It might perhaps seem strange for readers who are not familiar with Canadian forest politics to want to pick up and read this weighty volume. But for those who do, it is a fascinating world to get to grips with and one that can teach us much about the nature of sustainable development and democracy in the post-Rio era. In a detailed and forensic analysis, Tollefson, Gale and Haley untangle the complex story as to how disparate social, environmental and economic interests came together in the extremely fraught world of forest politics to develop and negotiate standards for managing forests. Importantly, these standards went beyond the traditional business-friendly and environmentally ambiguous (if not hostile) framework of conventional statist forestry regulation. After the international campaigns by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to save the tropical rainforests of the Amazon and elsewhere in the 1980s, environmentalists set their sights on protecting forests in the industrialised countries. Canada, and British Columbia in particular, became the location for an intense battle to save the boreal forests and rainforests of the northern hemisphere. Conservationists targeted MacMillan Bloedel over its plans to log Clayoquot Sound on Vancouver Island and launched a global consumer campaign calling for a boycott of the company's lumber. This, and similar campaigns in the early 1990s, began to swing the fate of the forests towards greater levels of environmental protection. NGOs and some progressive forestry interests commenced discussions around attaching an 'ecolabel' to timber, making claims about how the source forests were managed. The idea quickly gained ground and became institutionalised around the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), a unique global initiative of non-state interests (economic, environmental and social) to develop standards for forest management, above and beyond those required by governments. British Columbia was an early pioneer in forest certification, with the Silva Forest Foundation playing an establishment role in the FSC in the mid 1990s. But it was not until 2004, and after several years of heated negotiations, that the operations of industrial giant Tembec were certified as 'well managed' under the brand. The standard-setting process, which began in 1996, was not finalised until 2005, but large parts of British Columbia and Canada's forests are now FSC certified, and previous industry sceptics, including Domtar and Alberta-Pacific (Al-Pac), are now inside the tent. What is fascinating about Tollefson, Gale and Haley's account is that they get inside the process, and recount the stops and starts, disagreements and tantrums amongst the many and various stakeholders, including big business, First Nations and conservationists. The authors come from a range of disciplines, and it is difficult to pin the book down theoretically, since Tollefson is a lawyer, Gale a political scientist and Haley an economist. The primary focus of the book is undoubtedly on the emerging field of global environmental governance, and they follow Treib et al. (2005) in identifying the phenomenon as a series of arrangements for 'steering and co-ordinating the affairs of interdependent social actors based on institutionalised rule systems' (Tollefson et al. 2009: 8). Their general epistemological framework is certainly social-constructivist in orientation insofar as they argue that the actors in private forest governance in Canada were able to organise themselves socially for the purposes of creating their own constitutive rules to govern forest management. The reason the FSC is successful, and governments less so, the authors suggest, is that the FSC's governance represents a new way of doing democracy. The FSC has its own 'parliament', known as the General Assembly (emulating the United Nations), which is broken down at the global level into three 'chambers' of economic, social and environmental Australian Journal of International Affairs Vol. 64, No. 1, pp. 130 142, February 2010


Neural mechanisms, such as enhanced neuroplasticity within the motor system, underpin exercise-induced motor improvements. Being a key mediator of motor plasticity, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is likely to play an important role in mediating exercise positive effects on motor function. Difficulties in assessing brain BDNF levels in humans have drawn attention to quantification of blood BDNF and raise the question of whether peripheral BDNF contributes to exercise-related motor improvements. Methodological and non-methodological factors influence measurements of blood BDNF introducing a substantial variability that complicates result interpretation and leads to inconsistencies among studies. Here, we discuss methodology-related issues and approaches emerging from current findings to reduce variability and increase result reproducibility.


Globally, the use of will-substitutes to transmit property upon death has been on the rise. Will-substitutes, voluntary and freely revocable instruments that effectuate the post-mortem, gratuitous transfer of assets, operate outside the confines of traditional succession law. In the United States, the motives driving the proliferation of such mechanisms and the legal implications of their use have been extensively addressed by both the legislature and legal doctrine. In Spain, by contrast, the gradual adoption and growing use of will-substitutes has failed to garner similar scholarly interest and legal elaboration. In this article, written from the perspective of a continental lawyer, we will explore the characteristics of the American and Spanish succession law systems that have led to the unequal development of will-substitutes.


A conceptual design of a new diagnostic for the simultaneous space and time resolved measurement of plasma density, potential and poloidal magnetic field fluctuations at ASDEX Upgrade is proposed. The diagnostic combines the detection techniques of standard heavy ion beam probes (HIBP) and scintillator based fast ion loss detectors (FILD), making use of an atomic beam to probe plasma parameters with high spatio-temporal resolution. This new approach takes advantage of using a neutral probe beam and a scintillator plate as detection system. The combination of these two techniques makes the diagnostic more compact than standard HIBP facilitating its integration in the machine. Simulations using an orbit following code have been carried out to investigate the viability of the proposed detection method based on the displacement of the beam strike-line on the scintillator plate. Relative plasma potential fluctuations from 10% to 100% in the potential well induce localized displacements in the strike line in the range of 0.1–1.0 mm, while poloidal magnetic field fluctuations such as those arising from edge currents produce displacements in the order of mm. The use of a scintillator screen provides virtually infinite spatial resolution together with a temporal resolution up to the MHz range, needed for the identification of internal fluctuations.


The aim of this study is to investigate the relations among each white stone and their characteristics through the chemical and mineralogical analysis of them excavated from around some kilns in archaeological sites. Moreover it was intended to infer the function of kilns. Nine white stones were chosen from three different archaeological sites, the each name of which is Sanyang-ri, Youngdu-ri and Gwangdae-ri in Chungcheongnam-do. In the mineralogical characteristics of thin section, eight stones containing calcite are altered and recrystallized by metasomatism and hydrothermal process, and Calcites, major component minerals of limestone, were identified by the analysis of XRD. On the basis of this result, we can infer the stones to be classified into limestone groups. One the other hand, research revealed that one of the white stones was a white pelitic stone composed of quartz, microcline and muscovite. In the analysis of chemical composition, except for the white pelitic stone eight stones are mainly composed of CaO which is major component of Calcite. Besides, as a results of correlation analysis by using a chemical compositions of major and minor elements in white stones, little did each archaeological site have the relativity. In conclusion, each archaeological site was estimated that they would use a limestone ores extracted from different deposits, and there is a high possibility that the function of these kilns is to produce quicklime.


Based on the analysis of survey data of 121 family enterprises in China, we find that the relationship between job satisfaction and turnover intention is insignificant for family members, but significant for non-family members. Moreover, our findings also indicate that the effect of job satisfaction on work performance is less salient for family members, but more significant for non-family members. Our results further show that managerial positions moderates the main effects. This paper enriches the literature of family business by examining the importance of family membership and managerial position in the governance of family enterprises in an emerging country.


The 18th BIS Annual Conference took place in Zurich, Switzerland, on 28 June 2019. The event brought together a distinguished group of central bank Governors, leading academics and former public officials to exchange views on the topic "The digital economy and financial innovation". The papers presented at the conference are released as BIS Working Papers No 841 and 842.

BIS Papers No 109 contains Panel remarks by Claudia Buch (Vice President, Deutsche Bundesbank), Norman Chan (former Chief Executive, Hong Kong Monetary Authority) and Jon Cunliffe (Deputy Governor, Bank of England) and a resulting Panel discussion between Agustín Carstens and them.

BIS Working Paper No. 841: On Fintech and Financial Inclusion
BIS Working Paper No. 842: Do Credit Card Companies Screen for Behavioural Biases?


The working conditions of the valve stem surf ace of a special valve in the catalytic cracking devices are analyzed totally an d deeply and then the surfacing technique for the valve stem is designed and tes ted. It is shown that the service life of the valve stem can be improved doubly when the valve stem surface is treated with oxyacetylene flame spraying, so that the economic loss due to rush repairs of the devices can be eliminated.


A facile base-mediated isocyanide-based three-component cycloaddition protocol for chemoselective formation of functionalized spiro-substituted furans and pyrroles derivatives has been developed. Fairly good yields of the products, the ready availability of the starting materials and the excellent chemoselectivity are the main advantages of this method.


Graphics cards can process many polygons with relative ease. The texture mapped onto those polygons tend to be the source of rendering and performance problems. Whenever you test out your Unity application by hitting play, Unity renders on screen everthing that is aligned with the camera (or view frustrum). Every object using a different material within the field of vision gets sent to the graphics card for processing. Unity does this in passes. Everything in the back is rendered first working its way to the front. Every object getting sent one by one to the GPU is a fairly inefficient procedure. If there are a number of individual models pointing to the same material, Unity can combine these models at runtime reducing the amount of data that is sent to the GPU. Unity in effect renders or "draws" these combined meshes in one batch or "call". Unity does this to some degree already with dynamic batching (included in the indie version). But the most significant gains come when you can tell Unity which models you'd like grouped together. This is where static batching comes in (only available in the Pro version).


In situ co-synthesis of nylon 66 (PA66)-silica nanocomposites can be accomplished through sol–gel chemistry conducted simultaneously with the nylon polymerization. Unfunctionalized silica nanocomposites and bonded silica nanocomposites wherein the inorganic silica phase chemically couples to the nylon polymer through a functionalized silane are generated via the simultaneous initiation of synthesis reactions in the inorganic and organic species. The effects of agitation and water-to-silane molar ratio on the courses of the inorganic and organic reactions and the generated silica morphology in the resulting nanocomposites are investigated using the tools of Brookfield Viscometer, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. Dynamic mechanical analysis confirms the mechanical reinforcement of the various nanocomposites in relation to their silica content and network morphology. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2012. © 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers


In order to realize the rapid positioning and inserting piles with no horizontal velocity in the lower Yellow River,a rapid positioning device was designed. Depending on erect,stabilization of existing side piles,orientation schemes were designed according to point locating principle.In this paper,the detailed design of the casing,forming half ring,roof and other key components were achieved. The results show that the device can carry out tubular piles and put to river bed inside the steel tube without level current velocity,ensure its position accuracy and effectively increase the construction efficiency and positioning accuracy.


