Native plant nurseries face different challenges than traditional forest and conservation nurseries. They must educate their customers to the practical limitations of propagating native plants such as the poor availability of seeds or vegetative propagation material. The unusually long amount of time to collect propagules, treat seeds or cuttings, and grow the seedlings emphasizes the need for crop planning well in advance of the outplanting date. The concept of "source-identified, locally-adapted" planting stock must continually be stressed when dealing with native plant customers. New products mean new markets so nurseries should try to produce a range of species and stock types and show them to prospective customers. Native plant nurseries and customers should establish networks to better exchange information. Although there are few incentives to do so, both nurseries and seedling users should strive to share techniques about collecting seed and cuttings, seed treatments, and cultural techniques. Attending professional meetings and presenting propagation and outplanting information is one of the most effective ways to network. Publishing propagation protocols on the Internet is an exciting new way to share technical information.


Globalisation today seems to be an implacable force at work trying to homogenise world cultures into the same format. Huntington's well-known thesis sees a clash coming between Christian Western civilisation and the rest of the world. This article argues against Huntington that civilised cultures with different identities have comparable structural features. Because contrary cultures are all human constructs with good and bad mixed in, they can, like human relatives, learn from and correct one another rather than demonise others. It is posited that the deepest antagonism disturbing the world is not a Christian West versus the rest, but is largely the struggle between two tyrannical ideologies: a post-Christian capitalistic secularism and a theocratic fundamentalism. A biblical Christian mission of glocal culture formation (global awareness and local action) is offered as an alternative vision for our worsening dilemma. This biblically-rooted diaconal way to be redemptively busy in salvaging cultural activity proffers concrete hope. The life work of Bennie van der Walt is cited as an example, and a few illustrations of glocal artistry provide evidence that such a Christian mission can be deed as well as talk.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate whether treatment with L-arginine influences the healing of skin flaps in rats exposed to nicotine.

METHODS
40 male Wistar rats weighing 142.4 ± 10.1 g were separated into four groups: GC: treatment with 7.4 pH phosphate buffer, submitted to skin flap and observation for ten days; GN: exposure to nicotine for four weeks, submitted to skin flap and observation for ten days; GA: treatment with 7.4 pH phosphate buffer for four weeks, submitted to skin flap and arginine treatment for ten days; GAN: exposure to nicotine for four weeks, submitted to skin flap and treatment with arginine for ten days. We evaluated: areas of necrosis, re-epithelialization, inflammatory reaction and formation of granulation tissue by HE stain; the total area of deposition and differentiation of collagens I and III by histometry with picrosirius staining; and the scar vascular density by immunohistochemical staining with monoclonal anti-CD34 antibodies.

RESULTS
The percentages of necrotic areas in GN and GNA were higher (p <0.001) than in GC and GA. In histological scores, collagen deposition, and the percentage of type I collagen, GA and GC were similar to each other (p> 0.05), but higher (p <0.001) than GA and GNA; as for vascular densities, they were lower in GN and GAN (p <0.001) than in GC and GA.

CONCLUSION
Exposure to nicotine inhibited the effects of arginine and in unexposed mice there was induction of angiogenesis and improvement in the total collagen deposition in the skin flaps.


Introduction: The relationship between physical exercise and appetite regulation can lead to improved competitive performance of athletes. Mediators of the entero-insular axis generate neurohumoral signals that influence on the appetite regulation and energy homeostasis. AIM: Determine the influence of diet and prolonged exercise on intestinal peptide, ghrelin, resistin, leptin, and incretins (GLP-1 and GIP) in an athlete population. Methods: It is a prospective intervention study, conducted from October 2012 to March 2013. 32 healthy semiprofessional rugby players, aged 13-39 years were included. Anthropometric measurements and blood samples were taken at time 0 and after six months of study. Athletes were randomized to a protein diet (PD) or Mediterranean diet (MD) and plasma levels of intestinal peptide, ghrelin, resistin, leptin, and incretins were calculated. Results: In the PD group, GLP-1 and GIP plasmatic levels showed a significant decrease (p <0.03; p <0.01 respectively). GLP-1 and ghrelin plasmatic concentration demonstrated a significant decrease (p <0.03 respectively) in those who experienced gain of muscle mass (MM). Finally, the athletes related to the PD who showed increased total weight and muscle mass presented significantly decreased GLP-1 concentration (p <0.03 and p<0.002, respectively). Conclusion: GLP-1 plasmatic concentration was decreased, with the PD suggesting to be more beneficial for the athletes in order to avoid hypoglycemia. Furthermore, muscle mass and total weight gain, linked to the PD, could enhance athletic performance in certain sport modalities.


The leaf oil obtained by hydro-distillation of two different lemongrasses (Cymbopogon spp.) were investigated by Gas Chromatography Flame-Ionization Detector (GC-FID) and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). Six samples (3 dried leaf samples and 3 fresh samples) randomly collected in different locations at Matale and Ranna areas were subjected to analysis. The main constituents of C. flexuosus Stapf (East Indian red stem lemongrass) grown Matale and Ranna areas were identified as d-limonene (1.7%, 4.0%), neral (39.9%, 23.7%), geranial (40.7%, 30.5%), citronellol (0.2%, 1.5%) and geraniol (5.0%, 23.1%). Plants grown Ranna area showed highest mean leaf oil yield (0.4% v/w). The essential oil of C. citratus Stapf (West Indian white stem lemongrass) grown Ranna area was characterised by high content of myrcene (9.1%), neral (33.3%), geranial (47.6%), geraniol (3.2%) and geranyl acetate (0.4%). Total citral content is a significant quality parameter of lemongrass oil. Total citral content is considered as a mixture of the trans-isomers geranial (ctiral a) and cis isomer neral (citral b). Citral fraction can be used for ionone synthesis which is valuable ingredient for perfumery industries. Hence high oil and citral yielded lemongrass varieties are required. Gas Chromatography of lemongrass oil showed that the West Indian white stem lemongrass grown Ranna area produced highest total citral content (80.9%). The East Indian variety grown in Ranna area showed a higher content of geraniol (23.1%). However, there is no such a high content of geraniol reported in both species of lemongrass oil in Sri Lanka. Keywords: Citral, Geranial, Neral, Cymbopogon spp., GC-MS, GC-FID analysis


The constant interest in common wheat investigations is determined by the main share this crop has in agriculture and by the unique properties it possesses. This investigation was carried out under field conditions for a three-year period (2009 - 2011) in the trial field of Dobrudzha Agricultural Institute - 2 General Toshevo (DAI). The trial was designed according to the split plot method in four replications, the size of the trial plot being 12 m . Five common wheat genotypes developed at DAI were subjected to investigation (Iveta, Enola, Pryaspa, Bolyarka, Dragana). The trial involved four previous crops: oilseed rape, pea, sunflower and maize, and three norms of mineral fertilization depending on the type of previous crop. Fertilization with phosphorus and potassium was used as a background (Р К ), kg/ha and nitrogen was tested at the following fertilizer norms: N , N and N kg/ha after previous crops oilseed rape, 60 60 60 120 180 sunflower and maize, and N , N and N kg/ha after pea, with check variant N P K. The effect of the type of previous crop on dry matter accumulation in the 30 60 90 0 0 0 investigated common wheat varieties was analyzed. It was found that dry matter accumulation continued throughout the entire growth season, the year conditions being decisive for its amount. Dry matter accumulation during the individual stages of growth and development was specific for each investigated cultivar. The investigated cultivars accumulated higher total biomass than the standard Pryaspa. After the early previous crops (oilseed rape and pea), the amounts of dry matter formed were higher at the end of the growth period (after heading). After the late previous crops (sunflower and maize) the new wheat varieties formed higher total biomass as early as the beginning of spring growth. After predecessor pea the highest amounts of dry matter were formed.


The purpose of this study is to ascertain the performances and perceptions of the students in Hybrid Studio Format (HSF). This format retains the large lecture component but combines recitation and laboratory instruction into Studio Physics. In this research, 'problem solving strategy' and 'attitudes toward problem solving surveys' were administered by pre/post-test to evaluate students' problem solving strategies and attitudes in problem solving. The data on student performance and conceptual understanding was collected by comparing the grades of the students enrolled in Physics course for two semesters (Fall 2008/Spring 2009). Written survey and Likert scales about HSF and LON-CAPA (learningonline network-computer-assisted personalized approach) were used to collect students' opinions about the course. Also multiple interviews were performed with volunteer students about HSF during two semesters. The results of the performance data showed that students performed better on LON-CAPA problems and hands-on activities than on written assignments and exams. The outcome could be some technical features of LON-CAPA which could be easily modified. Open-ended questions, applets and demonstrations were recommended in the studio activities to increase the students' problem solving skills with better conceptual understanding. Student interviews showed that the students found the interactive-engagement method of learning physics to be a positive experience. They liked the integration of homework and laboratory activities, working in groups and having the opportunity to interact individually with instructors. In short, the teaching-learning method presented here, HSF had made a positive impact on the problem-solving skills of students and opinions about the Physics course.


In this paper an 8×1 array waveguide grating-wavelength division multiplexing (AWG-WDM) is optimized for its applications in WDM networks, with the wavelength selective switch as the multiplexer/demultiplexer. With the new method of optimization proposed in this work, a higher bandwidth and lower crosstalk and insertion loss are achieved. The procedure of optimization for finding the best parameters such as the waveguide separation at the output circle, a new structure for Rowland circle, a new structure for the tapered waveguide, and displacement of the foci of the Rowland circle from its standard construction are presented and the results are discussed. We designed a silica-based 8 channel AWG-WDM with the channel spacing of 1.6 nm and the central wavelength of 1550 nm. The occupied area of the phased arrayed waveguides is 2.2 × 1.3 cm2, and the total device size is 3.6 × 1.28 cm2. The 3dB bandwidth of AWG-WDM is 3.31 × 10−4 μm. The insertion loss of the side channels (1 or 8) is about 2.65 dB for this design, where it is about 3.77 dB for the device based on the standard Rowland circle structure.


