Objective. To examine serum concentrations of insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) and IGF binding protein (IGFBP-3), a major carrier protein for IGF-1, in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc); and to relate the results to clinical features in SSc. Methods. Serum IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 levels in 92 Japanese patients with SSc were measured by ELISA. Expression of IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 messenger RNA (mRNA) in the skin was quantified by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Results. Serum IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 levels were significantly elevated in patients with SSc compared with patients with systemic lupus erythematosus or healthy controls. IGF-1 levels were higher in patients with diffuse cutaneous SSc (dcSSc) than in patients with limited cutaneous SSc (lcSSc). Patients with increased IGF-1 levels had more severe skin involvement and pulmonary fibrosis. IGF1 mRNA was upregulated in the affected skin of patients with SSc. There were no significant differences in serum IGFBP-3 levels between dcSSc and lcSSc. IGFBP-3 levels were not associated with skin thickness and pulmonary fibrosis. Patients with increased IGF-1 or IGFBP-3 had lower frequency of telangiectasia than patients with normal levels. Conclusion. These results suggest that both IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 are involved in the development of SSc. The role of IGF-1 appears to be different from that of IGFBP-3. (First Release Nov 1 2008; J Rheumatol 2008;35:2363–71; doi:10.3899/jrheum.080340) Key Indexing Terms: SYSTEMIC SCLEROSIS INSULIN-LIKE GROWTH FACTOR INSULIN-LIKE GROWTH FACTOR BINDING PROTEIN TOTAL SKIN THICKNESS SCORE From the Department of Dermatology, Kanazawa University Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa; and Department of Dermatology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan. Supported by a grant to Dr. Fujimoto for research on intractable diseases from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan. Y. Hamaguchi, MD, PhD; M. Fujimoto, MD; T. Matsushita, MD, PhD; M. Hasegawa, MD, PhD; K. Takehara, MD, PhD, Department of Dermatology, Kanazawa University Graduate School of Medical Science; S. Sato, MD, PhD, Department of Dermatology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. Address reprint requests to Dr. M. Fujimoto, Department of Dermatology, Kanazawa University Graduate School of Medical Science, 13-1 Takaramachi, Kanazawa, Ishikawa 920-8641, Japan. E-mail: email@example.com Accepted for publication August 14, 2008. Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a connective tissue disorder characterized by microvascular damage and excessive fibrosis of the skin and various internal organs with an autoimmune background. Although the pathogenesis of SSc remains unknown, immunologic abnormalities have been suggested to play an important role. Most of the infiltrating cells in the skin of patients with SSc are activated T lymphocytes with a predominant CD4-positive phenotype1. Cytokines play a major role in regulating extracellular matrix deposition by fibroblasts as well2. It has been reported that Th2 response is predominant in SSc, and a shift from a Th2 response to a Th1 response is associated with the improvement of cutaneous involvement in diffuse cutaneous SSc (dcSSc)3,4. However, little is known about a role of mediators of the endocrine system in the development of SSc. Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) is a single-chain polypeptide consisting of 70 amino acids, and it shares an approximate 50% homology with insulin5,6. Systemic IGF1 concentrations are mainly determined by production in the liver; however, most cells throughout the body, including fibroblasts, can synthesize this growth factor7. Growth hormone is the primary inducer of IGF-1 synthesis by the liver and a central regulator of the concentration of circulating IGF-1. Most functions of IGF-1 are mediated by the IGF-1 receptor (IGF-1R), a highly specific membrane receptor associated with intracellular tyrosine kinase and homologous to the insulin receptor8. The bioactivity of IGF-1 is modulated by 6 binding proteins, the IGF binding proteins (IGFBP) 1 to 6. IGFBP-3 is a predominant carrier protein in sera and binds to 80%–95% of the circulating IGF-1 in a stable ternary complex that consists of an additional protein, termed the acid-labile subunit9. This complex is considered a circulating store for IGF-1. IGF-1 has a broad range of physiological functions from early embryonic development to the whole period of life. Generally, IGF-1 is an endocrine mediator of growth and development under physiological conditions. IGF-1 enhances cell-cycle progression and mitosis10. IGF-1 can act as a survival factor by decreasing apoptosis in diverse cells11. IGF-1 also plays a prominent role in the regulation of immunity and inflammation7. For example, tumor necrosis factor-α and prostaglandin E2 induce IGF-1 production in macrophages12. T and B cells and natural killer cells are influenced by the effect of IGF-1, as these cells express the IGF-1R13,14. These data imply a role of regulation by IGF-1 in innate immunity as well as acquired immunity. It has been described that IGFBP, not only IGFBP-3, have diverse biological activities in addition to the simple role as a carrier protein for IGF-1. There are reports elucidating a role of IGFBP-3 and IGFBP-5 in fibrosis; IGFBP5 mRNA levels in fibroblasts from SSc patients were increased15. Increased IGFBP-3 and IGFBP-5 mRNA and protein levels were observed in vivo in lung tissue from patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and in vitro in primary fibroblasts from skin and lung tissue from patients with SSc16. Overexpression of IGFBP-3 and IGFBP-5 in primary human fibroblasts increased the expression of extracellular matrix16. These results suggest that IGFBP-3 is involved in the development of fibrosis in SSc. However, serum levels of IGFBP-3 in SSc patients have not been reported to date. Therefore, it is of significant importance to examine levels of IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 in sera from SSc patients to determine the contribution of IGF-1 and IGFBP3 in SSc. There are a few studies describing the contribution of the IGF system to rheumatic diseases17. It has been reported that C-reactive protein concentrations are significantly associated with IGF-1, IGF-2, and IGFBP-3 levels in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA)18. In contrast, Denko and Malemud reported no significant differences in basal serum IGF-1 levels between RA patients and age-matched healthy subjects19. In patients with chronic juvenile arthritis, serum IGF-1 levels were lower than in the control group20. Neidel reported that IGFBP-3 and IGFBP-2 levels were elevated, but the molar ratio of IGF-1/IGFBP-3 was significantly reduced, in patients with clinically active RA21. Matsumoto and Tsurumoto described significantly lower serum IGF-1 but higher IGFBP-3 levels in RA patients and that the ratio of IGF-1 to IGFBP-3 in RA patients was significantly lower than that in controls, suggesting that an inappropriate balance of IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 levels reduces the availability of IGF-1 and is involved in the pathogenesis of RA22. On the other hand, no significant differences in serum IGF-1 levels were found in women with active systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) compared with a group of age-matched healthy women23. In a study in SSc, serum IGF-1 levels in all 13 SSc patients were within normal limits, and no correlation was found between serum IGF-1 levels and clinical features24. Since this may be due to the small number of patients, an additional study will be required to clarify the role of the IGF system in the development of SSc. We examined serum levels of IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 in patients with SSc to investigate the involvement of the IGF system in SSc. MATERIALS AND METHODS Patients. Serum samples were obtained from 92 Japanese patients with SSc (75 women, 17 men), median age 46 years (range 13–76 yrs), with median disease duration of 6.1 years (range 0.2–35). All patients fulfilled the criteria for SSc proposed by the American College of Rheumatology (ACR)25. These patients were grouped according to the classification system proposed by LeRoy, et al26: 50 patients (34 women, 16 men) had dcSSc and 42 (40 women, 2 men) had limited cutaneous SSc (lcSSc). Antitopoisomerase I antibody was positive in 36 patients, anticentromere antibody (ACA) was positive in 29, and anti-RNA polymerase I and III antibody was positive in 8. Disease duration was calculated from the time of the first clinical event (other than Raynaud's phenomenon) that was clearly a manifestation of SSc. At the first visit, 5 patients were receiving low-dose steroids (prednisolone, 5–20 mg/day), while 2 patients were being treated with low-dose penicillamine (100–300 mg/day). No SSc patient was receiving other immunosuppressive therapy or had a recent history of infection or other inflammatory diseases. Serving as disease controls, we also examined serum samples from 14 patients with SLE who fulfilled the ACR criteria27. Twenty age and sex-matched Japanese individuals (16 women, 4 men; median age 52 yrs, range 23–72 yrs) were recruited as healthy controls. Fresh venous blood samples were centrifuged shortly after clot formation. All samples were stored at –70°C before use. All participants provided written informed consent. The protocol was approved by the Kanazawa University Graduate School of Medical Science and Kanazawa University Hospital. Clinical assessment. Complete medical histories were obtained, and physical examinations and laboratory tests were conducted for all patients at their first visit, with limited evaluations during followup visits. Skin thickness was scored according to the modified Rodnan method28. Organ system involvement was defined as described29,30: lung: bibasilar fibrosis on chest radiography and high resolution computed tomography; esophagus: hypomotility shown by barium radiography; joint: inflammatory polyarthralgias or arthrit


We demonstrate optical beam auto-focusing without the need of a focusing lens or nonlinearity. Radial Airy beams with inward and outward accelerations are used and an abrupt transition between Airy and Bessel behavior is observed.


The wide angle fundus camera Clinitex CA-2 was tried out on patients and normal volunteers on evaluating the numerous photographs we found the three optic heads to deliver good results. The quality of the 60 degrees- and 100 degrees-pictures improved with the increasing dilatation of the pupil. Even retinal detachments and other changes with a different level were recoreded very well. In black-and-white- photography, uneven illumination of the fundus was successfully compensated by using a two-step developer with increased utilization of film speed. This procedure allowed good wide angle documentation of the fundus at comparatively low costs.


In this paper, we propose a new vector perturbation scheme which reduces the complexity associated with finding perturbation vectors by searching for the real and imaginary components individually. To minimize a performance loss induced from decoupling joint search, we apply diagonal precoding at the transmitter whose phase angles are iteratively optimized according to the criterion of maximizing the chordal distance between subspaces spanned by the real and imaginary components. Since our main objective is to reduce the system cost, we also propose a simple non-iterative method of finding phase angles with slight performance loss. Simulation results show that the proposed decoupled vector perturbation reduces the average number of search candidate by $56\%$ in comparison to the original vector perturbation in 4-by-4 system. It is also noted that the simple choice of phase angles provides the performance almost identical to that of the iteratively optimized angles. Moreover, we develope a receive antenna combining method for the vector perturbation systems with multiple-antenna receivers. The proposed algorithm designs receive combiners based on the criterion of optimizing the performance metric via a block-coordinate ascent approach.


