Through an analysis of three interpreted mines in northeastern Minnesota, this article illuminates how the region's public history is complicit in the ongoing process of settler colonialism. Largely controlled by iron mining interests, the region's public history and tourism industry is deeply invested in the future of mineral extraction, representing mining and white-ethnic mining culture as natural and indigenous to the landscape. This narrative erases Ojibwe presence in the region, ignoring both the role mining played in past environmental injustices as well as how it continues to threaten Ojibwe political and resource sovereignty.


In this paper a pre-translation framework developed for public service translation is presented. The framework was developed from a sociological standpoint "whereby translation practice can be viewed in relation to people and institutions involved in it or affected by it" (Taibi & Ozolins, 2016, pp. 63-64) with the aim to provide contextualization and understanding that precedes the actual translation stage. After outlining the framework, its usefulness in obtaining key pre-translation information is showcased through an application form in the Spanish immigration context, i.e. an authentic public service text. Lastly, the paper shows how the information gathered based on the framework will assist in proposing an effective English translation of this application form in the future.


Although pesticides are used extensively by lawn care and tree service workers, the incidence of pesticide poisonings among this population has never been systematically assessed. This article is a review of suspected and confirmed pesticide poisonings of lawn care and tree service applicators that were reported to the New York State Pesticide Poisoning Registry from 1990 to 1993. Thirty-nine cases were identified, of which 28 satisfied the criteria for a suspected or confirmed poisoning. At the time of the poisoning, the majority of applicators reported the use of more than one class of pesticide. The most common classes of pesticide applied were organophosphates (71%) and herbicides (43%). Twenty-four cases were identified through laboratory reporting. All 24 laboratory tests had been ordered for worker surveillance. Twenty of the reported workers were symptomatic. Personal protective equipment was used routinely by 22 of the 27 applicators for whom information was available. These data suggest that pesticide exposures are occurring among a subset of the lawn care and tree service applicators, despite the reported routine use of safety measures. More rigorous evaluation of the control measures utilized in the lawn care and tree and shrub industry is warranted.


Malaria mosquitoes are vectors of dangerous human diseases and a model system for investigations of chromosome evolution, heterochromatin organization, and nuclei architecture in the cells of the reproductive system. Investigations of nurse cells chromosomes are aimed at understanding of mechanisms that cause interspecies differences in the nuclear spatial organization in these cells. One of the most important tasks of this research is the undestanding of molecular organization of the chromosome regions that are attached to the nuclear envelope. In the present review, the recent achievements in this field of research are described and unsolved problems of the spatial chromosome organization are identified.


These extracts from reviews do not pretend to represent a complete survey of all reviews in journals and newspapers. We offer only a selection from quotations that members have sent in.
Our reproduction of comments is not a stamp of approval from the Society of Indexers upon the reviewer's assessment of an index.
Extracts are arranged alphabetically under the names of publishers, within the sections: Indexes praised; Two cheers! Indexes censured; Indexes omitted; Obiter dicta.


Convolutional neural network-based approaches for semantic segmentation rely on supervision with pixel-level ground truth, but may not generalize well to unseen image domains. As the labeling process is tedious and labor intensive, developing algorithms that can adapt source ground truth labels to the target domain is of great interest. In this paper, we propose an adversarial learning method for domain adaptation in the context of semantic segmentation. Considering semantic segmentations as structured outputs that contain spatial similarities between the source and target domains, we adopt adversarial learning in the output space. To further enhance the adapted model, we construct a multi-level adversarial network to effectively perform output space domain adaptation at different feature levels. Extensive experiments and ablation study are conducted under various domain adaptation settings, including synthetic-to-real and cross-city scenarios. We show that the proposed method performs favorably against the state-of-the-art methods in terms of accuracy and visual quality.


Abstract. The current methods of object segmentation and extraction and classification of aerial LiDAR data is manual and tedious task. This work proposes a technique for object segmentation out of LiDAR data. A bottom-up geometric rule based approach was used initially to devise a way to segment buildings out of the LiDAR datasets. For curved wall surfaces, comparison of localized surface normals was done to segment buildings. The algorithm has been applied to both synthetic datasets as well as real world dataset of Vaihingen, Germany. Preliminary results show successful segmentation of the buildings objects from a given scene in case of synthetic datasets and promissory results in case of real world data. The advantages of the proposed work is non-dependence on any other form of data required except LiDAR. It is an unsupervised method of building segmentation, thus requires no model training as seen in supervised techniques. It focuses on extracting the walls of the buildings to construct the footprint, rather than focussing on roof. The focus on extracting the wall to reconstruct the buildings from a LiDAR scene is crux of the method proposed. The current segmentation approach can be used to get 2D footprints of the buildings, with further scope to generate 3D models. Thus, the proposed method can be used as a tool to get footprints of buildings in urban landscapes, helping in urban planning and the smart cities endeavour.


This work is mainly focused on the investigation and processing of luminescent molecular complexes of lanthanide ions (Ln), for the development of efficient near infrared (NIR)-emitting materials. In the light of a detailed understanding of the chemical/photophysical properties of the special class of lanthanide quinolinolato complexes, as prototype molecular materials for NIR applications, two main aspects have been taken into consideration for a progress in this field: i) (multi-) functional NIR-emissive heterolanthanide complexes and ii) lanthanide-doped sol-gel glasses as NIR-emissive optical materials.
Heterometallic assemblies, containing two or more different lanthanide cations as carriers of distinctive functionalities, represent promising materials where different physical properties can coexist or be in interplay thanks to intermetallic communication. A thorough discussion on heterolanthanide assemblies, pointing out the general strategies to achieve the desired (multi-) functionalities in these systems, is provided herein.
In this framework, heterolanthanide Er/Yb systems have attracted significant interest for Er3+ sensitization through resonance energy transfer (RET) from Yb3+ leading to enhancement of Er3+ NIR emission at 1.5 μm in glass host Yb-Er co-doped optical fiber amplifiers. A strategy to achieve composition control and homogeneity in such materials resorts to the encapsulation of Er and Yb in the same molecule to afford intermetallic communication between lanthanide ions sitting at short distance in a discrete polynuclear architecture. Fully efficient Yb-to-.Er RET at molecular level is firstly demonstrated in the mixed-lanthanide Yb2ErQ9 complex (Q = quinolinol ligand), and, as an extension of these studies, the investigation of the full photocycle leading to narrow-band NIR emission in a series of heterolanthanide ErxYb3-x quinolinolato compounds, on variation of metal composition and molecular stoichiometry, has been performed. Moreover, the first example of a tri-lanthanide discrete polynuclear molecule containing three NIR-emissive lanthanide ions: Nd3+, Yb3+ and Er3+, is presented. The NdYbErQ9 complex was investigated as a potential broad-band NIR emitter where the intensities of the three different main emissions from each lanthanide ion can be finely tuned on varying metal composition.
The investigation of the processing potential of luminescent lanthanide complexes through doping into inorganic or polymeric host matrixes is of crucial interest for the development of optical devices (amplifiers, optical waveguides, OLEDs, etc.). To this purpose, studies on the incorporation of an Yb quinolinolate complex into a silica sol-gel glass, with a thorough account of the photophysical properties of this hybrid material, have been performed. Promising results on silica thin films doped with heterolanthanide Er/Yb quinolinolates are also presented as a molecular approach to achieve controlled light conversion in NIR-emissive optical materials.


Bali is known as the islands of 1000 temples, Bali has a fascinating history about dogs. It is stated in the Mahaprasthanika Parva (Book of the Great Journey) on Mahabharata Story, after the end of the big war at Kurukshetra, Dharmawangsa (Yudistira) without any hesitation said that he would not go to heaven without his dog. He chose to suffer in the mortal world with his dog because the dog accompanied him throughout the journey. The journey of Yudhishthira to heaven accompanied by a dog, then inspires the Hindu Balinese people, in honor of the dog as a symbol of loyalty. No wonder, Balinese treat dog not as a pet but as a loyal friend.
However, Animals Australia investigation team' member under pseudonym 'Luke' on his interview conducted by Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC), claimed to have done a veiled investigation to uncover the practice of dog meat trade for consumption on the island of Bali. The man conducted a four-month investigation on the island, armed with small video cameras and mobile phones; he managed to document the activities of dog trading; ranging from how to catch the dog to how the meat is traded. Regarding the case, Government of Bali mentioned there is no such thing has been done in Bali. However, on several occasion, the dog is indeed used as a part of the ceremony. In the same time, the government also investigated the disseminated issue. However, they found nothing.


Following the corporeal turn in social theory, this paper explores how the body is implicated in pedagogic practice and leaning. Focusing on the body has usually been recognised as part of the regulative rather than instructional discourse in schools. Work has begun to redress the mind–body imbalance through the 'corporeal device' developed from Bernstein's 'pedagogic device', the fundamental relay through which social inequalities are reproduced in schools. To properly recognise the way bodies act as pedagogic relays requires a robust understanding of persons as multi-sensorial acting beings. Examples for choreographic pedagogy are used to illuminate the complex and multimodal features of instructional discourse and to suggest how the moving body could be enlisted to enhance students' access to formal academic discourses and better understand why some young people fail to achieve in schools.


The proportion of people seeking a partner later in life has increased in recent decades. However, studies exploring age variation in partner preferences are quite rare. We aim to fill this gap by examining the partner preferences for household care skills, financial resources, and education of unpartnered individuals aged 19–65 years (n = 1145) who participated in speed-dating events in the Czech Republic. We hypothesized that the importance of these characteristics varies with age, and that this variance may differ for men and women. The results show that gender differences concerning these characteristics are mostly stable across age groups. The exception is the importance of household care skills, which increases for older men and decreases for older women. We found that older adults value financial resources more than younger adults, and that this increase is true for women and men. Finally, we did not find evidence that the importance of education differs with age.