Neuroblastoma is one of the most common extracranial solid tumors in children. One of the main causes of death from childhood cancer in children aged one to five years, and it accounts for about 15% of all deaths from cancer in children. They have characteristic features, such as an early age of onset, a high frequency of metastasis in the diagnosis of patients older than 1 year and a tendency to spontaneous regression of tumors in young children. Although several prognostic factors were identified (age, stage, histology, heredity), identifying non-invasive biomarkers for disease surveillance and monitoring therapy is indeed still a clinical necessity. In this review, we describe the latest miRNA data in neuroblastoma, with an emphasis on those involved in tumor progression, metastasis, and drug resistance. In addition, we will discuss their potential use in the treatment of this tumor.


Intumescent coating fire protection on steel structures is becoming widely popular in the UK and Europe. The current assessment for the fire protection performance method using the standard fire resistance tests is not accurate, owing to the reactive behaviour of intumescent coating at elevated temperature. Moreover, the available intumescent coating temperature assessment method provided in the Eurocode for structural steel at elevated temperature does not incorporate the steel beam?s behaviour and/or assessment for partial protection and/or damaged protection. The research work presented provides additional information on the assessment of partial and/or damaged intumescent coating at elevated temperature. In the scope of the investigation on the thermal conductivity of intumescent coating, it was found that the computed average thermal conductivity was marginally sensitive to the density and emissivity at elevated temperature. However, the thermal conductivity was found to be reasonably sensitive to the differences in initial dft?s (dry film thicknesses).In this research, a numerical model was developed using ABAQUS to mimic actual indicative test scenarios to predict and establish the temperature distribution and the structural fire resistance of partial and/or damaged intumescent coating at elevated temperatures. Intumescent coating actively shields when the charring process occurs when the surface temperature reaches approximately 250�C to 350�C. Maximum deflection and deflection failure times for each damage scenario were analyzed by applying specified loading conditions. It was also found that the structural fire resistance failure mode of intumescent coating on protected steel beams was particularly sensitive to the applied boundary conditions. Careful selection of nodes in the element was necessary to avoid numerical instability and unexpected numerical error during analysis. An assessment of various numerical models subjected to a standard fire with partially protected 1mm intumescent coating was analysed using ABAQUS. An available unprotected test result was used as a benchmark. The outcome suggests that the fire resistances of the beams were found to be sensitive to the location of the partial and/or damage protection. The overall fire resistance behaviour of intumescent coating at elevated temperature was summarized in a ?typical deflection regression? curve. An extensive parametric analysis was performed on localized intumescent coating damage with various intumescent coating thicknesses between 0.5mm to 2.0mm. It was found that the average deflection was linear for the first 30 mins of exposure for all the variables, damage locations and intumescent thicknesses. It was concluded that a thicker layered intumescent coating may not be a better insulator or be compared to a much less thick intumescent coating at elevated temperature. The use of passive fire protection, however, does enhance the overall fire resistance of the steel beam, in contrast to a naked steel structure. The research work investigated the intumescent coating behaviour with different aspects of protection and damage and the outcome of the assessment provided a robust guide and additional understanding of the performance of intumescent coating at elevated temperature.


At NASA, we develop myriad Eclipse RCP applications to provide situational awareness for remote systems. The Intelligent Robotics Group at NASA Ames Research Center has developed VERVE - a high-performance, robot user interface that provides scientists, robot operators, and mission planners with powerful, interactive 3D displays of remote environments.VERVE includes a 3D Eclipse view with an embedded Java Ardor3D scenario, including SWT and mouse controls which interact with the Ardor3D camera and objects in the scene. VERVE also includes Eclipse views for exploring and editing objects in the Ardor3D scene graph, and a HUD (Heads Up Display) framework allows Growl-style notifications and other textual information to be overlayed onto the 3D scene. We use VERVE to listen to telemetry from robots and display the robots and associated scientific data along the terrain they are exploring; VERVE can be used for any interactive 3D display of data.VERVE is now open source. VERVE derives from the prior Viz system, which was developed for Mars Polar Lander (2001) and used for the Mars Exploration Rover (2003) and the Phoenix Lander (2008). It has been used for ongoing research with IRG's K10 and KRex rovers in various locations. VERVE was used on the International Space Station during two experiments in 2013 - Surface Telerobotics, in which astronauts controlled robots on Earth from the ISS, and SPHERES, where astronauts control a free flying robot on board the ISS.We will show in detail how to code with VERVE, how to interact between SWT controls to the Ardor3D scenario, and share example code.


In the following work, we will consider an articulation between certain courses on language in Lacan, Heidegger and Derrida's elaborations. Specifically, we will develop and link the respective approaches around the sedimentation in language and its correlative limitations, distinguishing their methods, strategies and proposals. In a dialogue between such perspectives, we will place special emphasis on the way in which these thinkers approach the difficulties derived from the inescapable articulation from semantic and comprehensive fields that precede and orient their own discursive attempts. In this context, we will distinguish some references in Lacan's elaborations that can account for a common understanding soil. Our objective is to contribute to an expansion of the debate and contemporary analysis around subjective-discursive relations and positions in language, having as a horizon of significance the multiple resonances of our syntagma-guide of Seminar 11 of Lacan:  the dark gods .


Engaged students are committed and more likely to continue their university studies. This paper details an experiential first-year practical skills course designed for students pursuing Bachelor's degrees in Agribusiness Management and General Agriculture. The programme enables students to develop real products and services to sell on an organized sales day and food preparation event. In the course, students participate as producers, consumers and agri-business entrepreneurs using a supply chain approach - allowing them to understand the linkages from production to consumption. The current paper explores the effectiveness of this experiential assessment in terms of its ability to engage students. Semi-structured questionnaires were used to assess students' engagement for 203 students during 2011-2012. Comparing student engagement to a traditional lecture course, the results suggest that the use of events such as the sales day and food preparation exercise is capable of engaging students. The results of the assessment suggested that more active learning and collaboration, through more academically challenging activities, permits more student-faculty interaction than a traditional lecture-based course. The course structure outlined in this paper permits the dynamics of a live marketing environment, which can be introduced into the classroom to permit higher quality learning. Practical advice for educators seeking to design and implement engaging pedagogy is also provided.


This paper will review the history of a successful university–industry cooperative research program, and its role in the history of active sound and vibration control. In 1981, the corporate research department of a manufacturer of passive silencing products approached a major research university for assistance on a research program in the emerging field of active sound and vibration control. Developments in digital signal processing at that time suggested that the technology, invented in the 1930s, had the potential for successful application. A joint research program was initiated with the university to support research to advance the technology. Company personnel continued their own complementary research and also participated in university activities including taking courses and pursuing graduate degrees. The result of these combined efforts was the development of significant new solutions to old problems. Ultimately, the manufacturer formed a new business unit to commercialize these advances in a var...


Although torque enhancement in multiphase induction machines using harmonic current injection has been addressed in the literature, a detailed assessment of the effect of this enhancement on the design parameters of multiphase machines with different numbers of phases is needed. This paper addresses this topic by performing a detailed comparative study of harmonic injection torque enhancement on multiphase machines with different numbers of phases. Sets of identical dimension and volume rotors differing in their value of the bar skew angle were designed to operate with the various stator designs in order to facilitate the comparative evaluation. A mathematical approach is also introduced to enable the derivation of equivalent multiphase machine parameters based on an existing one. In addition to a detailed finite-element-analysis verification of the results, time domain MATLAB simulations are used to verify the mathematical modeling. The results provide a means to assess the extent to which such harmonic injection may be beneficial by quantifying torque enhancement as well as torque density for various multiphase machines.


Background: After any physeal injury, the primary concern is the possibility of some pattern of growth alteration, particularly transphyseal bridging that may cause lasting deformities and impact subsequent patient care. Small areas of physeal bridging, however, may be associated with continued growth, rather than impairment. Methods: Seven patients with small central physeal bridges of the distal femur were identified. Demographic data and imaging studies were reviewed. Results: Radiography identified small, relatively centrally located transphyseal osseous bridging that was associated with a linear (longitudinal) region of osseous density extending from the physeal bridge proximally into the metaphysis. This linear striation disappeared at the metaphyseal/diaphyseal gradation, an area of progression proximally from metaphysis to diaphysis. Only 1 patient had a significant leg length inequality. Magnetic resonance imaging confirmed the intrametaphyseal linear sclerotic bone and its disappearance with diaphyseal remodeling. Conclusions: Small, central transphyseal osseous bridges may form after radiologically confirmed acute physeal injury. Normal physiological (hydrostatic) growth forces can be sufficient to overcome such limited central bridging and allow continued, essentially normal, longitudinal growth. Level of Evidence: Level IV (retrospective case series); anatomic study.


Using a semi-classical approach, we have calculated values of the Stark broadening parameters for several lines of Pb III. Stark widths and shifts are presented for an electron density of 1017 cm? 3 and temperatures T = 11000-100000 K. In this work, we have carried out a study of the influence of the introduction of the terms that allow us to take into account the Core Polarization (CP) effects in the calculation of the Stark broadening parameters.
Our results are compared with available experimental and theoretical data. Common trends for the several lines have been found and are discussed.


Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate how women who have incurred ACL injury for more than 10 years ago, feel that the injury affects them today. Method: A qualitative semi-structured interview survey with five women who 10- 28 years ago incurred the anterior cruciate ligament injuries when playing handball or soccer has been performed. The study has been inspired by a phenomenological concept of science, mainly by life-world concept. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Main result: Some informants have experienced severe loss of physical ability in both daily living situations and in training, while others did not appreciably felt impacted in daily living and experienced great opportunities for physical activity. Limitations which emerged were restrictions in movement, joint stiffness, pain, swelling, and crepitations that led to the loss of physical ability. One respondent had been diagnosed with advanced osteoarthritis. The reduced capacity affected both everyday situations, at work and in certain training situations. The view of their physical condition also showed to be impaired due to knee injury. The respondents also expressed that they were emotionally affected. Emotional states such as frustration, sadness, debilitating emotions and depression, but also joy and relief were described by the respondents. Participants in the survey reported that they feel strongly influenced by fear of new injury. This in turn has led them to develop fear of everyday situations where new damage could potentially occur, such as stepping in potholes, go on curbs, quick turns and stumbling. Some even feel socially inhibited due to knee injury. The injury has also caused mixed feelings about the future, where some have expressed concern, while others see the future with confidence. Conclusion: The results may indicate that the population studied is not sufficiently rehabilitated and recovered emotionally after injury. Variations in perceived impacts were seen. This was attributed to the informant's life-world. Although some strains may appear to be of similar nature, the informants have been affected in differently in their ways of living.


Clinical observations and studies have confirmed copper deficiency in Khuzestan Province, Iran. This study evaluates the efficacy of copper preparations in the treatment of copper deficiency in sheep. The study was carried out on 180 ewes in a flock with records of enzootic ataxia in their lambs in Ramhormoz. The ewes were randomly divided into 3 groups of sixty: The control group (Group 1); the oral treatment group (Group 2); and, the injection treatment group (Group 3). The ewes in Group 2 received a 4 g capsule of copper oxide orally and the ewes in Group 3 received 50mg of calcium copper edentate by subcutaneous injection. The copper compounds were given before the release of ram into the flock. Blood samples were taken at the start and 2.5 months after the start of the study; and, during lambing time. Blood copper and ceruloplasmin content were measured. In all groups, at the start of experiment, the mean blood copper was near 3 μmol/L. This measurement indicates functional copper deficiency or hypocuprosis and the mean blood ceruloplasmin was at the lowest level of the normal range. The blood copper and ceruloplasmin levels in the second and third sampling times in Groups 2 and 3 showed significant elevations (p<0.05). No significant differences were seen in the blood concentrations of copper and ceruloplasmin between the second and third sampling times for Groups 2 and 3. This study showed that a hypocuprosis presents among sheep raised in the area and there was a partial response to a single dose of copper compounds. Therefore, repeated doses of copper compounds are recommended if hypocuprosis is diagnosed in any flock of sheep in the Khuzestan Province area.


Background Among the factors known to influence reading development and performance, attitude toward reading is shown to be particularly critical for developing learners. Reading attitude enhances independent reading, levels of engagement in classroom reading activities, and the amount and variety of topics in reading, which in turn influence reading skills and strategies. Reading attitude is an important element in students' active engagement and achievement in reading. Purpose The first purpose of this study was to test whether Korean students' home literacy resources, parental support and parents' reading attitude, and teachers' use of instructional strategies in relation to reading could predict Korean students' reading attitude. The second purpose was to test a model linking family- and school-related factors, reading attitude, and reading behaviors and learning strategy use as outcomes. Specifically, we hypothesized that positive and negative attitudes toward reading would mediate the relationships between home, parent, and teacher variables and reading outcomes. Design Using a nationally representative sample from the PISA 2009 database, we tested two structural equation models. Because there were two categories of outcomes examined in this study, we fitted the model separately for each outcome category. The first model (Reading Behavior Model) included reading activities such as reading for enjoyment, reading diversity, and online reading as outcome variables. The second model (Learning Strategy Model) shared the same model structure with the first one except that the outcome variables were use of learning strategies such as memorization, elaboration, and control. In both models, reading attitudes were hypothesized to mediate the relationship between contextual factors (i.e. gender, home resources, parental and teacher influences) and the reading/learning outcomes. Conclusions Gender, books and other types of literacy resources in the home, and parents' attitudes toward reading functioned as consistent predictors of Korean students' positive and negative attitudes toward reading. Among the contextual factors, parents' reading attitude and parental support for reading directly as well as indirectly predicted students' reading behaviors via students' reading attitude. Parental support for reading and teachers' instruction and assignment strategies in reading directly predicted students' use of learning strategies as well. Positive attitudes toward reading also predicted students' use of memorization, elaboration, and control strategies. Thus, reading attitude was an important mediator between parent- and teacher-related contextual factors and reading/learning engagement of Korean adolescents.


Palm oil mill consumes considerable amounts of energy from fossil fuel. The declining of this energy supply in the future becomes a production constraint of palm oil mill. The purposes of this study were to calculate the rational energy needs of CPO production and to assess the energy content of by-products. Mass balance model was developed to illustrate the process flow and to determine the possibility of by-products utilization to meet the energy needs of the mill. The results of the model calculations based on the mill's rational performance showed that the palm oil mill with a capacity of 60 tons fresh fruit bunches/hour produces crude palm oil at 26.80% yield. This production also generated biomass by-products of empty bunches, fiber, shells, and liquid waste as much as 14,265; 4,613; 1,959 and 21,057 kg/hour respectively. These by-products contained potential energy as much as 271,988,317 kJ/hour. This energy met the need of 1,020 kWh electrical energy and 30 tons of steam with an excess of electricity energy of 1,022 kWh. The electricity surplus might be sold to public network or directly distributed to community around the mill. Biomass electricity generation replaced the coal used and potentially cut the green house gas emission. It was concluded that palm oil mill can be a surplus energy production system. Therefore, it is recommended that palm oil mills should be regulated and restricted in using fossil energy and electricity from public network.


The fluence of dust particles < 10 micrometres in diameter was recorded by impacts on aluminium foil of the NASA Stardust spacecraft during a close fly-by of comet 81P/Wild 2 in 2004. Initial interpretation of craters for impactor particle dimensions and mass was based upon laboratory experimental simulations using >10 μm diameter projectiles and the resulting linear relationship of projectile to crater diameter was extrapolated to smaller sizes. We now describe a new experimental calibration programme firing very small monodisperse silica projectiles (470 nm to 10 μm) at ~ 6 km s -1 . The results show an unexpected departure from linear relationship between 1 and 10 μm. We collated crater measurement data and, where applicable, impactor residue data for 596 craters gathered during the post-mission preliminary examination (PE) phase. Using the new calibration, we recalculate the size of the particle responsible for each crater and hence reinterpret the cometary dust size distribution. We find a greater flux of small particles than previously reported. From crater morphology and residue composition of a sub-set of craters, the internal structure and dimensions of the fine dust particles is inferred and a 'maximum-size' distribution for the sub-grains composing aggregate particles is obtained. The size distribution of the small particles derived directly from the measured craters peaks at ~175 nm, but if this is corrected to allow for aggregate grains, the peak in sub-grain sizes is at <100 nm.


This public lecture discussed the draft Central Sydney Planning Strategy 2012-2036. The strategy revises previous planning controls and attempts to deliver on the City of Sydney's Sustainable Sydney 2030 program. The Strategy is the product of the most detailed review of city centre planning controls since the City's first comprehensive planning strategy in 1971. The strategy supports opportunities for additional height and density in the right locations, balanced with environmental sustainability initiatives and sets criteria for excellence in urban design. Key priorities of the plan include prioritising employment growth and increasing capacity. The lecture had the City of Sydney's Director of City Planning, Development and Transport Graham Jahn AM explaining the new strategy to the audience. Two sustainable urban design and planning experts also gave their feedback on the plan: University of Sydney's Dr Adrienne Keane, Director of the Master of Urbanism program, with an interest in statutory land use and the environmental consequences of urban planning policy; and Dejan Simovic, Senior Design Manager at Greenland Group - a pioneer in China and global leader in real estate development for sustainable cities.


Abstract:  Calcium (Ca2+)‐induced Ca2+‐release (CICR) takes place in spatially restricted microdomains known as dyads. The length scale over which CICR occurs is on the order of nanometers and relevant time scales range from micro‐ to milliseconds. Quantitative understanding of CICR therefore requires development of models that are applicable over a range of spatio‐temporal scales. We will present several new approaches for multiscale modeling of CICR. First, we present a model of dyad Ca2+ dynamics in which the Fokker‐Planck equation (FPE) is solved for the probability P(x, t) that a Ca2+ ion is located at dyad position x at time t. Using this model, we demonstrate that (a) Ca2+ signaling in the dyad is mediated by approximately tens of Ca2+ ions; (b) these signaling events are noisy due to the small number of ions involved; and (c) the geometry of the RyR (ryanodine receptors) protein may function to restrict the diffusion of and to "funnel" Ca2+ ions to activation‐binding sites on the RyR, thus increasing RyR open probability and excitation‐contraction (EC) coupling gain. Simplification of this model to one in which the dyadic space is represented using a single compartment yields the stochastic local‐control model of CICR developed previously. We have shown that this model captures fundamental properties of CICR, such as graded release and voltage‐dependent gain, may be integrated within a model of the myocyte and may be simulated in reasonable times using a combination of efficient numerical methods and parallel computing, but remains too complex for general use in cell simulations. To address this problem, we show how separation of time scales may be used to formulate a model in which nearby L‐type Ca2+ channels (LCCs) and RyRs gate as a coupled system that may be described using low‐dimensional systems of ordinary differential equations, thus reducing computational complexity while capturing fundamentally important properties of CICR. The simplified model may be solved many orders of magnitude faster than can either of the more detailed models, thus enabling incorporation into tissue‐level simulations.


