecture of Roseberger asserts that every generalised triangle group either is virtually soluble or contains a non-abelian free subgroup. Modulo two exceptional cases, we verify this conjecture for generalised triangle groups of type (2,3,2) which do not admit essential representations onto the cyclic group of order 6.


The most recent advances in amorphous oxide multilayer coatings for near infrared ultrafast lasers and ultrastable optical cavities are presented. Materials and coating architectures challenges to advance near infrared interference coatings to new performance heights and functionality are described.


In 1994, Cornelis Hoede and Xueliang Li introduced the clique polynomial of a graph. Also, a theorem for the edge subgraph expansion for clique polynomials. In this note we present a counter example for it and explain which case it could be a valid theorem.


In this research was discusses the influence of per capita income, investment and inflation on poverty in North Sumatra Province. The purpose of this research is to know the influence of per capita income, investment and inflation on poverty in North Sumatera province partially and simultaneously, and the variable that has dominant influence to poverty in North Sumatera Province. Sources of data used are secondary data taken from the Central Bureau of Statistics and Bank Indonesia from 2001 to 2015.Teknik analysis used in this study is multiple linear regression analysis using e-views program 8.1 and perform testing of classical assumptions and using hypothesis testing simultaneously (F) and partial (t).The results showed that partially per capita income had negative and significant effect to poverty in North Sumatera Province. Investment had negative and insignificant effect on poverty in North Sumatera Province while Inflation had positive and insignificant effect on poverty in North Sumatera Province. Simultaneously per capita income, investment and inflation affect poverty in North Sumatera Province Keywords: Per capita Income, Investment, Inflation and Poverty


One of the factors determining the model of economic development is the comparative advantage of economic components. In the 30 years of implementing the reform and opening-up policy,Fujian's economic growth has been heavily dependent upon the development of labor-intensive industries,which is still dominant in Fujian's industrial expansion in the past decade. One important reason is that the labor cost of manufacturing industries in Fujian has been lower than the national average and is still so today. It continues to boast a strong competitive advantage of labor-intensive industries,yet this seriously reduces the contribution of final consumption to economic growth in Fujian. This paper argues that in order to accelerate the transformation of the model of economic development in Fujian it is necessary to raise the wages of laborers thereby promoting industrial transformation,changing the structure of labor supply and demand,and boosting residents'consumption power. This may lead to a shift from an economy driven by investment and export to an economy driven by investment,export and domestic consumption.


Every year, 32 million infants are born preterm (PTB) or with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), predisposing them to a high risk of mortality and morbidity. Most of these infants are born in low-income countries. Maternal malnutrition and infections are among the most important interlinked risk factors for adverse pregnancy outcomes. Therefore, nutritional supplementation with multiple micronutrients during pregnancy is increasingly recommended in low-resource settings. Periodontitis, i.e. infection in the tooth-supporting tissues, has been extensively investigated as a risk for poor pregnancy outcomes, but the role of dental caries and its sequel, periapical infection (PAI), is almost unknown. As with periodontitis, the pathway between PAI and adverse pregnancy outcomes is biologically plausible. The aim of this thesis was to investigate the interlinkage between nutrition supplementation, oral diseases and pregnancy outcomes in a rural Malawian population. The thesis was based on three studies: Study I assessed whether supplementation with multiple micronutrients (MMN) or lipid-based nutrient supplement (LNS) influence dental caries development or periodontal health when compared with commonly used iron and folic-acid supplementation (IFA). Study II investigated the associations between maternal caries, PAI or periodontitis and pregnancy duration and birth size of the infant. Study III explored two possible causal mechanisms underlying the association between PAI and adverse pregnancy outcomes detected in Study II: spread of periapical bacteria to the fetoplacental unit (direct pathway) and systemic inflammation (indirect pathway). For the study, 1391 pregnant women were enrolled before their twentieth gestational week. They were provided with a daily capsule of IFA or MMN or a sachet of LNS containing proteins, carbohydrates, essential fatty acids and 21 micronutrients. Maternal blood and salivary samples were collected at enrollment and at 36 gestational weeks, and placental tissue after delivery. Infant weight, length and head circumference were measured after birth. Of the enrolled participants, 1024 underwent clinical and radiological oral health examination within six weeks after delivery and were included in the analysis. When comparing the nutrition supplement groups, the prevalence of caries was significantly higher in the MMN and LNS groups than in the IFA group (69.1%, 63.3% and 56.7% respectively; P = 0.004). When assessing the birth outcomes by infection group, the mean (95% CI) pregnancy duration was 0.4 weeks (0.1–0.8) shorter and infants' mean birth weight 79 g (13–145) lower and length 0.5 cm (0.2– 0.9) shorter in women who had PAI compared to those without. PTB incidence was 3.5% (95%; CI 1.1–8.1%) and prevalence of stunting 9.0% higher (95% CI 2.7– 15.2%) in women who had PAI. No significant differences in the periodontal disease parameters were seen between supplementation groups or in birth outcomes between groups of women with or without periodontitis. PAI was associated with creactive protein (CRP), alpha-1-acid glycoprotein (AGP) and cortisol concentrations in a dose-dependent manner at 36 gestation weeks. When CRP, AGP or cortisol concentration was added into regression models, the association between PAI and duration of pregnancy or infant birth weight and length was attenuated, suggesting that AGP, CRP and cortisol were on the causal pathway between PAI and birth outcomes. In conclusion, maternal diet supplementation with multiple micronutrients during pregnancy in low-resource environments in which malnutrition and oral diseases are common may enhance caries development. PAI, the common sequel of caries, elevates systemic inflammation, which can lead to PTB and IUGR. This study thus suggests that PAI is a common, previously unidentified and relatively easily modifiable risk factor for adverse pregnancy outcomes. Caries prevention should be considered, especially when planning nutrient intervention programs for pregnant women in low-resource environments.