Abstract Background The incidence and clinical features of the malignant transformation of benign meningiomas are poorly understood. This study examined the risk of the malignant transformation of benign meningiomas after surgery or stereotactic radiosurgery. Methods We systematically reviewed studies published between 1979 and 2019 using PubMed, Scopus, and other sources. We analyzed pooled data according to the PRISMA guideline to clarify the incidence rate of malignant transformation (IMT) and factors affecting malignant transformation in surgically or radiosurgically treated benign meningiomas. Results IMT was 2.98/1000 patient-years (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.9–4.3) in 13 studies in a single-arm meta-analysis. Although the evidence level of the included studies was low, the heterogeneity of the incidence was mostly explained by the tumor location. In meta-regression analysis, skull base tumors had a significantly lower IMT than non-skull base tumors, but no gender association was observed. IMT after radiosurgery in 9 studies was 0.50/1000 person-years (95% CI = 0.02–1.38). However, a higher proportion of skull base tumors, lower proportion of males, and lower salvage surgery rate were observed in the radiosurgery group than in the surgery group. The median time to malignant change was 5 years (interquartile range = 2.5–8.2), and the median survival after malignant transformation was 4.7 years (95% CI = 3.7–8) in individual case data. Conclusion IMT of benign meningioma was significantly affected by the tumor location. Radiosurgery did not appear to increase IMT, but exact comparisons were difficult because of differences in study populations.


In recent years, the efficiency of Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS) data for dendrometry has been widely tested and it becomes more widely accepted in small and large scale forests due to its millimeter accuracy. Although TLS products provide high accurate measurements, the high costs of field data collection could be a challenge in some forest stand. Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) imagery could be an alternative for modeling and monitoring of the dendrometric parameters, specifically on sparse forest. For this purpose, the potential of UAV imagery for diameter at breast height (DBH) estimation, one of the key forest tree parameters, is discussed against TLS based DBH measurements in a Stage D(4) low stem density Oak stand, using point cloud data (PCD)-based ellipse fit. No significant difference was seen between the DBH measurements in regards to the stem diameter. However, the UAVbased DBH measurements had a high variance in the ellipse fit process.


Quantitative assessment of sustainable development requires accounting for the depletion and degradation of natural resources and other environmental impacts of economic development. The United Nations System of Integrated Economic and Environmental Accounting (SEEA) provides a system that links economic activities to changes in the environment and natural resources. SEEA has guided the development of environmental accounts by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. This paper describes how SEEA can be used to assess different aspects and different concepts of sustainable development. This is demonstrated with Australian examples.


Few studies have quantified temporal patterns of cause‐specific mortality in contemporary cohorts of men with early‐stage seminoma. Given that several management strategies can be applied in these patients, each resulting in excellent long‐term survival, it is important to evaluate associated long‐term sequelae. In particular, data describing long‐term risks of cardiovascular disease (CVD) are conflicting.


The transformation of surface gravity waves propagating through shallow regions is investigated with extensive field data from the North Carolina continental shelf. A spectral energy balance equation is derived for a bidimensional bottom topography with random small-scale irregularities, in which bottom friction is introduced heuristically whith a parameterized source term, and solved numerically using a hybrid Eulerian-Lagrangian scheme. This new model named CREST (Coupled Rays with Eulerian Source Terms) determines accurately refraction of waves by sub grid-scale depths variations using precomputed rays, allowing applications to large coastal areas with relatively coarse grids. Hindcasts of swell events during field experiments show large variations in wave heights caused by refraction and bottom friction. Widespread observations of sand ripples confirm that the bottom roughness is enhanced by wave-generated vortex ripples, thus sheltering the shore from offshore swells by dissipating wave energy in the bottoni boundary layer. Resulting wave height attenuation up to 70 % (84 % of the wave energy) was observed in moderately energetic conditions. Bragg scattering of waves by wavelength-scale bottom features significantly increases (up to a factor two) the directional spread of waves.


after a 5-day delay in atmosphere establishment, with no further loss after a 10-day delay. 'Oregon Spur' apples had the best red color regardless of harvest. Sensory panel profiles were unable to distinguish among strains, harvest dates, or delays in time of atmosphere establishment. Caution should be exercised when initiating new harvest or storage procedures because growing conditions can vary from one location to another. Influence of Harvest Date and Controlled Atmosphere Storage Delay on the Color and Quality of 'Delicious' Apples Stored in a Purge-type Controlledatmosphere Environment


Occupational therapy health record contains diverse principal information related to client's identity, therapy progress, and performance achievement. The research itself aims to identify and to explore any information
associated with content and structure of the occupational therapy health record which utilize by the hospital. The research is attempt to frame out and to recognize the completeness of content along with structure's component.
The study was qualitative-descriptive. Conducted during period of April and May 2011 at Occupational Therapy Unit of Medical Rehabilitation Clinic of dr. Moewardi General Hospital in Surakarta. The thematic analysis or grounded
theory is used as a tool of data analysis trough application of data source and data collecting methods triangulation. The triangulation are either used as way of
data collection and also ensure the research validity.
Based on completeness of content and structure, the research result in conclusion of imperfect content and structure component which imply necessity for further development in occupational therapy health record.


The first electrooptic waveguide switch based on voltage-controlled transfer of electrons into multiple quantum wells is demonstrated. This mechanism is named barrier, reservoir, and quantum well electron transfer (BRAQWET) In GaAs-InAlAs quantum wells it provides a large modulation of refractive index at 1.55 mu m with multigigahertz switching capability. The BRAQWET X-switch is free from heating and speed limitations associated with current injection. Beam propagation method (BPM) calculations suggest that the crosstalk performance of this preliminary device demonstration can be significantly enhanced by changes in waveguide geometry.<<ETX>>


Borehole resistivity images and dipole sonic data analysis helps a great deal to identify fractured zones and obtain reasonable estimates of the in-situ stress conditions of geologic formations. Especially when assessing geologic formations for carbon sequestration feasibility, borehole resistivity image and borehole sonic assisted analysis provides answers on presence of fractured zones and stress-state of these fractures.
 While in deeper formations open fractures would favour carbon storage, in shallower formations, on the other hand, storage integrity would be potentially compromised if these fractures get reactivated, thereby causing induced seismicity due to fluid injection.
 This paper discusses a methodology adopted to assess the carbon dioxide sequestration feasibility of a formation in the Newark Basin in the United States, using borehole resistivity image(FMI™ Schlumberger) and borehole sonic data (SonicScaner™ Schlumberger). The borehole image was interpreted for the presence of natural and drilling-induced fractures, and also to find the direction of the horizontal stress azimuth from the identified induced fractures. Cross-dipole sonic anisotropy analysis was done to evaluate the presence of intrinsic or stress-based anisotropy in the formation and also to obtain the horizontal stress azimuth. The open or closed nature of natural fractures was deduced from both FMI fracture filling electrical character and the Stoneley reflection wave attenuation from SonicScanner monopole low frequency waveform. The magnitudes of the maximum and minimum horizontal stresses obtained from a 1-Dimensional Mechanical Earth Model were calibrated with stress magnitudes derived from the 'Integrated Stress Analysis' approach which takes into account the shear wave radial variation profiles in zones with visible crossover indications of dipole flexural waves. This was followed by a fracture stability analysis in order to identify critically stressed fractures.
 The borehole resistivity image analysis revealed the presence of abundant natural fractures and microfaults throughout the interval which was also supported by the considerable sonic slowness anisotropy present in those intervals. Stoneley reflected wave attenuation confirmed the openness of some natural fractures identified in the resistivity image. The strike of the natural fractures and microfaults showed an almost NE-SW trend, albeit with considerable variability. The azimuth of maximum horizontal stress obtained in intervals with crossover of dipole flexural waves was also found to be NE-SW in the middle part of the interval, thus coinciding with the overall trend of natural fractures. This might indicate that the stresses in those intervals are also driven by the natural fracture network. However, towards the bottom of the interval, especially from 1255ft-1380ft, where there were indications of drilling induced fractures but no stress-based sonic anisotropy, it was found that that maximum horizontal stress azimuth rotated almost about 30 degrees in orientation to an ESE-WNW trend. The stress magnitudes obtained from the 1D-Mechanical Earth Model and Integrated Stress Analysis approach point to a normal fault stress regime in that interval. The fracture stability analysis indicated some critically stressed open fractures and microfaults, mostly towards the lower intervals of the well section. These critically stressed open fractures and microfaults present at these comparatively shallower depths of the basin point to risks associated with carbon dioxide(CO2) leakage and also to induced seismicity that might result from the injection of CO2 anywhere in or immediately below this interval.


The author shows peculiarities of vocational training of the teacher of technology, describes the activities of his faculty's methodical service and describes the prospects of professional progress of the future teachers.