The Sri Lankan commercial building industry is currently experiencing a construction boom after thirty years of civil war. Creating a dispute free environment through well conflict management is one of the main ways to keep the continuous demand and development of construction. However, the Sri Lankan construction sector is arranged in such a way that they directly approach the dispute resolution rather than avoiding the dispute initially through proper conflict management. The aim of this research is to understand the prevailing conflict management styles in Sri Lankan commercial building industry from the main stakeholders' perspective. The dual concern theory is applied to this study as a theory foundation. Four cases are selected for this study with the intention of conducting meetings with three main stakeholders of each case who represented client, consultants and contractors respectively. The research findings reveal that compromising is the most common conflict management style used by the industry. Forcing style obtained the second place in the ranking whereas obliging and avoiding received third and fourth places. This study is conducted to provide a full picture of conflicts faced by the Sri Lankan commercial building industry and their proper management so that the future projects will use this information to diminish the destructive effects of conflict situations and provide a real value for money.
Key Words: Conflict Management; Dual Concern Theory; Commercial Building Sector; Sri Lanka


Review: The Politics of Ecosystem Management By Hanna J. Cortner and Margaret A. Moote Reviewed by Susan Maret University of Colorado, Denver, USA Cortner, Hanna J., and Margaret A. Moote. The Politics of Ecosystem Management. Washington, DC: Island Press, 1998. 224 pp. US $25.00 paper ISBN 1559636726. Recycled, acid-free paper. Ecosystem management is not exclusively concerned with scientific judgments; the social and political also influence the ways in which ecosystems are managed (xi). This is the foundation of The Politics of Ecosystem Management, written by Hanna J. Cortner and Margaret A. Moote. Cortner, a professor at the School of Renewable Natural Resources, University of Arizona, Tucson, and Moote, a senior research specialist at the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy at the University of Arizona, describe themselves as advocates for more ecological approaches to resources management, for policy changes that foster more open and collaborative decision-making processes, and for innovative ways to manage resources across mixed ownerships. It is the author's philosophy that it is not only the duty of public policy scholars to describe and empirically explain relationships regarding the natural world; scholars must also promote the ideals of democracy and citizenship (x) . Cortner and Moote take these ideas to heart, weaving a philosophical discussion of ecosystems and the role of science within a political context. In their work, Cortner and Moote also examine the history and policy of natural resource management in the United States, and how this approach differs from ecosystem management. Traditionally, natural resource management has focused on the sustained yield ( outputs ) approach, which evolved out of Progressive Era utilitarian thinking about ways to control and use natural resources. The authors argue that as applied, the principle of sustained yield meant an emphasis on maximum production, and a continuous supply of market-oriented goods: in forest management the timber cut; in range management the stocking rate; in water management the acre-foot (17). The philosophy of sustained yield eventually became institutionalized in federal agencies such as Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service, and politicized by way of private interest. However, in the 1970s into the 1990s, resource managers began to consider the health of ecosystems, landscape-scale and decentralized management, and different ways to include active citizen participation (20) in


Due to the favorable band offsets, SiC nanoparticles embedded in silica form a very interesting quantum dot (QD) system. It is possible to produce such QDs in a simple oxidation–carbonization–reoxidation process on Si wafers. This could thus enable production of Si based LED integrated into Si logic devices. However, the luminescence of these QDs, is quenched. This is attributed to defect‐mediated recombination of electron–hole pairs, most probably at the SiC/SiO2 interface. We present tight‐binding simulated annealing calculations, in order to construct models of SiC QDs in SiO2, with the aim of obtaining an overview of the possible defects at the SiC/SiO2 interface. We identify a number of recurring interface defects which can be attributed to C or Si rich conditions or general lattice mismatch relaxation. Similar to defects have been shown to be electrically active at the SiC/SiO2 interface in MOS structures. We find evidence for strained Si–Si bonds, which can act as recombination centers in isolated SiC QDs. The defect classes identified in this work can serve as the basis for future, high precision simulations of their electronic structure.


A total of 300 day-old straight-run chicks (Ross strain) were randomly distributed to three treatments with eight replicates and 10 birds per replicate following a completely randomized design. The trial was conducted to determine the feeding value of Roundup Ready (NK603) corn (DK818RR), its near isogenic counterpart (DK818ISO) and a commercial corn (CC). The three corn types had similar proximate composition except for CC having the highest crude protein (9.40%), followed by DK818ISO (8.84%) and DK818RR (8.05%). Gross energy and apparent metabolizable energy (ME) of the corn types did not significantly differ. The AME values (3324 to 3338 kcal/kg feed) were slightly lower than the value used in poultry formulation (3400 kcal/kg feed). Incorporation of DK818RR in broiler diets did not affect the broiler performance in terms of Iivc weight and feed conversion efficiency. However, broilers fed the control corn significantly consumed lesser feed than those fed DK818ISO. The coefficient of digestibility of crude protein and ether extract for broiler starter and finisher did not differ significantly. Likewise, dressing percentage, organ weight and broiler carcass characteristics were also similar among the treatments. The results suggest that Roundup Ready corn is nutritionally equivalent to non-genetically modified corn when fed to broilers.


In this paper, we consider improvement of parameter estimation accuracy of multicomponent polynomial-phase signals (mc-PPSs) using the product high-order ambiguity function (PHAF). We propose a fine search method that improves the coarse estimate obtained as the position of maximum PHAF bin. The method is iterative and based on the dichotomous search. It significantly reduces the calculation complexity compared to the oversampling method. The PHAF-based estimates are, however, biased and the bias can be removed using computationally intensive nonlinear least squares (NLS) methods. These methods require initial estimates that are usually obtained from the PHAF. If the initial estimates are provided by the proposed method, the execution time can be significantly reduced.


This essay aims to unpack a specific pedagogical methodology and design strategies facilitating and increasing the range of possibilities to deal with the creation of an architectural project. Considering the architect as an inventor of relations, this project focuses on creative and persuasive strategies that break the logics of discourse to the point of transformation, searching for unpredictable relations between concept, content, and context. The ultimate goal involves increasing the range of creative possibilities so students will approach their projects with more confidence and articulated awareness of the alternatives and systems that architects use.


This paper is an overview of recent results relating to turbulent particle and heat transport, and to the triggering of internal transport barriers (ITBs). The dependence of the turbulent particle pinch velocity on plasma parameters has been clarified and compared with experiment. Magnetic shear and collisionality are found to play a central role. Analysis of heat transport has made progress along two directions: dimensionless scaling laws, which are found to agree with the prediction for electrostatic turbulence, and analysis of modulation experiments, which provide a stringent test of transport models. Finally the formation of ITBs has been addressed by analysing electron transport barriers. It is confirmed that negative magnetic shear, combined with the Shafranov shift, is a robust stabilizing mechanism. However, some well established features of internal barriers are not explained by theory. (Some figures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version)


Pachytene chromosomes of mice heterozygous for known translocations are clearly depicted by configurations of the synaptonemal complexes in spread (whole mount) preparations. In one autosomal and two X-autosome translocations analyzed, breakpoints are identifiable; localization by measurement agrees with mitotic data and shows the translocations to be reciprocal. Synapsis with the Y is inhibited in one translocation in which the breakpoint is the pairing region of the X.


A new finishing technique using quaternary ammonium groups (QAG) via polymerization of methacryloyloxyethyl ammonium chloride (PMAETAC), in presence of TiO 2 /ZnO / TiO 2 +ZnO nanoparticles in wool, wool/polyester fabrics has been studied, using K 2 S 2 O 8 as initiator for the graft copolymerization reaction. The antimicrobial activities of the finished fabrics have been assessed against Staphylococcus aureus , Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa as well as Candida albicans . The findings show that, the finished fabrics with PMAETAC and their hydride combination with metal oxide NPs have outstanding activity against E. coli & S. aureus as well as excellent UV protection as compared to that finished with PMAETAC alone. The finished fabrics are also characterized by Fourier transformation infrared. The topography of the fabrics surface is examined by SEM and EDX. After five washing cycles, the acquired properties are found slightly affected, indicating an excellent wash durability.


Social networks are expected to matter for invention in cities, but empirical evidence is still puzzling. In this paper, we provide new results on urban patenting covering more than twenty years of European patents invented by nearly one hundred thousand inventors located in France. Elaborating on the recent economic literatures on peer effects and on games in social networks, we assume that the productivity of an inventor's efforts is positively affected by the efforts of his or her partners and negatively by the number of these partners' connections. In this framework, inventors' equilibrium outcomes are proportional to the square of their network centrality, which encompasses, as special cases, several well-known forms of centrality (Degree, Katz-Bonacich, Page-Rank). Our empirical results show that urban inventors benefit from their collaboration network. Their production increases when they collaborate with more central agents and when they have more collaborations. Our estimations suggest that inventors' productivity grows sublinearly with the efforts of direct partners, and that they incur no negative externality from them having many partners. Overall, we estimate that a one standard deviation increase in local inventors' centrality raises future urban patenting by 13%. JEL codes: O31; R11; D85


In amorphous solids, a non-negligible part of thermal conductivity results from phonon scattering on the structural disorder. The conversion of acoustic energy into thermal energy is often measured by the dynamical dtructure factor (DSF) thanks to inelastic neutron or x-ray scattering. The DSF is used to quantify the dispersion relation of phonons, together with their damping. However, the connection of the dynamical structure factor with dynamical attenuation of wave packets in glasses is still a matter of debate. We focus here on the analysis of wave-packet propagation in numerical models of amorphous silicon. We show that the damped harmonic oscillator model fits of the dynamical structure factors give a good estimate of the wave packets mean free path, only below the Ioffe-Regel frequency. Above the Ioffe-Regel frequency and below the mobility edge, a pure diffusive regime without a definite mean free path is observed. The high-frequency mobility edge is characteristic of a transition to localized vibrations. Below the Ioffe-Regel frequency, a mixed regime is evidenced at intermediate frequencies, with a coexistence of propagative and diffusive wave fronts. The transition between these different regimes is analyzed in detail and reveals a complex dynamics for energy transport, thus raising the question of the correct modeling of thermal transport in amorphous materials.