Purpose: To evaluate intravitreal Bevacizumab (IVB) in treatment of diabetic macular edema (DME) using Multifocal Electroretinogram (Mf-ERG). Methods: Twenty eyes of sixteen patients with diffuse and/or focal DME without macular ischemia received primary IVB (1.25 mg /0.1 ml). Multifocal electroretinography was done as baseline, 1 week, 2 weeks and 3 weeks post injection. Results: Mean visual acuity improved from (0.37±0.23) to (0.42±0.30), 25% of patients reported near vision improvement. Central foveal thickness improved significantly from (375.80±14.48 micrometer (μm)) to (225.0±30.08 μm) and parafoveal and perifoveal thickness improved from (317.00±36.2 μm) to (282.80±27.97 μm). At the end of the 3 week, P wave amplitude improved from (34.64±9.62 nanovolt per square degree (nV/deg2)) to (44.54±8.32 nV/deg2), N wave amplitude improved from (0.135±0.060 nV/deg2) to (0.299±0.160 nV/deg2). Conclusion: Intravitreal Bevacizumab resulted in macular function improvement in the study patients with DME, postoperative improvement in visual acuity and decreased retinal thickness confirmed by improvement of P wave and N wave


To the Editor.— Dr. Klinefelter described (226:81, 1973) a practical maneuver that can produce quick relaxation in a tense patient, before measuring his blood pressure. This consisted of a few preliminary deep breaths. I have used this method for many years and have often been impressed by the rapid reduction of the pressure after such deep breathing. Some apprehensive patients tend to undergo contraction of muscles, including diaphragms, and to hold the breath in reaction to some fear provoked by the taking of the blood pressure. In my opinion, the explanation does not lie in the effect of hyperventilation or associated change in the blood oxygen or carbon dioxide tension, but merely in a state of muscle relaxation (including the diaphragm), combined with the diversion created by taking two deep breaths. I believe that Dr. Klinefelter's suggestion should be followed whenever there are doubts about an elevated pressure reading.


This paper presents the kinematics of the leg-bicycle five-bar linkage system mechanism including foot segment. Kinematics is very important in the analysis of rigid bodies system whenever theoretical analysis is being sought especially in bicycle-leg linkage mechanism. A lot of experimental works has already been carried out on lower limbs segments biomechanics during cycling which involved the use of positions of the lower limb segments, but there has not been a complete theoretical analysis of the lower limb segments positions in the literature. Therefore, there is need for a complete kinematics of the bicycle-leg linkage mechanism which includes the position analysis of the lower limb segments. The position, velocity, and acceleration equations were derived and the profiles of the thigh, shank and foot segments were plotted against crank angles. It was found that the profiles obtained are reasonable and agrees with experiments. Keywords: Cycling; Five-bar linkage; Kinematics Analysis; Lower Limb Segments.


OralTherapy-Dent-2020 plays a key role as one of the main supports of economic development and social well-being in Europe and indeed the world as a whole. The aim of the conference is to support global research communities by allowing clusters of Professor, Scientists, Researchers, Students and Business Delegates to regularly meet and converse topics with frontrunners in the field. These conferences cover miscellaneous top-ranked fields and budding aspects of vital and relatively broad subject filed. Establish conferences for knowledge sharing and providing the global platform to explore and learn new researchers in their respective fields.


The effect of mechanical relaxation on the relaxation behaviour of electrically conductive polymer composites was investigated. Experiments showed that filler content significantly affects the relaxation characteristics of the material due mainly to the effect of the filler type on the relaxation processes. Rubbers with active carbon blacks show ranges of slow and fast relaxation much more clearly than those with low-active carbon blacks, even at increased concentrations. With active carbon blacks, the increase in the filler-filler and polymer-filler interactions is balanced by the high content of low-active carbon blacks, because in both cases the elasticity modulus of the material and the internal friction during relaxation processes increase.


The tidal disruption of a satellite galaxy can leave behind substructures, such as tidal tails, streams, or shells. Satellites moving on orbits roughly coplanar with the Galactic disk, will deposit most of its debris in this component. We show here that this process leads naturally to the formation of ring-like stellar structures similar to that recently discovered in the outer disk of the Milky Way.


The aim of the paper was to better understand the influence of personal and contextual factors on women's career decision making and interest in undergraduate engineering students. On the basis of Social Cognitive Career Theory and utilising a qualitative approach, nine interviews were conducted with women undergraduates at a university in Northern Italy. The results reveal four major aspects: a) the women's interest in engineering is cultivated by different contextual factors in the same way across multiple cultures; b) self-efficacy affects their interest in engineering; c) this interest is nurtured by internal and external recognition; d) their career decision making is determined by an interdependence of personal and contextual factors. The paper contributes to promoting cultural changes in engineering fields. Some practical implications for education professionals and policy makers were also reported.


The article deals with the problem of socio-psychological assistance to sailors with the syndrome of professional burnout. The specifics of the manifestation of burnout syndrome among seamen of fishing vessels, factors determining its formation and development are revealed. A program for the prevention of professional burnout syndrome has been proposed for seafarers with signs of professional burnout syndrome.


1. Studies of the Rh factor in 11,486 pregnant female American Negroes revealed 1,302 who were Rh negative (8.4 per cent). Sixty-four cases of isosensitization were encountered which gave an incidence of 4.9 per cent in the Rh-negative patients. In comparison, among 8,889 Rh-negative Caucasians, 460 cases of isosensitization (5.2 per cent) were encountered. The difference was found to be statistically insignificant.

2. Two typical examples of erythroblastosis fetalis in American Negro infants are presented.


The annealing effect on the magnetoimpedance of nanocrystalline Fe84Zr7B8Cul alloy has been investigated in conjunction with the changes of magnetic properties such as permeability, magnetic anisotropy, etc. by thermal treatment. The magnetoimpedance ratio coincides with the softness of magnetic properties of thermally treated samples. The field - annealing doesn't contribute to improve the magnetoimpedance effect in the nanocrystalline alloy.


In this paper, we have observed an interesting phenomenon in superscalar architectures with aggressive hardware mechanisms (such as register renaming and reorder buffers): a significant number of program variables are "short-lived" in the sense that their whole live ranges occur entirely within the reorder buffer. Therefore, upon completion, the values of these short-lived variables do not need to bewritten (committed) back to the register files. Based on this observation, we have proposed a compile-time analysis method (called short-live-range analysis) and a simple architecture feature to avoid the useless commit of these short-lived variables. Furthermore, we propose a compiler mechanism to directly assign these variables to the reorder buffer (instead of the register file), thus decreasing the total requirements on the register file. We have implemented our scheme and our simulation results show: (1) the shortlive-range analysis and the proposed architecture feature can be successfully used to avoid the useless commit of instructions to the register files; (2) the above mechanism canreduce thenumberofwriteports to the registerfileswithout affectingperformance; (3) the allocation of short-lived variables to the reorder buffer can significantly reduce the introduction of spill code and improve the overall performance.


CMV strains (5)andinbiopsies ofacquired immunodeficiency syndrome patients withconcomitant CMV infection (9a). In those studies, weusedaCMV DNA probeobtained inour laboratory byusing fragments belonging totherepeated sequences oftheTowneCMV genome.Theprobewas constructed byincorporating dUTPlabeled withdigoxigenin; theinsitu-hybridized CMV DNA probewasimmunocytochemically visualized byusing antidigoxigenin Fabfragmentslabeled withalkaline phosphatase. Thespecificity and sensitivity oftheinsitu hybridization assayforCMV DNA withourprobeprompted ustodevelop arapid, specific, and reliable dotblothybridization assaytodetect CMV DNA directly inurine samples fromdifferent groups ofpatients. Theresults obtained inourhybridization immunoenzymatic assaywerecompared withtheresults obtained bythe detection ofCMV antigens ininfected cell cultures using a monoclonal antibody against theCMV-induced 68-kilodaltonimmediate early antigen. Clinical samples. A total of516urinespecimens were collected fromorgantransplant recipients, leukemic patients, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome patients, childrenagedbetween 3and6years, andourlaboratory staff. CMV antigen detection incell cultures. A 5-mlvolume of eachurine sample wascentrifuged at2,000 x gfor15min, and0.2mlofthesupernatant wasinoculated intohuman embryo fibroblasts grownoncoverslips inNunclon plates (Nunc). Inoculated cells werefixed at5dayspostinfection andstained inanindirect immunoalkaline phosphatase assay (11)byusing a monoclonal antibody (Techno Genetics) against the68-kilodalton CMV-induced nuclear protein (10). DNA hybridization. A 15-ml volume ofeachurine sample wascentrifuged at2,000 x gfor15mintoremovebacteria andcellular debris. Thepellet was discarded, andthe supernatant wascentrifuged at50,000 x gfor1h.Thepellet wassuspended in100,ul ofTEbuffer (Tris, 10mM;EDTA, 1mM;pH7.6) andwasspotted byusing aBio-Dot Apparatus(Bio-Rad Laboratories) onthenylon membrane. Ineach run,asample ofTowneCMV wasspotted asthepositive


A new approach to numerical analysis is presented. Instead of providing conventional data one essentially prescribes the desired pattern and the analysis is performed through proportional differences. If satellite or other data indicate a synoptic system in a numerical analysis should be reanalyzed, a threedimensional manual analysis is performed. Particular attention is given to the adjustment of the location and orientation of the synoptic pattern. No changes are permitted on the borders of the finite area containing the


