Two models for simulation of dynamic interaction between train and turnout are developed. The first one is derived using a commercial software for dynamics of multi-body systems. The second is based on a detailed model of track dynamics and a multi-body dynamics formulation that accounts for excitation in an extended frequency range (up to several hundred Hz). Using a finite element model of a standard turnout design, a complex-valued modal superposition of track dynamics is applied to account for the structural receptance of the track components. The variations in rail profile, track stiffness and track inertia along the turnout, and contact between the back of the wheel flange and the check rail, are considered.
Hertzian theory and FASTSIM are used for the normal and tangential wheel–rail rolling contact.

Stochastic analysis methods are integrated with the dynamic simulation model. For one given nominal layout of the turnout, the influence of several parameters on wear and rolling contact fatigue is investigated. Four parameters (axle load, wheel–rail friction coefficient, and
wheel and rail profiles) are identified to be the most significant. Random distributions of the transverse wheel profile and of a set of transverse rail profiles along the switch panel are accounted for by use of the Karhunen–Loeve expansion technique.

To determine input data for the turnout model (rail pad stiffness, ballast stiffness and modal damping), impact load testing for measurement of track receptance was performed in the field. Lateral and vertical wheel–rail contact forces were measured by an instrumented wheelset to validate the mathematical models. Good agreement between measured and calculated contact forces is observed. The influence of train speed, moving direction and route on the measured wheel–rail contact forces is quantified.


The psychosocial factors involved in successful physical activity engagement are not fully understood. Research suggests that specific personality traits (e.g. extraversion, conscientiousness, and neuroticism) influence physical activity behaviour. There is also evidence that social-cognitive constructs (e.g. self-efficacy, self-regulation, outcome expectations, social support, and perceived barriers) can significantly explain and predict physical activity behaviour. The current study aimed to investigate the influence of personality and social-cognitive constructs on physical activity over a 2-week period. The study employed a prospective design in which 94 participants provided 2-weeks of pedometer data and completed daily diary measures of non-ambulatory physical activity. In addition, all participants completed self-report measures of the Big Five personality traits and social-cognitive constructs. Multiple regression analyses revealed that social-cognitive constructs significantly explained 35.6% of the variance in physical activity, with goal setting emerging as a key predictor. Although personality did not have an effect on physical activity overall, subsequent analyses found significant differences in neuroticism between activity groups, and personality significantly interacted with social-cognitive constructs to influence behaviour. The findings suggest a key role for goal setting, barrier self-efficacy, conscientiousness, and neuroticism in explaining physical activity behaviour.


The imidizodiazepine, 5-(8-ethynyl-6-(pyridin-2-yl)-4H-benzo[f]imidazo[1,5-a][1,4]diazepin-3-yl)oxazole (KRM-II-81), is selective for α2/3-containing GABAA receptors. KRM-II-81 dampens seizure activity in rodent models with enhanced efficacy and reduced motor-impairment compared with diazepam. In the present study, KRM-II-81 was studied in assays designed to detect antiepileptics with improved chances of impacting pharmaco-resistant epilepsies. The potential for reducing neural hyperactivity weeks after traumatic brain injury was also studied. KRM-II-81 suppressed convulsions in corneal-kindled mice. Mice with kainate-induced mesial temporal lobe seizures exhibited spontaneous recurrent hippocampal paroxysmal discharges that were significantly reduced by KRM-II-81 (15 mg/kg, orally). KRM-II-81 also decreased convulsions in rats undergoing amygdala kindling in the presence of lamotrigine (lamotrigine-insensitive model) (ED50 = 19 mg/kg, i.p.). KRM-II-81 reduced focal and generalized seizures in a kainate-induced chronic epilepsy model in rats (20 mg/kg, i.p., three times per day). In mice with damage to the left cerebral cortex by controlled-cortical impact, enduring neuronal hyperactivity was dampened by KRM-II-81 (10 mg/kg, i.p.) as observed through in vivo two-photon imaging of layer II/III pyramidal neurons in GCaMP6-expressing transgenic mice. No notable side effects emerged up to doses of 300 mg/kg KRM-II-81. Molecular modeling studies were conducted: docking in the binding site of the α1β3γ2L GABAA receptor showed that replacing the C8 chlorine atom of alprazolam with the acetylene of KRM-II-81 led to loss of the key interaction with α1His102, providing a structural rationale for its low affinity for α1-containing GABAA receptors compared with benzodiazepines such as alprazolam. Overall, these findings predict that KRM-II-81 has improved therapeutic potential for epilepsy and post-traumatic epilepsy. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT We describe the effects of a relatively new orally bioavailable small molecule in rodent models of pharmaco-resistant epilepsy and traumatic brain injury. KRM-II-81 is more potent and generally more efficacious than standard-of-care antiepileptics. In silico docking experiments begin to describe the structural basis for the relative lack of motor impairment induced by KRM-II-81. KRM-II-81 has unique structural and anticonvulsant effects, predicting its potential as an improved antiepileptic drug and novel therapy for post-traumatic epilepsy.


ABSTRACT Human monocytic ehrlichiosis is an emerging infectious disease caused by Ehrlichia chaffeensis, a gram-negative obligatory intracellular bacterium closely related to E. canis. The immunoreactive recombinant fusion proteins rP28 and rP30 have become available after cloning and expressing of the 28- and 30-kDa major outer membrane protein genes of E. chaffeensis and E. canis, respectively. Western immunoblotting was performed to analyze the antibody responses of the 37 E. chaffeensisindirect fluorescent-antibody assay (IFA)-positive and 20 IFA-negative serum specimens with purified whole organisms, rP28, and rP30. All IFA-negative sera were negative with purified whole organisms, rP28, or rP30 by Western immunoblot analysis (100% relative diagnostic specificity). Of 37 IFA-positive sera, 34 sera reacted with any native proteins of E. chaffeensis ranging from 44 to 110 kDa, and 30 sera reacted with 44- to 110-kDa native E. canisantigens. The 28-kDa E. chaffeensis and 30-kDa E. canis native proteins were recognized by 25 IFA-positive sera. Fifteen IFA-positive sera reacted with rP28 by Western blot analysis, whereas 34 IFA-positive sera reacted with rP30 (92% relative diagnostic specificity), indicating that rP30 is more sensitive than rP28 for detecting the antibodies in IFA-positive sera. These 34 IFA-positive sera were positive by the dot blot assay with rP30, distinguishing them from IFA-negative sera. Except for three rP30-negative but IFA-positive specimens that instead showed anE. ewingii infection-like profile by Western immunoblotting, the results of Western and dot blot assays with rP30 matched 100% with the IFA test results. Densitometric analysis of dot blot reactions showed a positive correlation between the dot density and the IFA titer. These results suggest that rP30 antigen would provide a simple, consistent, and rapid serodiagnosis for human monocytic ehrlichiosis.


Background: Both virus-induced asthma and enterovirus (EV) infection are common in children; however, the relationship between EV infection and virus-induced asthma has not been systematically investigated in a cohort study. This nationwide population-based cohort study investigated the association between EV infection and asthma. Methods: We used data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. The study sample consisted of insured children who were younger than 18 years and had EV infection between 1997 and 2013 and were followed until December 2013. We identified 36,935 children with EV infection and compared them based on 36,935 age-, sex-, urbanization- and income-matched controls to analyze the risk of subsequent asthma. Cox regression analyses were performed and adjusted for sex, age, urbanization, income, preterm labor and small for gestational age, perinatal complications, allergic rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis, atopic dermatitis and bronchiolitis. Results: The mean follow-up interval for all patients was 8.59 years (standard deviation = 4.35 years). The mean latency period between initial EV infection and onset of asthma was 2.77 years (standard deviation = 2.43 years). EV infection was significantly associated with a higher incidence of asthma (hazard ratio = 1.65; 95% confidence interval: 1.60–1.71). Conclusions: A significant association was observed between EV infection and asthma in children. Health providers should be aware of the higher potential for children with EV to develop asthma in the future.


Enzymes with a dimetal-carboxylate cofactor catalyze reactions among the top challenges in chemistry such as methane and dioxygen (O2) activation. Recently described proteins bind a manganese-iron cofactor (MnFe) instead of the classical diiron cofactor (FeFe). Determination of atomic-level differences of homo- versus hetero-bimetallic cofactors is crucial to understand their diverse redox reactions. We studied a ligand-binding oxidase from the bacterium Geobacillus kaustophilus (R2lox) loaded with a FeFe or MnFe cofactor, which catalyzes O2 reduction and an unusual tyrosine-valine ether cross-link formation, as revealed by X-ray crystallography. Advanced X-ray absorption, emission, and vibrational spectroscopy methods and quantum chemical and molecular mechanics calculations provided relative Mn/Fe contents, X-ray photoreduction kinetics, metal-ligand bond lengths, metal-metal distances, metal oxidation states, spin configurations, valence-level degeneracy, molecular orbital composition, nuclear quadrupole splitting energies, and vibrational normal modes for both cofactors. A protonation state with an axial water (H2O) ligand at Mn or Fe in binding site 1 and a metal-bridging hydroxo group (μOH) in a hydrogen-bonded network is assigned. Our comprehensive picture of the molecular, electronic, and dynamic properties of the cofactors highlights reorientation of the unique axis along the Mn-OH2 bond for the Mn1(III) Jahn-Teller ion but along the Fe-μOH bond for the octahedral Fe1(III). This likely corresponds to a more positive redox potential of the Mn(III)Fe(III) cofactor and higher proton affinity of its μOH group. Refined model structures for the Mn(III)Fe(III) and Fe(III)Fe(III) cofactors are presented. Implications of our findings for the site-specific metalation of R2lox and performance of the O2 reduction and cross-link formation reactions are discussed.