Background: Nurse Educators play an important role in improving self-care management in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). Knowledge, motivation, the role of head nurses, and workload are probably related to the nurse's role as an educator for diabetes self-care management. The purpose of this research was to investigate the relationship between knowledge, motivation, the role of head nurses, and workload with the nurse 's role as an educator for diabetes self-care management. Methods: This study used a descriptive correlative approach with a cross -sectional design. The data were collected through questionnaires. The population was all nurses on the surgical ward of dr.R. Goeteng Taroenadibrata Hospital Purbalingga, consisting of 70 participants. Result: The results showed that 94.3% of participants had good knowledge and 47.1% had good motivation. Of the head of nurses, 66.6% fell into the 'good' category, 95.7% had a high workload and 75.7% fell into the 'good' category as nurse an educator for diabetes self-care management. The results showed a significant correlation between knowledge (p=0,046), motivation (p<0,001), and the role of head (p= 0,011) with the nurse's role as an educator for diabetes self-care management. Conclusion: Knowledge, motivation, and the role of head nurses have a significant relationship with the nurse 's role as an educator for diabetes self-care management


Objective To study and analyze the role of pharmacists in management of high-alert medications in hospital and the methods which can be used.Methods Refer to the ISMP's and CPAHP's lists of high-alert medications in 2012,and some management strategies and experiences of high-alert medications in medical institutions in China.Results The concept,background and classification of high-alert medications up to date were illustrated;the latest management ideas,technologies and measures of high-alert medications in hospital were summarized;the role of pharmacists in management of the high-alert medications in hospital was analyzed;and some management experiences in our hospital were introduced.Conclusion It is important to establish safety management system of high-alert medications for medical institutions.We advised that hospitals should make the lists and management systems of highalert medications of their own according to each professional specialties,and attach importance to the pharmacists.


Abstract : The investigation studied a number of topochemical processes of the type A(solid) yields B(solid) gas. The specific reactions studied included the processes of decomposition of the hydrated oxylates of the different metals: magnesium, manganese, thorium, calcium, iron, nickel, cobalt and copper.


A generalization of Marshall-Olkin(1967) bivariate exponential model is proposed and the existence, uniqueness and asymptotic distributional properties of the maximum likelihood estimators are studied. The classical Marshall- Olkin model is a mixture of an absolutely continuous and a singular component, that concentrates its mass on the line x = y. In this paper, I generalize Marshall-Olkin s results considering a distribution with positive mass on the line x = \mu y, \mu > 0. Some simulation results to compare the two models are presented. I also derive an extension of Marshall-Olkin (1967) model for any function which is continuous and twice continuously differentiable in some open dense domain. This extension gives class of models some of it have exponential marginals. I derive its asymptotic normalities. I model the first mixed moments of bivariate exponential models whose marginals are also exponential using the method of generalized linear models.


Sociological and sexological research on the individual development of homosexual men and their later social integration has let us to believe that significant life-events and psychosomatic diseases are distributed differently than in heterosexual patients. In a field study two groups of patients were compared.


The aim of the study was to examine the features of the endoscopic picture in the upper digestive tract mucosa in paediatric chronic gastroduodenal pathology (CGDP) associated with Helicobacter pylori. Materials and methods. There were examined 286 patients, aged 6–15 years. Diagnostic criteria for chronic gastroduodenal pathology were anamnestic as well as instrumental and functional studies data: gastric fractional intubation, esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EPGDS) with endoscopic pH-metry without biopsy, and ultrasound examination of abdominal organs. H. pylori testing was carried out by two unrelated methods such as respiratory test and a immunochromatographic fecal test. Results. Detection of H. pylori in children with CGDP peaked in patients with peptic gastric and duodenal ulcer (up to 87.5%, p < 0.05). The main endoscopic signs were edema, hyperaemia and contact bleeding, as well as local haemorrhage were the major endoscopic signs of inflammation in the stomach and duodenum mucosa. Atrophic mucosal lesions were characterized by thinning, pale colour together with transilluminated submucosal vessels. Non-atrophic antral gastritis was featured with delayed gastric emptying, antral stasis and pyloric spasm. In contrast, hypotension of the gastric wall, duodenogastric reflux and decreased motility were more typical to chronic atrophic gastritis. Major endoscopic feature in patients with H. pylori infection was presented by dominant atrophic changes combined with gastroduodenal reflux (77.6%, p < 0.05) compared to patients without H. pylori infection. Conclusion. Detection of HP infection was peaked in children with CGDP coupled to peptic ulcer disease compared to patients with inflammatory diseases (p < 0.05). Endoscopic examination in HP-positive patients showed that atrophic changes were found by 4-fold more frequently together with gastroduodenal reflux compared to patients without HP infection (p < 0.05).


The concept "context" in linguistics tries to illustrate a kind of effect or function as other concepts in natural science and social science do.Effect of context plays an important role in daily comminication and translation practice.This essay attempts to explore how context plays its role in translation practice through the appreciation of the translation work Before Adam of professor Liao.I believe my paper will approve the significance of context in correct understanding of source language and improving the quality of translation work.


Comparative characteristics of cow's and goat's milk, according to the data of laboratory LILCO N. M. Zazharska Abstract. The aim of the study was comparison of parameters of cow and goat milk on the basis of analysis at French laboratory LILCO for a period of two years. Fat content in cow milk in France was higher than in goats. Indicators of fat and protein in cow milk were almost constant throughout the year but in goat milk, these parameters drastically reduced at summer. Somatic cells count in cow milk during the year was about 300 ×10 3 cells / ml; in goat milk in March – the lowest level of about 1.5 million cells / ml, and in December was 2 times more. In France, the best goat milk is considered with somatic cells count ≤ 1 million / ml. Bacterial contamination of cow milk was on average 22-24 ×10 3 CFU/mlduring the year. Requirements in France to cow milk are stricter than EU Directive concerning microbial contamination and the somatic cells count. The range of changes at bacterial contamination of goat milk was from 17 to 35 ×10 3 CFU/mlduring a year. Somatic cells count of milk did not always correlate with bacterial contamination, especially in goats. Freezing temperature was about -0,52 o C in cow milk, about -0,55 o C – in goat milk. The level of lipolysis in goat milk increased from March to June (to the 0.67 mg equivalent / 100 g fat), and then gradually decreased until September. Lipolysis in cow milk varied between 0,55 – 0,71 mg equivalent / 100 g fat.


Anemia among HIV-infected Individuals in South India Ramnath Subbaraman, Anitha J. Cecelia, Sonia Singh, Bella Devaleenal, Tokugha Yepthomi, Sunil S. Solomon, Kenneth H. Mayer, N. Kumarasamy (Sponsored by Dr. Michele Barry Department of Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine) Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT Y.R. Gaitonde Centre for AIDS Research and Education, Voluntary Health Services, Chennai, India Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD Division of Infectious Diseases, Miriam Hospital, Brown University, Providence, RI Objective: Although highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) resolves a significant proportion of anemia among HIV-patients in Western cohorts, outcomes may vary in developing countries, due to a higher prevalence of nutritional deficiencies, intestinal parasites, tuberculosis, and opportunistic infections. The purpose of this study is to describe the prevalence of, factors associated with, and influence of HAART on, anemia among HIVinfected individuals in South India. Methods: To examine factors associated with anemia, the first-recorded hemoglobin values for adults who visited an HIV tertiary care center in Chennai, India between January 1996 and April 2006 were collected (n=7069). Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were performed to examine associations between anemia and stage of HIV disease, comorbidities, and medications. To examine the influence of HAART use on anemia on a smaller subset of patients (n=401), the mean of baseline hemoglobin values measured within 3 months prior to HAART initiation was compared to the mean of follow-up hemoglobin values collected between 3-12 months after HAART initiation. A similar analysis based on the time of AIDS onset was performed for a control group of patients with clinical/immunological AIDS who never received HAART (n=77). Results: The prevalence of anemia in the overall cohort was 40% by the WHO definition. While 22% of patients with CD4 counts >500 cells/L had anemia, this increased to 60% for those with CD4 counts <100 cells/L (p<0.001). In multivariate analysis, CD4 count <100 cells/L, underweight body mass index, female sex, active tuberculosis, and lack of cotrimoxazole prophylaxis had significant associations with anemia. In the analysis of the influence of HAART on anemia, median baseline CD4 count and mean time to follow-up hemoglobin value were similar for both the HAART and control arms. For patients who initiated HAART, the mean baseline hemoglobin of 10.7g/dL significantly increased to 12.4g/dL during the year of follow-up (p<0.001). While 46.6% of patients 3 were not anemic at HAART initiation, this increased significantly to 78.1% during follow-up (p<0.001). Severe grades 3 and 4 anemia decreased from 12.5% to 2% for those on HAART (p<0.001). For the control arm of patients who never received HAART, the increase in mean baseline hemoglobin from 10.50 to 11.10g/dL did not reach significance (p=0.06). While the percent of non-anemic patients increased from 40.3 to 54.5% on follow-up in this group, this was not significant (p=0.291). Conclusion: Anemia is strongly correlated with the severity of immunosuppression in this population seen at an HIV tertiary referral center. Endemic malnutrition and tuberculosis further exacerbate the level of anemia. Anemia resolved in a large proportion of patients within the first year of HAART use. Therefore, antiretroviral therapy, nutritional supplementation, and aggressive tuberculosis treatment should be the cornerstones of anemia management in this setting. The high prevalence of anemia among patients with immunological AIDS complicates the roll-out of antiretroviral regimens containing zidovudine, a drug which may exacerbate anemia, and highlights the need for increased access to alternative nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors in developing countries.


It seems still to be complicated and difficult to design the section size of the compression strut. During the design, because the section size of compression strut and the flexibility are all unknown, thus the algorithm trying is often used and sometimes will try many times for the satisfied result. So in this paper a kind of direct algorithm of compression strut section design is put forward to solve the above problems.