Gabriel Mougani (coordinator of the study), Jian Zhang, Cedric A. Mbeng Mezui Aerina Kim and Oscar Pitti Rivera (co-coordinator) are respectively Chief Regional Integration Economist, Principal Macroeconomist, Senior Regional Financial Integration Economist, Junior consultant at NEPADRegional Integration and Trade Department-ONRI and Senior Resource Mobilization Officerat Resources Mobilization Department-ORMU, African Development Bank. The Brief benefited from guidance from Moono Mupotola, Manager at NEPADRegional Integration and Trade Department and Ernest Addison, Manager at East B Department-ORSB. The Brief also benefited from inputs from the following peer-reviewers: Andre A. Santos, Damoni Kitabire, Jean M. Dabire, Joel D. Muzima, Kennedy K. Mbekeani, Martha Phiri, Mary M. Monyau and Peter Mwanakatwe, African Development Bank, and from Mr. Gerard Sanspeur, Managing Director, EnovaConsult Ltd, Mauritius.. NEPAD, Regional Integration and Trade Department No. 2. September, 2013 afdb AfricAn Development BAnk group Regional Integration Brief


The progeny derived from experimental crosses, in which the following species of Hieracium L. subgen. Pilosella (Hill.) S. F. Gray were used as parents, was analyzed with respect to chromosome numbers: diploid H. lactucella Wallr., tetraploid H. pilosella L., H. caespitosum Dumort. and H. aurantiacum L., pentaploid H. glomeratum Froel. and H. piloselliflorum Nageli & Peter. In addition, some of selected F1 hybrids as well as the hexaploid hybridogenous species H. rubrum Peter were open pollinated and their offspring was studied. In most crosses the sexuals served as seed parents, while the pollen donors were usually facultative apomicts. A considerable karyological diversity was recorded within the progeny of some of individual seed parents, hy- bridizing easily due to (at least facultative) sexuality. In addition, the haploid parthenogenesis and the participation of unreduced gametes (probably the fertilization of unreduced egg cell) con- tributed to offspring diversity. These reproduction modes, together with apomictic reproduction and fertilization of reduced egg cell, caused the rise of extremely diverse progeny of H. rubrum. The haploid parthenogenesis connected with aneuploidy was recorded as a new observation. Al- though the aneuploids are very rare in nature in Europe, the abundant and viable aneuploid proge- ny can be easily obtained from experimental crosses. Similarly, the viable triploids arising frequently from the crosses between diploid and tetraploid species, are in contrast to sparse oc- currence of triploid cytotypes in the field. The reasons for these disproportions are discussed. Whereas the reduced competitive ability is expected in polyhaploids in the field, the natural poly- ploids originated spontaneously from the unreduced gametes may be more common. The possi- bilities to reveal the contribution of particular species comprising hybrid polyploids in the field are discussed.


A method is presented to enhance single-event transient (SET) measurements by overcoming a common experimental limitation of minimum measurable pulse widths. As technology scales, SETs decrease in width and measurement circuits fundamentally cannot capture every fast transient capable of causing an error. A method has been developed to overcome this limitation by using a latch as a feedback-assisted fast transient capture circuit. Single-event upset (SEU) data are combined with SET data to extend pulsewidth acuity such that pulses faster than the minimum measurable SET pulsewidth are extracted. The method has been applied for a 14-/16-nm bulk FinFET technology node and predictions for logic single-event cross section reveal the impact of fast transients on the radiation response of logic circuits. Results including the extracted fast transients represent upper bound SEU cross sections. For high linear energy transfer (LET) particle irradiation, accounting for fast transients using the developed method results in negligible variation in logic SE cross section. However, for low LET particle irradiation, the method results in an order of magnitude increase in logic SE cross section.


The most widely used open-source field programmable gate array (FPGA) placement and routing tool is the Versatile Packing, Placement and Routing (VPR) software developed at the University of Toronto, Canada. VPR calculates area and timing using target FPGA architecture and physical information. However, it cannot be used in FPGA IP design efficiently for two reasons. First, VPR cannot directly support most newly developed FPGA architectures, and modifying the C-coded VPR so that it can be used to evaluate a number of new architectures is time consuming. Second, the accuracy of the VPR performance results is inadequate for the evaluation of a complete FPGA IP in a design that targets the production of LSI. We propose an FPGA design framework that is focused on improving FPGA IP design efficiency. A novel FPGA routing tool is developed in this framework, namely the EasyRouter which uses the C# language. When an object-oriented programming method is used, there is less source code and it is easier to manage compared to VPR, thus shortening the development time. By using simple HDL code templates, EasyRouter can automatically generate the entire HDL code for a chip and the configuration bitstream. With these files, the FPGA IP can be evaluated with commercial VLSI CAD systems with high accuracy and reliability. key words: FPGA, CAD, routing


The study objective was to evaluate the knowledge, beliefs and behaviors regarding agrochemical safety behaviors among farmers among farmers in the Khogyang community, Trang province, Thailand between the period September and December 2012. The principles of Health Belief Model and community participatory approach were applied to develop a comprehensive strategy to reduce agrochemical risk their behavior. 316 farmers from 8 villages in Khogyang community were recruited. The mean scores of the 3 variables (knowledge, belief and behavior) regarding agrochemical safety were measured. The results revealed that knowledge of farmer participants on agrochemical use was observed at low level. The level of overall belief regarding agrochemical safety was observed at moderate level. The mean scores of perceived susceptibility, seriousness, barriers, and benefits of agrochemical safety were 3.85 + 0.74, 3.52 + 0.56, 3.61+0.39 and 3.66+0.96, respectively. Behavior of farmer participants on agrochemical safety was also observed at moderate level. There were positive statistically significant correlations between knowledge and behavior scores; and overall belief and behavior scores (r = 0.336 and 0.621, respectively). In addition, statistically significant predictive variables associated agrochemical safety behavior were knowledge and belief on agrochemical use (Beta = 0.120 and 0. 0.576, respectively). These predictors accounted for 39.80 percents of variance. All predictors were positively related to agrochemical use behavior. The most common of agrochemicals use in the Kogyang community was "Glyphosate". Health risk behaviors regarding agrochemical use were lack of attention to safety precautions and the use of inappropriate protective gear. These are an elementary guide that is useful in introducing the ideas of community involvement in agrochemical safety behaviors © 2013 European Journal of Research on Education by IASSR.


We present a novel cell concept that combines the tandem cell approach with the passivated emitter and rear cells (PERC) mainstream technology. As an interface between Si bottom and top cell, we utilize passivating n+-type polysilicon on oxide (POLO) contacts and a p+ poly-Si/n+ poly-Si tunneling junction. Our full area PERC+ Si bottom cells are fabricated within a typical industrial process sequence where the POCl3 diffusion and SiNx deposition are replaced by the POLO junction formation processes. The implied open-circuit voltage i<italic>V</italic>oc that is measured on these devices reaches up to 708 mV (684 mV) under 1 sun (under filtered spectrum to simulated top cell absorption). On sister cells with planar front side, the respective i<italic>V</italic>oc values are 718 mV (696 mV). In order to understand the device physics of our ultra-abrupt p+ poly-Si/n+ poly-Si tunneling junction, we determined the carrier lifetime in the poly-Si by time-resolved photoluminescence. The extracted lifetimes of 42–54 ps enter as input parameter for numerical Sentaurus Device simulations. These simulations reveal the importance of band-to-band and trap-assisted tunneling for a low tunneling junction resistivity of 2.95 mΩ·cm2. Experimentally, an upper limit for the combined junction resistance of the p+ poly-Si/n+ poly-Si/SiOx stack of 100 mΩ·cm2 is determined.


A compact, inexpensive, and reliable electrometer which will respond to frequencies from dc to a few kilohertz is described. The high megohm feedback resistors are shared with a built‐in calibration and zero suppression current source, resulting in substantial savings in space and money.


Summary form only given. While novel device structures using nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes and organic molecules may be far away, there are opportunities to use nanomaterials in solving critical issues faced by silicon CMOS downscaling. Two examples, both using carbon nanotubes, in chip cooling and developing interconnects were discussed. Following this, prospects of fabricating vertical and planar transistors using nanowires of silicon and germanium were discussed


This essay aims to study the media trajectory of the male characters linked to drug trafficking in Mexico, and the configuration of imagery around style and fashion through different channels, including the transmedial displacement of the news about captures, as well as the acts of charity promoted by their relatives. We discuss how the creation-configuration of characters clad in a "heroic" halo, which is part of the figuration and influence in popular culture, contributes to the deactivation of the stereotypical hegemonic narrative of the figure of "the narco".


The wind energy is one of the most important alternatives for renewable and clean electricity generation. During the last decade the number of wind farms has largely increased in South America. Qollpana is only one case of an on-shore wind farm but it is located at 2900 m above sea level over a complex terrain. Due to high altitude, the air density is reduced by 27% compared with sea level and the topographic characteristics induce a high level of turbulence. Qollpana wind farm has ten wind turbines reaching 27 MW of installed capacity. October is the month of highest wind average velocity and February with the lowest one. This work analyses the capacity factor of the wind farm, also the air density and the turbulence effects on wind turbine efficiency. The main results show that monthly capacity factor varies between 0.08 and 0.67 in the wind farm. Moreover, the results have shown a considerable effect of the turbulence intensity on the turbines efficiency.


We introduce an automated digital microfluidic platform capable of performing immunoassays from sample-toanalysis with minimal manual intervention. This platform features a 90 Pogo pin interface, an integrated photomultiplier tube, and an adjustable magnet. The new platform was used to implement a design of experiments optimization for immunoassays, resulting in an optimized protocol that reduced detection limit and sample incubation time by up to 5-fold and 2-fold, respectively, relative to previous work. We propose that this new platform paves the way for a benchtop tool that is useful for implementing immunoassays in near-patient settings around the world.