Objectives: The use of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) during coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) is associated with a systemic inflammatory response, resulting in altered microcirculation. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether beating heart surgery can preserve the microcirculation. Methods: Sublingual microcirculation was characterized by a Sidestream Darkfield Imaging Microscope during off-pump (OPCABG) and on-pump (ONCABG) surgery. Microcirculatory parameters were evaluated during eight precise perioperative time points. Results: The quality of the microcirculation decreased during early ONCABG. OPCABG resulted in a significantly better microcirculation compared to ONCABG for three of six parameters during surgery. However, by the end of surgery and postoperatively, the microcirculatory parameters were no different between the groups. Conclusions: While the results do not show a marked preservation of the microcirculation during and after OPCABG compared to ONCABG, they coincide with the body temperature fluctuations of each group during and after surgery. Our work suggests that active warming could impact the microcirculation parameters.


Antoine Benoist's
 Cercle royal
 was an exhibition of life-size wax figures on display in Louis XIV's Paris. In the absence of extant objects from the exhibition itself, this article focuses on the corpus of sources that attest to its reception. It concentrates on the
 Cercle royal's
 initial recognition, beginning in the 1660s, when the exhibition centred on French royalty's courtly entourage. Alternately celebrated as vivid miracles or derided as deceitful trivialities, Benoist's wax figures provide an informatively problematic case for considering questions of sculptural craft and the decorum of its display in this era. In tracing the discord of wax portraiture's reception, this article demonstrates that vexed questions of artisanal stature were embedded within aesthetic debates about illusionistic verisimilitude.


By analysis of the current situation of and some advances in the application of the nonparametric statistic approach to flood frequency analysis, it is pointed out that the introduction of the regional and historical flood data into the density function estimation and grey and fuzzy attributes of hydrological statistics into the nonparametric statistic model, and further extension of the flood frequency curve are the development trend of the nonparametric statistic approach in the field of flood frequency analysis.


The invention discloses a method for making an integrated rectangular-wave resonant cavity in an integrated circuit chip, which comprises the following steps of: selecting a substrate, rotatablely coating a photoresist on the selected substrate, and then carrying out photoresist development on the photoresist so as to form a metallization pattern on the bottom surface of the resonant cavity; depositing metals and stripping the metals deposited outside the metallization pattern on the bottom surface so as to form a metal bottom of the resonant cavity; rotatablely coating the photoresist on themetal bottom and carrying out photoresist development and exposure on the metal bottom so as to form a metallization pattern on the side wall of the resonant cavity; depositing and stripping the metals so as to form a metal side wall of the resonant cavity; depositing or rotatablely coating a layer of dielectric material; heating and solidifying the dielectric material to form a dielectric layer;carrying out mechanical erosion or corrosion on the formed dielectric layer until the upper edge of the metal at the side wall of the resonant cavity is exposed; rotatablely coating the photoresist on the upper edge and carrying out photoresist development on the upper edge so as to form a metallization pattern on the top surface of the resonant cavity; and depositing the metals and stripping themetals deposited outside the metallization pattern on the top surface so as to form a metal top surface of the resonant cavity. The resonant cavity manufactured by using the method is suitable for a millimeter or higher-frequency oscillator.


Must be read by all our military people and anyone who wants to find out what really happened on the Falkland Islands. James M. Gavin


Integration of data is required when accessing multiple databases within an organization or on the WWW. Schema integration is required for database interoperability, but it is currently, a manual process. The so-called Global-as-View approach constitutes an effective proposal for the design of data integration systems. The combination of diverse database schemata into an integrated view is achieved by means of a global conceptual data model. Consequently, the user is provided with a unified view of the data and (s)he can query such a global schema ignoring the location and structure of the data sources. However, data integration involves resolving conflicts. Schema conflicts include naming, structural, and semantic conflicts. Then, when trying to answer a query in a data integration system, various forms of incompleteness and/or uncertainty may arise. This work aims at demonstrating that Answer Set Programming is a suitable paradigm for defining and implementing data integration systems. In particular, we define a formalization of the Global-as-View approach which is able to cope with forms of incompleteness in data correspondence. We present a working inference engine for effectively answering queries, where each answer set corresponds to one of the possible consistent answers to the given query.


In this paper, we report on the empirical evaluation of domain-specific languages by evaluating the Sprat Ecosystem DSL for its effectiveness and efficiency.


A new method applying a non-linear chemical system under conditions far from thermodynamic equilibrium in microvolume/microconcentration quantitative analysis is described. The chemical system used as a matrix is the Bray–Liebhafsky reaction in a non-equilibrium stationary state close to a bifurcation point. The method is based on monitoring the response of this system to perturbations by Cl–, Br–, I–, Mn2+, malonic acid and quercetin analyte solutions, which are followed potentiometrically either by an Ag+/S2– ion-sensitive or by a Pt electrode. A linear response of the potential shift versus the logarithm of the analyte concentrations is found in the following ranges: 1.3 × 10–6 mol dm–3 ≤ [Cl–] ≤ 1.6 × 10–4 mol dm–3, 1.0 × 10–6 mol dm–3 ≤ [Br–] ≤ 8.3 × 10–5 mol dm–3, 2.0 × 10–6 mol dm–3 ≤ [I–] ≤ 1.0 × 10–4 mol dm–3, 8.4 × 10–7 mol dm–3 ≤ [Mn2+] ≤ 8.3 × 10–5 mol dm–3, 3.8 × 10–7 mol dm–3 ≤ [malonic acid] ≤ 2.1 × 10–5 mol dm–3 and 1.5 × 10–8 mol dm–3 ≤ [quercetin] ≤ 3.7 × 10–5 mol dm–3. Under the investigated conditions an improved detection limit for all halides tested is obtained. Unknown concentrations of the analytes can be determined from a standard series of calibration curves to an accuracy within ±5%. In addition, the application of potentiometric measurements in microvolume/microconcentration quantitative analysis is diversified.