Novel oral anticoagulants (NOAC) include direct thrombin inhibitors (ximelagatran and dabigatran etexilate) and coagulation factor Xa inhibitors (rivaroxaban, apixaban and edoxaban). Ximelagatran was withdrawn from the market in 2006 because of its high incidence of liver injury after listing in 2004, which has aroused concern about the hepatotoxicity of NOAC. No significant evidence of hepatotoxicity was found in pre-clinical studies on dabigatran etexilate, rivaroxaban, apixaban, or edoxaban and their risks of liver injury were low. However, pre-marketing clinical studies, post-marketing literature reports, and pharmacovigilance data showed that the incidence of NOAC-related liver injury was 0.1% to 1.0%. Reports of liver adverse events related to rivaroxaban were more than those related to apixaban and dabigatran etexilate. The patients who use NOAC have underlying diseases. Once liver injury occurs, it is more serious and the mortality is higher. Clinicians should be highly vigilant. The mechanism of NOAC-related hepatotoxicity is still unclear and further study is needed in the future.

Key words:
Anticoagulants; Dabigatran; Factor Xa inhibitors; Drug-induced liver injury


In Mexico, nopal is grown for production of prickly pear fruits takes over several thousands of hectares. This crop has been associated with the local culture since the prehispanic age, and its demand has increased in recent years due to its remarkable nutraceutical potential and its content of some key nutrients such as calcium, iron, and vitamin C, among others. The economical value of the fruit as an export product is increasing and is also becoming a very important alternative for the people who live in the production areas. However, this fruit still has undesirable characteristics such as the high number of spines and seeds in its fruits and a poor post-harvest life that limits the production and consumer acceptance. At ripening, the fruit undergoes many changes, including the development of color and aroma and improvements in flavor and texture, that make them attractive to potential consumers. Ripening is considered the main process in fruit development, and studies focused on this process have inc...


Abstract Diacylglycerol acyltransferase-1 (DGAT1) has been recognised as one of the functional genes during fat deposition and closely related to meat quality. It is well known that yak meat has low intramuscular fat (IMF) and poor tenderness, influencing the purchase decision for consumers. In this study, the variations of DGAT1 gene were detected using polymerase chain reaction single-stranded conformational polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) analysis so as to ascertain the association of DGAT1 variation with yak carcase and meat quality traits. Two variants (A1 and B1 ) in intron 1 – exon 2 and another three variants (A2 to C2 ) in intron 15 – exon 17 were identified in the yaks investigated. Three sequence variations (c.192-117 G > A, c.1252-23 C > T and c.1339 C > T) were detected among these variants, with c.192-117 G > A located in intron 1, c.1252-23 C > T located in intron 15 and c.1339 C > T located in exon 17. The mutation c.1339 C > T resulted in an amino acid change (p. Arg 447 Cys). Variants A1 and B2 were associated with a decrease and increase in Warner–Bratzler shear force (WBSF) (p = 0.027 and p < 0.001), respectively. Variant C2 was associated with a decrease in WBSF and hot carcase weights (HCW) (p = 0.001 and p = 0.037, respectively). The presence of haplotype H3 and absence of H5 were highly associated with a decrease in WBSF (p < 0.05). These finding suggested that the variations in DGAT1 could be potential targets for gene-assisted selection to improve meat tenderness in Gannan yak. Highlights Three SNPs were identified in the DGAT1 gene in Gannan yak. Variants (A1 , B2 and C2 ) and haplotypes (H3 and H5) have a significant influence on Warner–Bratzler shear force (WBSF) in Gannan yak. DGAT1 variations may have potential in selection for improving meat tenderness in Gannan yaks.


An integrated approach to handle the disruption of machine breakdown is presented for the dynamic reactive scheduling problem. The proposed rescheduling approach is achieved in an iterative manner by exploring the process plan solution space of the jobs involved. An integrator module is used to link the process planning module and scheduling module. A heuristic rule is proposed to modify solution space in terms of constraints, which are fed back to the process planning module. The process planning and scheduling are then re-run to obtain a new plans/schedule solution. The process continues until a satisfactory result is obtained. A case study is presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed approach.


The timely offerings to this, the final Celebrity Studies Forum of volume 6, and thus of 2015, each enable us to differently take stock of some of the key events, dominant discourses and scholarly conversations that have characterised both celebrity studies and celebrity culture over the course of the past year and a half. Across all three contributions, the intersection of celebrity and politics emerges as a theme. Sally Totman and P. David Marshall offer a consideration of this intersection through the lens of a phenomenon that they call 'celebrity-political magnification', wherein stars and celebrities exercise agency over their personae, augmenting them to both politically charged and self-serving ends. Caitlin E. Lawson unpicks some of the politics of privacy, sexuality and gender attendant to the nude celebrity photo hack of August 2014. Finally, William Howell and Trevor Parry-Giles consider some of the meanings of celebrity interventions into political activism in the aftermath of events such as those of August 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri, following the fatal shooting of Michael Brown. Totman and Marshall join the likes of scholars such as Julie Wilson (2014) and John Street (2004) in interrogating the ways and means by which celebrities politicise their public personae. They also mobilise such politicisation in ways that serve to strengthen the currency of their celebrity, in the guise of performing politically charged forms of global citizenship, ambassadorship and diplomacy. In this way their contribution to this Forum also speaks productively to issues raised in this journal by Lena Partzsch (2015) about the involvement of celebrities like Bono in matters of global politics. Lawson draws on Richard DeCordova's (2001) path-breaking work on the emergence of Hollywood stardom in the 1910s to highlight a perpetual struggle: the struggle between audiences and consumers of the images of public figures' impossible desires for intimate access to their ostensibly authentic selves, which is also a struggle between attempts by these figures and those responsible for their image management to control and mediate these images for such public consumption. This struggle, she demonstrates, continues to characterise this dynamic in the online era, offering up, as she does, the nude celebrity photo hack as a case in point. In offering this timely contribution to scholarly enquiries into sex, celebrity and the online pornification of mainstream celebrity culture, Lawson also contributes to a larger conversation about these issues taking place in celebrity studies among scholars like John Mercer (2013) and Susanna Paasonen (2011), both within this journal – notably in 4(2), a special issue on sex and celebrity published in 2013 – and beyond.


This little book presents, in a very condensed form, a large collection of statistical methods to test the significance of difference between two or more treatments. It has certainly covered a great deal of ground within 111 pages of text. The author assures his medical readers, "It is not necessary to be an expert mathematician in order to use and interpret statistics intelligently, any more than it is necessary to be an electronic engineer in order to use an electrocardiograph properly." The chapter topics will show the scope of the book: (1) introduction, (2) frequency distributions, (3) probability, (4) tests of significance, (5) basic principles of trial design, (6) correlation and regression, (7) analysis of variance, (8) crossover trials, (9) analysis of covariance. Appropriate methods have been given for data in four different scales: categorical, ordinal, interval, and ratio. There are some apparent misprints (p 22, p 117). Certain statements


Abstract The results of a comparative analysis of methods for positioning and timing support of remote users based on GNSS measurements from a GLONASS receiver and observational data on quasar radiation from compact very long base radio interferometric (VLBI) systems are discussed. Using radio telescope measurements increases the stability of positioning - and-timing and navigation support of users owing to observations of radio-frequency radiation emitted by the sources of natural origin. The approach proposed in this paper focuses on using radio interferometry for precision positioning and timing of remote radio telescopes. This method can be helpful for specific applications relevant to positioning and timing support for remote users with an arbitrary positioning topology.


The structural stability and thermodynamic properties of core–shell nanoparticles (NPs) are very important for their applications. In this work, the bond energy (BE) model, originally for cohesive energy of pure NPs, has been generalized to core–shell nanosolids. The core–shell NPs can be divided into three regions: the core, the interface, and the shell. By summation of the atomic contributions of the three regions, the relation for the cohesive energy of core–shell NPs can be derived. Using this model, we discuss the cohesive energy and the phase stability of Pd–Pt and Au–Ag core–shell and alloy NPs. For 6.2 nm PtPd bimetallic NPs, the cohesive energy exhibits a linear relationship with the composition of Pd. Compared with Pt@Pd (core @shell) and PdPt nanoalloy NPs, the Pd@Pt NPs are most unstable. There exists critical composition for the stability of Pt@Pd NPs and PdPt nanoalloy, i.e., 6.2-nm PdPt nanoalloy is more stable than Pt@Pd NPs when the compositing of Pd exceeds 62%. The critical size increas...


This brief presents a nanoscale low-voltage partially depleted silicon-on-insulator (SOI) structure with improved electrical performance. The brain of the proposed structure is a dual tunnel diode (DTD) composed of a heavily doped p-type L-shaped trench. The accumulated holes are effectively released by the tunnel current of DTD, thus reducing the critical kink effect. Compared with a conventional SOI, the proposed structure is considered as an efficient rival in nanoscale-integrated applications.


We propose that CDCL SAT solver heuristics such as restarts and clause database management can be analysed by studying the resolution proofs produced by the solvers, and by trimming these proofs to extract the clauses actually used to reach the final conclusion. We find that for non-adaptive Luby restarts higher frequency makes both untrimmed and trimmed proofs smaller, while adaptive restarts based on literal block distance (LBD) decrease proof size further mainly for untrimmed proofs. This seems to indicate that restarts improve the reasoning power of solvers, but that making restarts adaptive mainly helps to avoid useless work that is not needed to reach the end result. For clause database management we find that switching off clause erasures often, though not always, leads to smaller untrimmed proofs, but has no significant effect on trimmed proofs. With respect to quality measures for learned clauses, activity in conflict analysis is a fairly good predictor in general for a clause ending up also in the trimmed proof, whereas for the very best clauses the LBD score gives stronger correlation. This gives more rigorous support for the currently popular heuristic of prioritizing clauses with very good LBD scores but sorting the rest of the clauses with respect to activity when deciding which clauses to erase. We remark that for these conclusions, it is crucial to use the actual proof found by the solver rather than the one reconstructed from the DRAT proof log.