Technology and educational activities are closely related in the successful learning application.With the improvement of technology, educational activities can be packaged in a form that is moreinteresting, attractive, fun, and not weary. This can increase the ability of students to capture theteaching material that has been delivered. Currently, the learning process on SDLB PGRISingojuruh is still done conventionally. The media is less able to improve the capability oftunagrahita learners toward the given material. In this research, develop the website as aninteractive learning media for tunagrahita students grade 1 semester 1 in SDLB PGRI Singojuruh,Banyuwangi.The material that used has been established by the government and packaged into interactivelearning media becomes more interesting than conventional methods. The material in the mediacontains sound effects and motion effects to explain the options so as to attract more attention andincrease the capture of learners. Thus can help children with Tunagrahita more understanding ofthe learning given by the teacher. Learning media is developed by using HTML 5 webprogramming language and CSS3. HTML 5 and CSS3 is one of the web programming languagesthat support multimedia technology. With the existence of interactive learning media is expected tolearners with special needs more able to receive material that has been established in the existingbasic competence.


1 Division of Neurology Department of Medicine National University Hospital, Singapore Address for Correspondence: Dr Erle Chuen-Hian Lim, Department of Medicine, National University Hospital, 5 Lower Kent Ridge Road, Singapore 119074. Email: email@example.com "If you were to rush into this room right now and announce that you had struck a deal – with God, Allah, Buddha, Christ, Krishna, Bill Gates, whomever – in which the ten years since my diagnosis could be magically taken away, traded in for ten more years as the person I was before, I would, without a moment's hesitation, tell you to take a hike. The ten years since my diagnosis have been the best ten years of my life, and I consider myself a lucky man." Michael J Fox, on the decade since he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.


Our study contributes to the literature in two directions. First, we investigate the behaviour of futures prices returns for different energy and agricultural commodities, over the period 1986-2010. Second, we measure the market vulnerability to financial speculation for energy commodities over the period 1992-2010. We find that financial speculation is poorly significant in modelling returns in commodities futures, while macroeconomic and financial factors are relevant. Spillovers between commodities are present and correlations among commodities volatilities are large and time-varying. A higher degree of vulnerability to financial speculation characterizes the futures market for crude oil in the 2008 crisis.


Different English versions of Libai's Jing Ye Si are regarded as a target in the paper for the concrete expressions of"meaning beauty、sound beauty and form beauty"in translating Chinese poem.The author is going to put forward a aesthetic view for translators and readers to appreciate the English translation of Chinese classic poem.


The excessive desire of modern society to reproduce the patterns of action and competition spread by the capitalist model, extends a way of proceeding that, starting from the individuals themselves, is transposed to the Internet scenario, causing the oversizing and aggravation of numerous problems of their own of real life, of the interactions between human beings, with a notable incidence among young people. The paper, addresses in a synthetic way some of the negative trends present on the Internet and their social networks, in particular, with updated statistical information. Constantly, new phenomena arise and develop in this scenario, evidencing the need to continue investigating and working on the necessary legal instrumentation for the confrontation, given its eventual incidence and social repercussion for our country, led to a process of mass use of the web services among the population.


We have observed beryllium K-shell Auger electrons from clean Be surfaces bombarded by 2.5--10-keV Ne, Ar, and Kr ions at 45/sup 0/ incidence. The electron spectra show a broad structure similar, although not identical, to that observed under electron impact, which was assigned to the KVV transition from excited Be decaying in the bulk of the solid. A small sharp line is identified to result from the decay in vacuum of neutral Be(1s2s/sup 2/2p) sputtered from the solid. The Auger yields can be scaled when plotted against the maximum energy transfer in a projectile-Be collision, indicating that excitations occur mainly from symmetric collisions between target atoms. This is supported by Monte Carlo simulations of the atomic collision cascade in the solid. We have applied these simulations to evaluate the relative role of symmetric and asymmetric collisions in early measurements of Be K x-ray yields, at higher energies. By comparing experimental and simulated results, we obtained information about the variations of the fluorescence yields and outer-shell occupation numbers with projectile energy.


Agricultural production practices have created a plenitude of foodstuffs with sufficient calories, protein, vitamins and minerals on a per capita basis to make possible adequate nutrition for the entire population. These practices have also created a series of potential health hazards related to the widespread use of antibiotics and pesticides. A critical review of the procedures for establishing tolerances for pesticide residues in foodstuffs, for the monitoring of residues, and for the enforcement of tolerances suggests that there are significant gaps and contradictions in these systems. Community exposures to pesticides and their residues or metabolites include food and drinking water contamination, drift from agricultural applications, and leakage from waste sites. Biological sampling of non-occupationally exposed populations provides evidence that past and current practices result in widespread exposure; the health effects of these exposures are largely unassessed, and will be difficult to ascertain ill epidemiologic studies.


Black locust (Robinia pseudocacacia) is a widely planted tree for wood production; however, it is a very problematic invasive species through Europe. At local scale, this tree is able to invades adjacent ecosystems owing to its strong ability of asexual reproduction through root suckers. Due to this phenomenon, the role of sexual reproduction has been quite neglected at local scale. Here, we propose a double approach (i) to evaluate the ability of the species to develop under forest cover using French national forest inventory data (ii) to quantify the role of sexual and asexual reproduction at local scale using a simple visual assessment method. We evidenced that juvenile black locust regenerates in broadleaved forests where R. pseudoacacia did not contribute to the adult canopy; moreover, a significant higher presence in riparian forests relatively to non-riparian ones was demonstrated using national forest inventory data. Regeneration from sexual reproduction mode significantly contributes to local scale invasion (38% of the up-rooted juvenile plants) with a significantly higher ratio of sexual reproduction within oak dominated forests compared to pine dominated ones. We conclude that black locust forestry should consider that both reproduction modes contribute to the species natural regeneration and that both modes can occur under both coniferous and broadleaved forest cover. Thus, we propose to set up safety buffers around sensitive ecosystems such as natural reserves or riparian areas, to maintain black locust cultivation while minimising undesired invasions in natural areas.


In vitro culture of inmature embryos in three cytotypes of Brachypodium distachyon (L.) P. Beauv. In this work the in vitro culture response of six population samples of Brachypodium distachyon (two by each one of the cytotypes of 2n = 10 2n = 20; 2n = 30) has been analyzed. Immature zygotic embryos


This paper describes the design of a high flow rate electro-osmotic pump. An Electro-Osmotic Flow (EOF) is generated since the charges in the electric double layer are moved under the influence of an external electric field. As a channel becomes narrow, the flow speed increases. The flow rate, however, decreases owing to the reduction of the cross-sectional area. Meanwhile, if two or more channels are placed in parallel, the flow speed is the same as before. Therefore, it is possible to build the pump of high flow rate with putting small channels in parallel.


The monothiocarbonate ligand, [S(O)COR]−, is unusual and rare regarding its use in the formation of coordination compounds. Here, we report the synthesis and structures of the silver(I) and gold(I) monothiocarbonate complexes, [{Ag4(SC(O)OiPr)2(2,2′-bpy)4}(PF6)2]n (1) and [Au2{S(O)COiPr}2(dppe)]n (2), respectively. Both complexes are coordination polymers, with 1 being cationic and 2 neutral. The uniqueness of the ligand is that it is monoanionic and contains both a 'hard' O-donor ligand and a 'soft' S-donor ligand in a O-C-S manifold with, in principle, electron delocalization across the three atoms. However, for both complexes 1 and 2, it was found that the binding occurred exclusively through the S-donor atom, while the C=O portion remained dangling and was not involved in bonding. This bonding mode departs significantly from the symmetrical S-C-S type ligand such as dithiocarbamates. The structures were analysed and confirmed by NMR and X-ray crystallography.


The control system of virtual synchronous generator (VSG) is studied for a three-phase PWM bidirectional converter in this paper. According to the rotor motion equation of the synchronous generator, the primary frequency modulation and the delay characteristics of the reactive power regulation, control strategy of the VSG is analyzed emphatically. At the same time, the principle of bidirectional power flow of the converter and its realization method are discussed. The simulation results about off-grid mode and grid-connected mode show that control method of virtual synchronous generator realizes the bidirectional power flow control for the three-phase DC-AC converter.


A common problem faced by institutions concerns the limited availability of expensive robotics and control equipment, with which students in the educational program can work, in order to acquire valuable `hands on' experience. The Multiple Manipulators for Training and Education (MuMaTe) virtual control and robotics laboratory was launched on the World Wide Web (WWW). Its aim was to evaluate the application of virtual learning environments, the internet, and multimedia technologies within an engineering based flexible learning program. Students using networked computers can access the on-line laboratory to perform a series of interactive experiments with real-world hardware including a DC-servo motor control system and a six degree-of-freedom MA2000 robot.

This paper describes design issues involved in providing remote users with internet access to laboratory based hardware. Simulation tools for the robotic hardware were developed using JAVA and VRML 97 to create a desktop virtual reality environment which improves the visualisation of the manipulator hardware and associated workspace. Communication between the remote user and project server via the internet, interface electronics and control software is also discussed.


Just two years after its inception, Japan's Long‐term Care (LTC) insurance system is facing considerable criticism about whether or not it has developed a fair and appropriate way of allocating resources to the nation's disabled elderly population, especially those people with dementia.


A case of thyroid papillary carcinoma appearing as the single brain metastasis was reported. A 57-yearold female suffered from left hemiparesis. She had total thyroidectomy for thyroid papillary carcinoma six years ago. A brain computed tomographic scan revealed a high-density mass with marked brain edema in the right frontal lobe. Magnetic resonance imaging showed the lesion with subacute hematoma surrounded by brain edema. Total resection of a brain tumor was performed. Histopathological diagnosis was metastatic papillary carcinoma from the thyroid gland. The frequency of brain metastases from thyroid carcinoma, especially in papillary carcinoma, is rare. In the patients with brain tumor with a history of thyroid papillary carcinoma, brain metastasis should be considered even after a long-term interval from primary tumor treatment.


Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to test two agency-based hypotheses regarding the effect of ownership concentration on dividend policy using a large sample of Japanese firms. Design/methodology/approach - Level regressions associating payout rates to ownership concentration are run. Different measures of payout are used to ensure the robustness of our findings. Endogeneity of ownership is taken into account. The choice of instruments is carefuly motivated and their statistical power and exogeneity are checked. How ownership concentration affects the propensity to increase dividends following changes in variables correlated with free cash flows is also examined. Findings - The results are consistent with rent extraction by large shareholders. Ownership concentration is associated with significantly lower dividends in proportion to earnings as well as relative to book equity. An endogenous relation between ownership concentration and dividend payout is established, but the results are not statistically different. Firms with concentrated ownership are also less likely to increase dividends when earnings increase or when debt decreases. Practical implications - Large shareholders do not appear to use dividend policy to remove excess cash and impose greater financial discipline on managers. Instead, the results underline the conflicts of interest between majority and minority shareholders. Originality/value - The endogeneity of ownership is controlled for using firm age and the industry's average ownership concentration as instruments. The effect of ownership concentration on dividend changes following changes in proxies for free cash flows is also analyzed.


THERE is a wide diversity in the instruments of so-called soft law which makes the generic term a misleading simplification.' Even a cursory examination of these diverse instruments inevitably exposes their many variables in form, language, subject matter, participants, addressees, purposes, follow-up and monitoring procedures. These variables, coupled with the inherent contradictions in any concept of soft law, highlight the challenges presented to the structure and substance of the traditional international legal order by the increasing use of soft law forms.


Background: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a common neurosurgical treatment for the tremor of Parkinson's disease, essential tremor, and tremor of other causes. The outcome depends on optimal placement of the permanently implanted electrode. Many centers perform DBS surgery under local anesthesia in order to confirm the therapeutic effect with intraoperative stimulation testing. Visual inspection—the method generally used to rate changes in tremor during stimulation testing – is subjective, and its accuracy depends on the evaluator's experience. This study presents the results of quantitatively estimating improvement in tremor during intraoperative stimulation tests in 15 patients. In addition, its influence on identifying the final position of the permanently implanted electrode is described.

Method: We designed a 3D acceleration sensor system that is attached to the patient's forearm during surgery. During intraoperative stimulation tests, at each different position, accelerometric data are synchronously recorded with the changing stimulation current amplitude. The method was applied in 15 DBS procedures in 2 centers (University Hospital Bern, Switzerland & University Hospital Clermont-Ferrand, France); the data were analyzed offline to assess improvements in tremor and to identify tremor-suppressing stimulation current-amplitudes. For correlation analysis, the quantitatively and visually determined improvements in tremor were categorized into: no improvement, low improvement, average improvement, high improvement and tremor arrest. The quantitatively identified tremor-suppressing currentamplitudes were compared to those identified by visual inspection, in order to determine the influence these findings would have had on the position chosen for permanent electrode implantation if they had been used for intraoperative decision-making. As this was a purely observational study, the accelerometric measurements were
not, in fact, allowed to alter the surgical procedures in any way.

Results: A total of 359 evaluations were available for a comparison of the improvement in tremor identified by accelerometry vs. visual inspection. Of these evaluations, 156 (43.5%) were assigned the same categorie by both methods; 296 (82.5%) fell in the same or neighboring categories; and 63 (17.5%) were at least 2 categories apart. The quantitatively identified tremor-suppressing current-amplitudes were significantly lower than the visually identified ones (1.13 ± 0.8 mA vs. 1.7 ± 0.8 mA [mean ± SD]). Of the 26 finally chosen positions for permanent lead implantation, 15
would have been different had the accelerometric data been considered.

Discussion and Conclusion: The improvement of tremor brought about by test stimulation was rated in the same category by visual inspection and by quantitative measurement (accelerometry) in only 43.5% of the evaluations that we made in this study. In some of the evaluations where there was only mild tremor at baseline, the stimulation-induced improvement in tremor was classified by visual inspection as tremor arrest, while accelerometry revealed a very mild residual tremor. This fact explains many of the instances in which the tremor ratings obtained by the two methods were only 1 category apart, but it cannot account for the 17.5% of evaluations that were 2 or more categories apart. The quantitative assessment of tremor as performed here yields different findings from assessment by visual inspection alone. The tremor-suppressing stimulation current-amplitudes are lower, and this, in turn, can often affect the chosen site for permanent electrode implantation. Thus, quantitative tremor assessment can affect, and perhaps improve, targeting in DBS without altering the routine surgical procedure. This tentative conclusion awaits confirmation by further studies. Moreover, aside from its potential direct clinical utility, quantitative tremor assessment DBS surgery might be a useful adjunct to the clinical testing of new types of DBS electrode.


In good many aspects, Nietzsche could be considered as a prophetic philosopher, even if he uses for characterizing himself only « poet-prophet » formula. But in view of the necessary consequences of his will to power conception, i. e. the eternal return doctrine, a status of real prophetism could be hardly maintained insofar as Nietzsche, with this doctrine, means to understand the only possible dynamics of history as a succession of transvaluations, and to save all the past, turned as necessary as the future is forseable.


In the 1960s, social scientists speculated about what the consequence of legal, cultural, and racial pluralism would be in Africa after independence. Now, 50 years later, we know that, though transformed, cultural pluralism remains a shaping force. In Tanzania, from the 1960s on, there was an effort to build equality and national loyalty through socialism. In South Africa, after 1994, there were two major kinds of legislation that rejected the racially divisive past and attempted to repair its damage. One established the Truth and Reconciliation Commission; the other was a cluster of laws that designed a scheme of land reform. Both have been studied by anthropologists. Here, I review the Tanzanian and the two South African instances. The incompleteness and unevenness of what was achieved can be compared with the grand legislative intentions that preceded the law making. This has profound implications for the analysis of social process and for the relationships among the state, its ambitions, and its citizens.


The last few years have seen significant progress being made in the area of ultrasonic investigations. Developments in digital electronics and a more general understanding of computerisation have both contributed to this situation. The basic disadvantage of ultrasonic investigations has been the method of assessment of the size of the defect. This is made by approximating the actual size to that of an equivalent, of the given shape, defect. Therefore, there is no possibility of obtaining exact information about the dimensions or the location of the defect in the weld. Because of the possible digitisation of the signal, necessary for computer processing, a number of new methods have been developed. These are based on the transformation of information carried by a signal via the medium of appropriate algorithms and on the utilisation of the information about the physical phenomena occurring between the ultrasonic wave and the defect (e.g. the diffraction of the ultrasonic wave on the edge of the defect in the TOFD method). The new designs of ultrasonic heads, which rely on the grouping over a specified area of a large number of small transducers (each being separately activated and connected to a different channel of the defectoscope), make it possible to shape and focus the beam (mosaic heads, the method of reverse-time mirror). The results of an investigation can be obtained either by direct visualisation of defects, made in real time and observed across different sections of the joint, or by an automatic assessment of the class of the joint defectiveness (Fig. 1). Guidance of the heads can be effected either automatically by a scanner or manually. In this way, information about the location of the defect along the weld axis can be obtained. The results of the investigation can be stored in the computer to provide documentation concerning the joint.


The 12th chapter examines the suggestion of Antonio de los Reyes of Manila that the Pentecostal movements in Asia should encounter the networks of Basic Christian Communities. John Prior draws the conclusion that the culture found in conventional parishes and dioceses are not able to bring these two divergent movements into creative contact. Parishes and Dioceses need to flower into plural open networks for this to take place.


This paper proposes a semiparametric analysis for the study of the relationship between energy consumption per capita and income per capita for an international panel data. It shows little evidence for the existence of an environmental Kuznets curve for energy consumption. Energy consumption increases with income at an increasing rate for low income levels and then stabilizes for higher income levels. Changes in energy structure have no significant effect on energy consumption.


The present invention relates to network technology, discloses a method of identifying a service type of the packet corresponding to the method and apparatus in which the identified types of service corresponding to the packet comprises: extracting a packet network address and port pair; lookup table in association comprising a table entry for the network address and port, the association table stored network address and port of entry of a corresponding relationship between the service type; found including the network address and port when said preset association table of entries, determining the service type of the packet corresponding to the service type for that entry indicated. Using the technical solution provided by the embodiment of the present invention, without using quintuple packets corresponding to the service type identification, and to provide better storage characteristics.


Knowledge becomes the most important strategic resource of product creative design. Knowledge fermentation based on RP is that new creativity (knowledge) becomes a physical prototype which full of new knowledge under the control of RP(knowledge enzyme) in the environment of constitute of Rapid Prototype technology platform and creative design system. Knowledge fermentation model is established according to the theory of biotic fermentation. The similarity of these two kinds of fermentation is compared. The intrinsic mechanism and general regulation of knowledge activities are analysed during the course of product development based on RP. RP (knowledge enzyme) can promote efficiently the knowledge digest, convert, increase and spread during the course of knowledge fermentation through example.


To achieve much better noise suppression with minimum edge blurring, an adaptive anisotropic gaussian filtering algorithm was proposed. In this algorthm, the scale of filter's long axes was determined by Intensity-Dependent-Spread model in each pixel, and the ratio between filter's long axes and short axes was determined by the degree of local smoothness, then the orientation of the filter's long axes was also calculated according to the gray gradient orientation in the position. The experimental result shows that the algorithm has good capability in noise suppression and edge-preserving.