Abstract Objectives: The results of neuroimaging studies have indicated that viewing emotional stimuli can lead to activity increases in brain regions associated with processing actions. We hypothesized that observation of actions involving the potential for harm (i.e., risk-taking actions) would activate emotion- and pain-related processing. Methods: We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine the changes in neural activity during the observation of safe and risk-taking actions in 34 healthy participants (14 females, 20 males; mean age: 23·4±3·7 years). Results: Observation of risk-taking actions elicited significantly stronger neural activation in the inferior frontal gyrus, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, superior frontal gyrus/frontal pole, inferior parietal lobule, middle temporal gyrus, middle occipital gyrus, lingual gyrus, cuneus (including the calcarine sulcus), insula, and amygdala, than observation of safe actions. Interestingly, we observed significant activation of affect-related brain areas (ventromedial prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and insula), thought to be implicated in various aspects of emotion regulation during the observation of risk-taking actions. No brain regions exhibited greater activation during observation of safe actions than during observation of risk-taking actions associated with risk. Discussion: Our results reveal that the risk-related content of the observed actions in the video clips elicited activation of a network of visual input and processing regions, including the action observation network, that appears to encode the meanings of observed actions as well as the reflective or retrospective monitoring of their outcomes. These findings suggest that risk-taking situations may increase cognitive load on the entire action perception system, and may command more attention.


The diffraction of E-polarized plane waves by a thick-walled parallel-plate impedance waveguide is investigated rigorously by using the Fourier transform technique in conjunction with the mode-matching method. This mixed method of formulation gives rise to a scalar Wiener-Hopf equation of the second kind, the solution of which contains infinitely many constants satisfying an infinite system of linear algebraic equations. A numerical solution of this system is obtained for various values of the plate impedances, plate thickness, and the distance between the plates through which the effect of these parameters on the diffraction phenomenon are studied.


Why, when an individual wants to take to the streets at climate summits, set up a protest camp or protest against eco-political policy they are labelled by the media and politicians as anything from tree-hugger to the neoliberal neologism of 'eco-terrorist'?(Arnold, 19891).

Drawing on environmental and media political discourse theory, the paper will such media representation emerges from power shifts away from activism towards environmental governance and free-market economics, nestled in a media discourse. An attempt to shift power back towards activism within environmental discourse has been made with social media, as a solution to limited resources and mobilisation of people as a co-ordinated form of protest. However, although some hail social media as helping to foster greater democracy, there's a risk of over-reliance on social media strategies, resulting in too much focus on 'hits' and 'likes' and less emphasis on the rationale. Democratic change maybe aided by tweets and Facebook events (Ghonm2, 2012), but one over reliance on social media as a protest tool can also be detrimental to wider democratic practices.

Instead the paper argues that by exploring the space of environmental activism is a much-more effective mode of contentious politics. Where and when an action takes places is as significantly important as too why. For many activists, sites of contestations are part of ongoing affirmations to the historical importance of a familiar and workable space that furthers the goal of subverting the existing power structure. Whilst many contemporary activist movements are shaped by histories of social relations, economic practices and formations of political power; technological advances in communication in recent years have enabled activists to contest such power relations through social and new media, alongside mainstream repertoires of protest within the space of protest. Direct action, at or near sites of contestation not only shifts the media and political hierarchy, but also alters power relations between activists, the media and political discourse.

The empirical research draws on original interviews with a variety of environmental activists, newspaper and broadcast media coverage, archival research and activists' literature. The archival data and media reports are scrutinized through the concept of Critical discourse analysis, in combination with the original empirical material. In doing so, this paper asks three important questions (1) why do such discursive structures by the mainstream media and governments frame protest in as a negative act of democracy. (2) What do social media offer as a mode of contestation? (3) How can environmental activists movements move away from the current media climate of negativity?


Good Calories, Bad Calories has much useful information and is well worth reading. Gary Taubes's tenets related to obesity can be summarized in four statements (i) He believes that you can gain weight and become obese without a positive energy balance; (ii) He also believes that dietary fat is unimportant for the development of obesity; (iii) Carbohydrate, in his view, is what produces obesity and (iv) Insulin secreted by the carbohydrate is the problem in obesity. However, some of the conclusions that the author reaches are not consistent with current concepts about obesity. There are many kinds of obesity, and only some depend on diet composition. Two dietary manipulations produce obesity in susceptible people: eating a high‐fat diet and drinking sugar‐ or high‐fructose corn syrup‐sweetened beverages. Insulin is necessary but not sufficient in the diet‐dependent obesities. When diet is important, it may be the combination of fat and fructose (the deadly duo) that is most important. Regardless of diet, it is a positive energy balance over months to years that is the sine qua non for obesity. Obese people clearly eat more than do lean ones, and food‐intake records are notoriously unreliable, as documented by use of doubly labelled water. Underreporting of food intake is greater in obese than in normal‐weight people and is worse for fat than for other macronutrient groups. Accepting the concept that obesity results from a positive energy balance does not tell us why energy balance is positive. This depends on a variety of environmental factors interacting with the genetic susceptibility of certain individuals. Weight loss is related to adherence to the diet, not to its macronutrient composition.


Graphs of sea level for twelve locations in the southwest Pacific show stable sea level for about ten years over the region. The data are compared with results from elsewhere, all of which suggest that any rise of global sea level is negligible. The Darwin theory of coral formation, and subsidence ideas for guyots would suggest that we should see more land subsidence, and apparent sea level rise, than is actually occurring. Sea level studies have not been carried out for very long, but they can indicate major tectonic components such as isostatic rebound in Scandinavia. Attempts to manipulate the data by modelling to show alarming rates of sea level rise (associated with alleged global warming) are not supported by primary regional or global data. Even those places frequently said to be in grave danger of drowning, such as the Maldives, Tuvalu and Holland, appear to be safe.


Dynamic fracture properties of most engineering materials are evaluated using Charpy test. The dynamic responses of the standard Charpy impact machine are experimentally studied using the relevant data acquisition system in order to obtain the impact response. For this reason, strain gauges were connected to the data acquisition set and it was then attached to the striker for the signal collection. The numerical analysis by mean of the finite element method has been used to obtain the findings. The standard Charpy modelling using the aluminium 6061 material was used in order to obtain strain responses on the striker during the impact simulation. A standard Charpy specimen aluminium 6061 was used for the experimental impact testing. A power spectrum density (PSD) approach is then used to convert a signal from the time domain to the frequency domain using the fast Fourier transform (FFT) method. Related parameters on strain signals, power spectrum density (PSD), comparison between experiment and finite element analysis, and the relationship between all the parameters were finally correlated and discussed. It was found that the finite element results are validated to show simulated time histories and its PSD compared with experimental work.


Get started with the simplest, most powerful prolog ever: Visual Prolog If you want to explore the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI), you need to know your way around Prolog.Prolog - which stands for "programming with logic" - is one of the most effective languages for building AI applications, thanks to its unique approach. Rather than writing a program that spells out exactly how to solve a problem, with Prolog you define a problem with logical Rules, and then set the computer loose on it. This paradigm shift from Procedural to Declarative programming makes Prolog ideal for applications involving AI, logic, language parsing, computational linguistics, and theorem-proving.Now, Visual Prolog (available as a free download) offers even more with its powerful Graphical User Interface (GUI), built-in Predicates, and rather large provided Program Foundation Class (PFC) libraries. A Guide to Artificial Intelligence with Visual Prolog is an excellent introduction to both Prolog and Visual Prolog. Designed for newcomers to Prolog with some conventional programming background (such as BASIC, C, C++, Pascal, etc.), Randall Scott proceeds along a logical,easy-to-grasp path as he explains the beginnings of Prolog, classic algorithms to get you started, and many of the unique features of Visual Prolog.Readers will also gain key insights into application development, application design, interface construction, troubleshooting, and more. In addition, there are numerous sample examples to learn from, copious illustrations and information on helpful resources.A Guide to Artificial Intelligence with Visual Prolog is less like a traditional textbook and more like a workshop where you can learn at your own pace - so you can start harnessing the power of Visual Prolog for whatever your mind can dream up.


The study aimed to analyze the reality of e-learning at Palestine Technical University-Khudouri/Tulkarem, and to identify the most important challenges facing students when using the education system, as well as to analyze the extent to which university students interact with the e-learning system, and to show the differences between the average opinions of the study sample on e-learning according to the study variables due to the nature of the study, the descriptive analytical approach was used, in order to reach practical results, and to achieve and analyze the reality of e-learning  a questionnaire consisting of (34) paragraphs was designed, where the study community consisted of (6,559) students, and a simple random sample of (522) students was taken, and the questionnaire was distributed electronically because it was not able to be distributed manually due to the prevailing conditions _ the spread of the Corona pandemic- at the time of the preparation of the study. The results of the study showed that (63.136%) of the researched believe that the reality of e-learning at the university suffers from different problems. The study indicated that (87.97%) among respondents, complaints have increased in the e-learning system after the Corona pandemic and that (81.36%) among the researchers, the infrastructure was one of the most barriers in e-learning. While (63.934%)of the researched that e-learning has a role to play in achieving Interaction among students, as the results of the study showed no differences Statistically significant to the reality of e-learning according to the gender variable, and there are no differences depending on the variable of the scientific qualification except in the field of e-learning reality, there are also no differences Statistics according to the variable of the academic level ,except for the field of Interaction with students. In the light of the results of the study, a series of recommendations were made, the most prominent of which were: 1.Include an e-learning system item in The computer course assigned as a university requirement for first-year students 2. Provide opportunities to train and develop the capabilities of all educational parties to use and apply E-learning.