Using a bioenergetic and allometric approach, we developed multispecies trophodynamic models of the marine community of northern and central Patagonia in the southwestern South Atlantic Ocean that included hake (Merluccius hubbsi), squid (Illex argentinus), anchovy (Engraulis anchoita), and South American sea lions (Otaria flavescens). We used these to explore the effects of model structure and parameter uncertainty on predictions of the effects of different management regimes using continuation and bifurcation analysis. We considered five different functional responses and used the Akaike Information Criterion for model selection. The best models involved laissez-faire Holling Type III-shaped functional responses and the worst one corresponded to the Ecosim form. These models showed many similar behaviours but also showed marked differences in some exploitation scenarios. This suggests that using a single model structure as the basis for managing these stocks could lead to misleading, and potentially dan...


Network warfare has been introduced to military combat field as a new operation form,attracting more and more national attention.Many countries compete to research and emphatically construct network warfare as a combat mode.Starting with the characteristics of network warfare,this paper discussed the effect of network warfare on our military operation and elaborated the countermeasures to strengthen our network warfare from four aspects:building network systems,RD of weapon equipment,attention to personnel training and reinforcement of training.


A group of Michigan doctors prescribed opioids to addicts who in return submitted to painful back injections and other unnecessary treatments so that the doctors could bill the US government for over $450m (£359m; €397m), charges in federal court have asserted.

The alleged mastermind of the scheme was Rajendra Bothra, 77, who amassed $35m and bought his own private island, US prosecutors said. Bothra's arrest brought news coverage in his native India, where in 1999 he was awarded one of the country's highest civil honours, the Padma Shri.

His wealth was the subject of a bail hearing on 7 December, shortly after his arrest. He sat on a courtroom bench with five other charged doctors, all of whom were his employees. The doctors, described by the Detroit News as "rumpled" and …


Abstract: The major postsynaptic density protein (mPSDp), comprising >50% of postsynaptic density (PSD) protein, is an endogenous substrate for calmodulin‐dependent phosphorylation as well as a calmodulin‐binding protein in PSD preparations. The results in this investigation indicate that mPSDp is highly homologous with the major calmodulin‐binding subunit (p) of tubulin‐associated calmodulin‐dependent kinase (TACK), and that PSD fractions also contain a protein homologous with the o‐subunit of TACK. Homologies between mPSDp and a 63,000 dalton PSD protein and the p‐ and ó‐subunits of TACK were established by the following criteria: (1) identical apparent molecular weights: (2) identical calmodulin‐binding properties; (3) manifestation of Ca2+ ‐calmodulin‐stimulated autophosphorylation; (4)identical isoelectric points; (5) identical calmodulin binding and autophosphorylation patterns on two‐dimensional gels; (6) homologous two‐dimensional tryptic peptide maps; and (7) similar phosphoamino acid‐specific phosphorylation of tubulin. The results suggest that mPSDp is a calmodulin‐binding protein involved in modulating protein kinase activity in the postsynaptic density and that a tubulin kinase system homologous with TACK exists in a membrane‐bound form in the PSD.


The electoral system for formation of the legislature has a direct impact on the party system of a state and an indirect one on the stability of the political system, representation of various social groups and partially on the economic performance. Each of the main types of electoral systems (majority/plurality, proportional representation, and mixed systems) consists of subtypes and the results that they produce may vary. Thus, the aim of the current study is to identify if there is an association between the electoral system of a country and its functioning. The object of the research is 176 countries and the focus of the study is their electoral system and a selection of indicators, which demonstrate the performance of the countries. A selection of approaches and methods were used, namely secondary processing of quantitative data, statistical methods such as frequencies, cross tables, chi square, testing hypothesis and comparative analysis. The results show that the electoral system is relevant mostly for the fragility level of the countries. The electoral system didn't prove to be relevant for the income level, unemployment, GDP per capita, group grievance, uneven economic development, refugees and IDPs.


The incidence of Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) is growing due to an increase in Epstein‐Barr virus (EBV)‐associated HL in AIDS patients. The HL tumor microenvironment is vital for the survival of the malignant Hodgkin‐Reed Sternberg (HRS) cells of HL, which express the EBV protein latent membrane protein 2A (LMP2A). While previous work shows that LMP2A mimics B‐cell receptor (BCR) signaling to promote the survival of HRS cells, the ability of LMP2A to establish and maintain the tumor microenvironment through the production of chemokines remains unknown. Since BCR signaling induces the production of the chemokine macrophage inflammatory protein‐1α (MIP‐1α), and since LMP2A is a BCR mimic, we hypothesized that LMP2A increases MIP‐1α levels. A comparison of multiple LMP2A‐negative and ‐positive cell lines demonstrates that LMP2A increases MIP‐1α. Additionally, LMP2A‐mutant cell lines and pharmacologic inhibitors indicate that LMP2A activates a Syk/PI3K/NF‐κB pathway to enhance MIP‐1α. Finally, based on the finding that an NF‐κB inhibitor decreased MIP‐1α RNA/protein in LMP2A‐positive cells, we are the first to demonstrate that LMP2A increases the nuclear localization of the NF‐κB p65 subunit using DNA‐binding assays and confocal microscopy in human B cells. These findings not only have implications for the treatment of HL, but also other LMP2A‐expressing B‐cell tumors that overexpress NF‐κB.


A reanalysis of classical partition functions for vapor molecules leads to a modified equation for the prediction of relative values of nonelectronic entropies in terms of atomic masses and size parameters. Correspondence of predictions with tabulated data on nonhydrogenic molecules of up to seven atoms is very good. Theoretical integrals for diatomic and triatomic molecules have been evaluated for a simple ionic potential; the results are in good agreement with measured entropies of ionic and nonionic molecules indicating that the theory permits one to predict absolute values of entropies for any type of molecule. Differences between bent and linear triatomic molecules appear to be related more to bond character than to molecular geometry. The application of our equations to alkali halide liquids requires a correction term which is related to the observed penetration of ions into the coordination shell of like charged ions. The semi-empirical use of the cube root of the molar volume as an effective size parameter leads to very good correlations of the entropies of all the alkali halides.