The results of observations of tidal strains of the crust observed in a mountainous area of the Northern Caucasus near to the volcano Elbrus during the period 2003–08 are presented. Precise crustal strain observations are carried out using the Baksan laser interferometer strainmeter with a measuring arm length of 75 m and resolution of 2.3× 10−13. The four-year record is characterized by remarkable annual strain changes of the order of (1−1.5)×10−6 and linear strain accumulation of −3.74×10−7 /year. Harmonic analysis, performed with the help of the ETERNA software package, reveals temporal variations in the amplitude factors of the main tidal waves M2 (within 1.02–1.15) and O1 (within 0.76– 1.24). The influence of the topography on tidal strains in the Baksan gorge is estimated at 22% (an increase in the measured strain values). Therefore the reduced amplitude factors of the main diurnal and semidiurnal waves are underestimated. Numerical modeling of tidal anomalies produced by regional heterogeneous inclusions is performed in a 2-D approximation. The observed anomaly of the M2 wave (12%) is shown to be due to the influence of the main magma-controlling fault associated with the deep magma source of the Elbrus dormant volcano. The preliminary analysis of the evidence of the fluid core resonance (FCR) effect in the diurnal tidal band has been carried out.


Importance of the field: In asthma IL-4 and IL-13 have been demonstrated to play major pathogenic roles and therefore their blockade would potentially represent a plausible therapeutic approach. Areas covered in this review: Pitrakinra is a dual IL-4/IL-13 inhibitor currently under development for asthma and the existing preclinical and clinical data are discussed. What the reader will gain: Inhaled pitrakinra demonstrated a good anti-inflammatory potential and a good safety profile on a short-term basis but its place in asthma therapy is still to be found. Take home message: Specific anticytokine therapies might in the near future reshape asthma therapy.


The first issue relates to the author's comments that 'the authors derived likelihoods even when one or more features were unknown (usually rib fractures and retinal haemorrhage at this stage of care). As this data is not missing at random, multiple imputation may have introduced bias'.1 We suspect that 'likelihood' is used within the editorial as a synonym for 'probability', however in statistical parlance these are distinct concepts. We did not derive likelihoods but derived predicted probabilities of abusive head trauma (AHT) given particular combinations of clinical features. Second, as the author infers,1 multiple imputation is statistically valid providing the data are missing at random (MAR).2 Importantly, the MAR assumption is just that an assumption rather than a property of the data.3 We believe that the MAR assumption is reasonable in this context as clinical decisions about whether to perform a skeletal survey or ophthalmology exam are usually determined by the 'measured' presence or absence of other features, that …


The article raises the problem of intercultural communication in the heterogeneous educational environment of the school. It is shown that the process of communication in a multicultural environment contains potential risks for the emergence and actualisation of variative communicative difficulties in adolescents of different nationalities. The resources of coping with adolescents with difficult situations of intercultural communication are considered. The significant role of the technology for creating animated products in the development process of adolescents' system of individual resources to overcome communicative difficulties is shown.


There is room in the working time, formed work after the end of the fast surface protective water-repellent coating, yet the construction is simple, the protection of painted surfaces, water repellency, the surface protective film is maintained over a long for antifouling formed and to provide a painted surface for a surface protective agent which can be. At least, a moisture-curing silicone resin, a silane compound monomer having a hydrolyzable group, a painted surface for a surface protective agent comprising a curing catalyst. Examples of the silane compound monomer having a hydrolyzable group, it is preferably represented by the following general formula (B). R [In the general formula (B), R "represents hydrogen or an organic substituent, X represents a hydrolyzable group, a is an integer of 0 to 3.]


Time manipulation, typically done using gettime() and settime(), happens extensively across all software layers in smartphones, from the kernel, to the framework, to millions of apps. This paper presents the first study of a new class of software bugs on smartphones called sleep-induced time bugs (SITB). SITB happens when the phone is suspended, due to the aggressive sleeping policy adopted in smartphones, in the middle of a time critical section where time is being manipulated and delay caused by unexpected phone suspension alters the intended program behavior.

We first characterize time usages in the Android kernel, framework, and 978 apps into four categories and study their vulnerabilities to system suspension. Our study shows time manipulation happens extensively in all three software layers, totaling 1047, 1737 and 7798 times, respectively, and all four usage patterns are vulnerable to SITBs. We then present a tool called KLOCK, that makes use of a set of static analyses to systematically identify sleep-induced time bugs in three of the four time usage categories. When applied to five different Android Linux kernels, KLOCK correctly flagged 63 SITB-vulnerable time manipulation instances as time bugs.


This paper demonstrates the construction of an inexpensive bioaffinity adsorbent by simply incubating Sephadex G 50 matrix with jack bean meal extract at room temperature. Sephadex G 50 adsorbed 17 mg Con A (concanavalin A) per g of the matrix. Con A-adsorbed Sephadex was employed for the immobilization of glycoenzymes directly from ammonium sulfate-fractionated proteins of bitter gourd. The obtained bioaffinity support was very efficient for high yield immobilization of peroxidases from bitter gourd and it bound nearly 425 enzyme units per g of the matrix. Bitter gourd peroxidase immobilized on lectin–Sephadex support showed a very high effectiveness factor, 'η,' of 1.25. Immobilized BGP preparation was quite stable against the denaturation induced by pH, heat, urea, Triton X 100, Tween 20, SDS, Surf Excel and water-miscible organic solvents: dimethyl sulfoxide and dimethyl formamide. Low concentration of detergents like SDS, Tween 20, and Triton X 100 enhanced the activity of soluble and immobilized bitter gourd peroxidase. Peroxidase bound to the bioaffinity support exhibited very high resistance to proteolysis caused by the trypsin treatment. Con A–Sephadex-bound bitter gourd peroxidase retained 85% of its initial activity after treatment with 2.5 mg trypsin per cm3 of incubation mixture for 1 h at 37 °C while the soluble enzyme lost nearly 40% of the initial activity under similar incubation conditions. Immobilized bitter gourd peroxidase preparation appeared to be more rigid to proteolysis mediated by trypsin compared with soluble bitter gourd peroxidase. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry


A major shift in the way knowledge about our planet is produced is now under way, a shift that is likely to have profound consequences for environmental politics in the coming decades. The lion's share of information that will guide international environmental policy making will soon be obtained through the global gaze of space-based satellites. While this sort of knowledge production will no doubt offer many advantages, it has gained ascendancy amid a remarkable absence of critical thinking about its implications. Among participants and observers alike, the expectations are lofty, verging on the grandiose. The view from space is said to offer "unlimited perspectives on ourselves, the world, and the cosmos around us"' and benefits from satellite observation that "cannot be over-


spectra matrix acquired from the brain of the first volunteer (male, 26 years old). Fig. 2: Gradient-echo scout (a), flip angle map acquired with AFI sequence at the reference voltage of 300V and with targeted flip angle of 60° (b) and an example of spectra (c) acquired from the brain of the second volunteer (male, 33 years old). Spectra presented on the right are originating from the locations marked with numbers 1 to 4. MRSI data were acquired within 21 min. 6129 High-resolution free induction decay proton MRSI in the human brain at 9.4 T Grzegorz L. Chadzynski, Anke Henning, Philipp Ehses, Jens Hoffmann, G. Shajan, and Klaus Scheffler Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, University Hospital Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany, High-Field Magnetic Resonance Center, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tuebingen, Germany, Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University and ETH Zuerich, Zuerich, Switzerland


BMJ Open publishes all reviews undertaken for accepted manuscripts. Reviewers are asked to complete a checklist review form (see an example) and are provided with free text boxes to elaborate on their assessment. These free text comments are reproduced below. Some articles will have been accepted based in part or entirely on reviews undertaken for other BMJ Group journals. These will be reproduced where possible. THE STUDY I appreciate the work of the authors. I think looking for developmental screening tests and assessments that can be applied across languages and cultures around the world is tremendously important. In order to promote early childhood development, we need to be able to measure it and to identify those children most in need of intervention. This is an important topic and worthy of study. There are several concerns that could be considered: 1. I think the N for the study is low. Administering the Ages and Stages Questionnaire is fairly quick, and I think recruiting more subjects would be worthwhile. 2. I was taught in Public Health School that something is either significant or not. I don't think I would consider p-values over 0.05 significant, and the paper is based on non-significant values. 3. I think the conclusion that it was successfully applied may be broad. It was given, but not compared with any other test, and it didn't point out any significance differences to show which children should be further assessed. 4. Perhaps the authors can adapt the test first (i.e. take out the irrelevant snowman and change to a picture of something culturally relevant) and then pilot and administer the assessment. Since they note that it doesn't appear to be valid in this context, it may be worth adapting, and then completing the study. Could consider rewording the sentence there are many clauses and it is a bit unclear Page 5, line 25: screening tests don't diagnose, they screen, so I don't think we can say "prior to screening tests, diagnoses were reliant...." I think paragraph 3 in the introduction begins with a run-on sentence. The discussion of the Bayley and Denver seems a bit haphazard-perhaps could explain rationale for mentioning them more clearly. Page 6 line 10: I think there should be a "the" before the 1980's...


The regional distribution of Holocene sediments of eastern Hudson Bay off the Grande Riviere de la Baleine mouth was mapped using a grid of reflection seismic lines (approximately 300 km long and covering an area of approximately 800 km2) and data from 7 piston cores. Based on the seismic records and piston cores, 4 stratigraphic units overlying the Proterozoic bedrock (unit 1) were defined and interpreted: (unit 2) glacial till deposited by a westward flowing ice sheet, (unit 3) rhythmically bedded clays and silts presumably deposited in glacial Lake Ojibway, (unit 4) postglacial marine muds deposited in the Tyrrell Sea overlain by undifferentiated modern marine muds, and (unit 5) distal fluviodeltaic sediments from Grande Riviere de la Baleine. Similar stratigraphie units have been described onshore. Textural and geochemical analyses suggest that unit 3 rhythmites are true varves; dark "summer" laminae were deposited mainly by underflows during the open water season, and light "winter" laminae were deposited by overflows-interflows along thermal stratifications under a seasonal ice cover. Unit 5 covers approximately 400 km2 and occurs as a deltaic constructional wedge protruding as far as 11 km offshore of the Grande Riviere de la Baleine entrance with thicknesses reaching 30 m along the coast. It was deposited between 3500 BP and the present from remobilization of glacial sediments farther upstream due to river downcutting during emergence.