In this work, 1-hexadecyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide ([C16mim]Br) and 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([C8mim]Ac) were simultaneously used as substitutes for surfactants and the polar phase to prepare [C16mim]Br/butan-1-ol/cyclohexane/[C8mim]Ac ionic liquid microemulsions. Then, the structure of the microemulsion was investigated by pseudo-ternary phase diagram, dynamic light scanning (DLS) and conductivity measurement. Starch nanoparticles with a mean diameter of 80.5 nm were prepared with Octenyl Succinic Anhydride (OSA) starch as raw material through ionic liquid-in-oil (IL/O) microemulsion cross-linking reaction. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) data revealed that starch nanoparticles were spherical granules with small size. In addition, the particles presented homogeneous distribution and no aggregation phenomenon appeared. The results of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) identified the formation of cross-linking bonds in starch molecules. Finally, the drug loading and releasing properties of starch nanoparticles were investigated with mitoxantrone hydrochloride as a drug model. This work might provide an efficient method to synthesis starch nanoparticles.


Objective:To explore the immunosuppression of a novel HLA-derived peptide, RDP1258,on Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells proliferation and its mechanisms.Methods:Peptide RDP1258 was chemically synthesized. The effects of the peptide on alloreactive cytotoxic activities of Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells were observed using 3H-TdR incorporation method. The HO-1 activity was analyzed by the enzyme chemistry method.Results:The results showed that the synthetic HLA-derived peptide could obviously inhibit the proliferation of Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells and inhibit HO activity in a dose-dependent manner in vitro.Conclusion:Heme oxygenase-1 might participate in the RDP1258 inhibiting the proliferation of Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells induced by mitogen and isoantigen.


Container systems (e.g., Docker) provide a well-defined, lightweight, and versatile foundation to streamline the process of tool deployment, to provide a consistent and repeatable experimental interface, and to leverage data centers in the global cloud infrastructure as measurement vantage points. However, the virtual network devices commonly used to connect containers to the Internet are known to impose latency overheads which distort the values reported by measurement tools running inside containers. In this study, we develop a tool called MACE to measure and remove the latency overhead of virtual network devices as used by Docker containers. A key insight of MACE is the fact that container functions all execute in the same kernel. Based on this insight, MACE is implemented as a Linux kernel module using the trace event subsystem to measure latency along the network stack code path. Using CloudLab, we evaluate MACE by comparing the ping measurements emitted from a slim-ping container to the ones emitted using the same tool running in the bare metal machine under varying traffic loads. Our evaluation shows that the MACE-adjusted RTT measurements are within 20 μs of the bare metal ping RTTs on average while incurring less than 25 μs RTT perturbation. We also compare RTT perturbation incurred by MACE with perturbation incurred by the built-in ftrace kernel tracing system and find that MACE incures less perturbation.


In this paper standard-cell Schottky rectifiers along with silicon-based merged PiN Schottky (MPS) and PiN diodes, which are realized using a super junction technology, have been analyzed by conducting extensive device and mixed-mode simulations through two-dimensional finite-element grid. The main issues of concern with these devices such as the forward voltage-drop, the leakage characteristic and the reverse recovery are dealt with, by highlighting the superior performances exhibited by the MPS rectifier in respect to the PiN diodes. Basics on the used technology are also reported, by focusing on the high voltage capability obtainable along with the low forward voltage-drop during the on-state conduction. The reverse recovery behavior pertaining to the MPS diode has been analyzed by resorting to several simulations of the internal plasma dynamics.


The device (1) has a connecting element (2) connected with two rails (3, 5) of a curved track such that the rails are coupled with each other over the connecting element. The rails run parallel to each other. A damping unit (4) is linked with the connecting element, and includes a damping element (6) that is pressed against one of the rails. The damping unit comprises another damping element (7) that is pressable against the other rail and lies opposite to the former damping element. The damping elements are made of plastic i.e. elastomer. The connecting element comprises a bar made of metal.


$^{\ast}$ This work was supported in part by a grant from the Petroleum Research Fund, Administered by the American Chemical Society. $^{\dag}$ Present address: Department of Chemistry, Morehouse College, Atlanta, Georgia.


Over the years, oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) measures have been used as a complement to the assessment of treatment needs as well as the prioritization of dental care and the evaluation of the outcomes of treatment strategies [5]. According to the World Health Organization [4], quality of life is the perception one has regarding one's position in life in the cultural context and the system of values in which one lives in relation to one's goals, expect‐ ations, standards and concerns. As oral health is an integral part of general health, OHRQoL is a multidimensional concept related to the impact of adverse oral conditions on psychosocial and functional well-being [6-8].


Objectives: To explore the clinical applied value of motor evoked potentials(MEP)、 somatosensory evoked potentials(SEP) and sympathetic skin response(SSR) in addict with heroin.Methods:MEP,SEP and SSR were examined in 21 addict with heroin and 20 normal healthy people,and the result were compared in the two groups.Results:MEP,SEP and SSR test showed significant difference in comparison between addicts with heroin and the controls.Conclusions:MEP,SEP and SSR might reflect the impairment of sensory and motor pathway and dysfunction of the sympathetic fibers.They might provide objective index for the diagnosis of impairment of nervous system in addicts with heroin.


LaSrMnO3 (LSMO) thin films were grown on SrTiO3(STO)-buffered Si(001) substrates by RF magnetron sputtering, and their magnetic and electrical properties as well as their crystalline structures were characterized. The LSMO film exhibited a polycrystalline nature with a strong preferred orientation to the c-axis. Compared with single-crystalline samples, the electrical and magnetic properties of the LSMO films on STO-buffered Si substrates obtained in this study were different in the following points. (1) A lower metal-insulator transition temperature than the Curie temperature, TC, determined from magnetization measurements. (2) A large negative magnetoresistance with a clear hysteresis below TC. (3) An increased coercivity in the low temperature region below 170 K. These features can be explained by the existence of localized ferromagnetic regions and spin-polarized tunneling between them.


PART I. RELIGION 1. Secular Philosophy and the Religious Temperament 2. Dawkins and Atheism 3. Why Is There Anything? 4. Nietzsche's Self-Creation 5. Public Education and Intelligent Design PART II. POLITICS 6. The Problem of Global Justice 7. The Limits of International Law 8. Appiah's Rooted Cosmopolitanism 9. Sandel and the Paradox of Liberalism 10. MacKinnon on Sexual Domination PART III. HUMANITY 11. Williams: The Value of Truth 12. Williams: Humanity and Philosophy 13. Wiggins on Human Solidarity 14. O'Shaughnessy on the Stream of Consciousness 15. Sartre: The Look and the Problem of Other Minds Index


Nowadays,the influences of televise program to audience is stronger.Therefore,media owners have to make some strategies to captivate the forum. Programs areincluding entertainment, news information, and education. Compared with the past,entertainment program is bigger than education program. Moreover, there are SingerGot Tallent programs broadcasted on televise stations, for example RCTI with RisingStar Indonesia program.This program was adapted by Rising Star from United State.Thisprogram uses telephone and vote to get the applicants or new singers. Vote as ameditation from audience to determine the applicants in the next step.Keywords: Rising Star Indonesia, RCTI, vote meditation, and new singer.


Previous studies have revealed the astonishing inability of observers to notice visual change if scene perception is briefly interrupted for some reason. This phenomenon is referred to as change blindness. The present study aims to clarify how observers look for visual changes, what strategies they use, and how these strategies affect change blindness. In Experiment 1 participants performed a free search for change in the standard flicker paradigm (Rensink, O'Regan, and Clark, 1997). The results of the experiment led to some possible classifications of search strategies. The distinction between location-based and object-based strategies is the most essential one. In Experiment 2, these two strategies were separated by manipulation with special cues at three levels of difficulty of the change detection task. The object-based strategy was found to be the most efficient one and the location-based strategy was helpful in difficult tasks. On the other hand, the location-based strategy was even less effective than the free search for visual changes in the accurate identification of changes.


This work shows if firms use debt strategically in order to stop entry of potential rivals in their industry. Using Generalized Method of Moments estimation (GMM) we evaluate the effect of assets, market share and size as proxies for market revenue, and the entry barriers over indebtedness levels. Our data uses firm level information for Colombia, from 1995-2003. we find that firms use assets to limit entry and indebtedness decreases while firms increase their market share


The purpose of this study is to perceive and classify value of hair style influenced by feminism, concentrating on exploration of hair style aspects in which feminism is described on the basis of various feminism theories.m The method is as in the following; firstly, the concept and characteristic of feminism is sought for, and secondly, the situation that hair-style represent feminism is sought for. The scope of this study spans analysis of diverse data, from literatures, articles to internet. As seen in the result, taking a close look at modern costume of various feminism theories, there can be found the new looks appearance which are called short hair's manish look, thick wave's glamour look, high colored fetish look, inter sexed androgynous look. And there can be found follow-up hair-styles which follow the relevant look respectively.


The invention discloses a method of providing target information for users, comprising: gaining historical behavior data of the user for browsing information, wherein, the historical behavior data comprises content of the information and browsing time; processing to classify for the content of the information to gain a probability of the information vesting in setting category; gaining an interesting value of the user in setting time according to the probability and the browsing time; providing the target information for the user at the setting time according to the interesting value. The invention simultaneously discloses a device for providing the target information for the user. Adopting the invention can quantize and multi-granularity describe user interest for the information according to user requirement, dynamically reflect a changing process of the user interest, and simplify user operation.