I n the past, it suited automotive manufacturers to make the driver airbag, and particularly the passenger airbag, highly visible as optional extras. By contrast, in today's era, when comprehensive safety features are fitted on cars as standard, there is an increasing trend to hide airbags from view. The necessary opening flap in the interior component is therefore covered by a decorative skin, which has to be provided with a predetermined tear line at the back to ensure reliable opening. In introducing this predetermined tear line, two conflicting objectives have to be reconciled. On the one hand, it is important to ensure that the skin is sufficiently weakened to facilitate reliable release of the activated airbag and on the other, the tear line should not become visible on the face side of the decorative skin, even after years of intensive wear. Because of these requirements and the high commercial risk associated with failure of this safety-relevant component, very high requirements are now specified for residual wall thickness tolerance, which can only be met by very expensive machine technology. The main methods currently used to introduce predetermined airbag tear lines in decorative skins are laser cutting, cutting with a cold knife and hot-knife cutting.


The utility model relates to a drawer iron-separator, which comprises a stainless steel frame and at least two layers of drawers and many magnetic rods arranged on the stainless steel frame, and the drawer is connected to the stainless steel frame through a linear guide rail, and the magnetic rod is arrange in the drawer through a fixed plate, and the external part of the magnetic rod is sleeved with a scraper plate, and the stainless steel frame is provided with a feed inlet, a discharge hatch and an impurity outlet. The utility novel has the beneficial effects that the drawer is pulled out and impurity can be removed without manual cleaning, and has the advantages of simple convenience and reduced time.


Raniganj Coalfield covers an area of about 1530 sq kms spreading over Burdwan, Bankura, Birbhum and Purulia districts of West Bengal and Dhanbad district of Jharkhand. A total coal reserve in West Bengal is estimated to be of 23 billion tones upto a depth of 600m out of which 6 billion tones is proven to be extractable. Several coreholes were drilled by ONGC, Essar and GEECL in North, East and South Blocks of the coalfield respectively to asses the CBM potential of the Barakar coal seams. The South Block constitutes the study area of the present investigation.


The teaching purpose of college English is to make the students acquire needed knowledge by the tool of English.Listening comprehension means"Listen to it and understand it."In the examination students are required to guess the meaning and make choices while listening,reading and understanding.In this article we will talk about some listening skills by analysizing the listening comprehension of CET 4.


The human cornea requires a smooth, transparent, robust and renewable surface to maintain its key optical and protective functions. The corneal epithelium is maintained by a local population of "stem cells", which although not truly pluripotent, are capable of self-regeneration by asymmetric division. These cells are located at the limbus - the region where the conjunctiva-covered sclera meets the cornea. The widely accepted "XYZ" hypothesis of corneal epithelial maintenance postulates that limbal stem cells give rise to transient amplifying cells, which migrate and mature in both a centripetal and anterograde fashion towards the corneal surface. Many diseases and injuries to the limbus can cause the loss of this vital reservoir of cells and, due to subsequent surface irregularity and loss of corneal transparency, result in severe visual impairment, including blindness. Indeed, in some regions of the developing world corneal blindness may be more prevalent than cataract blindness. Such corneal blindness was previously irreversible, but over the past 30 years it has been possible to improve or restore vision using limbal "stem cell" transplants. Pioneering techniques required large tissue grafts that could compromise the donor eye, but recent developments allow the harvesting, ex-vivo expansion and transplantation of limbal stem cells from relatively small biopsies. In this review we outline limbal stem cell physiology in health and disease, describe our surgical approach to limbal stem cell deficiency, illustrate results of this intervention in our practice, and consider current and future advances in this arena.


Pengzu culture,as a multidimensional culture system,comprises three planes-object,behavior and psychology.Originated in Xuzhou-centered Northern Jiangsu,Pengzu culture is a life science unit,which was initiated by Penzu and has been improved thereafter for the purpose of longevity and healthpreserving by means of cuisine and direction.Exploration and analysis of the apotheosized Pengzu image,the popularization of folkloric Pengzu tales and the enrichment of Pengzu healthcare theory found that Pengzu culture is still of academic and practical values in modern-day life science study and the heritage of traditional culture.


The archaeological research undertaken at Sarmizegetusa in time has indicated or discovered a number of plinths, drums and bases of andesite columns. Several reconstruction hypotheses are proposed for the architecture of the Great Andesite Temple, the Small Rectangular Temple and the Large Rectangular Temple, based on the analysis of these architectural elements preserved in situ, in a secondary position or reused in Roman buildings. In the end an important archaeological discovery in the area of Orăștie Mountains is presented, a bronze square with markings (lines and dots) preserved on its arms, which indicate precisely the measurement unit used at the Dacian monuments at Sarmizegetusa Regia.


The article presents an example of an extension of Multi-agent influence diagram (MAID) proposed by Koller and Milch with some concepts derived from Sequential influence diagram (SID) described by Jensen, Nielsen and Shenoy. Its main aim is to test if these two graphical languages can be merge in order to deal with an asymmetric multi-agent scenario. An example of such a scenario is given and it is modeled and solved using techniques derived from these two languages. The obtained solution is verified using traditional game-theoretic method.


An optical fixing device (200) comprises light source fixing parts (210) used for fixing a plurality of solid state light sources, second light combination element fixing parts (240) used for fixing at least one second light combination element, a condensing lens fixing part (250) used for fixing a condensing lens, and second reflecting mirror fixing parts (230). The second reflecting mirror fixing parts (230) are arranged corresponding to at least part of the plurality of solid state light sources, and the second reflecting mirror fixing parts (230) are used for fixing second reflecting mirrors. The second light combination elements are used for transmitting light which is emitted by part of the solid state light sources and is not reflected and/or are used for reflecting light reflected by the second reflecting mirrors; and the condensing lens is used for converging the light which passes through the second light combination elements. The optical fixing device (200) is compact in outline dimension and low in production cost; and optical elements fixed on the optical fixing device (200) are higher in accuracy of relative locations. The optical fixing device (200) can be used for a light source device and projection equipment.