OBJECTIVES
To gain insight into similarities and differences in patient evaluations of quality of primary care across 12 European countries and to correlate patient evaluations with WHO health system performance measures (for example, responsiveness) of these countries.

METHODS
Patient evaluations were derived from a series of Quote (QUality of care Through patients' Eyes) instruments designed to measure the quality of primary care. Various research groups provided a total sample of 5133 patients from 12 countries: Belarus, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, United Kingdom, and Ukraine. Intraclass correlations of 10 Quote items were calculated to measure differences between countries. The world health report 2000 - Health systems: improving performance performance measures in the same countries were correlated with mean Quote scores.

FINDINGS
Intra-class correlation coefficients ranged from low to very high, which indicated little variation between countries in some respects (for example, primary care providers have a good understanding of patients' problems in all countries) and large variation in other respects (for example, with respect to prescription of medication and communication between primary care providers). Most correlations between mean Quote scores per country and WHO performance measures were positive. The highest correlation (0.86) was between the primary care provider's understanding of patients' problems and responsiveness according to WHO.

CONCLUSIONS
Patient evaluations of the quality of primary care showed large differences across countries and related positively to WHO's performance measures of health care systems.


The results of hallux valgus treatment in 63 patients have been studied using the technique of multipositional roentgenography, which was performed before and after surgery, as well as at different stages of device fixation and in the long-term period. Roentgenometric investigations were made in all patients. Depending on the degree of the first ray deformity the patients were subjected to different types of osteotomies with osteotomized fragment fixation using an external fixator. After deformity correction a prolonged reorganization process was observed in the first metatarsal bone, which can be divided into two periods: the immediate two months and one year after the end of treatment. The reorganization process of the first metatarsal bone was close to completion in 48 patients 1 year after the end of treatment, well marked cortical plates were formed, meshy structure was traced in the zone of bone base, the shape of the first metatarsal bone was nearly normal. In the rest patients the reorganization process was incomplete, there were compaction parts in the zones of osteotomies, the cortical plate was of different thickness and density, the meshy structure in the zone of bone head and base alternated with compaction and rarefaction parts.


Predicting the structural properties of water and simple fluids confined in nanometer scale pores and channels is essential in, for example, energy storage and biomolecular systems. Classical continuum theories fail to accurately capture the interfacial structure of fluids. In this work, we develop a deep learning-based quasi-continuum theory (DL-QT) to predict the concentration and potential profiles of a Lennard-Jones (LJ) fluid and water confined in a nanochannel. The deep learning model is built based on a convolutional encoder-decoder network (CED) and is applied for high-dimensional surrogate modeling to relate the fluid properties to the fluid-fluid potential. The CED model is then combined with the interatomic potential-based continuum theory to determine the concentration profiles of a confined LJ fluid and confined water. We show that the DL-QT model exhibits robust predictive performance for a confined LJ fluid under various thermodynamic states and for water confined in a nanochannel of different widths. The DL-QT model seamlessly connects molecular physics at the nanoscale with continuum theory by using a deep learning model.


Currently, most machine learning models are trained by centralized teams and are rarely updated. In contrast, open-source software development involves the iterative development of a shared artifact through distributed collaboration using a version control system. In the interest of enabling collaborative and continual improvement of machine learning models, we introduce Git-Theta, a version control system for machine learning models. Git-Theta is an extension to Git, the most widely used version control software, that allows fine-grained tracking of changes to model parameters alongside code and other artifacts. Unlike existing version control systems that treat a model checkpoint as a blob of data, Git-Theta leverages the structure of checkpoints to support communication-efficient updates, automatic model merges, and meaningful reporting about the difference between two versions of a model. In addition, Git-Theta includes a plug-in system that enables users to easily add support for new functionality. In this paper, we introduce Git-Theta's design and features and include an example use-case of Git-Theta where a pre-trained model is continually adapted and modified. We publicly release Git-Theta in hopes of kickstarting a new era of collaborative model development.


Scaffolds composed of extracellular matrix (ECM) and derived from various species and various organs have been shown to promote constructive, site-specific tissue remodeling in pre-clinical studies and clinical use, including musculoskeletal, urogenital, dermal, cardiovascular, and neural applications. Despite extensive study, the mechanisms of the remodeling process are still not thoroughly understood. The goals of this dissertation were to elucidate the role of mechanical loading in the remodeling of ECM scaffolds and the role of bone marrow derived cells in the remodeling process. To better understand the role of mechanical loading on the remodeling of an ECM scaffold, an ECM scaffold derived from the porcine small intestinal submucosa (SIS-ECM) was seeded with fibroblasts and subjected to a variety of magnitudes and frequencies of cyclic strain using a custom designed Cyclic Stretching Tissue Culture system. The magnitudes of stretch were based on a study of the collagen fiber kinematics of the SIS-ECM under uniaxial and biaxial loading conditions. The cyclic loading experiments showed that mechanical loading led to expression of matrix related genes that was consistent with a constructive remodeling response with increased expression of collagen type I (Col I), a-smooth muscle actin (SMA), and tenascin-C (TN-C), as well as decreased expression of collagen type III (Col III).It was also found that bone marrow cells were recruited to the site of ECM remodeling and that the cells remained at the site of remodeling for 16 weeks after implantation, unlike an autologous tendon repair. Furthermore, it was found that the bone marrow derived cells did not express the hematopoietic marker CD45, but did express Col I, Col III, and SMA. The cells did not show the same expression pattern as normal tendon fibroblast (Col I+, TN-C+), suggesting that the cells differentiated towards a myofibroblastic cell as opposed to a normal fibroblast. The results of this study show that an ECM scaffold recruits a bone marrow derived mesenchymal progenitor to the site of remodeling, and that those cells differentiate into site specific tissue as a result of mechanical and biochemical cues.


In this case report we describe a rare tumor--Oncocytic variant of Mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the submandibular salivary gland with a review of the literature. Oncocytic metaplasia in salivary glands is a benign change that is associated with increasing age and also seen in a few salivary gland neoplasms', which include oncocytoma, Warthin's tumor, and the rare, oncocytic carcinoma. Oncocytic differentiation in mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) is uncommon. Only twelve well-documented cases of oncocytic MEC have been reported previously all of which occurred in the parotid gland. To the best of our knowledge this is the first case of oncocytic mucoepidermoid carcinoma involving the submandibular salivary gland. The recognition of this entity is important, since most of the other primary oncocytic lesions of the salivary gland are benign.


In this study, equations for estimating the Bond grindability index by the sink-float test data of pumice were developed. Primarily, the cumulative weight and porosity content of the floating fraction were determined for two different pumice samples in all relative densities. Then, grindability of the pumice samples was determined for its constituent specific gravity fractions. Though the grindability of the constituent specific gravity fractions of both the pumices varies in a systematic manner, certain differences, it can be observed in the variation pattern between the two pumices. These differences included easy washability and moderate difficult washability characteristic pumices. The relationships between the Bond grindability and relative densities and between the Bond grindability and porosity were stated as simple equations, and the calculated values from equations were compared with the experimental results. Finally, the float–sink test results can be stated by simple equations relating to the Bond grindability value. The Bond grindability (Gbg) was easily measured by carrying out sink-float tests, and by measuring the constituent relative density fractions and porosity content.


The ability of animals to learn complex tasks from reward is still not fully understood. While models of such reinforcement learning exist (e.g., Sutton & Barto 1990), it is unclear how these models might reflect the functioning of biological neural networks. One recent model has shown how networks of spiking neurons can model reinforcement learning in animals (Chorley & Seth 2011), however, it and the existing models of animal behavior do not fully account for learning phenomena such as extinction, spontaneous recovery, and gradual extinction (Gershman et al. 2013). Interestingly, the model's failures in extinction and spontaneous recovery are the same as those of rodents with hippocampal lesions (e.g., Kimble & Kimble 1970), suggesting that adding a spiking model of the hippocampus will better model these phenomena. We present data on the original model's performance in learning, extinction, and spontaneous recovery, and we explore modifications to better capture these phenomena.


The paper compares different aggregates of aid financed global public goods and detects the presence, for the period 1995-2006, of the substitution effect between these aggregates and traditional aid that was found by former studies for earlier periods. A second focus of the paper is on the differences in the importance that donors attach to the various types of global public goods, trying to detect regular patterns in their choices of financing. Statistical regularities, representative of common historical, social, cultural factors, for groups of countries (Anglo-Saxon, Northern European and Central European) give rise to the existence of a certain clusterized homogeneity in global public goods financing. Potential explanatory variables are examined in a panel analysis, which reveals the dominance of the donors' wealth, preferences for public goods and public finance constraints in the decision of aid funding of global public goods. Finally, there is evidence that some global public goods with weakest-link technologies have become increasingly important at the global level. The increase in their financing through aid flows could be explained by the rich countries' fear of an insufficient provision by poor countries, which, increasingly, cannot afford to pay for them: rich countries are therefore stepping in to avoid sub-optimal levels of provision, as already foreseen by Sandler (1998).