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a swimming endurance training program on changes in percentages and sizes of fiber types in different regions of the hamster diaphragm.

METHODS
Adult male golden Syrian hamsters were randomly assigned to a control group (n = 9) or a swimming group (n = 10). Hamsters in the swimming group swam for 80 minutes per session, 5 days per week, for 13 weeks. Fiber-type percentages and sizes were determined for the costal region and for the abdominal and thoracic surfaces of the crural region of the diaphragm from cross sections processed for myofibrillar adenosine triphosphatase.

RESULTS
Muscle fibers in the thoracic surface of the crural region were smaller in the swimming group than in the control group. Fiber-type percentages in the diaphragm, however, were not different between groups.

CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION
Swim training may have improved the endurance of the thoracic/crural region by decreasing cross-sectional area and thus decreasing the distance for oxygen to diffuse to the internal regions of the muscle fibers.


The remaining chapters provide lucid accounts of the aetiology of respiratory diseases, hypertension, disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, and the urogenital, endocrine, haemopoietic, and musculoskeletal systems. Their contents will be of great interest and value to the general paediatrician and to all those who are preparing for higher examinations, but one suspects that the contents of each individual chapter will already be familiar to the appropriate subor supraspecialist who has kept up with his subject. This is a book that contains something for everybody and a copy should be available in every departmental library.


The objectives of this review are to outline the recent findings related to the morphological heterogeneity of the biliary epithelium and the heterogeneous pathophysiological responses of different sized bile ducts to liver gastrointestinal hormones and peptides and liver injury/toxins with changes in apoptotic, proliferative and secretory activities. The knowledge of biliary function is rapidly increasing because of the recognition that biliary epithelial cells (cholangiocytes) are the targets of human cholangiopathies, which are characterized by proliferation/damage of bile ducts within a small range of sizes. The unique anatomy, morphology, innervation and vascularization of the biliary epithelium are consistent with function of cholangiocytes within different regions of the biliary tree. The in vivo models [e.g., bile duct ligation (BDL), partial hepatectomy, feeding of bile acids, carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) or alpha-naphthylisothiocyanate (ANIT)] and the in vivo experimental tools [e.g., freshly isolated small and large cholangiocytes or intrahepatic bile duct units (IBDU) and primary cultures of small and large murine cholangiocytes] have allowed us to demonstrate the morphological and functional heterogeneity of the intrahepatic biliary epithelium. These models demonstrated the differential secretory activities and the heterogeneous apoptotic and proliferative responses of different sized ducts. Similar to animal models of cholangiocyte proliferation/injury restricted to specific sized ducts, in human liver diseases bile duct damage predominates specific sized bile ducts. Future studies related to the functional heterogeneity of the intrahepatic biliary epithelium may disclose new pathophysiological treatments for patients with cholangiopathies.


Background: Quality of life (QOL) among elderly is an important area of concern which reflects the health status and well-being of this vulnerable population. Objectives: The objective of this study is to find out different domains of QOL and its association with sociodemographic factors among geriatric population. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was done among 76 persons aged 60 years and above from August 2016 to October 2016 in rural areas of Madhupur, Sepahijala district, Tripura. The World Health Organization QOL-BREF scale was used and analysis was done using SPSS version 20.0 statistical software. P < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: The mean QOL score was maximum in social health domain (67.32 ± 15.30), followed by environmental health (51.64 ± 10.11), lowest was in psychological domain (44.29 ± 11.50). Better physical health domain score was found among participants <70 years age. Psychological health was better among Hindu and persons from nuclear family and higher socioeconomic class, whereas male, illiterate, and businessman had better social relationship. Environmental domain score was significantly better among primary educated, businessman, and higher socioeconomic class people. Conclusion: The present study revealed social relationship domain had higher mean QOL score in comparison to other domains, but contrastingly psychological domain was affected worst in "old age group." Further research can be done to explore the factors affecting psychological domain.


The transfer number of Cl in a KCl solution within the pores of a dried collodion membrane is always lower than 0.5. It depends on the concentration of the solution and decreases in general with decreasing concentration. However, the transfer number for any given KCl concentration has the significance of a definite and constant figure only when an infinitely small amount of coulombs is allowed to pass through the system. For finite durations of electric transfer experiments a polarization effect will always change the original transfer number. This polarization consists in an accumulation of the salt at the one boundary and a diminution at the other boundary of the membrane. Again, as the transfer number strongly depends on concentration, this change in concentration will bring about in its turn a gradual change in the transfer number too. It is shown under what conditions the transfer numbers for the anion as obtained by electic transfer experiments are higher or lower than the ones expected without polarization effect. Thus, by changing the character and magnitude of the force driving the ions across the membranes, and according to the history of previous treatment of the membrane, the whole character of what we may call the specific permeablity for ions of the membrane may be varied without any substantial change of the membrane itself concerning its structure, its chemical composition, or its pore size. Contemplation of the results obtained in this series of experiments in the light of the theoretical considerations just outlined has impressed us with the fallacy of speaking of the definite permeability of any type of membrane for electrolytes. The behavior of the membrane toward the passage of electrolytes depends on a variety of conditions. It may be recalled that different investigators have reported widely varying results concerning the permeability of certain physiological membranes for electrolytes. Such experiments as have been described in this paper may lead to an understanding of some of the factors responsible for such variations. We are aware that the collodion membrane in its simplicity is scarcely comparable to the extremely complicated biological membranes. Nevertheless any attempts to understand better the behavior of biological membranes may wisely begin with a study of the simplest prototypes.


Impressive images of a ferocious deity holding a cleaver and skullcup emerged in precolonial Sumatra. The deity is depicted with a female partner on the sword Mandākinī, and as a monumental statue found at Dharmāśraya in the Sumatran highlands. These images are often said to represent (the Śivaite) Bhairava and king Ādityavarman (c. 1294–1374), but they have overt marks of Buddhist affiliation. It is shown here that they represent Vajramahākāla, as described in the Buddhist Ḍākinīvajrapañjaratantra, and the bloodthirsty Kālī. Comparative photographic analysis confirms that the monumental Vajramahākāla is concurrently a portrayal of Kṛtanagara (r. 1268–1292), śaivasaugata ruler of the Javanese Siṅhasāri dynasty and overlord of Dharmāśraya. Vajramahākāla's appeal as a unity figure for late Hindu-Buddhist polities is further illuminated by the careers of two Indians in the region, Tribhuvanarāja of Dharmāśraya (r. 1286) and the itinerant paṇḍita Gautamaśrī (fl. 1248–1268).


PART I: THE BASIS OF COWBOYIN': THERE AIN'T A HORSE THAT CAN'T BE RODE, THERE AIN'T A MAN THAT CAN'T BE THROWED Visualization Angle of Approach Achieving a Stable Construct Understanding and Recognizing the Pathology The Tough Stuff Exposing the Hidden Landmarks Insurmountable Problems: Bone Deficiency Gaining Speed and Tricks of the Trade Ordering the Steps Rotator Cuff Tear Patterns Postoperative Rehabilitation PART II: PLAYIN' WITH FIRE: A COWBOY'S GUIDE TO COOKIN' (WORKIN' SMOOTH), SMOKIN' (WORKIN' FAST), AND BRANDIN' (LEAVIN' YOUR MARK) Introduction Operating Room Set-up Instability Arthroscopic Bankart Repair / Arthroscopic Latarjet Procedure / Arthroscopic Treatment of Multidirectional Instability / Non-Engaging Hill-Sachs Lesion / Open Latarjet Reconstruction / Posterior Bankart and SLAP Repair / Repair of Bony Bankart Lesion / Repair of Reverse HAGL (Humeral Avulsion of Glenohumeral Ligaments) Lesion / Repair of Triple Labral Lesion / Arthroscopic Repair of HAGL Lesion SLAP SLAP Repair Subacromial Procedures (Non-Cuff) Arthroscopic Acromioplasty / Arthroscopic Distal Clavicle Excision / Coplaning of Distal Clavicle / Os Acromiale Excision Stiffness Capsular Release for Adhesive Capsulitis / Capsular Release for Post-op Stiffness / Manipulation Under Anesthesia Rotator Cuff Completion of a PASTA Lesion to a Full-Thickness Cuff Tear / Coracoplasty with Non-Retracted Subscapularis Tendon / Double Pulley Technique of Double Row Repair / Double Row Rotator Cuff Repair / L-Shaped Tear Assessment / Margin Convergence to Bone in a Reverse-L Tear / Massive Adhesed Rotator Cuff Tear / PASTA Repair: One Anchor Repair / Repair of a Partial (Upper) Subscapularis Tear / Repair of Bursal Sided Rotator Cuff Tear / Repair of Complete Subscapularis Tear / Repair of Interstitial Rotator Cuff Tear / Reverse L-Shaped Tear: Evaluation and Repair / Small Bursal-Surface Crescent Tear with Single Lateral Row Fixation / The "Bubble" Sign: A Method of Detecting an Interstitial Rotator Cuff Tear / The "Triple Double" Technique of Rotator Cuff Footprint Reconstruction / The Roller-Wringer Phenomenon / The Shoestring Technique of Knotless Lateral Row Fixation / Tuberoplasty: Arthroscopic Treatment of Greater Tuberosity Malunion / Margin Convergence to Bone: Double Row Repair of a Small U-Shaped Tear / Double Interval Slide Technique / Routine Margin Convergence Technique / Double Row Margin Convergence to Bone / Two Anchor Transtendon PASTA Repair via the Double Pulley Technique / Anterior Interval Slide in Continuity / Anterior Interval Slide Biceps Arthroscopic Assisted Biceps Tenodesis for Retracted Biceps Tendon Tear: The Cobra Procedure / Biceps Tenodesis without Supraspinatus Tear / Biceps Tenodesis with Torn Supraspinatus Tricks and Tips Arthroscopic Knot Tying Using the Sixth Finger Knot Pusher / Anchor Removal from Glenoid Using OATS Harvester / Anchor Removal from Greater Tuberosity Using OATS Harvester / Arthroscopic Suprascapular Nerve Release at Suprascapular Notch / Compaction Bone Grafting Utilizing OATS Harvester / Exposing the Scapular Spine / Salvaging a Loose Anchor by the Buddy Anchor Technique / The "Suture Weave" Technique of Reloading an Anchor / Pull the Right One: How to Assure That You Don't Unload a Suture Anchor Assorted Conditions Calcific Tendinitis / Mini-Capsular Plication in the Overhead Athlete / Stretching and Strengthening Exercises Patient Education Video The Future BioForkLok Bankart Repair / FiberChain/Swivel-Lok Double Row Rotator Cuff Repair