Background: Disruptive cholinergic neurotransmission and abnormal cognitive functions were the characteristics of Alzheimer's disease leading to abnormal brain–liver inflammatory responses. Oxidative stress was prominent in Alzheimer's disease-related neurodegeneration leading to inflammatory communication through altered cytokines between the brain and peripheral organs, mainly the liver. Objectives: Current study would demonstrate the healthier effect of N-acetyl cysteine and rutin against AD in rats. Materials and Methods: Experimental Wistar rats have been grouped appropriately for the administration of scopolamine and treatment using a combination of N-acetyl cysteine and rutin for 10 weeks. Results: In our study, scopolamine (2 mg/kg b.w.i.p.) administered Alzheimer's disease model in Wistar rats showed abnormality in behavioural changes (Morris water maze test), pro-inflammatory cytokines, decreased activities of enzymatic antioxidants, decreased reduced glutathione content, elevated brain oxidative stress markers, increased amyloid-beta, elevated acetylcholinesterase, elevated butyrl cholinesterase, increased phosphorylated tau protein, increased GSK-3β, BDNF, altered expressions of β-secretase, NADPH oxidase 2, and Nrf2 genes in brain, and augmented oxidative stress in liver affecting brain–liver axis. Oxidative stress in the liver was evident through decreased activities of enzymatic antioxidants, decreased glutathione content, and elevated liver oxidative stress markers. Conclusion: Treatment with N-acetyl cysteine with rutin showed protective efficacy by modulating the pathways related to Nrf2, NOX-2, and BACE1 genes in combating these abnormalities in rats. Modulation in the gene expressions in the brain tissue showed direct evidence of the drug's neuroprotective efficacy for future therapeutic strategies in scopolamine-induced Alzheimer's disease.


Background: Those with the autoimmune disease alopecia areata (AA) may experience temporary hair loss on the scalp or in other regions where hair typically grows. Hair loss can occur in discrete areas on the scalp or all over the body, but AA can also express itself in more diffuse forms. Most people with AA go through unpredictable cycles of relapse and remission. Some individuals, especially those with significant hair loss, may experience chronicity. Objective: Review of literature about practical approach for treatment lines of alopecia areata. Methods: We searched Science Direct, Google Scholar as well as PubMed for relevant articles on Alopecia Areata and its Treatment. However, only the most recent or thorough study was taken into account between September 2001 and April 2021. The authors also evaluated the value of resources culled from other works in the same genre. Documents written in languages other than English have been ignored due to a lack of translation funds. Unpublished works, oral presentations, conference abstracts, and dissertations were generally agreed upon not to qualify as scientific research. Conclusion : Care for patients with alopecia areata include providing emotional support and making treatment options available to those who want them. Response to treatment for alopecia areata varies greatly, and few well-designed clinical trials have examined the methods that have been used. Methods such as topical, intralesional, and systemic medications and devices are used in these treatments. Due to the limited but promising evidence supporting the effectiveness of other treatments, individuals with patchy alopecia areata typically begin treatment with intralesional or topical corticosteroids.


A new efficient digital core workflow is proposed to resolve the above issues, which integrates digital core images into core logging. With the advance of digital imaging technology, core can be rendered in a digital image form with extremely high resolutions. Although digital core images can not replace physical core in many aspects, digital images can be as good as physical core for deriving certain information. Digital core images may be even better than physical core in many other aspects. The paper will demonstrate how to maximize the value of digital core images for the purpose of core logging and how to speed up the entire core handling process, including core depth correction, core-FMI matching, sample selection and sample depth calculation, and facies analysis. It also demonstrates that some of these jobs can be done in downtown office without visiting the lab and that core logging can be as much enjoyable as any other office work performed by office geologist. For the first time in the oil sands history, handling a large volume of oil sands core timely becomes realty.


Abstract Bilingual corpora are a collection of writings that serve as an example of the relationship between two languages for linguistic and translational applications. Examining the effectiveness of the corpora is one of the essential requirements for working with them. Therefore, the validity of the work based on the corpora is to check their quality. Scientists have identified four main attributes for corpses. These four features are representativeness, limited size, machine-readable shape, standard reference. To evaluate an entity, we need to evaluate these four properties. The limited size and intelligibility of a machine in electronic compartments are certain because they are otherwise unusable. Representativeness means to put a sample set of language variations for the language in question in the corpus. In fact, the corpus has a linguistic diversity. To evaluate this property, we examine the complexity and diversity of the figure and compute the degree of compliance with Ziff's law. For the standardization of each pair, we combine several of the following characteristics: alignment, translation, command, punctuation, separation, characterization. Finally, a fuzzy system uses the final evaluation of these criteria and uses a fuzzy rule base and fuzzy inputs of the introduced evaluators to obtain a fuzzy result for the quality of the entity.


According to people's increasing requirements for modern city civilization,a novel shape for modern city environmental protection dustbin,integrating signs of Chinese drums,was proposed.The dustbin shape combining national culture and modern civilization was designed comprehensively,which embodies city public facilities shapes with national culture characteristic.


© All Rights Reserved Steven Rosenberg Mediation Services Mediation is a method of Dispute Resolution that is voluntary, confidential and generally cooperative. It is a non-coercive, neutrally facilitated negotiation to reach a consensual decision. Rather than focusing on conflict, the parties are encouraged to understand each other's point of view and work toward their common goal of an early, inexpensive and lasting resolution of their dispute. In mediation, an impartial individual with specific training and expertise in communications, as well as dispute management and resolution, helps individuals understand and resolve their differences. The mediator does not make decisions or compel a particular result, but rather helps the parties reach their own agreement.


This article describes some of the roles and relationships developing in IAIMS (Integrated Academic Information Management System) environments, primarily, but not exclusively, in academic health sciences settings, which have been funded by the National Library of Medicine program. It discusses several organizational and management issues and related implications which are emerging as librarians become integral parts of faculty teaching and research efforts and as the library assumes broader administrative responsibilities


BACKGROUND
Studies show that 65-85% of mothers cradle their infants to the left side of their body, but that this bias changes with maternal mood and stress. The present study examines the hypothesis that maternal stress and depression status will influence the cradling bias differentially.