In vision-based action recognition, spatio-temporal features from different modalities are used for recognizing activities. Temporal modeling is a long challenge of action recognition. However, there are limited methods such as pre-computed motion features, three-dimensional (3D) filters, and recurrent neural networks (RNN) for modeling motion information in deep-based approaches. Recently, transformers success in modeling long-range dependencies in natural language processing (NLP) tasks has gotten great attention from other domains; including speech, image, and video, to rely entirely on self-attention without using sequence-aligned RNNs or convolutions. Although the application of transformers to action recognition is relatively new, the amount of research proposed on this topic within the last few years is astounding. This paper especially reviews recent progress in deep learning methods for modeling temporal variations. It focuses on action recognition methods that use transformers for temporal modeling, discussing their main features, used modalities, and identifying opportunities and challenges for future research.


Purpose: There are few limitations in conventional CT for localizing the dummy sources due to the slice image which has a certain distance between images. The use of the cone‐beam CT in brachytherapy also has limitations because of the economical efficiency in brachytherapy fields. To overcome former problems, we performed the CBR using x‐ray simulator. Method: The home‐made anthropomorphic pelvic phantom with the localizer and the HDR applicator set was simulated on the digital x‐ray simulator. The images were obtained with 10 degree intervals, and the CBR performed in the limited projections (36, 18, 12, 9 projection). The coronal planes (anterior‐posterior views) of CBR were mainly used for evaluating a CBR results. Results: We could obtain the CBR images with dummy source and artificial anatomic structure in the phantom. The peak pixel intensity and size differences of the dummy sources, which were important factor to distinguish the dummy sources from the backgrounds in coronal planes, were compared with each CBR results of the limited projections. Conclusions: We present the method for accurate source localization in a substitution for cone‐beam CT. This CBR approach provides the exact position of the sources and the delineation of approximate organ structure in brachytherapy planning, thus it could be a useful and economical technique for improving the planning results.


We oto-rhino-laryngologists devote ourselves to the physiological or physical study of speech mainly as the natural scientists.In the other hand, since speech is one of the most important means of human communication its meaning is raison d'etre.The meaning of speech, the phonemic system, has come into existence as a promise in certain linguistic society during a long period, and it cannot be a natural scientific phenomenon essentially. Therefore, the truths in certain speech belonging to a language which has a unique phonemic system are not always true in other speechs, and a phonemic system of a language itself changes gradually in process of history of the linguistic society. Besides, among a speech in an era there exist many regional differences represented as dialects, and also many minor differences which resulted during individual speech learning.Even oto-rhino-laryngologists as natural scientists cannot neglect the above mentioned nonscientific factors either in case they are occupied in the physiological study on phonetic and articulatory mechanism or in the physical study on speech as a sound. Their final research aim will become obscure immediately if they neglect the above factor.In conclusion, researchers of speech should have a vast viewpoint and a deep knoweldge concerning the ralated branches.


Abstract : This report is concerned with the generation of rainfall in upland areas. It describes the results of research undertaken between 1981 and 1986 in the southern Pennine hills of north-west England. These hills rise to 600m, and although not mountainous by global standards, they provide a significant barrier to air masses moving over the area, particularly those originating to the west over the Atlantic ocean. The research aimed to combine hydrological and meteorological interests, being concerned with prevailing meteorological conditions and their associated rainfall systems, and with the effects of that rainfall on flood discharge of local streams. The first chapter reviews rainfall variation in time and space and emphasises the need for a distributed approach to rainfall studies. Chapter 2 describes the field site and instrumentation, in particular the errors associated with raingauges and the methods adopted to minimise those errors. The third chapter is concerned with the design of the raingauge network and includes the use of a Computer-Aided Experimental Design. The fourth chapter is a statistical analysis of daily rainfall patterns in the study area, and establishes the clear dominance of orographic rainfall distributions for the study area at the daily timescale. Chapter 5 presents the results of the field experiments at two scales; the Upper Derwent basin (15 sq KM), and the southern Pennine region (2500 sq Kme).


Computerised pathology order entry (CPOE) systems allow clinicians to electronically place orders for laboratory tests. These systems have been widely promoted because of their potential to improve healthcare efficiency and effectiveness and enhance the quality of patient care. Moreover, the incorporation of clinical decision support features into CPOE systems can contribute to the quality use of pathology by improving the appropriateness of test choice, reducing redundant test numbers and enabling evidence based decision making. 1 However CPOE systems also pose major challenges to hospitals and pathology services. They involve large scale capital investment and there is emerging evidence that their implementation is not straightforward and easy. This presentation provides an overview of key research findings over six years about the impact of CPOE on pathology services in Australian settings. It identifies a number of areas where CPOE can affect the provision of quality healthcare while also describing the key challenges faced. The presentation also outlines a suite of key indicators which can be used to monitor, enhance and sustain CPOE performance.


The ordered PbSc1/2Nb1/2O3 ceramics were studied by THz transmission spectroscopy in the temperature range of 80–300 K. Below ferroelectric phase transition temperature the strength of central mode gradually decreases and gives evidence for a mixed displacive and order–disorder character of the transitions. Ferroelectric phase transition is connected with an abrupt freezing and rise of polar nanoregions into ferroelectric domains.


globally ambiguous sentences are more difficult to process than unambiguous sentences. For instance, some constraintbased parsing models (MacDonald, Pearlmutter, & Seidenberg, 1994; McRae, Spivey-Knowlton, & Tanenhaus, 1998; Spivey & Tanenhaus, 1998; Tabor & Tanenhaus, 1999) posit that sentences with syntactic ambiguities generally take longer to read than their unambiguous counterparts (see Spivey-Knowlton & Sedivy, 1995, for a particularly clear statement of this claim). According to these models, multiple structures are incrementally activated during sentence comprehension. These interpretations compete to become the final one. When the sentential and contextual information being considered fails to produce a clear winner, such as with ambiguous strings, the various interpretations engage in a disruptive competition in which constraints from multiple levels of representation must be considered and weighted over a longer period of time before the system settles on a chosen interpretation. In sum, ambiguous strings in this view typically slow down reading.1 However, it has been difficult to demonstrate processing costs for syntactic ambiguity itself, rather than for difficulties caused when early information favors one analysis and later information favors a different analysis (Clifton, Staub, & Rayner, 2007; Gibson & Pearlmutter, 2000; Lewis, 2000). Furthermore, this ambiguity disadvantage assumption has been challenged by a line of studies showing that some syntactic ambiguities can actually lead to shorter processing times (Traxler, Pickering, & Clifton, 1998; van Gompel, Pickering, Pearson, & Liversedge, 2005; van Gompel, Pickering, & Traxler, 2001). In each of these studies, participants read ambiguous sentences and disambiguated variants while their eye movements were monitored. The readers consistently displayed ambiguity advantages in these studies. For example, Traxler et al. studied a form of relative clause ambiguity (see Sentences 1–3 below) in which a relative clause modifies either a head noun (maid/son) or an adjunct of the head noun ( princess). Traxler et al. showed that it took less time for people to read ambiguous sentences, such as Sentence 1,


Medium‐chain fatty acids (MCFAs) and their derivatives are important chemicals that can be used in lubricants, detergents, and cosmetics. MCFAs can be produced in several microbes, although production is not high. Dynamic regulation by synthetic biology is a good method of improving production of chemicals that avoids toxic intermediates, but chemical‐responsive promoters are required. Several MCFA sensors or promoters have been reported in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In this study, by using transcriptomic analysis of S. cerevisiae exposed to fatty acids with 6‐, 12‐, and 16‐carbon chains, we identified 58 candidate genes that may be responsive to MCFAs. Using a fluorescence‐based screening method, we identified MCFA‐responsive promoters, four that upregulated gene expression, and three that downregulated gene expression. Dose–response analysis revealed that some of the promoters were sensitive to fatty acid concentrations as low as 0.02–0.06 mM. The MCFA‐responsive promoters reported in this study could be used in dynamic regulation of fatty acids and fatty acid‐derived products in S. cerevisiae.


Kota Araya Real Estate is one of much big real estate in Malang. Kota Araya has the concepts of city with nature nuances. It means Kota Araya must be ready for any facility development, which can make people who?s living in Kota Araya feels like in a city; and spaces that big enough for developing the facility and residences in a city?s scale. Till now, Kota Araya have their unique facility, that?s no real estate in Malang has it. That facility is golf course. With this concept and facilities, such as golf course, mall, and family club, makes Kota Araya well known, and become the most big and powerful real estate in Malang. To makes this concept done, Kota Araya need to develop their target audiences not only for people who is living in Malang, but for people in other country too, because to makes a city, there is need a lot of people living there. But the respect of audiences that?s living in other countries to Kota Araya need to be build, because they have less awareness about Kota Araya. So, with the right promotion strategies, target audience?s respect to Kota Araya can be made, and Kota Araya?s concepts to make a city with nature nuances can be reach easily.


The exciton dynamics in monolayer black phosphorus is investigated over a very wide range of photoexcited exciton densities using time resolved photoluminescence. At low excitation densities, the exciton dynamics is successfully described in terms of a double exponential decay. With increasing exciton population, a fast, non-exponential component develops as exciton-exciton annihilation takes over as the dominant recombination mechanism under high excitation conditions. Our results identify an upper limit for the injection density, after which exciton-exciton annihilation reduces the quantum yield, which will significantly impact the performance of light emitting devices based on single layer black phosphorus.