ABSTRACT Myxoma virus (MYXV) provides an important model for investigating host-pathogen interactions. Recent studies have also highlighted how mutations in transformed human cells can expand the host range of this rabbit virus. Although virus growth depends upon interactions between virus and host proteins, the nature of these interactions is poorly understood. To address this matter, we performed small interfering RNA (siRNA) screens for genes affecting MYXV growth in human MDA-MB-231 cells. By using siRNAs targeting the whole human genome (21,585 genes), a subset of human phosphatases and kinases (986 genes), and also a custom siRNA library targeting selected statistically significant genes ("hits") and nonsignificant genes ("nonhits") of the whole human genome screens (88 genes), we identified 711 siRNA pools that promoted MYXV growth and 333 that were inhibitory. Another 32 siRNA pools (mostly targeting the proteasome) were toxic. The overall overlap in the results was about 25% for the hits and 75% for the nonhits. These pro- and antiviral genes can be clustered into pathways and related groups, including well-established inflammatory and mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways, as well as clusters relating to β-catenin and the Wnt signaling cascade, the cell cycle, and cellular metabolism. The validity of a subset of these hits was independently confirmed. For example, treating cells with siRNAs that might stabilize cells in G1, or inhibit passage into S phase, stimulated MYXV growth, and these effects were reproduced by trapping cells at the G1/S boundary with an inhibitor of cyclin-dependent kinases 4/6. By using 2-deoxy-d-glucose and plasmids carrying the gene for phosphofructokinase, we also confirmed that infection is favored by aerobic glycolytic metabolism. These studies provide insights into how the growth state and structure of cells affect MYXV growth and how these factors might be manipulated to advantage in oncolytic virus therapy.


Microfracture process during bending tests of alumina ceramics used for artificial joints was evaluated by acoustic emission (AE) technique. Four-point bending tests were carried out in air, refined water, physiological saline and simulated body fluid. AE behavior during bending test inhibited the rapid increasing point of AE events and energy prior to the final unstable fracture. It was understood that the bending stress at the increasing point corresponds to the critical stress for maincrack formation. The critical stress was affected by water in environments more strongly than fracture strength. Consequently, it was suggested that the characterization of maincrack formation is essential for the long-term reliability assessment of load-bearing bioceramics.


Treatment of linear alkylbenzene sulfonate using various photolytic and photocatalytic processes is described. Based on first order rates, it is shown that 5,000 mg/L of H²O² for degradation of a 100 mg/L solution of linear alkylbenzene sulfonate is optimum. Two different photocatalysts, Degussa P25 and Hombikat UV 100 TiO², are used to degrade LAS in slurry batch reactors. The optimum photocatalyst loading for Degussa P25 is higher than UV 100 for treatment of LAS since >20% adsorbs to the surface of the UV 100 photocatalyst. Combination of photocatalysts does not improve degradation rates in batch tests. Combination of Degussa P25 and 600 mg/L H²O² and irradiation with either UV light at 254 or 365 nm does not improve degradation rates over the photocatalytic or photolytic processes individually. Photolysis of LAS with UV light at 254 nm and 600 mg/L H²O² added at different time intervals was not successful and no improvement in the first order rate constant was observed. For optimum results, the hydrogen peroxide was added at the beginning of irradiation.


In the present study, we herein report the synthesis, characterization and in vitro antimicrobial investigations of 3-methyl-4-(substitutedphenyl)-1,7-diphenyl-1,4-dihydropyrazolo[3,4-d][1,3,4]-thiadiazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidine derivatives by following renowned Biginelli reaction using microwave irradiations. Agar Diffusion Method was employed to carry out anti-microbial activities. The synthesized fused systems were found to be entirely anti-bacterial in nature and compounds 4a, 4g possessing nitro and chloro substituent respectively, at ortho position on the aromatic ring at C-4, behaved as the most promising antibacterial moieties. None of the compounds showed antifungal activity.


Simple Summary: Animals come in a huge array of types, species and structures, but without realizing it, we have focused our care on those like us, mammals. They look something like us, so it's easy to empathize with animals like dogs, cats and horses. We see them on magazine covers, worry about their pain and su ff ering and try to conserve their habitat. Because of this tight focus, we lose all the other animals—invertebrates, for instance, are 98% of the animals on the planet. Even though these animals aren't mammals, we should still care about their welfare. This paper gives the example of two groups, fish and crustaceans, whose welfare has been overlooked or denied, as an example of how we should care about the well-being of all animals, not just mammals. Abstract: In the last few decades, we have made great strides in recognizing ethics and providing care for animals, but the focus has been mainly on mammals. This stems from a bias of attention not only in research but predominantly in non-scientists' attention (to 'popular' animals), resulting partly from discussion about and depiction of animals in publications addressed to the public. This is somewhat due to political pressure, and can result in uneven conservation e ff orts and biases in targets for welfare concerns. As a result, there has been a huge backlash again, with concerns about pain sensitivity and welfare in fish, and a less focused but more pervasive omission of consideration of all invertebrates. That means welfare e ff orts are focused on 0.2% of the animal species on the planet, and education about non-mammals, particularly addressed to children, is necessary to broaden this focus and care more fully for the inhabitants of the planet. "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others".


This study develops a nanocomposite structure with magnetism and biocompatibility. Composite structures with magnetism can be applied for biomarkers, specific tissue cell detection and targeted drug therapy. This study adopts a chemical disposition method to prepare Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles with the average size of 20-25nm. The complex biocompatible chitosan-alginate membrane covers Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles and the thickness of the complex membrane is controlled at 50-80nm. The efficiency of the oligonucleotide (ODN) combination is increased through the high biocompatibility of this composite film. Two groups of different sequences of ODNs and a bridge ODN undergo hybridization. The results show that the intensity at which the Fe3O4 is covered by chitosan-alginate composite film conjugated with ODNs is 2300nN. Furthermore, Fe3O4 covered by complex membrane of chitosan-alginate hybridized with 30 μM ODNs to yield the optimum hybridization intensity of 4528 nN, and the average hybridization intensity of ODNs with different concentration is 3971 nN.


Religious developments in the latter part of the Seventeenth Century form a neglected phase of English history. This may be due in part to the feeling that the people of this period were not greatly concerned with religion. In 1947 G.M. Trevelyan held that "after 1660, the reaction against Puritanism took the form not of Anglican devotionalism, but of indifference to religion." In 1950 G.R. Cragg maintained that the general works on the religious developments from 1660 to 1700 were old and that very few could claim to be satisfactory. Cragg wrote concerning the changes in thought within the Anglican Movement, whereas this is a study of the developments in the Baptist Movement as reflected in the work and thought of Benjamin Keach. The first section of this introduction gives a statement of the purpose of this study, the method of procedure used in the acquisition and presentation of the material, and the scope of this dissertation. It is the purpose of this study (1) to give an analytical survey of the Baptist Movement from 1612 to 1640 which serves as a background; (2) to show the development of Keach in his relation to the Baptist Movement from 1640 to 1689; (3) to present Keach as a pioneer and leader of the Baptist Movement from 1689 to 1704; and (4) to make a critical estimate of the work and thought of Benjamin Keach in the light of the Baptist Movement. Knowing the purpose, the next aspect is the method of procedure. URI http://hdl.handle.net/1842/8203 Collections Divinity thesis and dissertation collection Privacy & Cookies Takedown Policy Accessibility Contact Baptist movement in England in the late seventeenth century as reflected in the work and thought of Benjamin Keach, 1640-1704


Kinetic modeling has been used to study the decomposition chemistry of ammonia at a wide range of temperatures, pressures, concentrations, and carrier gases mimicking the conditions in chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of metal nitrides. The modeling shows that only a small fraction of the ammonia molecules will decompose at most conditions studied. This suggests that the fact that the high NH3 to metal ratios often employed in CVD is due to the very low amount of reactive decomposition products being formed rather than due to rapid decomposition of ammonia into stable dinitrogen and dihydrogen as suggested by purely thermodynamic equilibrium models.


Voltammetric, UV-vis spectroscopic and viscometric methods were used to investigate the interaction between norepinephrine and DNA. The results of square wave voltammetric and UV-absorption measurements have shown that norepinephrine was bound to DNA. Besides the electrostatic interaction between DNA and norepinephrine, hydrogen bonds and intercalation may also exist. Viscosity measurements also suggest that NE is bound to DNA via an electrostatic mode of interaction at lower norepinephrine concentrations. However, at higher concentrations of norpinephrine, the increase in the relative viscosity of DNA indicated that the intercalation is also involved in the binding. The binding constant and the binding site size for the interaction of norepinephrine with DNA were K = 3.3 (\pm 0.18) \times 103M-1, s = 2.89 (\pm 0.05) base pairs and K = 5.15 (\pm 0.38) \times 103M-1, s = 2.41 (\pm 0.04) base pairs for the limiting conditions of static and mobile binding equilibrium, respectively. The binding site size determined shows that norepinephrine covers more than 2 base pairs upon binding to DNA. The standard Gibbs free energy change (D G0=-RT ln K) comes out to be approximately -21.17 kJ/mol at 25 °C, which indicates the spontaneity of the binding of NE with DNA.