METHOD
As part of a larger study on mother-infant interaction, mothers (N = 79) were asked to pick up and briefly hold their children in their arms (44 boys, 35 girls; mean age 7.2 months, range 3 to 14 months).

RESULTS
Results indicated that 86% of mothers who were neither stressed nor depressed cradled to the left and 14% to the right. Comparing the cradling side of stressed mothers with those who were neither stressed nor depressed, more in the former group showed right-sided cradling. In contrast, mothers who were just depressed preferred to cradle to the left.

CONCLUSION
The lack of a left-sided cradling bias might be due to stress rather than depression experienced by mothers. Furthermore, this study provides evidence that the state of maternal mental health might be indicated by the side on which they cradle their child preferentially.


This article is intended to analyze the Queen's speech on the 60th anniversary of throne in the framework of systemic functional grammar from one of the three meta-functions of systemic functional linguistics.The interpersonal function of Halli day's systemic functional linguistic theory as the theory support to analyze the speech text,the main purpose of this article is to explore how to use different language means to achieve the effect what the speaker wants to expect.For example,the support from the public,pep talk,and anti-war requirements and so on.At the same time,it can give the speaker some suggestion,that is,how to receive a better result of the speech.


A s has been well rehearsed by numerous commentators,* the difficulty in resolving this issue lies in balancing the competing interests of the state in securing the conviction of the guilty whilst continuing to protect the integrity of the criminal justice system and the rights of the individual. This ethical dilemma may be formulated a s follows. If a court excludes evidence which is relevant but has been obtained improperly the public may lose faith in the effectiveness of the judicial system and feel that the court has betrayed its duty to protect the community from crime. On the other hand, if the courts are seen always to admit evidence regardless of the illegality of its origins the courts will be seen effectively a s endorsing police ma lp ra~ t i ce .~ One way out of this moral maze has been suggested by Professor Andrew Ashworth who, some 20 years ago, argued the case for the adoption of the 'protective' principle a s the proper guide for judges in exercising their discretion whether or not to exclude evidence. According to the protective principle, wherever an individual's rights have been infringed there exists a 'prima facie justification for the


Represented herein is a new manner to form fluorenones via direct excitation of substrate instead of photocatalyst to activate sp2 C-H bond under redox-neutral condition. Our design relies on the photoexcited triplet state of aromatic aldehyde intermediates with higher reactivity that can be intercepted by cobaloxime catalyst through single electron transfer for following β-H elimination. The simple generation of acyl radical and successful interception by a metal catalyst cobaloxime avoid the use of both photocatalyst and stoichiometric external oxidants, affording a series of highly substituted fluorenones, even for six-membered ketones, such as xanthone and thioxanthone derivatives in good to excellent yields, and H2 is as the only byproduct. This catalytic system features the readily available metal catalyst, mild reaction conditions and broad substrate scope, in which sunlight reaction and scale-up experiment by the continuous-flow approach make the developed methodology sustainable and amenable for potentially operational procedures.


Dynamic light scattering (DLS) is routinely employed to assess the homogeneity and size distribution profile of samples containing microscopic particles in suspension or solubilised polymers. In this work, we introduce Raynals, an user-friendly software for the analysis of single-angle DLS data that uses the Tikhonov-Phillips regularisation. Performance is evaluated on simulated and experimental data, generated by different DLS instruments, for several proteins and gold nanoparticles. DLS data can be easily misinterpreted and the simulation tools available in Raynals allow understanding of the limitations of the measurement and its resolution. It has been designed as a tool to address quality control of biological samples, during sample preparation and optimisation, and it helps in the detection of aggregates showing the influence of large particles. Last, Raynals provides flexibility in the way the data is presented, allows exporting publication-quality figures, it is free for academic use, and can be accessed online on the eSPC data analysis platform at spc.embl-hamburg.de.


1 Abstract Cloning with restriction enzymes is frequently impaired by multiple occurrences of the desired recognition sites and often introduces unnecessary sequences as cloning artifacts. For sequences amenable to primer extension, sequence independent and seamless cloning strategies are preferred. Some are established (PCR assembly cloning, end-recession cloning/Gibson cloning) but these are often difficult to control. This RFC adapts the "Phosphorothioate-based ligase-independent gene cloning" PLICing) to BioBrick cloning with restriction sites (e.g. RFC 10) and provides a universal cloning protocol. Phosphorothioate containing oligonucleotides introduced in double-stranded DNA by extension technologies can be efficiently cleaved with iodine leaving defined 3' overhangs thus enabling seamless cloning with or without ligase. Vector amplification is avoided by the introduction of two 3'-overhang generating restriction sites (ApaI, SphI) within the preand suffix of e.g. RFC 10 allowing for directional cloning of iodine treated inserts in a standard vector. A standard RFC 10 vector harboring a red fluorescent protein gene flanked by ApaI and SphI provides visual control of the cloning procedure.


Background Rhinitis is characterized by inflammation of the mucous membranes lining the nose and can be divided into two categories, allergic and non‐allergic. Drug‐induced is a type of non‐allergic rhinitis.


The dramatic growth of interorganizational systems (IOS) has changed the way organizations conduct their business, and has resulted in significant tangible and intangible benefits being realized by participating firms. However, the implementation of these IOS requires the cooperation and commitment of all the participating members. These members may have complex economic and business relationships among themselves that can result in a number of social, political, and economic factors influencing the adoption and implementation of IOS.

This study examines the role of interorganizational and organizational factors on the decision mode for adoption of IOS, in the specific context of electronic data interchange (EDI). Four interorganizational factors, based on the socio-political framework derived from research in marketing, and five organizational factors based on research in IS were used in the study. The data for the study were collected through a large scale field survey. Two respondents, the sales/purchase manager and the IS manager, from 201 firms responded to the survey. The results of discriminant analysis of the data reveal that two interorganizational variables, competitive pressure and exercised power, and two organizational variables, internal need and top management support, are important variables to differentiate firms with proactive decision mode from firms with reactive decision mode.