For a purpose of tuning the operational frequency at UHF-band, a printed meander antenna was discussed for the reception of the terrestrial broadcasting TV. This antenna consists of a meander-line fed by a coplanar waveguide with the finite ground plane. From the analyzed and measured results, it was found out that the operational frequency of this antenna was able to be controlled by changing the size of ground plane. The measured return loss of the meander antenna with a ground plane of 65 mm times 40 mm was larger than 10 dB in the frequency ranges from 400 MHz to 700 MHz. It was confirmed that the proposed meander antenna has capability to apply into the mobile and indoor terrestrial broadcasting TV antenna from the viewpoint of evaluation of a carrier noise ratio for analog terrestrial broadcasting channels. And moreover, it was obvious that the size was reasonably small to be used for such applications because this antenna was made by 1.6 mm-thickness dielectric substrate with an area of 80 mm times 100 mm.


With increasingly tighter profit margins and lower productivity rates being experienced, particularly in Australia, rework is untenable as business competitiveness is severely jeopardized. In this paper a case study of a A$375 million program alliance that was charged to deliver 129 water infrastructure projects over a five-year period, which instigated a 'Rework Prevention Program' as a performance improvement initiative is presented. The case study provides empirical evidence of how coaching engendered by authentic leadership enabled the translation from individual learning into collective learning (i.e. enacting behaviours, enacting a coaching approach and embedding collective learning processes) to occur within the alliance. The case study offers a learning opportunity for other organizations that are confronted with rework in their projects.


A literary text is always created with some intention and the means by which the creator attempts to achieve that intention. If the translators identify the intention of the original with their own and wish to see it fulfilled in their translation, they need to recognize the "markers" employed in the source text and produce the same, or equivalent, "markers" in the target text. This essay scrutinizes the different translations of two falsified commandments in George Orwell's timeless work Animal Farm in terms of the intention and means whereby it is achieved, and calls attention to the expressive function of the "markers" in the original, their identification and their adequate reproduction in the target text.


According to the principle of watering systems,a watering algorithm is proposed and applied to find the optimal paths of a maze in this paper.Assuming that a maze is a watering system,water fills the maze from the entrance and flows out from the outlet through passages of the maze.Water filled from the entrance spreads to each direction along the passages and the passing time of water is recorded at every spot in the maze.When water arrives at the outlet,all of the optimal paths will be found according to the recorded time based on the principle that the less time cost stems from the short path.The spatial complexity and the time complexity of the algorithm are linear with the size of a maze.The experimental results show that the watering algorithm is an efficient way to solve maze problems.


This paper investigates the fabrication of titanium silicided, As/P shallow junctions. Diodes were characterized electrically and analyzed by secondary ion mass spectroscopy, Rutherford back scattering, and transmission electron microscopy. The effect of silicide formation on the quality of shallow junctions has been studied. We employed rapid thermal annealing to drive the junctions in order to minimize the defect enhanced diffusion of P


In the present study, initially a continuum level model of interphase region in a carbon nanotube (CNT)/graphene sheet (GS) based nanocomposite is established. Cohesive zone model through Lennard Jones (i.e. LJ) potential is utilized to model the interphase zone in terms of its thickness and elastic modulus, for different matrix materials containing CNTs of various radii (including graphene—a CNT of infinite radius). Thereafter, a finite element based study is conducted to characterize and compare the CNT- and GS-reinforced nanocomposites with and without interphase, using the method of representative volume element (RVE). Based on the study, it is concluded that the thickness as well as elastic modulus of the interphase zone is significantly affected by the matrix material of nanocomposite which is in contrast to the general assumption, made in the literature, of constant thickness of interphase zone for different matrix materials. In the case of nanocomposite with small radius CNTs, slightly higher, noticeable only at narrow scale, elastic modulus of interphase zone is obtained than the nanocomposite with large radius CNTs, irrespective of matrix materials. For metal nanocomposites, interphase zone results in loss of all stiffness properties of the resulting CNT/GS nanocomposite, and this loss is more prevalent in GS nanocomposite for its out-of-plane stiffness properties. But, on the contrary, in the case of polyethylene (i.e. PE) nanocomposite, the elastic modulus of interphase causes enhanced stiffness properties of the resulting nanocomposite, as compared to the perfectly bonded nanocomposite, for CNT and GS reinforcements.


A general theorem concerning the decoupling of ports of a waveguide junction imposed by reflection symmetry is stated and proved. Several examples are given of the use of this theorem to determine, by inspection, that certain ports of specific waveguide junctions must be decoupled because of the symmetry of the junction.


Artificial liver support devices are methods of maintaining hepatic functions in patients with liver disfunction and failure. In this paper, we provide a historic review and update comment about its application of these systems.


Corrosion is one of the problems cause the material fail, leaks in the equipment and pipe systems in the industry which caused distrub in productivity of production in industry. There are some ways to prediction erosion in pipes, with the conventional or manual and CFD. CFD is to prediction erosion in turbulent air flows with variations in coal particle size and velocity of flowing air. The results of prediction erotion based on CFD is numerical and graphic, by displayed numerical results into visual results. These results include about the velocity, pressure, and temperature distribution in the air flow. So, CFD can be used to prediction pipe because it has wide coverage and effective in display numerical and visual results. Discreate Phase Model is the model of CFD with a variable stream velocity of 10 m/s, 15 m/s, 20 m/s and a solid loading of 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%. From the results, the maximum erosion rates increased with increasing sizes of particles and stream velocities. However, the location of the maximum erosion rate in the elbows region was independent on those mentioned parameters.


Two philosophies for the attitude control of space vehicles with flexible appendages have appeared in the literature, these are: (i) control of the rigid centre body to lie within some bounded region while the flexural vibrations are allowed to behave in an uncontrolled manner; (ii) control of all plant states to some finite value as time tends to infinity. The former method does not require flexural information and therefore avoids the on-board computational burden associated with state estimation, or the cost of additional instrumentation. However, attitude degradation has been observed and reported indicating a clear need to compensate for structural vibrations.


There is no bond between unbonded prestressed concrete beam and concrete,the strain of them is uncoordinated.The average strain plane section assumes theory can not correctly analyze the operating performance of the beam,which brought some difficulties to the relevant research.Using nonlinear finite element analysis method,the simulation analysis process of unbonded prestressed concrete beams was introduced from the aspects of the material constitutive relation,unit selection,modeling,etc.The simulation results were compared with model test results,to provide a reference for related research.


A significant challenge regarding the treatment of aneurysms is the variability in morphology and analysis of abnormal flow. With conventional DSA, low frame rates limit the flow information available to clinicians at the time of the vascular intervention. With 1000 fps High-Speed Angiography (HSA), high frame rates enable flow details to be better resolved for endovascular interventional guidance. The purpose of this work is to demonstrate how 1000 fps biplane-HSA can be used to differentiate flow features, such as vortex formation and endoleaks, amongst patient-specific internal carotid artery aneurysm phantoms pre- and post-endovascular intervention using an in-vitro flow setup. The aneurysm phantoms were attached to a flow loop configured to a carotid waveform, with automated injections of contrast media. Simultaneous Biplane High-Speed Angiographic (SB- HSA) acquisitions were obtained at 1000 fps using two photon-counting detectors with the respective aneurysm and inflow/ outflow vasculature in the FOV. After x-rays were turned on, the detector acquisitions occurred simultaneously, during which iodine contrast was injected at a continuous rate. A pipeline stent was then deployed to divert flow from the aneurysm, and image sequences were once again acquired using the same parameters. Optical Flow, an algorithm that calculates velocity based on spatial-temporal intensity changes between pixels, was used to derive velocity distributions from HSA image sequences. Both the image sequences and velocity distributions indicate detailed changes in flow features amongst the aneurysms before and after deployment of the interventional device. SBHSA can provide detailed flow analysis, including streamline and velocity changes, which may be beneficial for interventional guidance.


The effect of multiple applications of cow slurry or inorganic nitrogen fe r t i lis e r (calcium nitrate) on the composition of the so il atmosphere was studied over three years, in an imperfectly drained pasture so il. Irrespective of fe r t i lis e r treatments concentrations of oxygen (C^) decreased and carbon dioxide (CC^) increased during the winter months, but remained near ambient levels during the sunner. Slurry decreased 0 ̂ concentrations temporarily, especially following applications in the autumn and in the spring. Concentrations cf nitrous oxide ( ^ 0 ) remained close to ambient during the summer under a ll treatments but increased over the autumn, winter and spring, especially in the few weeks following fe r t i l is e r applications. En hanced ^ 0 concentrations were significantly related to decreases in °2* The relative d iffusiv ity of so il cores from the fie ld site was 85 determined from the rate of diffusion of Kr through the cores. From this, the diffusion coefficient for h^O was calculated and used to estimate the flux of NO from the fie ld plot. Losses from plots re . . . . 1 1 ceiving inorganic fe r t i lis e r were up to 6kg N ha a but lower than this from control plots and plots receiving slurry. In the 3rd year acetylene ^ 2^ ) was used to inhibit the reduction of N2O to N2 in microplots enclosed by plastic cylinders driven into the so il, so that total gaseous losses could be measured. These were low during the summer and in the winter in a ll treatments, but in creased during the autumn and spring. Losses of N were highest in the inorganic fe r t i lis e r treatment: 10 and 21% of the N applied in the autumn and spring, respectively. Fluxes of up to 115g N ha ^h ^ were recorded. Losses from the slurried plots were only s ligh tly higher than from the control plots. When fluxes were low, most loss of N was as N2O, but the proportion lost as N2 increased as the total flux increased. The highest ratio of (N2 + ^ 0 ) :N 0 recorded was 25. In laboratory experiments C2H2 was found to inhibit n itrifica tion totally at a concentration of 0.04ml ml ̂ but the effect was found to be reversible. Acetylene also inhibited N2O reduction. In aerobic


Contents: -- Development of drycleaning; Soiling of fabrics; The detergent process on aqueous systems; Mechanisms of soil removal in drycleaning; Drycleaning solvents; Drycleaning detergents based on soap; Synthetic drycleaning detergents; Colloid chemistry of nonaqueous solutions; Moisture relations in the drycleaning bath; Electrical conductance in the drycleaning bath; The scientific basis of garment finishing; Physical effects related to finishing; References; Index. -- AATA


To the limitations of traditional object oriented technology and component technology,here we introduce the architecture of Web Services,and discuss the characteristics and performance of Xfire,the applications of distributed Web Services based on Xfire are given finally.