Screening examinations are tests performed to find disease before symptoms begin. The goal of screening is to detect disease at its earliest and most treatable stage. In order to be widely accepted and recommended by medical practitioners, a screening program must meet a number of criteria (https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info/safetyhiw_05) , including reducing the number of deaths from the given disease.


Waterfowl harvest management in North America, for all its success, historically has had several shortcomings, including a lack of well-defined objectives, a failure to account for uncertain management outcomes, and inefficient use of harvest regulations to understand the effects of management. To address these and other concerns, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service began implementation of adaptive harvest management in 1995. Harvest policies are now developed using a Markov decision process in which there is an explicit accounting for uncontrolled environmental variation, partial controllability of harvest, and structural uncertainty in waterfowl population dynamics. Current policies are passively adaptive, in the sense that any reduction in structural http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol3/iss1/art8/ (1 of 12) [1/26/2009 3:48:39 PM] Conservation Ecology: Protocol and Practice in the Adaptive Management of Waterfowl Harvests uncertainty is an unplanned by-product of the regulatory process. A generalization of the Markov decision process permits the calculation of optimal actively adaptive policies, but it is not yet clear how state-specific harvest actions differ between passive and active approaches. The Markov decision process also provides managers the ability to explore optimal levels of aggregation or "management scale" for regulating harvests in a system that exhibits high temporal, spatial, and organizational variability. Progress in institutionalizing adaptive harvest management has been remarkable, but some managers still perceive the process as a panacea, while failing to appreciate the challenges presented by this more explicit and methodical approach to harvest regulation. Technical hurdles include the need to develop better linkages between population processes and the dynamics of landscapes, and to model the dynamics of structural uncertainty in a more comprehensive fashion. From an institutional perspective, agreement on how to value and allocate harvests continues to be elusive, and there is some evidence that waterfowl managers have overestimated the importance of achievement-oriented factors in setting hunting regulations. Indeed, it is these unresolved value judgements, and the lack of an effective structure for organizing debate, that present the greatest threat to adaptive harvest management as a viable means for coping with management uncertainty.


Choledochal cyst and biliary atresia are rare but important causes of neonatal jaundice. Both present with jaundice and acholic stool in neonatal period. Treatment and prognosis of both entities are very different. We are presenting a case in which choledochal cyst co-existed with biliary atresia; the antenatal diagnosis was that of choledochal cyst. Patient had cyst excision with hepatojejnostomy, but ultimately required portoenterostomy because of associated biliary atresia. We conclude that choledochal cyst and biliary atresia are two entities with similar antenatal and postnatal presentation; they should be differentiated as management and prognosis are different.


The increased importance of product development can be seen in both recent research on Dynamic Capabilities as well as research on the use of Target Costing (TC). The Dynamic Capabilities literature is primarily developed in the USA and Europe, while the TC practice is rooted in Japanese practices and has been transferred to the west. This study examines the relationship between the Dynamic Capabilities of the product development team and the implementation of Target Costing (TC) in publicly traded companies in Sweden. Using established concepts from both the Dynamic Capabilities and Target Costing literatures we find partial support for the relationship. We suggest that there may be a bias in the development of Dynamic Capability research that does not comprehend organization practices such as those seen in Japan, Sweden and in Lean Production organizations more generally. Reasons for this are discussed and proposals for further research are proposed.


How did North Koreans reform their agricultural technology after the massive famine in the 1990s? While the existing literature focuses its analysis on the nexus between the state and market to assess the possibility of a transition economy, we instead examine agricultural methods and technologies employed in farmlands to evaluate the nature of technological reforms. After identifying technology reforms on the basis of primary sources published in the DPRK such as yearbooks, academic journals, and newspaper articles, as well as other materials published in South Korea, Japan, and the United States and by international organizations, we classify them into two kinds of initiatives: modernization measures that sought to address the earlier failure to modernize agricultural technologies, and ecology-friendly farming practices designed to reduce or reverse the negative externalities of industrial agriculture such as overdependence on chemical fertilizers or erosion of soil fertility. While the two are commonly seen as incompatible by scholars of agriculture, we conclude that North Koreans synthesized the two to transform their decaying industrial agriculture into a more modernized and ecology-friendly sector. They have, through these reforms, maintained food sovereignty as their pillar of agriculture but complemented it with food security on a national scale as a way to maximize their agriculture outputs. Most of these initiatives seem to continue to date although it remains to be seen if they have actually succeeded in increasing overall agricultural productivity and sustainability.


The objective of this report is to set forth a group of time-domain models for the early-stage design study of shipboard power systems, and to demonstrate their use on various system architectures. The effort stemmed out of an earlier effort in which waveform-level models of three notional architectures – a Medium Voltage AC System, a High-Frequency AC System, and a Medium Voltage DC System were partially developed. Unfortunately, these codes were extremely computationally intense, limiting their usefulness for early design studies in which large numbers of runs, and a degree of user interactiveness, is required.


During the six years before her marriage in 1634, Rembrandt's wife, Saskia Uylenburgh, lived in Sint Annaparochie (Het Bildt) with her sister Hiskia and her guardian, the town clerk Gerrit van Loo (ca 1580-1641). The Memorijen by Dirck Jansz. (ca 1579-1636) provide insight into the particulars of daily life in this Frisian county. Gerrit lived in comfort in the Regthuys, where Rembrandt's wedding celebration would later take place (fig. 1). In 1627 Gerrit, a widower, married Hiskia Uylenburgh, daughter of Rombertus Uylenburgh, a former mayor of Leeuwarden (fig. 2). Gerrit's first son was named Rombertus after his late grandfather. Johannes Maccovius (fig. 3), a Franeker professor, was witness to the baptism. In 1632, riots broke out in Het Bildt and Gerrit's family fled to Leeuwarden, taking Saskia with them. That was a turning point in her life. It was then that she probably first met her cousin Hendrick Uylenburgh, who ran a branch of his art dealership there. He had paintings by and after Rembrandt for sale there, including a 'Head of an Oriental Woman', which was also a portrait of Hendrick's wife, Maria van Eyck (fig. 4). Saskia decided to visit Maria and Hendrick in Amsterdam, and also looked up their cousin Aeltje Uylenburgh, who sat for a portrait by Rembrandt in 1632, when she was 62 years old (fig. 5). While in Amsterdam, Saskia met the painter at her cousin Hendrick's home. Three days after the baptism of Gerrit's daughter Sophia on 5 June 1633, Saskia became engaged to Rembrandt in Sint Annaparochie. It was then that Rembrandt drew her in silverpoint on parchment (fig. 6). Recent physical examination has demonstrated that the drawing of Saskia and the inscription beneath it were done at the same time and with the identical implement. After the death of her sister Antje in November of 1633, Saskia lived in Franeker with her brother-in-law, the widower Maccovius. Rombertus Ockema, the son of her oldest sister Jelcke, was studying in Franeker at the time. In his album amicorum , this nephew kept a calendar of all the Uylenburgh dates of death. This is concrete evidence for the close ties within this family, which meant more to Rembrandt than his own relatives from Leiden. In connection with her engagement to Rembrandt, Saskia requested and received a declaration of majority ( venia aetatis ). In March of 1634, Saskia's godmother, Sas Uylenburgh, passed on in Leeuwarden. She had earlier made Jelcke her heiress, instead of her goddaughter Saskia. The family took legal steps to challenge this decision, with Gerrit representing Saskia as 'curator'. He was repeatedly to fill this role later on, even when he was no longer her guardian. Presumably Saskia remained in Friesland from the time of her engagement until her wedding on 22 June 1634. Rembrandt did not even know her exact address. He engraved her portrait in what appears to be bridal dress (fig. 8). One month later, Rembrandt gave power of attorney, via a Rotterdam notary, to Gerrit van Loo, so that he could collect outstanding debts for Saskia in Friesland. In similar fashion, Gerrit organized the sale of a family farm for Saskia cum suis in 1634. In 1635, Saskia (visibly pregnant and therefore probably accompanied by Rembrandt) was witness to the baptism of Gerrit's fourth child, Antje (fig. 9). When Saskia drew up her first will in 1635, Hiskia was to be compensated for services rendered with a generous bequest. In 1638, Gerrit once again assisted Saskia with the sale of a farm, 'Ulenburghs Sate' in Nijemirdum. The legal proceedings against Jelcke over the inheritance of aunt Sas apparently turned out well; Hendrick Uylenburgh and Rembrandt wrote nearly identical letters to the notary in Leeuwarden, demanding their portion. Gerrit van Loo was one of the witnesses at the baptism of Titus on 22 September 1641. Gerrit passed away on 26 December of that year, as duly noted by cousin Ockema. In the spring of the following year, Saskia fell critically ill and had a second will drawn up. Once again, Hiskia was promised the bulk of her (greatly increased) fortune. Rombertus Ockema also recorded Saskia's death on 14 June 1642 (fig. 10). Rembrandt remained in touch with Gerrit's widow, Hiskia Uylenburgh, whom he turns out to have owed money in 1656. One year earlier, at the instigation of his father, Titus had altered Saskia's will to the detriment of her family. Titus married Gerrit's niece Magdalena van Loo in 1668. In his request for venia aetatis , he provided proof of his baptism, on which Gerrit van Loo is named as his former godfather. Beside Johannes Maccovius ('the professor') and Francois Coopal ('the commissioner'), Gerrit van Loo ('the secretary') turns out to have been the third brother-in-law to give meaning and colour to hitherto obscure aspects Rembrandt's life. They were the academics among Rembrandt's next of kin, all four alumni of Franeker University and longtime acquaintances.