The study also evaluates the differences between proactive and reactive firms on three implementation outcomes. Proactive firms are found to have greater extent of adaptation, more external connectivity with trading partners, and better integration of EDI information in their internal IS applications.


The objective of this research is to demonstrate to what extent the application of the business management program will increase sustainable entrepreneurship among teachers in Educational Units of Guayaquil-Ecuador 2021. The main problem revolves around the lack of knowledge about the relationship between business management and sustainable entrepreneurship since it has not been studied longitudinally. The study observed how sustained entrepreneurship affects the process and the durability of a student's confidence or identification with the teacher; therefore, the findings based on the surveyed population could guide on the most effective resources and educational strategies to develop and maintain motivation and sustainability in entrepreneurship. The most outstanding results revealed that in the pretest of the experimental group 21.1% is in the medium level and 78.9% in the high level; for the control group 29.8% is in the medium level and 70.2% in the high level; after the application of the program the level of this experimental group increased to 100%. It is concluded that the effectiveness of the program in the social aspect is an important ingredient in the current business education environment and contributes significantly to the general welfare of society.


Nafion has long been the standard polymer for use in polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells. The main purpose for the electrolyte is to allow protons to pass through freely while being a barrier to electrons and reactants. Nafion fails as a barrier to methanol solutions, and thus much research has been carried out to find a replacement for Nafion in liquid feed direct methanol fuel cells. In the present work, the authors present a method to modify both polybenzimidazole (PBI) and Nafion to make an improved methanol barrier while maintaining suitable proton conductivity. PBI was chemically modified, by sulfonation, ((s)-PBI) to make it an intrinsic proton conductor and deposited as an additional layer on a Nafion membrane. The addition of (s)-PBI to Nafion creates a composite polymer electrolyte that is a reasonable proton conductor while reducing the crossover of methanol.


The term 'appropriability' usually refers to the ability of a business entity to capture benefits from its investment in science and technology. In this paper it is suggested that governments should focus on regional appropriability, the ability of the region they govern to capture benefits from science and technology. Regional appropriability, although in one sense a matter of common knowledge, has not been extensively discussed in the scholarly literature. This paper suggests four factors which may be important in determining whether benefits can be captured by a region. They are, first, local manufacturing; second, intellectual property protection; third, the relatively immobile nature of a broadly skilled workforce; and fourth, "contexted technology", that is, technology which links into existing industrial strengths.


This paper describes a system which allows APLSV users to access standard IBM indexed sequential files. Included are APL functions which allow easy access to specific data fields within a record with automatic conversion of data to and from the APL Z-code representation and the external file format (binary, character, packed decimal, zoned decimal).


The invention provides a device for controlling equipment to dissipate heat and equipment having the same. The device is used for controlling the equipment to dissipate heat; and the equipment comprises at least one heating component. The device comprises an environmental temperature sensing unit, a component temperature measuring unit and a temperature control unit, wherein the environmental temperature sensing unit is used for acquiring environmental temperatures of the inner space of the equipment; the component temperature measuring unit is used for acquiring the local temperature of one heating component of the at least one heating component; and the temperature control unit is used for selecting corresponding temperature control curves according to the environmental temperatures, and acquiring control parameters according to the local temperature and the temperature control curves, and the control parameters are used for controlling the temperatures of the equipment. The embodiment of the invention has the advantages of selecting different temperature control curves according to the different environmental temperatures, meeting the requirements of dissipating heat of a system at a high temperature, meeting the requirements of noise of the system at room temperature, and avoiding noise volatility caused by much speed variation of a fan when the environmental temperatures are changed.


Extracts of six fungi, four yeasts, and two species of Streptomyces were tested for antioxidant activity when added to lard. Extracts of Aspergillus niger, the microorganism that showed the strongest antioxidant activity, were subjected to adsorption and gel permeation chromatography. Two fractions that protected lard against oxidation were obtained by chromatography of A. niger extract on Sephadex LH-20 and Bio-Beads S-X2. One of these fractions contained a gummy brown pigment BR, the other a bright yellow crystalline pigment Y. Pigment BR showed strong carbonyl group and methyl-methylene group absorption in the infrared. Apparently, on the basis of spectral data, pigment Y has a linear naphthopyrone structure. Pigment BR was obtained consistently from A. niger mycelium, while pigment Y was formed sporadically. Results indicated that more than one substance in A. niger mycelium have antioxidant properties and that brown and yellow pigments apparently are associated with antioxidant activity. Synergistic effects may be important in the strong antioxidant activity of A. niger extracts.


Instrumentation for a new automatic track inspection car is currently being built for the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) by ENSCO, Inc. An existing rail safety research track measurement system, in operational service for several years, has successfully demonstrated that high-speed track geometry measurements can provide useful and timely inputs to FRA regional track inspectors. The new system will include the most advanced features of the instruments previously developed, expanded computer system hardware, and automatic rail flaw detection equipment. The new inspection system is being installed in an 85-foot rail car completely refurbished to accommodate the equipment and operating crew.


In this paper a comprehensive finite element analysis of Electromagnetic Acoustic Transducer (EMAT) is presented. EMAT is an emerging technology that provides a non contact process of testing materials compared to Ultrasonic Testing (UT) technique that requires a coupling medium. The EMAT phenomenon can be particularly useful in rail, pipeline and Aerospace industry for thickness measurements and defect detection in conductive materials. The Lorentz force and the effect of varying the EMAT parameters such as lift off was investigated to show the effects it has on the performance of EMAT. The accuracy of the numerical method was further investigated by firstly decreasing the triangular mesh and varying the time steps to determine the convergence of the displacement, which will ensure the convergence of all other physical quantities. Additionally, the wave propagation in a conductive material is investigated, which involves the coupling of several physical parameters, which includes mechanical and electromagnetic properties. This leads to the investigation of defect detection in an Aluminium material. Results obtained shows the model is capable of detecting the depth, width and location of the surface defect using the mechanical displacement amplitude.