Recent investigations have shown that the extent of the channel network in some drainage basins is controlled by a threshold for overland flow erosion. The sensitivity of such basins to climate change is analyzed using a physically based model of drainage basin evolution. The GOLEM model simulates basin evolution under the action of weathering processes, hillslope transport, and fluvial bedrock erosion and sediment transport. Results from perturbation analyses reveal that the nature and timescale of basin response depends on the direction of change. An increase in runoff intensity (or a decrease in vegetation cover) will lead to a rapid expansion of the channel network, with the resulting increase in sediment supply initially generating aggradation along the main network, followed by downcutting as the sediment supply tapers off. By contrast, a decrease in runoff intensity (or an increase in the erosion threshold) will lead to a retraction of the active channel network and a much more gradual geomorphic response. Cyclic changes in runoff intensity are shown to produce aggradational‐degradational cycles that resemble those observed in the field. Cyclic variations in runoff also lead to highly punctuated denudation rates, with denudation concentrated during periods of increasing runoff intensity and/or decreasing vegetation cover. The sediment yield from threshold‐dominated basins may therefore exhibit significant variability in response to relatively subtle environmental changes, a finding which underscores the need for caution in interpreting modern sediment‐yield data.


Evolutionary metaphors have been prominent in both economics and finance. They are often used as basic foundations for rational behavior and efficient markets. Theoretically, a mechanism which selects for rational investors requires many caveats, and is far from generic. This paper tests wealth based evolution in a simple, stylized agent-based financial market. The setup borrows extensively from current research in finance that considers optimal behavior with some amount of return predictability. In the case of utility functions which differ from log, wealth selection alone converges to parameters which are economically far from the optimal forecast parameters. This serves as a strong reminder that wealth selection and utility maximization are not the same thing. Therefore, suboptimal financial forecasting strategies may be difficult to drive out of a market, and may even do quite well for some time.


Modern concepts of plant tolerance to herbivory are primarily based on studies of short-term severe damage, whereas the effects of minor chronic damage to long-lived woody plants, corresponding to background herbivory (2–15% annual loss of foliar biomass in boreal and temperate forests), remain poorly understood. In our experiment, the annual removal of 2, 4, 8 and 16% of the leaf area from naturally growing mountain birch Betula pubescens subsp. czerepanovii saplings during a seven-year period resulted in a pronounced reduction of plant vertical growth (–30, –34, –45 and –78%, respectively). Leaf size decreased first (already after one year of the 16% treatment), resulting in the reduction of the total leaf area. This effect was followed by a considerable decrease in the length of long shoots in all treatments. Leaf number on the plant was maintained for a longer time, being reduced by the end of the experiment in 16% treatment only; no changes in specific leaf area or chlorophyll fluorescence were observed in either of the treatments. This pattern may indicate that the plant reallocates resources from the growth of the woody parts to the maintenance of the photosynthetic area, and can be seen as a strategy of tolerance to minor herbivory, whereas compensatory responses typical of severe herbivory (increased photosynthesis rates and shoot regrowth) have not been detected. The predicted 2–5% increase in background herbivory due to climate warming can potentially produce previously unrecognised negative impacts on tree growth. We conclude that in the long term, background herbivory is likely to impose stronger effects on the growth of woody plants than short-term devastating outbreaks of defoliators, thus contributing more to the development of plant evolutionary adaptations to herbivory than severe but episodic bouts of damage.


This study explores the role of speech register and prosody for the task of word segmentation. Since these two factors are thought to play an important role in early language acquisition, we aim to quantify their contribution for this task. We study a Japanese corpus containing both infant- and adult-directed speech and we apply four different word segmentation models, with and without knowledge of prosodic boundaries. The results showed that the difference between registers is smaller than previously reported and that prosodic boundary information helps more adult- than infant-directed speech.


Certain reproductive techniques culture embryos in vitro; however, little is known about the impact of culture on fetal growth. Coculture of day 1ovine zygotes on a bovine granulosa cell layer to blastocysts followed by transfer to synchronous recipients increased fetal weight by 11 and 40% at days 61 and 125, respectively, compared with the transfer of in vivo-produced blastocysts. Plantaris muscle weights were increased by 40% in cultured fetuses at day 125. Examination of myogenesis in plantaris muscle showed that primary fiber number was unchanged at day 61 by culture but that primary fiber area was increased significantly by 15 and 25% at days 61 and 125, respectively; secondary fiber area was increased by 40% at day 125 by culture, and the ratio of secondary to primary fiber numbers was 18-20% greater in the cultured groups compared with the controls at days 61 and 125. The results show that coculture of preimplantation embryos may alter myogenic programming. These changes may contribute to the abnormally large muscles observed in oversize fetuses.


Hsp70 molecular chaperones play critical roles in the pathogenesis of many human diseases, including cancer and viral replication. Hsp70s bind polypeptides and couple ATP hydrolysis to alter substrate conformation and function. However, ATP hydrolysis by Hsp70 is weak, but can be stimulated by J domain-protein chaperones. To identify new targets of chaperone action, I performed a multi-copy suppressor screen for genes that improved the slow growth defect of yeast lacking YDJ1 but expressing a defective YDJ1 chimera. Among the genes identified were MID2, which regulates cell wall integrity, and PKC1, which encodes protein kinase C, which is also linked to cell wall biogenesis. Consistent with these data, I found that ydj1Δ yeast and yeast with temperature sensitive mutations in Hsp90 exhibit phenotypes consistent with cell wall defects but these phenotypes were improved by Mid2p or Pkc1p over-expression. Mid2p over-expression thickened the ydj1&Delta cell wall, which is likely the basis for suppression of the ydj1&Delta growth defect. These data provide the first link between cytoplasmic chaperones and cell wall integrity, and suggest that chaperones orchestrate the biogenesis of this structure.Another J domain-protein is the Large Tumor Antigen (TAg) in the polyomavirus Simian Virus 40 (SV40). TAg is required for viral replication and cellular transformation, and binds Hsp70. Because of their roles in cancer and SV40 function, small molecule modulators that inhibit Hsp70 or J-protein activity might represent novel anti-cancer and/or anti-viral agents. To identify such agents, I screened a bank of small molecules and identified a compound, MAL3-101, that had no effect on endogenous Hsp70 ATPase activity, but inhibited TAg stimulation of Hsp70 ATPase activity and reduced breast cancer cell proliferation. Forty-two derivatives of MAL3-101 were then synthesized and twelve compounds inhibited breast cancer cell proliferation at lower concentrations than MAL3-101. Reduction of cell proliferation correlated with reduced TAg stimulation of Hsp70 in vitro. Intriguingly, one compound, MAL2-11B, also inhibited the ATPase activity of TAg. This compound inhibited viral replication almost five-fold and SV40 DNA replication in vitro. These data show that J-protein inhibitors may be viable treatments for breast cancer and polyomavirus infection.


Agri-environmental programs, such as the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, provide payments to livestock and crop producers to generate broadly defined environmental benefits and to help them comply with federal water quality regulations, such as those that require manure nutrients generated on large animal feeding operations to be spread on cropland at no greater than agronomic rates. We couch these policy options in terms of agri-environmental "carrots" and regulatory "sticks," respectively. The U.S. agricultural sector is likely to respond to these policies in a variety of ways. Simulation analysis suggests that meeting nutrient standards would result in decreased levels of animal production, increased prices for livestock and poultry products, increased levels of crop production, and water quality improvements. However, estimated impacts are not homogeneous across regions. In regions with relatively less cropland per ton of manure produced, the impacts of these policies are more pronounced.


Tomato leaf miner – Tuta absoluta Meyrick (Lepidoptera, Gelechiidae) is a serious pest of tomato. A study on possible grown host plants of T. absoluta was conducted during 2015 and 2016 in a greenhouse in the area of Banja Luka (Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina - BiH). As host plants the following were used: Solanum lycopersicum – tomato, Solanum tuberosum – potato, Solanum melongena – eggplant and Phaseolus vulgaris – green bean. The plants were placed into entomological cages and exposed to infestation of 10 adults of Tuta absoluta. Feeding damages by all larval instars and the number of developed generations per year at different host plants were observed under greenhouse conditions. The study showed that tomato is a preferable host plant. This paper is the first record of green bean as an incompatible host plant for T. absoluta in BiH.


McClure's was the leading muckraking journal among the many which flourished at the turn of the century. Both a literary and political magazine, It introduced exciting new writers to the American scene (Rudyard Kipling, Robert Louis Stevenson, A. Conan Doyle) and fearlessly championed the important causes of the day (from betterment of conditions in the coal mines to antitrust measures). This is the story of McClure's lifespan, beginning in Ohio when Samuel McClure gathered around himself a talented group of editors and writers (among them Willa Cather. Frank Norris. Stephen Crane, O. Henry. Hamlin Garland) and continuing to the magazine's last days in New York City. The growing concern of the staff about American urban and commercial life led to such exposes as Ida Tarbell's History of Standard Oil and Lincoln Steffens' Shame of the Cities. McClure's was a channel for those determined to combat the ills of society, and one of the first voices of the emerging Progressive Party. Originally published in 1970. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.


This report presents the guidelines for the treatment of individuals with sexually transmitted diseases (STD) that were developed by the STD Study Group GIRVE of the Society Italiana di Dermatologia e Venereologia (Italian Society of Dermatology and Venerology) in accordance with those developed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 1998. The guidelines represent a useful tool for physicians and other health-care providers in preventing and controlling STDs. The guidelines include new recommendations for treating genital herpes and genital warts.