Quantitative assessments of the recent state of an epidemic and short-term projections into the near future are key public health tools that have substantial policy impacts, helping to determine if existing control measures are sufficient or need to be strengthened. Key to these quantitative assessments is the ability to rapidly and robustly measure the speed with which the epidemic is growing or decaying. Frequently, epidemiological trends are addressed in terms of the (time-varying) reproductive number R. Here, we take a more parsimonious approach and calculate the exponential growth rate, r, using a Bayesian hierarchical model to fit a Gaussian process to the epidemiological data. We show how the method can be employed when only case data from positive tests are available, and the improvement gained by including the total number of tests as a measure of heterogeneous testing effort. Although the methods are generic, we apply them to SARS-CoV-2 cases and testing in England, making use of the available high-resolution spatio-temporal data to determine long-term patterns of national growth, highlight regional growth and spatial heterogeneity.


Clinically HSP is characterized by non thrombocytopenic purpura, arthritis and arthralgia, abdominal pain and gastrointestinal hemorrhage, and glomerulonephritis [1]. A diagnostic triad of purpuric rash, arthritis, and abnormalities of the urinary sediment was proposed for the first time by Schonlein in 1837, and Henoch described the association of purpuric rash, abdominal pain with bloody diarrhea, and proteinuria in 1874 [4,5,8].


This paper proposes a new control method for parallel active power filter (PAPF) to deal with current harmonics generated by fast-changing dynamic load. The idea in this control method is to control the compensation current injected by PAPF to trace the whole load current to achieve fast response of harmonics suppression. Since the control signal directly comes from the detected load current, the PAPF obtains the fastest dynamic response theoretically. In addition, the DC-side voltage control is indispensable in this control to maintain the active power balance for the proper operation of the PAPF system. Simulation and experimental results that are obtained for steady state operation and step changes in the load are presented to verify the validity of the proposed control method and the performance of the PAPF.


Folk art is closely related to folk life.Content of folk cultural life is the soul of the development of folk art,and playing an important role in forms,features,style.Yet folk art itself is an important part of folk cultural life.With the transformation of current society,traditional folk art has been fading gradually.From our perspective,we should pay more attention to its cultural soil and the living environment and treat human cultural memory and tradition as an integral cultural extension.


In this paper, emergy analysis method is used to evaluate the performance and development of agriculture in Tarim River Basin for the period from 1988 to 2008. The results showed that the total and purchased emergy inputs were increasing steadily, and agriculture system depended on non-renewable heavily played a good eco-economic performance. However, the load on the environment becomes heavier than before, and durative of agriculture system has a gradual decline which the ELR and ESI indices indicate. So it is time to transfer the traditional agriculture to the organic one. Of the agriculture and its four subsystems, crop and stockbreeding play more important roles in Tarim River Basin.


OF THE THESIS Study of the Mechanical Properties and the Electrical Properties of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes through Finite Element Analysis and Molecular Dynamic Simulations by Paola Jaramillo Thesis Director: Dr. Haym Benaroya The primary motivation of the current research focuses on the ability to create simpli…ed models that can accurately predict the response of carbon nanotube structures undergoing di¤erent types of loading conditions. Moreover, the conductivity characteristics of these structures under di¤erent geometrical arrangements are investigated. In this way, the mechanical characteristics regarding single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) through …nite element modeling are computed. This is followed by the determination of the electrical properties of carbon nanotubes through molecular dynamic simulations. A simpli…ed …nite element model is created for di¤erent types of SWCNTs with varying input parameters. An input array for the elastic modulus and load is generated to control the physical e¤ects of these parameters in the nanotube structure. The geometries of the nanotubes are altered through various thicknesses employed for the construction of the C– C bonds. The current work contributes to the generation of di¤erent model responses to monitor the stress distribution employing a wide range of parameter values. The ability to introduce variability in the parameters and boundary conditions without altering the capabilities and computational time in the model represents the main contribution of the thesis from the mechanical component.


With the definition of quantitative parameters of classification, obese people have become the target of social and political interdiction. One example was the recent reproval of over 50 people in the medical inspection in a teacher's contest in the state public teaching network of Sao Paulo state. After the demand of a reevaluation, 14 people remained reproved for being classified as obese. Despite of the repercussion achieved by some happenings, the knowlegde that the society has about how the Brazilian legislation treats the obesity is, still, incipient. Thus, the present study had as main purpose to make an analysis about how the obesity is being represented in the Brazilian legislation. As methodology, it was used the Speech Analysis (AS) in the Foucaultiana perspective. The empirical corpus consisted in a search for the key-words "obesity" and "overweight" in the web site Jusbrasil, where 46 rules were found. The analysis of this material indicated that it stands out a tendency to blame in the obese subject, instigation to medical treatment and a discursive emphasis on the "combat" against obesity. On the other hand, it was found litlle concern on the guarantee of the rights of the group. It was conclued that this representation founds reference in the apropriation that the juridical/legal speech has been making of the speeches and of the knowledges of the health area.

Key words: obesity; legislation as topic; speech analysis.


Micro rotorcraft are considered a promising unmanned aerial platform owing to their high manoeuvrability and small footprint, which together allow for operation within very confined environments. This paper presents a computational investigation into a key challenge that limits micro rotorcraft performance within confined environments: Disturbance phenomena that occur due to aerodynamic interactions between rotors and nearby walls. The results of this study show that a micro rotor hovering near a wall will experience two wake asymmetry phenomena: Asymmetry in wake shape and asymmetry in vortex circulation strength. These asymmetry phenomena induce additional rotor force components that vary with rotor azimuthal angle. When averaged over time, these forces generate moments that present a disturbance large enough to have a significant adverse effect on micro rotorcraft blade flapping and attitude dynamics. Ultimately, this places the rotorcraft at a high risk of collision with the wall. This key result is fundamental to future design of disturbance observers and control systems that will be essential for future development of reliable confined environment micro rotorcraft systems.


The factors of the material misstatement risk are complicated,how to evaluate the specific areas of the risk,the level of the risk in specific area and the level of the overall risk are three of the core and difficulty in modern risk-based audit. Firstly,build a comprehensive evaluation index system of material misstatement risk. And then,introduce the grey relational analysis evaluation model to determine the weight and rank of each risk factor more objectively and accurately. Finally,conclude the specific area and comprehensive evaluation value,so as to provide the basis of the allocation of audit resources for CPA in single or different enterprises.


Previously suggested transistor sizing algorithms assume that all input transitions are equally important. In this work we show that this is not an accurate assumption as input transitions appear in different frequencies. We take advantage from this phenomenon and introduce Application Specific Transistor Sizing. In Application Specific Transistor Sizing higher priority is given to more frequent transitions. We apply our technique to two modern and low-power full adders (i.e., hybrid-CMOS and TFA) and show that it is possible to further reduce power dissipation and PDP. By using our technique we improve average PDP by 6% and 9% for TFA and hybrid-CMOS adders respectively. We reduce ALU energy consumption for ALU designs using TFA and hybrid-CMOS FAs by 2.7% and 4 % respectively.


Abstract: The insertion of disabled people in the labor market is an early organizational process. This research analyzed the differences among the ways of realizing the disability and the work possibilities of people from the point of view of the managers (age: average 43 years old; 73% male; 91% had finished high school) who worked with these people 3,6 years average, in 18 Brazilian companies (83% = > 1.000 employees; 39% = 20-100 disabled), and from the point of view of 285 MBA (Master in Business Administration) students from three different Brazilian States. It was used the Conceptions of Disability Inventory, with the Likert Scale, in order to obtain the data. There was not significant difference between the analyzed groups related to the conceptions of disability. However, it was verified that the longer the time people worked with the disabled, the better the perception of the performance of these people's trabalho para a realizacao de atividades profissionais.Tendo como referencia as discussoes de Priestley (1998), a


The integration of a fault tolerance mechanism in critical real-time embedded systems is an important and required property to ensure the continuity of delivering the expected service even in the presence of faults to avoid catastrophic consequences that can be generated in the event of failure of these systems. In this research paper we present a solution to tolerate permanent faults of one processor in heterogeneous distributed real-time embedded systems by using software redundancy solutions based on active and passive replication of dependent tasks in the point-to-point connection. The methodology proposed consists to generate a distribution/scheduling of tasks on hardware architecture and also to tolerate permanent faults of a single processor by executing simultaneously two replicas of a task, the first which ends its execution blocks the second is running. this principle saves very considerable time in distribution/scheduling length with and without errors.


The title compound was obtained unexpectedly from a mixture of KReO 4 , triphenylphosphine and excess HI in ethanol. The crystal contains the tetrahedral [P(C 2 H 5 )(C 6 H 5 ) 3 ] + cation in which the P-C distances range from 1.789 (13) to 1.819 (14) A and the C-P-C angles from 108.3 (6) to 110.5 (6) o . The I 3 - counterion is roughly linear [I-I-I=176.89 (5) o ] and the I-I distances are 2.908 (1) and 2.948 (1) A


The long-term goal of the project is to create and justify a reliable mathematical model that expresses the efficiency of geometrical shapes of non-tracking flexible solar panels. However, the amount of solar energy absorbed by a non-tracking flexible solar panel depends on many parameters: the direction of the sun beam, reflected light, and temperature, etc., which would make a complete model mathematically complicated. In the current model, we limit our consideration to the direction of the sunbeam. In order to simulate the exposure of the panel, we describe the trajectory of the Sun and base the model on the mathematical flux that uses the sun rays as the vector field. To be precise, the efficiency of a geometrical panel is defined as the flux density, which is the ratio of the mathematical flux and the surface area. Our current model was evaluated for the latitude of New York City and we determined the efficiency of the optimized at panels, cylindrical panels, and conical panels. The analysis was largely done through geometrical studies and numerical integration with software programs Python, Maple, Mathematica, and MATLAB.