Chemists have long relied on X-ray crystallography to unambiguously determine a molecule's structure. But in some cases, it can be devilishly difficult to grow the crystals required for this technique. A few years ago, chemists introduced the crystalline sponge method, in which a metal-organic framework, or MOF, is soaked like a sponge with a solution of a compound. Weak interactions between the MOF and the compound hold it inside the MOF, allowing the compound's structure to be determined by X-ray diffraction. But the method is not perfect and is often used as a last resort. Omar M. Yaghi, Seungkyu Lee, and Eugene A. Kapustin of the University of California, Berkeley, have now devised a way to make this kind of structure determination more reliable. The UC Berkeley chemists lock the molecules they are studying in place by covalently linking them to the aluminum atoms of a chiral framework known as


Active phased array antennas (APAAs) can suffer from the effects of harsh thermal environments, which are caused by the large quantity of power generated by densely packed T/R modules and external thermal impacts. The situation may be worse in the case of limited room and severe thermal loads, due to heat radiation and a low temperature sink. The temperature field of the antenna can be changed. Since large numbers of temperature-sensitive electronic components exist in T/R modules, excitation current output can be significantly affected and the electromagnetic performance of APAAs can be seriously degraded. However, due to a lack of quantitative analysis, it is difficult to directly estimate the effect of temperature on the electromagnetic performance of APAAs. Therefore, this study investigated the electromagnetic performance of APAAs as affected by two key factors—the uniformly distributed temperature field and the temperature gradient field—based on different antenna shapes and sizes, to provide theoretical guidance for their thermal design.


An adiabatic constant pressure chemical kinetic study of the AP gas phase is conducted. The objective is to examine the importance of chemical kinetic studies for propellant deflagration modelling in general and for AP in particular. A reaction mechanism consisting of ninety five elementary reactions involving twenty one chemical species is developed to represent the AP gas phase. An important parameter that can be obtained from the kinetics is the time rate of change of temperature of the gas phase at the condensed phase-gas phase boundary (dT/dt at t = 0). This is directly related to the heat feedback from the gas phase to the condensed phase. Comparison with earlier work indicates that the use of a one-step overall reaction could lead to underestimates of heat feedback from the gas phase by a factor of about four. In addition it is found that the rate of decrease of dT/dt at t = 0, with pressure is much larger at lower pressures, suggesting a possible gas phase role in the low pressure deflagration limit. Further, the kinetic study does not support the conclusion of a constant fraction of AP reacting in the condensed phase in the pressure range 20–100 atmospheres. These results are at variance with what is obtained by use of a one-step overall reaction. Thus, the one-step overall reaction cannot represent even qualitatively several gas phase characteristics important for deflagration studies, and its use leads to erroneous results. It is concluded that a full reaction mechanism representation of gas phase chemical kinetics is essential to AP deflagration modelling. The same conclusion is probably valid for propellant deflagration modelling in general.


The authors present the results of a centrifugal sudden distorted wave (CSDW) quantum scattering study of the reaction Cl + HCl ..-->.. ClH + Cl. The potential energy surface used in this calculation (denoted sf-POLCI) has been chosen to fit a scaled ab initio surface for Cl-H-Cl angles greater than 150/sup 0/ (angles for which the latter surface has been determined), and to fit an extended London-Eyring-Polanyi-Sato (LEPS) surface at smaller angles. This sf-POLCI surface has a noncollinear Cl-H-Cl saddle point with a Cl-H-Cl angle of 161.4/sup 0/. They also compare their CSDW results with those from a LEPS surface, which has a collinear geometry saddle point, but is otherwise similar to the sf-POLCI surface. Results presented include partial wave reaction probabilities, integral and differential cross sections, product rotational distributions, and thermal rate coefficients. The sf-POLCI results are generally similar to the LEPS results, although there are a few important differences. In particular, the integral cross sections in the threshold region increase more slowly with energy for the sf-POLCI surface. As a result, the activation energy is smaller for the LEPS surface, even though is has the higher barrier. Both the sf-POLCI and LEPS cross sections exhibit high product rotationalmore » excitation, with the sf-POLCI products more excited than the LEPS. Also, the rotational state which contributes most to the thermal rate coefficient is higher for the sf-POLCI surface than for the LEPS. For both surfaces the CSDW rate coefficients agree with experiment within the experimental uncertainties.« less


Problem:The importance of purchasing is often neglected, and the possibilities for continuous improvements in order to reap advantages, such as cost reductions, are often overlooked. Furthermore, the subject of purchasing has not been explored to a large extent in academic research. Therefore, we found the subject to be of great interest and possibly containing opportunities for companies, including Saab Avitronics, to seize.Purpose:The purpose of the thesis is to present recommendations after evaluating the purchasing organization and strategies regarding the strategic purchases within Saab Avitronics, Sweden.Methodology:To receive a deeper understanding of the purchasing department, we found it necessary to use a qualitative method approach. Through a target-oriented selection we choose to do our empirical case study at Saab Avitronics. The empirical study consists of interviews with the selected respondents as well as written documents.Analysis:The analysis is structured according to the theoretical framework; purchasing, purchasing objectives, purchasing organization, purchasing process and purchasing strategies.Conclusions:The conclusions are the recommendations we have been able to suggest to Saab Avitronics in order to improve its purchasing function and increase the purchasing power. We find it appropriate for the business unit to rationalize and diversify its supply-base. Another recommendation is to remove the monetary range each purchaser can authorize purchases of.


Field experiments were conducted at two locations during two growing seasons in the Ebro Valley (Spain), to evaluate the effects of N fertilization on yield and quality of Mediterranean-type wheat in irrigated conditions. Seven N treatments and a control were investigated. The average grain yields ranged from 2117 to 5551 kg ha-1 depending on the year and location. Grain protein ranged from 14.25 to 16.9%, and other quality parameters such as the dough strength (W) also varied with year and location, confirming the suitability of Mediterranean-type wheat and the climate for the production of good bread-making quality wheat. However, grain yields are normally low and both yields and quality can be greatly affected by the variability of this type of climate, even under irrigation. Under these conditions, grain yield increases were mainly due to an increase in the number of grains per m2 without a reduction in the N content per spike, suggesting that N in the grain was not source-limited, possibly due to the lower grain yields and relatively high soil nitrate concentrations. In soils with lower initial soil NO-3N contents, better grain yields could be achieved by applying a N fertilizer rate of about 100 kg N ha-1, whereas in soils with high initial NO-3N contents, no N or a maximum rate of 50 kg N ha-1 is needed to obtain a good grain quality, showing the possibility of producing high-quality wheat with a low amount of N fertilizer and thus increasing the sustainability of the cropping system.


BACKGROUND/AIMS
Due to risk of morbidity and mortality, various tests and scoring systems used in the assessment of the diagnosis and severity of acute pancreatitis disease are gaining more importance every day. Most of the current scoring systems, validated by various parameters, have a sophisticated and complex structure. Research is ongoing to establish a method to diagnose the disease and determine the severity by using different and simple parameters. In this trial, we aimed to investigate the role of the orexigenic "ghrelin" and anorexigenic "obestatin" hormones, if any, on the diagnosis and assessment of the severity of acute pancreatitis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
A total of 30 patients hospitalized between September 2009 and September 2010 with a diagnosis of acute pancreatitis (AP) and 25 healthy volunteers were enrolled in the trial with a prospective and randomized design. The patients were classified in two groups, mild (Ranson ≤3 and / or Apache II ≤8) and severe (Ranson >3 and/or Apache II >8) cases, as per the Ranson and Apache-II criteria; the ghrelin and obestatin levels in blood samples obtained from the patients were measured using the ELISA method.

RESULTS
Twenty-two of the 30 patients (73%) were regarded as mild pancreatitis cases, while 8 cases (27%) were diagnosed as severe pancreatitis. Comparison of the mild and severe pancreatitis groups did not reveal a statistical difference between the two groups in terms of acylated and de-acylated ghrelin values on presentation and following the initiation of oral feeding. Similarly, no significant difference was found in the comparison of the patient and the control groups in terms of acylated and de-acylated ghrelin values on presentation (p=0.863). On the other hand, acylated and de-acylated ghrelin values after initiation of oral feeding were observed to be higher in the patient group (p=0.001, p=0.000). Comparison of these two groups revealed a significant difference in obestatin values, both on presentation and after initiation of oral feeding (p=0.002 and p=0.000).

CONCLUSION
Consistently high serum ghrelin values during pancreatic inflammation suggest that ghrelin may be used as an adjunctive parameter in the monitoring of the course of the disease. On the other hand, high obestatin values in patients on presentation indicate that this hormone is a more significant parameter in terms of diagnosis. However, no correlation was established between these two peptide hormones and the severity of AP.


Children participating in research, like other children, may be being maltreated. There is also potential for exposure to abuse during research. Research training, practices and protocols to respond to disclosure and discovery of abuse to protect both researchers and children may not be sufficiently robust. Our aim was to compare and contrast research practices reported in the literature related to protecting children and to recommend safer ways to conduct research. The simultaneous increase in research with children, along with an increased willingness to listen to child victims of abuse, means that researchers must consider the protection of children in the research setting. Twenty-three papers were identified in a literature review. These studies reported a wide variation of ethical considerations, methods, methodology and came from different disciplines. From the 23 papers, two overarching themes were identified: social justice and research and safer research. To make research safer teams should consider training, safety protocols and support for child protection, which includes support to report safeguarding concerns to social care. Further work is required to ensure that training, protocols and support are effective in facilitating researchers to identify and make appropriate child abuse referrals. Ethics practices in abuse research need further debate.