Kindler syndrome (OMIM 173650) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterized by trauma-induced blister formation (especially in childhood) and photosensitivity. Other features include mucocutaneous scarring and progressive poikiloderma. There is also an increased risk of skin and mucous membrane malignancy. The disorder was recently mapped to 20p12.3 and pathogenic mutations were identified in a new gene, KIND1. This gene encodes a 677 amino acid protein, kindlin-1, a component of focal contacts in keratinocytes. In this study, we identified four new recurrent mutations in KIND1 in 16 individuals with Kindler syndrome from 13 families of Pakistani (676insC), UK Caucasian (E304X), Omani (W616X), or Italian (958-1G > A) origins. Haplotype analysis demonstrated common ancestral mutant alleles for each mutation, apart from one of the six Pakistani families in which the mutation 676insC (which occurs in a repeat of seven cytosines) was present on a different genetic background. All mutations were homozygous, apart from the three UK Caucasian cases that were all compound heterozygotes (second allele mutations: L302X, 1161delA, 1909delA). All mutations were associated with markedly reduced or absent skin immunostaining with an antikindlin-1 antibody. These loss-of-function KIND1 mutations demonstrate the importance of kindlin-1 in maintaining epithelial integrity, although the mechanism linking this mutant protein to photosensitivity and poikiloderma remains to be determined. Delineation of these recurrent mutations is also relevant to optimizing mutation detection strategies in Kindler syndrome patients from particular ethnic backgrounds.


Abstract Objectives: Essential tremor (ET) confers an increased risk for developing both amnestic and non-amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Yet, the optimal measures for detecting mild cognitive changes in individuals with this movement disorder have not been established. We sought to identify the cognitive domains and specific motor-free neuropsychological tests that are most sensitive to mild deficits in cognition as defined by a Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) of 0.5, which is generally associated with a clinical diagnosis of MCI. Methods: A total of 196 ET subjects enrolled in a prospective, longitudinal, clinical-pathological study underwent an extensive motor-free neuropsychological test battery and were assigned a CDR score. Logistic regression analyses were performed to identify the neuropsychological tests which best identified individuals with CDR of 0.5 (mild deficits in cognition) versus 0 (normal cognition). Results: In regression models, we identified five tests in the domains of Memory and Executive Function which best discriminated subjects with CDR of 0.5 versus 0 (86.9% model classification accuracy). These tests were the California Verbal Learning Test II Total Recall, Logical Memory II, Verbal-Paired Associates I, Category Switching Fluency, and Color-Word Inhibition. Conclusions: Mild cognitive difficulty among ET subjects is best predicted by combined performance on five measures of memory and executive function. These results inform the nature of cognitive dysfunction in ET and the creation of a brief cognitive battery to assess patients with ET for cognitively driven dysfunction in life that could indicate the presence of MCI. (JINS, 2018, 24, 1084–1098)


Recent development in Terahertz (THz) and millimeter technology shows that the decent advantages of THz radiation over old technologies of X-Ray and microwaves have made it as a promising method for imaging applications. The THz frequency band offers several advantages over microwave links as well as free-space infrared IR based systems, such as higher bandwidth capacity and spatial resolution, perforation capability, lower photoionization effects on biological tissues, and still unregulated. To be used as an imaging appliance, a THz source must meet feasible requirements such as high gain, narrow beamwidth, and proper side lobe level (SLL) from its radiation pattern, to produce a high-resolution spectra output by raster scanning technique with a focused THz beam. A high radiation efficiency also needs to be dealt with, because it will affect the amount of energy by an antenna can radiate. In the previous research, we have studied a bow-tie planar antenna combined with a capacitive bar on a high-dielectric Silicon substrate and extended hemispherical lens to obtain a 1 THz resonant frequency, gain of more than 30 dB and radiation efficiency of 69.3%. However, the design has a drawback of high SLL which can affect the image detection. A modification is needed for the bow-tie antenna to suppress the SLL in an acceptable level. In this paper, we study the modification of the bow-tie antenna with a double cross technique. Two bow-tie antennas are cross designed for each other with different arm length. Two-cross dipole design has obtained an isotropic radiation pattern of a single antenna. We adopt this technique to be implemented on a lens-based antenna for SLL suppression. From the simulation results, the high gain and radiation efficiency performances are conformable to our previous study, but lower SLL can be achieved as well. The SLL can be reduced to −11.3dB and −11.7dB for both $E$-plane and $H$-plane of the radiated waves. These results indicate that our proposed design has great advantages to be used for future imaging applications.


Hematuria after blunt abdominal trauma is common with multiple organ system injuries, and many trauma centers routinely perform intravenous pyelography (IVP) on all trauma patients having any degree of hematuria. However, it has been suggested that many IVPs could be avoided if more selective criteria were used. To help determine the need for an IVP, we reviewed the records of 102 consecutive patients undergoing IVP after blunt abdominal trauma over a 17-month period. Twenty-six (25%) patients had gross hematuria. Of these, seven (27%) had abnormal IVPs, and two (7.7%) of those required urologic surgery. Seventy-six (75%) patients had microscopic hematuria. Of these, one (1.3%) had an abnormal IVP but required no urologic surgery. Thus, if IVP had been performed only when gross hematuria was present, then all surgically significant urinary tract lesions would have been recognized, and 75 per cent of these 102 patients would have been spared IVPs. We agree with others that microscopic hematuria alone is not an indication for emergency IVP in these trauma patients. However, gross hematuria or other strong clinical evidence of renal injury still mandates IVP early during the assessment of patients who have suffered blunt abdominal trauma.


The municipality of San Sebastian, considered one of the most prone to natural hazards in Guatemala, was selected as one of the pilot areas of the UNESCO program on "Capacity Building for Natural Disaster Reduction". The town is located within the Samala basin, near the active channel of the river, which is heavily affected by lahars related to the active Santiaguito-Santa Maria volcanic complex. The town is threatened both by lahars as well as by flooding. As is often the case in towns such as San Sebastian, very little data (e.g., cadastral, topographical, hydrological and meteorological) was available to perform a flood risk assessment based on traditional hydrological modeling. To perform a basic flood risk assessment, an alternative method for producing several sets of data was implemented by combining aerial photo interpretation, the use of data questionnaires in a community-based field data collection campaign, and subsequent analysis using Geographical Information Systems (GIS). A cadastral base map with an attribute database was generated as key inputs for flood hazard and vulnerability assessment. Information collected by means of a small-scale survey on a home-by-home basis, in cooperation with a local NGO, was used to reconstruct the last flood that affected the town during Hurricane Mitch in 1998. Based on this historic flood scenario vulnerability curves relating water height and speed with expected level of damage were constructed for three of the main elements at risk within the urban area: buildings, building contents, and road network. Vulnerability maps were generated using GIS and combined with cost information to derive estimated losses. The resulting cadastral database containing physical and social information at the parcel level as well as detailed information on flood hazard, vulnerability and expected losses, can be used by municipal authorities as a valuable tool in municipal planning, including a wider range of applications in addition to risk management.


During the Capbreton 1988 to 1990 cruises, samples of benthic macrofauna were taken at 37 stations situated along the continental slope (from 480 to 1113 m depth), on both sides of the Capbreton Canyon and in its axis. Lumbrinerid polychaetes were collected in 20 of these samples. This work includes the description of eight species belonging to six genera. Six of the species have already been described in the region: Abyssoninoe scopa (Fauchald, 1974), Augeneria algida (Wiren, 1901), Lumbrinerides amoureuxi Miura, 1980, Lumbrineris aniara Fauchald, 1974, Lumbrineris futilis Kinberg, 1865, and Ninoe armoricana Glemarec, 1968. The other two are described as new species belonging to the genera Augeneria and Lumbricalus . Some type-material of these species was revised and some notes also included.


the health of special "captive" subjects, such as soldiers, prisoners, university undergraduates, and the like, and to protect them from needless physical or mental discomfort. The scientific validation of one of the least intrusive forms of physical culture training is, I believe, a humane and highly ethical thing to have done, and is totally at variance with the tone of Dr Bradshaw's letter. Physical fitness in the accepted sense is not obtained by undergoing long route marches lasting many hours, by going for exhausting longdistance runs, or by performing an arbitrary set of physical tasks of which many are beyond the endurance of, and impossible for, smaller or weaker individuals in a group. Circuit training involves the establishment of physical tasks which are tailored to an individual's own ability, and which are not governed by any external standard. He sets his own levels of achievement and is protected from. being pushed beyond this point. One of the most enjoyable ways of becoming fit is to undertake circuit training. Circuit training is undertaken daily, as a routine, by countless sportsmen, and by thousands of others who simply want to keep fit. There must be few who have not rowed, played football, engaged in athletics, or simply been in student physical training classes who have not regularly undertaken circuit training. One feels "exhausted" after a 10-minute workout, as one does after a game of football, netball, or a maximum 200-metre dash. To equate the accurate measurement of pulse rates during such a workout as akin to using soldiers for drug trials is rubbish. In the study described (in which I was also a subject) one measured pulse rates of soldiers who were undertaking identical standard physical training which has been used for years, and which continues to be used extensively in schools, colleges, universities, and sporting clubs, as well as in the armed services. In no way was the physical training different from, or more rigorous than, that used in all these nonmilitary situations. Whether or not pulse rates were measured made no difference to the soldiers' activities in camp. However much Dr Bradshaw may personally disagree, standard physical training has to remain a non-discretionary part of Service life-just as training to protect oneself and to live and survive under field conditions are basic axioms of military training. A volunteer soldier, by the very act of his voluntarily continuing his presence in the Army, implicitly accepts the fact of basic training in these three fundamental aspects of military life. JOHN PEARN University of Queensland Department of Child Health, Royal Children's Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia 4029


How is the promise of crop genome editing viewed by scientists working with or aspiring to work with the technology, by development experts seeking to mold public perceptions and policy attitudes toward genome editing, and by donors that provide funds for genome-editing research for agricultural applications in sub-Saharan Africa? In this article, we present data from interviews with these stakeholders to shed light on their aspirations, concerns, and expectations. Previous scholarship on genome editing in relation to African agriculture has focused on the technical capabilities of genome editing techniques and surveys of current research and development activities in this field. This article contextualizes and reflects critically on expectations that genome editing can or will deliver benefits for African scientists and farmers. The interviews reveal excitement around genome editing and anticipation for what it could achieve, but also a sober realism and frustration regarding the political-economic hurdles that constrain African scientists and research institutions and the generation of public goods for African farmers and societies. These insights, we show, challenge extant narratives related to genome editing and accessibility. As such, we center and interrogate the politics of knowledge surrounding the emergence of genome editing in Africa.