For engineering characteristics of the new main haulage roadway obliquely crossing Chang ping haul roadway,the numerical simulation software ABAQUS is used to analysis distribution of plastic zone of roadway intersection.Through analysis,numerical solution of the plastic zone surrounding under the conditions of different strength reduction factor is obtained.According to the plastic zone surrounding the intersection of numerical simulation results,the main haulage roadway and Chang ping haul roadway divided into different sections,and using reasonable excavation and supporting technology,the anchor rope and steel supports dynamically added together.Monitoring results showed that the combined support programs effectively controlled intersections rock deformation and failure,to ensure that the surrounding rock and supporting structure's long-term stability and security.


To facilitate large-scale realization of multi-agent systems approach to increasing application domains,there is an urgent need for development environment,frameworks and toolkits that support the rapid research and development of multi-agent systems.Firstly some general and representative toolkits and frameworks are presented including FIPA-OS,JAFMAS etc.Then,their methodologies and features are analyzed,and their merits and shortcomings are discussed.


The purpose of this paper is to solve the problem of high water cement ratio during construction and low water cement ratio during solidification.Utilizing the electric double layer produced by hydration of cement to gather in superfluous water at negative electrode and reduce the water cement ratio of solidification by using electroosmosis technology.The experimental results indicate that electroosmosis technology can further the filtering velocity markedly,increase the compressive strength of concrete significantly and have finer economical efficiency.Electroosmosis technology can solve the problem of high water cement ratio during construction and low water cement ratio during solidification effectively so that have expansive application prospect.


Coffee is a commodity that has an important role in the national economy. Currently, coffee cultivation is threatened by climate change caused by global warming due to increased green house gas (GHG) emissions. The organic  plantation model is a farming model that is considered to increase soil and crop productivity, reduce GHG emissions, and increase carbon sequestration effectively. The study was aimed to estimate GHG emissions and carbon stocks in organic and conventional coffee plantations in Badung Regency, Bali Province and  Laboratory in Balai Penelitian Lingkungan Pertanian, Pati, Jawa Tengah Province, in July 2018. The study was conducted in smallholder coffee plantations in Badung Regency and the analysis was carried out at Laboratory of Indonesian Agricultural Environtment Research Institute. This study used a survey method, while the sampling used a purposive sampling method in organic and conventional coffee plantation. GHG emissions measurement was carried out with a close chamber method by simultaneously the carbon stocks measurement was carried out with the non-destructive method for plant biomass and destructive for understorey. The results showed that organic and conventional coffee plantations emitted GHG by 20.71 and 39.75 ton CO2e ha-1 and stored carbon stock by 227.56 and 288.31 ton CO2e  ha-1, respectively. The differences in GHG emissions and carbon stocks are partly due to differences in management system and the diversity of plant. The management system of the organic coffee plantation should be improved to support handling of the impacts of climate change in Bali Province.


Chronologically speaking, the view to syllabus design has been changed over the decades of development of the phenomenon of second language learning and teaching, as we go through from language centered methods to learner centered methods and to learning centered methods. An attempt was made in this paper to revisit the concept and the types of syllabus approaches in the realm of second language learning and teaching. Topics analyzed included, the definition of syllabus, the categorization of syllabi types, the introduction of an integrative approach to syllabus design and the presentation of the proposed model to syllabus design. In this paper, I focus on the traditional and critical approaches to syllabus design and introduce an integrative approach and finally I present the proposed model to teachers and syllabus designers to apply in practical contexts.


The UDN's liberalism wasn't restricted to the parliament or the government places. It has built a meaningful political thought about the country's perspectives. It is possible, in that sense, imagine the existence of a udenism, as a certain style of the Brazilian liberal tradition. The present text wishes to establish some internal distinctions in that tradition, based on the definition of two styles, deeply identified to two great personalities of the time: e Carlos Lacerda. The difference is based in two points: the ideas about the conflict and the role of the elites in the political dispute. There is, in that sense, one pedagogic udenismo, which criticizes the conflict and argues that the elites must avoid it. Afonso Arinos is its main thinker. Other udenist style, the conflictive one, insert the elites in the political battle, tak e the conflict with the enemy as the main core of the political dispute, in reflection mainly represented by Carlos Lacerda


This article's thesis is that the close connection between the military elite and the government/political elite in Israel detracts from the quality of Israeli democracy by lending the government an unfair electoral advantage over the opposition. The article documents the various facets of the connection between the elites, which includes military commanders' publicly expressed support for government policy over that of the opposition, military elite participation in the formation of government policy, political appointments within the army, the movement from the military elite into the political (especially the government/political) elite, and informal social contacts between the two elites. It then analyzes how the connection between the two elites enhances the electoral chances of the government over those of the opposition. It shows that some facets do so directly by forming a legitimating device for the government, while others do so indirectly by being part of an exchange system that includes the other aspects of the connection. The inequitable electoral advantage thus gained by the government through its connection with the military elite contravenes the spirit-if not the letter-of democratic principles.


Virtualization is a rapidly evolving technology that can be used to provide a range of benefits to computing systems, including improved resource utilization, software portability, and reliability. For security-critical applications, it is highly desirable to have a small trusted computing base (TCB), since it minimizes the surface of attacks that could jeopardize the security of the entire system. In traditional virtualization architectures, the TCB for an application includes not only the hardware and the virtual machine monitor (VMM), but also the whole management operating system (OS) that contains the device drivers and virtual machine (VM) management functionality. For many applications, it is not acceptable to trust this management OS, due to its large code base and abundance of vulnerabilities. In this paper, we address the problem of providing a secure execution environment on a virtualized computing platform under the assumption of an untrusted management OS. We propose a secure virtualization architecture that provides a secure run-time environment, network interface, and secondary storage for a guest VM. The proposed architecture significantly reduces the TCB of security-critical guest VMs, leading to improved security in an untrusted management environment. We have implemented a prototype of the proposed approach using the Xen virtualization system, and demonstrated how it can be used to facilitate secure remote computing services. We evaluate the performance penalties incurred by the proposed architecture, and demonstrate that the penalties are minimal.