The high prevalence of the Internet services in Iraq have led to the emergence of tight and crowded towers Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) services in residential neighborhoods because of the limited extent of coverage of this system. This led to increased cost of subscriber's services due to the multiplicity of mediators, as this system is limited only to cover the fixed places. In this research, we are compare the effectiveness in terms of coverage area (fixed and mobile ), speed downloading data and other matters. This system is WiMAX: (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access). The WiMAX technology is well suited for cities characterized by the construction of a horizontal and a lack of natural heights or artificial (very high vertical buildings). This fully applies to the Iraqi topographical, which will lead to lower the overall costs due to the reduction of the towers and equipment to a very small percentage. For example, Baghdad city will need no more than three towers for full coverage , in other hand technical specifications, lower cost to subscribers due to shorter preparation of mediators , reduced substations located in abundance in residential areas. Research will explain by direct comparison between the two systems including the strengths and weaknesses of both, and their behavior according to the topography of Iraqi cities.


Abstract Maternal and newborn care has been a primary focus of performance-based financing (PBF) projects, which have been piloted or implemented in 21 countries in sub-Saharan Africa since 2007. Several evaluations of PBF have demonstrated improvements to facility delivery or quality of care. However, no studies have measured the impact of PBF programmes directly on neonatal health outcomes in Africa, nor compared PBF programmes against another. We assess the impact of PBF on early neonatal health outcomes and associated health care utilization and quality in Burundi, Lesotho, Senegal, Zambia and Zimbabwe. We pooled Demographic and Health Surveys and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys and apply difference-in-differences analysis to estimate the effect of PBF projects supported by the World Bank on early neonatal mortality and low birthweight. We also assessed the effect of PBF on intermediate outputs that are frequently explicitly incentivized in PBF projects, including facility delivery and antenatal care utilization and quality, and caesarean section. Finally, we examined the impact among births to poor or high-risk women. We found no statistically significant impact of PBF on neonatal health outcomes, health care utilization or quality in a pooled sample. PBF was also not associated with better health outcomes in each country individually, though in some countries and among poor women PBF improved facility delivery, antenatal care utilization or antenatal care quality. There was no improvement on the health outcomes among poor or high-risk women in the five countries. PBF had no impact on early neonatal health outcomes in the five African countries studied and had limited and variable effects on the utilization and quality of neonatal health care. These findings suggest that there is a need for both a deeper assessment of PBF and for other strategies to make meaningful improvements to neonatal health outcomes.


Th is is a crazy game of tenderness, talk softly, rock back and forth, laugh long and quietly, say I am schizophrenic but you can come in, let's play this quiet game, pretend we're squeezing grapes with our tongues and tasting the juices dripping down. We're in a yellow attic, I will show you the clothes of the period, I have a muff . Do you love me for that, for showing you something that is only us? Baby, slip on this shaggy coat and we'll walk out through the rafters.


A strategy used by firms in industries such as wireless is to bundle several services into a service plan and administer a nonlinear price with different marginal prices for different usage levels. Moreover firms offer a menu of service plans targeting different consumer segments to implement second-degree price discrimination. To explore the profit impacts of these service plans we need to understand and predict consumer choices, and towards this goal we develop a structural model of consumers' choice of plans and usage decisions, and estimate the model using a dataset from a wireless service provider. We find that both voice calls and text messages are important drivers of consumer utility. Moreover, consumer preferences for the two services are positively correlated. The current service plans in our data are not optimal, perhaps due to incorrect customer segmentation strategy of the firm. Our pricing experiments based on estimated consumer preferences suggest that the firm should offer one plan targeting heavy users, with a higher access fee and higher free usage for voice calls and text messages, and another plan targeting light users, with a lower access fee and lower free usages, as either a replacement for or in addition to current plans.


To prevent the potential cracking of gel fibers, La modified lead zirconate titanate (PLZT) ceramic fibers with diameter within 50µm were achieved by embedding into PLZT powders during the heat treatment. Then the 1-3 PLZT fiber/interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) piezoelectric composites were prepared by casting the IPN precursors onto the well aligned ceramic fibers. The influences of the heating temperatures and La amounts on the dielectric constant, dielectric loss with frequencies and piezoelectric constant of PLZT were investigated in detail. The morphologies of fibers and composites were observed by biological microscope. And also, the dielectric constant of PLZT fibers and PLZT fiber/IPN piezoelectric composites were detected.


The FPGA's interconnection network not only requires the larger portion of the total silicon area in comparison to the logic available on the FPGA, it also contributes to the majority of the delay and power consumption. Therefore it is essential that routing algorithms are as efficient as possible. In this work the connection router is introduced. It is capable of partially ripping up and rerouting the routing trees of nets. To achieve this, the main congestion loop rips up and reroutes connections instead of nets, which allows the connection router to converge much faster to a solution. The connection router is compared with the VPR directed search router on the basis of VTR benchmarks on a modern commercial FPGA architecture. It is able to find routing solutions 4.4% faster for a relaxed routing problem and 84.3% faster for hard instances of the routing problem. And given the same amount of time as the VPR directed search, the connection router is able to find routing solutions with 5.8% less tracks per channel.


Climate change mitigation actions, including those aimed at developing and scaling carbon dioxide removal (CDR) activities spanning the industrial, energy, and agroforestry sector, emerge in a context of internationally shared norms that include governance objectives, legal provisions and informal expectations, and societal expectations. Established governance principles provide normative orientation for policy including when targeting the development and scaling of CDR. Knowledge of these principles can guide effective discussion and evaluation of policy options. To facilitate discussion of mitigation options among experts and CDR practitioners, this study excerpts governance principles from legislative texts, the climate governance literature, and the CDR literature with relevance to CDR policy considerations. To illustrate the relevance of the governance principles found for evaluating policy options, we apply them to three technology groups of CDR: Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS), Direct Air Carbon Capture and Storage (DACCS), and forestry. This exercise indicates the importance of more intensive attention to the normative dimension of mitigation policies in ongoing deliberative and planning processes. Such efforts can help disentangle normative and factual dimensions and sources of (dis)agreement on the role of CDR in specific climate policy contexts.


Prasuti Tantra Evam Stri Roga is a branch of ayurvedic classics that is reasonably equivalent to today's obstetrics and gynaecology. Rasaushadhi (herbomineral medicine) is the herbo-mineral or metal or mineral formulations used for therapeutic purposes. In Ayurveda practice, it has been considered more efficient and effective due to its small required dose, quicker action, palatability, acceptability, and shelf life compared to herbal preparations. Women, being the precious creation of the world, required proper care and medication. Rasaushadhi can be very beneficial for women's health. Various pieces of research have been reviewed for Rasaushadhi in PTSR and found that in Samhitas, mainly Rasaushadhi mentioned for Pradara Roga (excessive discharge), Yonivyapada (reproductive disorder), Vajikarana (aphrodisiac), Garbhini Roga (pregnancy-related disorder), Sutika Roga (puerperal disorder). Using Rasaushadhi is very demanding to achieve the goal of healthy mothers and healthy offspring since Rasaushadhi has its advantages in clinical practice.


Slowly varying envelope wave equations describing degenerate four-wave mixing (4WM) in photorefractive phase-conjugate mirrors are solved exactly, in terms of quadratures. Multigrating 4WM geometry is assumed, with the transmission and reflection gratings contributing equally and with the counterpropagating pump–pump interaction accounted for. The original boundary-value problem is transformed into an initial-value problem, which is treated by an iteration procedure. It is shown that within the iterative boundary-fitting procedure the multistability of solutions takes place and that the intensity reflectivity of the mirror may become chaotic. The strange attractor thus arising is analyzed with the use of standard methods of nonlinear dynamics.


Our interactions with an application frequently leave a heterogeneous and contemporaneous trail of actions and adoptions (e.g., clicks, bookmarks, purchases). Given a sequence of a particular type (e.g., purchases)-- referred to as the target sequence, we seek to predict the next item expected to appear beyond this sequence. This task is known as next-item recommendation. We hypothesize two means for improvement. First, within each time step, a user may interact with multiple items (a basket), with potential latent associations among them. Second, predicting the next item in the target sequence may be helped by also learning from another supporting sequence (e.g., clicks). We develop three twin network structures modeling the generation of both target and support basket sequences. One based on "Siamese networks" facilitates full sharing of parameters between the two sequence types. The other two based on "fraternal networks" facilitate partial sharing of parameters. Experiments on real-world datasets show significant improvements upon baselines relying on one sequence type.


Background: COPD is a condition with several clinical variants:non-exacerbation phenotype(NON-AE),frequent exacerbations with chronic bronchitis(AE CB),frequent exacerbations without chronic bronchitis(AE NON-CB),and asthma–COPD overlap syndrome(ACOS).The evolution of COPD phenotypes in time and their impact on lung function and symptoms remains largely unknown. Methods: The Czech Research Database of COPD(NCT01923051)is a multicentre,observational,and prospective study of consecutive patients with severe COPD.Signs identifying phenotypes, lung function, and respiratory symptoms were assessed annually. Results: 647 severe COPD subjects were enrolled until Jan 16. 113 of them were eligible for two-year analysis (66.8±9.1yrs,73.8% males,post-BD FEV 1 43.0±17.7%).On the whole 62.6% were NON-AE,18.8% were AE CB, 7.1% were AE NON-CB,and 11.5 % were ACOS subjects.We found apparent differences in term of COPD phenotypes stability during follow-up.There were stable (ACOS,and NON-AE) and unstable (AE CB, and AE NON-CB) phenotypes (Fig1). With respect to changes of lung function and symptoms we noted significant differences between above mentioned phenotypes. Conclusion: Two clinical phenotypes (ACOS and NON-AE) of subjects with severe COPD we can described as stable over time.Significant differences in FEV 1 declination and symptoms evolution between different COPD phenotypes in the prospective two-year evaluation were noted.