Modern Olympic Games are unquestionably the biggest sporting event of the entire sports community. Their ecumenical nature and philosophical connections to the ancient institution of the Truce, made them a global benchmark of friendship and peace. A sui generis international sporting association such as the International Military Sports Council (or CISM) had the objective of promoting friendship between world armies by means of sport. It has tried to make its presence felt in the Olympic Games, through the establishment of special accommodations for military personnel modeled on the «Olympic Villages».
Recently declassified documents from the CISM Headquarters revealed that those initiatives took place more than once during Olympic Games. The purpose of this article is to identify the intentions and the efforts of the CISM to mark actively its presence in the Olympic Games, in the so-called "CISM Villages". The conclusions of the research are as follows: a) CISM tried to approach all the armies of the world, despite political or other kinds of allegiances, using the «CISM Villages», b) the "CISM Villages" were aimed at hosting both military athletes and officials, although they appeared hosting only officials, c) the idea of establishing «CISM Villages» was receded throughout the years, due to a possible lack of interest, and d) the «CISM Villages» managed sporadically to attract countries, regardless their political allegiances.


Wheat is one of the most important strategic crops that have an important role in people's life and food security. Therefore, the research depends on the methodology value chain analyses to discuss and follow the most important determinants and problems facing wheat value chains in Iraq, as well as analyzing the costs and revenues for a different series of the chains, and then calculate the profits and value added in each of its chain .The results showed that the achieved profits by the producers of the wheat crop was 384258 dinar / dunum, while the value by weight was 371263.9 dinar / ton, The added value of the wheat producers and the marketing chain when the grain is delivered by  (local wholesalers) was 212000.8 ID / ton, while the added value for crop producers and the marketing chain was 347000.8 dinar / ton when the crop is delivered by government Grain Stores , this represents a significant difference between the values by 135000 dinars that representing 39% of the total added value, while the added value of local traders was 88000 dinar / ton for first class grain and 48000 dinar / ton to second class grain . Also research identified many problems and obstacles that face the value chain of wheat , which have negative and reflective effects on the wheat production cycle and the added value, which were cleared by the questionnaire. These include: high costs of automation and fields preparation for cultivation , which is equal 52% of the total variable costs. As well as the high costs of production requirements included: fertilizers, seeds, fuel, oil , electricity, and control materials. Etc.), which was 22%, 8.1%, 7.6% and 5.4%, respectively, and inadequate quantities that received from the state, in addition the marketing which suffers from many problems and obstacles and boring routine and inefficiency of its operating systems which has lost confidence in the direct dealings between farmers and management of state stores, Finally the research included several conclusions and recommendations to the relevant authorities for solving the problems and obstacles in the value chains of the wheat crop in Iraq to increase the competitiveness of this crop in the local and regional market.


Reliable data on private sector agricultural research and development is globally scarce, particularly in developing countries. In South Africa, it has been observed that research performance by the public sector via the Agricultural Research Council has declined in recent years and consequently, the private sector has embarked on a much larger role in South Africa's agriculture research than before. However, the extent of this engagement remains unknown as data quantifying private sector agricultural RD in terms of research expenditure by more than 100% and number of research personnel by more than 50%. It emerged that the nature of research done by the private sector locally is mainly adaptive research - focused on testing imported technology to ensure registration and certification for use on the local market as opposed to developing 'own' innovations. The most influencing government policy initiatives in the participation of the private sector in South Africa's agriculture R&D have been deregulation of agriculture markets and liberalization of agricultural trade, which have increased the spill-in of agriculture technologies to South Africa. The study recommends that, in order to ensure sustainability and efficiency of private sector research, collaboration between the public sector and private sector as well as international organizations will be crucial.


Experimental and theoretical results are presented for boundary layer studies consisting of Schlieren observations and momentum surveys made on hollow cylinder models with their axes aligned parallel to the stream. Results were obtained for three model diameters and for natural and artificially induced turbulent boundary layer flows.


Abstract Parasitological and clinical surveys were used to determine the long-term impact of ivermectin on the prevalence of Wuchereria bancrofti and Mansonella perstans filarial infections, when the drug was given under community-directed-treatment strategies for onchocerciasis control. The study was undertaken in 11 communities in south-western Burkina Faso. Six of the villages investigated had been treated with ivermectin at least once a year for five of 6 years, with a mean coverage of approximately 65% in each round. The other five, adjacent villages, which were matched with the ivermectin-treated communities by size, ethnicity and social and economic activities, had never been treated because they were not endemic for onchocerciasis. Each subject was checked by the microscopical examination of a smear of 'night' blood, by measurement of the level of circulating antigens from adult W. bancrofti, and by clinical examination for hydrocele (if male) and lymphoedema. The prevalences of lymphoedema and hydrocele in the treated villages were similar to those in the untreated. The prevalences and intensities of W. bancrofti and M. perstans microfilaraemia were, however, significantly lower in the ivermectin-treated communities. The implications of this study are discussed in relation to the old Onchocerciasis Control Programme (OCP) and to the ongoing African Programme for Onchocerciasis (APOC), where extensive and sustained ivermectin distribution is planned through community-based treatment programmes. As with onchocerciasis in Africa, the success of annual treatments to control lymphatic filariasis will depend not only on the number of regular rounds of treatment given but on adequate coverages being achieved in each round. Wherever ivermectin is being distributed alone, for onchocerciasis control, its impact on other filarial infections, notably W. bancrofti, should be evaluated routinely. Any opportunity to add donated albendazole to such distributions should be taken, both to limit the transmission of W. bancrofti and for the wider public-health benefits.


This is the report of the first study in the HRB funded project Exploring Clinical Learning Environments for Postgraduate Medical Education and Training. The project is comprised of three studies which triangulate on the topic of clinical learning environments for Postgraduate Medical Education and Training (PGMET). The findings from this study will be synthesised with those from the other two studies on completion of the project, to develop guidelines and recommendations for the design of high quality clinical learning environments.


The identification in 1976 in California of infants with botulism (for references, see the companion article in this issue, p 586) prompted a review of state records of all 603 officially classified cases known to have occurred in California between 1899 and 1976. None of these cases occurred in an infant; the youngest case found was that of a 15-month-old child who became ill as part of a common-source outbreak of food-borne botulism. As part of our efforts to elucidate the pathogenesis of infant botulism, we noted that milk products have rarely been associated with food-borne botulism 1 even though pasteurization does not kill Clostridium botulinum spores. 2 Because milk is the principal food of infants, we therefore undertook in 1978 a further review of all reported food-borne botulism cases linked to milk products. One such case that occurred in California in 1931 was listed as "suspected botulism" in Dr


Abstract After careful consideration of the semantics of status categories for mineral species names, minor corrections and disambiguations are presented for a recent report on the nomenclature of the pyrochlore supergroup. The names betafite, elsmoreite, microlite, pyrochlore and roméite are allocated as group names within the pyrochlore supergroup. The status of the names bindheimite, bismutostibiconite, jixianite, monimolite, partzite, stetefeldtite and stibiconite is changed from 'discredited' to 'questionable' pending further research.


In today's highly volatile global market, design activities become more and more important in the whole lifecycle of product. The process of different developments should adopt appropriate modeling approaches at each stage. Different modeling technologies exert a great impact on different design stages. Therefore, modeling design is crucial to achieve success in the process of product development. This paper presents an integrated modeling of design process for product development. Its objective is to realize concurrent design towards ever-growing demands of market that has already integrated design process and production activities. It can manage to develop product towards early design activities. Different design stage model relations and activities are presented for product development. At first, the characteristics of different development stages are analyzed. The performances and attributes of product are established through considering component, constraints and environment. Second, the process of product modeling is described in detail for early design, and the time interval between the two activities is evaluated for concurrent engineering during the design modeling. Third, a promising framework is given to describe the process of design. Finally, an application example and knowledge are presented to illustrate the process of product development.


In information theory and coding theory with applications in computer science a telecommunication, error detection and correction or error control are techniques that enable reliable delivery of digital data over unreliable communication channels. Many communication channels are subject to channel noise, and thus errors may be introduced during transmission from the source to a receiver. Error detection techniques allow detecting such errors, while error correction enables reconstruction of the original data in many cases.


ABSTRACT Drawing on data from qualitative interviews with students who had attempted to report staff sexual misconduct to their higher education institutions in the UK, the article analyses interviewees' experiences of 'grooming' and boundary-blurring behaviours from academic staff where the possibility for consent was affected by the power imbalances between staff and students. The term 'boundary-blurring' is used to describe behaviours that transgress (often tacit) professional boundaries, and 'grooming' refers to a pattern of these behaviours over time between people in positions of unequal power. This article analyses the power imbalances interviewees described that created the context for these behaviours. These were constituted by social inequalities including gender, class, and age, as well as stemming from students' position within their institutions. The article also explores how heterosexualised normativity allows such behaviours to be minimised and invisibilised.