The thawing of permafrost exposes organic matter to decomposition but also mineral constituents to water. To evaluate the potential to create mineral nutrients hotspots upon thawing, an inventory of the mineral element content and its local variability in permafrost terrain is needed. Based on measurements from major Arctic regions (Alaska, Greenland, Svalbard and Siberia), it is suggested that the mineral reserve in permafrost is firstly controlled by the local lithology. More specifically, the data highlight the potential for mineral nutrient hotspots to be generated upon thawing in soils derived from deltaic deposits, but not in thermokarst deposits. Finally, we suggest that portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) may present a quick and low-cost alternative to total digestion and ICP-AES measurements to build a mineral element inventory in permafrost terrain at a large spatial scale.


Natural resistance of humans to the cattle pathogen Trypanosoma brucei brucei has been attributed to the presence in human serum of nonimmune factors that lyse the parasite. Normal human serum contains two trypanosome lytic factors (TLFs). TLF1 is a 500-kDa lipoprotein, which is reported to contain apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I), haptoglobin-related protein (Hpr), hemoglobin, paraoxonase, and apoA-II, whereas TLF2 is a larger, poorly characterized particle. We report here a new immunoaffinity-based purification procedure for TLF2 and TLF1, as well as further characterization of the components of each purified TLF. Immunoaffinity-purified TLF1 has a specific activity 10-fold higher than that of TLF1 purified by previously described methods. Moreover, we find that TLF1 is a lipoprotein particle that contains mainly apoA-I and Hpr, trace amounts of paraoxonase, apoA-II, and haptoglobin, but no detectable hemoglobin. Characterization of TLF2 reveals that it is a 1,000-kDa protein complex containing mainly immunoglobulin M, apoA-I, and Hpr but less than 1% detectable lipid.


Appropriate agricultural practices can minimise the contribution that phosphorus (P) transfer from agricultural land makes to surface water eutrophication. Minimising P transfer by establishing riparian 'vegetated buffer strips' is becoming increasingly popular, as they have been shown to reduce total P delivery to streams. However, an uncertainty remains about how buffer strips alter the delivery of dissolved forms of P, which may be highly bioavailable to freshwater algae. The overall aim of this study was to investigate whether biological solubilisation processes operating within buffer strip soils can increase the risk of dissolved P transfer, and in turn, understand how better to manage them in order to minimise this. A soil survey across multiple established buffer strips showed that microbial biomass P contributes to elevated P solubility in buffer strip soils. A plot scale experiment measuring the quantity of P forms in runoff demonstrated that P remobilisation in buffer strip soils could result in increased delivery outputs of dissolved P, given the right rainfall-runoff conditions. A soil column leaching experiment showed that the growth of some common riparian grass species could increase P leaching due to enhanced carbon mobility in the soil. These results are contrary to the perceived role of plants, microorganisms and organic matter solely as sinks for dissolved P in riparian vegetated buffers strips. The acquisition of P during growth of plants and microorganisms and the release of P from biota, may lead to buffer strips increasing dissolved P transfer risk. Management of these biological pools and processes will be necessary if buffer strips are to retain dissolved forms of P. Harvesting and removal of the buffer strip vegetation could provide benefits by tightening the biological retention-remobilisation cycle of P in buffer strip soils.


Although this document was produced with partial funding by the United States Environmental Protection Agency under Assistance Award CR–83467701 to the Health Effects Institute, it has not been subjected to the Agency's peer and administrative review and therefore may not necessarily reflect the views of the Agency, and no official endorsement by it should be inferred. The contents of this document also have not been reviewed by private party institutions, including those that support the Health Effects Institute; therefore, it may not reflect the views or policies of these parties, and no endorsement by them should be inferred.


Stereotypic behavior has been studied in various species, but little information exists on stereotypies in giant anteaters (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) under professional care. Giant anteaters are known for their solitary nature and well-developed sense of smell. This study examined the effect of conspecifics who were housed offexhibit on a male giant anteater's rate of pacing and pacing intensity when he was on-exhibit. Instantaneous sampling was used to determine the percentage of time pacing, the number of pacing bouts and pacing bout duration. Randomization tests determined that the reduction in the male giant anteater's rate of pacing significantly decreased after conspecifics were relocated to a different building. Pacing bout duration, a potential measure of intensity, also significantly decreased during the treatment phase. In addition, the giant anteater changed his pacing location after the removal of conspecifics. He transitioned from pacing near the conspecifics' off-exhibit location during the baseline to the opposite quadrant of the exhibit after their departure. These results suggest that keeping a male giant anteater in proximity to conspecifics without the ability to interact with them had an impact on his behavior. Better understanding the motivations for stereotypic behaviors of giant anteaters will better inform housing decisions made by zoo professionals.


In the academic world, every educational institution must have a tuition payment system, and with the rapid technological advances nowadays, educational institutions are required to create systems that are effective and efficient and relevant to current technology which will make it superior in competition within the scope of relevant agencies. At Raharja University, lecture payments still use a conventional system where transfer students and campus staff check which is considered less efficient. In this study, the writer uses a SWOT analysis between the virtual account payment system and the running system. The purpose of this study is to recommend the use of a Virtual Account in the payment of lectures at Raharja University. This research is expected to be a problem solving alternative that makes it easier for students to make financial payments, as well as facilitate campus monitoring of campus payments.


A new effective algorithm for isolating spectacles from facial images is presented. In the biometric person authentication through facial images, many faces with spectacles must be taken into account. However, the verification of the two images between one face with spectacles (input image, for instance) and another face without spectacles (registered image, for instance), which are taken from the same person, are not considered in the conventional system and have not been investigated thus far. In the practical case, however, these conditions are frequently considered. To expect a high matching ratio and stability for distinguishing a person from others, an effective method of isolating spectacles from facial images with spectacles must be developed. From this point of view, an effective method to isolate spectacles from facial images and the results of the experiment that occurred are presented. By using many types of spectacles, the efficacy of the proposed method was examined. As a result, 74.3% of extraction accuracy was obtained.


CaO-Al2O3-SiO2 (CAS) glass-ceramic is a novel material developed in recent years. It has a number of excellent properties, such as shining appearance, high strength, and good erosion resistance. So its practical prospect is wide. Many glass and ceramic scientists have studied this glass-ceramic, but there have been no publication made regarding corrosion mechanism. In order to choose the most suitable refractory materials for melting furnace for this glass-ceramic system, the corrosion and erosion mechanism must be investigated. The results can then be used to design the furnace and predict the life of the melting furnace. Also such investigation will reveal the extent of contamination of the final glass-ceramic product. According to the experiment that the glass liquid corrodes refractory materials in static condition, various effective material test method were used, especially Electron Probe Microanalysis (EPMA). Using EPMA, the chemical species, morphology, size and distribution of refractory materials corroded can be observed, so we know the microstructure of refractory materials prior to and after being corroded as well as the features of changing. In this paper, the authors present the features of refractory materials microstructure prior to and after being corroded by means of analyzing these pictures, which is very useful to provide the reliable theory to establish the mechanism that CAS glass-ceramic liquid corrodes the refractory materials.


Sustainable tourism has been defined as the form of tourism which meets the needs of tourists, the tourism industry and host communities today without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. As the scale of tourism grows through eco-lodge development, the resource use threatens to become unsustainable. With a degraded physical environment, the destination is in danger of losing its original attraction, increasing the levels of cheaper mass tourism and forcing more "nature-based" tourism to move on to new destinations, which are likely to be even more inaccessible and fragile. This study thus, sought to examine eco-lodge development, management principles and sustainable practices thereof in eco-lodges and the role of government in the development of eco-lodges for sustainable tourism. The study was conducted in selected eco-lodges in the Maasai Mara in Kenya. The respondents were 52, comprising of Managers of the selected eco-lodges, employees and selected key informants. Most of the data was collected by way of Questionnaires, personally administered to ensure clarification is offered where necessary. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics (percentages, frequencies and averages) and by data presentation on tables. The findings acknowledged that eco-lodges contribute to overall sustainable tourism development and conservation by raising awareness among local communities, stakeholder groups and government officials, and changing public attitudes toward conservation. Efforts to preserve and enhance the natural environment should therefore be a high priority for the industry and for governments. It noted that with a growing standing in the world economy the tourism industry has "a moral responsibility in making the transition to sustainable development. Establishing partnerships with local communities is being increasingly recognized as necessary for sustainable tourism. Responsible tourism is the job of everyone involved– governments, local authorities, the tourist industry and tourists themselves. Key word: Sustainable tourism


Conventional 3D anisotropic prestack depth migration provides accurate structural boundary information for events with dips from 0 to about 70 degrees. For vertical or near vertical events conventional methods rely on turning wave technology that will only be accurate if the recording aperture is very large and the depth model is known to a very high degree of accuracy. Also, the energy to perform this imaging methodology will only be recorded if the velocity depth model is characterized by significant vertical velocity heterogeneity. Duplex Wave Migration is a newly developed technology that is capable of imaging only vertical events (plus or minus 20 degrees) and it does not require either a large recording aperture or any specific a velocity model that must have strong vertical velocity heterogeneity. It is planned that this paper will provide the first examples of the use of this technology on North African data.