The harmonic elimination technique consists on finding the proper inverter switching events so that the first harmonic amplitude is controlled and the rest of odd harmonic components are suppressed. However, non linear loads connected to the output of the inverter provoke additional harmonics that distort the output voltage applied to the load. Along the present work it is proposed an extension of the harmonic elimination technique. This extension pretends to determine the switching events so that the inverter is able of generating a controlled fundamental harmonic that complies specifications and also generates the next odd harmonic components in a way that added to the ones provoked by the load, they cancel each other out. The described method has been validated through simulation.


Biomass is the component of living organism and mostly obtained from plants, animals, insects and the residue of all the mentioned organisms. Biomass is the key source of energy present in the form of organic matter. The study aimed to find out biomass and its variation in each component of Betula utilis D. Don (Birch Tree) with varying diameter at Kalam forest division Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province, Pakistan. The biomass of different components was determined by non-destructive methods. Overall, 30 trees were selected from different diameter classes viz a viz up to 10, 11 - 20 and greater than 20 cm. Ten trees were selected from each class. The diameter of stem and large branches and their length were measured in the field. Later, the volumes of stem and branches were calculated and converted into biomass. The study revealed that stem contributes 42.65% biomass followed by large and sub branches as 39.22% and 13.54% respectively. Leaves contribute 4.59% only. The above tree biomass contribution by different components was arranged as stem was greater than large branches; these were greater than sub branches and the lowest was in leaves. The total above ground biomass of single tree was 20.59, 58.041 and 197.214 kg·tree-1 respectively for diameter up to 10, 11 - 20 and greater than 20 cm. The averaged biomass in all diameter classes was 91.95 ± 93.064 kg·tree-1. The total biomass of single tree of diameter class up to 10, 11 - 20 and greater than 20 cm was 24.71, 69.649 and 236 kg respectively. The below ground biomass of single tree of diameter class up to 10, 11 - 20 and greater than 20 cm was 4.11 ± 1.24 kg, 11.61 ± 3.56 kg and 39.44 ± 8.9 kg respectively. The biomass expansion factor was 1.34, 1.47, and 1.5 t·m-3 respectively for diameter classes up to 10 cm, 11 - 20 cm and greater than 20 cm respectively. The mean biomass expansion factor for all diameter classes was 1.44 t·m-3.


Oscar Wilde and Modern Culture: The Making of a Legend explores the meteoric rise, sudden fall, and legendary resurgence of an immensely influential writer's reputation from his hectic 1881 American lecture tour to recent Hollywood adaptations of his dramas. Always renowned—if not notorious—for his fashionable persona, Wilde courted celebrity at an early age. Later, he came to prominence as one of the most talented essayists and fiction writers of his time.

In the years leading up to his two-year imprisonment, Wilde stood among the foremost dramatists in London. But after he was sent down for committing acts of "gross indecency" it seemed likely that social embarrassment would inflict irreparable damage to his legacy. As this volume shows, Wilde died in comparative obscurity. Little could he have realized that in five years his name would come back into popular circulation thanks to the success of Richard Strauss's opera Salome and Robert Ross's edition of De Profundi. With each succeeding decade, the twentieth century continued to honor Wilde's name by keeping his plays in repertory, producing dramas about his life, adapting his works for film, and devising countless biographical and critical studies of his writings.

This volume reveals why, more than a hundred years after his demise, Wilde's value in the academic world, the auction house, and the entertainment industry stands higher than that of any modern writer.

Book description from publisher website at: http://www.ohioswallow.com


OBJECTIVE
Determine test-retest reliability, normative data and clinical validity of isometric muscle strength testing in the neck with a modified sphygmomanometer dynamometer (MSD).

DESIGN
Analytic survey. Paired trials of various muscle strength tests were conducted on convenience samples of normal subjects and consecutive samples of symptomatic subjects.

SETTING
Outpatient chiropractic research clinic.

PATIENTS/SUBJECTS
For study 2, 40 normal male subjects, average age 25 +/- 2 yr, were studied for reliability and normative data. For study 3, 24 symptomatic patients, 12 males and 12 females, average age 39 +/- 7 yr, were studied, 8 with "whiplash"-type injuries (average duration 22.5 wk) and 16 with nontraumatic chronic neck pain (average duration 110 wk).

INTERVENTION
No therapeutic intervention is reported.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE
Pressure levels generated by subjects against a modified sphygmomanometer-type dynamometer as measured in kilopascals.

RESULTS
Study 1. Repeated paired trials of a standardized weight column (20 lbs) produced a coefficient of variation of 0.84% and virtually no difference between the means of the first vs. second trials. Study 2. High test-retest correlation coefficients were found for all ranges of motion (.79-.97). Right-to-left asymmetry in rotation and lateral flexion was within 6-8%. The flexion/extension ratio was .57:1, indicating that in normal subjects, flexion was approximately 40% lower than extension. Lower cutoffs were established as the mean--1 SD as follows (in kPa): flexion--3300, extension--5800, rotation--5200 and lateral flexion--6200. Coefficients of variation ranged from 25 to 29%. Study 3. Differences between paired trials were analyzed by intraclass coefficients, which were very high (.95-.99), and by percentages, which ranged from 4 to 10.4%, with an average of 7%, indicating a high degree of test-retest consistency. The mean values for all symptomatic subjects for flexion, extension, right rotation and right lateral bending were all well below the normal cutoff values as found in study 2. The flexion/extension ratio for whiplash subjects was 0.25:1.00, which is half of that of normal subjects.

CONCLUSIONS
The MSD has been found to be a reliable instrument for the evaluation of isometric muscle strength in the neck in normal and symptomatic subjects. Normative values for absolute test levels, bilateral symmetry and flexion/extension ratios have been determined. A symptomatic group demonstrated significant deviations from these norms in the form of reduced strength levels and reduced flexion/extension ratios, while still maintaining very high levels of test-retest consistency and bilateral symmetry. The MSD appears very promising in the evaluation of neck-injured patients.


The life of nineteenth-century journalist, diplomat, adventurer, and enthusiast for lost causes John Louis O'Sullivan is usually glimpsed only in brief episodes, perhaps because the components of his life are sometimes contradictory. An exponent of romantic democracy, O'Sullivan became a defender of slavery. A champion of reforms for women, labor, criminals, and public schools, he ended his life promoting spiritualism. This first full-length biography reveals a man possessed of the idealism and promise, as well as the prejudices and follies, of his age, a man who sensed the revolutionary and liberating potential of radical democracy but was unable to acknowledge the racial barriers it had to cross to fulfill its promise. Sure to be welcomed by scholars of the Jacksonian era and others interested in nineteenth-century American history, John L. O'Sullivan and His Times presents an in-depth examination of O'Sullivan's ideas as they were expressed in the Democratic Review and other newspapers and literary magazines that he edited. O'Sullivan was a crusader whose efforts to end capital panishment came within a hair's breadth of ending hanging in New York; an editor who called down the wrath of the people upon speculators, promoters of privilege and monopoly, and eloquently praised the virtues of majority rule and citizens' right to control and transform their government; a political operative who supported the radical wing of the Democratic party, battled nativists, and plotted strategy with a young Samuel J. Tilden; a promoter of a fresh American literature who significantly aided Hawthorne's career and familiarized his readers with the works of Whitman, Poe, Whittier, and Thoreau. Through extensive research of primary materials - including contemporary correspondence and journals of public figures such as Martin Van Buren, William Marcy, Benjamin F. Butler, Samuel Tilden, and James K. Polk - author Robert D. Sampson explores the many facets of this enigmatic figure, a man described by Nathaniel Hawthorne as "one of the truest and best men in the world."


Introduction: District hospitals in Malaysia, like other district hospital all over the world, function as important gateway between primary and tertiary health care systems. Dungun hospital, one of the district hospitals in Terengganu state, provides services to accidents and emergency, inpatients and outpatients including referrals from community and primary health care services. In addition, it serves as referral hospital to get tertiary health care from Terengganu State hospital. Dungun hospital is equipped with three X-ray units and three ultrasound machines for 24-hour service. Being a district hospital, Dungun hospital can provide only the generalist service without radiologist. Yet the radiology service is accessible for all demands.
Objective: To explore the utilization of radiology services at Dungun District Hospital, Terengganu State, Malaysia.
Methods: Retrospective one-year record review study was conducted. X-ray request forms and registration books between 1st January 2011 and 31st December 2011 were reviewed and double checked by pediatrician, physician, surgeon, obstetric and gynecologist, radiologist, staffs from radiology unit of Dungun Hospital, public health professionals and matron who sit and made consensus altogether to enter data properly. Data management for 13649 X-rays cases was done within 4 months from September, 2012 to December, 2012.
Results: Dungun Hospital is a 100-bedded hospital in which (11) medical officers, (378) total staffs, (315) clinical staffs and (9) visiting specialists are attached. Radiology unit equipped with (1) Static X-ray machine, (2) Portable machines, (5) radiographers and additional (2) PPKs (Pembantu Perawatan Kesihatan) and (15) trainee radiographers. Out of a total of 13649 radiological examinations, the highest number (5603) was contributed by the extremities X-rays followed by the chest X-ray (5355), the spine X-ray (1090), the skull X-ray (1082) and the abdominal X-ray (519) respectively. Among the study group, 8451 were males, (3685) of them took extremities X-ray and (3063) took chest X-ray. Out of 5198 females, chest X-ray and extremities X-ray were taken by (2292) and (1918) respectively. The age range in the study group was from 1 to 99 years. The mean age was 32.01 years (32.01+ 20.92). Out of 13649 examinations, majority (6324) was requested from A & E Department, followed by (3438) from out- patient department, (1462) for Routine Medical Examination (RME), (1061) from specialist clinic referral, (822) for in-patients in various wards and (542) utilized as portable X-ray. Amongst total utilization of Chest X-ray, 75.3% had properly and completely filled the request form (properly given relevant information on request form). It was found that 71.9% in Abdominal X-ray utilization, 78.2% in skull X-ray utilization, 73.9% in Extremities X-ray request and 74.1% in Spine X-ray services filled the forms properly and completely as well.
Conclusion: According to operational definition of appropriateness of this study, findings can be concluded that the radiology services at Dungun District Hospital were appropriately utilized.