Summary In the Internet, BGP is de facto inter-domain routing protocol. And it is vulnerable to a number of damaging attacks. Among these attacks, IP prefix hijacking and traffic interception are regarded as the serious threats in the Internet. There have been many incidents of IP prefix hijacking in the Internet. The hijacking AS can blackhole the hijacked traffic by introducing network unreachability problem. Alternatively, it can transparently intercept the hijacked traffic by forwarding it onto the owner. Although there is no reported incident about traffic interception yet, it cannot be said that there was no such attack in the Internet. Because traffic interception does not introduce any network unreachability problem and it is transparent to the victim. Many ideas have been presented to try to detect or prevent prefix hijacking. However, there is no enough analysis towards both areas. This paper makes analysis of IP prefix hijacking and traffic interception for a stepping-stone towards solving these two threats. In this paper, we survey IP prefix hijacking incidents and we present the analysis of IP prefix hijacking and traffic interception.


Type II pneumocytes are responsible for the synthesis and secretion of pulmonary surfactant, which lines the alveoli of the lungs. Its presence as a monolayer at the airliquid interface in the alveoli diminishes surface tension, thus reducing the tendency of alveoli to collapse during expiration. For this effect to be sustained, however, the integrity of the surfactant components needs to be maintained. In this study it has been demonstrated that when cultured type II pneumocytes are exposed to lipoprotein-free serum (LFS) the level of lyso-phosphatidylcholine (lyso-PC) in the secreted surfactant phospholipids is elevated. The lyso-PC content of secreted phospholipids in serumsupplemented cultures increased 5.4-fold with a concomitant decline in the level of phosphatidylcholine (PC) when compared to cells grown in absence of LFS. This effect is without doubt the result of hydrolysis of surfactant phosphatidylcholine by serum phospholipase A2 (PLA2)-like activity. Given that many cases of respiratory trauma are associated with leakage of serum into the alveoli, this enzyme may be a significant contributor to surfactant inactivation and the onset of adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Subjecting human LFS to DEAE-Sepharose chromatography demonstrated that the enzyme, which stimulates the production of lyso-PC, co-elutes with albumin and is biochemically distinct from the secretory form of PLA2. Testing of commercially purified human serum albumin (HSA) also showed the presence of this enzymatic activity, indicating that the serum factor not only co-elutes with albumin but is possibly bound to it. This is supported by the fact that, when subjected to polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the activity associated with LFS and human serum albumin (HSA) has an almost identical elution profile. Furthermore, when partially purified preparations of these were subjected to IEF electrophoresis, both yielded a similar double protein-banding pattern. Although the predominant band had similar migratory properties to that of albumin (pI of approximately 4.5) it was not possible, given that the IEF involves a denaturing gel, to assign the PLA2-like activity to either of these two bands. The present study has also revealed that exposure of type II pneumocytes to recombinant human serum albumin (rHSA) stimulates the secretion of phospholipids and is almost as effective as LFS in enhancing the level of lyso-PC in the media. The latter observation implies that rHSA is able to directly generate lyso-PC and suggests that PLA2 activity may be an innate activity of albumin.

Neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (NRDS) is a significant cause of mortality in preterm human infants. Because underdevelopment of the lungs is known to contribute to the pathogenesis of NRDS, corticosteroid treatment using synthetic glucocorticoids has been widely used to accelerate maturation of the type II alveolar cells and to prematurely initiate synthesis of surfactant. Dexamethasone has no effect upon the rate of synthesis of surfactant lipids when applied directly to cultured foetal type II cells. However, if type II cells are exposed to medium previously conditioned by cultured lung fibroblasts in the presence of dexamethasone, then there is a significant elevation (17.3% increase) in the rate of surfactant lipid synthesis. This indirect effect of dexamethasone, presumably acting via the production of fibroblast pneumocyte factor (FPF), is significantly greater if both the fibroblasts and type II cells are derived from female foetal rats (47.6% increase in PC synthesis) as compared to those derived from male foetuses (19.0% increase). The present study has confirmed that there are sexspecific and gestational age differences in the glucocorticoid receptor level of lung fibroblasts but not of type II cells, thus, regulation of the appearance of the v glucocorticoid receptor in foetal lungs in the later stages of gestation appears to be both sex- and cell-specific. The interaction of glucocorticoids with their specific receptor has also been shown to indirectly affect the rate of surfactant secretion. This study has demonstrated that -adrenergic receptors are present and functional in cultures enriched with foetal type II pneumocytes. The -adrenoreceptor activity is elevated if the type II cells are exposed to glucocorticoids but, as has been shown in this study, the elevation of receptor activity is significantly greater if the type II cells are exposed to media that had been previously conditioned by fibroblasts in the presence of glucocorticoids. Both of these effects are more pronounced if the type II cells were derived from female foetuses rather than from males, despite the cells being grown under similar conditions. The observed elevation in -adrenergic receptor activity in type II cells exposed to either glucocorticoids or fibroblast-conditioned media has been shown to lead to a greater physiological response to the -agonist, (—)-isoproterenol, as measured by surfactant lipid secretion. Indeed, there is a very strong correlation (r = 0.962) between the -adrenergic receptor activity and the ability of agonists to stimulate phospholipid secretion from type II cells. Given that the enhanced -adrenergic receptor activity of type II cells and the resultant cellular response to -agonists is higher if the cells are treated with FCM rather than with dexamethasone, it is suggested that these glucocorticoid-induced responses may be indirect via an increased release of FPF from lung fibroblasts.


In this paper we evaluate the effects of free pre-kindergarten (Pre-K) programs on the labor force participation of mothers. We use variation in Pre-K rules across all U.S. states, including income eligibility requirements in some states. To estimate the causal effects of access to pre-K on labor supply we exploit the panel aspect of the monthly Current Population Survey between 2002-2019. Specifically we look at the change in labor market behavior of women when their child becomes age-eligible for Pre-K, controlling for individual factors. We find that access to free Pre-K programs increases overall maternal LFP by 2.3 percentage points. In particular, we find that mothers with the following demographic characteristics significantly increase their labor supply as a result of an access to free Pre-K: married, college educated, White non-Hispanic, residents of metropolitan areas, and those with income either below 200 percent or above 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). Our results are robust across a series of placebo tests and alternative specifications and sample restrictions.


We study the interactive compression problem: Given a two-party communication protocol with small information cost, can it be compressed so that the total number of bits communicated is also small? We consider the case where the parties have inputs that are independent of each other, and give a simulation protocol that communicates I^2 * polylog(I) bits, where I is the information cost of the original protocol. Our protocol is the first simulation protocol whose communication complexity is bounded by a polynomial in the information cost of the original protocol.


SUMMARY Five faunal lists of conodonts recovered from isolated Viséan outcrops in the north of England are presented. The fauna of the Bowland Shale at Burnsall, Yorkshire, and that of the Orionastraea Bed at Bordley, Yorkshire, are representative of the Gnathodus mononodosus Assemblage Zone. The fauna of the Bollandoceras hodderense Bed (B1), and that of a limestone near the top of the Worston Shale Group (B2) at Little Mearley, Lancashire, represent the Mestognathus beckmanni-Gnathodus bilineatus Assemblage Zone. The presence of conodonts in the reef limestone of Swinden, Yorkshire, is also noted.


To investigate bilingual subjects' perceptions of the connotative differences between concepts in English and French, a form of the semantic differential was employed in which the scales were derived from Cattell's 16 personality factors. Altogether 16 concepts were rated and these were made up of four sets, each set containing a pair of synonyms in English and a pair of synonyms (their translation-equivalents) in French. Even though the sets themselves were easily distinguishable in terms of their affective meaning, no significant differences in affective meaning emerged between the concepts in any of the sets either within or across languages. There were, however, significant differences between individuals in the ways they perceived the concepts. Some of these differences seemed to be due to the effects of dominant language, A cluster analysis of the individuals in terms of the semantic difference between concepts and their translation-equivalents (over and above the difference between synonyms) gave little support to the postulated distinction between the two types of bilingual, compound and coordinate, although there was some evidence that the compound bilingual exists as a separate type.


The role of personality and socio-psychological factors in the initiation and course of bronchial asthma are analyzed from a systemic psychogenic-existential point of view. In this context, the meaning of personality subsystems (perception, individual psychological defences, cognition, emotional reactivity, behavior) and peculiarities of microsocial environment (group/family myths, structural and functional group characteristics) are discussed. High effectiveness of Family Psychotherapy and Gestalt Therapy in the treatment of patients with bronchial asthma is pointed out.


Heterogeneous computing is increasingly being used in a diversity of computing systems, ranging from HPC to the real-time embedded domain, to cope with the performance requirements. Due to the variety of accelerators, e.g., FPGAs, GPUs, the use of high-level parallel programming models is desirable to exploit the performance capabilities of them, while maintaining an adequate productivity level. In that regard, OpenMP is a well-known high-level programming model that incorporates powerful task and accelerator models capable of efficiently exploiting structured and unstructured parallelism in heterogeneous computing. This paper presents a novel compiler transformation technique that automatically transforms OpenMP code into CUDA graphs, combining the benefits of programmability of a high-level programming model such as OpenMP, with the performance benefits of a low-level programming model such as CUDA. Evaluations have been performed on two NVIDIA GPUs from the HPC and embedded domains, i.e., the V100 and the Jetson AGX respectively.