Reserpine, serotonin, and histamine as well as stress were employed to produced dystrophic lesions in the gastric mucosa of rats. Analysis of stomach tissues revealed that agencies which reduced catecholamine concentration also decreased endogenous levels of pepsinogen. Concentrations of the zymogen were increased after parenteral administration of dopa, but were not changed by injections of alpha-methyl-dopa. The evidence supports the suggestion that catecholamines participate in the control of pepsin production and are involved in the secretory function of the stomach.


Steepest descent methods combining complex contour deformation with numerical quadrature provide an efficient and accurate approach for the evaluation of highly oscillatory integrals. However, unless the phase function governing the oscillation is particularly simple, their application requires a significant amount of a priori analysis and expert user input, to determine the appropriate contour deformation, and to deal with the non-uniformity in the accuracy of standard quadrature techniques associated with the coalescence of stationary points (saddle points) with each other, or with the endpoints of the original integration contour. In this paper we present a novel algorithm for the numerical evaluation of oscillatory integrals with general polynomial phase functions, which automates the contour deformation process and avoids the difficulties typically encountered with coalescing stationary points and endpoints. The inputs to the algorithm are simply the phase and amplitude functions, the endpoints and orientation of the original integration contour, and a small number of numerical parameters. By a series of numerical experiments we demonstrate that the algorithm is accurate and efficient over a large range of frequencies, even for examples with a large number of coalescing stationary points and with endpoints at infinity. As a particular application, we use our algorithm to evaluate cuspoid canonical integrals from scattering theory. A Matlab implementation of the algorithm is made available and is called PathFinder.


The collapsin response mediator proteins (CRMPs) are an intensely studied protein family, with functions in several neurobiological processes, including axonal guidance and synaptic function; however, the detailed molecular mechanisms of CRMP action are to a large extent unknown. CRMP2 was originally cloned as a protein relevant for neurodevelopment in C. elegans. It is the best-characterized member of the CRMP family, with several reported binding partners and post-translational modifications (PTMs). Increasing evidence suggests close interplay between PTMs and protein-protein interactions in CRMPs. The Khanna laboratory has shown that CRMP2 plays a role in nociception, and its functions appear to be mediated through voltage-gated sodium (NaV) as well as calcium (CaV) channels. The current paper is an addendum to a larger study published recently, and these studies focus on CRMP conservation and structure and the relationships between CRMP2 SUMOylation and the trafficking of the NaV1.7 channel to the plasma membrane. The authors identified Lys374 as a SUMOylation target in CRMP2, and SUMOylation is required for the correct localization of NaV1.7. From structural studies, it is clear that the SUMOylated residue is not accessible for modification in the homotetrameric structure. Hence, breakdown of the homotetramers into monomers, or possibly dimers, must take place for this PTM to be possible. This is a feasible scenario, as CRMPs form both homoand heterotetramers, and the different oligomeric interfaces within the CRMP tetramer show different levels of conservation. Interestingly, very recent work has shown that phospho-mimicking mutations in the CRMP2 C-terminal region break the tetramer down into homodimers—in these homodimers, the SUMOylation site is, indeed, accessible (Fig. 1). These homodimers contain the oligomeric interface we predicted to be forming CRMP2 dimers in a CRMP1-CRMP2 heterotetramer. Priming by Cdk5 phosphorylation at the CRMP2 C-terminal tail is required for SUMOylation. In addition to its folded tetrameric core, CRMP2 has a long positively charged tail, which has not been detected by crystallography and is predicted to be disordered. This tail is the major site for CRMP2 phosphorylation. It, thus, seems that PTMs on the C-terminal segment of CRMP2 can have surprisingly drastic structural effects on the entire CRMP2 homotetramer, exposing functional sites buried within the tetrameric assembly. This opens up new possibilities of designing molecules regulating CRMP2 oligomerization with the aim of affecting its neuronal functions. The scenario stresses the importance of intrinsically disordered regions in proteins and highlights the role of molecular flexibility even in the case of apparently rigidly folded protein domains and complexes. A common feature of SUMOylation is that a relatively small fraction of SUMO modification can cause large effects on target protein function. In CRMP2, SUMOylation of a single CRMP2 monomer will prevent the formation of tetramers


Recently, Onera developed a new interferometer for X-ray phase contrast imaging. This device uses a single phase grating and takes advantage of the incident light spectral bandwidth to create an achromatic and propagation-invariant pattern. This very simple setup produces highly contrasted interferograms after a certain distance of propagation. Our first quantitative images are presented in this paper and the performances of the device are discussed.


The paper analyzes and elaborates the protection from domestic violence, the subjects protected by law, the protection measures provided by law such as: lawsuit, court order, shelter of the victim, issuance of protection order, investigation, identification and responsibilities of the police on the basis of the law on the protection of victims of domestic violence. The paper will also analyze the measures taken to prevent domestic violence, strategies and efforts. Mutual police communications with the public through press releases, leaflets, leaflets, targeting negative phenomena in society, transparency on all taboo topics in the public interest but understood on the basis of legal restrictions. The paper also included research by various authors from both national and international perspectives on domestic violence. The paper uses inductive and deductive research methods, as well as analytical and comparative methods. This paper contributes to the existing scientific literature, especially the legal, criminological and victimological literature. Furthermore, this paper is likely to contribute to the work of NGOs that deal with providing victims of domestic violence, but also to the work of state bodies for the prevention of domestic violence, which is and remains a national challenge.


The spleen has always been a bit mysterious. It was once thought to be the seat of the humors that control our emotions, the origin for melancholy, anger, and spitefulness. In Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare used the word "spleen" in describing Cassius' irritability. "To vent one's spleen" is a common expression for anger, used widely well into the 20th century. There are still many aspects of the normal physiology and pathophysiology of the spleen that are relatively poorly understood. Developmentally, the spleen is derived primarily from mesodermal tissues and sits juxtaposed to the liver and gut that are derived largely from endodermal tissues. The liver, gut, and spleen share a common blood supply. The spleen is a critical site for hematopoiesis, immunity, and clearance of particulate matter from the blood, and its size and constituents are altered by many infectious, inflammatory, and malignant diseases. The architecture of the spleen has many common features across species, but there are also important differences [1] (Fig. 1). For example, in mice and rats, there is a well-delineated, marginal B cell-predominant zone between the white and red pulp, which is absent in humans. In humans, the capillaries are sheathed with epithelial cells, macrophages, and B cells, structurally different from rodents. In rodents and humans, sinuses within the spleen slow the trafficking of erythrocytes, leukocytes, and platelets and appear to be permissive of the spleen's clearance functions. These structural features, particularly the sluggish flow of blood through the sinusoids, are probably critical for initiation of myeloid colonies in the red pulp of the spleen. Myeloid progenitors released from the bone marrow may be trapped in the splenic sinuses, and some are normally present in there and capable of expansion. Interestingly, the propensity of myeloid progenitors "to home" to the spleen and form readily visualized colonies there was, in fact, critical for the original functional characterization of the hematopoietic stem [2, 3]. It is also well known that the hematopoietic tissue of the spleen can expand readily, and extramedullary hematopoiesis in the spleen is a characteristic feature of the several clinical conditions, including myeloid metaplasia, myelofibrosis, and the other myeloproliferative syndromes, and increased splenic hematopoiesis occurs rapidly in response to administration of G-CSF. In this issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology, Jhunjhunwala et al. [4] report on a new model for investigating the contribution of the spleen to neutrophilic peritonitis engendered by injection of alginate microcapsules into the peritoneal cavity of C57BL/6J mice. The capsules are composed of a highly purified and well-characterized sodium alginate extracted from marine kelp. This biomaterial consists of linear blocks of [1–4] b-D-mannuronate and a-L-guluronate. It is widely used in the food, textile, and pharmaceutical industry. For the studies in this report, sodium alginate was made into microdroplets with an electrostatic droplet generator. The manufacturer indicates that it contains "ultra low" levels of endotoxins and proteins. Jhunjhunwala and colleagues' model [4] is of particular interest because of its chronicity. Intraperitoneal injection of alginate microcapsules causes an inflammatory response with neutrophil levels in the peritoneal cavity, increasing by 1000-fold, and the peritonitis lasts for at least 6 mo. With the use of this experimental model, the investigators performed several experiments to demonstrate the importance of the spleen as a source of peritoneal neutrophils [4]. They first established that the particles cause a chronic neutrophilic peritonitis. Then they showed that the accumulating cells were normal, reactive neutrophils. With the use of BrdU, they established that the neutrophils were not generated in the peritoneum; they came from the blood. In parabiosis experiments, a mouse without peritonitis, but sharing its circulation with a mouse with chronic peritonitis, contributed its neutrophils to the peritoneal inflammation. Experiments in IL-1 knockout mice demonstrated a blunted neutrophil response, suggesting that the peritonitis was generated from locally induced cytokines. In the spleen, there was an increase in the proportion of myeloid progenitors, and most importantly, splenectomy reduced the number of neutrophils in the peritoneal cavity at 2 and 4 wk after microcapsule implantation. However, the bone marrow continued to supply neutrophils sufficient to maintain the inflammatory peritoneal exudate. Many investigators have studied the kinetics of neutrophil production and mechanisms for "emergency myelopoiesis" and neutrophilia in mice and in man. Although these responses are similar,