The Vision for the Future of Non-binary Fashion on Video is a practice- based research project that examines the relationship between trans and non-binary bodies to, public space through creative methods of wearable sculpture, dance, performance and experimental video. This project enacts my theory of gender pregnancy, that one can achieve a non-binary appearance through using garments, motifs, or colors typically associated with binary gender and juxtaposing them into one look that is full of gender.

This project dismantles binary notions of gender, public/private, mind/body and human/animal. Through the use of performance this project speaks to the transformative power of queer visibility in reclaiming public space. The resulting video, Trans Animal Fashion Futures, presents similarities between trans experiences and non-human animals in an to situate trans narratives as part of the 'natural' environment. Ultimately, this project engages with trans subjects and experiences to imagine queer collective futures in the interest of all.


\(Background\) \(and\) \(Aims:\) Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is emerging as a substantial global health problem, with an estimated annual mortality of over 3 million people, which is the third largest disease cause worldwide. COPD is an irreversible chronic, slowly progressive airway obstructive respiratory disease. Cigarette smoking mainly causes it, primarily through small airway fibrosis, narrowing and ultimately obliteration, accompanied by more generalized but non-obstructive "chronic bronchitis" throughout the airways, and in some individuals complicated by the later development of lung parenchymal destruction (emphysema). Approximately 50% of smokers develop COPD eventually.
In COPD research, there has been a long-held belief that airway disease progression is due to "inflammation." Although this may be true in the airway lumen with innate immunity activated by the effect of smoke or secondary to infection, the accurate picture for inflammatory cells in the airway wall, where the pathophysiological COPD remodeling occurs, is uncertain and especially so in mild to moderate COPD patient's, i.e., earlier disease. This study follows up on a previous finding from our group of possibly decreased cellularity in the airway wall of patients with COPD. Thus, in the current studies, along with total airway wall cellularity, I evaluated the contribution of the main immune cells such as neutrophils, macrophages, mast cells, CD4 and CD8 cells in the large and small airway wall of mild-moderate COPD current (CS) and ex-smokers (ES), plus normal lung function smokers (NLFS), and compared them to non-smoker controls (NC). My studies further delved into the macrophage sub-populations in smokers/COPD and ascertained whether abnormal differential switching occurs in the macrophage population in the small airway wall compared to the lumen. I also measured macrophage-related cytokine profiles in airway luminal bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and investigated whether the microenvironment dictated these changes. I evaluated cell dysfunction in small airway wall cells by assessing their degranulating potential via expression of a degranulating-marker lysosome-associated membrane protein -1 (LAMP-1). While analyzing the CD68+ population of macrophages, I noticed that many cells staining strongly were not macrophages as expected, but spindle-shaped cells likely to be a population of fibroblasts; indeed the literature strongly suggests that CD68 can also stain fibroblasts, but this has until now been ignored in respiratory research.
I further focused on the non-inflammatory cell components in the airway wall, investigated the relationship between alpha-smooth muscle actin+ myofibroblasts with an expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition markers (a focus of our group for several years), key extracellular matrix proteins (collagen I and fibronectin) and airway wall thickness. I also related abnormalities to lung function disturbance in COPD.
In the final phase of my Ph.D. studies, I also managed to complete some preliminary investigations on abnormal lysosomal accumulation and catabolic changes in the airway epithelium of COPD patients and related these to indices of airway remodeling.
\(Methodology:\) I evaluated both large airway endobronchial biopsies (ebb) and small airway lung resected tissues (RT) from COPD-CS and ES, NLFS and NC. I immune-stained with human anti-CD68+ for macrophages, neutrophil elastase for neutrophils, mast cell tryptase for mast cells, CD4+ and CD8+ for T cell populations. I conducted total cell counts as well as differential counts in the airway wall lamina propria (LP), epithelium and reticular basement membrane. For the large airways, I standardized cell counts in the LP by taking the depth of 150 for LA and up to 100 microns deep SA while excluding smooth muscle layers. Further, subpopulations of macrophages were evaluated in the SA wall (epithelium and LP) and BAL samples from the same cohort of patients and were stained with CD163 and Arginase-1 antibodies for detection of M2 macrophages and dual stained with anti-CD68+ and anti-iNOS antibodies for M1 populations (CD68+ only cells were designated M0). Cells were quantified and normalized as per mm2 of SA wall and as per mm of length for the epithelium, respectively. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cytospin macrophages were similarly stained and enumerated by randomly selecting 12 fields and quantified as per ml of original BAL fluid extracted. BAL cytokines to profile for both M1/Th1 and M2/Th2 cytokines used FACS multiplexing strategies.
The degranulation capacity of mast cells and total degranulating cells in the small airway wall were measured by dual staining mast cells with anti-mast cell tryptase and LAMP-1. Epithelial and sub-epithelial LAMP-1 were assessed per area and represented as percent degranulation. I measured the total airway wall thickness of SA and divided it into the epithelium, reticular basement membrane (Rbm) LP, smooth muscle layer, and sub-mucosal adventitia, which meets the alveolar tissue. Further, I quantitated the α-SMA+ cells present in the SA lamina propria and adventitia, while the ECM markers (collagen-1 and fibronectin) were quantitated as a percentage of area staining in the same areas.
\(Results:\) I confirmed hypo-cellularity in the airway wall in both large and small airways in smokers and in COPD; with LA wall cellularity least in the COPD-current smoker (CS), while SA cellularity was similar across smoker/COPD groups. LA neutrophils were decreased in COPD-CS, while SA neutrophil counts were unchanged. In contrast, a small but significant increase was observed in SA CD8+ cells in both normal smokers and COPD-CS but not in LA. Ratiometric analysis of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells showed a dominance of the CD8+ phenotype in the LP area of LA, but not SA. Compared to controls, LA macrophage numbers in COPD were significantly lower, with SA macrophage numbers unchanged. Further evaluation of the SA macrophage subpopulations showed a significant increase in pro-inflammatory M1s in the small airway walls of NLFS and COPD compared to controls with a reciprocal decrease in M2 macrophages, which remained unchanged among pathological groups. However, luminal macrophages went the other way, with a dominant M2 phenotype in both NLFS and COPD subjects. BAL cytokine profiles were skewed towards M2 with an increase in CCL22, IL-4, IL-13, and IL-10 in both NLFS and COPD.
A decrease in degranulating mast cell and total degranulating cells was observed in the SA wall via monitoring intracellular LAMP-1 expression. Further, and unexpectedly, this lysosomal LAMP-1 expression was also found to be markedly increased in the epithelium of small airways in COPD. This increase in LAMP-1+ lysosomes significantly correlated with a decrease in lung function increased airway obstruction and increased in airway thickness.
Among the non-inflammatory cell populations characterized, I found a significant and marked increase in αSMA+ myofibroblast numbers in the small airway tissue in both smokers and COPD compared to normal controls, which directly correlated with decreased airway caliber measures in COPD patients. A significant increase was observed in the ECM proteins collagen-1 and fibronectin in the small airway wall of smoker and COPD groups. The proliferation of myofibroblast directly co-related to this increased collagen and fibronectin deposition and airway wall thickening, which suggested an active role in airway remodeling. The increase in the myofibroblast population also correlated with increases in expression of the EMT markers S100A4 and vimentin and lung function.
\(Conclusions:\) These current studies confirmed our group`s novel finding of hypocellularity in the airway wall of COPD patients, both in large and small airways. Analysis of the literature suggests that this has hardly been looked previously and probably not as rigorously as this investigation. These changes corresponded to decreases in most airway inflammatory and immune cells. Overall, the contribution of inflammatory/immune cells to total airway wall cells was small, again something else never previously documented, with the majority likely to be stromal cells. Macrophage subpopulation showed abnormal differential switching in both the airway wall and lumen, though in different directions. Lack of degranulation activity in the cells of the airway wall in COPD indicated dysfunctionality, which could be crucial in viral and bacterial infections known to be essential disease exacerbations in particular. A proliferation of myofibroblast was present in small airways and strongly associated with both remodelling, active EMT and loss of airflow in COPD.


Negative attitudes towards foreign cultures among certain categories of people in majority Islamic countries are often the result of their representations of the Other , their conception of alterity, of their identity and the relation between them, their vision of the implications of the confrontation with/or coexistence of different cultures in the same physical space or through mediated spaces. These representations have become a culture in its own right, giving birth to a categorisation of people within the same society and of peoples of the world. This paper will attempt to reveal the way this culture dichotomy operates and will analyse the mode its ideological base defines the dichotomy of alterity/identity. It will also suggest directions of reflexion towards the possibilities of forging a counter-culture which can stand as a new form of liberating discourse.


Inhalation of nail dust is a chronic problem facing podiatric physicians. This problem is compounded in physicians who develop allergic reactions to nail dust. This article defines atopy, reviews the characteristics of nail dust, and suggests methods to reduce the potential hazard that nail dust presents to the podiatric physicians and their employees.


Red blood cells squeeze through micro-capillaries as part of blood circulation in the body. The deformability of red blood cells is thus critical for blood circulation. In this work, we report a method to optically squeeze red blood cells using the evanescent field present on top of a planar waveguide chip. The optical forces from a narrow waveguide are used to squeeze red blood cells to a size comparable to the waveguide width. Optical forces and pressure distributions on the cells are numerically computed to explain the squeezing process. The proposed technique is used to quantify the loss of blood deformability that occurs during blood storage lesion. Squeezing red blood cells using waveguides is a sensitive technique and works simultaneously on several cells, making the method suitable for monitoring stored blood.