Purpose
In the current dynamic environment, technological capabilities and open innovation play vital roles in operational performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Thus, the purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of technological capabilities on open innovation and consequent impact on perceived operational performance of the SMEs in Malaysia by considering the moderating effect of environmental dynamism.

Design/methodology/approach
This study is quantitative in nature and used a survey questionnaire to gather responses from 202 SME owners in Malaysia. The data were analyzed with SmartPLS software, as it used structural equation modeling.

Findings
The results show that technological capabilities significantly influence open innovation whereas open innovation plays an instrumental role to achieve operational performance of the SMEs. Interestingly, environmental dynamism was found to have a negative moderating role in the relationship between open innovation and perceived operational performance.

Practical implications
This paper will assist SME managers in making effective decisions while using technological capabilities and open innovation practices. Managers need to be aware of the vital role of technological capabilities to build external and internal collaboration and incorporate their knowledge that is necessary for open innovation practices. The results also assist managers in a way that in the dynamic and competitive environment SMEs should take further proactive actions to compete in the market to survive.

Originality/value
This study provides new insights by dismantling technological capabilities and open innovation to understand further the effects of technological capabilities on open innovation and its consequence on a firm's operational performance.


A decade after the discovery of TeV γ-rays from the blazar Mrk 421 (Punch et al. 1992), the list of TeV blazars has increased to five BL Lac objects: Mrk 421 (Punch et al. 1992; Petry et al. 1996; Piron et al. 2001), Mrk 501 (Quinn et al. 1996; Aharonian et al. 1999; Djannati-Atai et al. 1999), 1ES2344+514 (Catanese et al. 1998), H1426+428 (Horan et al. 2000, 2002; Aharonian et al. 2002; Djannati-Atai et al. 2002) and 1ES1959+650 (Nishiyama et al. 1999; Konopelko et al. 2002; Holder et al. 2002). In this paper we report results from recent observations of Mrk 421, H1426+428 and 1ES1959+650 using the Whipple Observatory 10 m telescope. pp. 1–7 c ©2002 by Universal Academy Press, Inc.


The coronavirus pandemic has tragically highlighted the vast and long standing inequities facing Tribal communities, including disparities in water access. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) are at least 3.5 times more likely than white persons to contract COVID-19. Limited access to running water is one of the main factors contributing to this elevated rate of incidence. This report describes current conditions among Tribes in the Colorado River Basin. It outlines the four main challenges in drinking water access: (1) Native American households are more likely to lack piped water services than any other racial group;(2) Inadequate water quality is pervasive in Indian country;(3) Existing water infrastructure is deteriorating or inadequate;and (4) Operation and maintenance of water systems is a critical component of ensuring long-term water security. The report also examines existing federal assistance programs to provide drinking water access to Tribes. In exchange for the cession of millions of acres of lands, Tribes received certain promises from the federal government. These promises often included the establishment of a reservation as a permanent homeland for Tribes. Based upon an underlying trust responsibility, the federal government has a duty to protect Tribal treaty rights, lands, assets, and resources. Access to a clean, reliable supply of water is basic to human health and clearly a necessary component to providing a habitable and permanent homeland. In at least partial recognition and fulfillment of its treaty and trust responsibility to provide access to clean water for Tribes, various federal agencies have established programs that provide support for water related projects. However, these programs are often underfunded and have other limitations. As a result, obtaining significant progress in providing universal access to clean water for all Americans has remained elusive. Finally, the report concludes with policy recommendations to address Tribal community water needs. Key recommendations include adopting a whole of government approach and fully funding federal programs related to Tribal drinking water projects. A window of opportunity has opened to address water insecurity in Indian country. It is critical that action be taken before that window closes and these issues are ignored for several more generations.


Using a unique and rich database of high-technology firms in China, we show that effective enforcement of intellectual property rights at the provincial level is critical in encouraging financing and investing in R&D. Better enforcement of intellectual property (IP) rights positively affects firms' ability to acquire new external debt and allows firms to invest in more R&D, generate more innovation patents, and produce more sales from new products. Our results suggest that facilitating financing and investing in R&D are the channels through which better IP rights enforcement can affect economic growth. © 2014 The President and Fellows of Harvard College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology


Majority of fibers used in composite production are linearly elastic in the main range of possible acting stresses. Some nonlinearity can occur at the stresses close to strength. Some polymeric fibers have wider range of non-linearity. Metallic fibers usually have significant range of non-linearity and/or plasticity. In active loading non-linearity is not distinguished from plasticity. Many polymeric binders have some non-linearity of stress-strain diagrams at tension, at compression, and especially at shear. It contributes to the effective nonlinearity of stress-strain diagrams, especially for angle-plies. Metallic matrices have some non-linearity and plasticity. Modeling of fracture of composites based on linearly-elastic theory might be not completely adequate. Development of non-linear models was done mostly for the metal-matrix composites. It was based mainly on applications of methods of theory of plasticity. The model presented in the report was initially developed by the first author at the beginning of seventies. Report is devoted to more advanced version of the model. There are several difficulties to overcome. Using condition that the strains in the constituents of composite and effective strains of composite are much smaller than unity, it is possible to describe diagrams in form of power series of strains. However, the typical shape of diagrams makes it inconvenient because it is necessary to keep many terms to prevent diagrams from decreasing in practical range of strains. Keeping many terms means too many constants have to be found experimentally. Power series in stresses is more convenient, because for practical purposes it is enough to keep linear and cubic terms. The role of quadratic term is to describe differences of diagrams of tension and compression. Inverse dependence can contain many terms, which can be recalculated from few initial characteristics. Another difficulty is related to complex stress state and necessity to use tensor form describing nonlinear dependence of each component of strain on each component of stress. The mixed invariant of stress tensor and tensor of the fourth rank characterized the medium was used as an additional argument converting linear law to nonlinear one. Approximate solutions of boundary problems for non-linear equations are used.


A study was made of G-banding chromosome preparations made of bone marrow cells of BALB/c mouse females, injected intraperitoneally with a single dose of the antibiotic adriamycin 23 hours before sacrifice. Frequencies of different chromosome fusions in pericentromeric regions were analysed. All chromosomes were found to be involved in the interchromosomal associations, different chromosomes participating in such fusions with different frequency. No associations of homologous chromosomes were observed. For each chromosome a limited number of preferential partners for fusion was revealed, the number of such partners for different chromosomes varying. Almost for a half of chromosomes, chromosome 15 was one of the most preferred partners. Possible significance of the data obtained is discussed for the analysis of principles of the spatial chromosome arrangement in murine bone marrow cells.


In the near future, the oceans will be subjected to a massive development of marine infrastructures, including offshore wind, tidal and wave energy farms and constructions for marine aquaculture. The development of these facilities will unavoidably exert environmental pressures on marine ecosystems. It is therefore crucial that the economic costs, the use of marine space and the environmental impacts of these activities remain within acceptable limits. Moreover, the installation of arrays of wave energy devices is still far from being economically feasible due to many combined aspects, such as immature technologies for energy conversion, local energy storage and moorings. Therefore, multi-purpose solutions combining renewable energy from the sea (wind, wave, tide), aquaculture and transportation facilities can be considered as a challenging, yet advantageous, way to boost blue growth. This would be due to the sharing of the costs of installation and using the produced energy locally to feed the different functionalities and optimizing marine spatial planning. This paper focuses on the synergies that may be produced by a multi-purpose offshore installation in a relatively calm sea, i.e., the Northern Adriatic Sea, Italy, and specifically offshore Venice. It analyzes the combination of aquaculture, energy production from wind and waves, and energy storage or transfer. Alternative solutions are evaluated based on specific criteria, including the maturity of the technology, the environmental impact, the induced risks and the costs. Based on expert judgment, the alternatives are ranked and a preliminary layout of the selected multi-purpose installation for the case study is proposed, to further allow the exploitation of the synergies among different functionalities.


BACKGROUND
Falling from a height accounts for 14.1% of all hospital admissions for traumatic injury. In 5% of cases, the injury is severe or critical, and in 1.5%, it is fatal. The dangers of falling have been recognized since time immemorial. Indeed, the Bible instructs us to build a parapet around the roof of our home so that, "…you may not bring the guilt of bloodshed on your house if someone falls from it" (Deuteronomy 22:8). This commandment highlights the relatively simple and practical means by which we can prevent falls. It is also one of a series of ethical laws that are presented to help us understand and obey the larger Biblical precepts of loving one's neighbor and guarding the sanctity of life. The concept teaches us that it is the responsibility of all individuals to be cognizant of others and to avoid harming people through negligence or carelessness. The aim of this article is to explain the commandment to build a parapet in the context of the risk of falling from a height and to expand on its wider implications. The present work was prompted in part by the alarming increase in fatal and near-fatal accidents in Israel in two particular populations.


This paper describes the key technological trajectories and their potential effect on the expansion of mobile Internet applications. The initial success of entertainment content in Japan in 1999 caused manufacturers to introduce phones with color displays, polyphonic tones, cameras, and Java programs, and these functions are supported by other technological improvements like faster microprocessors, larger memory, and faster network speeds. Coupled with an evolution in user behavior, these technologies are making the phone a portable entertainment player, a new marketing tool for retailers and manufacturers, a multi‐channel shopping device, a navigation tool, a new type of ticket and money, and a new mobile intranet device. These trends will have a large impact on competition in the global mobile phone market as dominant designs emerge at the global level.