The Ti-diffusion p rocess for fabricating LiNb03 optical waveguides often causes ferroelectric domain inversion in the Ti-diffused portion of LiNb03. Recently, we found another t ype of domain inversion caused by a heat treatment at somewhat higher temperatures w ithout diffusing Ti. The fact that the piezoelectric constants in the polarization-inverted region are opposite in sign to those in the original crystal can be utilized for piezoelectric devices. T his paper reports experimental results on the ferroelectric domain inversion phenomena in LiNW3 plates and their applications to various piezoelectric devices such as resonators, acoustic transducers, and SAW devices.


Fourteen strains with insecticidal activity to Heliothis armigera were screened from nine hundred and eight strains of marine microorganisms isolated from waters of South China Sea and East China Sea by dipping pest screening and micro scree-(ning.)The insecticidal activity to different insects of concentrated fermentation broth of strain JAAS01,one of the fourteen strains,with high insecticidal activity was tested indoors.Results showed the fermentation broth had the highest insecticidal activity which was 94.36% to Leucania separata,then to Pierisrapae linnaeus and H.armigera.The insecticidal activity to Rhopalosiphum pseudobrassicae and Plutella xylostella was rather low.Results also showed it was possible to obtain new resource of microorganism with insecticidal activity to pests by screening from the sea.


Futility analysis reduces the opportunity to commit Type I error. For a superiority study testing a two‐sided hypothesis, an interim futility analysis can substantially reduce the overall Type I error while keeping the overall power relatively intact. In this paper, we quantify the extent of the reduction for both one‐sided and two‐sided futility analysis. We argue that, because of the reduction, we should be allowed to set the significance level for the final analysis at a level higher than the allowable Type I error rate for the study. We propose a method to find the significance level for the final analysis. We illustrate the proposed methodology and show that a design employing a futility analysis can reduce the sample size, and therefore reduce the exposure of patients to unnecessary risk and lower the cost of a clinical trial. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Large vestibular aqueduct syndrome was first described as a morphologic and clinical entity in 1978 by Valvassori and Clemis (1). The classic radiographic description of large vestibular aqueduct is that the diameter exceeds 1.5 mm in an anteroposterior dimension measured halfway between the common crus and the external aperture. Characteristically, the enlarged vestibular aqueduct (VA) is found bilaterally and is often associated with other anatomic anomalies, including an enlarged vestibule and semicircular canals and a hypoplastic cochlea (2). Large VA syndrome has been reported to be one of the most common anomalies associated with hearing loss in childhood, and in general, the hearing loss may vary from near normal to profound. The


In the recent era of AI, instance segmentation has significantly advanced boundary and object detection especially in diverse fields (e.g., biological and environmental research). Despite its progress, edge detection amid adjacent objects (e.g., organism cells) still remains intractable. This is because homogeneous and heterogeneous objects are prone to being mingled in a single image. To cope with this challenge, we propose the weighted Mask R-CNN designed to effectively separate overlapped objects in virtue of extra weights to adjacent boundaries. For numerical study, a range of experiments are performed with applications to simulated data and real data (e.g., Microcystis, one of the most common algae genera and cell membrane images). It is noticeable that the weighted Mask R-CNN outperforms the standard Mask R-CNN, given that the analytic experiments show on average 92.5% of precision and 96.4% of recall in algae data and 94.5% of precision and 98.6% of recall in cell membrane data. Consequently, we found that a majority of sample boundaries in real and simulated data are precisely segmented in the midst of object mixtures.


Background A pilot project aimed to understand the experience and performance of medical students as peer tutors (Student In Medical Education Program, SIME) in the undergraduate ultrasound module at the University of Hong Kong. Methods Four SIME tutors contributed to teaching of third year medical students (n=184) via a 3-hour hands-on session. Premodule training was given to SIME tutors. Students were divided into small groups to practise abdominal ultrasound scanning on each other under the guidance of senior tutors (radiologists/sonographers) or SIME tutors. Learning outcomes were assessed through preand post-module quizzes. Qualitative exploration was undertaken through thematic coding of dedicated observers' notes from teaching sessions and the round table discussion conducted with SIME tutors to discuss the project effectiveness. Results Seventy-five percent (n=138) of the medical students submitted both preand post-module quizzes. The senior tutors' and the SIME tutors' groups scored similarly on the post-module quiz, 8.26 and 7.93 respectively. Themes emerging from the qualitative analysis included SIME tutors motivations for teaching such as giving them insight to the limitations of their own knowledge. They valued the proximity of age to their students and understood the learning needs of the students. Some barriers to peer-teaching were also identified such as concerns over sufficiency of knowledge to teach, and logistic arrangements. Coiffier B, See C, Lee E, Chen J, Chiu K, Khong P MedEdPublish https://doi.org/10.15694/mep.2019.000192.1 Page | 2 Discussion SIME program was successfully introduced in the ultrasound module, improving SIME tutors' self-confidence in teaching and better understanding of ultrasound without affecting the quality of teaching.


A substantial proportion of people "in debt" are in employment. Increasingly, employers can be required by the courts to recover debts for creditors from employees via the attachment of earnings process. However, there are claims that the process has a range of negative consequences for both employers and employees, including costs, lowered motivation, and changes in the recruitment and retention of labour. Presents data from a recent study of the attachment of earnings process which assess the validity of a number of these claims. Draws attention to the differential perceptions of the significance of attachment on the part of employers and employees and the consequences of this for managing attachment within employing organizations.


The present investigation was undertaken to evaluate the anthelmintic activity of ethanolic and aqueous leaf extracts of Anisochilus carnosus, using Indian earthworm Pheretima posthuma.Three different concentrations (50, 25 and 12.5 mg/ml) of each of ethanolic and aqueous extract was used for bioassay, which involved determination of time of paralysis (TP) and time of death (TD) of the worms. 1% gum acacia in saline solution and Mebendazole (15mg/ml) were used as control and standard respectively in the study. The results obtained in the present study indicated potential activity ata concentration of 50mg/mlof the crude ethanolic extract when compared to reference standard Mebendozole in terms of TP and TD.To conclude, the leaves of Anisochilus carnosus can be used as a natural anthelmintic however, advanced studies on the plant can reveal the active principles responsible for the activity.


The purpose of risk assessment is to provide information for decision-making. It compares the resulting risk obtained from the analysis with the risk criteria based on the legislation. If the level of risk is undesirable, the organization must take measures under the legislation to reduce or eliminate the risk. There are also cases where the risk assessment leads the company to a repeated analysis and the decision to terminate the investigation due to negligible, resulting risk. The paper focuses on using simulation as a supportive tool to minimize the risk in the workplace of injection moulding plants. It was eliminated bottlenecks and designed suitable injection moulding arrangements to ensure the safety and health of workers at work.


"Animal Humanities", Ecozon@ European Journal of Literature, Culture and Environment http://www.ecozona.eu/index.php/journal/announcement/view/24 Appel a contributions (date-limite 15 janvier 2015, pour une parution en juillet 2016) In Marcovaldo, or the Seasons in the City, an imaginative meditation on the relationship between urban and rural spaces in 1950s Italy, Italo Calvino writes that "The city of cats and the city of men exist one inside the other, but they are not the same city." The...


The Principle of the 3Rs is widely recognised as the methodological and ethical backbone of contemporary animal research. Different authors also stress the reciprocal links among the 3Rs, and how these often complement and reinforce each other. We very much agree with this point, but in this contribution we would like to raise some problems related to the application of the "3Rs". There is an obvious link among "Replacement, "Reduction" and "Refinement", but it is worth to notice also that each "R" has its own conceptual characteristics, as well as its own level of applicability. For example, a realistic "methodological inertia" has to be expected more in the case of "Replacement" than in the case of "Refinement". This also leads to a second order of issues, and here we will offer our experience as projects evaluators. The "3Rs" differ also in the possibility to verify how are applied by the proponents of research protocols involving the use of animal models. Sometimes it appears that the application of the Principle still resolves itself in the use of formulaic sentences, from which it is difficult to really understand the reality of the laboratory decisional and procedural processes. However, the demanding characteristics of the "3Rs" can vary greatly, and this is something that has to be considered. We propose that a network, or a virtual platform, of evaluators could help both researchers and evaluators for a more satisfactory understanding and pragmatic application of the Principle of the 3Rs.


A case of the longstandindg microfilaraemia due to Dirofilaria repens is presented as a 57-years-old female. This is the first report of the longstandindg microfilaraemia in a Russian patient due to infection of D. repens. The microfilariae of D. repens were detected due to multiple investigations of fresh drops of blood. The longstandindg microfilaraemia due to D. repens is discussed regarding their role in human pathology. As the larvae mature into adult wormes they migrate through blood vessels and the subdermal connective tissues causing pruritis, oedematous lesions on the skin, itching and pain as they pass beneath the conjunctivae and penetrate internal organs. The patient was successfully treated with doxycycline, albendazole and diethylcarbamazine.


Abstract Lithium niobate is processed in the hydrogen plasma of the radio-frequency glow discharge. This treatment causes a strong chemical reduction and outlet of lithium from the sample surface. The Li depth profiles are measured by Neutron Depth Profiling. The diffusion coefficient and the flux of escaping Li atoms are determined by fitting the experimental and calculated curves. An anomalous Li depth profile is measured if the plasma treatment is followed by reoxidation.


The Massage Therapy Foundation presented the second Highlighting Massage Therapy in CIM Research conference, May 13 – 15, 2010. This three-day conference (supported in part by RI3AT005420 from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) brought together massage and manual therapy practitioners, educators, CIM researchers, allied health professionals, and others interested in massage research. Current research related to massage and other manual therapy-specific research was presented, with a special focus on translational research and public health. The International Journal of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (IJTMB) and the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies (JBMT) are serving as the two post-conference publishing venues for selected presentations. For a retrospective overview of the conference's highlights, please visit www.massagetherapyfoundation .org/researchconference2010.html.