Currently,"Life Aesthetics"has become the world's newest aesthetic ideas,the basic way of international aesthetic academia to expand the boundaries of aesthetics is the same.Wolfgang Welsch,a German esthetician,appeals that aesthetic back to daily life,and calls his aesthetics beyond aesthetics,which means beyond the "arts center". At the 18 th World Aesthetics Assembly in Poland,when Welsch repeated his topic aesthetics beyond aesthetics,he met Arnold Berleant,the US environmental esthetician,who said no to him. But in fact,Berleant's requirement of that aesthetics towards the environment and Welsch's proposition of that aesthetics back to life are actually the same thing.However,Life Aesthetics is not like philosophy of art or environmental aesthetics,which was presented by Western aestheticians and became the dominant aesthetic thoughts. East—West esthetician almost simultaneously proposed the "life aesthetic"concept,and traditional Chinese aesthetics is "Life Aesthetics"in root. Liu Yuedi invited Curtis Carter,the former president of International Aesthetics Association,to edit the English corpus,Life Aesthetics: East and West,committed to promote the progress of life aesthetics on a global scale,through the interaction between the east and west. Liu Yuedi pointed out that life aesthetic was jointly proposed by East and West,it has two kinds of philosophizing resources of East and West,but also facing challenges that need positive response. Zhao Qiang further pointed out that as to the life aesthetic of the late Ming period,the key was the formation of the life idea of that to enjoy the happiness,to build artistic,elegant life situations,to enhance mundane daily life happiness.


Abstract Environmental pollution is one of the main challenges faced by humanity. By their ubiquity and vast range of metabolic capabilities, microorganisms are affected by pollution with consequences on their host organisms and on the functioning of their environment. They also play key roles in the fate of pollutants through the degradation, transformation, and transfer of organic or inorganic compounds. Thus, they are crucial for the development of nature-based solutions to reduce pollution and of bio-based solutions for environmental risk assessment of chemicals. At the intersection between microbial ecology, toxicology, and biogeochemistry, microbial ecotoxicology is a fast-expanding research area aiming to decipher the interactions between pollutants and microorganisms. This perspective paper gives an overview of the main research challenges identified by the Ecotoxicomic network within the emerging One Health framework and in the light of ongoing interest in biological approaches to environmental remediation and of the current state of the art in microbial ecology. We highlight prevailing knowledge gaps and pitfalls in exploring complex interactions among microorganisms and their environment in the context of chemical pollution and pinpoint areas of research where future efforts are needed.


Background: Point-of-care testing (POCT) facilitates rapid decisions by performing tests near or at the patient side. POCT integration accelerates clinical decisions and enhances patients' standard of care in emergency settings. POCT positively influences patient care especially during life-threatening situations or in the operating rooms and critical care areas as it enables the rapid provision of information related to blood gases and electrolytes. Such a process reduces Therapeutic Turnaround Time (TTAT) and pre-analytic and post-analytic testing errors 1. Methods: POCT has been implemented across Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) Emergency Departments and Critical Care Units in line with applicable hospital regulations and accreditation requirements. The aim of this project was to standardize blood gas analyzer methods and processes over all HMC facilities. The POCT team worked according to the College of American Pathologists (CAP) standards and regulations and selected the most advanced technologies available on the market for integration of the equipment on the HMC network while enabling for remote-access. This has been achieved by ensuring full connectivity integration to the hospitals Laboratory Information System (LIS). Training programs have been conducted to ensure that only competent and certified staff are authorized to perform patient testing in the Emergency Departments and Critical Care Units 2. Results: A total of 80 blood gas analyzers have been installed including 47 analyzers in Emergency Departments and Critical Care Units. During the period from August 2018 up to August 2019, 179,659 tests were performed by 3123 different operators including nurses, respiratory therapists, and perfusionists. The POCT system detects, troubleshoots, and minimizes errors by continuous monitoring of Quality Key Indicators (QKI). Conclusion: Successful implementation of POCT for blood gas analysis enabled rapid, accurate, and cost-effective patient testing. Furthermore, POCT of blood gases in emergency areas has reduced process complexity and improved operational workflow and led to an enhanced lean process.1 Effective communication through electronic documentation, quality assessment, and ongoing monitoring by the POCT team in parallel with healthcare providers who are performing bedside POCT will achieve compliance with international standards for emergency and critical care areas.


Sequence-to-sequence models are a powerful workhorse of NLP. Most variants employ a softmax transformation in both their attention mechanism and output layer, leading to dense alignments and strictly positive output probabilities. This density is wasteful, making models less interpretable and assigning probability mass to many implausible outputs. In this paper, we propose sparse sequence-to-sequence models, rooted in a new family of \alpha-entmax transformations, which includes softmax and sparsemax as particular cases, and is sparse for any \alpha > 1. We provide fast algorithms to evaluate these transformations and their gradients, which scale well for large vocabulary sizes. Our models are able to produce sparse alignments and to assign nonzero probability to a short list of plausible outputs, sometimes rendering beam search exact. Experiments on morphological inflection and machine translation reveal consistent gains over dense models.


The objective is to establish a simple relationship between two frequently used validation techniques which have been developed in the literature along the same lines: Principal Component Analysis and Cronbach's alpha. We have shown that under certain conditions, it is possible to estimate the reliability by using the results of a Principal Component Analysis only. Moreover, we report the relation between Cronbach's alpha and intraclass correlation coefficient, which are both used to estimate the reliability of continuous measures.


In order to thoroughly comprehend and adequtely interpret NMR data, it is necessary to perceive the complex structure of spin Hamiltonian. Although NMR principles have been extensively discussed in a number of distinguished introductory publications, it still remains difficult to find illustrative graphical models revealing the tensorial nature of spin interaction. Exposure of the structure standing behind mathematical formulas can clarify intangible concepts and provide a coherent image of basic phenomena. This approach is essential when it comes to hard to manage, time-dependent processes such as Magic Angle Spinning (MAS), where the anisotropic character of the spin system interactions couple with experimentally introduced time evolution processes. The presented work concerns fundamental aspects of solid state NMR namely: the uniqueness of the tetrahedral angle and evolution of both dipolar D and chemical shield σ coupling tensors under MAS conditions.


In many countries, the choice of a STEM career, especially in chemistry, is decreasing. A shortage of appropriately skilled workers can become a threat to any country's future achievements. Our research strives to understand behavioral trends and career choice factors related to personal and environmental themes. Building on the foundations of the Social Cognitive Career Theory, the research sheds light on prospective trends and retrospective perceptions of chemistry-related professionals in choosing chemistry in high school, as a career, and as a STEM occupation. To analyze the prospective trends in choosing chemistry, we used data curated by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics on 545 778 high school graduates. For the retrospective perceptions of choosing a chemistry career, we investigated three research groups (N = 190): chemists and chemical engineers, chemistry teachers, and third year undergraduate chemistry students. We found that choosing chemistry as a major and profession decreases from high school to higher education. Women tend to choose chemistry more than men at high school and university levels, and minorities tend to choose it more in high school but less in higher education compared to non-minorities. Task-oriented self-efficacy was the factor which contributed the most to chemistry career choice in all three research groups. The theoretical contribution is the unique SCCT application through the integration of both the prospective views on the behavioral theme and the retrospective views on the personal and environmental themes. Furthermore, we present new chemistry-related factors within the personal theme of this theoretical framework that can extend the SCCT framework.


In clustered networks of wireless sensors, each sensor collects noisy observations of the environment, quantizes these observations into a local estimate of finite length, and forwards them through one or more noisy wireless channels to the cluster head (CH). The measurement noise is assumed to be zero-mean and have finite variance, and each wireless hop is modeled as a binary symmetric channel (BSC) with a known crossover probability. A novel scheme is proposed that uses dithered quantization and channel compensation to ensure that each sensor's local estimate received by the CH is unbiased. The CH fuses these unbiased local estimates into a global one, using a best linear unbiased estimator (BLUE). Analytical and simulation results show that the proposed scheme can achieve much smaller mean square error (MSE) than two other common schemes, while using the same amount of energy. The sensitivity of the proposed scheme to errors in estimates of the crossover probability of the BSC channel is studied by both analysis and simulation. We then determine both the minimum energy required for the network to produce an estimate with a prescribed error variance and how this energy must be allocated amongst the sensors in the multihop network.


Cell formation (CF) is a crucial aspect in the design of cellular manufacturing (CM) systems. This paper develops a comprehensive mathematical programming model for the cell formation problem, where product demands, cell size limits, sequence of operations, multiple units of identical machines, machine capacity, or machine cost are all considered. In this model, the intercell moves are restricted to be unidirectional from one cell to the downstream cells, without backtracking. The proposed model is investigated through several numerical examples. To evaluate the solution quality of the proposed model, it is compared with some well-known cell formation methods from the literature, by using group capability index (GCI) as a performance measure. The results and comparisons indicate that the proposed model produces solution with a higher performance.


Prime office rents are often criticized for lack of responsiveness to market pressures. Recent papers have sought to explain the asymmetric nature of rental movements in central London office markets with models designed to exploit asymmetric movements. This type of rental movement is usually the result of incentivisation in the form of rent free periods. Rent free periods along with other less common forms of incentive, with the UK being the most prominent case, are becoming more common across Europe. Many European markets are implementing increased incentives in the face of falling rents and values. In this paper we examine the significance of rent free periods in creating asymmetrical rental movements by examining several markets across Western Europe with a focus on central London offices. We are seeking to explain the impact of incentives on effective prime rents in terms of volatility and value protection.


The importance of developing alternative livelihoods in Indonesia is reaching a critical level. Over 60% of the population is reliant upon the ocean for employment and destructive fishing practices have destroyed over half of the marine habitat 1. As a result, family incomes have suffered and fishers have been forced to travel farther from home, often leaving their families for a month at a time. In response, development efforts have begun to focus their attention on small entrepreneurial businesses that offer an increase in the average wage earned by rural fisherman while also reducing the pressure on wild fish stocks. The business model under analysis employs a franchise system of business development whereby fishermen buy kits to build backyard mariculture tanks capable of raising marine species for export and also for local consumption. While developers have observed success with local adoption and with species rearing, one major challenge remains. The mariculture systems require a constant energy supply to run the pumps but 47% of the country does not have access to electricity. This hurdle poses a significant challenge for the success of the mariculture program but also for other economic development initiatives that often rely on electricity access. The purpose of this Masters Project was to investigate energy alternatives for rural regions of Indonesia, calculate the costs and feasibility of energy development and evaluate the efficacy of the mariculture business model after inclusion of full energy costs. This was accomplished over a five month period through extensive data collection in the field. NGOs, private firms and government agencies were interviewed and documents were obtained. Results of the data collection were analyzed using the Homer Energy Modeling System and other Excel based tools. The results of this study indicate that the costs of energy development in Indonesia are prohibitive for mariculture entrepreneurs. A series of hurdles including geographic isolation, government mandated price ceilings for rate payers and limited wind resource availability pose significant barriers. The results suggest that alternative economic development on island regions of Indonesia should focus on industries that do not require a constant and steady energy supply. Businesses that can take advantage of a short duration of electricity supply or one that is unpredictable will be more cost effective and appropriate to local income levels.


Previous studies reported that both a more compliant quadriceps tendon and a stiffer Achilles tendon are associated with better running economy. While tendon stiffness can be decreased by a single bout of proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF), post-stretching dynamic activities (PSA) can counteract the potential stretch-induced force loss. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate if a single, moderate duration, (4 × 15 s), bout of PNF stretching of either the quadriceps or triceps surae muscles followed each by PSA, causes either an improvement or impairment in running economy. Eighteen trained male runners/triathletes visited the laboratory five times. The first two visits were to familiarize the participants and to test for maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) respectively. The further three appointments were randomly assigned to either 1.) quadriceps PNF stretching + PSA or 2.) triceps surae PNF stretching + PSA or 3.) no stretching + PSA. Following the interventions, participants performed a 15-min run on the treadmill with a speed reflecting a velocity of 70% VO2max to assess oxygen consumption (i.e., running economy) and running biomechanics. Our results showed neither a difference in oxygen consumption (p = 0.15) nor a change in any variable of the running biomechanics (p > 0.33) during the steady-state (i.e., last 5 min) of the 15-min run. Athletes can perform moderate duration PNF stretching of the quadriceps or triceps surae + PSA prior to a running event, without affecting running economy. Future studies should emphasize long-term training effects on tendon stiffness adaptations and running economy.


Laser surface remelting experiments on Zn-4.0wt.%Cu hyperperitectic alloy have been performed on a 5kW CW CO2 laser with the scanning velocities between 6 and 1207mm/s. Microstructures in both longitudinal and transverse section of the molten pools have been analyzed by optical microscope and SEM technique, and the average composition in the molten pools has been measured by Electron Probe Microanalysis(EPMA). With the increasing of growth rate, the microstructures of Zn-4.0 wt.%Cu alloy change from planar interface to lamellar structures and then cellular structures, and finally to absolute stability planar interface at a growth rate of 562mm/s, which shows reasonable agreement with that predicted by M-S theory.


Program understanding is associated with the hierarchy of abstractions and interpretations that are deduced from the code 16]. Therefore, the understanding process parallels that of the bottom-up programming process in that maintainers begin by associating small groupings of individual instructions with higher-level interpretations. The understanding process is repeated until the desired level of understanding is attained. Program understanding in this context requires the identiication and study of the numerous complex interrelationships that are induced by the data ow, calling, and functional dependencies that exist in the software. Therefore, an environment is needed in order aid the programmer in understanding software. The internal program representation (IPR) plays a critical role in the nature of that environment. In an earlier paper, we discussed both an internal program representation and an environment that conforms to the requirements stated above..11] The internal program representation, the system dependence graph (SDG), is a directed labeled multigraph that captures all control and data dependences, as well as the calling context of procedures; it is based on the one proposed in 8]. The toolset is referred to as Ghinsu and it supports a number of tasks over a program written in a subset of ANSI C such as slicing, dicing, and ripple analysis. In this paper we will present some background on the problems associated with program understanding and show how the Ghinsu toolset can aid the programmer in understanding software.


We examine cases of stationary vortices that can appear inside spherical liquid drops in microgravity conditions. The first case is that of an incompressible external flow of uniform speed at infinity, leading the liquid in the drop by friction to form a Hill vortex. In the second case, the external fluid does not interact by friction with the liquid, but the drop is subjected to an axial temperature gradient causing a variation in surface tension. This time it is the induced movement which entrains the internal liquid. Note that the two situations can lead to the same Hill vortex. Combined effects are envisioned. We are also interested in the time factor in these phenomena.


Kinesiology is the science of human movement. Within the United States, kinesiology encompasses different sub-disciplines of human movement, e.g., exercise physiology, biomechanics, sport psychology, and philosophy, as well as, the professions of teaching, leading, and training. This paper addresses one issue, the lack of moral education in the preparation of kinesiology pre-professionals. Moral education is imperative for kinesiology students to address issues of right and wrong as well as engage in higher order reasoning however, many problems exist in applying moral education to kinesiology. First, even though 37 states have some sort of requirement that moral education is a part of the general public education curriculum, apparently, no direct teaching of moral values exists in public elementary, middle, and high schools. Students arrive at the university with no background. Second, direct teaching of moral values is nonexistent because: teachers and college instructors are not content experts in moral education, consumer-based education drives and affects students' value of education, and the fallacious argument that ethics should only be taught to the young. Third, moral pedagogy is seldom applied. All of which directly affects kinesiology students in making decisions of right and wrong in a service profession.  Therefore, the purpose of this narrative philosophical paper is twofold: to discuss the problems and dilemmas incorporating moral education in kinesiology curriculum and discuss three specific solutions, the: a) creation of moral development courses, b) use of writing intensive courses, and c) development of courses in pedagogy. A narrative philosophical approach discusses theory and supports with real life examples.


Glenn Nielsen is a NIHR Clinical Doctoral Research Fellow at the Sobell Department of Motor Neuroscience and Movement Disorders, UCL Institute of Neurology and a Physiotherapist at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery. Working with Dr Mark Edwards, he has set up specialist physiotherapy service for functional motor disorders (FMD). His research is concerned with developing physiotherapy treatments for FMD and a feasibility study of specialist physiotherapy intervention for FMD. Patients with functional motor disorders are commonly referred to physiotherapists. There is growing evidence for the efficacy of physical treatments, but there is limited information in the literature on how this should be delivered and the role of physical treatments may seem ambiguous when symptom explanations stress the importance of psychological factors. Recent theories seeking to explain functional symptoms on a neurobiological level have provided a clearer rationale for physiotherapy and a framework to help plan and deliver specific treatment. This talk will explore the idea that a specific physiotherapy approach can target mechanisms responsible for functional motor symptoms. The outcomes of a physiotherapy service based on this approach will be presented.


Stridor can be a very alarming symptom in children, as it is typically caused by turbulent airflow through a partially obstructed airway, due to an organic cause. An abnormal respiratory sound can induce the suspicion of a life‐threatening clinical condition and requires an immediate diagnostic assessment. The aim of this article is to describe a very peculiar case of loud expiratory stridor, with an abrupt onset and no other associated symptoms, occurring in an 11‐year‐old girl. The stridor sounds ceased only during sleep at night. Videolaryngoscopy demonstrated that the anatomy and patency of the larynx were normal, and expiratory noise was generated by vibration of the supraglottic structures. Voice therapy led to remission of stridor within 3 weeks. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of expiratory stridor with such striking volume and characteristics related to psychological causes. This peculiar clinical condition needs to be taken into consideration in the differential diagnosis of pediatric stridor to avoid unnecessary and invasive procedures and treatments. Laryngoscope, 131:E929–E931, 2021


Functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, and of the microbiota residing therein, is of significance for nutrient digestion and absorption, pathogen resistance and optimal immune performance. During early life, development of the gut microbiota coincides, and affects, development of the metabolic, cognitive and immune system. Proper establishment of the gut microbiota is therefore considered essential for healthy development. In early life, the intestinal microbiota is relatively unstable and responsive to perturbations. Factors that are recognised to influence neonatal microbiota development include gestational age, delivery mode, nutrition and antibiotic use. As such, gut microbiota establishment is likely to be impacted in preterm infants, since they have an immature gut and are commonly exposed to caesarean section delivery, specific feeding regimens and antibiotic treatment. Although gut microbiota development can be negatively impacted during early life, the developing microbiota also provides an opportunity to be targeted as means of therapeutic strategy to support healthy growth and development. In light of this, it is important to understand how the preterm infant gastrointestinal tract is functioning, which microbes colonise, what the microbes are doing and how microbiota establishment is affected. In this thesis, gastrointestinal function and microbiota development during the early life of preterm infants, and the impact of various host and environmental factors on this development, were studied. The research described in this thesis was performed using material obtained during a single-centre, observational study including infants admitted to the neonatal unit born between 24-42 weeks gestation. A total of 238 infants (119 32 weeks gestation) were followed during the first six postnatal weeks, during which clinical factors were documented, and faeces and gastric aspirates were longitudinally collected for microbiota analysis. Microbiota development was not only approached compositionally via the application of qPCR and 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, but also functionally via metaproteomics through LC-MS/MS, giving new insights into gut function and microbiota development in preterm infants. Via a metaproteomics approach, gestational age-specific developmental patterns of the preterm infant gastrointestinal proteome were identified. Gestational and postnatal age were associated with quantity of specific markers for gut function and maturation, as well as with composition of the gut microbiota. The faecal proteome of very preterm infants indicated a gut environment dominated by Bifidobacterium, and with better digestive capacity, compared to extremely preterm infants. We showed that a Bifidobacterium-dominated community is associated with increased proteins involved in carbohydrate and energy metabolism, including those involved in the degradation of complex carbohydrates like human milk oligosaccharides. Regarding preterm infants, who commonly experience protein deficits and growth retardation, further exploration of the gut microbiota's metabolic traits is particularly relevant. The observed gestational age-specific developmental patterns were associated with the degree of exposure to perinatal antibiotics and respiratory support. Studying the sole effect of gestational age on gut microbiota development remains challenging due to the cohesion between gestational age and the degree of special care. Antibiotics are the most used therapeutics in neonatal intensive care units, prescribed for the prevention and treatment of infections and sepsis. It is important to understand the consequences of antibiotic treatment in neonates, as disturbances in microbiota development during this key developmental time window might affect early and later life health outcomes. We showed that two vancomycin dosages around time of removal of a central venous catheter presumably has no profound lasting effect on microbiota composition. However, postpartum amoxicillin/ceftazidime treatment impacts microbiota development, particularly by increasing the relative abundance of Enterococcus species, while decreasing Bifidobacterium abundance, during the first two postnatal weeks. In addition, more than five days of treatment seems to have a longer lasting effect on microbiota composition than less than three days of treatment as indicated by delayed (re)colonisation by Bifidobacterium species. In addition to gestational age and perinatal antibiotics, we included various factors during data analysis to elucidate their impact on gut microbiota development in preterm infants. As well as factors acknowledged for their influence on microbiota development, such as delivery mode and feeding strategy, we identified a potential influence of gender, respiratory support and maternal preeclampsia. These findings could serve as incentive for the initiation of future studies to unravel the true influence of such factors on microbiota development. The research described in this thesis contributes to current knowledge regarding gastrointestinal function and microbiota development during the early life of preterm infants and the factors associated with this development. This contribution could aid clinical practice and development of therapeutic strategies. In light of this, future work should consider 1) to implement functional analysis of the microbiota, 2) to study alternatives to antibiotics for the treatment and prevention of infections and 3) to elucidate the effect.


In 2015, Lesvos a Greek Island located at the North-Eastern edge of the Aegean Sea at the borders with Turkey became an important gate for border crossers who were fleeing persecution, wars, conflicts, authoritarian regimes and violence. During 2015 over 800,000 border crossers arrived via the Aegean Sea and Turkey into Greece and out of them approximately 500,000 arrived via Lesvos. Lesvos suddenly became the epicentre of what is predominantly referred to as the refugee crisis. The overwhelming arrivals of people seeking international protection and the mainstream discourses by the media and policy makers created a theatrical border spectacle full of suffering, misery and death. Although, Greece and Lesvos has been an important gate for unauthorised border crossers since the 1990s, it was only after the death of Alan Kurdi –a Syrian border crosser child, whose body was washed ashore at Turkey's coast- that shocked and sensitised the public opinion and the EU policy makers. Even though policy makers expressed their "deep concerns" for the increased death toll of border crossers, in the name of protection of human lives and public order enforced a strengthened militarised thanatopolitical border regime. This thesis is an ethnographic study which explores the multiple, multilayered border-related harms and everyday violence border crossers experience while seeking sanctuary in Europe. Having Lesvos as a case study this research aims to document the collateral casualties in human cost of the monolithic and cruel EU border regime and the politics of deterrence. The rationale of the thesis rests on the idea that violence, abjection, spatial and temporal confinements, stuckedness and deaths border crossers experience in Lesvos, and other EU countries are neither random, unforeseen, unpreventable "tragic" events nor accidents; they are instead an outcome of the continuum of multiple political decisions being enforced in time and space since the 1985 Schengen Agreement. By deploying ethnography with auto-ethnographical evocative narratives in the form of Vignettes this thesis examines the continuum of violence in time and space and its harmful long-term impacts upon border crossers' lives.


Translocation, the intentional movement of living organisms from one area to another is increasingly being used as a conservation tool to overcome barriers to dispersal. A dichotomy exists for conservation‐oriented translocations: on one hand, there are those that release plants or animals into known historic ranges and on the other hand, there are releases outside historic distributions. Misuse of or attempts to redefine established terms and a proliferation of variants of new terms such as assisted colonization, confuse and hamper communication. The aim of this opinion article is to describe and define a conservation translocation spectrum, from species reintroductions to assisted colonization, and beyond, and in so doing provide a standard framework and terminology for discussing translocation options. I suggest that we are moving along this spectrum, away from the dictates of historical species distribution records, toward the inclusion of more risky interventions that will be required to respond to habitat shifts due to anthropogenic impacts. To some extent rapid climate change changes everything, including how we should view introductions versus reintroductions. We need to seriously consider adding other approaches to our conservation toolbox. Assisted colonization will start us along this path, acknowledging as it does the accelerated rate of habitat change and the problems of attempting to preserve dynamic systems. The next step along the conservation translocation spectrum may be for reintroduction biology and restoration ecology to more comprehensively join forces on carefully selected projects to use species introductions to create novel ecosystems through active ecological community construction.


This STI Working Paper deals with this group of rapidly expanding firms. It does so by placing the discussion into a context of entrepreneurship, arguing that there are two main aspects to this notion: one of business start-ups and market entry, and another one of innovation. Evidence is based on results from five OECD countries (Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain and Sweden) as well as from Quebec (Canada). Each of these studies used a firm-level data set to identify high-growth firms and their differentiating characteristics. High-growth firms are those firms that rank first according to a measure that combines relative (percentage) and absolute rates of employment expansion.
Despite considerable differences in the underlying data and some of the methodologies, number of common findings emerge:
High-growth firms account for a disproportionately large part of gross jobs gained.
Small firms exhibit higher net job creation rates than large firms do. At the same time, significant flows ...


Thiosemicarbazides are compounds known for their biological activity, particularly their antimicrobial properties, which include activity against fungi. The difficulty of treating fungal diseases induced us to assess the antifungal properties of some novel thiosemicarbazide compounds. We selected the natural products limonene and camphene as sources for the preparation of these new thiosemicarbazide derivatives. The compound N(4)-[2,2-dimethyl-3-methylnorbornane]-thiosemicarbazide (TIO C) showed an antifungal effect on Trichophyton mentagrophytes, with values of MIC = 55 μmol L-1 and MFC = 110 μmol L-1. Scanning-electron microscopy showed a decrease in mycelium development and morphological alterations of T. mentagrophytes cultured on nail fragments and treated with TIO C. In an attempt to discover its mode of action, we noted that ergosterol is apparently not a target of TIO C activity. An effect of TIO C on T. mentagrophytes cell walls and dividing cross-walls was shown by observed impairment of the fluorescence of tissues stained with calcofluor white, a specific marker for fungal chitin, suggesting that the compound can affect and damage the cell-wall structure or may interfere with its formation, during cell division, growth, and morphogenesis. This approach to the synthesis of new derivatives might provide interesting compounds with greater biological activity in pharmacological research.


This important new book marks the coming of age of gay and lesbian studies programs at colleges and universities worldwide by documenting the dramatic changes that have occurred in the nature and goals of gay and lesbian studies. Gay and Lesbian Studies chronicles the development of gay and lesbian studies from its earliest development in European universities to the establishment of the Gay and Lesbian Studies Department at City College of San Francisco--the first gay and lesbian studies department at an American college. Authoritative contributors bring a variety of perspectives to the nature of the gay and lesbian studies discipline. Important topics in the book include discussions of the historical and theoretical context of gay and lesbian studies, conceptual issues, practical aspects of teaching and developing programs, and political issues and implications. The broad scope of this informative volume encompasses the field of gay and lesbian studies as well as the debate over whether this is one integrated discipline or two distinct ones.Gay and Lesbian Studies provides essential information for studying the growth of gay and lesbian studies and the issues affecting its development. Some of the highlights of this seminal book include problems in defining the terms homosexual, homosexuality, gay, and lesbian, how sexual identity plays a unique and central role in informing and structuring the reading of texts, first-hand accounts of the issues involved in teaching courses and developing programs in gay and lesbian studies, how the first gay and lesbian studies department began at City College of San Francisco, and the role of community-based historians in reclaiming the lesbian and gay past. At this critical time in the midst of groundbreaking developments, this exciting new book provides an invaluable resource for the current state of the field of gay and lesbian studies.


Pozzolanic concrete has superior properties, such as high strength and workability. The precise proportioning and modeling of the concrete mixture are important when considering its applications. There have been many efforts to develop computer-aided approaches for pozzolanic concrete mix design, such as artificial neural network- (ANN-) based approaches, but these approaches have proven to be somewhat difficult in practical engineering applications. This study develops a two-step computer-aided approach for pozzolanic concrete mix design. The first step is establishing a dataset of pozzolanic concrete mixture proportioning which conforms to American Concrete Institute code, consisting of experimental data collected from the literature as well as numerical data generated by computer program. In this step, ANNs are employed to establish the prediction models of compressive strength and the slump of the concrete. Sensitivity analysis of the ANN is used to evaluate the effect of inputs on the output of the ANN. The two ANN models are tested using data of experimental specimens made in laboratory for twelve different mixtures. The second step is classifying the dataset of pozzolanic concrete mixture proportioning. A classification method is utilized to categorize the dataset into 360 classes based on compressive strength, pozzolanic admixture replacement rate, and material cost. Thus, one can easily obtain mix solutions based on these factors. The results show that the proposed computer-aided approach is convenient for pozzolanic concrete mix design and practical for engineering applications.